Field Examination(2)

After shaking hands with Sora Yuta finally raised his pupils to take a closer look at the figures before him.

He first started with Sora as he was the more charismatic of the duo so it made more sense to start with him and not to mention that he was also the taller one of the duo.

Sora was a tall and lean young man with smooth fair skin, spiky maroon hair, and red eyes that seemed to originate from being in close with artificial light for too long and dark bags under them which were signs of sleep deprivation. The young man had a height of roughly 176cm and a weight of 62kg.

Sora constantly wears a sly grin on his face along with his yellow shirt which has the text "I (heart) humanity" in Kanji, along with a blue undershirt with a red hand band and sneakers.

While his sister Shiro was a cute pale-skinned girl with very long messy white hair that has a pale blue, purple, pink, green, and yellow tint and large passive yellow-red eyes. Shiro was rather slim with a height of 140cm and a weight of 38kg which was common among eleven-year-olds.

Shiro wore a purple sailor uniform that was a bit over her size along with thigh-high stockings.

The two didn't look anything alike except for their unnatural red eyes but since didn't see any numbering or symbols on their clothing he guessed that they were human but what confused him the most was the fact that the pair in front of him didn't honor any hatred nor disgust towards him.

...

While the two were shaking hands to seal their agreement a large plot of land that was covered in artificial green grass opened up as a large stage rose from underneath the ground.

None of the students were shocked by the sight that was transpiring in front of their eyes since the Black Star Academy's underground stage was public knowledge since it's used every time there is an event taking place.

On the stage stood a white-bearded old man whose hair had also turned white but his eyes were as ferocious as that of a tiger. The old man's posture was straight and refined despite his old age. The old man wore a black suit and tie that perfectly showed his muscular body as he stared at the thousands of students below the stage which brought a sense of warmth to his heart.

"Everyone listen up today as you all know is the annual Field Examination of the Black Star Academy that's held once every few years when the academy accepts new students.

My name is Edward Leywin but you may all refer to me as the academy director and ill be personally overseeing your performances so make me proud.

The examination will take place in an artificial world so that you can all go all out without worrying about permanent injuries or injuring your opponent.

To reach the artificial world where the exam will be hosted, you'll have to go through the portal that will open behind me but you'll first have to stop by the staff office to receive your participation badge before going in. Students who don't have to possess participation badges will not be counted among the participants as the system will not be able to calculate the points that you acquired so be sure that you listen carefully.

On another note, students will not be allowed to bring any weapons nor defensive tools of any kind except those provided into the artificial world because keeping in mind that this is an examination."

After saying his piece the academy director threw a small piece of equipment on the follow then a small pale blue portal formed where the piece of equipment landed and he walked through it. After the director walked through the pale blue portal lasted for another 3 seconds before closing but the strange thing was that when the portal closed the piece of equipment that generated the portal suddenly short-circuited turning it into a piece of scrap metal.

Everyone stared at the director until his silhouette disappeared. After the students were sure that the director had left only then did they start discussing amongst themselves turning the originally dead quiet academy grounds into a bustling area that was teeming with life and radiated a strong aura of youth as the youngsters were discussing strategies for the upcoming battle that would determine their future in the academy.

...

In an inconspicuous corner at the edge of the staff office ground which had long since become a desolate area stood three figures whose aura didn't match up with that of the other students.

These three figures were Yuta, Sora, and Shiro who had black faces as they stared at the other students' youthful and energetic spirit which they all severely lacked.

The trio stared at one another only to find out that their expressions were all uncannily similar to each other.

"Sight... So much energy"

The trio said the same thing simultaneously which started them which was immediately followed by slight chuckles after all that were the odds of the three of them saying the same thing at once even though their tones were different it still caused them to laugh.

After sharing a laugh the mood in the surrounding area lightened a bit. Sora who was by far the most charismatic of the trio took the initiative to take to the position of team leader and was met with no opposition since neither Yuta nor Shiro wanted the position.

Sora sat down on the concrete floor and took out a small metal gadget that was the size of his palm.

