I followed Leon’s instructions and managed to find the door that he was talking about. The door was eight feet tall, and three feet wide, and the material was made out of sleek chrome steel. The center contains a symbol of a diamond. Surrounding it are two tips of arrows going outward. Not only that, the symbol is etched in a rustic yellow.
I looked around to make sure that no one was following me. The back alley was dark, leaving the only light source that illuminated the darkness was the old lamps that only showed the chrome steel door. I looked back at the door, took a deep breath, and started to knock on the silvery door.
Knock! Knock! Knock!
When I knocked a third time, the chrome steel door began to open. I checked the interior of the room to see if anyone was there. However, what I was looking at wasn’t a room; it was an elevator. That explains the card, I thought. I entered the elevator and slid the yellow card on the reader. The chrome door suddenly closed behind me, and in an instant, I was swiftly moving up the floors.
Five minutes later, the elevator performed its usual bing. This time, I was instead greeted by two stunning bronze doors as I reached my destination. The doors opened and another room greeted me. This room I entered was, while slightly larger, rather a bit small. To the right of me lies a hallway leading to the entrance. To the left of the entryway was a couch and a coffee table neatly placed on the far left, while the right side was split into a small kitchen, though it was now closed due to how late it was. I continued to look around till I noticed a large reception desk. Behind the desk lies a giant emblem symbolizing the four seasons, the name 'Season Hotel' underneath the logo. I walked up to the desk and rang a copper bell that was sitting there. Doing so causes a deep male voice to call from an empty room behind the desk. “One moment, please.” A few minutes later, a middle-aged man came from the empty room. He wore a suit similar to Leon’s: white undershirt, black tie, and jacket. The man's bald face and head show no hair, yet despite that, his baldness displayed his youthful brown skin and slight hints of aging.
“Hello," said the receptionist. "My name is Alfred Daycardo. I am the owner of the Season Hotel.”
“Hello, my name is Xia, Xia Starseer,” I said.
I shook Alfred's hand and told him why I was here.
“Alright then, please fill out this form and return it to me when you are finished.”
“Okay, thank you.”
It only took a few minutes to complete the form. I returned it to Alfred and upon looking over the form, he looked up and said:
“I'm afraid you are forgetting something Mr. Starseer.”
I looked at him with a puzzled expression and asked, "What am I forgetting?"
“I think you already know; it has already been given to you.”
It took me a few minutes to realize that what he meant was the yellow keycard that Leon gave me. I quickly grabbed the card from my pocket and gave it to him with an apology.
“No worries,” Alfred said. “Everyone forgets sometimes when they first get here.”
He swiped the yellow card on three readers, and then Alfred told me to go into the waiting room because it would take a moment to put me on the list. The waiting room was far off from the front desk. To the left was a radio that played today’s top songs on 99.9. With it were some comfy chairs, and in between was a couch, about 10-15 feet in length. In the center was a long glass table, containing an Ephiral plant, and surrounding it was just a bunch of random magazines. I went to sit on one of the chairs, and after about 10 minutes of waiting, my drowsiness took over and I let myself sleep.
30 minutes later
Hello?
Excuse me?
“Excuse me, sir.”
I jolted awake to see a young man. He looks to be wearing glasses, and his attire consists of a T-shirt, a small blue jacket, and some shorts. He appears to be younger than me, even though he is a few inches shorter. I looked around to see another kid around my age, except he was a bit taller than the young man. Instead of the usual modern-day clothes you see nowadays, he wore a black robe-like hoodie and some black jeans. The young man with the glasses spoke again: “Sir, you were kind of drooling on the couch while you were sleeping.” I looked at the couch and noticed a bit of my saliva was on the quilt patterns.
“Aw, crap!!!” I looked around for anything to clean the mess when the young man gave me some tissues. “Here,” he said. “Use these.” I gave a quick thanks and cleaned up the mess I made. After that, I threw away the tissues and apologized for what happened. The kid in the robes placed his hand on my shoulder and said, “Dude, just chill. It's just a mishap.” After that, he went to sit on the couch.
I calmed myself down a bit and sat down with him. The young man in glasses followed suit. After a few minutes of pure quietness, the young man in glasses introduced himself. “So, my name is Gadge, and that kid right next to you is Riku.” Riku nodded and closed his eyes. I looked at Gadge and made my introduction as well, and then after that, I asked them a few questions. “Are you guys attending the Heroes Exam like I am?”
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Gadge nodded. “You too?”
“Yep.”
Everything went silent for a few minutes until Alfred returned with a new keycard. The keycard is the same size and length as the yellow one, except this one is black and white.
“Excuse Mr. Starseer, your room is ready.”
“Thank you, Alfred.”
“No problem kind sir. Oh, and be aware, the Exams start at nine in the morning, so don’t sleep too late Mr. Starseer.”
“All right, have a good night Alfred.” I turned to Riku and Gadge, “Well, I guess I’ll see you guys tomorrow.”
“And you too, Xia,” said Gadge. Riku gave me a nod and said “Yeah, see you tomorrow.”
