A week had passed by. Peter had spent this time period going about his daily life. Although Andrew never came to visit during that time period, the Necromancer couldn't care less. Being a loner by nature, having no company was even a situation he appreciated finding himself in.
Still, Peter wished he could have done more during the course of the week. For one, his system still hadn't told himwhat his Daily Quest would be. Although the system said Peter was no yet ready for it, the Necromancer still felt as though the system was severely limiting him.
He had gotten the system for a reason, abd for it to just lead him to a plateau, wasn't something Peter was, at all, expecting.
During this time, it seemed like his mothers condition was stable. Thanks to the medicine he had been giving her during this time, her condition had remained at equilibrium. Although Peter wished for her condition to improve, this was still better than her state of health deteriorating.
Today being the day the competition commences, Peter had a complicated expression as he stared at his phone.
To participate in the competition, one would first have to sign up for it on an app called Hall Of Fighters. On it, a potential candidate would have to fill in their personal information, as well as sign a few legal documents, after which they would be sent an identification number, making them official candidates for the AST. Still, once you had signed to be a part of the AST, there was no going back. Literally, the government would have to kill you.
With this thought in mind, Peter just steeled his resolve as he had completed the requirements a few days ago. Today, the Necromancer would have to get ready and wait outside his house for a vehicle to come and pick him up, taking him to the location of the tournament.
'Although I have made my decision, there is still a major problem: I don't know jack about fighting.'
The young man had forgotten the major aspect of the assessment during all this time he was at home. Still, considering the fact that a great deal of applicants were usually just newbie fighters who were simply just trying their luck with the AST, the Necromancer still felt like he had a chance.
Hopefully, this Necromancer System would assist him with that. Perhaps, an absurd power boost in the middle of his fight, however, considering how unresponsive it had been for days, the young man was beginning to think that wouldn't be the case.
After a while of standing outside his house, the sound of a vehicle could faintly be heard. Turning his head right, Peter could already see a small figure of a bus heading towards him. The Annual Scouters' Bus was here, and clenching his fist, Peter waited till the vehicle had stopped right in front of him.
The bus was painted blue, with a lily insignia imprinted on all sides. That was the insignia of the Annual Scouters' Agency, ASA, for short.
As the vehicle came to a halt, the side door began to slide open, revealing a man looking to be in his mid-twenties driving the vehicle. The man had slightly above average features, boasting a pointed nose, sky blue eyes, and medium-length hair that slightly covered his forehead and left eye. Judging by the badge and special uniform he was wearing, it was clear he was a worker in the ASA.
Stepping into the bus, Peter's gaze met with that of the people already present. The bus was basically filled, with only a few empty seats left, however, whenever Peter made it near one, the person sitting next to it would place his plan on the surface, indicating to him his presence wasn't appreciated.
Gritting his teeth, Peter looked at the bus driver, who didn't even return his gaze as he went straight back to driving the bus.
Irritated, Peter engaged in some deep breathing as he searched the bus for an empty seat that wasn't fiercely guarded. Eventually, he arrived at the very end of the bus; a dead end. Peter felt like life was really placing a sick joke on him, but that was until he heard a voice call out to him.
"Hey, you can sit beside me if you want."
Looking down, his eyes met with that of a young woman looking to be his age. She boasted jet-black hair, brown eyes, and almost snow-white skin. Reluctantly, Peter took the empty seat right behind her.
Giving her a brief side-glance, Peter realized the girl was still staring at him, but still, something within him was urging him not to make eye contact.
Not too long ago, the bus had begun moving once again, and the picking up of contestants continued. New people entered the bus, bringing the capacity of the bus to its threshold. Then, an announcement from the ASA driver gave the bus passengers a new sense of hype.
"Attention, all passengers, we will be arriving at the ASA shortly, so please, ready yourselves for the competition that awaits you."
Followed by loud cheers, everyone was over the moon hearing this. Some present had been in the bus for over twenty-four hours, and now, hearing they would finally be heading to the ASA, made them forget the severe boredom they had been forced to go through. Although phone usage in the bus was allowed, it wasn't enough when one would just be sitting in one place for a long time.
Peter decided to use this time organizing a battle strategy. Having a considerable amount of experience in the real world, the Necromancer knew he would need to form connections among the AST contestants if he wished to perhaps emerge as the winner. Still, there were a lot of variable factors, and with so many people participating, it could already be that someone has already curried the favor of a great deal of the contestants already.
With time, the sun began to glisten brightly in the cloudless sky, causing sweat to tricken down the bodies of the bus passengers. The bus sent to pick them up was quite on the cheap side, from a perspective. Still, considering this was the ASA, they should have done better.
Perhaps this was a representation of what they thought of the contestants.
As noon drew closer, the bus eventually came to a stop in front of a large pair of gates painted blue like the bus, posing the same lily insignia on either half of the gate.
"Open the gates!" The bus driver ordered through a microphone system inbuilt within the bus. And then, through some sort of wireless transmission, the message receiver replied with a 'Yes, sir,' and the next second, the gates were opened.
The compound of the ASA was truly a sight to behold. Fountains could be seen surrounding a large building constructed a little away from the compound gates, while around the fountains, a plethora of mutated flowers could be seen weaving around under the sun.
Although butterflies were an exception to the path of evolution, flora was not. Every vegetative life form known to man had evolved, or in some cases, mutated, eversince the Great Awakening of Chaos. These plants had developed a craving for flesh. Others have the ability to walk around just like animals. However, in certain creatures, these creatures would develop special powers.
"Wow! That red spitting flower looks so cool!" A passenger said, pressing his head against the glass window. Everyone was intrigued by these flowers, as for many of them, this was their first time seeing such vegetation. Due to the phenomenon affecting plants, the government deemed all forms of flora hazardous to mankind, leading to all territories inhabited by humans being completely deforested.
Although this then begged a certain question: how are civilians still alive. This was basic biology. Plants produced oxygen through the process of photosynthesis, taking in the carbon dioxide during the process. Without them, how could people still be alive?
There may have been other means of producing oxygen, floral activities was surely the major means. This was a reason the people were secretly scared of the government. They were unaware of how it was keeping them alive, and also, it was the main reason a lot of people desire entering the ASA: they wished to discover what the government was truly doing.
This may be a vague reason and goal having very slim chances of being accomplished, almost everyone present here today wished to do just that.
"Alright, everyone, we're here. Get out and line up right in front of the bus," the driver ordered, already getting out himself. The passengers let out agitated grunts as they did just as told. Considering they were nothing but mere civilians; disposable civilians, in society, they didn't wish to offend the ASA worker, most especially because they weren't aware of what he was capable of.
Lining up outside the bus, the group decided to break up into two: one line contained the men, while the other, the women. Seeing this, the driver brought out a phone from his pocket, bringing forth a list and started calling the names of everyone present.
Everyone answered back immediately, and with the utmost respect, but, once the driver had called the one named Peter Martin, what followed after was undue silence.
Repeating himself, the ASA bus driver was met with nothing but silence once again.
Tapping the name on his phone, a copy of the form the young man was admonished to fill in was displayed, with a recent image of the contestant at the head of the digital form.
Walking forward, the two lines of contestants were startled when a loud slap was heard.