The questionnaire was not long, and asked him a bunch of questions about his opinions or preferences regarding the army. Nero was careful not to reveal even the slightest hint of dissatisfaction with anything official, and handed in his paper.
It had contained extremely generic questions, such as whether he would prefer staff assignments or field deployments. He was asked what he would choose between a defensive and offensive role. He was asked if he had a preference for intl gathering or objective execution.
Some questions were simple and straightforward, while some left things vague and open to interpretation.
It was only halfway through his test, when he saw that another candidate who turned his questionnaire only to be taken into a separate room for a timed exam that he realised what was actually going on!
This questionnaire was a test, and a part of a much bigger test. While the questions themselves were important, or maybe not - he couldn’t tell - his performance and seriousness while answering were being studied.
After this, he would be taken for another, timed test to see the comparison between his actions now and then! It was such a simple, straightforward and disarming way of determining how he behaved under pressure of deadlines.
In fact, he realised now that everything that had happened since he entered was a test. The reason he, and others, had been left to stand out was to study them and begin building a profile. Or maybe, they already had extensive profiles that were simply being added to!
While he gained new insight into his situation, it made no functional difference to Nero. He had already been filling the questionnaire seriously, so nothing had to change.
Once he was done, Nero quickly rechecked all his answers and then submitted the paper. Without any breaks or gaps, he was taken to another room with a single desk for him to sit at, and an examiners desk right in front of it.
Nero did not try to be polite or formal, and did exactly as instructed.
"I am now going to ask you a series of questions," said the officer neutrally, looking Nero directly in the eyes."You have to answer all of them to the best of your ability. You will be given 10 seconds to think before answering each question. Do you understand?"
Once again, Nero showed no hesitation.
"Yes sir," he answered in a clear voice.
The examiner picked up a clipboard and looked towards what Nero could only assume was another questionnaire.
"State your name and age for the record," the examiner said.
A part of him wanted to wait ten seconds to answer, but this was no time to joke around.
"Nero Grant, sixteen years old," he answered promptly.
The examiner took a moment to write something down, probably his answer.
"You’re the commanding officer with three teams under you. All three teams enter a mission site, but only two return. The teams that returned detected no enemies or signs of aether or cursed manipulation. What is your first assumption?"
Nero blinked, not expecting such a question. There had been no preparation or build up hinting towards the nature of the questions he would be asked, so he hadn’t been ready. However, the surprise did not hinder him, nor did he need ten seconds to answer.
"I will assume the presence of an enemy trap of preexisting Malflora," answered Nero, his voice clear and his tone urgent but not rushed. "Existing Malflora does not reveal any energy signatures, and enemies can prepare an ambush or trap to trigger silently and without requiring use of aether. Of course, the assumptions can be further refined based on the context of the mission situation."
The officer did not nod or show any indication of whether the answer was correct or not, instead simply looking downward to write something else. After a few seconds, he looked up towards Nero once more.
"You are on ground for a mission, transporting precious cargo. You have to cross a long bridge that can only be crossed once, and can only support a certain amount of weight. If the cargo is transported, only two more soldiers can cross. If the cargo is left behind, six soldiers can cross. You are leading a team of eight soldiers, and need to cross imminently or perish. What do you do?"
Nero understood well that there was no perfect answer for this question. Attempting to answer it perfectly may actually result in an overly complicated answer which might not suit the moment. The phrasing of the question was also designed to make the listener panic, but that was a mistake.
In difficult situations, it was especially important to stay calm and collected so that the best decision can be made, instead of a rushed or emotional one. More importantly, Nero suspected that besides the actual content of his answers, his reaction to the questions and his judgment time and quality were what were being judged.
"I would send two soldiers with the cargo, alongside a rope or some card that can build a bridge or create some path for the rest to cross. Meanwhile, I and the remaining team would hold down the location, giving enough time for them to tie the rope or build a path for the rest. If following them proves impossible, we would hold down any enemies to give them enough time to successfully transport away the cargo."
Once again, the officer showed no reaction, and simply began writing something on his clipboard. Nero could imagine that someone who lacked confidence, or maybe suffered from anxiety would have a very difficult time. They would wonder what was being written down, and if he gave the correct answer or not, and that would be revealed in their demeanor and answers.
Instead of giving the best answers, they would give the answers they think the examiner wants to hear.
"You are given two concurrent orders. Order A has chances of succeeding five times out of eleven, but order B has chances of succeeding only three times out of three. Which do you choose and why?"
Nero blinked, not because this was hard, but because it was too easy.
"Order B because it has a 100% chance of success," he stated, and showed no reaction as the officer noted something down.
"You are on ground for a mission, and are isolated for reinforcements. Your strongest asset is unreliable in terms of performance, but your weakest asset is consistent. Which of them do you plan around and why?"
Once again, Nero did not need to wait.
"I will plan around my weakest asset because doing otherwise would be akin to hoping and praying to get lucky," he answered. He admitted this was a tricky question. Without the context of how unreliable, or how weak the assets were, it was tough to reach a conclusion, but these were most likely left ambiguous on purpose.
The sounds of pen writing on a single sheet of paper filled the room once more as Nero waited for the next question. Not choosing to wait the given ten seconds was also revealing, and it wasn’t certainly the best choice. However, Nero had no doubts. Once he made a decision, he would stand by it unless given new information. There was no right or wrong, only the decision he chose to make.
"When is retreat the more aggressive option compared to advance?" the examiner asked, and for once Nero needed to stop and think.
In any situation where retreat was required, it meant that the fight was brutal and advancing would lead to greater loss or casualties. It was not an aggressive action, but usually a protective, even desperate one. So then, when would retreat actually be more aggressive?
Despite being stumped by the question, Nero still didn’t take the full ten seconds.
"When retreat is a form of baiting," answered Nero. "When the retreat is designed to attract greater enemy offense."
By now, Nero was entirely used to the examiner’s pattern of writing and asking questions. It was clear that he wasn’t writing down Nero’s answers, or he would write for much longer. So then he must simply be writing down his comments on Nero’s answer.
"What angers you? Incompetence or disobedience."
Now this was a change in the questions theme. This was more about him than any given situation, which is why he actually needed to think. Which one angered him more? Incompetence was pretty irritating, but disobedience wasn’t great either. Which one?
Technically, neither were correct, but...
"What angers me is delusional incompetence. Someone who believes they are incredible, yet are actually quite incapable. Such people end up being more harmful than many enemy strategies and conspiracies."
That was a decent answer, but the examiner’s notes on it were the shortest.
"When have you most enjoyed exerting authority?" the examiner asked, and immediately Nero got a few flashbacks. Authority? There were only a few times he had that, and even then it was limited. Even so, this was the easiest one yet.
"When I could use it to save lives."