* * *
The keycard that Alfred gave me led me to Room 319. When I opened the door, the room was like any typical hotel room. To the right of me was a little kitchen, with smooth wooden counters, probably Giga wood. In front of me was the living room with the usual couch, coffee table, and a medium-sized T.V. Northeast of me was a doorway, which probably was the bedroom and bathroom. I sighed in relief and headed to the bedroom to get ready for bed. I did the usual, hit the bathroom to get a nice hot shower, brush my teeth, and bedhead. As I looked up at the dark ceiling, I started to wonder what the exam would hold. All I know is that I can’t let my guard down, if I screw up even once, then it's all over.
The next day
RING! RING!! RING!!!
RING! RING!! RING!!!
Click!
I woke up with a start and looked at my clock. The clock reads in bright red letters at 7:30. I sighed with relief and rubbed my eyes. It took me a while to realize that I was still in the Season Hotel. I got up and quickly did my morning routine. Then quickly went to the closet, grabbed my bag, and put it on my bed. I opened my bag and took a long stare at it for a few minutes. Within the bag lay my essentials: street clothes, my journal for keeping tabs on the world and my life, my wallet, which contained some Gilt I saved from my hometown, and last but not least, a set of robes that I’d been saving till today. The robes are a gift from a monk who taught me how to use my Aura. They were crafted from raw ores, combined with the use of Alchemy and a special material called Yendos String. After my long stare, I grabbed my robes, quickly changed, then looked at myself in the mirror.
The robes were colored beautifully with a combination of cobalt blue, diamond white, and a silvery hue that was achieved through the use of the mixture of raw ores woven together to create this piece. This also provides excellent defense and other effects. I drew a smile from my face, grabbed my jacket, and was about to head out the door when I suddenly heard a mysterious voice.
Be careful, Xia. Everything is about to change.
I quickly looked around to find the speaker but to no avail. That was weird... I thought, then headed out the door.
* * *
When I head to the bottom floor by elevator. I didn’t realize that I was the only person to get here early. When I looked around though, I noticed there was a giant sign that was on the front desk. The sign read as follows:
All applicants must head to the Pathos Field to do the Exam.
Xia!” I turned around and saw Gadge and Riku were waiting for me. Gadge was still wearing his T-shirt and short blue jacket, except he was carrying a satchel and a belt containing various tools and items. Riku still wore his black robes and jeans, but I didn’t see any changes in his gear. I walked to them with a wave of my own. “So I guess we're all here,” I said.
“Yeah, by the looks of it,” said Riku.
I looked around the crowd and said “I can’t believe there are so many applicants, I thought not many people want to take these exams.”
“What makes you say that?”
“Well, think about it. Not many people succeed in the exam due to the trials that were held to get into the school.”
The school that we were talking about is Ouruto Private High. It is one of the hardest high schools to get to. The reason why is because of the Heroes Exams. What sucks about it is that this is the only way for someone to attend this school. Not only that, The Exams are one of the toughest of all. Sure, class exams and state exams are difficult enough as it is, but it isn’t like that, not this one.
The Heroes Exams pits you and other applicants into trials that rely not only on your intelligence but also on your strength, speed, and even your Aura. Failure to meet these requirements, including passing the trials will cause you to fail, or worse. These tests are not only worldwide but also have a low rate of students/Heroes due to their challenging difficulty. I did plenty of reading, and it was disturbing in some cases. In Year 15, Day 120, 1,000 applicants came to complete the Heroes Exam until seven days later, only about 204 applicants managed to pass. In Year 17, Day 90, 300 applicants came. Only 91 applicants made it out.
Given the statistics, only 20% completed the exam, just to only attend this school. A slim to none chance of being accepted to the most prestigious schools of all time. 80% failed or died during the event. I looked around the crowd and realized these people weren’t just here for the experience; they all knew the risks were high when doing this. We all know. I know.
“This is true,” Gadge said. “But, think about it. There must be a reason for going through the exam.”
“Yeah. But what?”
“I don’t know. But I think we will know the answer when the time comes.”
At the end of his sentence, a loud gong echoed throughout the forest. All of the murmurings from the applicants stopped in silence, causing everyone to look around at what will happen next. A few minutes passed before an elegant voice was spoken: “Well, Is everyone here?” The whole crowd looked around, trying to see what the voice was when the voice spoke again: “Over here!”
We all looked to see an aged man in a wheelchair, wearing a gray suit and tie. The old man looked to be in his mid-30s, despite his hair being slightly gray and his face covered with a grayed-out goatee. I couldn’t tell what he was wearing for pants, because the man had covered it with a blanket. Weird.
“Hello,” said the man. “My name is Mr. Chen, and I will be your examiner for this year's exam. Now, before we begin, I want to give everyone this very warning, and it is not to take this trial lightly. As you already know in the past, this exam is one of the deadliest to date in history, and to be honest: not many of you will make it through these trials. So, before we start, I am giving you this one chance to walk away or stay. Keep in mind, if you choose to stay, then you are beyond this point where there is no return.” He looked at his watch: “I’ll give you about...mmm five minutes, to make your decision.”
Nobody moved a muscle, not even me. I realized that if I just walked away, I wouldn’t get injured or die. But in the back of my head, if I choose to walk away, there’s no reward, only fear. If I don’t risk it, then there is no progress, just wasted time. No. I won't walk away, I came too far to do this. I kept shouting in my head while preventing the urge to leave.
After about five minutes, Mr. Chen perked up a smile behind his goatee, clapped his hands, and said: “Well then, let the First Trial begin!”