The applicants were back at the open field inside Nexus Academy, and standing in front of them again on the podium was Major Pain.
The Major didn't speak immediately though, silently staring at them, letting the weight of the moment to settle in.
Kairo knew why the Major did this. The moment he was teleported back, he noticed something. Unlike before, the number of applicants seemed to have reduced, and it was not a minor reduction either.
'Death is rare my foot?' He was stunned.
Out of 10,000 applicants, Kairo was sure that less than half of them remained at the moment. 'What happened?' He could not help but wonder in shock.
But then, he remembered.
Not every team had a muscle freak like him, and definitely not every team had a healer. Besides and most importantly, not every team was as balanced as his team. Kairo was lucky.
Remembering his encounter against the E-Rank serpent-machine, his eyes narrowed. 'Yeah, if every team encountered something like that at least once, then it's no surprise more than half of the applicants perished'.
'But still, that's over 5,000 teenagers!' Kairo felt a chill run down his spine as he inclined his head to look at the Major.
He was not the only one who realized, most of the other applicants also realized the truth and like him, they felt a chill crawl down their spines.
That was the reaction Major Pain was clearly waiting for as he finally spoke.
His voice was calm but filled with undeniable authority as he spoke. "Congratulations, you passed the trial of steel".
"6,765 applicants died in the first phase".
A chilling silence settled over the other applicants.
Kairo let that settle in… almost 7,000 teenagers just like him had perished, just like that.
Of course, he knew that Nexus Academy didn't operate by normal rules, he knew that it was a journey of survival of the fittest, he knew that it was a brutal crucible where only the strong survive, but still, still…
Kairo clenched his teeth but like the other students, he kept quiet.
Major Pain's chilling gaze passed through the students. "Personally, I would have preferred it if more of you died".
Kairo shivered slightly.
The Major continued in an indifferent tone. "As 16 year olds, you're now adults, you've Awakened so you're responsible for your own lives. You all knew the danger before coming to apply for the scholarship, so their death is on them".
"Before we continue," his gaze turned sharp. "During the next phases of the tournament, just like the trial of steel, death is very real".
He paused. "So, if you're having second doubts that you won't survive, this is your last chance to pull out before it becomes too late".
"You have 30 seconds to make your decision".
Kairo clenched his teeth harder, looking straight at the Major. Kairo wanted power, he wanted to get strong, but was he ready to put his life on the line?
What was power if it came at the expense of your life?
Those chilling eyes, that indifferent and cold voice, it'd unsettled Kairo, and now he felt a chilling fear invade his bones. He was scared, but then he realized…
'It's a psychological test'. His eyes narrowed.
He realized that this was another test immediately, maybe this was even the second part of the trial of steel. Even if it was not, maybe if death was still real in the other phases, still, he was ready to push on.
Even if it meant dying?
Yes, even if it meant dying. Kairo was ready to do at least that to reunite with the last surviving member of his family.
'Leora…' Thinking of that name, his decision became firm.
But not everyone was like him though. While Kairo was locked in his thoughts, others also had their thoughts and under the intimidation of the Major, most buckled.
Over 2,000 applicants dropped out.
The Major had an indifferent look on his face till the 30th second mark, and then he smirked. "Good," he said. "The spineless cowards have been weeded from the true challengers now".
A drone passed overhead as a new headcount was made, and then a figure was projected up in a hologram.
[1,208]
This was the number of applicants remaining.
The Major coldly looked at the remaining applicants. "From now, we will move on to the Combat Phase of the Entrance Tournament".
"It's simple".
"The 1,208 of you will be divided into two brackets, red and blue. Once the drone assigns you a color, the Academy A.I will start a randomization selection pitting random applicants in bracket red against applicants in bracket blue".
"You will all fight in one on one individual battles".
"The Combat Phase will determine the 10 best applicants that will gain the esteemed opportunity of studying in the best martial Academy of humanity".
"After the first round, 604 applicants will be eliminated, leaving 604. After the second round, 302 applicants will be left. After the third round, we'll have 151 applicants left".
"And this is where things get interesting," Major Pain said. "In life, a factor just as much as important as talent and ability is luck".
"Luck is an indisputable factor of existence. And so, during the fourth randomization, a lucky applicant who will escape the A.I's clutches would have the opportunity of automatically being among the 10 final applicants".
A murmur immediately started among the applicants.
"Silence!" The Major silenced them with his signature authoritative bellow.
"With 1 slot out, 9 slots will be remaining. 150 applicants will fight in the fourth round, leaving 75 applicants".
"For the fifth randomization, luck will also apply, but this time in reverse order. If you're unlucky enough not to be drawn against an opponent, it's an automatic loss for you. Your path to Nexus Academy comes to an end".
Kairo could feel his stress levels rising. 'What the heck!'
"After the fifth round, 37 applicants will be left. The same rule will apply here. The odd student opted out by the A.I will automatically be eliminated, while the 36 fight, leaving 18 applicants at the end".
"And then the final round. When all 18 clash, the final 9 who gain scholarship into Nexus Academy will be decided".
"Goodluck".
"You have till tomorrow to recover from your injuries, make sure you make the most of it".
With that, the Major disappeared.
Not walk out, he literally just disappeared out of the podium.