Three weeks later, Lake stood in front of the towering skyscraper that is the Martial Artist Association of Sunset City.
Since his school didn't have the required equipment to take the qualifier test, Lake had to visit the Association to take the test instead.
Taking a look at his stats, Lake felt that he had done his best in the three weeks and was prepared to take the test.
[Status]
Host = Lake Egoven
Age = 18
Primary Role = Master of Fate
[Stats]
Strength = 1.15 -> 1.35
Agility = 1.23 -> 1.35
Stamina = 0.91 -> 1.09
Mana Strength = 0
Mana Capacity = 0
[Skills]
Observer of Fate lv.1 - As the Master of Fate, you can clearly see through the fate of others as if you were reading a book. At the current level you can only observe the past of the target.
Writer of Fate lv.1 - As the Master of Fate, destiny is within your hands and is yours to control and change as you see fit. At the current level you can change the fate of others slightly at the cost of your mana.
Steel Body Lv.0 (12.3% EXP) - Temper the body to become as strong as steel. At the highest level, it grants immunity to firearms. This skill can be upgraded through training or RP points.
[RP Points = 0.301 -> 10.093]
Although he didn't know how much a single point represented in the system, Lake felt that his overall physique had been enhanced.
Feeling satisfied with his current abilities, Lake entered the building.
The inside of the building was modern in design. In the center of the lobby a giant, rotating 3D hologram was displaying the logo of the Martial Arts Association. To the side, Lake could see people entering a large circular platform before it began to levitate and rise, similar to an elevator.
Glancing around, Lake was amazed as he looked at the advanced technology he had only seen in video clips showcased in school. Apparently, around ten years ago, scientists had managed to find a method to utilize mana in technology. That discovery led to a giant leap in technological advancement. It was only three years ago that this branch of technology and devices was named Mana Tech.
After observing the surroundings for a bit, Lake eventually saw a holographic sign above one of the circular elevators with the words "Martial Arts Course Qualifier Exams" displayed.
Walking on to the platform, Lake heard a robotic instruction to keep his hands away from the edge of the platform. After following the instruction, Lake observed as an almost invisible force field surrounded the platform before it began to quickly descend.
After a few seconds, Lake found himself in an underground waiting room where around 40 other people around his age were seated. After glancing at the fate of a random person, Lake was able to confirm he was in the right place. Lake casually took a seat to the side as he waited for the exam to begin.
While he was waiting however he was also observing the other people who had registered for the exam. Lake couldn't tell much about the other examinees from just appearance so he began to read through their fates.
Most of the people in the rooms had white tier fates. As Lake continued to observe, he managed to spot an interesting candidate. This candidate had a slightly blue colored fate as she sat by herself opposite to where Lake was seated.
She had long silky black hair that flowed all the way down to her thin waist. She had delicate facial features but her cold gaze made her amber eyes emit an intimidating pressure.
Lake wasn't one to break character, so when he saw her, he took his time to admire her appearance to the fullest. At some point, the two eyes met as she shot back a frosty gaze back at Lake, who only smiled in response. The girl gave Lake a look of disdain before turning away to look elsewhere.
After Lake had his fun admiring her, he turned his eyes back to the slightly blue fate before reading through it. After a couple seconds passed, Lake came back to his gaze as he roughly figured out the reason for the fate's color.
However, before Lake could investigate further, a large metallic sliding door was opened as a buffed, middle aged man walked out. His large muscles strained against his green military uniform as his sharp gaze swept across the room. He had a large scar on his face that went from the left of his upper lip to the right of his chin. This scar, paired with his small, beady eyes, would terrify anyone that saw him.
As the man was observing the students that had gathered, Lake was also observing the man in front of him, or more accurately, the dagger shaped fate above his head.
"The time is now 8:58 A.M. Your qualifier match would begin shortly. I am instructor Derek and the one in charge of this year's Martial Arts Course Qualifier Exam. I suggest you all take this time to prepare yourself. The first test will be the Strength Test." The scar faced Derek said.
Hearing his words, all the examinees seemed to settle down as they began to wait patiently. After two minutes passed, Derek turned around and began walking through the doorway as he spoke, "Follow me."
