They arrived at the test site about ten minutes before the first bell tolled. There was one other team that arrived near the same time as them. The rest of the groups, big and small, had been waiting for hours and were barely staying awake. The other team looked haughty and proud until they noticed they weren’t the only ones to have the advantage.
Once they settled, many of the others’ eyes focused on them and it took Soral a moment to figure out why. It was Jazz. They were all looking at Jazz. Not only that, there was Flame with his brightly glowing wings of fire. The other contestants were almost exclusively human, and any that weren’t had no defining features to suggest otherwise.
Everyone only had a few minutes to size each other up before the gates of the testing zone opened and a rather large man walked out, followed by a team of four others. Rather than recruits, these were professionals from the way they walked to the equipment they used. The problem was every single one of them, save for the man in the lead, looked down on the contestants with a clear sense of disdain.
The large man introduced himself and began to explain the rules.
“May name is Ronav, the leader of the Mac Mercenaries in charge of your test here today,” he told them, “Before we begin I will go over the simplest and most vital rules every mercenary test must follow.”
Soral locked his eyes onto Ronav and resolved to pay complete attention so he didn’t miss anything. He wasn’t the only one, but there were still those who were impatient and did not wish to waste time on some lecture of rules.
“If any of these rules are broken, not only will the offender be disqualified, their entire team will as well. If these rules are broken three times, your team will be blacklisted and will never become mercenaries,” Ronav explained, shooting a stinging glare at those who were yawning or showing disinterest in his speech, “The first rule should be easy enough. Do not break any laws during your test. No mercenary should be breaking laws anyway.”
It was a good thing Soral had studied the laws of Farfalle before the test. Most of the laws were standard but there were a few of the odder variety. For instance, it was a criminal offense to insult pasta, as well as some other local cuisine. Storm had warned the entire team about how seriously the kingdom of Farfalle took their food, so none of them should have any issues with that.
“The second rule should also be simple, but every year, there are always contestants who think their reason is more important than the rules every kingdom’s mercenary test must follow,” Ronav continued. His tone had become sharper as he spoke. “I will warn you now, there are no exceptions. Leaving the test early will result in an immediate failure for you and your entire team. If you have any reason you may need to leave, I suggest you leave now before the test begins.”
No one moved. Ronav didn’t seem to have expected anyone to. His eyes locked for a moment with Soral’s then at Jazz who sat at his feet. He then turned his gaze to every sloucher and leaner in the plaza.
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“This last rule is one we have problems with every test. The founder of the mercenary test considered this the most important rule of the three. No one may bring any provisions, supplies, or gear inside the test grounds. You have one hour to find a place to stash them and meet back here. However, the longer you take the more you will miss. During this hour I will be explaining the particulars of the test to those who remain.”
Shouts of protest immediately filled the air. Not only would the hour itself be tight to safely store their gear and supplies, every second they spent away from the plaza they would be missing out on vital information. After Ronav didn’t budge, many teams split, leaving one to listen to the instructions, or sending one poor soul to take care of their gear and provisions by themself.
Luckily, Soral didn’t have anything to worry about. The majority of their provisions were in his pocket, and the rest of their gear could easily be stored there as well. Even if he abandoned his pocket somewhere, no one else could access it and it would be easy to make a replacement. He quickly collected everyone’s weapons. No one had brought much else besides their clothes to the test site to begin with.
Ruena had been a bit hesitant to part with her staff, but it did mean that none of them had to leave the plaza. It also meant several of the other teams had noticed where everything had gone, and one of them was brave enough to call foul.
“Sir! He just put everything into his pocket! That means he will be bringing everything inside.”
Ronav looked at Soral again and held out his hand. “I am going to need you to hand over your vest,” he ordered.
Since he had no reason to refuse, Soral obediently handed it over. When none of them seemed concerned with the loss of the pocket that held all of their valuables, another group spoke up, emboldened by the prior success.
“What about the cat, sir? Surely pets are not allowed.”
“They are not,” Ronav agreed, “But that cat is not a pet. It is their head of espionage.”
That sent a wave of shocked mutters through the remaining crowd. Most of them were in disbelief that Ruena had allowed a cat to be registered, but the one group who came near the same time as them seemed to realize what that meant.
“That cat is an official member of their team?” their team lead asked.
“It is,” Ronav confirmed, “Now, if you are done finding fault with your competitors I will begin to explain the details of the test.”
That made everyone go silent and Ronav was able to talk freely. First, he went over the basics. They would be tested on all of the base requirements needed to be a mercenary. Teamwork, survival, combat, tracking, and information gathering.
Each category had a certain amount of points, and a team needed a total of one hundred points to pass the test. Each category had twenty-five points available, however Ronav told them they would get an additional twenty-five points if they were able to find the secret of the mercenary test. In other words, that secret would grant them an immediate fifty points.
On the inside of the test grounds, there was a landscape they would need to survive in. Each team needed to find and secure a safe place for their team to stay and work out of for the entirety of the test. Good locations could be fought for, but they needed to follow the laws of honorable duels. It went without saying that if anyone should die, it would be treated as a full murder investigation.
Ronav also went over the difference between foul play and competition. Competition was tricking your opponents to break the rules. Foul play was forcing them to. Foul play would be an instant blacklisting for every person involved and a disqualification for all of their teams. Why would anyone risk so much just to root out competition in a points based system? If only three teams remained at the end of the test, that would be a bonus fifty points to each of them.
In other words, even if they flunked everything else, if they survived and found the secret they would pass. It was interesting, but Soral decided he wouldn’t be satisfied with just that. If he had counted correctly it was possible to earn a total of one hundred and fifty points. For Ruena to have the warriors she dreamed of, Soral intended to earn all of them.