As soon as Aku announced the start of this next test, Ben entered the room. He was the one to take people away, like the previous test. He picked the participants out in bunches of 12. He exclaimed that they would choose their teammates once getting brought to the testing ground.

From the reactions of those throughout the room they must've believed that whoever they were standing by or near to would be in their testing group seeing how many were huddled together or shuffled closer to each other after his words.

Unfortunately for them, their assumption was wrong.

Ben picked at complete random, pointing to one participant directly in front of him and then someone way far off in the corner. Many walked over, clearly nervous. If it was PTSD of some kind from Ben's massacre the previous day or simply being unsure of what awaited them, little seemed excited to leave. All except one.

In the first group of 12, the only person that stood out to Joy in it was Lorial, who left with a smile on his face looking excited. He waved goodbye to some of the other participants, including a blonde-haired girl.

'Well he seemed to be ready for the test. Couldn't sense an ounce of nervousness on him,' Joy thought to herself.

In the 2nd group of 12 that Ben took there was one individual who stood out. It was a guy who happened to be one of the few people who prematurely ran during the first test. He had long brown hair and deep black eyes as well as freckles. He didn't look super old so Joy assumed he was around her age.

She didn't know his name but he was of shorter height as well, being around her size. She vaguely remembered years ago being measured to be about 5'1 and while she assumed she had grown since then, it couldn't have been that much.

Joy's eyes widened as she came to a realization after the second group left the room, 'Oh wow. I just noticed, once again I'm one of the last participants to enter the testing ground.'

She sighed, muttering to herself, "I hope this isn't a recurring theme. The whole, last to go thing."

"That'd be funny if that was the case. You'd have to have sh!t luck."

A feminine voice coming from behind caught her off guard. Joy quickly turned her head to see the person speaking to her was a girl. The blonde-haired girl she had seen around Lorial a lot prior.

The girl was looking at Joy with an amused expression, her fierce blue eyes gazing at her intently as they seemed to be seeing through her. It took Joy a second to realize why she looked at her how she did before realizing what it was; she was sizing her up.

'I didn't know she was behind me, not to mention that I was loud enough for anyone to hear…'

Joy fully turned around now, facing her directly. She didn't know what the girl wanted from her so she gave her a wary look before responding, "And you are?"

The girl tilted her head in response. She was smiling at Joy but it was hard to tell if it was a genuine one or not, her face was hard to read which was weird to Joy, since reading people's expressions was something she hailed as a personal skill of hers. But now that she thought about it, she hadn't been able to read through anyone's expression while she'd been in the Void.

The blonde-haired girl stuck out her hand, "The name's Rachel."

Joy stared at her hand for a moment, before looking up at her in her eyes. "My name's Joy." While she responded, deciding there wasn't a reason not to, she refused to return the handshake. Still unsure if she could open up, seeing how she didn't know of Rachel's intentions by walking up to her.

After leaving it out for a while awkwardly, Rachel retracted her hand, giving Joy a intrigued look. She smirked slightly, "Well you're quite friendly aren't you?"

At this point there wasn't hostility brewing between the two of them but there was a tense air. Rachel and Joy's eyes were locked. Both wondered what the other was thinking but neither seemed willing to show.

"No actually. It's slightly difficult to be friendly to someone who could potentially be coming after my life in this upcoming test you know?" Joy responded sarcastically.

Rachel raised an eyebrow, "Hmm. Fair enough. But haven't you taken a look around?"

"And what would there be to look at?" Joy asked, continuing to hold eye contact.

Rachel sighed, "Take a look for yourself, you might learn something."

Joy wanted to do the complete opposite due to her condescing tone towards her, but the curiosity was stronger than her pride and so, Joy looked around the room.

She scanned the room with a searching gaze. All she saw were 10 participants, including her and Rachel, so 12 in total. Besides that Aku was no longer in the room, for when he left Joy didn't know. She last noticed him directly after Ben came in, taking the first group of participants.

After scanning the room a little longer she locked eyes with Rachel once more, she had a slight expression of confusion though.

"I don't know. The fact that Aku's gone?"

