Atlas Academy is the most prestigious school in the United States. The public thinks that the school is where training for the Space Exploration Force and the Underwater Exploration Force takes place. What they don’t know is, that Atlas Academy is where the world's elite military force trains to protect the world from Rifts. Rifts are gateways to other worlds and more often than not, other universes.
Making it into the selection process is no easy task and this year things appear to be even more difficult than they ever have been.
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“Welcome everyone to our first meeting of the new year. I wanted to thank you for coming on such short notice. We have a lot to cover, so let’s begin.” A tall, muscular man asked the room of teachers sitting before him.
“Our Rift program needs a complete overhaul. New classes, new self-defense instructors, new everything. The core classes are functioning fine, but there is a change in the air we must account for,” a woman said as she wrote on top of a stack of papers.
We also need to overhaul the Mother Stone completely. The room is falling apart, and with the new funds we got that should be the first room that receives any updates.” A man with short blonde hair said seriously. As he spoke he slammed his fingers off of the table with an obnoxious smile on his face.
“That I agree with. One thing I think we need to discuss, because it’s coming up is the new entrance exams. We have the biggest list of potential students we’ve ever had.” Another woman spoke as she eyed the huge stack of papers in the corner of the room.
“The new exams are probably a little extreme but to put our top three classes together, plus the new Vanguard class. This will be our longest examination period to date. From this point forward, it will be all hands on deck, so let’s get to work.” The man at the head of the table grinned as he stood up.
“Okay okay hang on a second. Let’s get everything organized so that we can keep a proper record of this meeting.” A blonde woman sighed as she struggled to keep up with the conversations happening.
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“Okay, starting from the top, our Rift Program needs to be changed completely. We lost four students to the Mother Stone last year so we have to be much more careful when choosing the people who will receive abilities. Furthermore, I agree with Cass when she said that we have to fix the room that the Mother Stone is held in.” The tall man at the head of the table said as he watched the blonde woman typing on her laptop.
“Thank you for breaking that down Mark.” The blonde woman mumbled as she continued typing.
“To continue around the table, Charlie what exactly did you want to overhaul with Rift Program?” Mark asked the woman.
“We need new instructors, I can’t keep doing the majority of the Rift Course teaching. I would also like to get more trainers that can aid in the self-defense courses. If we can I would appreciate a complete overhaul of the program.” Charlie said as she checked her papers.
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“We can get a program overhaul going before the school year starts.” A man with short brown hair said as he spun his chair around a few times, “How did the tests change for the entrance exams?”
“Kato, we added another day of tests that are designed to test their personalities and see how they handle something seemingly random. The final two days are completely different. We have new shock weapons, enhanced training suits, and so much more. We are going to use this final day of training to put the classes together.” Mark told Kato as he leaned back in his chair.
“We will have Sarah overseeing everything and get this done with more care than ever before. The student selection process will take us an extra two weeks minimum. We also have to make sure to give the other students outside of the Rift Defenders the same amount of time and care. I can promise new teachers and upgrades to the building. That is why we will only be using the Training Hall for the training process.” Mark said as he rose from his chair and smiled at the teachers before him.
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Introduction Day
“Hello, students.” A woman spoke into a microphone. As she spoke she slid a few strands of black hair behind her ear.
“You’re sitting here today because you wish to be among the new crop of Rift Guardians, Travellers, or perhaps you wish to join the Vanguard Squad.”
“We have overhauled the tests, this will be the hardest year yet. Some of you are among the youngest we’ve ever had so make sure to pay attention. You can be injured here, but we will do our best to make sure you don’t die. Follow the instructions, score as many points as you can, and do your absolute best.”
The woman paused and gave the large group a big smile. Her beaming brown eyes darted around the many students. Everyone looked so focused, and nervous, and some looked determined.
“My name is Sarah and I’m your guidance counselor. For the next week, I’ll be guiding you through your tests. The first two days are dedicated to the written exams. There are 250 of you and by the end, that number will be cut to 150 or lower.”
“Once the written exams are done you will have a day of physical examination. Think, of an advanced version of the physical fitness test. Once that’s over, the last two days will be mission-based. Good luck everyone.” Sarah smiled, she was expecting more of a reaction but only a few people clapped. Others were nodding, writing, or sitting completely still.
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The first two days tested the student's mental capabilities and their mental health.
“This question is ridiculous.” A boy mumbled as he flipped through the pages of the packet, “You have the option to save two dogs or a kitten? Which do you save?”
“How about, you have six apples and you give away five apples? In 2 sentences describe why you gave away your apples.” A girl sighed as she tapped her pencil off of the paper.
“Shh.” A young man two rows ahead grumbles. He didn’t want to risk being thrown out of the test for speaking.
“Look around. The people watching over us don’t care if we talk.” A girl grumbled.
“True. It likely means that they’re testing for other things too.” The young man mumbled.
“If they don’t care that we talk, can you tell me the answer to uh question twenty? When you meet a queen for the first time, she tells you that her people require a sacrifice, do you sacrifice yourself or the captive you got from the previous Rift? Who do you sacrifice and why?” A boy mumbled out loud. He was asking anyone who was willing to answer.
“Uh, my twentieth question is, you enter a forbidden Rift with noble intentions but you break a leg. What leg would you rather break and why?” A girl sighed as she turned around to smile at the boy.
As the students chatted for a moment and filled in their papers, most of them decided to just answer as honestly as possible. Everyone was confused, but the atmosphere was light and everyone was feeling a little relaxed.
By the end of the first two days tests for Math, Science, History, Emotional Recognition, and much more had taken place. Over 6 hours each day were dedicated to these tests. Many students were ready to move on.
The students cut by the end of the first two days were cut based on their test scores in the core subjects. Math was the biggest challenge for many of the students but History and Prehistory knocked out a good chunk of students as well.
The other tests with random questions brought points up and bumped extra students into the next round. Those who left even one question blank were automatically eliminated.