Frank finally woke up after a long night, and the expression on his face was a sight to behold.
He was by no means dumb, but
He really did trust that middle-aged man, or he would have thought it was the present him.
But his past self had made countermeasures to solve the problem; if not, he would have died, and this was sort of a lesson to him.
It was a foolish idea to trust people because of their predicaments.
It wasn't the middle-aged man's fault what happened, nor did he have a choice, but it is a dog-eat-dog world out there.
Frank closed his eyes and rubbed his temples and said, "Maybe he is not such a bad guy after all."
He was referring to his past self, although he was still afraid that unlocking the memories would make him change.
He had also started to understand that the other Frank was not such a bad guy. After all, he was cruel to his enemies and cared for no one but himself, but that didn't make him evil.
Frank, don't tell me you don't want to participate in the assessment anymore. A voice echoed
It was Jack.
He was shirtless after just coming out of a bath.
"What's that?" Frank pointed at the fatty jack.
He had a tattoo-like scar in the middle of his chest. They had been together for a while, but he was just noticing it.
"It's just a birthmark," Jack answered nonchalantly.
"oh"
"Stop looking at me, go and get ready or we will leave without you," Jack said to Frank while cleaning himself up with a piece of cloth.
.....
Frank came out of the room soon after and saw Jack and Jake waiting outside. To his surprise, another figure was approaching them.
It was Joey and he looked like he hadn't slept in years.
We all stared at him dumbfoundedly.
We haven't seen him for a while now, and now he appears out of nowhere looking like a walking corpse.
"Hey guys, when are we heading out?"
He also spoke like a zombie.
Frank asked Joey, "When was the last time you had some sleep?"
"Umm sleep.." Joey looked as if he was yearning for something unattainable.
"I don't remember," Joey said in a rather weak voice.
"We can't wait. He will just have to wing it." Jack interrupted
It was already getting late because Frank woke up late. The fatty who originally didn't want to stay here was in anticipation
"yes right the assessment lets go," joey said he seemed to be dozing off also
"Haa yes, let's head for the assessment."
Jack hit him on the shoulder.
On the way to the assessment ground, we also came across Gertrud and Mo. They were also heading for the assessment area.
They decided to go together.
On getting to the area designated for the assessment, they all lined up just outside.
This was the infantry unit assembly area.
It was where every member of the infantry unit would go to receive special missions and participate in campaigns for the fire crow military.
Upon closer inspection of the field, they noticed a huge platform, and on it stood a few instructors.
Also, cadet Wang Ben and a few others were present on the platform.
Including Luke and the cadet that Frank and the others saved, they were all standing behind a middle-aged man in grey robes and chatting.
"Who's that?" Frank looked curiously at the old man.
The old man was staring at Frank with a smile, and it was creeping him out.
"Yh, that old man is staring at me. It's weird," Gertrude said.
"Hm?" They all looked confused.
"but isn't he staring at me?" Jake also said
A look of shock appeared on their faces.
"What is going on ?" was the first thing that went through their minds.
"Hmp, he's not looking at any of you." A voice resounded from behind them.
When they looked back, they saw a few candidates walking forward, and amongst them was someone they were all too familiar with.
The young master, Yun,
He was the one who spoke just now.
"He is using a technique for weak people like you. It may seem as if he is looking directly at you, but in actual fact, he is just thinking," young master Yun said.
"You really are country bumpkins," he added.
"run along Yun bastard" the fatty jack finally spoke he too had gradually come to dislike this Yun guy a lot
The young master, Yun, only looked at Jack with the side of his eyes and walked off with his group.
"That guy is such an asshole," Jake commented.
They all started talking about how much of an asshole the young master, Yun, was.
The only people that didn't participate in mocking him were Frank, Jack, and Joey.
Frank was just stunned and was simply wondering what kind of technique could make such a wonderful thing happen.
Jack looked as if it was only natural.
While Joey was already sleeping while standing, he seemed very exhausted. One would wonder what kind of training would make someone so tired.
More and more people and groups appeared one after the other, and soon
"attention!!!!"
A voice echoed from the platform.
A man stood over there with his hands behind his back. He had pitch-black hair and was well-built. His eyes were also very domineering
As soon as the voice echoed
Every candidate on the field rushed over and formed lines. They stood straight with a lot of discipline.
"Some of you may know who I am and some of you may not," the cadet started
"So let me introduce myself."
"I am senior cadet Arthur."
"and I am the leader of the cadets of the infantry unit on this base."
A subtle kind of aura slowly invaded the field.
"That was the leader?"
Frank and the rest stared in admiration.
He was definitely stronger than Wang Ben. If not, he wouldn't be the leader of the infantry unit.
"Today is the infantry assessment and this is the day where we separate the weak from the strong," he continued after a brief pause.
"If you fail this assessment, then go back, come and try again next year," Arthur said.
"If you don't have the physical strength equalling that of an A-ranked physique, go home. You are disqualified." he blurted out.
"What the hell, why was the first requirement so harsh?" was the thought that went through their minds at the moment.
If you are aware that you do not fulfill this requirement and you come here and waste our time because we will test you, then you will be locked up in maximum prison until next year's assessment. Arthur continued,
This made quite a few people depart the area, as no one wanted to be placed in jail for a whole year.
"Good, come forward and break these sets of wood planks with your bare hands."
A straight line was thus formed, and people moved on to the line and started striking them.
Frank and the others also broke some wooden planks.
And before you knew it, they were all done.
But to the surprise of us all, a few people didn't manage to break the planks but still went along to try their luck.
"Okay, take them away."
A few cadets escorted them away.
But then
"These men have not failed this assessment. Although they might not have been as talented as the rest of you, they have shown exceptional courage, the courage needed to forge forward in the face of difficulty, so they will be given a second chance and when they are done with some formalities they may face this challenge again in a few weeks," Arthur said.
A flash of realization suddenly dawned on them.
This was a test.
A soldier who feared being put in jail? A soldier who didn't dare test their strength? That is not a soldier.
It was only normal that they would be given a second chance, and Arthur understood that
"They wouldn't be in the same grade as you though," he added.
Of course, he couldn't put them on the same level as those that passed, but they were at least better than those who gave up.
"The next test will be to test your ability to maintain and keep your senses when confronted by someone stronger than you," Arthur said.
He then turned back and bowed to the man in grey robes.
"Senior, I would like to invite you to take this part of the assessment." Arthur made a request to the old man.
"hm"
He nodded.
He slowly stood up from this chair. He then walked to the edge of the platform and faced the candidates.
"If you are still standing after 5 minutes, then you automatically pass this round," the old man in grey commented.
And suddenly
"boom"
Heavy pressure came down on the candidates.
It was unbearable. They started falling over like flies. The ones who were still on their feet were sweating profusely.
The seconds felt like tens of minutes.
Time was slowly ticking away and every one of them was under intense pressure.
"Hahaha," the man laughed with joy.
"Good, we have a lot of good seeds this time as well," he commented in a rather happy tone while he turned around and walked to his seat.
If you failed, please go and join the people from before. You can try again in a few weeks.
"Now it's time for the next round, let's fight," he screamed at the top of his voice.