Rachel wagged her finger in the air, her left hand grabbing her hip, "Nu-uh! Interesting that you noticed that but the lack of Aku's presence shouldn't be a big deal. The only thing that matters is that we're the last group. Meaning…"

Rachel paused, giving Joy an expectant look.

"...That we can pick our partners before we get to the testing grounds?" Joy responded.

Rachel's eyes lit up after hearing the answer, "Ding ding. And so, I simply went to someone I thought would be an asset to my team. Aka you," She pointed her finger at Joy, it was so close it almost touched her face.

Joy backed up slightly uncomfortable by her closeness, "Why me?" She gave her a look filled with suspicion.

"Because, unlike everyone else you seem different. I was looking around and mostly everyone here is nervous, afraid, or weak. You don't come off as any of those things, at least to me."

"That sounds like high praise. What makes you think so highly of me?"

Laughter emerged from Rachel's mouth, much to the confusion of Joy. She shook her head, "I wouldn't say that much okay? All I mean is you seem competent, doesn't mean I think highly of you. I just think you'd be a decent partner."

Joy bit back her irritation. 'This girl is something else,' She thought to herself annoyedly.

As Rachel's laughter continued on, Joy spoke again, "Well I'd like to know why you think I'd want or need you on my team."

Rachel's laughter, which had sounded so playful, suddenly stopped. She was now giving a serious look, "Okay first of all, Joy. This is going to be my team, so let's get that straight. I'll be calling the shots and second, I can fight. That's why you'd need me."

Rachel was now glaring at Joy, offended by her claim and at this point the basic tension before turned into straight up malice. The two were interlocked at this moment, two individuals with strong wills were clashing.

Joy scoffed, "Honestly if you want to call the shots that's fine as long as we don't lose under your command. But what does your fighting ability have to do with anything??"

Rachel growled, "We won't lose if I'm leading us and are you stupid!? The test rules, while not outright saying we have to fight, heavily implies that's the method you need to win. I mean, think about it. Who is just going to give their crown away!? If you get it taken, and the opposing team's king gets it, you automatically lose."

Joy shook her head, "That's irrelevant. Aku said there would be a bonus test for those who lost. Also, I'm not sure that I appreciate your tone."

Rachel stepped forward so Joy and her face were inches away, completely ignoring her subtle warning, "That's true but tell me honestly. Who would choose to do the bonus test, when you can win off the first!? Plus we don't even know what it's going to be about! For all we know Aku would have us running marathons or something else sadistic."

Joy clenched her fist tightly, "I'm going to need you to back up. And also, that still doesn't change anything. I'm sure if I found anyone else in this room they could fight just as well, if not better than you."

Rachel gritted her teeth, showing a forced smile, "What if I don't?"

"Huh?"

"Back up. What. If. I. Don't." and in that moment she stepped forward once again.

Joy, unable to contain her aggression any longer, lifted her fist quickly turning to swing before-

Creak

The opening of the conference room doors stopped Joy in her tracks. She turned her head almost instantly, curious about who would walk through.

Surprisingly Rachel's arms were already to her face, ready to defend right before Joy's fist would've connected.

Ben was the one to walk through the doors, "Alright so it's time to g-" He always entered saying the same thing but this time- he stopped with the monologue midway once he noticed Joy and Rachel- who were in awkward positions now.

Joy, with her fist raised, aiming for Rachel while Rachel had her arms up in a defensive stance similar to that of a boxers.

"Are you two ladies alright?" He questioned with a peculiar expression on his face. Once he called them out, all in the room turned their attention to them. They were in the back of the room during their whole conversation so none noticed the fight that was close to breaking out.

The pair quickly shuffled to a normal standing position, Rachel having her arms crossed while Joy slid her hands to her sides. The two in unison responded, "Absolutely."

Ben, having a doubting look on his face, shrugged off the two's weirdness. He started continuing with his explanation like the past times but Rachel and Joy weren't focused on him. They were too busy being annoyed that they answered him at the same time.

Ben finished his explanation as quickly as it began, now starting to lead them all outside the conference room. Since Joy and Rachel were at the back of the room, it took them longer to make it to the door compared to everyone else.

As they walked however the pair were shooting daggers at each other the whole time.

Joy clenched her teeth, 'Honestly. She's so rude and condescending. I don't know how she can stand herself!'

