Damon jolted up with a suffocating sensation, struggling for air and trying to escape the feeling of being suffocated.
A man, a little younger than him—maybe 21 or 22—stood over him, holding a bucket of water, and with a sneer said:
"Get your filthy body up, we didn't bring you here to sleep."
Then, he kicked Damon in the side and spat on the ground.
"Who the hell lets scum like you join the army?"
Even though Damon was still coughing from the lack of air and his clothes were drenched, the man's words and the unnecessary kick to his side angered him so much that he quickly rose from the floor to attack him and put him in his place.
++ "Damon, wait… calm down please… there's something weird about this, there's no reason they should treat us like this, especially without any explanation. Do you remember what the woman said before her colleague knocked us out? She said the first rule of the army is respecting your superiors, under any condition… I'm sure the other candidates are in a similar situation, so please, calm down…"
Damon, who had been about to charge at the young man, stopped in his tracks to listen to Asharaa. He clenched his fists, took a deep breath, and took a step back.
The room was a little cold, and the water that had been thrown on him made him shiver slightly. Both sides of his head—where the man's kick had hit, and the side where he had struck the wall—were aching.
Now this arrogant officer had woken him up with a bucket of water, insulted him, and kicked him in the side. Enduring all this in quick succession and controlling his behavior was truly difficult for him.
But Asharaa was right; if there was even a 1% chance that these actions were part of the entrance test, it wasn't worth losing his chance at joining the army over some insults and a kick.
The young man, a bit surprised by Damon's reaction, walked up to him.
"I heard you people from Fringe are all hard-headed and arrogant, but seems like not only are you trash, you're a coward too... heh, I shouldn't expect anything more from a dirty Fringe dweller."
Damon's breath quickened from the rage, and any moment now, he might lose control.
"Of course, they say all this comes from the family… if your parents are cowards with no self-respect, the child they raise will end up the same way."
With those words, he spat on the floor and shook his head in mock pity.
"You people from Fringe should never be allowed to cross the Peace Gate and set foot in our cities…"
Disrespecting him was one thing, but disrespecting his parents was something else. Slowly, Damon decided to forget about everything, and maybe as Melody had said, it would be better to try his luck at New Thebes' College…
Once again, he approached the young man, this time with even more anger, until their faces were only a few centimeters apart
++ "Damon, it's obvious you're being provoked on purpose. Think about all the days you've waited for this moment to join the army... you just have to hold on a little longer. Please, just a little longer..."
Damon's teeth ground together in anger, and he glared at the man with wide eyes. The man continued to sneer at him, as if Damon didn't even have the strength to hurt him.
However, …
He took a step back, closed his eyes, and tried to think of the day he had tried to take his own life because he couldn't reach his dreams.
The possibility that all of this disrespect and these events were part of the test wasn't small. Damon only had one chance to enter the academy, to reach his dreams...
He thought of his fight with Jax and the unknown hacker who had threatened his family, of Lennon and Layla who had taken advantage of that situation and turned Damon into a double agent.
All of this had happened simply because Damon was weak and, as a former Fringe resident, had no support.
He opened his eyes... he had to endure... he had to endure until the day he was strong enough that he wouldn't need to endure anymore.
As Damon calmed down, the young man smiled, but this time not in mockery...
"You know, a lot of people fail at this stage and never even make it to the park... The chances of an officer disrespecting you this much in the future are close to zero, but right now, the Empire is in a position where we need the best to fill the ranks... And one of the most important things is patience, endurance, and unconditional respect for your superiors. Order and respect can never be broken, and if an officer can't have this much patience and tolerance, we don't need him in the army right now. Because there's no time to wait for you to adapt to the situation..."
"After you pass the test, you'll get more information about the situation we're in. But for now, I'll tell you this: we've been stuck in a brutal war for nearly two centuries, and we have no choice but to use these harsh methods. So, I hope you can forgive me for my words and actions, Examinee Grey..."
+ "Thank you, Asharaa. If it weren't for you, I would've jumped him the moment the bucket of water was poured on me and I thought I was drowning..."
He then tried to smile, though it wasn't very successful.
"There's nothing to forgive. The fact that I know your disrespect wasn't intentional and was just part of the test is enough..."
The man started to move and passed by Damon, heading toward a table behind him.
"We've prepared a Tier-1 armor for you here. You can also pick any Tier-1 weapon you want from the weapons on the wall. There's also a backpack, canteen, first aid spray, and a mask on the table."
Then he moved towards a portal on the left side of the room that Damon had completely ignored until now due to his anger, and activated it.
Although this portal was dark orange instead of the usual dark green, the aura it emitted was more intense and thicker.
"This is a mid-teleporter set up to teleport you to a random spot in the park, and before you ask, I'll tell you myself: the park is a 300-hectare area specifically for the army entrance test, and there are only three of these on Mars.
Due to the rules of the test, I'm not allowed to give you too much information, but be ready for anything. In the next ninety days that you're going to live in the park, everything you see and every race you encounter will be an enemy, even the other Humans.
This isn't just an entrance test; it's actually a screening. So, during the test, at any time, you can withdraw by using the emergency button attached to your armor, but it will take about thirty minutes for help to arrive, remember that.
Ok, once you're equipped, enter the teleporter... I wish you the best of luck."
He then left without saying another word, through the door opposite the teleporter.
+ "Ninety days, in a place where you can't trust anyone. Ninety days of having to provide our own food and water, and constantly being on guard..."
++ "Yeah... but if the other races and deevs are really there, we can gather a lot of genetic points by using absorption and God's Hand. That way, our level will rise significantly by the end of the test..."
+ "Haha... I never thought of the test being anything like the Hungry Game... I guess it's time to see how much result we've gotten from these five days of constant training..."