Tumunomi Escaver, for 20 days of watching 5 teams make attempts at the machines could only feel his impatience growing.
Jacob had remained silent.
John had stopped crying and now just fell silent to the outcome of some of his peers.
Andrew was now able to whisper a few comments without getting caught and beaten.
Ivan had stopped his shaking and only flinched when he saw bad results of the last machine.
Jake said prayers under his breath.
Peter had long pissed his pants.
But now that the other teams had gone through their trials, Tumunomi Escaver had been the first to rush to their door. Not only the trials had encouraged them to do some little exercises before they headed out but now there was an extra depth that was in their eyes.
Maybe it was because Jacob had been the one pushing them, the second day they had been here and telling them that things were not over;
;He had thrown Andrew around until the other boy fought back. They had wrestled until both of them had injuries but Tumunomi Escaver knew that Jacob could have ended the battle at any time;
;Jacob had spoken to John, using Anna's friends name as a source of motivation. And the boy had picked up after Jacob ha painted a future with bells, flower girls and an aisle;
;Jake had needed more of an ambitious approach. Jake had heard about cultivators during one of his classes, and had spoken on about it to Jacob more than once. So, telling him that he needed to steel his mind and body for what his future held out for him was easy;
;Jacob's approach to Ivan was sitting on the boy's back until he got frustrated and started chasing Jacob around. And at first he really had intentions to injure the older boy. But between the maneuvers and the laughter and his jokes, Ivan became less tense;
;Peter had to be pushed all the way;
;Ivan had also been his last target to help. The guy had Jacob talking to him about how he could gain enough political power to change things and maybe orphanages would have better treatments for their residents;
Either way, they had picked up basic exercises. Tumunomi Escaver had been done with his and was waiting before the door that opened half an hour later.
Today was finally their turn and Tumunomi Escaver was planning to give his all with extra effort. He strode out and watched his peers look at his batch with pity but he did not seem to care as most of the ones who were waiting had not yet passed the first round of tests.
And he was the only one with the fire still in his eyes.
Well, Jacob too had a fire but Tumunomi Escaver's felt… Darker.
For instance, Jacob looked indifferent and casual, where Tumunomi Escaver had a wolfish grin accentuated by his sunken eyes and the shadows about them that pronounced them.
Barely any noise was heard and at this point and it was a somber atmosphere of people who knew what would happen to them.
7th batch," Mrs. Rosalyn' voice cut through their grim hopes. "Final batch, begin."
Tumunomi Escaver was raring to go but Jacob's hand on his shoulder surprised him as much as the boys other hand pushed John to have a go at the machine first.
He eyed the taller boy who spoke to him. "Are you not willing to get on her nerves?"
He looked at John in question and then it clicked. So, he took a step back and waited to see what Jacob would do.
John approached the DumbbellLever and tried 20 kgs but reverted to 15.
He managed to do 4 sets of 15 reps.
Perspiring towards the end, he went to face the next after he was done.
His time on the Mindsewer was 3 minutes.
His body had already began shaking when he remembered what would happen to him if he failed. His teeth even began rattling nefore he felt a hand on his shoulder.
And he jumped before he noticed that it was Jacob's. "It's going to be alright."
John nodded and gulped.
"Hey!" Finim Barboach yelled at the top of his voice. "Get back in line!"
"You said you wanted silence, I am neither helping him nor breaking any other rules."
"Well," Mrs. Rose Marilyn added. "It looks inappropriate."
At this point Tumunomi Escaver laughed and stood on the other side of John where he folded his arms and pointed his wolfish grin at Mrs Rose Marilyn.
Finim Barboach was on the verge of leaping to where they were and knocking them into the ground literally but Mrs Rose Marilyn smiled and raised a hand. "Continue."
Finim Barboach wanted to walk over and physically put them into place but he feared the lady more than he wanted to soothe his ego so he let it go.
John looked at Jacob who nodded and he got the courage to continue.
He did 5 minutes and on finishing with a horror on his face at his expectations because of his results, Finim Barboach shouted.
"His results are terrible enough, seize him!"
Tumunomi Escaver had stood before John and set himself into a fighting stance before Jacob had done so and the features on Finim Barboach's face twisted like a thunderstorm.
