Location: En route to xxx island

Time: 11:05 AM

Thump~

The young man landed on the gangway connection before proceeding to enter the cabin in front. As the door opened, all eyes fell on him. Their gaze seemed to shift once again as a shadow loomed behind the young man, it was Cerberus.

Both walked in, Cerberus following after the young man like a giant guard dog. He threw glances around, his smile not leaving his face, a stark contrast against the serious expressions of most of the other occupants of the cabin.

“Why so serious?” Cerberus jokes, taking off his hat to reveal his face. Unlike his boisterous personality, he has quite the elegant face. Strong jaws and a look that suggested he couldn’t be older than twenty five.

The young man finally arrived at a table, he couldn’t find anyone that was empty, but he found one that was manageable. It was already occupied by 2 others; Black Rose and Cilantro.

“What a coincidence, we are all together once again. This must be fate.” Cerberus chuckled as he took a seat. The young man did the same, maintaining his silence as he watched the area.

Many of the occupants in the cabin were dressed the same way, long coats, hats that covered at least half their faces with some even going as far as to wear masks and a few even added gloves. Anything to hide as much as possible about their identities.

Cerberus' lack of awareness seemed to put a lot of them off and they stared at him with open hostility. He didn’t mind though, instead, he kept talking and talking without a care in the world, laughing at his own jokes when no one seemed to be listening.

Cilantro on the other hand was cradling his right arm which seemed to have been reset. It was basic knowledge for most of those in this train.

Brzzzz~

The sound of speakers clearing up filed not just this cabin but the other four cabins, attracting the attention of all occupants.

[Good day to you all, and congratulations on making it this far.] The voice began. It was an androgynous voice and from the tone, it sounded like whoever was behind the speakers was extremely bored of what they were doing.

[Honestly, this is just the beginning, so there’s really nothing to be proud of. Right now, the second test is about to begin.]

None of the occupants voice out a word, instead, they adjusted their searing postures, ready for whatever way to come.

In order to be on this train, one has to have proven themselves as the most outstanding candidates from their respective squads. That amount of skill comes with a certain amount of maturity and confidence.

[If you look below your seats, you’ll find a small component, within is a body suit.] Everyone began checking underneath their seats, confirming the existence of the compartment and opening it.

The young man did the same, pulling out the black bodysuit. Just from a casual glance, one could tell it covered everywhere from the next to the ankle, leaving out only the head, hands and feet.

[Take off everything on your person, including weapons and place them in the compartment. You have five minutes to do that.]

At this, there were a few who hesitated. Although they’ve been trained in many forms of combat and strategic manoeuvres, getting naked in a train cabin filled with strangers didn’t sit well with them.

“Hahaha, what’s there to worry about? We’ll get to see it all sooner or later anyways.” Cerberus laughed loudly as he stood up, taking off his coat before proceeding to the rest of his clothing until he was stark naked.

He raised his head to see that the other three sitting with him were doing the same thing. Seeing them taking the lead, many began to do the same thing, revealing their faces.

This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

A few even stared, taking in the view. Among the candidates, there were those that were particularly stunning, one especially, Black Rose, with her white hair and porcelain skin stunned many. Her figure was amazing and she was well endowed.

She didn’t mind the looks, instead proceeding to get naked before putting on the body suit.

Cilantro also attracted a few gaze but for another reason. Long black hair, handsome features and a tattoo of a tri-stalk lily blooming from his clean shaven pubic area and hugging his lean torso and climbing up to his neck. It was a sight that many weren’t used to.

As former military members, they had a code to stick by. There were certain ways of dressing and certain things they didn’t do, not due to a law but more of a moral code. Yet here was one of them, looking like the son of a Yakuza.

Cilantro earned quite the share of hostile gazes but he ignored them, massaging his slightly purple shoulder before proceeding to wear the body suit.

The young man waited for a few moments, noting the reaction of the others before joining the madness. He seemed to always take note of his surroundings before proceeding to do anything else.

His fedora went first, revealing his features for the first time. Green eyes, soft features and espresso skin tone, he looked younger than many had assumed, most likely not even a day older than twenty.

His coat, vest and shirt went off next, a gasp escaped one of the female participants lips, attracting the attention of almost everyone to his direction.

“Well, isn’t this shocking.” Cerberus chuckled slowly, the seriousness evident on his face. Not even he had expected to see something like this.

Cilantro looked at the young man, a peculiar glint in his eyes. Black rose was entirely unbothered.

The young man didn’t even seem to notice the eyes of everyone on his and he took off his shoes and pants, exposing his bare lithe body to the masses.

His physique was on the lighter side, but his compact, lean and extremely toned muscles told of the effort he placed into sculpting his body. But his good features and amazing body wasn’t the reason for the stares. Many were better looking and had even better bodies.

No, what attracted the attention of all was the tattoo on his back. A black widow in all its obsidian glory cradled within a crimson spider lily, an artwork like no other, so vivid, it might as well have been a picture attached to his back.

Every detail, from the little bristling hairs of the spider to the fragile stalks of the spider lily, everything was perfectly crafted. It was a masterpiece.

“Tsk...” Cilantro clicked his tongue. He didn’t bear any hostility towards the young man, instead, he was annoyed at how hypocritical the other candidates were. Many of them had been hostile to him because he had a tattoo, yet they stood, marveling at the one on the young man’s back.

“I don’t blame them, it’s beautiful.” Cerberus chuckled. The crowd stared for a while longer, only snapping out of their trance and looking away when the young man covered up his back with the body suit.

[One minute left, I hope you wore the body suit well.] The voice sounded once again, this time a bit of amusement within.

Some of the candidates suddenly realised that they have been staring at the tattoo for so long, they forgot about the time limit. They began rushing but not all of them made it in time.

Tszzz~

The moment the five minutes was up, a buzzing sound filled the cabin, followed by yelping and grunting filled the cabin as a few of the unfortunate ones fell to the ground, unconscious.

[Well, I warned you.] The voice chuckled, [it is never not funny.]

A slight tension filled the cabin.

Bang~ Chang~

Everyone immediately raised their guard as jamming sounds filled the cabin, the slight tension in the air rising exponentially. They all looked towards the source to see that a metallic plate had covered every window of the cabin. The cabin immediately became several shades darker, just enough to see but not enough to read.

[Well, looks like it’s time for the second phase of the second test.] The voice has a gleeful undertone to it, one that made those that have been noticing the change in the voice, tense.

[The bodysuits you are wearing have a simple function, it calculates damage. Once you have received enough damage, it deems you useless and sends a shock through your spine, knocking you unconscious as you’ve seen with the other idiots that couldn’t even put on a bodysuit.]

Choo~ Choo~

The train honked, making a few participants flinch. The tension was ever increasing, a few participants began putting distance between themselves. A few already had an idea of what the test was going to be, they were just waiting to confirm it.

[Your next test is simple; there are currently way too many candidates and we need to reduce y’all as much as possible. In thirty minutes, we are going to arrive at the base. Before then, you are to reduce the number of participants by half.]

Bstzzz~

Another shocking sound filled the room as a few more participants fell to the floor unconscious, increasing the tension in the air.

[Weapons of any kind are not allowed. I wish you best of luck, and your time starts now.]