CHAPTER 21
"... Rylee, Drey…" Names were being called out by the Sergeant, and with each name spoken, the teens stepped forward one after the other.
Until they were a total of five, before the man pointed toward the circular device mounted on a platform beside him.
The second man standing next to it tapped a few commands on its metallic surface, causing a low warping sound to echo outward.
The circle suddenly hummed to life as energy coursed through it, and the next second, the middle of the contraption flared into a fierce white glow.
"Step through the portal to get taken to where your test shall begin."
At that command, the first five teens who had been called gulped in unison as beads of sweat trickled down their temples.
Still, after taking a steady breath, they stepped forward.
The moment they entered the portal, their forms shifted, warped, and distorted before vanishing completely from view, leaving the remaining teens standing in stunned silence for a brief moment.
Ray stared at the spot where they had disappeared, awe flashing across his face as the portal swallowed them whole.
"... Impressive, isn't it?"
A calm voice suddenly spoke from his left, causing Ray to snap his mouth shut as he spun around swiftly.
One of the teens standing nearby, roughly two metres away, began walking forward with an unhurried and composed gait.
A faint smile graced his handsome, neat face as he approached.
Standing at around 6'6", with his hands tucked casually into his pockets, he stopped directly beside Ray.
Van tilted his head as well, sending the newcomer a sharp, assessing glare.
For a teen, the guy was incredibly tall, lean, and well-built in a way that drew attention without effort.
His blonde hair flowed smoothly down his back, restrained by an obsidian bandana wrapped around his head, holding most of it in place.
Still, a few stubborn strands slipped free, falling across his face as if refusing to be tamed.
His amethyst eyes gleamed with a strange, ethereal light, similar to that of a child eagerly awaiting a long-anticipated gift.
His posture was relaxed, composed, and almost friendly as he stood beside Ray, who blinked at him once.
For some reason, just looking at the guy irritated him slightly.
'Why did he have to be handsome?'
Tilting his head a little, Ray noticed several girls among the hundreds of teens openly gawking at the tall boy, whispering excitedly amongst themselves.
"Sorry? Do I know you?" Ray asked with a slight frown, clearly uncomfortable with the sudden attention shifting toward him as well.
'... Just say what you want and vanish. I don't want any attention.'
The tall boy turned his gaze fully toward Ray, a mischievous smile spreading across his face as he awkwardly rubbed the back of his head.
"Ah, my bad. I noticed how you were staring at the portal and figured you might be a commoner who didn't know much about it. So I kind of took it upon myself to ease your confusion."
Ray frowned deeper.
'Was I really making it that obvious?'
With a faint sneer, Ray replied.
"... Don't worry. I've got a tech genius with me." He said while pulling Van slightly closer to his side.
The tall guy glanced down, staring at Van for a brief moment as the inventor strained his neck upward just to meet his gaze.
"Oh. My bad." The tall boy muttered, turning his eyes away as he stared blankly into the distance, refusing to move an inch from where he stood.
'Weird.'
Ray shrugged lightly and turned his attention back ahead, watching as the Sergeant continued calling out more names, one batch after another.
For some reason, his heart began beating louder than before, his body tensing subtly as the number of teens scattered across the field slowly but steadily dwindled.
'I wonder what the test would be about. Would I even be able to get a good enough score? Is it a group or individual test? Damn it! Why am I panicking?'
"Why are you panicking?" The calm, gentle voice of the tall boy suddenly echoed in Ray's ears, causing him to turn sharply around.
"Sorry?"
"..."
A few seconds of silence hung in the air before the boy smiled widely again.
"I just noticed how tense your body was and couldn't help but comment."
Ray's brows knitted in confusion.
"Why are you so interested in me? It's weird."
The boy shrugged nonchalantly.
"... I don't know. Maybe it's because I noticed that the two of you were standing apart from the group like outcasts.
Everybody here seems to know one another because the Corps must have brought them all from the same place. But you both seem out of place—the perfect duo to get picked on."
At the last sentence, Ray and Van instinctively took a careful step back.
Coupled with his strange words and behavior, the boy looked like the perfect depiction of a bully straight out of novels.
Noticing the subtle shift in their demeanor, the boy awkwardly scratched the back of his hair and chuckled softly.
"I'm sorry for my weird words. The truth is this: I have never had any friends before. I have always been alone. But something about you both drew me, so I decided to approach you."
Ray and Van blinked, then muttered in unison:
"Huh?"
"..."
"Kai… the name is Kai," the boy said, stretching his hand forward while Ray stared at it, unsure.
A few seconds passed with Ray only staring at the outstretched hand.
'One thing I've learned from reading novels and playing games is to never trust those who act nice. They're always the ones who stab you in the back later.
And one more reason to avoid him—wherever he goes, he attracts attention. I'm good.'
With that thought, Ray turned around, grabbed Van, and began walking away from the strangely handsome boy, who stood there, stupified, his hand still outstretched.
Kai blinked a few times, quietly let out a chuckle, then withdrew his hand and rubbed his hair.
'What a weird kid.'
After a few minutes of waiting, it was finally Ray's turn.
"Van, Ray Dawson, Trisha Hunt, Chloe, and Kai Larson… Please step forward."
The moment he heard his name along with Van's, Ray began moving forward even before the last names were called.
But when he heard the final name, he froze.
'Wait. Kai? Oh please no.'
He turned around to see the tall boy from earlier stepping forward with a wide grin.
"Damn my luck," he cursed under his breath.
"You all can step through the portal for your testing now. Good luck."
'Well, this is it eh? I wonder how well I will do.'
Ray gulped loudly, palms sweating as he took one step after another.
His heart pounded against his chest until finally, the five teens who were called out stepped through the portal together and warped out of view.