Chapter 2 - Testing Grounds

Arryn didn't like the outcome of his discussion with his parents. They had refused him the opportunity to try out for the Brim Expedition Allied Countries.

Their reason was that BEACON often went on dangerous expeditions where the casualty rates were high, especially among new and inexperienced recruits.

Plus, the added argument that Arryn still hadn't familiarized himself with his power held a lot of weight as they worried that his power might not have manifested into a powerful one.

Since he thus far hadn't shown any signs of abnormality, the odds of possessing a potent and forcible power were indeed low according to BEACON's data on newly Risen humans.

Despite all of that, Arryn decided to go against his parents' wishes. He would turn 20 this year and deemed himself old enough to make his own choices for once.

Working in the coal mines in Zone 7 didn't cut it for him anymore. Arguably, it was just as dangerous as going out on expeditions, considering that the Outer District wasn't protected by the inner city walls.

Only the population in the Inner and Core Districts had the assets and power to wield such protection.

Too often had Roamers, the most commonly sighted Unrisen, gotten close to the unsuspecting workers in the peripheries of the unshielded coal mines, farms, and other resource-providing stations.

To adapt to such a big safety hazard, the workers incorporated guard duty shifts. Sadly, this also meant that there would be a pay cut to the already limited wages per hour.

Only those that worked in the mines would get paid! And since those on guard duty also deserved a cut, the rotation between guard duty and mining workers lowered each individual's earnings!

It was either that or put every worker in the mines, increasing the risk of getting ambushed by Roamers since no guards were on duty to alert the miners and the city's guard personnel.

Guarding against a single Roamer usually went without casualties as long as workers kept their distance and stayed alert. The problem was when multiple Roamers targeted a single outpost or station.

And the latter was usually the case! Similar to wolves, previous observations clearly suggested that the Unrisen followed some sort of pack mentality. Stray Roamers that had been separated from their group or horde were therefore uncommon.

Fortunately, dispatched Risen sent by an Outer District BEACON station usually arrived before any Unrisen Roamers could do any harm to the locals.

BEACON stations were mainly placed in the Outer district as a result. There were hardly ever any Unrisen incidents within the higher Districts.

Thus, only higher-ranking BEACON officers or officials with the equivalent authority, such as Unrisen and Risen researchers, scientists, and councilmen, were offered refuge in these well-off places.

"Besides, taking the entry test is a guaranteed way to learn more about my still unknown ability."

Thereby, Arryn decided to skip work at the coal mines the following day. He stealthily left home the next morning and traveled to the nearest BEACON installation located in Zone 6.

The Outer District was separated into 12 large Zones like a clock or a twelve-sliced pizza. Inside the large pizza was smaller pizzas placed in the internal section of the city which represented the Inner and Core Districts.

Traversing by foot to reach a neighboring Outer District Zone took at least half an hour unless you ran all the way. Since Zone 6 was located to the south, Zone 7 was located slightly southwest on the map.

As Arryn finally reached the junction between Zone 6 and Zone 7, he had to pass through the inspections. Since the two Zones were connected, he preferred to take the shorter route instead of traversing outside of the Outer Section, thereby risking less danger.

Sadly, he had to pay a small fee to gain entry to other Zones no matter if he used the interconnected junction or went outside to gain entry from Zone 6's main entrance to the city. The only difference was that he saved some time.

"Damn, you raised the entry fees again?" He complained to the staff, only to get a few shrugs in return.

"That'll be 25 brims. Will you be returning within 12 hours?"

Heck yeah, he would. He had no plans to pay another 25 bloody brims.

"Here's your voucher." The inspection staff slipped him a tattered piece of paper with a timestamp on it and let Arryn pass through.

Passing into Zone 6 while lamenting his bad luck, he soon located the local BEACON station.

The station was fenced with barbed wire and heavily garrisoned by Zone 6 infantry wielding assault rifles and glocks, ready to depart on short notice or whenever an alert was sounded.

Arryn wasn't sure how much damage these standard weapons could do to a Roamer. He'd seen his fair share of uncommon Unrisen that were literally immune to gunfire.

He imagined that only the dozen or so stationed APCs and other armored vehicles with heavier loadouts would be able to effectively run circles around the Roamers while mowing them down with high-caliber shots.

Also, though not every guard was a Risen, the guard salary was still more remunerating than most other livelihoods in the Outer District.

Becoming a new recruit for BEACON would pay a lot better than working in the damn coals mines. Particularly as a newly Risen!

"ID." A garrisoned guard insisted from the other side of the fence.

Arryn pulled out his ID card and showed it to the guard.

[Falling Star City Identification

Name: Arryn Sparks — Date of birth: XX.XX.2078

ID: N4501450

Status: Single

Occupation: Coal miner]

"Here for?" Unimpressed, the guard returned his card after quickly glancing through it.

"Risen test."

"Hoh? Very well. Third one today."

"There are others here for the test today?" Arryn curiously asked.

"You'll find out soon. First, let me check your readings."

The guard pulled out a body scanner that inspected him from top to bottom.

"Huh?" The guard let out. "That's strange. It's never malfunctioned before."

The guard had no other choice but to communicate with his superiors over his comlink.

"Sergeant." The Private guard stood at full attention, utterly different from his earlier mannerism towards the young coal miner.

"At ease, Private." The arriving Sergeant casually waved.

The Private explained the situation.

"Ah, I'll bring him in." The Sergeant nonchalantly said. "The tests are about to begin."

"But, Sergeant–"

"No buts, Private. I'll be responsible for this recruit."

"Understood, sir." The Private saluted.

Gaining entry to the BEACON station, Arryn followed the Sergeant to an open field accompanied by several other personnel that held the current testing session.

An eccentric-looking man in his late 30s in a lab coat greeted the Sergeant.

"Ah, Sergeant Wu! You've brought another! It's the third one today." The man grinned as if he'd just caught another healthy lab mouse ready to be experimented on.

"Don't get too excited about this fella, Patel. This one might be a dud. The scanner didn't get a read on him."

Patel didn't seem to mind. From his expression, he was just happy that he received another test subject.

The gathered group of assistants, with Patel in the lead, asked the three recruits to come forward. He then brought out another scanning device, much larger and more elaborate than the one used by the guard duty Private.