Rin was stunned by the number of participants as he stood at the end of the line under the soldiers' orders: "896... damn life!! I'm the last one to take the test, how long will I have to wait with everyone in front of me?"
As he stood at the end, the participants in front of him laughed but immediately stopped when number 895 came up to stand behind them.
"Alliong!!" everyone thinks simultaneously and stops laughing and never looks back
Rin and Alliong look at each other for a moment
"nice to meet you, my name is Alilong, we will wait a while, we better become friends and get along so that time doesn't pass too long," said Alliong with a smile and an outstretched hand
Rin shook his hand and immediately, like a woman who had not seen her husband away at war for several years, approached with the eyes of a beaten puppy: "Friends! We are friends for life but like a good, self-respecting friend must provide for everyone's difficulties! Do you have anything to eat for me???"
Participant: "…"
soldier: .....
Alliong looked at his hand, now dirty from Rin's dirty hands, then feeling helpless, he asked the steward of his chamber of commerce not far behind the soldiers to bring him some food with an embarrassed laugh.
A few minutes later, Rin with his face and fingers full of grease, finished the last chicken leg and patted his belly with a denied smile: "Brother Alliong is the best ahahahaha!! from today on, Alliong is my brother of blood that hurts him, hurts me!"
Alliong smiled and started a discussion with his new brother but suddenly exclamations rang out in the room.
3 "Arena" were born in front of the crowd
on the left a horizontal cylindrical machine with compartments probably where you have to lie down
on the right one with pipes 50 meters long, with a height of 5 meters and a diameter of 5 meters too.
and the most terrifying in the center a small arena where Lieutenant Jin waits in black sportswear showing his super athletic body
still with a cold look, he spoke without emotion but in a voice audible to all: "You will first pass in turn through the machine on the left which is called "body analyzer" it will give us basic data on your power physics then after that to the right when the soldier in charge will give you the go you will sprint as if your life was at stake along the pipes be careful objects can fall from the cylinder or even come out of the ground and finally you will come here to give me the shot louder than you can hope to put"
Rin listened and whispered: "Last year several young people joined the slums after the ceremony with missing legs or another handicap because he had dropped them in the forest outside the walls, this year they calmed down after priority"
at this moment Lieutenant Jin smiled evilly and added a sentence that made everyone's blood run cold
"If I consider that you have slackened in the test of reactivity and strength I will return a blow just to send you to the hospital"
Alliong and around Rin looked at him with weird eyes and started to move away from the black cat because everything went into a tailspin the moment he spoke
Rin "..."
A soldier with a card called the next number: "Number 124 - Yuuki Shenzhen"
Rin saw Alliong suddenly paying close attention to the test which until now had just been boring: "Brother, do you like her?" he said with a mischievous smile
But Alliong did not enter into his games and even smiled: "Even if I had twice as much courage, I would never try to woo her, she is the 2nd daughter of King Shenzen..."
"King Shenzen?" Rin doesn't pay much attention to it
Alliong looked at him as if he saw a madman: "Don't you know the strongest man in the bastion? The only platinum level? His special Halo-type stigma gave him the nickname King"
Before Rin even comes out of the first test machine, a soldier announces the result out loud.
"Number 124 - Body test - Rating: S"
The gymnasium was silent for a moment and then erupted into a multitude of discussions.
"123 candidates passed before her and none got an A on the test!"
"As expected of one of the 5 prodigies"
"So she has a great chance of being oriented in Physics!"
Yuuki Shenzen with her jade face and long straight jet black hair walked towards the second test without paying attention to the crowd
Soldier "The second test is about to begin....Go"
at the moment when the soldier gave the start she sprinted like a feline and reached worry half of the tunnel but suddenly a different obstacle and the falling object appeared but as if it did not exist she dodged while reducing her speed as little as possible"
"Number 124 – Reactivity Test – Grade: S"
she wiped her forehead and walked towards Lieutenant Jin who was waiting for her with a slight smile: "So he finally has a real talent come on young Shenzen show me what you are capable of" he spread his hands and left his bust exposed
Yuuki took a breath and threw a kick with all her strength.....but nothing as if she had hit something neither hard nor soft something that canceled all her strength life the lieutenant looked at her with smiling eyes
"Number 124 - Strength test - Grade: A"
she grimaced but said nothing and left for the waiting room for the spiritual test
Rin and Along after their fabulous S-S-A score became serious but for different reasons.
Along because as one of the 5 prodigies I don't want to be surpassed by someone from the same generation as him
Rin because he never had a goal other than to survive today, at this precise moment saw an unknown feeling born in him, a feeling that Uncle Ryu had spoken to him about...competitiveness... for the first time in his life Rin wanted to be the best.