Chương 98: Evaluations

August 2028 Fort Cambridge, Boston Catacombs The formation workshop felt different on their last day at Fort Cambridge. Two months of work had left its mark on their formation workshop. Stacks of completed formation plates lined the shelves. Calibration charts covered the walls, annotated with corrections from dozens of students. Leo stuffed a spare uniform into his bag while Thad wrestled with a zipper and Ella carefully wrapped her formation brushes in silk cloth. The lab door swung open. Mr.

Morimoto strode in with his usual theatrical energy, spectacles glinting under the formation lights.

"Children! Before we return to civilization, we must discuss your progress." He produced three chairs and arranged them in a semicircle facing the main projection screen.

"Two months," he said.

"Two months of grueling labor, radioactive soil, and what I am told is the finest pizza establishment in the greater Boston Catacombs." Thad winced. Even he had gotten sick of Little Caesars after eating it for so long.

"You have accomplished much. The reclamation work speaks for itself." Morimoto clasped his hands behind his back.

"But tell me. In your own words. Describe the Inverse Derivation Technique as you understand it." Leo leaned back in his chair.

"I mean, we've all got it down. Reading the errors, seeing the shape through the mistakes." He shrugged.

"Honestly? It's pretty intuitive once it clicks. A bunch of our students picked it up too. They're already using it to calibrate their own formations." Morimoto's smile widened.

"That's right!" He began pacing, his footsteps echoing off the lab's stone floor.

"You have achieved minor success with the Inverse Derivation Technique. You can read flow imperfection. You can perceive structural absence. You can overlay both maps and glimpse the heavenly pattern beneath." He stopped and turned to face them.

"But that is not why you are here. That is not why I am paid the big bucks." Leo frowned.

"Then what is?" Morimoto extended his hand toward Leo, palm up.

"Your identification card, Mr. Chen. If you please." Leo hesitated, then reached into his pocket and produced the military ID he had carried around since he first stepped into the Catacombs with Tom. The card was standard government issue, a rectangle of formation-inscribed spiritual plastic with his photo, cultivation level, and security clearance embedded in layers of protective arrays. Morimoto took the card and slid it under the spiritual microscope mounted on the central workstation.

The projection screen flickered to life. Leo's ID card appeared magnified a hundred times. What had looked like smooth plastic resolved into a dense landscape of microscopic formations. Array runes no wider than a human hair interlocked in patterns of staggering complexity. Formation pivots connected systems within systems, each layer feeding into the next.

"Beautiful, is it not?" Morimoto adjusted the focus.

"Standard government identification. Issued to every cultivator with military clearance. Most people never look beneath the surface." He traced a finger across the projected image, highlighting different sections as he spoke.

"Here. Access control formations. These govern which doors you may open, which facilities you may enter. Here. Communication arrays. These allow secure transmission of classified information. Here. Tracking formations, similar to my own lovely bracelet." He tapped his cuff with a rueful smile.

"And here..." The image shifted, zooming in on a small cluster of runes near the card's center.

"This formation governs Mr. Chen's meal stipend." Leo squinted at the screen. The highlighted formation was compact, maybe forty runes total, connected by a web of delicate pivot points. Morimoto turned to face his students.

"What would happen if I asked you to derive this formation? Understand its function. Identify its weaknesses. Replicate it from scratch." Silence filled the lab. Ella leaned forward, her violet eyes narrowing as she studied the projection. Her fingers traced patterns in the air, following the qi flow through the visible array runes.

"We can't," she said flatly.

"Oh?" Morimoto raised an eyebrow.

"Explain."

"The Inverse Derivation Technique helps us identify patterns we have already internalized. We read errors and correct them against known templates." Ella stood and walked toward the screen, pointing at a specific junction in the formation.

"There. That pivot. And there." She turned to face Morimoto.

"Those are forbidden pivots. They involve esoteric knowledge outside the seven standard systems of formations. Even if we could derive which forbidden pivot it was, we still couldn't draw it." Morimoto's smile faded slightly as he studied the projected formation.

