The Birth of a Knight 

One by one the candidates were summoned by Vabica. Ain is the last one called by her.

"Ainlanzer X Revolt," Vabica said loudly enough to call Ain, asking the young man to enter the classroom.

Ain followed Vabica into the class. Vabica sat in the front seat, then invited Ain to sit on the seat that had been provided in front of him.

"Ain, you will be with Master Heim to go to Center Head," said Vabica "The bracelet functions as a tracker. So wherever you are, we can track you. Then, press the small button on the bracelet 3 times to give an emergency signal if something threatens safety. We'll come to help, but you will fail the exam. Got it?" Vabica asked for certain.

Ain just nodded as he put on the bracelet Vabica had given him, then stood up to prepare to leave.

"Uh… Ain... Ah, I mean... Brother Ain..."

Ain stopped his steps to hear Vabica calling him. Ain looked back in surprise. He felt familiar with Vabica's voice calling him that way. Unfortunately, Ain couldn't remember anything at all.

"Ah, no. Forget it. I want you to focus on this exam. After you become a Cerberus troop, I need to say something," Vabica looked away, hiding her radiant face.

Ain was even more surprised to see Vabica's behavior. But he doesn't want to think about it for now. There are more important things that he must pay attention to.

Ain met Heim in the basement of the Left Head's building.

"Are you ready Ain?" asked Heim, welcoming him.

Ain answered with a nod of his head.

"Before that ..." Heim approached Ain and handed a small black box. Then Heim told Ain to firmly hold the box.

Beep… Beep. A small sound was heard after Ain held the box for a while. "The box stores your DNA data. After arriving at Center Head, the candidates will be given a weapon that best suits their fighting style. Don't lose it," Heim explained as he opened the door to Trava, an Anti-Gravity aircraft designed only to be boarded by a maximum of 6 people. 2 seats in the cockpit and 4 seats at the back.

[•X-Code•]

It took only a few hours to reach Center Head using Trava which can accelerate at the speed of sound. But Heim did not immediately bring Ain to Center Head. Heim controls Trava towards a place on top of a high mountain that lies in the southwest of Logard, Mount Khyterra.

After arriving there, Heim invited Ain to go to a small simple house with a thatched roof and wooden walls, close to the top of the mountain. A very rare home style for a technological advanced place like Logard.

Heim knocked on the door. A little girl with light blue hair opened the door.

"Uncle Heim!!" shrieked the girl who then hugged him tightly.

"Hey Luna, is your mother here?"

The little girl called Luna nodded as she pulled Heim's hand into their small house. Ain was silent outside. His mind began to fill with various questions, but he chose to remain silent.

"Mother! There are guests!" said little Luna. A woman who had the same hair color came from the next room. Her face looks calm, typical with a motherly aura.

"Hey?" asked the woman in a soft voice.

Heim stood up and bowed respectfully. "I want to ask for your help, Master," Heim said as he turned his head towards Ain. The woman seemed to understand what Heim meant to stop at her house.

It could be seen from Ain's face that many questions flailed in his mind. Heim who read Ain's face immediately asked Ain a question, "To get to Center Head, it only takes a few hours. But you know why we were given 3 days?"

Ain frowned then shook his head. He still trying to understand the situation.

"For preparation. The Master task who is accompanying candidates is not only to escort them to the Center Head but also to prepare the candidates as well as possible. Ain, you have only one shortcoming. You cannot fully control yourself yet, so you can't find your own fighting style. Because of that, i brought you here. Let me introduce her, she is the Master of the Martial Arts used by Cerberus. She will teach you how to find your own fighting style. "

Hearing this, Ain stood up and bowed his body. He did not expect that the woman who looked like a housewife in front of him was actually a master of martial arts.

The woman smiled then invited Ain to go. "Heim, I entrusted Luna," he said.

