The underground chamber was silent. Too silent. Bright lights glared down on the polished steel floor, reflecting faintly off the scattered targets at varying distances. A mechanical voice echoed through the hall, cold and precise.
"Welcome, candidates. You are here because humanity requires Human Saviours. Four of you will be selected for secret operations. Your skills, patience, and adaptability will be tested. Only the strongest will proceed."
Each candidate stood alone, separated by partitions. No one else was in sight, and yet the weight of the trial pressed down on them. The first test appeared on the monitors: aim training. Targets at five meters, fifteen meters, fifty meters. Accuracy, speed, and control would determine the first round of selection.
Moriyama Kensuki, sixteen, adjusted his stance. His eyes were sharp and focused, his posture rigid but controlled. Every breath was measured, every muscle coiled and ready. The targets appeared, and he fired. Each shot struck precisely, hitting dead center. He did not rush. He did not falter. Distance, wind, timing...he accounted for it all, each bullet a calculated, perfect decision. Observers made notes. Leadership potential was obvious.
Across the chamber, Kasugamuo Aki, also sixteen, leaned back slightly, spinning a knife idly between his fingers. When the targets appeared, he sprang into action with a flourish. Bullets cut through the air in arcs, striking targets with deadly accuracy. A few missed, but only where creativity outweighed strict precision. Aki's style was flashy, almost theatrical, and yet it worked. Observers whispered about his adaptability, his unpredictability, a wild card among the candidates.
Kagehiko Shizu, also sixteen, stood near a corner, arms folded, expression unreadable. When the targets lit up, he barely moved. Bullets left his weapon with chilling perfection, each one striking without wasted motion or energy. Calm, disciplined, and precise, Shizu's dominance was apparent in every measured shot. The evaluators marked him as a candidate with unmatched focus and control.
Fifteen-year-old Chakure Sakura was the last to step forward. Smaller than the others, almost delicate in appearance, he crouched slightly, observing the targets. When he fired, his movements were unserious, but the results were devastating. Every target fell, destroyed with precision that belied his size and age. Observers noted his adaptability and deadly efficiency, silently impressed by the quiet power he wielded.
Chakure: "Got them! Such crappy targets, but whatever! Sleep tight!"
The monitors switched to the next round...fifteen meters. Kensuki adjusted for distance, still methodical. Aki added flair, throwing in spins and unconventional angles, a few shots missing but the majority landing clean. Shizu's shots remained flawless, mechanical in their perfection. Sakura flowed through the challenge like fun, enjoying shooting.
The final round appeared, fifty meters. Moving targets, wind simulation, extreme difficulty. Kensuki measured every factor, firing with exact precision. Aki struggled slightly under the pressure, but still hit enough to demonstrate dangerous creativity. Shizu's dominance never wavered, every shot landing dead-center. Sakura adapted unseriously, but every shot was still very precise.
The mechanical voice returned, announcing the results. Names flashed across the monitors: Moriyama Kensuki, Kasugamuo Aki, Kagehiko Shizu, Chakure Sakura. Selected. Four candidates. Four futures.
None of them knew each other yet. None had interacted beyond the partitions. But each had passed the first trial in their own way..Kensuki with methodical perfection, Aki with unpredictable flair, Shizu with cold dominance, and Sakura with unserious yet deadly precision. Their personalities, strengths, and weaknesses had been observed, recorded, and ranked.
The voice echoed one final time: "End of Recruitment Trials. Congratulations to the selected candidates. Training begins immediately."
The hall fell silent. This time, it was not boredom. It was anticipation