Chapter 07

The duo placed the unconscious people near the altar where the torch was and ordered Candidate X to go get help from some supervisor. Alex took the blue flame torch in hand while Takeru stayed in the vanguard to nullify the traps and defend them in case of a surprise attack.

The two teenagers kept walking in search of an exit and prayed that they would not run into any other group. Both could be strong, but there is no guarantee that the torch would come out of this unscathed.

Among the boys, the only one who remained the most alert was Takeru. He knew that Alex was quite strong, however you never know how strong the candidates in this exam are and it is almost certain that everyone will give their blood to steal the torch from the hands of the lazy young man.

After approximately 2 hours of walking candidates 8600 and 8601 finally reached the exit. As soon as they reached their goal they met several people and by what they could count, the number was close to 100.

During the entire journey, the only disagreements they encountered were the traps, because as they advanced the more dangerous they became. There was even poison gas among them and probably because they were so threatening most of the participants were unable to advance.

'Tsk, so that worm got through too!!!' - Young red-headed man.

'So that guy got through too...wait, isn't his power something with the wind? How did he manage to use his powers in there then? There was no wind, except for a few traps...was he carried by your team?' - Alex.

And the boy couldn't be more right. The redhead's team had a total of 7 people and he was only useful for nullifying traps that involved wind or small amounts of gases.

A short time later Black-White arrived to meet them.

"I see you have made it through successfully. Give me your torch so we can continue the test." - Black-White.

Alex handed the torch into the agent's hand and they followed him to a place near the stage where there were several tents around. They made their way to one particular tent with a sign that read: (Room C-86)

The masked person handed the objects to the woman in charge of the tent. All the rooms that were still participating in the test had their own tent for better control and organization.

"Mr. Takeru Satoru and Mr. Alex Walker, right? Remain in front of this tent with the supervisor in charge of you and wait for the announcement of the examiner for this phase." - Woman in charge of the tent.

"Okay." - Alex and Takeru.

The boys waited for about 2 hours until finally the examiner appeared. Apparently the one who will be running this stage is Midday again as she brought along a roulette wheel as well. But this time the variety of challenges is smaller. There are only 5 names written on the object.

"We will start the 4th and last phase of this whole selection exam. Congratulations to everyone who has made it this far! - Midday.

"As you all may have found strange, in the 3rd phase there was no random challenge. This was because of technical problems caused accidentally by our team, we apologize in advance!" - Midday.

Most people decided to believe this excuse, others...

'There were a variety of tests to be done and yet all of them could not be performed because of technical problems? To me that sounds more like a lame excuse...' - Alex.

And as if listening to Alex's thoughts, a bead of sweat dripped down Black-White's face as he gave a wry smile from beneath his two-tone split mask.

"Our delay was due to us having to finish building the grounds for this last test. I must inform you that regardless of the challenge, only 10 people will be chosen to join the organization's academy to become future special agents."- Midday.

The whole atmosphere in the place became tense. All the candidates understood the meaning of those words and would have to do their best to get one of the spots.

'So they stall us and then drop this bomb...why do I feel like this will get more problematic in the future?'- Alex.

"'Now let's decide the final challenge' - Midday

Similarly as before, the special agent put his forces into the object that will decide the course of events of this exam. There was not much difference between spinning very hard or not, because there were only 5 options and among them, only 2 will turn friends into enemies.

After 30 minutes of a lot of spinning, the roulette wheel finally stopped at what would be the last test that Alex would need to pass.

Just as I feared...or maybe not...' - Alex.

" Battle Royale "

All the participants became extremely serious and did not even look into each other's eyes. As much as most were strangers, there were also those who came to take the exam together and would now have to confront each other at some point during the test.

"As you may have already figured out, everyone will face each other in an open field until only one person is left. The person who comes in 1st place will be guaranteed a spot, but the other 9 spots will be awarded according to the criteria of the organization. Follow your supervisor to the test field." - Midday.

'So even if I'm the first to be eliminated I'll still have some chance...' - Alex.

"Hey, Alex-san?" - Takeru.

"Huh?" - Alex.

"How about we work together? I'm not good at melee attacks, but I can attack perfectly at medium and long range." - Takeru.

"Are you sure? Maybe that would lessen our chances in case we get knocked out." - Alex.

"I am sure that if we join forces we will get farther than if we went it alone. Besides, my power is quite versatile and your fighting style is quite unique." - Takeru as he remembered the surprise blow that the black haired boy dealt to participant Z.

"If you're okay with that, then fine." - Alex.

'So they decided to fight together? That's a good strategy in case they intend to win this dispute, but...' - Black-White.

"'Let's go' - Black-White.

The three kept walking until they reached a totally open field with several different types of terrain. There was a swamp, desert, forest, mountains, etc.

'Where the fuck did they get so much space from? That field must be bigger than a soccer stadium...' - Alex.

"'This whole arena is 5 kilometers long and each ground is 300 meters long, but the forest will be about 1.5 kilometers. You will have 15 minutes to move around the entire field and get into position before the test begins. " - Midday

The next second, the attendants in each tent returned with a black box and inside them were personalized black wristbands.

"That wristband will show a map of the entire field. After the test begins, if the candidate remains stationary for more than 7 minutes, their location will be exposed to others through these same bracelets."- Midday

"In addition, to eliminate a candidate, one only has to press the red button on the left side of the bracelet and the supervision team will be notified immediately. Because of this, you will be eliminated from the exam if you lose it. " - Midday.

"Every 1 hour we will announce the number of remaining participants. Should one candidate kill the other, they will be expelled immediately. End of explanations!" - Midday.

'*sigh* this is so tiring...' - Alex.

Everyone put on their bracelets and the ice and shadow duo walked to the Arctic terrain where Takeru's powers become strongest. The strategy they set up was simple, young Alex would set out to engage the enemies while the Asian boy would provide cover while acting at medium and long range.

After a few minutes, Midday's voice was finally heard.

"TATAKAAAAAAAAEEEE" - Midday

All the candidates began to move towards what would be the stage of the most brutal battle among all the exams ever done so far.