[First half start! Completing survey questions…]
A robotic voice, different from Oscar's, filled Haruo's head; along with it, a light blue screen appeared in front of him.
Through his surprised eyes, he saw the blue screen in front of him, and with it was the foreign room he was in. Viewing the room, it felt rather tight, but large enough to accommodate a single person.
Multiple pieces of furniture occupied the space. On the far right was a two-meter closet, but upon opening it, there wasn't a single item of clothing to be found; only the smell of dust and wood was present.
Beside the closet was a simple but appealing drawer, and just like the closet, it held no items.
Then, he darted his eyes to the furniture that took up most of the space: the bed.
But what caught Haruo's attention the most was the sole piece of furniture on the opposite side of the room: the lone desk that had a desk lamp on its surface.
[Survey complete! Please make your way to the desk.]
The same voice that he had heard from when he first transported sounded through his ears. Looking back, he gazed at the blue screen.
Hearing the recommendation, Haruo wanted to test the waters and gave a simple command:
"Current test status."
In an instant, a new screen popped up in his vision. There, he only saw a few words, but the information was enough to satisfy him.
[Current status: First stage — "prologue test" — 0/6 tests completed.]
'Right, the survey.'
Haruo thought before making his way to the lone desk, which only took five steps. Reaching his destination, the deactivated desk lamp activated independently and shone its warm light on the flat surface of the desk.
A bright light gathered on the flat desk, slowly materializing into multiple sheets of white paper, along with a fountain pen and a jar of black ink.
It was a survey.
Unfortunately for him, there was no chair for him to sit on, and he could only stand.
Creak!
An object quickly slid its way to Haruo's calves, pushing itself intently, making him stumble onto his back. The shifting weight caused him to naturally assume a seated position midair until he fell onto something that caught him.
It was a chair.
'That was quite unnecessary. Why not just place the chair beforehand?'
Haruo contemplated, quite annoyed by the sudden chair. Unbeknownst to him, a new screen appeared before his very eyes.
[The prologue test must be completed within the designated two hours. The prologue test prohibits early survey submission and recommends that each question receive careful consideration. Only after the two-hour mark passes will the system automatically submit the survey.]
'Just how long is this test for it to need two hours?'
Mentioning two hours, Haruo was taken aback by the time needed to submit the test. However, as that thought quickly entered his mind, it also vanished just seconds after, only sighing inwardly.
Haruo quickly took the stack of paper off the desk, and what faced him was only a blank page. Soon, he realized the rest was the same. Staring at the paper, he rubbed his temples soothingly while double-checking whether he had found something amiss. But there was nothing.
It was just blank papers stacked on each other.
Amidst his disappointment, a static noise filled the room. Though it was abrupt, Haruo wasn't that surprised and only turned his head to his side.
"Ahem, ahem. May I please receive all the participants' attention?"
Haruo brightened up slightly.
"Before we do anything else, I'd like to announce the rules of this test."
With the mention of the rules, he leaned against the backrest and listened carefully.
It was about time he heard the rules. It was both informative and beneficial to him. If he hadn't, it would have been disastrous for someone like him. A test without rules caused chaos, but hidden rules were even worse. It was extremely troublesome.
It's no different from walking a thin path while being blind.
But fortunately for him, it wasn't either of the two. Now with confirmation, he felt a quiet relief swelling over him.
"The test will comprise two stages, with the first stage comprising a multitude of tests. The second stage, however, is a singular test."
"For each test, you will be graded with points, relative to how well you perform in each one. And depending on the questions you answer in the survey, each test will vary from one another, except for the first two tests."
'Sounds simple enough.'
"For the second rule, killing is permitted."
"…!"
Haruo nearly collapsed from his chair upon hearing the second rule.
"Rest assured, participants, dying within the tests doesn't necessarily mean one will die in reality, too. Currently, all of you are within a simulation-type space. Because of this, we permit murder. In fact, we encourage it.
In addition, when a person dies, that doesn't mean they failed the test entirely; it only means a deduction of evaluation points. And will still be able to take the next test."
'That's a relief then. That means failure isn't the end. It just means you aren't suitable for that category. They sure are efficient.'
"But if a person dies more than once, participation in the latter half of the test will be impossible."
Haruo sighed while furrowing his eyes. He leaned further on the back support of the chair while he scratched the back of his head.
"I guess it was too good to be true." He muttered.
"The third and final rule forbids cheating or outside help.
The sole purpose of the verification test is to analyze the skills and experience of each person. Naturally, we also forbid the use of artifacts. We value individual talent and hard work the most. This lowers unnecessary risks and avoids fraud.
However, if one breaks this rule, the consequence is not only disqualification but a temporary ban from future verification test participation and a fine of $600."
'… I guess I shouldn't take these rules lightly.' Haruo thought to himself, looking to the side as he heard the consequence.
"Not wanting to waste any more of your time, you can now begin your tests."
With his departure, a loud, sharp static sound followed. Haruo quickly glanced at the paper on the desk, and there, the once blank page was now filled with a sea of letters.
The test had started.
Haruo immediately took the fountain pen, carefully dipping its tip into the jar of black ink.
He gazed at the first question, making a puzzled expression afterward.
"Are you taking this test for a driver's license??"
Under the question were two options: yes or no. Without a flinch of hesitation, he crossed no.
