Two sirens of different pitches winded around each other, combining together to create the perfect apocalypse nightmare alarm.
It seemed Z wasn’t the only one who thought this way. Isacc jumped so high when the alarm sounded that his head almost hit the ceiling. Then, he shrieked perhaps even louder than the siren itself. Z winced at the assault on his ears
Before long, Isacc was leaping out of bed and struggling to pull on his uniform. Z made a face and groggily turned over in his sheets, desperately trying to ignore the ear-bleeding sound bounding about in the room.
His not-so-peaceful moment was interrupted when Isacc practically yanked him off his mattress, his wide violet eyes blinking down at him as he shoved Z’s uniform into his arms. “Put it on, now! Hurry, we’re gonna be late!”
Z cursed, tripping over his legs as he attempted to scoot out of bed and pull his trousers on at the same time. “Late for what? The hell is going on?” Isacc didn’t reply, too busy messing with his hair in a futile attempt to look professional. By the time he registered Z’s question, the dark-haired boy was already fully dressed and struggling to button his shirt up.
Isacc grabbed his arm, yanking him out of their shared room. “Are you kidding me? Didn’t you listen to the instructions? They were given every day during the week-long arrival period,” Isacc said, desperately tapping on his band to get it to navigate to the test site. Z shook his head. “I was knocked out almost the entire time.”
Isacc groaned. “Ah, that’s right. You’re mister sleepyhead.” He let out a whoop of joy as a blue arrow finally popped up on the ground beneath him. “Now we’re talking!”
The two ran as Isacc quickly gave Z a rundown of the tests. “Okay, so the first test is the physical test. It’s your standard fitness test, ya know? They’ll measure you on your reflexes, stamina, strength, flexibility, agility, and of course-” Isacc slowed to a stop.
The two guard candidates had arrived inside the arena they’d entered through, except now it seemed to serve as an open gymnasium of sorts. The large set of bleachers surrounding them was now filled with rich nobility that seemed to be placing bets on the candidates. There was a large holographic projection of a timer in the middle of the gym, counting down from 3… 2…. 1…. 0.
“-speed,” Isacc finished, out of breath. The moment the timer hit zero, a large heat shield surrounded the building, effectively shutting the few latecomers out of the gym.
Z could hear wails of misery from outside the shield, but he ignored them, effectively mesmerized by the sheer grandeur of the arena. It seemed the entire testing ground had a theme of ‘Tipu’, as the bleachers where the nobles sat were now laced with vines and shrubbery.
Wai guards stood behind the nobles, creating a cool mist to keep them from heating up under the laser sun. The candidates, unfortunately, did not have such a luxury.
Isacc let go of Z’s hand and gestured for the taller boy to follow him. Z complied, and the two joined a cluster of people in front of a tall woman, likely the exam proctor. She had bright red hair and fiery eyes, with a face that seemed to shift every time she turned her head. Z huffed in awe. Light manipulation.
As they slowed to a stop, Isacc whispered with a grin. “Actually, don’t tell anyone I told you this, but there’s a hidden objective in every test.” He wagged his eyebrows with a smirk. “Think about it- what traits aren’t being explicitly tested?”
The woman raised a hand and silence fell over the chattering candidates. “I am told you all were already given the details of the first test. In that case, we will begin promptly.” She turned her head upwards to nod at a woman with bright purple hair that flowed down her shoulders. The woman nodded back at the Fiamme, standing up and snapping her fingers.
The guard candidates watched mesmerized as seats began to rise from the floor, accompanied by a multitude of gear such as punching bags, dumbbells, and even a boxing ring made of marble and twine. A gravel road rose up from under the dirt, stretching out across the arena to form a small racing track.
The Fiamme seemed almost proud at the crowd’s awe, her nose turned up in glee. “Alright, alright,” she exclaimed, clapping her hands together. “That’s enough, settle down now.”
She paused to click a button on her wristband. Almost immediately, dings went off in the crowd of guard candidates as each of their bands lit up to project a number between one and twenty.
“Separate yourself into your groups according to your number. There should be around thirty people in each group, so if there are more, then one of you is in the wrong place. If there’s less,” a sinister grin crawled onto her face. “… then consider yourself lucky as your chances of passing just went up.”
Murmurs erupted throughout the candidates as they sorted into their groups. Z nodded goodbye to an enthusiastic Isacc, who bounded off to join Group 6. He looked down at his wristband to see a bright yellow 20 shining at him. Dead last huh? Fitting. He looked over at the other people assigned 20, and— oh.
Aalto fucking Floa. The naughty little prince. He was staring Z down like a hawk eyeing its prey. Or, well, more like a ruffled hawk whose prey had come back to life after he’d snapped its neck. Z smirked at him, confidently walking towards him, his eyes flashing with mirth.
The blonde avoided his gaze, causing Z to laugh dryly. Oh, how the mighty fall. Before he could say or do anything, their proctor spoke up, her voice bouncing in the air gleefully.
Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.
“As you all know, this is a test based on your physical ability. What you don’t know is that only half of you will pass this test.” Panicked faces scattered as everyone took a glance at each other, checking out the competition.
The proctor hummed apathetically. “Take a look at the people you’re standing with right now. They’re the ones you’re competing with. Only 15 people from each group are permitted to advance. If you had any friends in your group, you no longer do.”
Some faces grew more panicked while some relaxed knowing they weren’t competing with their buddies. Z glanced over at Group 6 to find Isacc already staring at him. The redhead winked, giving him two thumbs up. Z ignored him, turning his attention back to the proctor, who giggled at the emerging chaos.
