[Currently waiting for more participants…]
Gazing at the spacious room around him. Analyzing the area, he unconsciously had his blade at hand; memories of the tomb resurfaced in his mind.
Haruo couldn't help but feel disappointed in himself for being so paranoid. He had already left the tomb hours ago, but the mental strain still lingered. Scratching his head, he sighed inwardly before storing his blade within his mana storage again.
In the middle, he glanced at the four parallel chairs, and without hesitation, walked towards them and allowed himself to sit.
'Aside from the paranoia, it seems like all of my wounds have healed, even the fatigue I accumulated during the fight has disappeared. However, the stress that I already had before entering still lingers. Just how long do I need to rest to feel slightly better?'
Haruo thought to himself, scratching the back of his head.
[First test successfully evaluated! Would you like to view your results?
Yes / No]
'Oh?' Haruo muttered inwardly, with a blue screen occupying his vision.
Without an ounce of hesitation, Haruo hurriedly pressed the yes button, and a new screen appeared right in front of him.
[Haruo Chiharu:
Performance Evaluation:
Execution: 3000 points
Creativity: 3000 points
Conclusion: 2500 points
Time Finished: 7:34 Minutes > 4500 points
Overall: 13,000 / 13,000
Test ranking: 4th place.]
'I didn't think I'd get a perfect score, and even making it to the top 10, just below third.'
Despite receiving a perfect score, Haruo didn't feel the need to celebrate. That didn't mean he wasn't happy, though; in fact, he was quite overjoyed with this outcome.
'The deciding factor of how a person gets a higher rank must be on how fast a person completes it, then. I'm satisfied with this much. I wonder how that troublemaker is doing.'
Lost in his thoughts, he grew expectant of the next test, preparing himself mentally and strategically.
Click!
Another person was entering!
With the knob slowly turning, Haruo slightly stiffened and sharpened his gaze at the creaking door. During his focus, Haruo kept his hand occupied with the handle of his blade in his mana storage.
It wasn't long before he saw the figure.
It was a woman, a beautiful one at that. Her silhouette entered the room completely. Her brownish-blond hair cascaded down to her shoulders; her sharp features turned as she glanced around the room.
The door behind her completely shut and faded from the wall, leaving only two doors left.
Haruo surveyed the woman; her cyan sapphire eyes scanned the whole place, and despite her gaze lingering on the walls, she could feel her watching him as well. And he bet she could sense his gaze too, but didn't say a word.
Her attire wasn't flashy, but something somewhat similar to Ena's. Long white tunic sleeves wrapped in arm guards. Long black trousers accompanied by black leather boots.
But the thing Haruo was most focused on was that she is…
'A semi-pure?' Haruo thought. 'Why is someone like her in Marion?'
Just like Ena, the girl was a semi-pure, far from her natural domain.
Meeting a semi-pure beyond their designated country was a rare sight, nearly impossible to come by. Because of their overwhelming status and influence, they became a target for competitors and assassins.
They gain as many enemies and grudges as they do with money and popularity.
Because of that reasoning, they rely on the power and protection of their countries or homelands. Most wouldn't even dare to migrate to other places.
That was why he was so surprised when he first met Ena in a foreign kingdom. When he first applied for his job as a butler, he only thought of them as migrated nobles from the empire. But meeting Leon, he soon found out he was wrong.
Of course, that led to the destruction of the Hyakagure household, as well as Leon's death.
This wasn't the first time either. Both Kilian and Sunae were semi-pure, and the fact that Seiji originated from Marion makes it three.
'There seems to be more about Marion than I thought. I should familiarize myself as soon as possible after the test.'
The girl, after familiarizing herself, walked to the middle of the room and chose the chair parallel to Haruo, which was the farthest. Ever since then, both have remained silently waiting for the final two participants.
Through the awkward silence, the final two participants entered the room simultaneously.
One was a short girl, while the other was a flashy boy. The two, seeing Haruo and the semi-pure seated in the middle, hurried their steps to occupy the remaining seats in the room.
All of them sat through the awkwardness. The two people who recently arrived had nervous expressions. Unable to stand it any longer, the girl broke the awkwardness by clearing her throat loudly.