"Horaaay ~!" Said Luna cheerfully while hugging Heim tightly. Naturally, Luna felt so happy to be left with Heim. Every day she lives only with her mother in that little house. So that the presence of an outsider like Heim is so exciting for her.

Ain followed the woman to a cave on the Khyterra Mountain.

"This is where you will spend time until you have mastered your own martial arts technique. You are not allowed to leave this place until you succeed. Well... If you are lucky, you will master it within 3 days."

Ain was shocked to hear that. "3 days?!" He thought. He thought about the time limit to get to Center Head.

"Then what should I do?" Ain asked. However, she did not answer.

The woman stood at the cave mouth, then smiled at Ain. "Survive," she said as she left Ain who was standing still with an astonished face.

[•X-Code•]

Ain spent hours in that cave, but nothing happened. When the sun almost sets, he felt hungry. So he decided to go looking for food. Only a few steps to the cave door, Ain's body was flung back into the cave. From inside he saw the woman who was supposed to train him standing upright outside, not far from the mouth of the cave.

"Who told you to leave the cave?" asked the woman with a sharp gaze and cold face. Very different from what Ain saw this afternoon.

Ain did not understand what had happened. Why did he get bounced? Besides, even though he bounced back he didn't feel the slightest pain. Finally, he chose to remain silent in the cave.

Not long after that, Ain heard a big thud that shook the ground. The boom sounded louder, as well as the vibrations he felt. It was as if a giant was stepping out, causing tremors on the ground.

A large creature with a muscular body and covered with thorns entered from the door of the cave. Ain's eyes widened to see the creature standing while staring at him with bright red eyes. The creature roared loudly, deafening his ears. His loud voice reflected in the cave, echoing so much that it was painful to hear.

Ain ventured to face the creature. He put up a stance to prepare to fight with the creature.

Seeing Ain's alert attitude, the creature immediately took his large axe which he shrouded around his waist to attack Ain. That creature had seen Ain as a threat.

The impact of the creature's axe crushed the ground in the cave. The creature's attacks were so powerful, yet slow. Ain could not do anything but avoid the unknown creature attacks.

Ain was attacked for hours by these creatures. He was only able to dodge the attacks without being able to strike back. But then the creature looked tired after attacking him for hours. The creature put down his axe, and leaned against the wall of the cave to sleep. Before long, there was a loud snoring from the giant creature. "Chance!" Ain thought.

Ain rushed to the mouth of the cave, but he was again blocked by a woman with light blue hair, the master who was training him. The woman looked at Ain with a sharp gaze while shaking her head slowly.

"Tch! What should I do?" Ain threw himself on the wall of the cave. His eyes felt heavy, his stomach had also been sounding earlier. Hunger, weakness, sleepiness, all in one. But, he's afraid that he would be attacked by the giant creature if he fell asleep.

[•X-Code•]

It has been 2 days since Ain stayed in the cave. He was able to survive from the leftovers brought by these giant creatures. But on the other hand, he had to quickly find a way to get out of it. Otherwise, he will fail to become a Cerberus troops.

Ain twisted his mind, remembering what he had been taught. He also remembered what the woman said about survival.

The night before the exam, Ain comes to Heim's place to learn how to master his own fighting style. But that night, Heim only said a sentence, "Don't judge, don't think, just feel and let things flow."

Previously he had not understood the meaning of Heim's words. But now he got a little clue. Ain stood up then approached the giant who was already prepared with a large axe in his hand. He caught his breath, then tried to empty his mind. He was so calm, Ain could feel his own heartbeat without being touched. The blood flow, the throbbing of the body, and even the ringing in the ears that had always been neglected were now clear.

Slowly, Ain felt a different sensation. He felt that something had entered his body. A gentle wave that felt warm slowly moved his body. Ain did not want to think about things, nor did he want to judge what was going on. He just followed his own moving body.

