'...'
The man paused, squinting at the paper in front of him. His large eyes narrowed, and after a moment of silence, he leaned back in his chair as if trying to reassure himself.
'Felix... Quibbleton?' he said, his lips curling into a faint, amused smirk.
All eyes turned to the boy—small, barely 4'8, and around 14 years old. The oppressive silence in the crowd magnified the humiliation as everyone stared. I stood among them, quietly relieved I wasn't the weakest one here.
'Quibbleton? What kind of name is that?' a girl mocked, her voice loud and cutting. Her friends burst into laughter, their giggles spreading through the group like wildfire. She was already establishing herself as a leader—a girl with natural social influence.
The laughter quickly engulfed the crowd, and Felix's shoulders slumped as he trudged away. 'Present,' he muttered in a shaky voice, his frail legs barely supporting him. He looked like someone who had emerged from a dark, torturous experiment—haunted and broken—or maybe just a complete outcast.
The man's stern voice cut through the commotion, restoring order. He continued calling out names, and as the list dwindled, the remaining students grew more intimidating. Two girls, poised and formal, stepped forward when their names were called, offering a respectful nod to the man before moving to the side of the field.
Next came a group of three men, large and muscular, but surprisingly, they were labeled as the second weakest. Their placement sent an unsettling truth through the crowd: the hierarchy here was not as predictable as it seemed. I watched as they followed the established protocol with quiet obedience.
Minutes passed, and my name still hadn't been called. The tension gnawed at me. Is it because of my beast? I wondered, my fingers twitching in my pockets. But I doubted anyone knew about it except me.
'I promised to flex my Beast Taming skills—and my dragon—but I guess that'll have to wait.' I swallowed hard, glancing at the few people left. Their imposing presence only heightened my anxiety.
'Noah Hearte!'
The sound of my name jolted me. My gaze snapped to the man as he scanned the crowd for me. My lips trembled as I responded, 'Yes, sir! Present!' My voice was steady enough, but my heart pounded in my chest.
I stepped forward, feeling the weight of everyone's stares. Of course, I tried to mask my nerves by shoving my hands into my pockets and walking at a slow, deliberate pace. My posture was casual, but I couldn't completely hide the faint tremor in my movements.
I stood in front of the crowd, glaring at their intense expressions while waiting for my teammates to be called out.
'Noelle Mia! Could you come out!' The man called out, a harsh tone escaping his lips.
Noelle crept out of the group, timid as ever. Her feet slid gracefully on the sand, making silent noises as everyone watched her make her stay beside me. It wasn't long before everyone stared back at themselves, anticipating the next name to be called out.
The man cleared his throat once more—at this point, it was more like a ritual. His voice seemingly deepened as he called out the next name.
'Lucas Valsmore.' Everyone stared into the crowd waiting for him to make his entrance. Silence overcame the area and the man started squinting into the crowd, trying to ascertain the position of the boy he had just called out.
'Lucas! Come out now,' his voice resounded with even harsher tones. I stared into the crowd as a figure emerged. He had medium-sized dark hair, a little bit longer than mine, and a tall body, although slightly shorter than mine. From what I saw, he looked around 5'6.
'Ugh, quite cringe don't you think? I prefer being called out in style,' he said while gradually walking out, possessing an angered expression.
Surprisingly, the man brushed off his insubordination as a joke and proceeded with calling others out. He seemed undisturbed, or rather too busy with something else.
'Didn't you hear what I just said, man? Next time, appreciate my worth and call me with respect.' He looked at the man, attempting to approach him in anger.
The man returned his gaze with a stern look, narrowing his vision towards the boy. He arose from his seat and spoke in dominance, silencing him in an instant.
'Don't test me, boy.' He dismissed the boy in a calm tone and sat back on his seat, arranging the stack of paper in his hands.
Lucas on the other hand, returned to us in defeat although retaining his angered look.
'I'll teach him...' I could hear him mutter words out of anger; however, I was still unsure why he was angry. His personality was complex and I was the least who had a chance at understanding him.
I felt ashamed of his actions, disheartened and disappointed that such an individual was assigned to my team—unready to comply with my instructions. I had wanted an obedient and submissive partner such as Noelle to obey me once I became the leader.
But, I soon got a reality check when the sharp words of the man struck my heart.
'Regrettably, Lucas, you're the leader,' the man uttered as Lucas sent out a sigh as we all walked off. I stared at Lucas, perplexed at why he returned such a congratulatory message with such an action of disinterest.
I wondered how strong Lucas could be and I began doubting my strengths to the point I questioned if I topped Noelle in terms of my stats.
'Why wasn't I the leader?' I thought in disgust at the verge of bursting out but I maintained my composure and walked silently to the sidelines and watched the man proceed with calling out the names.
A total of three groups were called, and as expected, the boy with the immense Aura Shield was among the top 3, although the second. We all regrouped, knowing our leaders and everyone was starting at the strongest group, all of them unknown to me.
The man stood up from the chair and approached us with a casual smile before speaking.
'You may call me Instructor now. In 30 seconds, you all will be transported, and I assure you that the realm you'll visit isn't like the last one. Oh, it's worse—worse than hell in fact. Another thing that I would like to tell you is that your granted systems will be leading the way. No, let me rephrase that... they shall take over. Don't be surprised by what you see, and brace yourself for what's ahead.'
Most of us began panicking while the three strongest groups stood calm as if they had previously experienced the hell the Instructor spoke of.
Everyone either stood still, gripped in fear, or started running around like wild animals. I was captivated by the intense fear and was even more scared when a thought crossed my mind.
'Wait, has the countdown already started?' I voiced out and immediately received a response from the Instructor.
'Of course, in fact, you only have 10 seconds left. I'll count down for you,' he stated, throwing me into an endless pit of fear.
'Okay...' I concluded with an unsteady tone, uncertain of what our next predicament would be.
'10.'
Everyone regrouped, hoping to find protection among themselves; some clung to their group leaders, and the majority crawled over to the strongest group in hopes of security.
'9'
'8'
'7'
'6'
'Well...' I stated, a sly smirk surfacing on my face.
'5'
'4'
'3'
'2'
'I might as well enjoy it!' I clenched my fists, hoping to submit to excitement and completely eradicate fear but it didn't take me long to realize that it wouldn't be easy.
'1' The Instructor's deep voice instantly thickened the atmosphere. Everyone gasped for air, overwhelmed by the intense suspense and fear they were experiencing. I was stuck in an endless cycle of thoughts as I watched his hands slowly elevate.
He snapped his fingers and in a fraction of a second, we were all gone, teleported to another realm—a vast emptiness of white space.