A blindfolded guy with orange hair stood isolated from the rest of the candidates on a vast plain overgrown with grass.
He had a bow in one hand and a quiver holding arrows on his back.
Above them, Maxwell hovered on his board, arms crossed.
"In this test," He began, voice calm but commanding.
"I'll be introducing something else."
The wind seemed to stiffen up.
"Energy sensing."
The guy's eyes glinted with excitement under the cloth at those two words, a grin creeping up his lips.
"To explain, it's simply being able to perceive someone else's energy." Murmurs stretched through the crowd.
"As you all know, during a fight, opponents tend to release energy unconsciously—to strengthen their attacks and defenses."
Maxwell frowned as the murmurs kept escalating.
"Healers do the same when mending wounds, channeling energy into the injured area. That energy when released can be felt by others with similar or opposite energy."
Maxwell paused, seeing how the murmurs were slowly turning into noise.
"But what's important is being able to differentiate pure energy from dark energy. I won't explain how pure or dark energy feels. You'll have to figure it out on your own."
Another pause, then a smirk.
The murmurs were obviously noise now.
"You little brats." He mumbled, his eyes flaring a purple color and immediately, some sort of pressure fell upon the place.
The candidates stiffened, their attention snapping back to Maxwell as they noticed him exuding a dark purple aura.
"Wh–what a powerful aura!" Desmond exclaimed with widened eyes.
"Some of you might not know the importance of this test but let me ask you this."
He glared at them, eyes still flaring.
"When you're surrounded by hundreds of demons and warriors on a battlefield, can you say for sure you'd be able to go all out without hitting any of your comrades?"
A sharp gasp cut through the silence.
"That's right! When you're able to tell pure energy apart from a dark one, you'll know who to strike and who to protect without even looking."
He stopped releasing his energy and the pressure died down. He then pulled out a remote from his pocket.
"Once I push the button on this remote, several dummies will rise from the ground. Some of them have been imbibed with pure energy while the rest are imbibed with dark energy extracted from demons we captured alive."
The guy readied himself, one hand moving to to pull out an arrow.
"The test is simple. Fish out the dummies with dark energy and shoot them."
He finished and pushed the button on the remote.
The guy stood, waiting as the ground behind him opened and a dummy rose but he didn't shoot it and it sank back down.
Two others rose at each sides of him but he didn't shoot them either.
A third one rose in front of him and immediately, he shot an arrow at it. The arrow pierced its head before it sank back down.
"Nice one." Maxwell beamed with delight, pressing another button.
Dummies started rising and falling at a faster rate while the guy kept shooting some of them down.
At a point, he stopped for a few seconds before continuing. Maxwell was clearly thrilled at this point. The guy shot the last dummy and everything ended. Maxwell was impressed.
The guy took off his blindfold with a satisfied smirk.
[Kocho Ayatei]
[Age: 16]
[Ability: Detonation]
[Result: Shot 29/30 dark energy dummies and 1/30 pure energy dummies].
"Looks like this year brought us a lot of talents from different states." Maxwell thought with a slight chuckle, looking down at the guy.
Everyone who followed after also used a bow and arrows but almost all of couldn't perform theirs as good as Kocho did, including Desmond who shot 8/30 dark energy dummies and 15/30 pure energy dummies.
Emmanuel shot 21/30 dark energy dummies and 7/30 pure energy dummies.
Rexford shot 23/30 dark energy dummies and 6/30 pure energy dummies.
Koch's confidence was shaken as the last person, a brown haired guy with a calm expression, completed his test.
[Augustine Arhellan]
[Age: 17]
[Ability: Terra Dominion]
[Result: Shot 30/30 dark energy dummies and 0/30 pure energy dummies].
Kocho frowned at that. "Next time." He muttered shooting Augustine a challenging grin.
A while after that test, Augustine now stood, blindfolded with a wooden sword in his hand.
"This test is similar to the last one, except you're on the defense this time. Attacks are mostly filled up with energy. And no one knows when an enemy will attempt a sneak attack on him."
Four pitching machines rose at all four angles around Augustine.
"The balls which will be shot at you have been imbibed with dark energy. You'll have to sense the energy radiating from the ball and block or strike it."
He said, pressing a button on the remote he held as the pitcher shot a soft ball at Augustine from behind.
"Every warrior has his own perception of how dark energy feels."
