Chapter 6: Survival Test
***Four weeks later***
That Saturday morning, the academy grounds vibrated with restless energy; a charged atmosphere pervaded the air as students from every nook and corner prepared for the greatest event of their lives: the military test. Students were flocked together in groups, trying to make up a team. The fact was known to all: out of the one million participants that will be coming from various parts of the universe, only twenty on each planet would be admitted into the two top academies.
Caden stood apart from the crowd, leaning against a wall with his arms crossed. His calm demeanor drew curious glances, but he ignored them, focusing on the system interface only he could see.
**[Mission: Become the Number One Recruit]**
Reward:???
Failure: System degradation
His lips twitched upward in a faint smile. He had a plan, and scrambling to join a group in his class wasn't part of it.
"Look who decided to show up," a jeering voice cut through the clatter, breaking Caden's focus.
Caden turned and found Ryan striding toward him, flanked by a couple of his lackeys. Ryan had an expression that would get any man angry, but Caden did not bat an eye.
"I honestly thought you'd back out," Ryan continued, loud enough for the surrounding students to hear. "I mean, with your father's record, you're probably better off hiding under a rock and besides you don't even have an ability."
Several heads turned, whispers spreading like wildfire. Caden's father had been a traitor to humanity-a fact Ryan loved to exploit at every opportunity.
Caden's expression didn't change. "Are you done?" he asked, his tone well-modulated and expressionless.
Ryan's face turned red with embarrassment, but he quickly got his composure back. "What's the matter? Too scared to defend yourself?"
Before Ryan could even get a chance to laugh, Caden had already moved and slammed his hand on Ryan's face, and Ryan fell to his knees with a broken nose.
Ryan felt up his now before he looked at his hand and saw it bloodied and Ryan face twisted in anger "How dare you" Ryan hollered but Caden already walked away
Ryan's face reddened as he looked around and saw the way people looked at him "What are you fools staring at" He shouted at them and they all looked at another direction.
Soon, a space battleship landed in front of them soundlessly, hovering a few meters above the ground, and a loud announcement was heard from the ship: "Everyone who is participating in the test are to step forward now."
Everybody was looking puzzled, not knowing how to get into the battleship; Ryan walked with swagger and stood under the battleship, after which a hole opened up and took Ryan upwards by changing the direction of gravity acting on his body.
Soon all those who were to take part in the military test from school boarded the aircraft, and at the speed of light, the battle ship soared into space. They looked outside the battleship through the windows and saw countless ships like theirs heading towards a huge big destroyer-sized ship.
All of the other students were going ooh and ahh about space while Caden shut his eyes and didn't utter a word. He appeared really intense to everybody, whereas in actual fact, it would shock anyone had they known his mental dialogue.
**You're telling me there's ferrosteel alloy, nano-thread, and a photon core on this ship** Caden asked the system, his body practically shaking with excitement. **[The whole ship was built using those.]** the system confirmed in its monotonous voice.
**What part of the ship can I easily cut off without messing the whole ship too much**, Caden was grinning from ear to ear on the inside. **Every part of the ship is really important for your survival in space and, well, it would take the host too much energy to do that**, the system replied, and Caden let out a disappointing sigh.
I guess I'll just have to cut it off when I get to the planet then, Caden said to himself, and the system didn't reply soon they arrived on an entirely different planet.
"Where are we" The students whispered to themselves in confusion.
The battleship's engines purred softly as it landed on Proxima's rocky surface. A boarding ramp slid down, opening onto a desolate, alien landscape: the sky overhead was an ominous crimson, with jagged, dark mountains looming in the distance. The students emerged silently, their footsteps crunching on the brittle, metallic sand beneath their feet.
Standing at the foot of the ramp was a towering figure in the uniform of a military commander, her sharp, piercing eyes running over the students with such an air of authority that even the most confident recruits looked down. The emblem on her shoulder told of a high-ranking officer and a person whose orders were absolute.
