[Current status: First stage completed!]
[Congratulations on finishing the first stage first! You will receive bonus points and $600 in your bank account!]
Witnessing the god-blessed blue panel ahead of him, Haruo sprang into a seated position, his eyes shimmering with a contented glint as he saw his reward.
11 hours earlier, when Haruo first exited the simulation and fell directly into a bed of grass, he felt an overwhelming sense of dread and agonizing pain throughout his whole being. Although he had sustained no injury, he couldn't help but feel the unknown backlash of his sudden enlightenment.
The pain lingered for hours on end, despite having no physical injuries. He felt as if his very soul was being stabbed with thousands of needles from every single part. Unable to endure the pain any longer, he passed out for an hour after receiving the panel of his accomplishment—passing the first stage completely without going through the last three tests.
Only when he felt a chilling ache in the last hour did he wake up from his unconscious state and see the panels that reminded him of his passing.
In that instance, he felt quite grateful that he had entered the test. But as of now, the excitement has disappeared in mere seconds before becoming drowsy again.
There was a mystery that he had yet to solve, though…
'Why did I finish earlier than the rest?'
From Haruo's perspective, he should've been the one who was the last to pass, given how much time had passed during his test. Scratching the back of his head, he felt rather confused about having the privilege of skipping three tests.
Haruo sighed deeply and cast away the unnecessary thoughts from his mind, letting himself fall onto the grass once more to gaze at the dull night sky. He let himself sink deeper into his comfort, relaxing completely as he gazed at the many stars. However, it wasn't long before his relaxation was disturbed.
There stood a silhouette of a man, replacing the scenic view with his sly smile instead.
It was none other than Kilian.
"Did you rest happily? Hope you do, the second stage isn't necessarily harder, but it's definitely something worth preparing for."
"You don't mean that."
"Wow, you realized it that quickly? My acting skills must be getting rusty then." Kilian said with a single chuckle before summoning a folding chair from thin air and sat peacefully on it.
With another gesture, Kilian's command summoned another folding chair.
"Aren't you afraid worms might crawl into your nose?"
Haruo scoffed at his remark, but didn't refuse his suggestion. Slowly, he pushed himself off the ground with a quiet groan, then let himself fall onto the seat before turning his head to look at Kilian.
"Why are you here? I thought you said you were busy with your 'responsibilities.'"
"I already finished all of them, and besides! If I could choose between working or watching you struggle for six days straight, I would choose the latter."
"Right…" Haruo said, before massaging his forehead. "Were you watching the entire time? And if you happen to still have a bit of virtue within you, can you tell me why I finished first before everyone else?"
"Wow, I never thought I would ever hear you ask for information from me. This must be a sign that we're getting along quite well."
Haruo rolled his eyes. Kilian felt his mood brightening once more, seeing his sorry state. After Haruo sighed, Kilian quickly snapped his finger and, by his command, summoned a white screen.
In perfect rhythm, he snapped his fingers once again. Only then did the white screen begin projecting. Haruo couldn't help but sway his head to his side to check where the projector of the screen was, only for him to be met by nothing.
"The more I get to know you, the more unusual things get."
Kilian stood up from his seat and made his way to the side of the projector.
"You are not the first. Actually, the very first person to say that to me was exactly Seiji."
"Anyway, you said you wanted to know why you passed away earlier than the other participants, right?" Flicking his stick onto the white projection while adjusting his glasses, he had just summoned.
"The verification tests take place within the space produced by Kenric Ford, which, in your case, is the butler you had fought. And in that very place, he wields both space and time to his will.
Because talents vary from one another, measuring the amount needed would be too time-consuming and inefficient. So we needed a simulation-type space where time can be controlled; that's where his ability comes into play. Not only can he create an abundance of space for each person, but he also allows me and other personnel to monitor each of them clearly.
This gives us time to evaluate without prior issues."
Listening thoroughly before chiming in. "By the way you speak, it makes it seem like the big factor behind your testing system revolves around that one person. If he died, wouldn't that be an enormous loss for Marion?"
Kilian, hearing his comment, couldn't help but burst into laughter.
"Do you think he's in danger or something? That's impossible, literally; he is someone like me. Just know that if he were ever to die, he will never truly die."
"What?"
"You'll understand what I mean once you reach a certain level. We all do anyway; we never have a choice." Kilian said, wiping the tear made from his laughter. "Learn everything you can while you still can. That's a privilege most people overlook."
"Not really the best thing you can say to someone when you've stolen their freedom."
"Well enough about that, don't you want to watch how that Hyakagure brat is doing?"
Kilian declared, snapping his fingers before showing a new scene on the screen. He summoned a teacup from his hands as if to enjoy an entertaining show made by a famous movie director.
"Seriously? Making an injured person watch instead of—"
Siiiiippppppp!
"Are you sure you're friends with S—"
Siiiiiiipppppp!
