QUESTIONABLE OUTCOME

The Final Circle. The exam has reached its tense end. However, none of the onlookers expected the exam to prolong for such a long time. Most of them were rooting for Ton who had the number advantage rather than a nobody who might have won the battle raid on a fluke. The Odling family was a reputed family in RedRock city with connections with the Corps. So naturally, Ton being the youngest son, would have received the privilege of booster serums and battle training. On paper, he was the strongest among the Delta candidates.

However, on paper stuff doesn't really reciprocate much in reality. The proof was in front of them. A nobody like Noah fighting on equal footing with Ton in the last circle to decide the best of Delta. Most of the onlookers had their money on Ton and were on the verge of biting all their nails off. There were a few though, who were amazed by the performance shown by Noah. They could not but start rooting for Noah silently in their hearts.

However, Noah had the absolute support of a few individuals. One of them was shouting hard from within his capsule. "That's my bro. Finish that damn m….." Melv kept shouting. One young lady was smiling while saying, "Seems like I have to owe you one dinner after all." Angelika remembered the bet she made with Noah if he tops Delta Class.

On the other side, in a private cabin, an old man was giving a faint smile. Him being the principal, he could not show any favorability towards any student, however, he was rejoicing every moment of the battle royale. A few people lurking in the shadows of the arena were also observing Noah carefully. Though their motives were unknown, they were not showing any killing intent and were quite amused by the performance so far.

Total students alive - 2

The Final Zone will start shrinking in 1 minute.

Last 2 minutes left in the match. The zone placement was in the open parking lot, from the gate to the nearby cars. Both the survivors had taken cover in suitable positions. Noah was taking cover of a car and Ton was talking cover of the parking lot counter. They were anticipating each other's moves. But none wanted to risk exposure of being gunned by the other. They checked their inventory and applied health boosts. Ton had a few left but Noah was all out of medical supplies.

There was this tense pressure in the air. A single mistake and it's over.

The first one to act was Ton, he hurled a Stun bomb at Noah. Noah barely noticed it and got caught in its range. His senses were all messed for the time being. Ton did not waste any time and hurled a sticky bomb at Noah.

The bomb would hit a disheveled Noah and finish the game. Well, that was the intention.

However, Noah somehow jumped out of the way of the bomb and rushed towards the nearby car to take shelter. Ton was carrying an MG39 LMG and he sprayed all of its bullets on Noah.

This could have been the end for any other student. However, Noah used his agility to move fast. Still, he took some damage being disoriented by the earlier stun bomb. It was a narrow escape for Noah.

"Are you still alive Trash?" Ton shouted. "Run how much you like. You are not beating me this time. I am gonna finish you once and for all. Trash is just Trash"

Noah was breathing heavily. He calmed his heart which was beating faster than usual.

"Don't listen to him. Don't let him intimidate you. You trained hard for this. You got this!"

Total students alive - 2

The Final Zone will start shrinking now.

Noah reacted faster this time. As soon as the announcement was prompted, Noah threw all his smoke bombs on the ground. 5 smoke bombs covered the entire zone as it started shrinking.

With the smoke in place, it was easier for both of them to enter the shrinking zone from their hideouts. But as their vision was blurred they would not know what was in front. This was certainly the case for Ton who was carrying an Assault Rifle now, the H9 Gruber. He was trying to find Noah within the smoke and started firing.

The bullets hit a target but what happened he thought. The message should have prompted the game to end. "Did I miss him? But I heard the sound of hitting something." Ton kept on searching for Noah and kept getting impatient. This is what made him overlook the fact that his health was going down faster than expected.

It took him some seconds to understand that the whole zone is now on fire. The fire was taking down his HP at a tremendous speed. He started to apply the health boosters he had left when he heard a voice.

"I am still here. What are you waiting for? Didn't you say I am Trash? How will you lose to a trash for the second time? Well, this time people will laugh at you for sure." Noah's provocation was to halt Ton from applying the boosters and divert his attention towards him and guess what, he succeeded in it.

"Argghhh…" shouted Ton in anguish. He immediately stopped applying the boosters and fired at the voice origin. The bullets hit pretty perfectly but still, it did not finish the game. It was at this point that Ton lost it. He was clueless as to what was happening. He was fumbling while reloading his gun. The zone had almost covered the entire circle when he saw something in the smoke.

It was Noah who came so close to Ton that it was visible now and the smoke was also receding.

He was holding a Fry Pan in front of his face. He slightly moved it and uttered, "Boo…"

Ton fell on the ground as if seeing a ghost. Within a second he turned into a puff of smoke. His HP was down to 0 now. The match had ended.

Battle Royale Exam Completed.

The Winner is Noah.

The notification prompted on the giant screen. The viewers were stunned, stupefied and flabbergasted. "What just happened? How did Noah win? What happened to Ton?"

All these questions kept floating in their minds as they could not observe the outcome. The smoke covered the last zone preventing everyone from discerning what actually happened.

They could only see the pointers on the head of the students and one just vanished to finish the match.

"What blasphemy is this? That student has cheated for sure. How could Ton lose?" One of the guests at the private cabin shouted.

"Are you questioning the security measures of my academy, Mr. Odling?" replied Principal Beck.

There was a sudden silence in the room. "No, I didn't actually mean that. But how.."

"Stop it, Mathias. A loss is a loss. Ton has much to learn." A modulated voice spoke. It was Ton's father Tobias Odling. Both the Odling brothers were guests at the private cabin of the Principal.

"If there was any hacking or cheating, a security alarm would raise and immediately cancel the participation of the candidate. You should know how it is, being a board member of this academy. We do not tolerate such activities." Principal Beck clarified.

"But how did Ton lose?" another voice among the guests asked.

"Let me explain..." an elegant voice was heard at the door. Everyone immediately turned around to find the person speaking to be Solomon Glass.

"Ah Solomon, what took you so long? You missed a good match." Principal Beck uttered.

"How can I miss it? I was watching it from the Arena stands. It was a better option than being among some old folks squabbling..." laughed Solomon Glass.

"Old eh. Shouldn't you say wise old men rather? Hahaha.."

"Suit yourself old man", replied Solomon.

"So where was I? Ya? You were asking what happened there. Right?"

...