Sparring. For the most part, the idea was to test an individual’s skill. Injuries of any kind were to be avoided and prevented if possible.

However, to the greymen, sparring was also a rite of passage. A chance to prove one’s worth as a warrior, and as such, their standards differed from those of the more ‘civilised’ races.

“Urk!!!” A man heaved and gasped after he was thrown back first into the ground, the air knocked out of his lungs. Upon his fall, a soft yet very much audible crack was heard, causing the onlookers to cringe at the thought of shattered bones and the pain that came with it.

The hearty laughter from Magor only made things worse, even if he only did so when someone impressed him or at least lived up to his expectations. In that, Avali had also discovered that the greyman did not think much of the other races, and why would he? Humans, dwarves, elves, beastkin - they were all insects in the face of the descendant of Goliath. That was, at least, when not factoring in the possession of Egos.

As it had turned out, the fourth, fifth and sixth rankers in team K all possessed Egos. The fourth ranked, a gruff human named Gregor that seemed to be a soldier or mercenary, had a ‘Gorilla Strength Ego’, allowing him to increase his strength to that of said animal. Avali had heard of such creatures, but had never seen one. She could only assume that it was impressive given the smile Magor had when they sparred.

The fifth ranked was a woman in her thirties called June, able to conjure walls of stone with little effort. Finally, the sixth was an older man with a hunched back and darker skin. His name was Asad. He was able to create and manipulate tongues of flame like tendrils.

Given their abilities, the three were all placed into the starting line up alongside the second ranked Magor and the first ranked amber-eyed man who for some reason he did not test. Avali could not help but feel that was unfair, but she was under no illusion that she was lacking when it came to battle experience.

Fights in the slums were nothing compared to the wider world, that much was certain even from the small display Magor put up. Perhaps the greyman simply saw something she did not. Either way, that was the least of her worries.

“Should I give it a shot…?” Avali wondered as she watched a woman receive the same treatment as the man before her, thrown onto the ground with a loud thud. The hulking greyman certainly did not discriminate.

The young slumrat shook her head. “I feel like he might actually shatter all my bones.”

She was never the strength or endurance type. If anything, she was the pickpocket that could snatch things from under the noses of merchants and get away with it. What good was that when she had to fight people who could burn her alive with a flick of their fingers?

“Maybe if I had my own Ego, I would be able to compete.” Such was the disparity of life. Avali resigned herself to watch the others go ahead.

An hour later, the ten who would be participating in the first match against team Y were finalised. As the sparring had made clear, the top six would be participating. The third rank’s participation was somewhat out of the blue however, as no one had seen the seaweed-haired man’s do anything. Although he was ranked 2,050th, no one had a clue as to what skills he had, except that he could sleep really well, all throughout the thunderous thuds and cracked backs of the spars. That said, since Magor was the one to fill and announce the list, no one made a comment.

As for the other four members, they were filled in by those in the top twenty, namely the twelfth, fourteenth, fifteenth and sixteenth rankers. Those higher ranked than them but did not get selected were, according to the greyman, too lacking in combat experience and strength. Obviously, they were not all too happy about his comments, but had no way to challenge him otherwise.

The group dispersed soon after that, each person or smaller groups going their own way. Avali, understanding her own weakness, was just about to head towards the training rooms when a tap on her shoulder stopped her in her tracks.

“Hey there. Mind if we talk for a second?” The man said with a friendly smile.

“What do you want?” Avali asked, aloof. Her eyes darted to his emblem, noting his rank of 47,283.

The man scratched his head sheepishly. “Ah, I was just wondering if you’d like to join us.”

He gestured to a group of ten people nearby. At a glance, Avali saw that they were all lower ranked, the highest of them just breaking into the thirty thousands. Their intentions seemed clear. The weak shall join hands against the strong. Unfortunately, she also knew that this type of union rarely worked out. What was there to bind them except for their mutual weakness? Would anyone really stick their neck out for a ‘friend’ made through that type of bond?

“I’ll think about it.” Avali replied, not wanting to directly refuse in case she antagonised them. She may not have thought much of the weak, but she was also one of them. That was why she had to improve as quickly as possible.

‘A place of opportunity’, that was what Black Box was.

The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there.

“Hey, Z. Don’t you think that girl’s really interesting?”

Following Lavenna’s finger, Zexus’ eyes zoned in on the figure of Avali departing the living quarters. There was little notable about the young woman at a glance. She had brown hair, a face with smudges of dirt, a height of one hundred and seventy centimetres, and a body that was on the leaner side. Aside from her surprisingly blue eyes, she looked like every other street urchin or pickpocket.

That said, he did sense a faint and odd flow of mana from her. If everyone else was a river running downhill, exerting their mana in a constant stream, then she was a miniature whirlpool that had somehow stuck itself halfway down the slope. She possessed mana like every other living organism, of that there was no doubt, and yet it was different, caving in on itself, eating up and suppressing her own presence into the abyss that was her Soul.

“She has an odd Soul.” Zexus said with a thoughtful look. “A natural born shadow walker perhaps.”

“Oh, I was thinking more along the lines of an assassin, but that works too.” The Kitsune grinned. “Either way, don’t you think she’ll be useful?”

Zexus shrugged as he stood. “I can’t say. Her body isn’t all that developed. Judging from her specs, she isn’t ready to participate yet.”