"Correct, Miss Nyxalis. Forbidden pivots represent esoteric knowledge outside the seven standard systems." He adjusted his spectacles.

"But consider this. The formation you see here is standard government issue. Every military cultivator carries one. Hundreds of formation masters know how to draw it."

"The formations you will face at the Grand Formations Summit will be far more complicated. Far more difficult. Each competing team will bring problems designed to showcase their civilization's most advanced techniques." He let that sink in. The students sat in stunned silence. Hearing about difficulty was one thing. Seeing it magnified on a projection screen, mocking their confidence, was another.

"Forbidden pivots are fascinating," Morimoto continued, his tone shifting to something almost wistful.

"They can achieve things that would otherwise be unimaginable. The legendary teleportation formation, for instance, would be impossible without forbidden formations and void stone as fuel." He began pacing again, hands clasped behind his back.

"But most of the time? They are used for vanity. What cultivators actually need can typically be accomplished through the seven systems. Formation masters enjoy flaunting their attainments. They stuff forbidden pivots into any formation that will hold them."

"And of course, the more complicated the formation you draw, the more your divine sense increases from the training. If a formation master can convince you to pay for their expensive forbidden formations, that is free cultivation practice on your dollar."

"A beautiful arrangement." His lip curled.

"For them." Ella's eyes narrowed.

"So the forbidden pivot in this ID card..."

"The most common application you will encounter." Morimoto waved his hand dismissively.

"Its sole purpose is to act as an authenticator. It links with a corresponding forbidden formation..." He reached behind the workstation and produced a credit card reader, the kind Leo had seen in every convenience store on base. Where Morimoto had acquired it was anyone's guess.

"... and uses that link as a mark of trust for transactions." He set the reader on the table.

"In fact, if the Great Magnetic Decryption Formation did not exist, scholars speculate we could run almost all our systems through mortal public key encryption alone. There would be no need for such forbidden formations at all." He paused, then shook his head.

"But I digress. The point is this: if the Grand Formations Summit required you to replicate the exact formation presented, everyone would lose. Each team would submit a problem stuffed with every forbidden formation they know, and the competition would devolve into mutual incomprehension." Thad raised his hand.

"So what do they actually want us to do?"

"The Summit requires you to submit a formation with the same function as the one presented." Morimoto's eyes gleamed.

"If a team submitted a problem using twenty forbidden formations to emit a red light, the competing teams would all submit some basic array that accomplishes the same thing. Function over form. Elegance over complexity." If you encounter this story on Amazon, note that it's taken without permission from the author. Report it. He spread his hands wide.

"This is my specialty. Finding alternatives to forbidden formations. Novel solutions that achieve the same result through standard systems." He pulled a formation plate from his sleeve. The array inscribed on it looked familiar. Leo recognized the general structure immediately.

"For example," Morimoto said, holding the plate up to the light with obvious pride, "my version of the core formation of the La Ferrari Eclipse does not require the forbidden Ferrari formation to emit the signature red light." Leo sat up straight.

"You can make a forgery of the La Ferrari Eclipse?"

"Replica," Morimoto corrected sharply.

"My version has a ten percent decrease in defensive power, but the speed and maneuverability are identical. Completely unnoticeable in practical use. I can produce it for thirty percent cheaper than Mr. Ferrari's workshops." Ella's voice cut through the room.

"Even I know that must be illegal."

"It is absolutely legal." Morimoto held up a finger.

"If I used a different colored light and sold it under a new name, there would be no legal issue whatsoever. Perfectly legitimate commerce."

"You said 'if.'" Ella's violet eyes fixed on him.

"Did you sell it under a different name? Or did you use the Ferrari branding, get caught, and end up cuffed and forced to teach us?" Morimoto's expression flickered. He adjusted his spectacles and turned back to the projection screen.

"Let us stay focused on the curriculum." Thad grinned.

"She's got you there."

"The important point," Morimoto pressed on, raising his voice slightly, "is that very few solutions at the Grand Formations Summit end up using forbidden pivots. Most teams develop novel workarounds using standard systems. You are solving a problem. You are not copying a solution." He straightened his rumpled jacket with exaggerated dignity.

