"Anyway, Fai," Johnson said, his tone light "I know you're worried about the journey ahead, but honestly you've got nothing to be afraid of. You've trained hard for this assessment. You're going to make it. So stop worrying over nothing. I can feel your feet shaking."
Fai raised an eyebrow. "You're mistaken," he replied , his gaze dropping.
It was Johnson's feet that were trembling, bouncing up and down with a nervous energy. Fai didn't even need to say it. His eyes did all the talking.
"I think those words are better suited for you."
Johnson blinked, then chuckled sheepishly, rubbing the back of his neck.
"Okay, okay… you got me. I'm a little worried. But come on, who wouldn't be? We've never done this before. We don't even know what's waiting for us out there. The difficulty, the kind of tasks hell, we've been preparing blindly! No guidelines, no examples, just..."
As his words tumbled out, the confidence peeled away. What spilled out was raw anxiety, the same anxiety many of the others were bottling up.
And he was right.
None of these teenagers truly knew what awaited them. For years, they had trained, prepared without knowing what truly awaits them .
They had no clue what the assessment would entail, or even if they were being prepared for the right thing.
What if the tasks were tailored for experienced Mutated Humans ? Would they all be disqualified on arrival? The questions stacked endlessly in their minds, each one heavier than the last.
The pressure was relentless, pressing down on their young shoulders like a mountain.
Then came a deep mechanical rumble beneath their feet, the engine of the vehicle roaring , it was time to move .
"Everyone is advised to put on their seatbelts," a calm voice echoed from hidden speakers, its metallic tone reverberating through the cabin.
Seatbelts clicked into places as the students followed the instructions.
The vehicle's reinforced doors slid shut with a heavy thunk, and the dark-tinted windows sealed them away from the outside world.
Near the front, beside the driver's partition, stood a man in a sleek black uniform and sunglasses, one of the junior proctors, perhaps. He didn't speak, didn't move. Just watched.
His presence alone was a reminder that this was no ordinary school trip.
The bus lurched forward, rolling out of the holding area toward their true destination.
The tension inside had been stifling, But as the vehicle gained speed, The steady hum of the engine, the rhythmic vibration through the seats began to soothe them.
Their nervous faces now seemed more relax, their heavy Shoulders dropped. One by one, heads lolled back and eyes began to close.
Years of preparation and the mental strain of uncertainty had worn them down. Many drifted into uneasy sleep.
But not Fai.
He remained wide awake, his eye staring out the window, watching the blurred shapes of trees and sky race past.
Johnson's earlier words echoed in his mind.
They were walking into the unknown. Their training had given them skills, reflexes, knowledge but none of that guaranteed that it would be enough to
make it.
The rumors of trials talked about encounters with twisted creatures from the underworld. It could be anything.
Would he make it through?
He didn't know.
Johnson, meanwhile, had found a strange calm. After letting his fears out into the open, a quiet acceptance had settled over him. He leaned back, eyes closed, a faint smile playing on his lips.
Maybe admitting his fear had been his release.
Hours passed. The scenery outside morphed gradually, cityscape gave way to sprawling wilderness.
The temperature inside the vehicle dropped ever so slightly, the scent of damp earth creeping in through the vents.
The engine's pitch changed again. The bus slowed, descending a steep incline.
The teens stirred from sleep, groggy eyes widening as anticipation returned like a cold splash of water.
Beyond the front window, through the stoic silhouette of the proctor, they saw it.
A massive clearing stretched out before them. And dotted across the field were numerous identical black buses, just like theirs.
Dozens of them, Hundreds, maybe. Students were already disembarking from distant cities… and other nations maybe .
Their bus found a space and parked. The doors opened with a hiss.
A command followed and Everyone was ordered off.
Now on the ground, Fai could finally take in the full scale of the place. The clearing was immense, barren but buzzing with quiet tension. Nothing but other students. The same black-clad enforcers who had brought them. And the retreating buses leaving .
Then the men in black assembled in a clean line opposite the students. Five individuals stood ahead of them, dressed similarly but distinct. In front of the five stood a bald man with an imposing presence.
The students, as if on instinct, fell silent, staring straight ahead.
Suddenly, a rectangular section of the ground between the students and officials began to shift, mechanical plates retracting.
From the center of this opening, a platform rose. And on it stood a man.
At first, silence.
Then recognition spread like wildfire.
A young man with shaggy brown hair, a visible scar etched into his cheek. Sharp brown eyes that matched his hair. His uniform was familiar, similar to the others but marked by a fierce tiger emblem across the back, the emblem of The Black Tiger Guild .
Four golden stripes gleamed on his right shoulder.
The students straightened unconsciously, hearts thudding with awe and fear.They knew who he was.
And they knew this was the moment everything was about to begin.
"Comander Riven Norman "
Johnson wispered as they all looked at this young man in admiration.
"The Fastest to have risen within the military ranks, and also the youngest comander within the military ranks , well know for his speed , its said that his even faster that the wind itself and might even be stronger than most of the other comanders as same rank as
him "
Johnson continued to wisper , only making Fai administration for this comander grow .