Lavenna frowned at him, incredulous. “Please don’t ever say anything along the lines of ‘her body is not all that developed’ ever again. It’s creepy as all the Hells combined.”

“Is it?” The amber-eyed man went on his way out the door and headed towards the training rooms with his companion following in tow. “I don’t see it.”

“Now you’re just fucking with me. But, just in case you aren’t, the level of creepiness isn’t based solely on your opinion. Just trust me on this.”

The following day came quickly and from early morning, the teams who were scheduled to participate were all called to head down to the lowest floor of the block. Team K, having been scheduled for two in the afternoon, had a bit of time to spare before they were sent down.

When their turn came, tension thick as blood permeated the air as they descended the stairwell. Even those who were not participating felt nervous, although many of them did not understand why. Perhaps it was the consequence of defeat, or perhaps it was the fact that their fate was outside their hands. Perhaps it was the fear that they will go even lower in ranks due to their complete lack of performance.

Regardless of which it was, the group managed to make their way without issue into their assigned room. There, a pair of women in a black suits awaited them by a door. They had identical features consisting of a head of dark hair and brown eyes.

“Welcome, team K, to the waiting room.” The woman on the left greeted them and gestured to the door behind her. The archway was painted in blue. “Those who are participating in the match, please step through here and into the arena.”

“Those who are not participating will need to wait here. Substitutions can be made by the ‘leader’ at any point during the game and will go through the same door.” The rightside woman motioned to the many seats and lounges in the area before pointing at the sleek rectangular boards of darkened metal decorating the walls. “The match can be viewed through these screens. If you have any other questions, feel free to ask us.”

“Leader?”

“Who are you?” Someone in team K blurted out.

The two women exchanged looks, tilting their heads in confusion with the same timing and angle. It was disconcerting, to say the least, even when taking their fairy-like beauty into account.

“We are merely attendants.” They said simultaneously, their voices building on one another. “Our purpose is to provide the contestants information. Will the ten representatives of team K please go through now. The match will begin in eight six seconds.”

Zexus raised a brow at their words, but made no comment as he followed the other nine people through the door. He glanced back at Lavenna, who sent him off with a wave and cheerful smile.

Stepping through a dark tunnel towards the light on the other side, the ten representatives soon found themselves in a completely different environment.

“What the…?” Zexus heard the fourth rank Gregor mutter to the sound of chirping birds and buzzing insects coming from what appeared to be a humid jungle.

Around them dense foliage of exotic plants obscured their vision, surrounding the flag planted in the centre of the small clearing. Above, through the small branches of tall trees bearing strange red fruit the size of watermelons, was the sight of a full moon and starry night sky. The only thing that seemed out of place was the massive screen next to the disc of light, displaying a score of ‘0-0’ and a timer counting down from sixty minutes.

“Were we teleported?” June the stonewall mage questioned, her head turning left and right as the group subconsciously huddled together.

The top three, however, stood on their own, observing the environment with varied expressions. Zexus was stoic. The seaweed man had an amused smile. Magor was on alert but exuded an air of calm.

“This is rather interesting.” Zexus thought as he turned to the flag just a few paces ahead. Red in colour, the flag was not made of cloth or any physical material. Aside from the short pole of steel with the thickness of a spear handle, the flag itself was holographic. Nothing more than a projection of red bearing the letter ‘K’.

Walking up to the key component of the match, Zexus observed the item for a moment before reaching out and pulling. The pole did not budge.

He glanced at his Holobracelet. “They can only be pulled out by the opposing team it seems.”

Walking around the clearing and continuing to observe the environment, he listened to Magor address the other members. “It seems we have been dropped into a random area. No matter, the plan remains largely the same.”

“Just as we planned. We will have five people on defense. June and Asad will lead them.” The greyman ordered, having become the leader of the makeshift warband. “The rest will go on the offensive. We will first scout out the enemy flag location and report back here. Then, we will attack with a joint assa-”

A rustling in the bushes to the right of the entrance cut the greyman off.

The attention of everyone in team K immediately turned towards the source of the noise.

“Oh? Is that it?” A young woman stepped out from the foliage, casually picking leaves out of her chin-length silver hair. Her half-lided eyes, bright as the moon emitting threads of golden light, scanned the gathered crowd almost with indifference and a sense of boredom.

“222nd.” Zexus noted the outfit on her clothes as the rest of team K gathered around the flag. Magor took up the vanguard, facing down the girl from team Y that had somehow discovered them within minutes upon arrival.

“How did she find us so quickly?”

His unspoken question would be answered in the very next moment.

“So...I just have to take that to win, right?” The girl’s question did not seem to be directed at anyone in particular. She scratched her head, her eyes seemingly in a daze. “Hm… that’s a lot of people. What a hassle.”

Without a hint of emotion in her dull voice or motion in her body, the silver-haired girl dashed forward like a bolt of lightning. A gust of wind followed in her wake, buffetting the defenders. While the others shielded their eyes and body from a potential attack, Zexus’ eyes followed the blur through the air, watching her as she slipped under Magor and swiped the flag. When the dust settled, the silver-haired girl was now behind team K.

“Neat.” The team X girl said. She then looked at the shocked opposition and stuck out her tongue before disappearing again.

All of this occurred in the span of five seconds, and by the end of it, the only evidence of the girl ever being there was a trail of footprints that led into the jungle depths.

Zexus, calm as dewmist in the evening sky, narrowed his eyes.

“The Wind’s Grace Ego.”