Ain set a different fighting stance from before. Even though he had never studied these. Ain's left leg is bent in front with a slight lift, and his body's support is on the slightly bent right leg. Ain's left hand was bent in front with the palm facing forward. While the right hand is behind the left hand, with the palm facing the chest. At that time Ain's mind was completely neutral, thinking nothing of it. He only focuses on feeling the changes in his body, as well as the conditions around him.

The giant raised his axe up high, preparing to attack Ain. As if he could read the giant's movements, Ain dodged to the left. With the stance he used before, dashing to avoid the attacks from above was easy.

Then Ain began to pay attention to the giant body that had sharp spikes all over its body. Several parts of the body are not covered with thorns, an opening to attack even though it is narrow. Ain's hand moved very quickly to attack every spot on the giant's body where there were no thorns.

The giant roared loudly under the insistent attack from Ain in the right abdomen. Ain's attacks possessed destructive power that could even shift the gigantic body by a few centimeters.

The giant raised the axe that was buried in the ground, which had launched the attack earlier. Then slashed the axe towards Ain from the right. Ain lowered his head to avoid the attack and darted in the opposite direction while launching another consecutive attack.

Actually, Ain himself was amazed by what happened at that time. But he immediately brushed off the admiration. The slightest thing comes to mind, the sensation will stop. The sensation where he can feel everything in the body as well as feel the movements around him.

Ain repeatedly attacked the giant with various attacks. The punches and kicks came back and forth like a heavy rain until finally, the giant fell.

Fortunately, Ain had strong physical abilities, so he could still keep up with these body movements. If not, maybe the joints would come loose once they hit a giant body that was as hard as a rock. Plus, the gentle wave that made him move on his own forced him to move very fast, faster than his previous movements.

Without realizing it, Heim stood still watching the battle from outside the cave. "That fighting style ...." Heim just paused with a look of disbelief.

"That giant, Gorgolad. Can only be defeated with Ain's fighting style. A fighting style that attacks weak points very quickly, as well as a counterattack that utilizes the strength of the opponent's attack. It's a good decision to bring him here," said the Master while rubbing his head. Luna was standing beside him.

Ain who was still panting slowly turned his gaze to the cave door. He saw Heim and the female master whom he didn't know her name, along with Luna standing up and smiling at him, slowly Ain walked out of the cave. His feet and hands felt hot, his fingers were shaking violently, his whole body felt tired as if he had done such a hard work.

Heim threw bread filled with meat at Ain, Ain quickly caught the bread. Heim deliberately put all his strength into throwing the bread, so that its speed was almost as fast as a rifle bullet.

But Ain could easily catch it. He did not realize that his reflexes had developed rapidly. In fact, he also wondered why he was able to catch the bread Heim had thrown so quickly.

Ain, maybe even Heim didn't know that the cave where Ain was training had an unusual energy field. That woman deliberately trained Ain there to increase his ability drastically in a short time.

That energy field was also the reason why Ain was able to master Cerberus' martial arts techniques so quickly. The energy field is what helps the acceleration of the mitochondrial cells in Ain's body, increases the amount of energy released and sharpens the senses.

"Come on, we have to hurry to Center Head," Heim said with a satisfied smile. Heim believed that Ain could master his fighting techniques, but Heim did not expect that Ain to had such a technique. Heim as a martial arts master in Cerberus knows very well what Ain's fighting style is. In the past, he had seen someone who had a fighting style similar to that. Such a rare fighting style, so deadly.

Heim and Ain said goodbye and thanked the female master. Before leaving, the woman called Heim to say something.

"Heim, we have awakened the monster from its sleep. Be careful," said the woman. There was a hint of worry in her heart that appeared on her face. There was also a slight sense of trauma on her face.

"Don't worry, Master Ive. He's a monster in knight robes," Heim replied with a smile full of confidence.

The woman named Ive smiled gently at Heim. Maybe the worry she feels is just a form of her negative thoughts. She chose to put her trust in Heim, as well as Ain.

Without wasting any more time, Heim and Ain headed to Center Head with Trava to continue the Cerberus entrance exam.