Mrs. Rose Marilyn smiled at Tumunomi Escaver and spoke to him. "What gives you the confidence?"
His grin almost disappeared as he wanted to put on a cute smile. "Anything to piss you off."
They almost thoroughly surrounded. "We had an agreement, though."
"You are not playing your part, so why should I play mine?"
Andrew had pulled Ivan, and Jake had tagged along because he did not want to feel left behind.
Peter inched forwarding until he stood with them
Tumunomi Escaver's grin widened until his lips were shaking in excitement and his stance got more relaxed.
"Wait," the ones surrounding them held their ground. "Lets see the final result."
Finim Barboach literally swallowed all his anger and decided to keep it until the tria taker was done.
He was going to make sure they were disposed of.
John, on the other hand, watched his roommates with teary eyes before wiping his eyes. And a look they had never seen before in him came to the light.
He walked to the Pressure Mill and began running as if he was a puppet on strings.
1 minute
The pressure increased twice
2 minutes
The pressure increased twice, once more
3 minutes
The pressure increased twice, once more
4 minutes
The pressure increased twice, once more
5 minutes
The pressure increased twice, once more
The treadmill portion inclined by 2.5 degrees.
6 minutes
The pressure increased twice, once more.
7 minutes
The pressure increased twice, once more.
8 minutes
The pressure increased twice, once more.
9 minutes
The pressure increased twice, once more.
10 minutes
The pressure increased twice, once more.
The treadmill portion inclined by another 2.5 degrees.
11 min…
The shock was apparent on their faces and when it hit 1 hour and 30 minutes, John was not able to move anymore but he did not attempt to move off the machine.
Finim Barboach looked at John with so much anger, it was as though the child had assassinated both his parents. Letting out a breath, he turned to Mrs. Rose Marilyn who had her brows arced in surprise.
She smiled and announced, "you pass."
Tumunomi Escaver drooped his ands but not his grin. He even bumped shoulders with one of the people who had wanted to hold them down earlier.
Jacob shook his head as the person Tumunomi Escaver bumped into ignored the boy out of not only discipline and tempered ego but arrogance.
And thus, Jacob and Tumunomi Escaver guarded them all as they took their tests.
Jake had done 8 sets of 30 reps for 10 kg weights of the DumbbellLever. 5 minutes of the MindSewer, 16 minutes of the ReflectionLawn and 30 Minutes of the PressureMill.
Andrew did 5 sets of 15 reps for 8 kg weights of the DumbbellLever. 10 minutes of the MindSewer, 6 minutes of the ReflectionLawn and 1 hour of the PressureMill.
Ivan had done 9 sets of 24 reps for 10kg weights of the DumbbellLever. 25 minutes of the MindSewer. 20 minutes of the ReflectionLawn and 30 minutes of the PressureMill.
Peter did 8 sets of 13 reps for 8 kg weights on yhe DumbbellLever. 45 minutes on the MindSewer. 40 kinutes on the ReflectionLawn and 10 minutes on the PressureMill.
Finim Barboach no longer even felt angry or indignant. In fact, he was quite pleased with their results. Secretly, he wished that John had began with this same level of motivation.
Mrs Rose Marilyn openly did the same as she had clapped for each finish. Although she literally gave one clap for each one, it was still an achievement.
Now, Jacob steeled himself and picked up 20kg weights.
He did 40 sets of 40 reps and he did not look like he was panting at all. Finim Barboach turned serious and he decided to concentrate more.
Jacob proceeded to the Mindsewer and held it for 35 minutes. Still unflustered he proceeded to the ReflectionLawn and stayed there for 50 minutes. The PressureMill held for 2 hours.
And when he was done, there was pindrop silence. Not just because of the rules but because he had thrown even Mrs Rose Marilyn speechless.
The students looked at him like he was a Messiah. The type that cane at the last minute when they were surrounded in all directions from a zombie apocalypse and washed away the danger like pressure water on dirty cars.
She gave him 10 claps and he was then fed a Portent Artefact for recovery. And even more shocking, he did not look like he was numb or having any side effects.
Mrs Rose Marilyn had some suspicions from all these his results but she did not voice anything out loud.
Turning to Tumunomi Escaver she noticed that his expression had not changed at all and she smiled in expectation.