Milas always wondered whose twisted idea it was to put teenagers together in an under supervised institution. The icing on top was the pitting them against each other so as to establish rankings. This must have been a method developed for the sole purpose of making a society cave in on itself. A method so diabolically effective, it's used to destroy the dreams and aspirations of a growing generation.
Milas looked at the faces around him and noticed a mix of emotions. The one thing he did notice was that fancily dressed teenagers had gathered into groups while the others walked around to find someone to talk to. The guard who brought him there immediately turned around and left.
"There seems to be more people than I thought, this will be troublesome to deal with. Deogratius made it clear that I can't fail the entrance test but the others seem to already have alliances. I might need to form a partnership with one of the kids who are alone." Milas looked around for a while and set his sights on a short, frail looking vampire with short hair.
"Hey man, I'm Milas De Viers. Nice to meet you." Milas introduced himself with a slight smile while offering his hand for a shake. The boy looked surprised but still accepted Milas' handshake.
"I'm Asher Kiner. Nice to meet you too." Asher answered with a small voice that could easily pass for a whisper.
"I'm not the social type so I will cut straight to the chase. It's obvious that those well dressed rich kids are planning to team up. Their plan could be the reason for our failure to enter the school. So I'm suggesting a partnership. We don't have to make it permanent just till the test is over." Milas had laid out all his cards and he could only hope for Asher to agree.
"I just met you so I honestly don't trust you. But I need to enter the academy and your deal sounds interesting. I might need a moment to think about your offer." Asher said as he went into deep contemplation.
"It's good that you don't trust me since I wouldn't trust a stranger either. As for the thinking it through part, you might wanna hurry it up. An important looking man just got onto the stage that I didn't even notice before." Milas said as he pointed at a raised platform of solid rock with thick red vein like cracks running across it.
Asher stared at the platform with shock on his face just like most of the people around the area who hadn't seen it appear. Those who had seen it however, were surprised by how silent the whole process was. The vampire who had caused this looked to be in his fifties but his eyes were sharp and had a youthful glow in them.
"Good day everyone, my name is Mortic Zephaniah, principal of Avangard Academy. I welcome you all and I hope to see all of you as students of the academy. Sadly, we can only take those of you who are worthy and we vampires place power and honor above all else. The worthy among you will be found will be determined by these two qualities but make no mistake. Power stands above honor since only the powerful can earn it or take it by force.
"The test will be the same as it has always been but weapons will not be allowed this year. The test will happen right where we stand so I ask all none participants to leave the compound." The principal paused as the adults left the area before the gates got shut when the last one left. The principal gestured for everyone to move closer to the platform before lifting his right hand to the sky.
The ground around them rose smoothly and quietly till they were surrounded by ten meter tall walls. The rocks were the same as the platform with red veins running across them. Some people took the chance to test the strength of the material. A muscly teen threw a punch at it and the result was an arm shaped rock punching back from the same place. The boy dodged and the principal decided to speak at that moment.
"As the young man has demonstrated, the walls I created have the command to recreate any hit it receives. They will act as a barrier and boundary since anyone who leaves the wall forfeits be it intentionally or accidentally. Don't worry too much about the wall because the test is different from what I told your guardians. It won't be the same duels that the previous years had to do." There were multiple gasps and frowns from a lot of people. Milas guessed that they had prepared themselves for duels. Milas felt glad now that he realized that everyone was as clueless about the test as he was.
Despite this, he couldn't help but wonder why Deogratius told him that he had two weeks before school began. He didn't believe that Deogratius had made a mistake since he was very time conscious. "He must have had a reason for that. He may behave like a crazy old man but everything he does is calculated. Heck, he even beat me unconscious and knew exactly what time I would wake up."
"Like I said before, there will be no weapons during the test. Please place all your weapons into the holes beneath you." Everyone looked below them and found relatively wide holes beneath them. The size and shape even changed to allow different items like shields to fit. Milas placed everything he had inside the hole before it closed up and the weapons disappeared. Some tried to keep a weapon with them but the holes beneath them refused to close. The holes even followed them till they gave up.
"Now that we have finished with that, let us go to the test." The principal said and then stomped the ground. The rocks beside him rose up before changing into a humanoid shape about the same size as himself. The rock had the same red veins running across its surface but the human like shape made them look like tattoos. The rock had no face and the veins didn't pass where the face should have been.
"This is the test and I promise that it won't be easy. The statue beside me will be your opponent and all of you can fight it together if you wish. The aim of the test is to survive till 100 out of the 300 and something of you remain. The test begins right now." The principal finished and and a pillar launched him to the top of the wall. The rocks formed into a throne like seat and he sat waiting for the show to begin.
The teenagers were looking at the statue that still hadn't budged. The same muscly teen who punched the wall earlier walked towards the statue. He stood in front of it for a moment before punching its head. The statue ducked below the fist and delivered a bone crushing uppercut to him. The boy was thrown away and looked to be unconscious.
Everyone stared at the statue with horror since they knew how hard it was to knock out a vampire. The horror show was just beginning as a high-pitched scream came from a plump girl. Everyone looked at what she was staring at and fear gripped them. Even Milas couldn't believe what was happening.
Tentacle like rocks were wrapping around him and the ground opened up like a giant mouth and swallowed him whole. The rocks around the area where he disappeared shuddered and shook violently. Milas thought that the unlucky guy was trying to break free but he was proved wrong. The rocks rose up and took the shape of the boy. Even the face could be mistaken for his if it wasn't made of rock.
The two statues raised their fists and attacked the teenagers closest to them.