This wasn't Jordan's first time entering a portal. He had done so in his past life so while the others were on guard, he retained his composure. It felt like different forces were pulling them from different angles and they were temporarily blind so they couldn't see anything. As expected, it was enough to make someone nauseous. The process didn't take more than half a minute so they got there in no time.
Once they were on the other side, the majority of them had their hands over their mouths. One guy rushed to the side and he threw up in the nearly pruned bushes. However, there was an exception. Chase looked at the people he escorted. They all looked to be in bad states. All except Jordan. He wondered how a new recruit like him was quite alright after a portal ride. Jordan noticed he was staring but instead of avoiding his gaze, the airhead looked him right in the eye. This action alone was enough to send chills down Chase's spine because, at that moment, Jordan resembled an adult looking at a child with scrutinising eyes.
'In just one short trip, I've met three strange people. Who knows what I'll find in the military base itself,' he thought.
'Who knows? Maybe it's their own way of complimenting your looks,' Max concluded.
The two were really a bad match.
Still maintaining eye contact, Chase asked, "Is this your first time using a portal?"
"Yes," Jordan answered without blinking. "Any problem?"
Chase shook his head and with a snap of his assistant's fingers, the two were out of sight.
With no more disturbances, Jordan could finally examine this foreign land he had been transported to.
Like the area where he had just come from, there was no building or structure. The only difference was that there were more people now. There were around a hundred people in number, all waiting for who-knows-what.
Another significant feature of the place was that it was blustery and he figured if a lightweight object was dropped from a certain height, it would get blown far away. It was expected of the Mistral Dynasty.
The Mistral Dynasty resided in a realm of perpetual breezes and swirling mists, where ethereal forests of silver birch trees rustle in the wind and veils of fog shroud ancient ruins. There were modern buildings and structures but the ruins had their significance. The air was filled with the sweet scent of blooming lavender.
In the open field, the recruits got rowdier as time passed until a booming male voice was heard in the venue.
"It looks like the last batch has arrived."
The voice came from multiple directions at once, creating a disorienting yet captivating auditory experience. There was only one explanation for this. It was being propagated by wind.
"Let the first evaluation begin," the voice ordered.
The next second, the scene before them changed from the open field to an all-white dimension. The recruits were baffled. They looked around waiting for the voice from before to explain what was going on but there was no instruction. Some of them thought it was a test to know if they would remain sane after staying in there for a long time. It was a common test and they thought they could pass the test.
After ten minutes had passed and nothing was happening, some of them let their guards down but some others were still alert.
Suddenly, the sound of mechanisms could be heard and door-like holes opened up slowly all around the white room. They were small and dark so at first glance, the inside couldn't be seen. The recruits were startled by the sudden development and their confusion heightened when red lights started blinking in the room. They backed away from the holes but still nothing was happening.
"I don't understand, why keep us waiting? This is getting frustrating," one person complained, and their complaints continued.
Even Max was getting fed up with the suspense but the advised Jordan, "Stay alert, kid. You never know what comes next."
Just as he said those words, a hideous creature with the face of a mouse and the body of a pigeon flew out of one of the holes at a terrifying speed toward one of the recruits and bit his arm. Then something happened: instead of the guy bleeding like a normal person would, his body burst into pixels and faded away, like a video game character who had lost all his lives.
Seeing what had just occurred, the recruits certainly didn't want to be victims of such fate so they took out their weapons (those that had one) and prepared for combat.
One of the creatures aimed at Jordan, flying toward him at full speed. Now that it was in close proximity, he could see just how hideous it was. It looked like something out of a toddler's nightmares. Without a second thought, he grabbed its head and crushed its skull. Black blood splashed on his uniform and he continued this method since he didn't have a weapon.
Seeing his method, some recruits had things to say about him.
"Eww. He touched that thing with his bare hands."
"Too bad. Such a handsome guy has no brains."
"I think he's one of those brutes that think all problems can be solved with force."
"Didn't you notice, he doesn't have a weapon on him. Maybe he's too poor to afford one."
Jordan was oblivious of the fact that he had become a new topic in the arena.
Over time, the creatures reduced in number and so did the number of people who were still in the room. Currently, they were reduced to half of their original number. Seeing that they horrid creatures had stopped coming, they sighed in relief.
Jordan looked around and noticed that their numbers had reduced drastically. While he was surveying, he spotted Harper standing alone and staring at the floor. She wasn't staring at anything in particular and that wasn't Jordan's concern. Throughout the evaluation, she wasn't attacking and wasn't attacked. In fact, it seemed like the creatures even avoided her. He could sense something was off about her but he decided not to jump into conclusions.
Just when they felt like they were free, the scene before changed yet again. This time, they were in the middle of a forest.
Without thinking twice, one guy in the crowd took a step forward. Out of nowhere, an arrow was shot at his temple and just like that, it was game over for him.
'From the looks of things, there's probably traps all over the place. If my guess is right, then this must be a test to know how attentive we are of our surroundings and there has to be a goal we must reach to clear this stage.'
As if his mind was read, an announcement was made.
"To pass this stage, you have to get to the bottom of the highest mountain in this forest within ten minutes."
It was as simple as that. They weren't given any precautions. The said mountain was about a mile away from where they were. Walking at a moderate pace would take fifteen to twenty minutes yet they were given only ten minutes with the addition of the traps. Jordan knew that if he wanted to pass this stage, he had to move out as soon as possible. It seemed like someon else had analyzed the situation because at that moment, a speed user whizzed past them, constantly slowing down to avoid the traps.
Just as Jordan took his first step, he heard a voice from the crowd behind him. "Hey Goldilocks, hold up."
He didn't want to believe that he was the one being referred to as Goldilocks but there was no doubt about it. After all, he was the only one with a trace of gold on his hair.
He paused and didn't bother looking back, waiting for the person who had dared insult him to approach him.
A petite female who had bubblegum pink hair and an aggressive look in her blue eyes walked up to him and looked up to meet his gaze, "Let's team up!"
Jordan looked at her questioningly but before he could reply, he was already being dragged along by the short stranger.