Hearing the snap in my bone, Mary, standing beside me, reacted immediately. She smacked Liam's head—hard. In that instant, his calm shattered, throwing the cute act out of the window, he spun on her, glaring. "Bitch, what's your problem?"
"You are, you little pompous piece of shit," Mary snapped, raising her hand as if to slapping the teeth out of his mouth.
However, before she could, Marcell moved first, knocking Liam across the cheek with a sharp slap, demanding, "Liam, apologize to Miss Lou. Now."
"No, I won't. Grimmyth Researcher or not, how dare a mere superior Grimlock hit me?" Liam refused, staring at his uncle, Mary, and then me with a look that said, I will remember this. Then, turning to the soldier, he complained, "I want her locked up for assault, and I want my uncle out of here. I didn't bring anyone with me."
Marcell looked at his nephew with a grin; the restraint could be seen in his micro-expressions. He knew his nephew well enough to know that trying to reason or persuade the little shit in any way would make things worse. So, he just went along with it, not wanting this to affect his examination. "Fine, I will leave. Do as you please."
Before turning to leave, he smiled apologetically at Mary, saying, "I will make it up to you in some other way."
"Don't worry, Captain Marcell, my niece and nephews are worse than him," Mary said in understanding; from her own experience.
She understood Liam was just a spoiled lil' brat used to being praised, the center of attention, and having his way. That didn't mean he was a lost cause; that would be decided once he was baptized by the cruel reality of the society we live in.
Listening to Mary's words, Liam was further enraged. He glared at the soldier, yelling, "What are you waiting for? Arrest her already. Hurry, or I'm lodging a complaint against you, First Lieutenant Ryan Hart, in the official F.O.E. garrison reserve portal."
"Listen here, you little piece of shit, this is Reserve Garrison Base. Here, we make the rules. If you don't shut up and apologize to Ms. Mary and Captain Marcell, I will lock you up right now," Ryan Hart warned the kid. Other than his respect for the captain of the grimgate security force, he wasn't afraid of poking the hornet's nest named Laos. He was a soldier of F.O.E., not a habitual sycophant.
"Fine, go ahead, lock me up. But you better make sure it sticks. Because when I come out, I will make it my mission to teach you and this bitch a lesson—Arh! My nose!"
Before Liam could finish those words, my fist mercilessly slammed into his nose. I know he was an ignorant rich kid who didn't know better, but he's got a sailors mouth on him. That was the second time he called Mary a bitch; I didn't plan to let him get away with it this time.
As Liam managed his pain and glared at me with a bloody nose and teary eyes, I openly challenged him aloud, "You and me, right now and right here. The winner gets an apology from the loser. If I win, you apologize to Mary. What do you say?"
"Hahaha, bring it. I wanted to pay back the interest I owed to your lil'brother to you anyway. This makes things simpler, one beating to death coming up," Liam laughed, accepting my challenge. Then, turning to the soldier, he said, "You are a witness, go prepare a ring or do we get started right here?"
"This isn't your father's playground. This reserve garrison base, pipe down. I am leaving with a warning this time, one more word from your mouth and I will directly pass you with bare minimum marks, got it?" Ryan Hart warned Liam but he also glanced at me in warning. Then, he said, "Crayon V. Wyatt, the deputy garrison commander is waiting for you. Let us go— Sir Deputy Commander!"
Ryan cut off mid way seeing the deputy commander himself had come over. The entire venue went quiet and held their breaths. If they had any complaints about examination delays earlier it was gone now. Not because of fear, but of their admiration for the Deputy Commander. They all almost cried out loud like a bunch of groupies but as his gaze swept across them they couldn't, their knees felt jelly.
"Ryan, you were taking too long so I came to check what's the hold up," Col D. Blade said, eyeing Liam and I, then he went on to add, "I didn't know kids these days were hot headed like back in my days. First Lieutenant, the tea can wait, let's commence the exam. Please dictate the details and rules to the examinees."
With a nod from the deputy commander, Ryan Hart stepped forward and began, "Listen up. This Garrison Reserve registration exam is a battle royale. You will be randomly deployed along the perimeter of an illusion materialization array formation with space expansion add-on. There will be no exits or outside interference, you will be on your on. You stay inside until the exam concludes or you are forcibly removed.
The objective is simple: earn points. The more points you have, the higher the rank you are granted during your registration.
Each examinee is worth one point. Grimmons across the field are all Awakened-grade, and each kill is worth one point as well. If you want to climb the ranks, you'll have to keep moving and keep taking targets.
Survival time contributes to a small, steady score based on the distance covered. If you manage to survive until the end of the exam, you will get bonus points. The closer you are to the flag, the higher the bonus points.
At the center of the zone is a flag. Capturing it grants a large point bonus and immediately ends the exam. Until then, it remains active and contestable. Expect heavy resistance around it.
Those registered under the medic role earn points by healing others. Stabilizing critical injuries yields higher returns than minor treatment. Be advised: any healing action will temporarily grant immunity to both medic and patient. Attacking them will result in point deductions. Whether that stops you is your decision.
Grimmons are active throughout the entire zone. Use them, avoid them, or get torn apart by them. If you go down and can't continue, you're out. You fight, you survive, you earn. If any one of you tries to act smart, I will personally enter the exam to rectify any or all anomalies. You have been warned. Any doubts?"