"Enough chatting, I'm not a therapist. Come on, don't tell me you actually want to sleep on an occasion like this? Besides, you can rest while watching."
"Ye—"
Siiiiiiipppppp!
Haruo stared at Kilian with eyes filled with disbelief. Knowing Kilian's character, he decided not to speak any further.
'He'll probably wake me up if I try to sleep. I guess I'll watch for now.'
Within the screen lies the image of Ena, continuously swinging her emperor blades. The quality of the video was rather nicer than he had expected for a projector. It was like watching a live adaptation of a novel.
Ena gritted her teeth as she stood in the middle of a large room, surrounded by multiple participants preparing to charge at Ena. Their eyes exuded clear hostility towards the troublemaker.
'God… Seriously, why am I the target?' She shouted inwardly.
***
Earlier, after flawlessly finishing the second mandatory test, a door that emitted a golden aura. She felt a quiet relief, although the soaked clothing made it hard for her to celebrate.
During the test, she was relentless, killing and severing her enemies quickly. She was reckless, and as a result, her entire attire was completely bloodied; luckily, it wasn't her own blood that stained her clothes.
Since no more threats or blades were closing in on her neck, she declared herself safe—for now, at least.
In one swift motion, she delicately swung her arm.
Following her movements, the blood that had accumulated within her clothing gathered in her palm in the shape of a sphere. She looked at the blood as if it were filth and threw it at a nearby wall.
With the discomfort gone, she made her way to the door and turned the knob.
What greeted her at the other end were 19 participants, 10 boys and 10 girls—including herself. Each one looked wary of the others; two of her previous teammates were even there, causing their faces to drop at her mere presence. Let's not even talk about the sole participant who went against her in the last round as well.
Ena didn't really mind them. In the previous test, they were weaker than her by a landslide, making her do most of the work.
The only problem she had with those three was that they had information about her. Making her slightly wary.
"Welcome~ participants! Looks like my batch has some interesting people around here. About four people who were teammates or opponents are taking the same test… Well, anyway, I'm the branch leader of this test, and I'll be the one to evaluate whether you pass or not! Look, there is even a semi-pure here~ How lucky I am!"
'Why does she talk so much…? It's so annoying, and even hard to listen to,' Ena thought, pulling out her disgusted face.
"Ah! What's with the sour look? Nervous already, Miss Semi-pure~?"
'Nervous?! Most people here are half-baked!' Ena's face instantly flared, transitioning to a face full of contempt directed at the speaker.
"KYA! How scary!" The speaker teased before clearing her throat. "Well, I guess that's enough playing. I will now explain the test…"
Every single participant sharpened their gaze, listening intently to what the speaker had to say.
"This room you participants are currently in is the first section of the eight prepared. But that's unimportant for now; what's more important is that 19 of you will be given as flags." The speaker said before she paused for a few seconds.
"'B-But! What about the 20th participant?' They will be referred to as the 'headmaster.' Your job as the flag bearer is to mark the headmaster with your flag, and the headmaster's job is to evade the flag bearer. Simple enough, right? Then, everyone, prepare yourselves!"
By her command, the entire room was shaken, making everyone within it wary of each other.
Ena distanced herself from the participants, backing up to a side where only a few people were surrounding her. She equipped her emperor blades and positioned herself in a stance—at least she tried to.
'Huh?'
Repeatedly, she tried to summon the emperor blades, but her once-trusted weapons disobeyed her command and refused to be summoned. Even her hidden blades were nowhere to be found.
'What the fuck?? Where is it?!'
"Nope~ Weapons aren't allowed in this test. Sorry, honey, but this is a test made for fast movements only~"
'Are you kidding me?! God! No wonder I felt so comfortable moving around!'
Through gritted teeth, she forced herself to use her ability to create a blood-made weapon; however, even then, it was useless.
'Why can't I use my ability as well…?'
As if she weren't weakened enough, her own ability had disappeared from her grasp, leaving only combat prowess and her own physicality to rely on. Frustration was slowly seeping in to devour her completely.
[All stats according to physicality have been reduced to 50%]
[All types of abilities and skills are disabled.]
[All types of weapons have been confiscated.]
[All types of internal energy have been halved.]
'W-What the hell is this?!'
Ena's face was drained of all color, getting paler with each panel she saw.
"The headmaster will be chosen by whoever's most powerful in the room. Their stats, weapons, abilities, and internal energy have been restrained to a certain sum. Listen to all of you flag bearers… The way to pass this test is simple… Catch the headmaster and instill your flag within them."
[You have been appointed as the "HEADMASTER"]
A red marker appeared above Ena, making everyone in the room redirect their gaze towards the semi-pure with contempt and resolution.
Analyzing the situation, a cold sweat dripped from her face to her neck, a trace of uneasiness covering her entire being.
Like adding fuel to the fire, the speaker said one last sentence before going static:
"The headmaster has now been appointed~."