Fighting styles of all sorts were on display, people were practicing their forms and techniques in every direction. Giant crowds of hopeful juniors had gathered to try their best at entering the Zao Sect Discipleship, among them were Hana and Jeannie.
The Elimination rounds had started, more than five thousand participants had come and the Elders needed to dwindle down the numbers as fast as possible so they could rate each participant in the finals. Finalists were almost all guaranteed a slot in the Outer sect, top participants would make it to the inner sect and special cases would become core disciples, giving them close to the same honors as an Elder.
Jeannie heard an announcement over the loudspeaker, her hearing was excellent as a Nyankin. "We're about to be sent through the first test. Lets move closer." Jeanie was feeling anxious, her last participation had ended with a bad injury, she wanted to get a feel for the first test but the details were hidden for the elimination round. "2774, That's you." Jeannie patted Hana on the back and watched her being led off into a tent.
Hana walked with the administer and they eventually reached a table with a ball on it. "The first test is simple this year, just touch the ball, hold onto it as long as you can. This will measure your resistance and energy transfer conductivity response rate." It sounded like a mouthful, all she heard was 'hold the ball.'
She grabbed the ball on both sides and started to play with it in her hands. "This is such a clean ball, its smooth everywhere. She turned it over a few times and then stood there somewhat bored. "What's this suppose to do again?" She decided to feed some energy into it like the storage ring rather than waiting for his response. It caused the ball to glow so bright it could be seen outside of the Tent.
She held the ball, it didn't dissipate its light. Standing there for what seemed like tens of minutes, she asked, "How long am I suppose to hold this, I don't feel anything strange. I can probably hold this all day." She tapped her foot and looked impatient. "??Hello..?" She tried to get the administers attention but he was lost in his own thoughts.
She snapped in front of his face and brought him back from wherever his mind took him.
"How long do I have to hold this?" Asking one last time, Hana really expected an answer.
"Pass. Sorry, you can go onto the next round." He shook his head and started writing on the sheet of paper.
Jeannie was next, when she heard her number she came right inside the tent and didn't wait. Seeing the ball on the table, she already had ideas about what it was.
"Pick up the ball, hold onto it as long as you can. This will measure your resistance and energy transfer conductivity response rate." He had been saying it all afternoon and his tongue was tired, directing her toward the ball he watched her put her hands on the side.
Jeannie left the ball on the table and her hands in contact with its surface. A blue aura filled the ball and she held on for about three minutes.
"Pass, you can go onto the next round." He grabbed the paper and wrote down some details, opening the tent to the next staging area, he escorted her out.
As she left the tent, she heard the man again, "2776"
֍ꟷꟷꟷꟷ֍
Another crowd of people started pushing their way through the lines, they didn't have numbers and were escorted out by the security forces. The Stealth Teams came out of no where, invisible like a Ninja Troop.
"2821" Jeannie heard numbers again, the pace was actually pretty quick. She looked like she was ready to leave, her anxiety was plain as day. "Hey, I've got to do a few things, we probably have another hour before the next round of eliminations. I'll see you when I get back."
Hana shrugged it off, she didn't know anyone by name and might just barely recognize Jeannie in a crowd. There was no real care about seeing her in the future, Hana was feeling the atmosphere. Some people were gloomy after being rejected, they would howl and holler curses into the wind as they moved on.
"3159" The numbers kept coming, there were approximately five thousand participants and only so many hours in the day. The first round of eliminations would cut the participants by nearly seventy percent. Fifteen hundred or so would remain and go onto the next round.
Some of the security forces were guarding a tent, it likely had the means of testing in the next round. Hana wasn't sure what to expect but she was certainly feeling optimistic and thrilled to be standing in the place her father once helped to build.
A Statue of the Emperor in the corner of her eye actually helped calm her nerves. Father's never had it easy when it came to daughters, especially beautiful ones. Protective was an understatement after her cousins were murdered and kidnapped.
Jeannie returned, she looked lighter and more agile than before. "They've started bringing out the ladder boards up. Lets go take a look and see what we're up against, if you're luck holds out we can figure it out before they begin." Jeannie scanned the lower floors, from her position they could see most of the crowd easily. "There," She saw a small machine being wheeled in, 'Why not just use a storage ring to move it?' Wondering what it was all about, she kept her mind trained on them for a time. She followed them with her eyes and then with her spiritual sense.
Hana heard an announcement and then the crowd cheered, they were moving onto the next round of eliminations. An administer came onto the loud speaker and said "If you're not a participant, please leave the lower floors at this time, our next round of elimination will begin as soon as we're in position."
She watched intently, little details were easy to pick out but hard to interpret into words. Her eyes moved rapidly and began to memorize as much as she could. Using her Spiritual sense, she reached out into the guarded tent. A large box. 'What's in the box?' She wondered 'Corpse, another reactive material??' She wanted answers and wasn't getting them.
"0057" The number rotated back for the second round of eliminations, the first 56 contestants out of the five thousand were all failures.
Hana waited patiently and calmed her nerves, no matter the test to come, she would give it her best.