"Do you guys mind if we do introductions?"
The other boy nodded slightly, "That seems to be the right call."
"I don't see why not." Haruo agreed.
"I'll start then! My name is Juliette Dupont, and I recently graduated from Helaran Academy. I took this test to join a proper division, and through my efforts, I ranked 143rd. Other than that, I mostly do long-range combat."
Juliette said, with a slight hesitation in her voice, but it contained cheerfulness. While she introduced herself, Haruo only bothered to remember her name and what she specialized in.
Beside her, an elegant curved stick with a thin string leaned on the chair to remain standing. However, while she had a bow, there were no arrows to be seen.
She herself had a sleeveless compression shirt, along with a cropped hood, waiting to be worn. Finally, she had a long green skirt that descended to her calves.
After her introduction, the boy parallel to her followed.
"I'm Liang Chen. Just like Juliette, I am here to join a respected division. I ranked 198th. I specialize in close-range combat."
A trace of resoluteness in his voice, crossing his arms while glancing down at the ground.
He, however, differed from Juliette in terms of attire. Instead of wearing combat-focused gear or clothing, he wore trendy outfits; for example, the sports jacket that overlapped with his white shirt, and black track pants that matched the aesthetic.
It was especially obvious with his eye-catching shoes.
Both Juliette and Liang Chen chatted a bit with each other until a buzz echoed through the room.
"Hello again, participants. Now that everyone has finished the first test, the second test will soon begin."
Everyone in the room stopped their chatter for a second and listened to what the speaker was going to say.
"The second test will be a classic team versus team battle, evaluating on-the-spot decision-making and team coordination. Regarding the rules, any team sabotage is strictly forbidden. That means no team killing, no sacrificing, and no stealing.
The test will begin within five minutes. Please prepare yourselves until then. That is all."
"Oh, so it's a team test! What a relief then!" Juliet said, laughing slightly.
"Yes, I agree with you. I thought we'd had to fight." Liang Chen followed.
After a few back and forth with one another, they turned their gazes to the semi-pure to their side. Their eyes filled with an expectant emotion as they silently waited for her to say something.
Reading the room, she nodded her head. "I'm Tatiana Andreev. I ranked 7th on the previous test."
At that moment, both Liang Chen and Juliette burst into cheerful expressions, their eyes glimmering with a shine of excitement and anticipation. Both gathered to her side, asking her many questions and giving her various compliments.
Haruo, witnessing their enthusiasm, felt somewhat confused. Although they were nearest to her, they seemed not to notice her grim and annoyed expression.
"I'm done with my introduction."
Tatiana said, her gaze lingering over to Haruo, making it obvious for the two to redirect their gazes as well.
A slight disbelief washed over him as he gazed at Tatiana, instantly realizing she had redirected all their attention to Haruo to avoid theirs. Although he wasn't particularly angry about it, he had expected his turn of introductions anyway, soon after they finished complimenting the semi-pure.
"My name's Haruo. I ranked 4th. I do close-range combat."
In Haruo's mind, there was no reason to prolong the introduction. It was both unnecessary and a waste of their time.
And soon after, as he expected, they had also hurried to his side, complimenting him as they had originally done to Tatiana. What bothered him the most was not their attention but watching Liang Chen act cool. It was an unbearable sight.
But in the corner of his eye, he saw the suspicion-filled glare of the Semi-pure.
"I hope you are all finished with your preparations. The test will now begin. Please enter the following door to start the match."
At one corner of the room, just behind Haruo, was a new door.
Haruo was the first to stand up and make his way toward the door. The next was Tatiana. Only then did both of them follow the two top rankers.
[You have entered the next test. The test will begin in five minutes; please prepare until then.]
Juliette sprang around, viewing the hall-like structure of the place. The place resembled the first test in terms of aesthetics, but there was one thing that set them apart.
The sheer size of the hall was at least five times larger.
Despite their entry, the opposing team was still nowhere to be found; instead, they were met with a plain grey wall in the middle of the room.
"The team must be on the other side of that wall." Liang Chen said, his arms crossed against each other.
"How could you tell?" Juliette said with a confused look, leaning forward.
