Einstein

        A young boy was lying on the floor. His eyelids were twitching like he was about to wake up from a coma.

        “Mmm…” Einstein moaned. Slowly opening his eyes, he helped himself up and pressed on his spinning head.

        Einstein had travelled from afar to join Lomond Manor, a science organization, becoming one of its researchers. He was invited to the briefing session held in the hall along with other new joiners. When the session ended, a thick haze suddenly came in.

        Einstein held his breath as he quickly realized it was a drug. Yet he was still affected by the amplified catalysis of elemental power. Then the next thing he knew was waking up at this strange place.

        Einstein sped up the blood circulation by deep breathing, easing the after-effect of the drug. When the paralysis wore off, he stood up to press his stomach, deducing the health condition.

        “Judging from the digestion, I went unconscious for around two hours. No other injuries except the muscle exhaustion caused by the drug, but…”

        He punched an iron bar thicker than his arms in front of him, but the bar didn’t even bend. The bars formed a cage, trapping him inside.

        “Sir, looks like it’s not that easy to fulfill our promise,” Einstein thought as he smiled, feeling intrigued rather than confused.

        “For someone who was imprisoned, you’re quite an optimistic one. I thought you were going to have a fancy dinner,” a low female voice threw her sarcasm at Einstein.

        Looking over, Einstein found the same cage at his right. Inside that cage, there was a slender woman standing behind the bars with an arrogant smile.

        Einstein didn’t get pissed off for her hostile jeer. Instead, he gave the woman an innocent grin. “I think a researcher shouldn’t be intimidated by such little thing. Don’t you think so? Galileo the golden scientist of Lomond Manor,” Einstein asked.

        “...What a cocky newbie. Why don’t you save your breath and think about how to escape first,” Galileo crossed her arms.

        “What a surprise that a golden scientist can be easily held in captivity just by a metal cage."

        "Stop pretending. You knew it.”

        “So I failed to fool you,” Einstein stopping grinning and continued, “there’s no elemental flow in this room. It should be the attacker who did this.”

        “I’ve investigated while you were crying for mama in your sleep,” Galileo said as she pointed upward. Looking up, Einstein saw a metal sphere hanging by a chain near the ceiling. “That’s the reason why the elemental flow is blocked.”

        “Then just crack it. Simple as it is,” Einstein said.

        “Are you still in the drug effect? How can we crack the sphere outside the cage while we’re stuck in here without elemental power?”

        “Yes we can, with this.” Einstein took a marble out from his pocket. The reflection of it blinded Galileo momentarily, but soon she hit the cage hard furiously.

        “Are you kidding me? You seriously think that you can crack the solid metal with this toy?” Galileo was very pissed off.

        “It is the absurdness of the idea that makes it hopeful! By the way, don’t you get tired for being angry all the time?” Einstein tilted his head for confusion, which irritated Galileo even more. She was trembling with rage while gripping the metal bars.

        “...Prove it then.”

        “No problem,” the confident Einstein said. He first observed the sphere from different angles; Then he moved to another side of the cage, leaning against the bars. He grip the marble with his thumb and middle finger, then shot——

        The marble flew towards the metal wall at the right instead of flying straight to the sphere. It hit a tiny dent on the wall, changing its ballistics. Then it marvellously hit a crack on the sphere’s chain.

        Snap! The chain cracked, dropping the sphere on the floor. It took less than 5 seconds to break the sphere into half, and Einstein nodded in satisfaction.

        “See? I told you it was simple. Despite the fact that you’re an excellent scientist, relying too much on elemental power can cause overlooking to your potential. And I don’t think it’s a good thing, for imagination is more important than knowledge,” Einstein lectured Galileo, and he continued, “you seem like obsessed with a single research and it narrows your insight. Maybe——”

        The metal bars in front of Einstein were cut off by Galileo holding a mechanic sword. Looking at that sword, Einstein was shocked. “This sword converts dark element into its edge, making the sword sharper than any ordinary swords,” he thought.

        “I’d like to see if you can still keep your humor in the face of the absolute power,” Galileo said coldly and left.

        “Never expected that she could be so childish…But isn’t this the fun part, teacher?” Looking at Galileo, Einstein couldn’t help but smile.