Chapter 4- The Examination

I had no time to lose once I woke up. I didn't even eat anything but I wrote the letter and headed straight to the post office. Kagatani wasn't in the lobby again and I was starting to get worried for the guy. I found out that the post office was on the other side of town. The bus drive from the hotel took about an hour and once I got off, it seemed like I wasn't in Tokyo anymore. The area looked poor and unhealthy at that. Even though it was still part of the city, it didn't look anything like Tokyo.

"What is this place?" I thought as I walked down the street. I glanced at the bunch of hobos sitting around a fire and it wasn't just older men but women and children as well. I couldn't help but frown and feel sorry for them.

"They are living off scraps. How can anyone survive in these conditions?" I asked myself. From the looks of it, they seemed to be cooking something and it reeked with bad smell. I had to close my nose with my fingers to avoid breathing it in but it didn't help me much.

"Are they cooking a dead rat?" I felt like throwing up but I held back from doing so.

I made it to the post office and the building looked like my house if it wasn't painted for like 30 years. Not only that but it seemed to have tilted a bit to the left. If a stronger wind blew, I wouldn't be surprised if it crashed in on itself. A sign was barely hanging from the side, notifying that this is it. I wandered through the door and it made a loud creaking sound that irritated my ears. The old wooden boards that made up the floor were on its last legs. I didn't feel safe walking on them as I felt like I was going to fall through. Luckily, that didn't happen and I got to the rostrum. A thin piece of glass was between me and the other. What's more, there was nobody here.

"Is this place even working?"  I knocked on the thin piece of glass and waited.

Nobody was coming and just when I was about to turn around and leave, I heard a door open.

A shade of light from the other room blazed into this one. The weather wasn't the best today and it was gloomy, the light definitely brightened up the place. A man came out and he didn't even notice me at first. He was searching for something on the small shelf full of old letters.

"It was here somewhere," He muttered to himself.

"Does he really not see me?" I pondered and knocked on the glass again.

The man turned and he was taken back a bit. He approached the glass and smiled faintly. He looked like he was about 30 years old. He had a bald spot on the back of his head that I managed to see even though it was a bit dark. He had a scar going from his forehead to his upper lip which tells me that this guy had some trouble in the past since the scar was old. His right eye was the casualty of those conflicts since he had to cover it with an eyepatch. It looked cool but it did hinder his appearance. His clothes looked plain and a bit overused. He doesn't make a lot of money doing this job to get new ones which, unfortunately, goes with the surroundings. His light blue shirt and waistcoat were muddy from something that he was working on it seems.

"Hi, what do you need?" he asked.

"Just to send a letter," I responded, returning a smile. I gave him the yellow coloured letter I wrote this morning.

"Do you come from this village?" He asked after he inspected it.

"Yeah, I'm not from around here, " I answered and scratched the back of my head nervously.

"Yoshioka village... That is quite far from here. It must be intimidating entering a new area without knowing where to go and who to trust,"

"I'm managing, I haven't met many people but the ones I did seemed nice."

He frowned as he wanted to say something.

"You know-"

"Hey! Where did you go, boy!? It's your turn to play," a manly and angry voice came from the other room.

"I have a client that wants a letter delivered," the man yelled back.

"A client?! You haven't had those in about a year hahaha..." a bunch of laughs came from that room which meant that there were more people there.

"Some encouraging words would have been nice! Sheesh!" He crossed his arms and put the letter on a shelf and a note that stated 'Remember to deliver these, idiot!'

"Sorry about that... I'll get it delivered as soon as I can," He reassured.

"Do I have to pay for anything?"

"Just the travel fee. That would be 5 Zel, " He smiled and extended his hand through a space near the bottom end of the glass. I got my wallet out and paid for it. I did notice that my allowance was depleting quicker than I expected.

"I don't have unlimited funds and I need to survive until the end of the month then hopefully my parents would send me some support or I find a part-time job. Either way, I have to spend my money wisely."

"Okay, bye," I turned around and left the building.

I stood outside and looked up at the sky. The clouds were getting darker by the second and the sun was gone. The rain was inevitable so I had to hurry back to avoid it and make it to the exam.

The bus was late even though it was automatic. The rain had started once I was near the hotel. I put my hoodie on and sprinted to the school. I was out of breath when I entered. Drops of water were going down my hoodie as I was bent over, catching my breath, when the woman that I met here yesterday approached.

"You're late! You were supposed to be here at 2 pm and it's 2:15 right now," She had her hands on her hips and her eyebrows narrowed to show her disappointment.

"Apologies, I had something to do and I lost track of time," I made a weak excuse and I think she saw right through me but didn't push me any further on the subject.

"Go down the hallway and to the left is the gym where you will be tested," she pointed.

"Right," I ran down the hallway and took the first left. I stopped at the door and took a deep breath.

"Here we go," I opened the door slowly and entered the big spaced room with obstacles and chambers on both sides. I glared at one of the chambers and saw a boy in it. He was in a battle stance as he waited for his opponent. It was some robot that had red eyes and it attacked instantaneously. It threw some punches at the boy but he dodged them easily. What he did next shocked me. He pulled out a lighter and flicked it open. He made it lit up and took the flames into his hand, making a fireball. He shot it at the robot and the robot exploded into chunks of metal, bolts and other materials.

"Were these supposed to be a challenge?" he kicked the robot's head at a wall.

"You passed the initiation. Your grade is B, please go and stand in the required corner," A speaker announced.

