As the remaining recruits Kai walked past finished the test, some were happy, others stood still with terrible expressions.
The six soldiers walked into the hall with wired eyes. "The first and second tests are over. Fifty passed. The remaining failed. For the twenty among the failed fifty that are alive, stand at the right," the soldier holding the daggers said, his face changing into a grim smile.
No one moved for ten minutes. Everyone kept turning to each other, but it was obvious to spot out those who had failed.
The two soldiers holding the spears moved forward, holding a sheet of paper filled with names.
"Come out before we fish you out!" the one with red hair said, frowning.
One by one, the failed recruits separated themselves from the rest. Some of the passed and failed kept pointing their hands, stretching them as if trying to pull themselves with an invisible string.
Surprisingly, five of those who claimed to be strong were among the failed group, while the boy everyone thought wouldn't last for a millisecond stood amidst the group that had passed.
The soldier holding the sickle directed the failed group, leaving the rest.
Lieutenant Gray walked through the same door the failed had exited, smiling. He kept his gaze on the recruits dressed in sweat and the boy who showed no sign of tiredness.
"Congratulations on passing your second test. You've qualified to continue smoothly with the test. But know this, if any of you fail the remaining tests, and we find out that you were hiding your strength all along, I assure you, you'll spend your entire life cleaning the carcass throughout the city," Lieutenant Gray said with a threatening look and tone.
"Follow me. Your next test will take place a few miles away from here," he ordered, as if not seeing how tired the recruits were.
…
The sun's bright rays hit the area they were walking to through the transparent ceiling. They stood there in groups of five in mixed gender.
"Pay attention! Run around all the five pillars, do fifteen laps, and return with the same speed you used to reach the first pillar. This is the easiest training ever to pass through," Gray said, a strange smile showing on his lips.
Ninety percent of the now fifty recruits became worried instantly as he finished speaking.
'What does he mean? Has he seen how big the pillars are? Fifteen laps? How many would even do five laps after finishing the circling around the fifth pillar?'
The same thought ran through the minds of more than half of the recruits, but Kai's mind was on something else entirely.
He was thinking of how to finish with a growling stomach.
One by one, they moved. Within five minutes, five of the remaining strong ones were already circling the second pillar.
Then, it began. It wasn't as easy as Gray stated as the recruits started running.
From the transparent mirror on the walls surrounding them, soldiers with masks of different varieties began to appear one after another. Some of the masks had smiles on them, but the others had mixed expressions—anger and…
They crossed their hands on their chests and stood there focusing on all those moving forward. They kept pressing on a black remote they were holding, increasing the intensity of the lights and making the ceiling pour down hot water.
This wasn't just an endurance test; it was a mental and physical test to enable them to pick themselves up even when they felt like giving up at the last moment.
Unlike the other recruits, Kai simply ran, dodging almost all the hot water falling. His small body moved with strange precision, as if he knew exactly when to dodge, stop, and speed up again.
With the vibrations flowing toward him, he could sense when the water and the metal hinges would counter his way, but he easily avoided them all.
He barely got wet, tired, or stopped, but kept the same pace and speed he had started with. Though it wasn't as fast as he started, it was still twice as fast as the other recruits.
Soon, he completed the lap around the third pillar and caught up to the remaining huge-structured ones. Some of them gasped for air after seeing Kai move past them.
"How! Wasn't he standing at the starting point few minutes ago?" the recruit with blue hair said, clutching his waist.
"Yeah. He's already moving toward the fourth pillar!" another broad-shouldered guy added.
"Damn! I'm not going to just watch this brat win me! I'm going to make sure I reach there before he does," a young skinny man who had been lying on the ground clutching his knees shouted before getting up and running after Kai.
For some reason, several young men and women became determined when they saw Kai reaching the fourth pillar and began following his moves. After studying him for a while, they saw how he dodged the water and the hinges piercing from the ground. Some found it amazing and tried to imitate his moves.
After a while of copying, none of them managed to replicate everything smoothly like he did, but it still helped many to notice when the hinges would erupt. The race became easier for them; now it was just a matter of whether their stamina could last the fifteen laps and the fifth pillar.
Kai finally finished and saw the point at which the green mark was and finished all the five pillars and all the fifteen laps. There he saw Lieutenant Gray standing at the other side of the transparent windows above, smiling.
…
"Whose child is that?" one of the strong young men with blue hair said, tapping another recruit's shoulder and pointing to the little boy who had no sweat on his face.
"I don't think he's just a child. Are you not aware of the rumors spreading of monsters turning themselves into humans and doing the jobs normal humans do faster?" another said.
"That was long ago, almost a thousand years ago. But it could be so. He doesn't look human. Have you seen his eyes?" the slim guy retorted.
At the far distance, the boy closed his eyes, pretending to be tired, but no matter how he tried, he couldn't. He could feel how shallow everyone's breaths were, including the soldiers who stood at the windows staring at him by just listening to their vibrations.
"Congratulations on completing the third test. Name tags will be given to all those who succeeded in this test. For the rest who wouldn't get the tag, follow the arrow marks on the wall and wait till you're called." A loud voice, sounding the same as Gray's, echoed from all four angles plus the middle of the ceiling.