Augustine turned around, hitting the ball away.
"You all should have your own perceptions from the last test." Maxwell added with an excited smirk.
All four pitchers started shooting balls randomly at Augustine as he blocked them nice and swiftly. Some he didn't have time to block but instead, dodged without any problem.
Maxwell chuckled. "Nice thinking. At least you know better than to stupidly take anything."
And with that, Augustine blocked the last ball.
He exhaled with thrill and took off the blindfold, his smile growing wider.
"You guys never cease to amaze me." Maxwell said in a calm tone.
Augustine Arhellan
[Result: Defended against 38/40 attacks].
Kocho stepped forward, blindfolded and also with a wooden sword in his hands.
He stole everyone's impression immediately after completing his test.
Kocho Ayatei
[Result: Defended against 40/40 attacks].
He looked in Augustine's direction with a smile that asked; "Did you see that?"
Augustine just smiled back and nodded.
"It seems someone rivals me in terms of energy sensing huh?" Augustine mused.
Moving on, Emmanuel defended against 20/40 balls and so did Rexford.
Desmond on the other hand, defended against the first ten successfully but couldn't defend against the next five which set him into confusion. Turning wildly only to get hit by a ball.
Once the last ball hit him, he took off his blindfold with desperation playing on his face. He stood, taking deep breaths as he lowered his gaze.
"Damnit!" He went down on his knees, clenching his teeth.
"How did the others do it so much better than me. It makes me feel like I'm the only one who's not serious." He thought, punching the ground with a soft thud.
Emmanuel and Rexford walked up behind him.
"It's over for me huh?" Desmond managed to utter, not even bothering to look back at them.
"Come on man, don't say that!" Rexford answered with concern. "The test hasn't ended yet you know?"
"It has ended for me. I'm through. I'm pretty sure I'll fail the last one just as miserably." Desmond's voice cracked but no tears came. Just pure depression.
Emmanuel's nonchalant expression cracked up with concern, not knowing how to cheer on his rival.
Rexford just smiled and squatted beside him.
"Trust me when I say it's not over. Right now, my hunches are telling me that we're going to get in no matter what. The three of us..."
Rexford paused, looking up at the sky.
"No. More than half of us."
"I won't be part of that half. Trust me."
At those words, Rexford's smile dropped and silence gnawed over the trio.
Emmanuel sighed and broke the silence.
"Don't give up now you idiot. We don't know what the last test holds for us. At least you should cheer up and give it your all in the last test..."
"Gather around everyone." A voice cut through the crowd as everyone noticed Maxwell standing in their midst.
They all spaced out and surrounding him. Desmond lowered his gaze where he was again while Rexford and Emmanuel glanced at the crowd in Maxwell's direction.
"I hope you're all ready for the last cause it's the one going to determine whether or not you'll be among the chosen." Maxwell cracked up a grin.
"It doesn't matter if you did well in the other tests or if you messed. Once you manage to end up in the top five in this one, your entrance is guaranteed."
Everyone brightened up at his words, murmurs erupting throughout the crowd but Desmond stayed in his position while Emmanuel and Rexford kept looking.
"This test is going to be a Battle Royale. As it says, you'll all be scattered across the island by teleportation. You'll just have to look for opponents and engage in battles with them until you either knock them out or until they forfeit."
He lifted his left hand, showing them his wrist band.
"The band will record the number of eliminations and also if you get knocked out. You'll be assessed by your number of eliminations and your position. So even if you're the last man standing and you only took out one person, it'll affect your score. So make sure to eliminate as many as you can while aiming for the top. Understood?"
"YES SIR!" All the candidates buzzed in unison, excitement crawling slowly beneath.
Emmanuel and Rexford kept their gaze on the scene while Desmond kept his head bowed.
"First five huh?" The two boys heard Desmond speak, turning their gaze toward him as he lifted his head with a wide grin. Emmanuel and Rexford smirked, knowing clearly what was going on.
"Make sure not to show mercy to anyone. Whether weak or strong." Maxwell added as Desmond slowly stood up.
"Sorry guys." Desmond spoke up. "I'm going to be a bit selfish and aim for first place. Hope you don't mind?"
"You can have it your way." Emmanuel said with a teasing tone.
"But don't expect us to go easy on you." Rexford also said.
"Whatever!"
Maxwell licked his lips from where he stood, excitement flaring in his expression.