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"And that concludes the first Trial," Flora stated, Jak making his way down the steps. "Congratulations to those that passed. You're officially one step closer to becoming adventurers. To those that didn't? Don't dwell over it. Just keep moving and do your best during the next assessment."
"We'll give you a ten minute reprieve so you can collect your thoughts and ready yourself for the next phase," Margaret finished, her eyes following the redhead. "Use your time wisely."
None of the examinees said anything in response, their gazes locked onto the approaching youth, of whom appeared to be largely disinterested in the whole affair. With a serious look, Jak Yanda walked over to the group that had triumphed over the first hurdle, heading to the back, the crowd quickly parting to allow him through. Now that the hood had been removed, everyone could see just how intense of an expression the youth possessed, hues almost as red as his hair never giving anyone a second look. The confidence was present, but not one could sense any sort of cockiness or condescension, something that most found odd considering how strong the redhead was.
(("So, this is the power of an Elemental Rookie??")) Margaret thought, just as captivated as the rest of the newbies. Even after the glow had faded, she could still feel the remaining hot tendrils of magic licking the side of her face. (("This must be what he told me to watch out for. It goes beyond what a starting adventurer should be capable of."))
"It's because he's been training for those 3 years," Flora said, continuing Margaret's line of thought while also snapping the receptionist back to the present. "Ever since he disappeared, he's been working himself to ground, unrelenting and never settling.
Margaret glanced at the blonde. "Not that I'm doubting you, but how can you be so sure of that?"
Flora tilted her head, a smile spreading across her face, something akin to nostalgia passing briefly through her eyes as she looked at Jak. "Call it a hunch."
"That aside, how is Jak even a Rookie? No one here seems to know of him or his name." Margaret once again turned her attention towards the redhead, violet hues narrowing in. "Aside from you and Mako that is. If he's a Rookie then shouldn't his name be somewhat familiar?"
"It's been three years since the Bird Massacre," Flora responded. "In that time, Jak's identity and name were buried before they could truly shine, swept aside by the new wave of ongoings throughout the worlds. Despite being a candidate who got in through.....unconventional means and one who displayed remarkable talent, it's impossible to remain famous for long without some sort of major impact."
"But he was a Rookie."
Flora shrugged. "It's much easier to fade into obscurity than you might think. Especially if you disappear for years on end without any news or development."
After that, the conversation between the two slowly died out. Aside from the realization that the redhead was an abnormality, Margaret had nothing else to discuss, and Flora clearly had nothing else to add to the line of conversation. The duo merely stood in silence, glancing around the room, occasionally writing down things on their clipboards. After the full ten minutes previously allotted to the examinees had transpired, they once again got back to business, acting as if nothing had happened.
"We will now continue from where we left off," Margaret announced, the dual receptionists making their way forward once again. "We hope that you have used the appropriate hiatus to gather yourselves accordingly. Give it your all in the following Trials."
"With the first test concluded, let's change up the scenery," Flora said as she reached up and snapped her fingers, a quick flick that even the violet eyed receptionist nearly missed. "We'll need a wider room."
Right on cue, the room shimmered and rippled, akin to a drop of water landing in a small puddle, before warping into something else entirely. What was once a solid square room was transformed into a wide and rectangular space filled with a number of other items such as a racetrack, boxes painted on the floor, and a massive wall made out of some kind of grey rubbery substance. No remnants of the previous room remained and Margaret found no traces of illusions being used, only small hints of magic that permeated the air around them. No matter how many times she saw the room shift, it still boggled her mind as she surveyed the room with bright eyes.
"For the second test, we'll be conducting a physical assessment, although a much more simplified version." Flora held up three fingers, brown eyes flicking betwixt the groups. Her other hand poked Margaret in the side, clearly aiming to make sure she was focused and ready to continue explaining. "Putting it simply, you'll each participate in three activities. Sprinting to test speed, dodging to test reflexes, and punching to test overall strength."
"After each and every test is done, you'll be given a score. Should that score be too low and we detect that you were able to enhance your own body using magic, the examiners will then discuss how many bonus points should be added." Margaret lifted her clipboard and began rifling through it, sifting along until she finally managed to locate the sheet with the examinees' names. "This trial is run in groups of five, and you each get three attempts at each exercise. Your best score of all of them will be the only one counted. When I call your name, step up to the first exercise. First up, Jak Yanda."
