Within a short span of time, a couple of the candidates have already been eliminated.
Drek took his steps cautiously. He figured that as long as he knew the last direction the head guard was at, he could save himself by using the others as a shield. Given he wasn't tall, standing at 5 feet 8 inches, he was just above the average.
So the chances of a sword flashing from above someone's head and taking him by surprise was less likely to happen.
'Whatever my preparations might be, the probability of facing danger is still not zero. Keeping my senses alert is the only path I can follow.'
The head guard dashed at random directions, successfully eliminating candidates most of the time. Few of the talented were able to dodge at the very last second. And sometimes, even when the head guard had found someone at the sword point, he still wouldn't eliminate them. Probably being satisfied with the way they tried to defend themselves.
Suddenly Drek saw the head guard charge at their direction. At the last second, he calmly stepped behind and slipped through the slim gap between two other candidates.
The next moment, another candidate a little far away fell to the guard's hand.
"Disqualified."
The number of candidates started decreasing rapidly thereafter, with the guard charging at Drek twice, who somehow was able to save himself using others as an unwilling sacrifice.
At last, after five full minutes of this constant pressure, the head guard finally appeared at the forefront and sheathed his sword. The guards that had formed the ring also started dispersing to their own posts.
"Alright, that's all the test was about. You are now all qualified." He said pointedly at everyone who had successfully passed the test.
Looking at the ones who had failed, he made a shooing gesture. "You lot, go back to home. The baron hates unnecessary crowding at his place."
At his words, a few of the guards stepped towards the disqualified candidates and escorted them outside. Most of them actually looked happier than the ones who had passed.
Obviously, there were also those failed candidates who had shame and sadness written all over their face. These were the ones who actually craved for real power, to feel the thrill in ascending from just a simple mortal to something greater.
But they were few in number, and there was nothing they could do to salvage their situation. To return to their mundane lives was the only fate they could helplessly choose.
"Bring them some water and food." The head guard instructed a passing servant in the corridors, who bowed before briskly walking away to pass the orders.
Drek, however, wasn't particularly focused on the refreshments that were now coming their way. He was glad he had made it easily through the physical test.
...But so did the others.
Drek looked at the departing candidates; some sad, some happy...but safe.
And then he looked around him. Almost every candidate had the death ring revolving around them, looking like a malicious rope that wanted to crawl upwards and strangle their throats.
He looked down at himself but just as every single day, he didn't see any ring on him.
Maybe that was a relief, atleast he would be alive...
'But the death rate in an awakening ceremony is not even 10 percent per year. What's going to happen with them then...?'
In truth, while he wasn't the one being affected, he was afraid. And now truly hesitant of the ceremony ahead.
The baron chose that exact moment to open his doors with a loud thud as he stepped on the fields.
"I see a lot of you have been sent back. Well, congratulations to the ones left behind." He extended his arms wide as a gesture.
Then he paused and looked upwards at the sky. The sun was now reaching its peak.
"Is it time yet?" Baron Hobb muttered under his breath, audible enough for the head guard to nod along.
"Yes, my lord. The sooner we let them enter, the better their chances of survival."
"True, true." The baron agreed. Then his voice turned slightly hesitant as he asked, "Why didn't you go a little harder on them? I see a lot more candidates are going to participate this year as compared to the other years. And I can already tell a lot of them are ineligible to enter the Underworld."
The head guard pursed his lips and answered, "Sir, we already lacked time. And the test we conducted was as ineffective as it could have been. How do we expect even the talented ones to dodge me? But still, I tried my best by giving second chances to the ones I thought were physically capable. Had I been harder on them, even the few talented ones who made it here would have been eliminated."
Baron Hobb sighed. "If only nature hadn't forced a specific time span every year for this ceremony, we could have had some time in our hands to successfully conduct a proper physical test."
The head guard glanced at Hobb with a flicker of anger hidden in his eyes. But as if it had all been an illusion, they turned normal again.
Baron Hobb, unaware of the gaze, asked, "Any person to bet on this year?"
"Actually there are six such individuals this time. Two of them are highly intelligent and can adapt to situations easily from what I can see."
He smiled melancholically as he added, "But that's useless. Afterall, if Huckell's hypothesis had been correct, they are the least likely to make it out of the ceremony."
"But also the ones who could rise indefinitely, that is, if they make it out of the Underworld." Baron Hobb spoke in an optimistic manner, while the head guard remained silent.
After the selected candidates had been fed well, Baron Hobb and his head guard approached them.
The teenagers rose up in tandem seeing them arrive.
Hobb looked at them one last time before turning around and saying, "Follow me."
The guards lined them up and they all walked behind the baron, heading towards the other side of the building where a large tent had been placed, capable of fitting thousands in it. This area was also heavily guarded and Drek noticed three imperial guards as well, waiting for them.
As they approached, the three of them looked at the candidates in scrutiny and then at the baron before finally saying, "Enter."
Everyone entered inaide the large tent where a massive device was placed at the centre.
It looked like a pendulum clock but without the clock itself - the gong was still present. In the place of where the clock should have been, there was a huge translucent sphere, inside of which a fluorescent light shone randomly.
Following the instructions of the three imperial guards, all the candidates were made to stand in a circular formation with the device being the central point.
Then, Drek and almost everyone else watched in silence as the three imperial guards worked on the device while discussing something among themselves.
A little more a minute later, one of them looked at the candidates and instructed them.
"All the aspirants, iisten to my words very carefully. I won't repeat them again, so be mindful."
Then talking a long breath, he spoke. "Firstly, I hope you are all aware of the dangers that await you all....some even capable of taking your lives."
Drek glanced at the boy beside him, who was talking deep breaths frequently and swallowing hard.
"While I or nobody else could say where you shall spawn in the Underworld, there are a few instructions you all must keep in your mind, the first one being that the System you shall meet in the Underworld shall assign each of you a task. Everyone shall basically be having different missions to complete."
"What most of you aren't aware of is that each of the tasks you people get are related to each other. So on the chance you meet someone having a task highly similar to yours, group up immediately."
Then he looked at Baron Hobb, who quickly brought a large bowl full of red coloured ribbons with an insignia of a lady on it.
The guards distributed these ribbons among the candidates while the imperial guard spoke, "Tie them at your wrist or on your balls, I don't care. Just make sure you don't lose them. This is the symbol to recognise your fellow aspirants from Earth."
"And lastly, the reason why none of you are allowed to bring in weapons here is because you won't even be able to carry them with yourselves into the Underworld...so it's highly essential that each of you arm yourself with something as fast as possible once you are in the Underworld."
A nervous atmosphere choked the air inside the tent as the imperial guard finished his speech and the two other imperial guards subsequently, finished working on the device.
All the guards and the Baron then moved away from them as the ground under the candidates started glowing faintly. A cracking sound followed as something rotated fiercely inside the translucent globe and light spread inside it like thunders. The gong also oscillated, as it produced a ringing sound.
Drek prepared himself as numerous voices around him murmured in fear.
Right at that moment, someone tapped at his back.
"Found you..."
A feminine voice spoke from behind Drek, making him go completely stiff.