As Timeless continued to watch the competition, he couldn't help but feel a sense of awe at Aman's impressive strength. He knew Aman was one of the strongest in their group, but seeing it displayed on the screen made it even more impactful. The scores of the other contestants were noteworthy, but Aman's score was unmatched. It was clear that Aman had put in a lot of hard work and dedication to achieve this level of strength. Timeless felt both awe and inspiration. Despite the difficult circumstances in the camp, the strength tests were still a source of motivation, and it was amazing to see someone like Aman pushing the limits of what was possible
The testing continued with the other kids taking their turns on the strength testing machine. Looking up at the screen, Timeless saw Haru among the batch who was up on stage. Thinking back to the words said by the group that attacked him, he recalled the mention of someone actually sending them to attack him. He couldn't guess who it might be, but at first, he thought it could be Anthon, who was a martial skills user he defeated, but he couldn't be sure. The regular bullying he received was just from random bullies, but this attack had a purpose, and he was determined to find out who was behind it.
Intently, he watched Haru give the strength test a go, and the numbers stopped at 4, which could be considered good. The lowest score so far had been 2 and the number of people that achieved such a low score could be counted on one hand. Haru got down from the stage and proceeded to walk back to his seat, turning, he caught Timeless's gaze and sneered. Timeless felt a surge of anger and frustration but he pushed it aside and focused on his own turn.
A couple of minutes later, Timeless saw his name on the screen, while a monotonous voice called the names of the batch aloud on the speaker to alert them in case one wasn't looking at the screen. Timeless was filled with nervousness as he approached the stage, his body still aching from the beating he received earlier in the day. He took a deep breath and approached the machine, his hand shaking as he reached out to touch the pressure board.
With a sudden burst of energy, Timeless slammed his fist onto the board, channeling all the pain and anger he felt into the blow. The machine jerked back and the numbers lit up, starting from 0 and going up to 3. It wasn't the highest score, but for Timeless, considering his current state, it was decent. As he stepped down from the stage, he couldn't help but feel a sense of accomplishment. Despite the challenges he faced, he had pushed through and proved to himself and others that he wasn't just a weak outsider. The future may be uncertain, but for now, he was content with his performance and the determination to continue pushing himself forward.
As he walked towards his seat, he cast his gaze at Haru's group wanting to see their reaction, he met their gaze, and noticing they were giving him weird looks he smiled broadly at them. However, his subtle dig was short-lived as Timeless was summoned by the camp commander via the speaker to the bewilderment of the entire group in the hall as they turned to gaze at him.
He also felt it was odd as the camp commander was an authoritative figure that couldn't be easily accessed. Seeing such a figure call for him, he felt it might be something urgent else they would have waited until the test was over. Walking out of the hall with stares still fixed on him, he couldn't help but feel a little bit uncomfortable and only felt better when he was down the corridor.
He proceeded to head to the camp commander's office feeling nervous at the thought of having to meet a member of the Supreme command unit but also curious as to what this authoritative figure looked like.
Finally closing in on the office, Two guards could be seen standing outside in wait. He proceeded to state why he was there, one of the guards went into the office as he stood in wait and soon after came out and opened the door to allow him in.
With a deep breath, he walked into the office and the first thing that caught his gaze was the countless paintings that hung on the wall giving it a unique feeling.
"You're Timeless I assume" A voice spoke drawing back his attention.
He turned to look in the direction of the voice and saw a mature looking man with a well-refined physique which seemed sufficiently intimidating and gruff at the same time.
Not knowing how to respond, he saluted and nodded.
"I've been watching the test and waited before you finished before I called you here, what I want to tell you is something important," The camp commander said in a serious tone.
"It has been brought to my attention the sudden passing of your parents inside the domain as a group of hunters spotted their lifeless remains and brought them back to the camp which has now been transported to the sanctuary, although unfortunate, it is thankful that the remains were brought back as you can say your goodbyes to them and find some closure." The commander said with a hint of pity as he placed their tags on the desk.
Timeless gazed at the tags with a mixture of sadness and disbelief. He couldn't believe that his parents were gone, as it was only a few days since he saw them now they were no more. He didn't know how to react or what to do next. All he could do was take a deep breath and try to gather his thoughts.
"Thank you for letting me know, Commander," Timeless finally managed to say.
"Take all the time you need," The Commander replied kindly feeling that the kid was more composed than normal.
Timeless nodded, still in shock. He picked up the tags and held them close as he left the room to process the news and grieve in peace, he found himself wandering the corridor his mind in a haze.