The next test, same as the last, was made to go in reverse alphabetical order and therefore, the five who had gone first on the previous trial would then be going first again, regardless of status. Margaret wasn't sure why they were including the Rookie in the first group, but she didn't question it as Flora proceeded to show the others, aside from Jak, where to stand. As WGC workers, their job was to simply follow and enforce the rules, that was all they were paid to do and wondering why the World Guild Center did something was pointless as it had to be done whether they liked it or not.
(("Probably because they're already aware of the power he wields,")) Margaret reasoned as she strolled away from the group, towards the other end of the field. (("There isn't any need to make him go last this time around."))
After traveling a significant distance, the receptionist turned around and faced the group of five, of whom were now standing in a neat row side by side. Jak stood to the far left, and yet he was by far the most eye-catching one, his bright red hair making him stand out amongst the rest.
"In a moment, we will begin the first test,' Margaret announced from her position across the field. "The first test will be a simple sprint. It's designed to test your acceleration and your top speed. Make sure you give it your all."
"Um, but where exactly are we running to?" One of the examinees asked. "Are we just gonna run towards you? And how are you gonna keep track of how fast we go?"
As if on cue, the area in front of them shifted, white lines appearing before the five of them, long straight lines that lead to the end of the lengthy field. Margaret stood to the right side of the newly made track, nose raised up as she elevated her hand. She didn't bother answering the newbies question as it wasn't required of her to do so, only needing to tell him what to do and when to do it.
"When I bring my hand down, you run." Margaret said simply, barking the orders loud enough for the others to hear. "I'll give you a countdown, and when I say 'GO', sprint nonstop to the end like your tails on fire."
"10"
"9"
The area fell even quieter as the onlookers held their breaths, the only noise coming from the current runners and the purple haired woman.
"8"
"7"
"6"
The examinees all took their stances at the starting line, of which was just a big white rectangular box that showed them where to keep their feet.
"5"
"4"
"3"
Margaret almost couldn't hear herself over the pounding of her own heart as she watched everyone prepare to sprint forward. She had done it dozens of times that day but she had yet to feel the same intensity as she had now as she readied herself to bring her hand down.
"2"
"1"
"GO!!"
Before any of the examinees could even get fully past the starting line, there was a loud BOOM as the redhead launched himself forward, becoming a literal blur of black and crimson as he raced down the line. Margaret barely had time to register the teens' speed as he barreled past mere moments after she had thrown down her hand, a sharp wind ruffling her clothes and hair as he skid to a stop. The room remained silent as the other examinees finished up their end of the test, running past the finish line almost a full 5 seconds after Jak. None of them even came close to the speed the youth had demonstrated, the youngling having completed the run in record time. Even more so, the boy didn't even appear to be out of breath as he waited for his results to appear, meanwhile the other contestants seemed to be slightly winded from the full 180 meter sprint.
((".....,")) Margarets brain struggled to comprehend the events that had just transpired in front of her, unmoving from her position at the side of the track. Even after everyone had passed the finish line, all she could do was swivel her head and stare at the contestants.
One by one, numbers appeared over everyone's head, informing them of how long it took them to go from one end to the other as well as giving them an overall score below it. However, Margaret had no interest in the score of others as she waited for Jaks numbers, quickly writing down each one the moment her body allowed movement.
Ding!
.17 seconds. That's how long it had taken him to completely run the length of 90m, completely commanding the room. Whilst everyone wielded a time of 5 to 6 seconds and scoring 200 to 250 points, Jak maxed the score out at 300, earning a little less than half of what he needed to pass the physical assessment. Margaret wasn't even sure how he had moved so quickly what with her being too far away and Jak blowing past her before she had time to analyze. It seemed to be too much to just be pure physical strength, no newbie having ever truly reached that speed at that age, even demihumans had trouble reaching that level of acceleration and most of them were built to be lightning quick and agile.
"He shifted his magic," Flora explained, seeming to read Margaret's mind as she made her way over. Rather than look surprised, the blonde woman appeared to be quite amused with the newly developed situation. "Right before the start of the run, he moved nearly all of his magic towards his legs and core muscles, giving him an amplified run. As he ran, he made sure the magic was evenly distributed so as to maintain balance and further increase his speed with each step."
"But thats-"
"Impossible for even a newbie to do considering the complexity of shifting ones internal magic. Even for those experienced, it would take a while for them to be able to pull off what he just did." Flora shook her head as she took the clipboard from the purple haired woman and began to quickly document the scores of the other examinees. She didn't seem to be very surprised by Jak's score. It even seemed as if she was expecting such an outcome. "What's more, he controls the flow by instinct alone. Though, this is something he was able to do as a mere child. Makes sense he would still be able to do it now."