Tatiana and Haruo both looked at Juliette, gifting her a face of disbelief. Just staring at the wall, anyone could tell that it was a separator.
Without realizing it, a ticking sound faded in their heads, slowly growing as time went on. Instinctively, they all rushed into a battle formation. Liang Chen raised his fist, Juliette drew her bow, and Tatiana grabbed her own blade from thin air.
Haruo was the only one who hadn't raised a weapon, caution in his eyes.
As if predicting the future, the grey-plain wall in front of them dissipated into gold dust, revealing three other people with their eyes exuding killing intent as soon as they spotted them.
Juliette didn't waste any time and shot a speeding arrow at one participant, but it was in vain, for it was dodged just barely.
The battle had begun.
And realizing this, Liang Chen lunged forward at one of the opposing team and struck his fist to his face. However, like Juliette's arrow, it was evaded.
Even Tatiana was being attacked by one of them, but unlike the other two, her face remained calm as she clashed swords with the man, even taking glances off her battle to gaze at the room.
Haruo, seeing her, went to her side and kicked her opponent to the side, sending him flying into a nearby wall.
"Why waste time if you're just going to look around, anyway?"
As she was about to say something, she sensed a sword coming in her direction and positioned herself to block it.
A loud clang echoed through the room, creating a massive gust of wind that caused four of the fighting people to plant themselves on the ground to oppose the harsh wind.
Haruo's eyes shot up, finally grabbing his blade from the mana storage.
"I knew it was you!"
A foreign, youthful voice appeared opposite Tatiana, kicking the seemingly 'empty' space in front of her. However, what followed was another tight sound.
"It just had to be you." Tatiana sneered.
Confused by the situation, he stared at the space, and there, a figure slowly appeared. Looking down, he saw polished leather shoes materializing from the ground up.
Soon, the whole figure appeared.
What Haruo noticed about the man first was the tattoo on his neck. A thin serpent wrapped around the man's neck until it bit its own tail at the Adam's apple.
His slender structure, complemented by a black turtleneck and a leather jacket over it, with tall black leggings covering his legs.
He swept his hair messily to the side, allowing a few strands to fall over his forehead, while the other side was bare. His purple eyes stared teasingly at Tatiana with a sly smirk that reminded him of Kilian.
In his hand was a silver saber, pointing at the two people in front of him.
"How'd you know it was me? Was I that recognizable?" He said teasingly.
"Do you know each other? Who is this?" Haruo said, his blade pointed at the teasing man.
"Ha… He's my brother's best friend since childhood, and also mine. We participated in this test together. What I didn't expect was meeting him this early."
"Introducing me like this makes me so embarrassed, you know." Another tease by him. "So, how about I do it myself? That seems more appropriate, doesn't it?"
The man stepped closer to Haruo, towering over him. He was taller than Haruo by two inches, or more accurately, he was six feet tall, sharp. Their gazes fell on each other, while the man reached his hand out to Haruo.
A sense of distrust washed over him. He hesitated over whether to take his hand. In the end, he took his hand.
However, it wasn't for introductions, but to pull the man closer to him, his blade shooting towards the man's tattoo.
The man dodged the blade, a single tear of sweat dripping from his face, still making that sly smirk as he did. Sadly for him, Tatiana stabbed him in the back. His back turned crimson as blood dripped from her blade to her hand.
When the crimson liquid reached her hand, she felt nothing trickling in her hand, as if there wasn't any blood. Similarly, when Haruo tried to tighten his grip, the man's hand dissipated into air, and soon, his whole body.
"How mean of you two. The fact that you thought of stabbing me in the back hurts me, Tia."
Fake sobs entered their ears. Tatiana hurried to turn her gaze to her back, and a slice appeared on her shoulder, severing her arm from her body completely.
"Remember what we promised? That we wouldn't hold back if we ever met each other during the tests? I'll gladly accept it."
Tatiana seized her injured shoulder, trying to stop the bleeding. Haruo looked forward, meeting the green eyes of the man before they reverted to purple.
"Ah, right, I forgot to introduce myself." He chuckled slightly.
"My name's Leo Novikov, and just like Tia, I'm a semi-pure."