Quickly everyone got up as they began to follow Derek through the doorway. Lake also got up and quietly followed behind the rest.
Derek led everyone through a long hallway with various metallic doors on the side. After walking further down for a bit, Lake watched as the hallway opened up into a large open room with various strange devices laid out throughout the facility. To the side of each of these devices, Lake could see multiple people in white coats holding a holographic screen in their hands.
Lake was once again amazed by the mana tech of the Association as he observed the strange devices laid around.
"This is the Fitness Testing Center of the Association. Here we will gather accurate data on your current physical fitness before giving it a score based on the result. This score is called your Fitness Index. A Fitness Index of one is equivalent to the peak strength a normal man can achieve." Derek explained as he turned to face the students.
"The first thing we will be testing is your physical strength. A strength index of 0.8 would be considered a pass while anything below will be considered a fail." Derek said as he pointed towards what appears to be a punching machine.
"This is the punching machine. All you have to do is punch the machine with your maximum strength. You have the option to punch it up to three times. Only your highest score will be recorded." Derek said before raising his left hand causing a hologram to appear from the black wristwatch he wore.
"The test has now officially begun. Allen Spindale, you're first." Derek announced.
After saying that a young man walked out from the crowd of students as he stood in front of the punching machine.
Lake watched as the young man took a deep breath to calm himself before he raised his fist and punched the machine with all his might.
A soft thud sounded out, as the young man's fist collided with the machine, causing it to light up as various numbers began to flash by on the holographic screen above it. After settling for a bit the machine eventually stopped.
[Strength Index: 0.83]
Looking at the score, the young man heaved a sigh of relief.
"Score of 0.83, pass. Do you wish to try again?" Derek asked the young man.
"No." The young man replied as he shook his head.
Derek only nodded in response before calling out to the next examinee.
Lake watched as various students went up to take the test. After around 30 minutes had passed, most of the examinees had already taken the test. Surprisingly, only 4 other students since the first examinee managed to pass the test with scores around 0.81~0.89. The rest of the students had an average score of around 0.65~0.73.
As Lake watched another student fail, he realized that there were only two examinees who hadn't taken the test yet. One of them was himself while the other was the black hair beauty that Lake saw in the waiting room.
"Kate Blackheart." Derek called out the next examinee as the black haired beauty walked up to the machine.
Lake took another glance at the blueish white strand of fate above her head as he smiled. A while ago, Lake had figured out the true meaning behind the blue color of the fate.
Looking at Kate take a punching stance, Lake was reminded of the battle between martial artists he had seen two weeks ago. The devastating destructive power of Romero's and Don's strikes still remained vivid in his mind. As he watched the blue strand of Fate above Kate's head he remembered the mystical energy that is responsible for that destructive power, Mana.
*BOOM*
A loud noise sounded through the facility, shocking all the examinees and even causing Instructor Derek to raise an eyebrow. Everyone turned to watch as the slim figure removed her small fist from the machine.
On the holographic screen above the machine, various numbers flashed as the machine calculated the score. After a short while the machine slowed down before stopping.
[Strength Index: 1.09]
Looking at the score that had already surpassed the limits of man, everyone was shocked as they watched Kate walk back to wait with the students that had already passed the test.
Derek nodded to her as she walked past him before he shouted out the last examinee's name, "Lake Egoven."
Upon hearing his name called, Lake began to walk up to the machine as he passed by Kate. While walking he said to her, "That was a decent punch."
Kate frowned upon hearing Lake's words as she scoffed and walked away. Lake only smiled in response as he walked up towards the punching machine.
Throughout this entire test Lake had finally managed to figure out something about the system that had bothered him for a while.
As he stood in front of the machine, he pulled back his hand as he remembered his strength score, causing his smile to turn into a grin as he released his punch.
*BOOM*
Another loud noise rang out across the testing area as Lake removed his hand from the punching machine.
Kate, who had her back turned to the machine, turned around quickly upon hearing the sound as she watched on in shock with the other students as they observed the score that was being formed above the punching machine. After a while, the machine settled down and the score was revealed, leaving everyone stunned. Even Derek was slightly surprised as he looked at the score on the holographic screen.
[Strength Index: 1.40]