The gadget glistened with a black metallic luster that was very pleasing to the eye. On the gadget there were two buttons of different colors on its surface between them was a small crystal sphere that was implanted into the gadget. The two buttons were red and blue respectively and were the same size as a water bottle cap.

Sora pressed the blue button then a hollow graphic menu appeared as it floated above the crystal sphere that was projecting a blue light.

[ULTIMATE PORTABLE GAME STATION]

[CHECKING FOR UPDATES...]

[NO UPDATE FOUND]

[USER INTERFACE ACTIVATED]

[LOADING DATA...]

[LOADING DATA...]

[DING!]

[LOADING DATA COMPLETE]

[WELCOME BACK(SORA)]

[AVAILABLE OPTIONS]

- GUNS OF MADNESS ONLINE

- DREAM TEAM ONLINE

- LORD OF DARKNESS ONLINE

- CHAOS REALM ONLINE

- EMPEROR OF THE NINE HEAVENS ONLINE

...

Sora scrolled through the countless online games on his game station until he stopped at his particular game on his endless list of games and he unhesitatingly clicked on it.

[ARE YOU SURE YOU WANT TO ENTER(KING OF THE BOARD)]

[YES / NO]

Sora immediately clicked on yes and more text appeared before his eyes.

[ENTERING(KING OF THE BOARD)]

[ENTERING GALACTIC SERVER...]

[DING!]

[GALACTIC SERVER UP AND RUNNING]

[WELCOME BACK(WHITE SKY)]

[CURRENT GALACTIC RANKING: 1st PLACE]

[DING!]

[GOLDEN EMPEROR OF HEAVEN WISHES TO CHALLENGE YOU IN A GAME OF EYES OF GOD]

[ACCEPT CHALLENGE: YES / NO]

[WARNING: RESULTS OF CHALLENGE WILL AFFECT YOUR GALACTIC RANKING]

...

Sora saw the notification and couldn't help but chuckle as he saw the familiar arrogant user ID causing Shiro who was standing beside him to also take a glance at the challenge notification that caused her brother to laugh but when she saw the familiar ID she also felt like laughing as she teased her brother," you're not gonna accept? It seems that guy is still pissed at you for making a fool of him the last time or are you just gonna ignore the poor guy but doesn't that seem a bit cruel."

Sora heard what his sister just said but chose to not give an exact answer and instead ruffle her long messy hair," I'm not in the mood to deal with him at the moment."

Shiro pouted her cute cheeks as she pulled her brother's hand away from her hair," how many times have I told you to not ruffle my hair. You're the reason that my hair is always so messy."

Looking at his little sister's expression Sora couldn't help but laugh as he simultaneously pressed [NO] to refuse Golden Emperor of Heaven's challenge.

After refusing the challenge Sora clicked on the search option that was at the top of the game's user interface.

[SEARCH FUNCTION ACTIVATED: PLEASE TYPE NAME OF DESIRED GAME]

After the search function was activated a keyboard appeared on the hollow graphic user interface. Sora didn't even look at the keys on the keyboard as his fingers danced on the keyboard as if performing a grand performance for a live audience. In less than a second, he was already finished typing then click the search button.

[SEARCHING FOR CLASSIC CHESS]

[SEARCHING...]

[SEARCHING...]

[DING!]

[SEARCH COMPLETE]

After the search has completed an icon appeared on the game interface. The icon had two chess pieces on it that served as a cover photo. The two chess pieces were of different colors such as black and white and seemed to be the king pieces of the black and white armies. Without hesitation, Sora's finger flew through the air and pressed the chess game icon.

[ARE YOU SURE YOU WANT TO ENTER THE GAME(CLASSIC CHESS)]

[YES / NO]

The choice option appeared once again and once more Sora pressed the [YES] option without giving it a second thought.

[ENTERING GAME(CLASSIC CHESS)]

[WELCOME THE WORLD CLASSIC CHESS]

- PLAY ONLINE MATCHES

- PLAY OFFLINE MATCHES(AGAINST AI)

- PLAY OFFLINE MULTIPLAYER

Sora chose the offline multiplayer option and the hollow graphic screen immediately disappeared as the crystal sphere stopped projecting the blue light. A few seconds later the crystal sphere projected multiple colored lights unlike before when it only projected a blue light.

