As Mr. P and Ms. K moved into the monitoring room safely inside the large room connected to the assessment hall, multiple monitors were placed to view all fifty participating individuals, the timer was still counting as each unregistered awakened to prepare for the test, Mr. P and Ms. K quickly scanned the screens, ensuring that all participants were accounted for before the test began.
The tension in the room was visible as the timer continued to tick down, waiting for the imminent start of the assessment. Some were already using this time to gather and form alliances with the rest increasing their chances of survival, while among the fifty, a few stood out, and these were individuals who came from affluent, influential families. These individuals were easily recognizable by their confident demeanor and expensive gear. It was clear that they had been raised with privilege and were not afraid to use it to their advantage in the upcoming test.
These were the spoiled and arrogant participants who focused on gaining fame as they were already rich and did not see the need to form alliances. Their confidence and sense of entitlement set them apart from the others, making them both admired and resented by their peers. Despite their privileged backgrounds, they would soon learn that survival in the assessment hall would require more than just wealth and status.
While all this was going on, Ramiel was standing alone, minding his own business. And casually organizing his thoughts and relaying orders to Alpha and Echo as they receive them through the collective link that mysteriously can be accessed even if he was on Earth and the collective core was in an Arcane underground facility.
Gavriel mentioned to Ramiel previously that he was now gaining the authority of a gatekeeper, and certain flexibility and autonomy were granted to him in order to fulfil his duties effectively. This information still lingers in his mind, but he never took it to heart, as he was always just accepting of what life throws at him.
The complications of being a human were already difficult before, before, now having the life of a ruler was more challenging than he could have ever imagined. The weight of responsibility and decision-making now rested heavily on his shoulders, adding a new layer of complexity to his existence.
He just did what he thought was right, sometimes he questions himself and just wonders why he did it in the first place. Everything running in their mind was never that bothersome; he just openly accepted it as it was and never once asked why. He found solace in the fact that he was doing his best, even if doubts occasionally crept in.
Despite the challenges, he embraced his role with determination and a sense of duty. Even his other personalities were never an issue, as he understood their role, never decided to overcome his mind once, and acted with a sense of righteous overbearing will that set that particular persona apart from the rest.
As the countdown timer inside the hall reaches 10 minutes, the place suddenly changes as the hall walls emit protective energy while the floor they were standing on manifests multiple summoning circles. Ms. K asks them to clear these symbols as this is the location where their targets will appear. The summoning circles were changing colors, and the participants were questioning the random colors of the spell. Those who were joining this test for the second time were observing the summoning spells as they knew what they meant.
Ramiel casually walked toward the largest summoning spell on the floor when it finally settled in a color of gold. Those who retook the test saw this and moved away quickly. Seeing this all the new participants understood what the changing colors meant: yellow means low, green means average, blue means middle, red was high, black was the highest, and gold was unknown.
Even if the monsters were summoned, golems seeing a gold summoning circle was not new, this was to determine if they had a strong will to stand in the face of absolute power. Having sufficient skill and power was not enough, as the head of the Ethereal Defense Corps pointed out humans' weak will in facing something beyond their range of understanding.
The changing shade in the summoning circles was a way to categorize the strength of the monsters being summoned. The head of the Ethereal Defense Corps emphasized the importance of having a strong will when facing entities beyond human comprehension.
But among all the participants, Ramiel was the only one who waited, Mr. P and Ms. K were watching all of them through multiple screens when the door opened, and the Ethereal manager at that location told the two that VIP came to observe the test,
The timer was nearly over and the test will soon commence. In the monitoring room, once it opened, seven people came in and stood watch. Some were recognized, these were the strongest and most influential guilds in the country, the rest were unknown but these mysterious
Individuals were given the opportunity to watch this batch of Awaken try to get an ethereal license, which was not ordinary as it granted special privileges and access to exclusive new manpower resources. The tension in the room was detectable as the hardest available test began, with all eyes fixed on the candidates as they prepared to demonstrate their abilities.
as the digital clock ticked down to zero, signaling the start of a high-stakes challenge that would determine their fate in the Awakened community. The air was thick with anticipation as everyone awaited. Each summoning circle burst with energy as it opened a dimensional opening connected in a different location. As hundreds of countless different-looking golems or crafted anthropomorphic pre-program creatures poured out, each golem looked like the creatures that entered earth and wreaked havoc on the land, killing many innocent people in the process.
