You have passed.
Percival began to reflect on the
questions. Aside of the basics of exploration techniques, the test
also had questions about geology. Percival began to answer the
questions in his mind, reading each and preparing what to say to the
supervisor.Meanwhile, Mimo, who had caught
a different test, nervously read each question. He had never before
participated in an exploration or studied anything of that nature.
Moreover, he did not know geology. At least, the questions were
multiple choice, then, for each question, he had twenty-five percent
of success rate.Percival approached the monkey
and gave him the test.- What are the answers for each
item? - Asked the monkey.Percival recited the answers.
The monkey nodded and gave him a score of forty-six. Percival left
the supervisor and returned to his place, while Mimo, walking at slow
steps, trembling went to the another monkey who, although adult, was
smaller.- What are the answers for each
item? - Asked the monkey.Mimo looked at the test again
and blindly guessed the answers, responding randomly. The monkey
nodded again and gave a score of thirty-four to Mimo, who started
walking back to his place.- Hey, kid! - Said the monkey.Mimo froze.- You forgot to hand me the test
- continued the monkey.- Ah ... forgive me... - Mimo
went back and handed it to the supervisor and only then returned to
his place in the crowd.Time passed slowly. Eventually,
everyone had responded and returned the test. The supervisor examined
from his memory the scores he had taken.- All those who took a score
below twenty can go home - he announced.Most participants left the
place. Only six remained. The monkey gave those six another test.- Same process - he said. - Only
answers. This is to check if you are not taking advantage of my
memory to claim a score that did not give.- Why not use a pen to write
down the score of each? - Asked a heron that had remained.- Are you crazy? Writing down
the scores of all those ignorants would consume a lot of ink.The heron was offended by the
supervisor's language, but shrugged it off. Again, Percival, Mimo and
the other four participants completed the test. Mimo, as before,
doing everything randomly.Nervous and anxious, Mimo was
the first to declare that he had answered the questions, five minutes
after the test started. The ape looked at Mimo with an air of
suspicion and asked:- Already?- Yes, sir - said Mimo."Wow, he must be very good
..." thought Percival, who was still answering. The supervisor
took the test and called Mimo in particular, away from the others,
and asked:- What is the answer for each
item?Mimo guessed the answers again.
The ape nodded, giving him a score twenty-six.- You have passed - he said. -
It is only a pity that the top six were the only ones to get a score
above twenty. It is a low grade. But still better than the vast
majority of those who took the test.Mimo was no longer paying
attention after hearing that he had been approved.- Thank you - it was the only
words that little monkey managed to cast.The ape raised one of his
eyebrows, thinking that the little stranger had ignored the arrogant
insult that had been released. Mimo went back to the other five,
smiling with an air of satisfaction.Percival soon followed. After
the process, Percival had been approved with a score of twenty-two.
He then joined Mimo. The ape went to the duo and said:- You can enter the dungeon. In
the very first room were installed lamps and tents where you can rest
if desired. A summoner keeps the warmth inside the tents. It is
important to who are still doing the test alone.Percival and Mimo went to the
entrance of the dungeon, the creepy ice tunnel that seemed endless.
Mimo shivered, wondering if he trembled from cold or fear.- You first - he said.Percival went first. Mimo looked
back and realized that the supervisor was watching. Not wanting to
look scared, the little monkey followed Percival.The corridor was rectangular,
vertical. Walls, ceiling and floor were perfectly polished,
indicating that it was obviously not a work of nature. The deeper the
due went through the corridor, the colder it became. Light could be
seen down the corridor after a few minutes of walk. They came to a
large room with tents erected, a huge stone gate in the opposite wall
and another corridor to the west. A group of moles examined the gate
while another group chatted near the west corridor, all wearing
helmets with flash-lights. The lanterns were not fed with batteries,
but with a supernatural force channelled into small circular stones
inside the lanterns. This force was channelled by the summoner.Percival and Mimo walked towards
the tents just in time to see a mole in a lab coat come out from one
of them. She looked at them and smiled.- Explorers? - She asked.- Yes, we are - Percival said.- Excellent! - The mole clapped
twice, lively, with the arrival of the duo. - Finally, we can
continue to explore! - She then looked around. - Want me to explain
the function of each tent?- Sure.- Follow me.The mole walked with the pair,
explaining the function of the tents. One was a rest spot for wounded
explorers. The other was the tent for meetings, where explorers
should go before and after each mission to receive instructions and
eat. The last tent was a storage for collective equipment.Other explorers came gradually.
The mole called them when the six explorers were there.- I suppose you do not know each
other yet - she said. - Kindly introduce yourself.Percival was the first:- I'm Percival. I'm twenty-one.Percival was a white rabbit with
red eyes. He wore a red shirt and long blue pants. Carried with him a
backpack.- Mimo, eight-year-old.Mimo was a brown monkey. Had
black eyes and a long tail. Wore only a red shorts, since his fat
kept him warm. H looked overweight.- Sérica, nineteen.Sérica was a heron, dressed in
short pants and shirt. Had a belt made to accommodate tools and was
holding a dagger.- Bolico, ten-year-old.Bolico was a predominantly white
cat, with black spots. Also was overweight, wore only a loincloth and
seemed completely unarmed and unprepared. His eyes were yellow.- Guino, thirty-year-old.Guino was a bull, big and
strong. He wore only ripped shorts, carried in one hand a sword that
other species could only wield with two paws. His upper limbs ended
in almost human hands covered with dense fur. His eyes had an eerie
red glow.- Mático, twenty-five-year-old.Mático was a dog, lean and
tall, as Percival. He wore glasses and carried with him an open
backpack, full of thick, heavy books. Judging by his clothes, a brown
robe tied at the waist with a purple rope, he was a summoner.- Now that everyone knows
everyone, please proceed to the tent of meetings to eat and receive
explanations about your work here - said the mole.The sextet went to the tent of
meetings. The tent was huge, enough to fit a table and twelve chairs.
There was a map spread on the back of the tent, seven lamps and ten
dishes on the table, a cauldron in the corner where the soup was
prepared and some abandoned mining tools on the ground. A mole
wearing typical explorer clothes was sitting at the table while
another mole was preparing the soup. They sat normally.- Very well, gentlemen. Glad you
were able to pass the tests and be approved. I see that we have a
very heterogeneous group - said the mole who was sitting. - But what
determines the persistence or not of such group are mostly the
reasons of it's components. So I wanted to know what motivates you to
participate in the operation, aside, of course, the reward.- I want my mother to be free -
Mimo spoke immediately after the mole finished speaking.- Mm? How so?- My mother was arrested by the
Government. She is innocent, however, and hopefully I can free her
with this job.The mole smiled at the answer.
With such strong reasons, Mimo would definitely stay until the end.- I want to improve the living
conditions of my mother - said Percival. - She's too old to continue
planting and harvesting vegetables every day.- I want adventure - spoke
Sérica.- And I want gold - Guino said.
- It is well known that the underground is filled with precious
metals.- I came on a mission - said
Mático. - I was inspired to come because of a dream in which the Air
talked to me.The mole listened to almost
everyone. Bolico, however, still remained silent.- And you? - Asked the mole.Bolico sighed and looked at the
mole.- I came because I have no other
place to go. My friends are dead and my parents were captured. I'm
interested in the work because it was the only way to not starve.The mole was impressed with that
response. The others looked at Bolico, who lowered his head after
earning the spotlight.- The soup is ready - said the
mole at the cauldron.She picked up, one after
another, the dishes from the table and filled them with soup,
returning them shortly after.