After that question, it was smooth sailing, easily answering each question as if he were breathing air. Soon, after just 50 minutes, he finished the 120-question survey in a flash, having the division factions as his desired organization.
He then stretched his hand backwards and spent another ten minutes reviewing every answer carefully. Only after that, he walked toward the bed in the room and spent the remaining time resting.
The remaining time also flew by, and soon, a voice entered his ear, causing Haruo to stir from his sleep.
[The survey has been automatically submitted. Please pass through the door to begin the test.]
Haruo swallowed a deep breath and spilled it out just as soon after. Across from him was a door that was emitting a yellow glow.
He picked himself up and walked to the door. Placing his hand on the doorknob, he carefully twisted it before pushing it forward. The bright yellow light welcomed him, pulling him to the other side of the door.
Soon after his whole being crossed, the yellow light disappeared, and there he was met with an entirely new room.
It was a large, castle-like corridor, much larger than the one he had fought the knight in.
Additionally, there were large windows that were closed by dark curtains, while others were wide open, allowing him to view the outside. There, he saw tiny white dots that shone in the darkness.
They were stars. Outside the walls was a space itself.
The door behind him shut itself tight, making Haruo turn his back and see that the door had disappeared. Only a flat concrete wall was there.
Haruo then turned his head back forward, and there he saw a white humanoid puppet. It had the same structure as him, but was slightly more uncanny.
It stood there at the edge of the room, its body not moving an inch, like a mannequin on display.
[First stage — The first test — Tests completed 0/6]
His eyes were glued to the screen, but only until the mannequin charged at Haruo did he take his eyes off and face it.
'So I have to fight that? Okay, but…'
Haruo side-stepped, dodging the mannequin with a calm expression, before kicking it on its abdomen, sending it away a generous distance.
'Why is it so slow?'
He thought with a solemn expression, eyeing his surroundings while keeping the mannequin within his vision.
'I know this is a first test, but is this really the standard?'
However, although he was undermining the situation, he did not dare to lower his guard by even a bit, and kept an expectant gaze.
As he took a breath, Haruo quickly moved his whole body near the wall, dodging the mannequin once more. This time, he wasn't as fast to dodge an injury. A small cut appeared on his face.
Luckily, it wasn't deep enough for it to bleed, but deep enough to show a wound.
'So, it's just like that? Did I really escape the tomb?'
Haruo thought, his face bearing an even more solemn expression than he did before.
The mannequin attacked once more, but to no avail; Haruo was still as agile as before, not letting it touch him whatsoever. For now, he restrained himself from attacking and observed the mannequin.
In that moment, he suffered another injury, this time in his neck, and with it, there was a tear of blood.
And there, the confirmation he was after revealed itself.
The mannequin was adapting to physicality, both strength and speed. Not wanting to continue this any further, Haruo summoned his blade from his mana storage and split it in half.
To his astonishment, the sword passed right through the humanoid as if it passed through air.
Distracted, the mannequin took this chance to strike a blow to Haruo's stomach. Gritting his teeth, Haruo tried to dodge, but was already a step too late; it had struck his arm.
Haruo felt a profound pain spread to his arm. Although painful, it wasn't enough to break his arm or cause internal injury. The pain wasn't a problem for he ignored it, only squinting his eyes slightly before retreating.
'It's even more troublesome than the golems in the tomb, being able to pass through my blade.'
He placed his hands on his arm and massaged the pain area to relieve the accumulated stress.
And not even a second later, the humanoid rushed toward Haruo. Instinctively, Haruo tried to block. However, the outcome was slightly different from earlier; he had successfully blocked the attack.
His eyes widened, and he immediately brought his blade upward to sever its arm from its body, but as he expected, it wasn't that simple. The arm remained intact, his blade only passing its body.
Haruo had given the mannequin another opening, except this time, he was prepared for this outcome, and with the clue he gained, he hurried to change his grip and blocked the attack.
The impact sent the white-haired boy to the wall, his arm swelling from the damage.
'What a surprise, not only does it resemble the golem, but it's even worse. It makes me wonder whether that tomb was really a setup.'
Haruo said, clutching the curtains to support himself, and soon, the relentless mannequin charged.
Haruo flinched once before dodging the humanoid, and with the curtain, he wrapped its head and shoulders in layers before tying it tightly, restraining its movement.
'Luckily, I figured out what differentiates it from a golem! Its regeneration was more efficient, making it seem like I slashed through nothing.'
Even though it was only trapped beneath a thin layer of cloth, the mannequin found it hard to escape, unable to break through easily.
'What's even more important is that I was right about this room. It can't be damaged.' Haruo sighed inwardly, gripping his blade tightly. 'If it could, maybe the impact would have caused the wall to even slightly dent.'
Wanting to resolve this matter as quickly as he could, he raised his blade and repeatedly struck the mannequin's body until all its movement ceased and it became still. However, just in case, Haruo split the mannequin in four, severing it by its elbow, resulting in its arms and lower body detaching from each other.
Only then did Haruo calm himself.
[First test completed! Please enter the door to continue to the second test.]
Haruo then dragged his hand to his cheek, wiping off the cold sweat on his face before making his way to the door.
This time, what was in front was a room with three other doors on the sides and front. Just like before, the door he went through also vanished, and he was left all alone.
[Current status: First stage — Waiting Area — 1/6 tests completed]