I could barely walk. Most fingers on my right hand were broken. I was bleeding profusely from my nose, and I was probably suffering from a concussion, yet I still had one last hurdle to truly pass and get accepted as the bodyguard of the Jittermeist Prince.
Fuck, I feel like I could pass out at any moment; I can't feel my face anymore… can't we take a moment to breathe?
After some struggle I managed to finally sit on my knees. I took deep breaths with my mouth before I tried to get back up.
I raised one leg up and put all my weight into it to get back up. I was still feeling extremely nauseous, and my sense of balance was off, but I was able to get back up.
My head was spinning, my knees were wobbling, and I couldn't feel anything below the hips, making the mere act of remaining standing challenging.
The floor was cleaned, the dummy was removed, and the door behind us was loudly opened.
A kid entered the room, one of similar age to me, slightly smaller and leaner than me, dressed in simple clothes, a white shirt and sweatpants.
My ears were starting to ring too much for me to hear what the examiner was saying, but the moment the kid took a boxing stance, I realized what they wanted.
Fuck, really? A kid from here… He's a soldier; do you expect me to win this? In these conditions?
The kid seemed extremely wary of me; he stood around two meters away from me and was hesitating to take even a single step forward; instead, he began slowly walking in circles around me.
What a coward. What did they promise for you to take this so carefully? Can't you see what condition I'm in?
I tried taking a step forward to close the distance, and the boy immediately reacted by trying to land a low kick aiming at my front leg.
My leg felt too heavy to try and raise it, so to avoid getting hit, I immediately stepped back.
Shit!
That alone put an extreme amount of strain on my legs; even moving around felt extremely difficult. As long as I tried slow movements, everything seemed fine, but any fast movement would seemingly tear my muscles apart.
The kid then remained distant.
In the meantime, I was trying to slowly get a breather, and with the time given, I managed to put the bent finger back in its place.
After a short while the kid finally made a move; he attempted a low kick.
I tried to stack back, but I couldn't. My legs were feeling too heavy, so I was forced to take the hit.
The kick felt as if someone had hit with a whip. After landing a kick, the boy backed away.
You… Once I get my hands on you, I won't show any mercy.
He was scrutinizing me, eying up and down, waiting for the perfect chance to strike.
He slowly began to walk up to me; I, on the other hand, tried my best to walk away from him.
My fingers were hurting like never before, my whole body felt so heavy I could barely even move, and my bone felt moments away from breaking.
The kid tried to land a couple of high kicks, but I was able to evade both of them by stepping back, and then he aimed a roundhouse to my neck.
Fuck, at this rate I might fail the test.
I kept stepping backward at each kick until I felt the cold wall behind my left heel.
Shit!
I caught a glimpse of him raising his leg for the next kick and raised my arms ready to block only to receive yet another low kick.
Argh! Fuck!
His kicks were insanely fast; each of them felt like a whip. My leg couldn't possibly withstand a third one by that point.
In a desperate gamble I rushed forward; if I wanted to win, I needed to be close enough so that he couldn't unleash any more of those powerful kicks.
I wanted to tackle him, but he was too fast for me, so when he tried to land yet another kick to my right leg, I landed a kick to his crotch. Before he could recover, I punched him in the face with my right hand.
I screamed to cover the pain as I rapidly mounted him once he fell on the ground and kept throwing punches to his face, even using my right hand.
The pain was making me feel lightheaded.
With each punch I could feel my body growing weaker, heavier, and more frail. Despite that, I never stopped, because I knew that if I hesitated even for a single moment, that would've probably been the end of my dreams.
I didn't care if the kid could've died right there and then; with my body growing weaker with each attack, I had no room for errors.
Fuck! Pass out! Pass out! Pass out! Fucking die!
I screamed in my mind as I kept beating him down, and when my arms began to feel too heavy to lift them, I tried to gouge his eyes out with my thumbs, but before I could do so, the examiner intervened, dragging me away from that kid.
"Good job." He said as he dragged me to a corner of the room.
"Thanks." I answered out of breath.
He left me in a corner of the room to rest while the judges were still writing on their notebooks. There I quickly blacked out.
I woke up back in my room, my body feeling fresh as new. I immediately checked my right hand and was glad to see they had healed the broken fingers.
Phew, hopefully I passed the test, I mean… I should've passed it; even if I played foul against that kid, he started it first, only using low kicks and using such cowardly tactics.
I could still feel it, the violent urge to rip his eyes out; the pain was surging from every inch of my body, and my bones felt so frail at the time.
My hands had begun trembling at the mere act of remembering that moment.
No, it's all in the past; not much can be more brutal than that.
After a quick change of clothes, I ventured outside my room.
I wonder how much time has passed since the end of the test, since I don't feel hungry; maybe not even a day has passed.
I opened the door and came face-to-face with a new kid; he looked extremely shy, walking behind the instructor as he was showing where his room was located.
He was a kid with short, straight hair and dark eyes, having a really large nose with freckles all over it.
???
I waved my hand to greet him, and he nodded in response.
Why is he hiding behind the examiner? Isn't he here to become a bodyguard? If anything, he should walk beside him. He should show more confidence; otherwise, people will treat him like a pushover.
