As the AAE head officer stood up, Master Monim is already on his way to the East Army camp. He would reach there in approximately 15 minutes...quite fast for a human...that is if you consider his ability 'Beast instinct: Cheetah's leap' ""human"".
The candidates have an option, they can either leave the examination and still be in the army ,or they could participate and risk their lives.
Most didn't want any trouble, so they didn't bother. But some saw the opportunity to work under Master Monim as more appealing. And Sharp was ofcourse one of them.
Sharp ,As he's looking around the training camp, "i wonder what type of examination this willl--(he sees everything going sideways really fast )---be.
THUDDD..!
As he falls on the ground...and then another candidate....and another... All the candidates go unconscious and fall on the ground..
_______
As sharp opens his eyes, he slowly gets up..."where am I?" "What happened". He see's his bag is gone ,and his cloths are changed too.
There's a brown coloured leather belt around his waist with a machete attached to it.he has a lot of pockets in his black coloured baggy pants ,tucked in his high leather boots.With no shirt on, He goes under a tree."So they knocked us unconscious and threw us in a forest, is this some kind of survival test?"
He checks his pockets ,and there is a map.The map of a forest, there's only one river in the forest flowing through the middle of the forest.
"Are there more candidates in the same area?"
There's a "red zone" on the map near the end of the river. "Definately not going there..!" . He checks his other pockets and finds some useful tools. A wire. A small knife . And an Hourglass. "Is this some kind of countdown?"
"But it is moving slowly so ,let's not worry about this." "I don't know for how long this exam is going to last, I need food ,water and shelter." He says while putting his machete on his belt. And starts walking away...
As he walks away ,There's a movement in the bushes.. it's an Army official.The AAE head officer ordered him to keep an eye on Sharp and look out for his safety...
At the same time ,other candidates also woke up. This forest is big ,the probability of them meeting is really low. But there are wild animals like bears and tigers along with poisonous insects lurking in the forest.This test is going to be easier for the lowborns but sharp is not used to hunt for his food.
Sharp - "maybe finding the river is the right call ,water and food will be easier to collect."
Sharpclimbs a tall tree and he could just see the glimpse of the river. He climbs down and makes a run for it. "There are fishes in the water! ".He goes near the river ,takes a handful of water and drinks it. "Water is clean... probably... I should boil the water just in case."
He takes out his machete and starts chopping down a tree ,and another one ,and another. "This should be enough"
He brings some stones and sets his camp near the river against a large tree .
"The winds here will help me with the insects, but I need a proper shelter."
He grabs his machete and starts slicing through the leaves and stems of small bushes and plants. He uses the machete to dig two decent size holes in the ground and fits two logs in them ,then he places Bamboo above the logs horizontally, making an elevated platform.
He uses the flexible stems of some plants as rope and ties everything together.More wood, more rope and finally a roof made up of large leaves . And the tree house was complete.
The shelter is well above the ground which should help him with the wild animals. But now the sun was about to set and he has no food ,or fire." I can survive one night without food, lighting a fire will be nice, but , it is not wise to reveal my location i think."
He uses his sharp knife to carve a big stone into a medium size pot. "This is good to store water in ,and maybe boil it later." He yawns as the sun goes down. "I wonder what is in the red zone " He opens the map and he is surprised to see, the red zone has moved to a different location on the map." Whattt...! How is this possible??"."is it just me or is this red zone bigger than last time"but the red zone is not around the river yet. He was safe...for now atleast. "I should sleep ,food and water will be my top priorities tomorrow,and I need energy for that." He lays down on the bed he made with leaves and places a large leaf on his chest as a blanket.
Sharp is a highborn, he was pampared his whole life and sleeping on a hard bamboo floor and a couple of layers of leaves is not the comfort he is used to . But he chose this path so he goes to sleep .but just when he fell asleep, a loud Roar of a lion echoed near him!, he pissed his pants and hid under the leaf
"Why did I sign up for this ,I don't want to do this anymore " the lion is not near him, there's no one ,he sees through the gap between the wooden sticks of his wall. "Huhhhh" a sigh of relief."i guess I will try sleeping again ,I will keep my machete near ,just in case.."
He wakes up... Sun is rising and light is hitting his face through the leaves of the roof .
"I don't think this roof can withstand a rain"
He gets up and checks the map again, and he sees the red zone hasn't moved yet.
"Good for me i guess"
He climbs down the shelter and walks towards the river as he hits a boulder on the ground, he keeps on walking , goes to the river and splashes his face and eyes ."I have to say, this experience has its own good parts, iam so happy to be alive and not eaten by a lion" he turns around and sees a lion.."whatttttttt"
He pissed his pants again, but , he looks at the lion and , it's not moving.
It's dead . Something killed it?"is something stronger than this lion here last night?"
"I can't eat it ? Right?"
He pushes the lions body to the side.
"Let's act like I never saw that lion ,I need fish ,time for breakfast!"
He goes near the river and tries catching the fish with his hands ,but the fishes slip through, he tries using the machete , he misses every single time , he keeps on trying but he fails .
"Why is catching fish so hard, i ate so many fishes back at home, who would've thought catching them was this difficult, he sits on the ground, trying to catch his breath and he hears footsteps... From the other side of the river ,a boy of same age and almost same height. comes to the river and takes out his machete...and he pokes it in the water ...
Right through the gills of two fishes...
Sharp looks at him in shock...
He looks back at Sharp.. drooling....he says "uhh, you want one?"
Sharp doesn't say a word..
Sharp's asks the guy "who are you?"
He replies.. "my name is kokperk".
Sharp - "And you are joining the army to save people ,right...?"
Kokperk- "sure"
...he says without moving a muscles of his face ...Sharp - "he is not radiating any friendly vibes..".
His eyes are dark, his hair is black and of medium length. he swiftly takes out 2 more fishes with his knife and starts to turn around
As he notices the lions body.
"The lion, did you kill him? you must be strong.
Would you like to join me ,iam going towards the red zone for exploration."
Sharp - " yeah? Uh..huh?" It's nice to meet you, I wish you the very best...I just have some different plans.." (He says while moving backwards and away from him)
Kokperk starts to walk away ,but all of a sudden, he stops and comes back...
.. "you know too much about me..i must take you out now..."
Sharp - " wait? Whatttttt? ,we just met ,i already forgot what your name wasss!!!theres no reason to fight ,right?"
Kokperk is a swordsman, he is a student of the
Daisho-dojo, daisho means a bigger katana along with a smaller wakizashi. He has a machete and a small knife ,knife is attached to his belt and his right hand is on its handle, while in his left hand is the machete. An unorthodox stance . but he is ready to strike .He kicks the ground!!Blitz towards Sharp in a fraction of a second....