End of the first round

It was already past noon and the first round of the recruitment examination for mutant realm candidates was coming to an end. Kane already felt the pangs of hunger but he could not do anything about it. He had to wait.

The fourteenth match was about to begin and the competitors were Uthman Dagher and Sameer Gaber.

Uthman was in his early twenties and was in tier 4 of the mutant realm. He looked like someone who came for a fashion contest as everything he was putting on was extravagant. He had gold rings on his fingers, his hair was slick with gel and he was wearing a pair of sunglasses the entire time he was in the room.

Sameer was probably in his mid or late twenties he had a shaven head and his iris had a weird red tint to it. He was in tier 4 of the mutant realm. He had a saber slung on his waist

The competitors stepped onto the teleportation platform and appeared on the battle stage almost immediately. The referee soon commenced the battle after checking their conditions.

Uthman took out an expensive-looking bow that was most likely not bought from the hunter association marketplace from his waist pack. He did not waste time before he began shooting at his opponent.

Sameer who unsheathed his saber after dodging the first arrow suddenly broke out in a grin as he realized something. His opponent's skill was absolutely ridiculous. Uthman's aim was so poor, that he could dodge the arrows almost casually.

As Sameer came closer and closer to his opponent, Uthman did little in his attempt to relocate. To his dismay, Sameer had already arrived before him. He used the butt of his saber to hit his opponent's face.

Uthman began to scream as and his nose was bleeding. Sameer was confused. His opponent did not realize the danger he was in but kept screaming at the sight of his blood. He decided to hit Uthman one more time and that was all it took to knock his opponent unconscious.

The referee had a disgusted look on his face as he stopped the match and Sameer was declared the winner.

Kane was confused by what he had just seen. How did someone like that even become a mutant in the first place?

"He is probably a rich boy from a rich family. Everything he has now was bought with money. People like that don't step into the warrior realm" said Abel. Kane totally agreed with his master's statement.

Sameer was soon teleported back into the waiting room.

The fifteenth match was between Almas Atiyeh and Lateefa Haddad.

Almas was a lady in tier 4 of the mutant realm and her weapon was a sword she hung on her waist. Her opponent, Lateefa was also in tier 4 of the mutant realm. She also used a sword.

After a lengthy battle, Lateefa was declared the winner of the match when Almas could no longer fight.

The last match was between Saleema Nazari and Numair Guirguis.

Saleema was a middle-aged woman who was in tier 5 of the mutant realm. She was quite heavily built and she hung a large meat cleaver on her waist. Her opponent, Numair was a man who was also in tier 5 of the mutant realm. His weapon was a samurai blade.

The match quickly began and the two drew their weapons. Sounds of metal colliding rang continuously as their weapons clashed with each other.

Saleema was surprisingly fast and nimble especially considering her size. She was able to accurately fend off her opponent's attacks while comfortably launching her's. The target of her attacks was not random and would definitely reduce her opponent's overall combat ability when they land.

Numair had a solemn expression on his face. His opponent fought like it was something natural for her. Her slashes always targeted parts of his body like his joints and connecting muscles. If she only had her sights set on vital organs like his heart, the number of places he would guard cautiously would be limited but now, he would need to defend immediately after he made an attack or else he would have his ligaments or tendons sliced off.

The pressure kept mounting on him and it was inevitable that he would slip up eventually. After a lengthy battle, he was bloodied and could no longer use his right hand. He also limped now as his left leg looked all wobbly.

The referee soon stopped the match and declared Saleema the winner. She was soon teleported back into the waiting room.

Kane heaved a sigh of relief as he knew the day's activity was almost over. He would soon head back to the hotel and eat. He looked around the waiting room as he observed the other fifteen occupants in the room. One of them would be his opponent tomorrow.

"Heh. I bet they would all be praying to get matched with you tomorrow. They would be very surprised to know you are a tough nut to crack" said Abel. He was hoping that his student would be matched with that Haniya girl.

The door at the entrance of the waiting room slid open and the referee who had been officiating their match walked into the room. Everyone quickly stood up from their seats as the man was not a mere referee he was most likely a member of the storm cradle sect, a high-ranking member at that who just took the role of a referee.

He looked at the crowd and nodded before asking them to have their seats. When everyone sat down, he said "my name is Haytham Tahan. I would like to congratulate you all for emerging victorious in the first round. I am here to make some announcements.

I am sure most of you are aware of the criteria we use in selecting new members of the storm cradle sect. For those who don't, I will enlighten you. Everyone who applies would have their power level ascertained from their hunter association identity card.

Those in the grunt realm would immediately be made service disciples. Those in the knight realm are immediately made elders after background checks have been done. Those at the king realm and above would be referred to the headquarters of the storm cradle sect.

For those in the mutant, evolved and warrior realm, recruitment examinations like this are held for each realm. They are only ten slots available for candidates in each of the three realms annually. This means that only thirty people will be accepted through examination every year".

He saw the serious look on their faces before breaking into a smile and said "this year is different. We are making exceptions this year. Everyone who participates in the examination will join the storm cradle sect".

There was a commotion in the waiting room as the competitors began to cheer happily. Haytham allowed the cheering to go one for a while before raising his palm and the room quietened almost immediately.

"There are conditions, however, and I will only tell you those that are meant for you guys in the mutant realm.

First, everyone in the mutant realm will become members of the storm cradle sect only as external disciples" there were murmurings here and there when Haytham said this but it soon quietened down once more.

He continued "you will be an external disciple until you can breakthrough and step into the evolved realm. Now you might be wondering what was the point of the examination well here is the catch.

Only the last two competitors will become internal disciples when they become evolved. Not only will the others need to become evolved, but they also need to pay sect contribution points before they become internal members.

The amount of sect contribution points needed would vary depending on the round you are defeated, with those defeated in the first round paying the most amount of sect contribution points. The amount of sect contribution points to be paid would be communicated at the end of the examination. Those who were defeated have already been made aware of this information. Are there any questions?"

"They are most likely doing this because they are now aware of the beast tide. They are trying to get as much cannon fodder as they can before the month runs out. You should be very careful, Kane" said Abel in a serious tone.

Haytham took his time to answer some trivial questions asked by the competitors. When there were no more questions, he said "Thank you very much for your participation. I expect you all here tomorrow by 9 am. Remember, don't be late or risk disqualification". He soon left the room and a service disciple was arranged to lead them out of the arena.

Kane flagged down a taxi when he exited the arena and headed back to the Hyatt hotel. He was filled with joy when the castle-like building appeared before him. When he got to his room, he ordered a meal almost large enough to be called a feast, all on Juwayn's tab, obviously.