Chapter 16: The Exam

Wang Zen gulped as he stood still.

“Wang Zen!” the elder man called again.

“Uhm… Zen’er, they’re calling you.” Fuu said.

“How-How do they know my name?”

“They must have you in their records,” Cong said.

“Yeah, records and stuff.” Fuu said. “Now go!”

“Wang Zen?” The old man called. “Hmm, he must not be here. I was on good authority that he should’ve arrived either yesterday or today.”

“He’s here, sir!” Fuu called out before glaring at Zen. “Wang Zen, go!” She shoved him forward, forcing his feet to shuffle forward a few steps.

He looked up, seeing the examiners and the other people in the hall gaze at him. He sighed before forcing his feet to move on. He smiled uneasily at the examiner. “Yes, I am Wang Zen.”

“Oh good,” he said looking around for a free examiner. “Go to…”

“I can handle him, sir!” An examiner at the other end of the table said.

The elderly man nodded. “Go to him, young sir.”

Wang Zen nodded before he slowly made his way to the examiner. He sat before him, his stiff smile still on his face. When he faced the examiner, his face was shocked. Zen guessed that he had been scanned and the examiner knew that he had fallen very short of the mark.

“Alright, place your hand on the disk.” the examiner said.

“Do I have to?” Wang Zen said, which earned him a look of annoyance. Zen sighed before placing a shaky hand on the disk. The disk flashed green once… twice… three times. Zen was about to take his hand off the disk, knowing that was all it would flash and therefore, he had failed, but the examiner touched the corner of the disk with his finger. The disk flashed for a fourth time. Wang Zen looked at the examiner with confusion but he kept a straight face. It flashed one more time.

Five flashes, he was in!

The examiner frowned at Wang Zen before pushing over an emblem to him, at the corner was the text C32.

He rose to his feet and joined his cousins, his hands still shaking from the weight of the emblem.

“Beginner Rank 5, huh?” Bao said loudly. “Don’t worry little man, you stick with us and you’ll grow stronger, maybe one day, almost as strong as me.”

Wang Zen pocketed his emblem, unsure if Bao’s words were genuine or not. He could not bring himself to gaze at the confused faces of his cousins.

“Chen Jian!” the elder said.

“That stupid commoner is up,” Bao said.

They all looked to the pale, green eyed, pretty commoner as he stepped up to the examiners’ table. There was no hint of worry in Chen Jian as he sat at the examiner he was assigned to.

“Who are the people with him?” Zen asked, looking at the three older kids, waiting with baited breath.

“That is the City Lord’s daughter, Xu Hau and one of those two boys is her boyfriend.”

“To think, the city lord’s daughter would associate with such commoner trash.” Bao spat.

Jian placed his palm on the disk. For a moment, nothing happened and then there was a blindly bright yellow light. Everyone instantly looked to Jian and his shocked examiner. The light receded, leaving patterns in the eyes of those who had gazed at it too long, and leaving the room somehow dimmer than before.

“An exceptional Rank 1 Intermediary,” Jian’s examiner said as he handed him his emblem.

“Wow, he is amazing.” Fuu said.

Bao clenched his fists angrily while Zen looked to the ground, his shame compounded by having such an excellent examination result follow his poor one.

“I’m going to my assigned room,” Wan Zen said, walking away.

“Oh… Okay,” Fuu said at his sudden departure. “We’ll see you around.” She shouted after him.

-

Wang Zen exited the building alone. He felt the emblem vibrate in his pocket and he took it out. It glowed.

“Hmm? There’s a message here.” Zen said. “Probably some welcome message.” He was about to open it when he was surrounded by a group of boys, walking in the same direction he was.

“I understand your anger.”

“Xaun Bao,” Wang Zen said, the emblem in his hand going quiet.

“The commoner,” Bao nodded towards Jian and his group, “He got the top cabin, while you got the lower apartments.”

“Lower apartments?”

“Yes, didn’t you know?” Bao showed him the emblem with the number at the side. “The residency is assigned by how you did in the examination. If you ranked low then you get assigned to the lower apartments, where you’ll sleep in bunk beds, shared between four people. If rank you mid-level, than you go to the commune houses, where you’ll have your own room but share the house with three other people. High level like me gets a cabin, up in the mountain ridge where there’s more mana to refine.”

“So,” Wang Zen looked at the writing on his emblem, “I’m in the lower apartments C32.”

“But the commoner got a cabin at A13,” Bao said. “That should be your apartment. You shouldn’t be in the lower dregs.”

“You’re right, but there’s nothing I can do.”

“Residencies can be changed from one student to another.” Bao said.

“How?”

“Just challenge the commoner to a fight for his apartment.” Bao said. “When you win, you’ll get his apartment and he’ll have to take yours.”

“But I…”

“Come on,” Bao said. “You can do it. You deserve that room, not him, not a dirty commoner.”

Zen nodded, “I’ll do it and anyways, I need favourable conditions if I’m going to get stronger.” Zen diverted his walk, heading for Chen Jian and his companions.

Meanwhile, Jian’s group of friends when stopped someone stood before them. The boy was the age of Jian’s companions. He wore circular shades and a headband with an image of an anvil at the front. He wore green shirt and pants with a black pullover.

“Hue Yi,” one of Jian’s companions said. “I thought the presence I sensed in the examination hall had a stink to it.”

“Come on, Meng Hao,” Hue Yi said with a smirk. “I usually frequent the examination halls during this time of year. If anything, your group is the foreigners. Well, I don’t mind one foreigner. Hello Xu Hau.”

“Hello, Hue Yi.”

“Of course, you’d frequent the halls.” Meng Hao continued. “Ever the rat, aren’t you? Selling information on people to the highest bidder.”

“Would you two stop it,” Xu Hao said.

“These two, stop it. That would be the day.” Their third companion said. “And why you ignoring me, Hue Yi?”

“My apologies, Yang Tai.”

Zen was intimidated by the three seniors. He feared getting in between their conversation.

“What are you waiting for?” Bao said.

“Uhm… hey, Chen Jian!” Zen said, walking closer.

Everyone’s eyes shifted to him, making him gulp nervously. “I want to challenge you to a fight for your cabin!”

“No,” Jian said.

“What?” Zen said.

“Are you a coward?” Bao said. “Of course you are, you commoner!”

“I’d like to see your boy fight,” Hue Yi said.

“It wouldn’t be much of a fight,” Chen Jian said.

“Then let’s see,” Zen said, his anger welling up.

-

The group walked to a battlefield, a cleared out rectangular stage students can use to fight. Zen stood on one side while his opponent, Jian stood on the other. They would fight until one of them was unable to continue or yielded.

Bao and his group stood on one side, shouting words of encouragement to Zen while Jian’s friends stood on the other side, cheering him on. Hue Yi kept to himself, occasionally glancing at Xu Hao and smiling whenever their eyes met.

Zen bent his knees as did Jian and the match began. Zen charged forward at Jian who disappeared in a streak of white qi. Zen came to a halt in confusion. His instincts warned him of a presence behind him. Zen did not get a chance to look back before he felt a sharp pain in his neck and falling unconscious.