Steve and John both went to the hall. The hall was located at the center of the building. The black marble under their feet made them feel like they were walking on ice. Before entering the building, they saw a board instructing them to leave their footwear outside, so they were now barefoot. When they reached the hall, they realized why they saw a board like that. Because if everyone used their footwear, it would make the marble dirty. They saw so many paintings that were hanging on the walls. They all were drawn by famous painters from all over the universe. John looked at each of them; he knew most of the painters and their most famous paintings. And he explained the facts about them to Steve. And Steve listened to all of that while shaking his head. Steve didn't know any of the painters that John mentioned, but he listened to the brief explanation carefully and patiently.
In terms of knowledge, John is far more superior than Steve. John knows almost everything about the universe. But on the other hand, Steve only knows the necessary things that he needs to know to become a knight.
And another session of that hall is dedicated to showcasing various weapons. And Steve has a vast knowledge about weapons, so he feels attracted towards there. When John stopped his explanation, he walked into there. They all are stored in a glass jar, and the weapons are placed on a red silky pillow, so they need to look from above to see the weapons. And one that was the blade that is mentioned in the histories. It was that sword which participated in the battle against God about twenty years ago. The current state of the swordsman who wielded this sword is unknown. Some say that he got cursed and passed away. But the majority of people believe that he is still alive wandering, searching for his pet, and the name of this famous sword is Orion. T was a sword that forged in black metal, one of the strongest metal in all of the multiverse. But the sharpened part of that sword is not purely black. It was in Amber black, and that makes that sword unique. The sword is under strict security in the glass which is on the sword, and Steve sees a notice which says, "Do not touch the glass."
"What are you looking at?" John, after finishing his examination of the paintings, went near Steve and asked.
"Did you know about Orion?" Steve pointed at the sword and asked.
"Yeah, I know a lot, it was the sword that was wielded by the famous swordsman Serber."
The hall is now filled with the people who got selected for the next round. And that made the hall more heated. John and Steve are still roaming over the hall examining the things that showcased in the hall, and about ten minutes after, a man who looks like he is in his sixties went there with a mic in his right hand and arrived at that hall. And with him another guy who was carrying a speaker also arrived at the hall. He placed the speaker next to that old man and left the room. That old man wears a black shirt and grey pants. And there is also a dark blue coat which is covering his upper body. He turned on the mic. He tapped on the mic twice to make sure it was working perfectly. When they heard that boom sound, all of them turned and gazed at him.
"Hello everyone," he said. This was the sound they had heard through the speaker before. It was the same guy whom Steve thought of as a cold-hearted man.
"I hope you all know my voice," he continued.
"Yeah, I am that announcer. And now I am here to see all of you who passed the written test." He raised his hands and continued.
"You don't need to stand there," he said. Suddenly, the store room doors on the right side of the hall swung open. Lots of chairs came sliding out across the floor, automatically arranging themselves in front of them
"What, is that magic?" John was shocked and thought.
"It was Saint. I heard that he has some powers like the rest of us," Steve said in a very low voice. He was careful not to let others hear his voice. When they saw the chairs, all of them sat on them one by one.
"OK, so all of you sit. I can continue my speech, and I hope it won't make you bored." He gave them a smile.
"My name is SAINT. And I think some of you know me, or at least have heard of me. I don't appear in public, so I won't be surprised even if you don't know me." But the truth is the opposite; everyone of them knows about Saint. Even if they didn't see him, they all knew about a guy named Saint who was working behind the curtains. Saint continued his speech.
"I know all of you people are dreaming to become either a knight or guardian, and I'm very happy to see lots of youngsters coming forward to help our universe. As you all know, sadly, our current knight is on his deathbed, so we immediately need a new knight, and also guardians. But we don't need all of you, so we will further filter this team into 51: 1 knight and fifty guardians. If you didn't get selected, then don't worry, next year you have a chance to join our army, so stay motivated. And now I am going to tell you about our first practical test. It is a battle royale; like the game, the last man standing wins. And you all will be teleported into random spots in the already prepared battlefield. And just like the game, you will get loot from there also, so the game starts now!"
"What?" Steve asked himself with confusion. He closed his eyes and when it opens, he is in the middle of a forest. It happens in a blink of time. He didn't feel anything special when he got teleported. Everything happens very fast. He looked around, and all he can see are massive trees. The tree is so massive that its leaves block the sunrays, and it makes that forest dark as night. When the wind howls, he can hear the sound of creaking from the trees. He walked forward. He doesn't know where he will end up reaching, and he also doesn't know how to eliminate the others; all he knows is that he needs to win somehow. After 10 minutes of walking, he reached an open ground. Even though it was surrounded by forest, in the middle of that ground, he saw a loot box. A dark green box with a blue tarpaulin covering its top. He pulled the tarpaulin to see what's inside of that box. An energy bar and some steel canon ball—that's what he got from the loot box. He took the canon ball happily and thought, "This is what I need."
Meanwhile, John was in a paddy field, which he felt was like heaven. He walked in that paddy field, feeling the fresh air. He didn't look for loot boxes; he just floated all over that field.
*Click*
He turned and looked towards the place where the sound came from. And there was a man standing there with a Rubik's cube. He was trying to solve it. He looked towards John with a smile. His hair was dancing with the wind. He wore a T-shirt which had the same design as a scrambled cube. The patterns on his T-shirt included colours of orange, blue, yellow, red, green, and white. The T-shirt was tight-fitting, so it didn't move when the wind blew.
"My name is Xavier. And your good name?"
John didn't respond; he is waiting to see his next move.
"I guess you are deaf, so..." Xavier raised the thumb of his right hand and drew a line across his neck, as if saying, "I am gonna kill you."
He is still turning that cube, but he only managed to solve one face of it. He became impatient and said, "One face is enough for you." He then raised his hands with the cube, and then that cube vanished like dust, melting into the air.
John cracked his fingers, ready to start the fight. He can feel that his heartbeat is rising. He doesn't know how his opponent will fight or what type of powers he has. So he stood there carefully, watching his enemy.
Steve is still on that ground near that loot box. He is looking towards the forest. His deep eyes are scanning every inch of that forest. He sensed someone's presence in that forest. He can barely hear that guy's footsteps, even though that place is filled with birds' chirping. Suddenly, he saw two of the trees falling as if someone cut their trunks. He was shocked and looked towards that direction. And he saw a guy who looks like he is in his 18s or 19s coming from that dense forest. He has a sword that is shining like a diamond. He raised it, pointed towards Steve, and shouted:
"Come and fight me!"