She clapped her hands twice, and twenty adults wearing yellow uniforms materialized behind her. “Meet your testers, AKA the people who decide who passes and who fails, so be nice okay? There is a total of five tests. You will be scored out of 10 on each of them, and those scores will be added to form your final grade. The top 15 grades from each group pass! Simple enough, right? Great! Let’s begin.”
The proctor clapped her hands excitedly and instantly disintegrated into ashes. A young man wearing a yellow shirt with the number 20 on it stepped toward Z’s group.
He briefly introduced himself as their tester and motioned for them to follow him to the racing track. The man sat down at a simple wooden desk next to the track, making a clipboard materialize in front of him. “Five at a time please,” he drawled, motioning towards the race track.
A few volunteers who were confident in their abilities, one of them Aalto, stepped up to compete. Lined up in a horizontal row, they each claimed one of the five lanes to race on. All of them seemed nervous, yet excited to be there at the same time.
Z turned away from the runners as they began their race, staring off into the distance as he lost himself in thought. A moment later, his wristband buzzed with a message from Isacc. ‘You figure it out yet?’ Z dismissed the message, narrowing his eyes.
He didn’t know what the hidden test was, and he didn’t care. With Z’s abilities, there was no way he would fail the physical tests. He would be better off worrying about how to pass the elemental ones. Still, his mind wandered, contemplating what Isacc could’ve meant.
Every single test here had an indefinite way to be measured. In a race, you’re measured by time. In a fight, you’re measured by whether you win or lose. In strength, by the amount you can lift. So if the results are decided solely based on your own merit, why did the proctor say that the testers were the ones who decide whether you pass or fail?
Z watched as the first batch of runners made it to the finish line, Aalto finishing first with a wide grin on his face. The answer, of course, was that there was a hidden condition. One that the testers decided whether or not you completed well. It was likely the same one that Isacc told him about.
The boy examined his surroundings for any hints. All he saw were depressed instructors, annoyingly optimistic guard candidates, and a whole lot of sweat. The boy groaned, scratching at his temple. All this thinking made his head hurt. Who the hell cares about some hidden objective? He could just bulldoze his way through these tests.
“Alright, next group, line up for the race!”
“I’ll go.” Z stepped up confidently, deciding to just get the race over with. Seeing his boldness, a couple of other candidates stepped up as well. One of them was a beautiful young girl with curly auburn hair that glowed in the sunlight.
She winked at Z, casually standing next to him on the track. “I see you found the hidden objective,” she giggled, bringing her hand up to cover her mouth. “I almost thought you wouldn’t! You know, it was quite cute the way you were pacing around trying to figure it out.”
Z blinked at her. He didn’t figure out shit. But she didn’t need to know that. Deciding not to grace her with a response and make himself look stupid, he turned his eyes to the track, a blank stare steady on the horizon in front of him.
“Ready? Go!” The other racers took off, feet landing with loud thuds on the gravel floor as they pushed their bodies to the limit. It was almost comedic, considering the slow speed at which they were running.
Z walked forward casually, giving the others a good head start to the race. The instructor stared at him curiously while his group members murmured amongst themselves. The boy smirked. Even if he couldn’t figure out the hidden objective, he could surely blow the competition out of the water.
The auburn-haired girl snickered as she practically glided across the track, scorching the ground in her way. “Well,” she hummed as she passed him, “It’s a good thing you’re smart. Otherwise, you would never have passed.”
A muscle in Z’s eye twitched. This bitch was starting to get on his nerves. Taking a deep breath, he glanced at the other candidates to see that most were about halfway done with the track. The girl from before quickly made her way to the front, a confident smile on her face.
Z grinned. He was about to crush her spirits. The boy took a deep breath, crouching down to the ground. The candidates that weren’t running watched him, some with expectant looks, some with faces of scorn. Z paid them no mind.
When the wind hit his face at just the right angle, he took off, leaving a trail of dust in his wake. He couldn’t hear anything but the flapping of the wind and the beating of his heart as he pushed his legs to the limits.
He passed the other racers easily, the auburn-haired girl staring at him with a jaw-slacked mouth as he flew by, shooting her a smirk. In record time, he passed the finish line, but he didn’t stop there. Z continued to speed up, his muscles burning as he looped around the arena once more, making it to the finish line once again seconds after the annoying girl did.
Finally, he skidded to a stop, wiping at the sweat dripping down his chin and resting his hands on his knees. The thrumming of his veins echoed in his mind, along with the shouts from the watching members of his group. Even though he was their competition, they still cheered out of sheer awe.
Z smirked triumphantly as he made his way to the instructor, who chuckled at the ground. “Impressive, Mr. Akol. You’ve won both first and third.”
***
“Wowww! That was thrilling!” Z ignored the girl who sidled up to him as they walked to the next test. “You really had me fooled with the whole ‘taking it easy’ thing!” She giggled, covering her mouth with her hand. “I almost thought you were a goner with how slow you were going at the beginning!”
A nerve was starting to throb in Z’s head. This girl… she didn’t know when to stop did she?
Despite Z’s unresponsiveness, the girl chattered on. “I honestly didn’t think you would pass the test, considering how late you discovered the hidden condition and how wimpy you look. But man, did you prove me wrong. I’m sure you got the highest score!”
Z stopped in his tracks, turning to face her directly. “Listen, I don’t know who you are or what you want from me, but I’m not interested. Leave. Me. Alone.”
The girl’s face twisted into a wry smile. “Oh, but I reaaaally want to get to know you better! I think you’re just adorable!” Z scowled, breaking into a light jog to get just far enough away from her so he couldn’t hear her babbling.
The girl stayed behind for a couple of seconds, brown eyes flashing bright red. She stared blankly at the small of his back. “I’m also interested in why you have traces of my brother’s magic on you,” she murmured, “and why you’re alive despite it.”