"Obviously," He walked to the back corner and leaned against the wall.

My eyes were wide open in astonishment as a chill went down my spine.

"W-what was that? Are my eyes deceiving me or did he just use fire?" My thoughts were interrupted by a tap on my shoulder.

"Hey there," It was a familiar voice I heard recently. I turned my head around and my suspicions were right. It was the boy and girl from yesterday.

"You're here as well I see?" He added.

"Oh yeah, I came to get tested. I was expecting something usual though," I said.

"Tests are for nerds like my cousin over there," She came from my right side and stopped near me.

"This is a test but not what you're thinking of. An examination would be the more proper term," She explained.

"Anyway, I don't think we have properly introduced ourselves," He stepped in front of me and offered a hand.

"I'm Araya and this is my cousin Nara," he added.

"I'm Akiro" I shook his hand.

"Can I ask a question?"

"Sure," he let go of my hand.

"What is this examination about?"

"You don't know?"

"I'm not from the city," I said.

"Oh, I can see why you are confused about this. It's a long story but to shorten it up. Essentially, it's like a test where you display your abilities to see if you are worthy of entering the school. On the outside, it seems like your typical high school but this is where you get to train your abilities and become whatever you wish as long as it is to the benefit of the city. Look over there, see those shadows behind the glass," He pointed at the 3 shadows behind the glass that were blurred for us to see.

"Those are the instructors and teachers of this school. You have to impress them to get in and if you don't you're out, simple as that," He shrugged.

"Alright, by abilities do you mean talent?" I asked.

"Kind of, you can be talented but don't know how to control your abilities and you can be talentless but still have something to show. See that girl over there?" He pointed at one of the chambers.

"Watch what she does," He instructed.

The girl was a bit wimpy from the looks of her. She had shorter hair than the rest of the girls as she just stood there and waited. Three robots formed like holograms and charged at her. She remained still, letting them get close. The two, that were much faster than the bigger one, got to her first.  Once they were in the range of her, they raised their metal fists and tried to strike her. A bunch of dust was raised from the impact.

"Is she okay?" I expressed my concern.

"Keep watching," Araya told me and I listened.

The dust settled and I was shocked to see her behind the robots. The robots suddenly collapsed and the big robot shot a fist at her like a rocket. She teleported out of the way. She reappeared in front of the robot's face and kicked it. The robot fumbled back a little as it tried to reassess its target. In the midst of its confusion, The girl teleported on its back and hit it several times. It grabbed her and threw her against the chamber walls. She fell on one knee but didn't give up. She got serious and ran towards it. The robot raised both fists up and tried to smash her into the ground. She teleported and avoided it completely as she hit it on the back of the head with her knee. The robot stumbled forward a little and that was just enough for her to teleport again. This time she pulled out a knife of some sort and pierced it through the chest of the robot. It fell over and the test was complete.

"Congratulations, you passed. Your grade is C," She bowed a little to the voice and left to go in a different corner.

"Do you understand now what I am saying?" Araya spoke up.

"Yeah, but what do these grades mean?"

"Grades are basically how much your ability is developed. They go from A, which means you have mastered it completely and you will be considered one of the most powerful people in the country, to F, which says that you have no clue about your power and there is a very low chance that you could ever realise it to its potential," He explained.

"Araya Seiken, step into the chamber please," A male announcer spoke.

"Guess it's my turn, wish me luck"

He said as he entered the chamber.

"He is going to pass. I can tell already so don't worry," Nara said as I turned to the side. She was stretching in her gym clothes.

"When did you change clothes?" She wasn't wearing those clothes when she entered so I had to ask.

"I went to the bathroom while you guys were jabbering. These clothes are more comfortable to work out in."

She said calmly and changed position from left leg to right. I couldn't help but stare a little.

"What are you staring at?!" she noticed.

"Oh, nothing," I looked away and focused on Araya's exam. A table appeared with some parts on it.

"Your first task is to reassemble this old computer using the parts on the table," The announcer said.

"You have 10 minutes. Start!" A counter poped up above him. He started assembling and he wasn't slowing down. His movements were swift like he already knew what part to choose next. He finished in less than 10 minutes. It was that simple for him. A robot came over and used himself as a plug to see if it worked and it actually worked. The screen lit up blue, which showed that he was successful.

"Easy enough," he brushed his hands.

The computer and all the other spare parts disappeared and set of new ones replaced it.

"Now, using the parts on the table, make a handgun. You have 5 min to do that and shoot the targets in front of you. Begin!" A group of 5 floating robot balls poped up.

"This is a little complex. I have assembled computers before but never guns," He mumbled as he started.

He was a lot slower at picking and was contemplating which one to pick next. He was sweating but he didn't let that bother him. He was getting close to finishing but he wasn't paying attention to the clock. He didn't have a lot of time left as he finished constructing the pistol. It was a Berreta M9. On the edge of the table, there were different magazines to load. He picked one and fit it in perfectly. He cocked the gun back and aimed at his targets, pulling the trigger but nothing happened. It just made a clicking noise but no bullets were fired.

"No, no, no!" he shouted frustratingly.

"This isn't looking good, " I said as I was starting to get concerned for him.

Nara stood next to me and watched.

"He doesn't usually panic like this. Has the pressure got to him?" She crossed her arms.

"I'm going to have to disassemble it to see my mistake but," he looked at the clock and there was only a minute left.

"How am I going to do this?!" He mumbled as the clock ticked away and the sound of him failing was getting closer by the second.