As Joy's thoughts of harsh judgment towards Rachel reached an all time high, her focus on her was taken away as they had passed through the conference room doors. A breeze ruffled through her hair which caused her to look away from Rachel now, staring all around instead.

They were on a wide grass plain covered with flowers as far as the eyes could see. Joy stared around in awe at the sight before her. The one thought in her head being how beautiful it was.

Many other participants had similar looks filled with wonder and awe. It truly was a beautiful sight, truly.

Ben clapped his hands, drawing the attention of everyone away from the captivating flower field, "Alright. So, if you're all done gawking at this testing field, you may all group up now. Once you do that, we'll send you all to your respective hills."

Ben stepped back, staring at the group from further away to let them all talk amongst themselves.

And talk they did. The once quiet field was now riddled with noise as all talked amongst themselves. Most of the 12 were huddled together, talking passionately.

Joy was off more by herself though, watching from afar. 'What should I do? I don't know if I should take the initiative and go look for a group myself or just wait for the leftovers…'

"Let's team up." Rachel called out to her from behind. But Joy, still being annoyed from their previous encounter, continued watching the main group, not so much as turning to acknowledge her presence.

Rachel sighed, "I'm impressed by how you stood up to me. Shows you have guts, and guts is something we need in this upcoming test."

Joy still didn't acknowledge her.

Rachel sighed, "I'm sorry, okay? Now are we going to quit being childish, team up, and win this thing or are we going to be the last to form a team?"

Joy turned to look at her and she was slightly surprised. There was already another person beside her, it was someone she didn't recognize. He had scraggly brown hair that covered his face a bit to where she couldn't see his eyes. He had a sharp jawline though and was a little taller than Joy but around the same height as Rachel.

"Fine. I appreciate the apology but I don't like violence so the fact you pushed me to that point on our first meeting doesn't look good for a partnership."

Rachel swiped her hand nonchalantly, "It's no worries. No one said we have to partner up after this test as well, it'll be fine. If you really can't stand me even after this then we can go our separate ways. It's as simple as that."

"I guess you're right…"

She grinned, happy that Joy was agreeable even if it was for a little bit, "Yep."

Joy peered over her shoulder to look at the other partner, "Who's this by the way?"

The brown haired man stepped forward, "My name's Kai. Nice to meet you, Joy." He reached his hand out to shake hers.

Joy grasped his hand, smiling, "It's nice to meet you, Kai."

Rachel's eye twitched slightly, "What's up with that!?" She grumbled, "You shake his hand instantly but when I did the same you threw a death stare my way."

"Yep." Joy released her hand from Kai's, now turning to face the remaining participants.

Rachel clenched her fist, 'This girl…'

It didn't take long before everyone finally grouped up. Upon seeing this Ben walked up to each group of 3, handing one in each group a crown. It wasn't special really, just being a golden item with a bright blue diamond in the center of the cross.

After handing them all out, Ben spoke out, "So even though I handed the crown to a specific person that doesn't restrict you. You can still choose a different member of your team to be the crown holder. However, you will only be able to crown theKing once making it to your specific hill and so"

Before Ben continued his explanation he raised his arms into the air, which had been to his side previously. The ground started to shake and rumble, causing all the participants to struggle keeping their ground.

'What is this? An earthquake?'

In the distance far away from where they were, hills started to sprout out from the ground. It was very unnatural to watch as it seemed to be less of a natural process of geography than more of a forced creation. Something that didn't or rather shouldn't exist in a place as natural looking as the flower field Joy and the others found themselves in.

As the violent shaking ceased, they could finally see the hills in the distance clearly. Joy spun around, All looked on with surprised expressions at the strange structures made before them. They weren't "hills" , they were much more. It was hard to see from so far away but it had an outline reminiscent of medieval towers and there were 4 of them in 4 different directions.

Ben lowered his hands now, putting them back down to his sides.

"Alright. It doesn't matter where you go as long as you choose only one area. Once you enter the hill, and choose your King the test will commence."

The participants scattered as soon as Ben finished. The hills to the North, East, and West were all seemingly claimed by the participants who headed that way and so, they had no choice but to go south.