Above the game station, a beautifully detailed chess board appeared where the user interface was floating before. On the chessboard, two armies stood facing each other as if ready for battle. One side of the board had black pieces while the other had white pieces.

After the chessboard was assembled Sora gazed at Yuta who in turn stared back at him as they made eye contact.

Sora gently brushed the chess pieces that he carries around in his pocket as he asked Yuta a question while smirking," Do you play?"

Yuta stared at the man with his black abyssal eyes," What are you doing shouldn't we be heading off to get our participation badges?"

Sora found the fact that Yuta answered a question with a question of his kind amusing but didn't decide to dwell on it as he replied," look at that long line then ask me that question once more," Sora raised his right hand and pointed in the direction of the staff office which was located behind where Yuta was currently standing which hindered him from actually seeing what was going on behind him.

Yuta started into Sora's red eyes for a few seconds longer before slowly turning his body at a 180° angle but what he saw rendered him speechless.

The line had grown so long that it was no longer straight. Because of the lack of space, the originally straight line had now developed multiple curves to the extent that it started to resemble a snake instead of the straight line it was at the beginning.

Yuta stared dumbfoundedly at the line before turning his body another 180° which completed his 360° turn. When he completed his turn and returned to his original position his eyes unintentionally locked with Sora's whose smirk had turned into a grin that reached from ear to ear.

Yuta felt slightly awkward as he answered Sora's previous question," I've never played before."

Sora sized him up from head to toe before replying," I see... I guess that's to be expected, but don't worry I'll teach you the basics seeing as we have so much time on our hands."

Shiro who stood beside Sora felt that her legs were getting tired so she sat between Sora's thighs as if it were the most natural thing in the world to her. Seeing as though everyone was sitting down Yuta also decided to take a sit on the concrete floor in front of Sora as they began playing while Shiro observed their matches.

Sora's group weren't the only ones who decided to wait it out as many others also had the same idea but the majority still decided to endure the long line and get it over with as soon as possible.

...

1 hour and 30 minutes later the two were still going at it but Yuta had yet to even get close to obtaining victory although his rate of growth was far higher than average people to the point that he could be considered a genius.

After playing for so long the two had long since gotten lost in their world and it was up to Shiro to remind them of the situation regarding the line.

The line was no longer as long as it was before and only a few hundred people remained as the rest had already gone through the dark blue portal that appeared where the stage that the director stood on was located.

After 10 minutes passed the line only had about 10 people in it so Shiro decided that it was the perfect time to wake the two up or else they may be left behind.

"It's time to go."

Shiro's voice was small and soft but the two still heard it without any problem as they simultaneously stared at the line before also deciding that it was time to head out.

Sora pressed the red button on the game station causing it to instantly shut down as the chessboard also disappeared from existence as if it was never there in the first place.

After packing up the trio stretched their limbs before heading out. When they reached the line there were only two people in front of them mainly because they walked at a slow pace as they made their way to the staff office building.

The trio were the last people to stand in line which made the worker staff very happy as they were also tired of all the work.

The trio who didn't even bother to put up their guard as they leisurely stood in line suddenly felt a threatening presence that made sent a shiver down their spines as if the reaper was grazing the back of their necks with his boney fingers.

Feeling this sudden dangerous aura caused the trio to immediately turn their gazes towards its source. In front of them, a young man with blond hair and a tall muscular structure that was almost as tall as Sora's reached out his hand to receive his participation badge. The young man's hand was rugged and had a few scares that seemed to be the result of years of training along with long thick fingers.

After receiving his participation badge the young man walked through the dark blue portal and entered the artificial world. The trio stared at each other from the corners of their eyelids but didn't say a word as they felt it wasn't necessary since they all thought the same thing.

'That man is dangerous!'

Sora who stood in front received his badge then Shiro and Yuta was the last person to receive his badge. The two before him didn't walk through the portal without him as they waited by the entrance. When Yuta got his badge he and the rest of the group held hands before walking through since the portal was designed to take people to different areas in the artificial world so if they didn't want to be separated they had to make physical contact with one other as they walked through the portal.