The football field-sized testing area was nearly filled and surrounded by these creatures, the fifty candidates looked like a small, insignificant dot on a piece of blank paper., and while the golems were gradually swallowing the area, the ratio was unbelievable.
It's like 30 creatures per single candidate, they knew this was just a test, but seeing the enemy this close, they were truly depicting a degree of similarity to the real thing, which was slowly eating their courage, making them question their readiness for the actual battle. The golems' imposing presence was a stark reminder of the challenges they would soon face on the battlefield.
Some were small goblins; these were easy to kill, but because this test was created to resemble the real outbreak, it was a battle royal. No rules were allotted as the undead two-headed twenty-foot Troll was at the very back, where Ramiel was staring at the huge golem.
As the troll was holding a hammer and an axe weighing around a thousand kilos, the candidates felt a wave of unease wash over them, realizing the immense strength and power of their opponents. Despite their training, doubts began to creep in about whether they were truly prepared to face such formidable foes in actual combat.
The sound of roars and courageous battle cries started, the thundering sound of running was heard, and suddenly the sound of weapons on both sides eventually clashed, creating a cacophony of chaos that echoed throughout the arena.
The candidates knew they had no choice but to steel themselves, their fighting skills were now tested, and the hours they spent inside martial arts dojos and training hours by themselves were now getting obliterated by the enemy they were facing as the weal golems were already defeated, they were now facing stronger enemies; these were the evolved Hobgoblins, and obviously these creatures were taller, faster, and stronger than them, as the candidate still doesn't have any idea what their level is.
So a few who were having doubts could only swallow their fear and push forward like the rest, who were desperately fending off the Hobgoblins. All 49 candidates were too busy, as they felt this was real. Everything inside the hall was making their senses feel and smell what a real battle would be like. The adrenaline rush was overwhelming as they fought for survival, their instincts kicking in as they faced the evolved hobgoblins head-on.
Facing one alone was hard. Many found out the hard way, the pain they were feeling was very real, but inside the chaos, one person had already killed the two-headed twenty-foot-tall trolls with ease. Many candidates were able to kill a few enemies ranging from the weakest to the middle, but sadly, this was their limit: four gained a rank of F, two gained the rank of E, ten got a rank of D, twenty gained a rank C, eleven got rank B, and one got rank A.
All forty-nine did their very best until they reached their limit and teleported out of the hall. Some were extracted before they got seriously hurt; others were extracted because they were exhausted and ran out of mana or were just worn out, some just couldn't defeat the enemy and lost. The only rank A was a 25-year-old African woman from District 35 named
Nala Jabari.
She was so excited and proud as she was being medically treated in the medical with the rest of the candidates, She was ecstatic knowing she did very well. In her district, she was able to achieve the impossible, becoming the first person to defeat Salamander, emerge, and gain a rank A before getting defeated facing a Chimera, Her determination and skill had truly set her apart from the other candidates, earning her the admiration of everyone in the hall.
But after a few minutes, something broke the cheers. They all understood that the test ended and all of the candidates were extracted from the assessment hall, They all assumed it was finished, but they were wrong. One candidate was still fighting inside the assessment hall , refusing to end the battle without satisfying his hunger for fighting, even if the odds stacked against them. The observers were stunned by this display of tenacity and decided to let the final battle play out to see if this candidate truly had what it takes to be the only person to gain a S Rank or even more.