"That is why I was selected for this position. No living formation master surpasses my ability to develop novel alternatives to forbidden formation pivots." He paused, stroking his chin.

"I will be humble. No one surpasses my ability for formations below Tier Three." Leo exchanged a glance with Ella. Morimoto reached into his sleeve again and produced a strange object. It looked like an ID card, but spiritual wires trailed from its edges, connecting to a small black box covered in array runes.

"Now. Observe." He inserted the modified card into the credit card reader. The display flickered. Numbers appeared on the screen. $21, 474, 836. 47.

"Now, children." Morimoto spread his arms wide, his smile returning to its full brightness.

"Would you like to get one last meal on base? My treat." All three of them grabbed their bags and left the old counterfeiter behind.

International Formation Institute, Pittsburgh The first thing Professor Vogt did when the three got back to the International Formation Institute at Carnegie Mellon was hand out evaluation forms.

"Welcome back." She gave each of them a form.

"Before you settle in, I need you to complete these evaluation reports on Mr. Morimoto's instruction." Leo glanced at the document. Standard government questionnaire. Rating scales from one to five. Comment boxes for detailed feedback.

"Anonymous?" Ella asked.

"Completely." Vogt tapped her clipboard.

"Your responses will be aggregated with other feedback sources. Be thorough and honest." No wonder Morimoto had been so charitable to them yesterday. They found a quiet corner of the common room and filled out their forms. Leo gave mostly positive marks. The man was eccentric and possibly criminal, but his teaching had been effective. Thad scribbled through his in under three minutes. Ella took considerably longer, her pen moving in precise, deliberate strokes. The next day, Mr.

Morimoto stormed into the workshop where they were practicing basic formations. His face was red. The tracking cuff on his wrist glinted as he waved a crumpled piece of paper in the air.

"Which one of you wrote this?" Leo looked up from his formation plate.

"Wrote what?" Morimoto smoothed the paper against the nearest workbench and began reading aloud in a mocking falsetto.

"Mr. Morimoto demonstrates a consistent pattern of delegating his contractual teaching responsibilities to students while pursuing personal projects unrelated to curriculum goals. His instruction, when present, consists primarily of vague philosophical statements rather than practical guidance. The majority of substantive learning occurred through peer instruction and self-directed practice." He crumpled the paper again and threw it at the wall.

"My pay was docked for this, Miss Nyxalis! Apparently I have been working the past three weeks for free!" Ella's expression remained perfectly neutral.

"The evaluation was anonymous, Mr. Morimoto. It could have been anyone." Morimoto's eye twitched. He snatched the crumpled paper from the floor, stared at it, then threw it in the trash with exaggerated force.

"And another thing." He rounded on all three of them.

"A word of warning would have been appreciated before you sicced the military police on me. The money machine was for legitimate research purposes!"

"You were counterfeiting government currency," Leo said.

"I was demonstrating critical vulnerabilities in their authentication systems! A public service! They should be thanking me!" Morimoto jabbed a finger at the air.

"And they didn't just confiscate the money machine. They took my replica of the La Ferrari Eclipse! It wasn't even finished!"

"I told them about that too," Ella said. Her lips curved into a small smirk. Morimoto glared at her. He stood there for a long moment, breathing heavily, his spectacles slightly askew. Then he straightened his jacket and adjusted his glasses with forced dignity.

"Anyways." He cleared his throat.

"Fort Cambridge gave us a clear picture of your strengths and weaknesses. The next phase of training will be tailored individually." He began pacing, falling back into lecture mode despite his obvious irritation.

"Leo. You are nearly done replicating all forty-two introductory complex arrays. Impressive progress. Unfortunately, the same trick will fail with intermediate runes and forbidden formations. The pivot conversions become too nuanced for pure mimicry." He stopped and faced Leo directly.

"Instead, we will lean into your strength as an intuitive inscriber. Your training in the Inverse Derivation Technique will focus on creating derivative pivots. Pivots that capture a fraction of the function of forbidden ones. Enough so the team will have something to start with." Leo nodded. That made sense. He had always learned better by doing than by studying. Morimoto turned to Ella.