"Welcome to Proxima," the commander began, her voice loud and clear because of a wrist-mounted device. "You are standing on one of the most inhospitable planets in the galaxy. This is your battlefield, and the test started since you boarded the battleship."
A murmur spread among the students as they cast uneasy glances at each other.
The commander raised her hand for silence. "Your mission is simple: survive and eliminate as many Proximars as you can. These creatures are not intelligent, but they are fast, resilient, and highly radioactive. Your protective suits will shield you, but don't count on them for long if you're careless. Fail to adapt, and you will not leave this planet alive."
A huge screen slid out of the side of the battleship, projecting holograms of the Proximars. The creatures resembled monstrous humanoids with glowing cracks running along their bodies, emitting dangerous levels of radiation. Their eyes burned like molten lava, and their clawed hands looked capable of ripping through steel.
"These are your targets," the commander continued, "but this is not a killing test of the Proximars, actually. It's all about teamwork, strategy, and efficiency. For this, you need first to team up in groups of four. You have fifteen minutes for that.
Panic set in almost immediately as students scrambled to form alliances. Factions formed in a flurry, with everyone wanting to be on the team of the strongest candidates. The air was thick with frantic whispers, hurried negotiations, and even heated arguments.
Caden, however, stood apart from the chaos, observing silently. His calm demeanor was a stark contrast to the desperation surrounding him, and it didn't go unnoticed.
A tall, wiry girl in dark green hair and piercing blue eyes strode towards him, in an advanced protective suit that gleamed faintly under the red sky. She had a quiver of high-tech arrows strapped to her back, and the confidence in her stride, her commanding presence, parted the crowd as she approached Caden.
"Why aren't you even bothering to look for a group," she said; her voice was filled with curiosity.
Caden looked back at her, expression unreadable. "Didn't feel the need to, and besides, I'll go with whatever team I see."
The girl raised an eyebrow. "That's interesting; most people are fighting to be in the strongest groups, and yet you're just standing here like you've already passed the test."
"Maybe I have, I alone I'm enough," Caden said with an almost slight smirk.
She studied him a moment before nodding. "I'm Ava, from Titan Colony. I'm putting together a team, and I want you in it."
The statement earned gasps from other students within earshot. Ava was rumored to be the most powerful recruit from her home planet of psychic abilities, deadly accuracy with her arrows. And to think she was inviting someone like Caden who didn't even has no record of possessing an ability was out of this world.
"Are you serious?" a familiar, angry voice interrupted.
Ryan fought his way through the crowd, still bruised from their last encounter. Irritated-sounding, his voice had almost reached a whine as he spoke to Ava. "Do you know who this guy is? He's nobody. His dad was a traitor, and he doesn't have an ability!"
Ava turned to Ryan unimpressed. "And who are you?
"I'm Ryan, the number one student from Earth's Eastern Division," he said, puffing his chest out. "If you're looking for strong teammates, I'm the obvious choice. Not him."
Ava crossed her arms, an icy look on her face. "You sound like a lapdog trying to sell himself. I need a person who doesn't talk big, one who delivers. And I have a feeling Caden can."
Ryan's face flushed red with anger. "You're gonna regret this," he spat as he turned and stormed off.
Ava spun back to Caden, who still looked impassive. "So? You in?"
Caden shrugged. "Sure."
As they drew closer to the meeting point, two other recruits joined them. First came a stocky boy with muscular arms, Darius from Europa, his bright grin and slanted eyes signaling his special power. "I can turn my skin into steel and change shape," he said, clenching his fists. "I figured you'd need someone who can take a hit."
The second was a short girl with short, silver hair and a quiet demeanor. She introduced herself only as Mira. Asked about her ability, she kept silent. "You will see at the right time," she whispered, gazing into the distance.
With the team assembled, Ava turned to each of them. "We've got what we need. Let's show everyone what we're capable of."
The voice of the commander cut through the air once again. "The team formation is complete now. The test starts in five minutes. Get ready."
As the timer started to run, Caden felt a determination surge up in his body. Soon, a military personnel approached Caden and handed him a human-length box.
