Scene 3 - First Examination

With a click of his fingers, the doors opened up behind him, showing a lush pathway of trees and between them lay a stone path. Turning around, thunderbolt walked casually with both his hands behind his head. It seemed he didn’t care if the youths followed behind him as he only led the way.

The majority of the youths hesitated a tad bit before following him in, with the exception of a few individuals didn’t miss a beat. On the twisting and turning path, they walked along for a good thirty minutes before it broke off into a wide open area. The youths gazed in awe of a giant Greek-like temple.

The pillars and walls were made out of the purest white marble; though quite plain, the whole building had a calming effect on those who gazed upon its simple glory.

With two people guarding the entrance, they saw thunderbolt and paid their respects, “Greetings, elder brother Thunderbolt Shu!”

Nodding towards the two, he responded in kind, “Mhmm, good work juniors it’s time to open the trials again open the door.”

The massive doors opened, revealing a large, brightly lit, open, flat room with a single small stage in the back. Shu walked forward and jumped gliding towards a small stage, lazily he sat on the stage pulling an apple out of thin air.

Shu gazed at the crowds with half closed eyes and then ordered with a booming voice that every contestant could here, “Every one of you stand within the center of those squares those who do not will be disqualified!”

Everyone obeyed him and did as they were told; they didn’t want to anger this man. Besides, the squares were a meter long and two meters apart. Even placed so there were many more squares that could be filled, 7/10th to estimate.

Ten minutes later every contestant stood at attention waiting eagerly for the next order; at this time Shu had finished three apples and sat up lazily.

Musing to himself, ‘Oh~ There is a lot of hidden dragons, swimming in a pond of fish this year.’

Still sitting down, his body was now more directed at them; his voice boomed amongst the crowd of youths full of arrogance, “Yo youngins! Now that you're all settled in, I can now tell you about the first of three tests. I’ll be quick and only say it once so listen up!”

Almost as if their lives were on the line, a majority of youths had serious expressions. Which made Shu smirk, as it reminded him of the past when he took the examination test to enter.

Good times.

Continuing without missing a beat Shu began to explain, “The first test this time around is the labyrinth! Each of you will be sent to a different area in two’s or three’s. Know that the person next to you will most likely not be with you. To pass this test, you must rely on your wits, strength, adaptability, and courage.

Each of you will be given a single silver talisman to start with. To pass this test, the minimal requirement is to have one hundred of such copper ones, ten silver, or one gold. To earn these, work together to kill the monsters below or tear out each other's throats and claim ownership, your choice just follow your path!

Next, only one thousand can pass this test and move on to the next stage, so gaining enough just to pass will not be enough. So strive hard! You can forfeit at any time, just scream out ‘Escape’ and you will be teleported out.

Many judges shall be watching you progress at all time; if you do not have a single talisman of any kind you shall be forcefully kicked out and failed. You all have only two weeks to finish this goal.

That is all, I wish you luck youngins!”

With a smile, Shu waved his hands and suddenly the squares expanded another meter and opened underneath the youths. Making them fall into the dark abyss with no time to react! A few screamed a few laughed, a few had their killing intent flare up, and some remained silent.

|J|S|&|N|S|

Nena slid down the tunnel on top of a strange mat that locked her in place.

Twisting and turning with glee she laughed, “Hahaha~ This is fun~”

Her blue eyes shone with a bright light at the sight of adventure, despite having a slight shiver of fear about what she was going to encounter.

She composed herself remembering she had training every day; working hard six hours a day practicing swordsmanship with Ren. And then cultivating for six hours a day she reached the peak of 3rd HRM! She felt if Master Mo knew of her hard work he would be proud of her hard work!

Keeping her thoughts to herself, she felt the mat suddenly shoot straight down at an angle, slowing at a certain point. It stopped in a large room that had well lit by magical-glowing stones Nena stepped outside to see the room was three hundred meters wide! In front of her were three pedestals each holding a medium sized sack on each of them.

A kid with purple hair suddenly walked out his tube, holding his mouth; he looked like he was going to puke, yet seemed to hold it back in.

After regaining his composure, he roared to the sky, “What is wrong with that blond bastard! Not giving us any warning!”

Nena stared at him when suddenly another youth came out to her right. The air around him was calm and collected. His hair was gray and spiky, with the tips being pure white and three strands braided on the left side of his head. His eyes strangely felt like an old man who had seen many wars and lived to tell the tale. He was clad in a gray combat robe with bandages wrapped around his hands.

However, his composure, looks, and grace retained a youthful aura around him, making it hard to judge. His eyes went to the right, then to the left gazing right back into Nena’s eyes.

Nena didn’t look away as she tilted her head a bit in a cute manner and pointed, “You’re strong, aren't you, mage?”

The youth nodded, his aged eyes narrowed at this little girl. How did she guess he was a mage so easily? It put him on guard instantly, ready to fight this little girl. Years on the battlefield had honed his skills to detect danger.

Nena gave a pure smile and held out her hand, “I’m Nena, nice to meet you!”

He got a better look at her and felt his danger alert fall, she reminded him of his younger sister he left in the city.

He then spoke, “How did you know I was a mage?”

With a grin, Nena laughed, “Your hair looks funny!”

Despite the youth’s better judgment, he couldn’t help but laugh. Indeed, he had forgotten his hair now looked strange, as he had just awakened a while ago. He reached out and shook her hand; he had guessed that this girl was a little monster from her aura.

He had met many monstrous talents before on the field of battle so he could tell. He wasn’t that much afraid of this little girl though since he had slain many talents with his hands.

Her hands were soft just barely having any calluses on her tiny hand. Nena felt his hand; it was large, strong, and callused from years of training.

‘Just like big brother Ren haha~’, she thought.

‘Just like my little sister.’, the youth thought.

His voice was deep and manly for his age, “My name is Jao… Jao Striker.”