"Miss Nyxalis. We will build upon your foundation as a systematic inscriber. Dedicated tutors will instruct you on the intricacies of modern formation theory. Your focus in the Inverse Derivation Technique will be creating descriptions of what you observe, and calculating the correct form. This will help the team figure out what the forbidden pivots actually outputs." Ella inclined her head.

"Understood." Finally, Morimoto faced Thad.

"Mr. Nyxalis. You will not be participating in the formation derivation training." Thad's expression flickered. Something between relief and disappointment.

"Your talents lie elsewhere," Morimoto continued.

"You will be responsible for learning and drawing the two formation problems we present at the Summit. Memorization and replication. No derivation required." Thad nodded slowly.

"I can do that."

"And because of this reduced workload, you will have free time." Morimoto's tone shifted, becoming almost generous.

"We have arranged for you to join the Penn State Nittany Lions Flying Aces team. You can report to them tomorrow to get your flying sword engraved." Thad's eyes went wide.

"Don't say I never did anything for you." Morimoto spread his hands magnanimously.

"I look after all my students." Thad crossed his arms.

"That was a condition of me coming here. I get my flying sword engraved and I play in the CFL. You didn't arrange anything." Morimoto's gaze slid to Ella. A knowing look passed across his face. Thad caught on immediately.

"Ellaraeth!" He spun to face his sister.

"You took my conditions out of the contract? How could you do that to me?" Ella examined her fingernails.

"It all worked out, didn't it? Besides, are you certain you have time for both training and playing around?" Thad's jaw tightened.

"Worked out? You went behind my back and..."

"We both think Flying Aces will be great for you," Morimoto cut in loudly, stepping between the siblings.

"Work work balance, as they say." Thad blinked.

"Don't you mean work life..."

"Coach Mei thinks that third-person perspective and g-force training will..." Morimoto paused, searching for the right words.

"Let you appreciate his time behind the desk more." Leo started cackling.

September arrived. With it, another school year. This year, Leo didn't even show up to school, he was busy studying formations in Pittsburgh the whole time. This year felt different. The upcoming Grand Formations Summit had swept everyone into a formation craze. Students bragged about their projected AMC scores in hallways and cafeterias. The parade of young masters, usually the highlight of the month, lost its luster.

People cared less about which young master had the most money and more about who they thought was going to MOP. Exeter found itself at the center of the formation world's attention. Leo Chen was enrolled there. So was Vivian Xin, the defending IMO champion. The school's admissions office fielded an unprecedented number of transfer applications, and a wave of highly talented students had joined the upperclassmen.

The first competition on the road to the IMO in America was the AMC, the American Manifestation Competition. Before, it was mostly taken by students intending to major in Dao Arts. Now every student took a crack at it. Many failed miserably. The students who scored high enough qualified for the AIME. Although the test this year was significantly harder than previous years, a record number of students passed. Such was the interest in formations this year. Vivian and Matt made it in. Tom, unfortunately, did not.

Somewhere along the way, Ella's Instagram account exploded. Leo and Thad noticed something was off when packages started arriving at the Formation Institute. Designer handbags. Luxury cosmetics. Watches that cost more than a Foundation Establishment cultivator's annual income. They suspected the doves were behind it. But the truth was simpler. Ella had stumbled into the perfect formula. She was exotic. She was competing at the Grand Formations Summit. She was stunningly beautiful.

And most importantly, she had a knack for making Reels. Her follower count climbed past ten million. Corporate sponsorship deals arrived in waves. Luxury brands paid enormous sums for her to carry their latest bags. Every day a new influencer came to Pittsburgh to collaborate with her. Security had to establish protocols for influencer access. Even the government found value in free marketing. Thad found the whole situation hilarious.

He spent his breaks photobombing his sister's content, anything to take his mind off of the torture machine know as the g-force trainer. Every day he complained to Leo about training and asked for tips. Leo just shrugged and said it got easier after the first month. Thad asked Coach Mei if that was true. She just smiled at him and said, "We'll see."