"Your father Marcus asked me to give this to you" the military personnel said before he disappeared, and Caden opened the box and was shocked at what he saw.
Inside the box lay a Katana hidden in its sheath and a red mask with the word devil written on it. It was long enough to reach his shoulders, and Caden brought it out of the box before he strapped it to his back, and he wore the mask. And Caden felt more determined than ever.
The sky, colored in crimson, seemed to grow darker as the five-minute countdown ticked further. Caden had his new katana strapped to his back with ease.
The other kids shifted and fidgeted, muttering tactics or casting uneasy glances out at the alien landscape around them. Caden didn't move, his mask hiding his face but magnifying his mystique. Beside him, Ava was running a practiced eye over her arrows, each one softly glowing with psychic energy.
Darius spoke up, breaking the silence. "So, anyone else think the military's throwing us to the wolves? I mean, Proximars? Really?"
Mira still sounded distant when she said, "If you're afraid, you shouldn't have come."
Darius laughed nervously, but his eyes darted to Ava, who smirked. "Relax," she said. "This is a test, not an execution. The Proximars are manageable if you don't panic, and besides, they are like the lowest in humanity's list of threats."
Caden's voice cut through their conversation, calm and unruffled. "They wouldn't have sent us here if they thought we would die. Use your heads."
Darius nodded but couldn't mask the small tension in his posture.
The commander's voice came over the loudspeakers, shattering the silence. "Attention, recruits. The test begins now. You have 168 hours to prove yourselves. Good luck. And remember, failure here means failure for humanity."
A loud, piercing horn began blaring as the ships moved up into space amidst the echoing sound of the horn across the alien terrain, then chaos.
No sooner had they light, than out of the earth fissures and from behind boulders appeared Proximars, their glowing, hulking forms aflicker with pulsating cracks of radiation. Their eyes-molten-were fixed upon the students, and they closed with a terrible speed; their claws ripped the air as if daring the human recruits to fight or flee.
Ava reacted first. Her psychic-enhanced arrows flew through the air, each finding its mark with precision. A Proximar collapsed, its glowing cracks dimming as it disintegrated to ash.
"Stay close!" Ava barked at her team, the authority unmistakable in her voice.
Caden unsheathed his katana, its blade gleaming faintly as he funneled a portion of his stored energy into it. The first Proximar to lunge at him got a precise slash-the energy extended from the blade in a bright arc. It disintegrated, but not before it let out a burst of radiation that Caden absorbed instinctively.
Darius's body shifted as he charged, the skin going metallic sheen-gray as he launched himself at the ranks of Proximars. His fists landed among them, delivering bone-shattering blows; shards of alien flesh and radiation went flying everywhere.
Mira still silent, eventually showed her talent. She subtly raised her hand, and three charging Proximars stood in their places, as if time had frozen. "Take them out!" she called as she shot out plasma bullets from her guns. Her voice echoed, yet it sounded calm.
Ava's arrows and Caden's katana soon dispatched the helpless foes.
But the Proximars weren't the only challenge. The rest of the students were scattered, their unorganized effort making them easy targets. Some were screaming in panic as the creatures overwhelmed them, and protective suits did little to stave off the radiation\.
Caden watched a group of recruits struggle close by. He turned to Ava. "We need to go help them."
She hesitated, her eyes scanning their immediate surroundings. "Fine. But stay together.
As one, the team cut their way through the Proximars with precision and brute force: Caden's katana flashing in arcs of energy, Ava's arrows never missing, Darius shielding them with his steel-like body, and Mira's immobilizing power giving them crucial openings.
As the battle commenced, Caden felt something was off as he looked around him. Many students had divided into separate parts; some had already run away, and those with speed-related abilities were scattered all over the planet. And soon, only Caden and his team remained at the same place they had been.
A/N: Hello all, I actually took my precious time and strength to make this chapter very interesting, and also I introduced new characters, all and a love interest.
Now, try to guess who the love interest is.
Ava
Or
Mira