"Instinctively control the flow of internal magic? As a child??!! No way in hell!!" Margaret rebuttalled, keeping her voice lowered so no one could hear their conversation. "Controlling ones magic THAT efficiently at that age is literally impossible. Even ELVES of the same age couldn't do what he just did at that age, and you're telling me it was INSTINCTUAL!! I call bullshit."
The idea of someone manipulating their internal magic at such a young age wasn't quite far fetched, though it was quite rare, rare enough that bonus points were issued to those examinees that could manage to do so. However, this was a different monster altogether as the amount of known individuals capable of instinctually shifting their internal magic so quickly could be counted on two hands, and even then the names of those same entities were known throughout most worlds and were far more experienced. For someone like Jak, who could do the same thing as a child, to not be known was something Margaret found absolutely insane.
Flora shrugged as she finished recording the numbers, giving a small smile as she handed the board back to Margaret. "Even if you don't believe it, there's no changing the fact that he did indeed shift his internal magic. Of course, you'll have a chance to see it for yourself in the next two tests. However, let's finish up everyone elses for the time being."
The purple haired woman had almost forgotten that they were still in the middle of the trials, Jaks overwhelming speed having captured her attention to the fullest. Recovering quickly, she ushered the others to the side as she called out the next five examinees, of whom were slow to approach. Jak had displaced a sizeable chunk of earth back when he had initially sprinted forward, leaving two of the examinees without a proper foothold to start the test.
Flora quickly fixed it though, repairing it with a wave of her hand, allowing the trials to once again run smoothly.
Nothing else happened after that. Everyone ran the test 3 times each and completed with relatively average speeds and time, with the only exception being Carson Umona, who finished at the time of 2.34 seconds and a score of 280. Margaret was no longer putting too much focus on anyone else, though, as the first test was rapidly concluded, far faster than the first trial had been. Everyone had scored pretty well in the first test, so it was much more cheerful all around as everyone talked amongst themselves as the WGC receptionists conversed with each other. After a while, Flora separated from Margaret and walked towards the group, causing the examinees to instantly quiet as they waited to hear what she had to say.
"Congrats to everyone for making it this far. We will now proceed with test number 2 of the physical assessment." Flora lifted her hand straight up into the air and gave it a wave. "For this one, it's all about reflexes and how you maintain your cool under pressure. Be aware that this one can seriously injure you, so please make sure to keep your guard up."
The room shifted yet again, objects appearing from thin air as the examinees looked on, before immediately drawing back the moment the things came into vision.
Five beings stood tall and at the ready, giant clubs held in their hands. With puke green skin, ugly facial features and naked bodies only covered by a cloth below the waist, the monsters were easily recognizable as Goblin Guards, one of the weaker monsters in the dungeons dotting the Rifts. Though strong enough to crush a low rank adventurer with a single swing of their immense clubs, they were extremely slow and didn't normally travel in packs like their far weaker goblin brethren. They almost always roamed the entrances to lower tier Dungeons and Rifts, hence why they had received the name Goblin Guards.
"Take a good look. These will be your opponents for the second test. All you have to do is avoid being hit for as long as possible." Flora smiled as she surveyed the room, taking in everyone's repulsed expressions. "Be aware that these are relatively aggressive monsters but that doesn't apply when it's time to stop. Once you go in there, it'll automatically start and they'll be looking for some fresh meat, especially if you happen to be female. They quite like the taste for whatever reason."
A few of the female examinees looked rather nervous as the goblins began moving about, aimlessly wandering their section of the room, which was about 70m by 70m. Saliva dripped from their mouths, of which was flung in the air whenever they let out a random shout, an ear piercing yell that caused everyone to momentarily plug their ears. Standing at about 4 meters tall, the goblins clearly had more than enough lung power as their roars increased in volume as the time went on.
"The longer you survive, the more points you get. When you reach 300 points, the monsters will be stopped automatically via intense electric shocks, which will provide you enough time to retreat or enough time to be extracted. Bonus points will be added if you manage to block a hit, disarm them, or knock one down." Margaret struggled to speak over the goblins incessant screeching, hands placed firmly over her ears in order to keep from going completely deaf. "We will begin the trial with the Reinstatement and then proceed in alphabetical order."
Flora walked over to Jak, of whom didn't seem to be affected much by the monsters cries, instead standing up straight with crimson eyes focused on the roaming Goblins.
"Jak, you'll go first," the blonde receptionist said, placing a hand on her hip. "Go out there and knock'em dead."
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