"Let me personally tell you how this works~," the mad scientist Victoria "Mad Star" said to me in her mischievous tone, speaking through a drone with a display monitor attached, hovering dangerously close. Of course, she wore her irksome mischievous smile.
I wasn't too keen on her playful attitude toward me, but I really did need an explanation for... whatever the hell this huge obstacle course contraption was that loomed menacingly in the distance. This contraption was ridiculously large, so large that it could be mistaken for some sort of amusement park facility, but, of course, this one had multiple deadly obstacles attached to it.
Why the hell did they put this thing out in the open too? I mean, I just came out from what was supposedly Max Brain's 'secret' lair, so this thing right here was like a giant red beacon for anyone to notice from a distance.
Suddenly, the drone startled me out of my confusion as it got a bit too close for comfort again. "This is your orientation, Grunt No. 703," Victoria, displayed on the drone, began her explanation, and the drone moved as if it were motioning to point out the obstacle course contraption. "This is an obstacle course that we, of Max Brain's Supervillain Empire, have devised to maximize the potential of newly recruited grunts such as you, Grunt No. 703," she explained through the drone's speaker with a prideful tone.
"O-okay...?" I answered back to her explanation with uncertainty.
Taking my answer as a cue, Victoria continued, "This obstacle course will test the enchantments that we have given to all you grunts: strength, stamina, agility, dexterity, speed, reaction time, and, most importantly, your endurance! All of these are the factors that we are observing from all of you newly recruited grunts!" She explained the significance of this obstacle course with glee, which took me aback.
"I see..." Her explanation was starting to make sense... at least. I kind of understood that these were all basically everything they needed to know about our capabilities with our new enchantments, but... "Why make it into this one huge contraption? Why not just have one test for each?" I inquired, wanting to know why they would mash up all of this testing into one giant obstacle course if they were looking for proper parameters of testing.
"Tsk, tsk, tsk, how disappointing, Grunt No. 703," she looked disappointed as she chastised me, which only served to confuse me more. She even wagged her finger at me like a teacher showing disapproval to her student.
"Testing one-by-one? How inefficient and time-wasting!" Victoria suddenly yelled at me through her drone's speaker, surprising and taking me aback a bit. I didn't expect this much disapproval from her, as I personally thought this was a bit too overkill, but it seemed that she didn't see it that way.
"This obstacle course not only measures all of your capabilities all at once but also serves as a test of your willpower as a grunt, proving that you are not just deadweight for our Leader, Lord Max Brain!" She explained the significance of this obstacle course to me with a surprising amount of energy. "This ultimate test will be one of the deciding factors for where you grunts are going to be placed in our empire!" She added at the end, revealing another important piece of information.
If this obstacle course test was one of the deciding factors for where I would be placed, it became even more important for me to actually complete it. I looked at the towering structure with a grim expression, trying to imagine myself going through each of those deadly obstacles. I looked at the other small amount of grunts who were still trying to get through some of the early obstacles themselves... and they did not seem to be faring well...
"And one more thing, Grunt No. 703..." She suddenly called out my name in a low tone, surprising me with the change from her previous high energy. There was a slight pause between us as her expression turned serious. "Didn't you say that you're going to impress me?" She reminded me, repeating the words I had said to her earlier.
Once again, I was taken aback by what she had just said. I did indeed tell her that I would impress her. Most importantly back then... I had resolved to go through whatever bullshit these supervillains would throw at me as long as I could survive in this world. So... why was I hesitating here in front of one of those 'bullshits'?
"Heh... hehe..." I let out a small laugh as I hung my head low.
"Hmm? What's wrong, Grunt No. 703?" Victoria asked, not with a concerned tone, but instead with a piqued one.
I lifted my head and looked at the clear blue sky of this new world, and... "Hehe... hehehe... HAHAHA!" I let out a loud laugh. After laughing quite jovially, I then looked back at the drone displaying Victoria. She had a surprised look from my sudden laughter. "That's right, I did say that. Thanks for reminding me, boss!" I thanked her, calling her my own 'boss' to boot.
Victoria looked surprised not just from hearing me laugh jovially, but seemingly from being called 'boss' out of nowhere. But then she showed me an amused grin of her own. "That's right, grunt. Do your work properly~," She teased me with a playful tone and then... "Reach the end of this orientation obstacle course and prove yourself worthy as one of Lord Max Brain's grunts!" She ordered me with excitement.
"Right away, Boss!!!" I gave her a thumbs up, which earned a giggle from her. I turned back toward the large, deadly obstacle course contraption. Before, it had felt like a menacing structure that loomed over me. But now... it was a fun challenge that I could definitely conquer... 'and I will!'
Once again, I readied myself in the pose I had taken before. I lowered my body and positioned my right leg further back. I could feel the muscles in my body quite naturally now... and they were tensing in anticipation. I inhaled... and then exhaled. I inhaled once again... and then launched myself forward, leaving the drone that was displaying the grinning mad scientist woman behind.