Suddenly, a group of candidates appeared, breaking the monotony of the queue.
They walked with confident strides.
Their arrogant eyes, mocking smiles… everything about them reeked of disdain.
"Make way for the elite, losers!" Zeke sneered.
Candidates from the best schools in the country...
They went through the early phases of the Selection internally.
Gekirin felt his jaw tighten.
Walking clichés, those ones.
Always the same. They have no idea what it means to fight for something.
Someone ought to teach them a lesson.
His muscles tensed.
But before he could say or do anything—
BAM.
The leader of the group collapsed with a heavy thud.
He stayed on the ground, stunned, before scrambling up, his cheeks red with shame.
All eyes turned to him.
An awkward silence took hold, broken only by a few muffled laughs.
He violently grabbed the collar of a boy with chestnut curls streaked with blond highlights, who wore a falsely innocent look.
"You tripped me, bastard!" he shouted, his eyebrows furrowed, a red vein pulsing on his forehead.
Behind him stood another boy, straight-backed and motionless.
White hair, pale eyes, spotless outfit.
He radiated a cold aura—completely contrasting his relaxed companion.
"Me?! How could I possibly do that?!" exclaimed Yajiro, totally unfazed, smiling with his hands on his heart like a theater actor.
"I think it was him," he added, pointing dramatically at Ezekiel.
Zeke clenched his jaw. That vein on his forehead twitched again.
"Oh yeah? I was pretty sure it was you..." Ezekiel replied, putting a thoughtful hand on his chin.
"You'll regret messing with me!" Zeke growled, throwing a punch at Yajiro.
The punch stopped inches from his face.
Ezekiel had caught it.
He stared into Zeke's eyes. Cold and sharp.
"If we fight here, we're out.
Forget the Selection."
He calmly clenched his fist.
Gekirin, watching from nearby, exchanged a glance with them, the corner of his mouth rising in a smirk.
These two are something else… I wonder how far they'll go.
Yajiro noticed and suddenly pointed at him:
"Maybe it was him all along!"
"Huh?! Wait, I've got nothing to do with your drama!"
"Stop messing with me, all three of you!" Zeke bellowed, his eyes blazing.
"Cool it, Zeke," Reon said, placing a firm hand on his shoulder.
"We're not starting a fight before the first trial."
Zeke growled, withdrew his fist, and turned away in frustration.
"Pff… bunch of cockroaches.
You'll be the first to die in the Selection.
That is, if you even pass the physical tests."
He spun around.
"Let's go!"
The elite group walked off.
After a beat of silence, Yajiro and Ezekiel exchanged a knowing look—then burst out laughing.
"Pwahahaha! Did you see how hard he faceplanted?! And you—what's your name?" Yajiro turned to Gekirin.
"Gekirin. And you?"
"I'm Yajiro. And this guy's Ezekiel," he replied with a quick gesture.
"I saw you wanted to trip him, but I just couldn't resist. Sorry," he added with a cheeky grin.
"As long as he got the message," Gekirin smirked.
The line moved forward...
"Candidate 357. Your name?"
A jolt of excitement ran through Gekirin.
"Gekirin."
"Age?"
"Seventeen."
"Height?"
"One meter eighty."
"Please report to Gate 8 for your physical assessment."
He wasted no time and moved to the indicated gate. The physical tests began.
10-kilometer run.
He took off, focused, each stride driven by training-forged endurance.
Result: 34 minutes.
Push-ups.
The ground shook under his palms. After the fortieth, his arms burned.
Result: 63.
Pull-ups.
He pulled himself up again and again, wringing out one final rep in a silent scream.
Result: 15.
Final test: 100-meter freestyle swim.
Exhausted, muscles knotted, Gekirin dove into the icy water.
Every stroke drained him further.
Teeth clenched, he gave it everything.
When he touched the far wall, his body was on the verge of collapse.
Result: 49 seconds.
As he stepped out of the pool, still catching his breath, he saw Ezekiel and Yajiro approaching with wide smiles.
"Forty-nine seconds! Not bad at all!" Yajiro exclaimed, clapping his shoulder.
"Indeed, that's really good," Ezekiel added with a nod.
Slightly embarrassed, Gekirin scratched his head.
"Thanks... I trained a lot in swimming."
Yajiro turned to Ezekiel:
"So, what did you get?"
"Forty-seven seconds!" Ezekiel grinned proudly.
"I expected better from you, being in a swim club since you were twelve..."
"What?! With forty-seven seconds, I'm in the top ten swimmers in the country!" Ezekiel puffed his chest.
"And you? What'd you get?!"
"Fifty-two. But I was taking it easy."
"If I go full out, I'll break forty-five," Yajiro claimed with a huge grin.
"WHAT?!" Ezekiel exploded.
"You're lucky you don't just sink!"
Gekirin, chuckling to himself, thought,
All I'm missing is a chair and popcorn.
Then, a metallic voice rang through the hall:
"Physical test results are now available.
Please check your status and report to Gate 23 for gear distribution if qualified. Then proceed to Gate 25 for the first trial. Thank you."
"That was fast!" Gekirin exclaimed, whipping out his phone.
He tapped quickly, a knot forming in his stomach.
Stress surged, choking his breath.
His hands trembled slightly.
Come on... I should've passed...
He hesitated before hitting the "Reveal" button.
His heart stopped.
Then—he tapped it.
"Physical test passed" appeared in bright green letters.
All the tension left him.
A huge smile broke across his face.
He looked around for his teammates.
Yajiro punched the air:
"Passed!"
Ezekiel said nothing, but the small smile on his lips said it all.
"Me too!" Gekirin beamed.
The three of them walked toward the changing room, trading jokes.
The tension from earlier had lifted.
They reached a door marked "Equipment".
Inside, candidates were lining up.
They joined the queue.
The uniforms were simple but functional: a black shirt with the candidate's number printed on the chest, gray pants, and a zip-up sweatshirt with two white stripes.
During sign-up, they had entered their sizes.
Ezekiel, always pristine, chose a perfectly fitted outfit.
Yajiro, of course, went baggy.
Gekirin picked a middle ground: loose pants and jacket, tight-fitting shirt.