I wanted to follow the two of them, but I quickly stopped once I saw the glare coming from the adult.
Fine, suit yourself; I'm going to grab something to drink.
I turned around and walked the other way, headed towards the cafeteria. On my way there I saw a girl, maybe older than me, bent down trying to squeeze her arm into a vending machine to get a free drink.
Well… She's definitely taller than me…
"Yo." I greeted her as I sat on the opposite wall.
"Enjoying the view?" She asked me with a cheeky attitude.
"Most definitely," I answered.
"Since you're already there, can you grab something for me as well, possibly not just sparkling water? I would like something sweet," I asked her.
"I'm not your maid; pick it yourself." She coldly rebutted after she finally got a can out of the machine.
Aww, why is everyone so mean today?
"Are you here to challenge me or something?" She asked me as she finally yanked something out of the vending machine.
"No, not at all. To be honest, after that brutal test I want to take it easy for a while, at least until I completely get over it. I replied as I stared at my empty hands.
That visceral sensation I felt just moments before I tried to gouge the eyes of my opponent is still lingering.
"Damn, not this shit again." She said after she saw the drink she had stolen, it was a can of lemon tea.
"Here! You wanted a drink, right?" She asked, passing me the drink.
Yeah, but now that you're giving me your hand-me-downs, you made it weird.
"Thanks." I replied as I caught the small can.
"What test?" She asked me as she snuck her arm into the vending machine once more.
"The one you need to pass to qualify as a bodyguard, I think. I hope. Honestly speaking, nothing about that test had anything to do with being a bodyguard; it was just torture," I replied.
I then took a sip of the beverage and found it overwhelmingly sweet.
"Huh? I thought there wasn't a need to pass it, especially since they handpicked us." She commented while further digging her arm into the vending machine.
Blegh! If you're going to cover the flavor of lemon with just sugar, why bother drinking lemon tea?
"As if… they will probably always test us; don't ever get too comfortable; their eyes will never leave your back," I warned her.
"And did you pass it?" She asked, abruptly changing the subject.
What? You're scared of talking about it. I don't think they care; in fact, they would probably appreciate someone that believes this lie; that way they can worry less.
"Obviously, I wouldn't be here if that weren't the case. What about you?" I casually replied while taking yet another sip of tea.
"I haven't done any tests; none of us have." She said with a hint of uncertainty and discomfort.
Mhh? This is getting a bit worrying. How long did I remain unconscious?
"Us? How many people joined?" I asked as I leaned against the wall.
"I don't know; I saw at least four others yesterday. They came in with me." She seemed cooperative and didn't hold anything back; her expression didn't look all too pleased, though.
Mmm, it seems more than one day must've passed. Damn, I was pretty beat up but didn't expect my condition to be this serious.
"Oh, so you only arrived yesterday… Good luck then," I said as I finished my drink.
"Yeah, tell me about it. I just hope there are enough spots for the rest of us; it would suck to be refused after coming this far." She bitterly commented as she finally managed to extract yet another drink from the vending machine.
"Hey, by any chance, can you tell me what the tests were like, since you already went through them?" Her whole demeanor shifted, and her tone softened as she leaned closer to me.
"I don't know if I can honestly, but even if I do, it's probably not going to change much; it's purely a physical test, so expect to be pushed to your body's physical limits." I warned, crumpled the small can in my hands, and threw it in the bin.
I thought the conversation would end there, but she had other plans. She began to gently push me against the wall as she started sliding her hands from my neck to my chest.
"We can exchange favors; you give me that information, and I, in return, can do anything you want." She whispered in my ears.
She was a bit awkward in her motions, and her voice didn't sound as alluring as others I heard.
Nope, not happening; I'm not this cheap to buy.
I grabbed her hands and stopped her before she could reach my pants.
"You can stop right here; no matter how much you plead or what you offer, nothing is worth risking my position here. I have already told you there is no written test, just a test of physical capabilities; that's all you need to know." I said as I gently pushed her away from me.
"Tch!" I clearly hear the sound of her clicking her mouth.
She looked cute when frustrated that her flirting skills didn't work on me.
"You would've done the same if you were in my position."
"Just how brutal was the test?" She asked again, attempting to see just how much information she could probe out of me.
"Mhhh, brutal enough to make you reach the very limits of your body; it's probably ten times tougher than what you have in mind. It comes to a point that even the simple act of raising your hand becomes painful." I explained making simple motions with my arms to help her understand better.
"Really?" Judging by her confused expression, my explanation didn't really get through to her.
"Yes!"
"You'll understand when you get there; trust me, it's going to be ugly in all sorts of ways." I repeated.
I was ready to repeat everything all over again when she suddenly changed topic once more.
"So, when are you going to tell me your name?" She asked me; she wasn't outwardly flirting like before, but it still seemed a bit forced, judging by her facial expression.
"Ah, sorry, I'm William, William Savio. What about you?" I presented myself while offering a handshake.
"My name is Veronica Lafiume." She replied as she firmly shook my hand.
Lafiume? I don't think I've ever heard that name before.