Chương 69: ha, nice

After the first part of the exam ended, all the students had exhausted, weary expressions on their faces. Some were even sitting or lying down on the grass, catching their breath and nursing bruises earned from various missteps. It wasn't long before everyone began comparing notes and quickly realized something, the obstacle course hadn't been identical for every student. Each layout differed subtly, and in certain rare cases, significantly.

It didn't take long for them to deduce that the instructors had designed each route specifically to test and challenge each student's current capabilities. Clearly, we weren't all at the same level, and our instructors knew exactly how to push our buttons. But among the entire class, everyone's attention naturally gravitated toward just three individuals who had faced notably tougher courses. Those three students were obvious to anyone who had been paying attention. Kaen, Genta, and of course, me.

It was painfully clear now that the coveted first-place ranking would inevitably fall to one of us. The whispers among the students grew louder as they eyed us openly, sizing us up and debating who would take the top spot. Genta wore a quietly serious look, clearly focused on the task at hand and probably reviewing each mistake he'd made earlier. Kaen's face was filled with determination, his eyes blazing with intense fire, as if he could burn down the next test through sheer willpower alone.

As for me, I took a different approach, standing there lazily picking at my nose, looking utterly bored and completely uninterested. It was a calculated move, of course, and it had the intended effect. Kaen glanced over, eyes narrowing with obvious annoyance, his lip curling slightly in disgust.

"Take the exam seriously, will you?" Kaen snarled, clearly irritated by my exaggerated lack of enthusiasm. I blinked innocently and raised my eyebrows in mock confusion.

"Why should I? I'm going to take first place anyway, so why waste my energy?" Kaen's face turned several interesting shades of red at my words. Just before he could explode, Genta stepped in smoothly, smirking gently as he placed a calming hand on Kaen's shoulder.

"Relax, Kaen. He's just trying to rile you up in case you're paired against him. Don't fall for his little tricks." I placed a hand dramatically over my chest, feigning a look of deep betrayal.

"Genta! How could you betray your friend like this?" I whined theatrically.

"I thought we had something special!" Genta merely smirked at me, unfazed by my melodrama.

"Things have been far too easy for you lately, Noa. I figured it was about time someone leveled the playing field a bit." Kaen, who'd just started to calm down, now wore an expression halfway between enlightenment and insult. He clearly hadn't appreciated Genta's implication either, that Kaen was somehow predictable or easy to manipulate and not strong enough. Poor kid was taking hits from all directions today.

Seeing an opportunity, I grinned mischievously at Genta and flicked a small pebble I'd casually picked up off the ground, sending it sailing straight into his shin. Genta's eyes narrowed dangerously. Without missing a beat, he flicked a pebble back at me, striking my knee sharply. Thus began the legendary first pebble war, fought valiantly between two warriors armed with nothing but gravel, lethal aim, and stubborn determination.

A few other students chuckled at our antics, temporarily forgetting their nervousness about the next stage of the exam. Even Shizuru looked mildly amused, though Sena merely shook her head in mild exasperation, clearly choosing to maintain her carefully composed image. After some more time passed and our pebble war subsided into a truce, mostly because we'd run out of suitable ammunition, we all turned our attention to Daiken.

The imposing man stood at the center of a small group of instructors who, as always, clustered around him in the usual chicks around a particularly large mother hen formation. They were busy discussing the students' performances, assigning marks and rankings based on the results of the obstacle course. Daiken, standing tall and broad among them, somehow managed to look both intimidating and authoritative even as he silently listened to their feedback.

Unauthorized usage: this narrative is on Amazon without the author's consent. Report any sightings. Eventually, Daiken stepped away from his flock of instructors and approached us with heavy footsteps. Each step resonated deeply, practically shaking the earth beneath him from the sheer weight of his presence and the immense chakra that radiated from his body. His arrival was enough to snap everyone out of their idle chatter and mild daydreams, placing every student immediately on alert.

Daiken stopped in front of us, eyeing each student briefly. Then, much to everyone's surprise, including mine, he spoke in an unexpectedly pleasant voice. I'd never imagined that Daiken was capable of producing such a tone. Usually, he spoke with all the warmth of a vampire addressing dirty villagers just before draining them dry. Hearing this mild, almost friendly tone was deeply unsettling, It was like hearing a cheerful voice coming out of a sixty-meter-tall mecha holding a world-ending antimatter sword.

Completely wrong on every level. Daiken noticed my skeptical expression but chose to ignore it.

"The second part of the exam carries significantly more weight than the first," he explained calmly.

"It will be a mock mission." He didn't elaborate immediately, instead simply gesturing for us to follow him. We walked quietly, all jokes temporarily forgotten as anticipation built steadily within our ranks. After a short while, the trees parted, revealing a wide clearing. My eyes widened slightly as I took in the details. In the middle of the clearing stood a small mock village. There were just four modest wooden houses, each placed precisely in one of the four cardinal directions north, south, east, and west.

Surrounding them was a short wooden wall, intentionally incomplete, with clear, wide gaps leading directly to each house. No gates. No locks. Just open paths inviting attackers to step right in. In front of each house was a raised wooden platform, and from my position, I could see the vague shapes waiting quietly inside. They were human-sized wooden dummies, wrapped in cloth and standing stiffly like an eerie mannequin, waiting patiently for its inevitable stabbing.

Daiken stepped forward decisively, his serious expression returning as he placed his hands calmly behind his back, eyes sharp as ever.

"Some of you will face a specific scenario tailored to your skill set," Daiken began clearly.

"For those selected, this will be a perimeter defense test. Inside each house is a wooden dummy representing a civilian target. Defenders, your mission is simple. Protect your assigned figure at all costs. Attackers, your objective is equally clear. Tag or strike the dummy. If you manage that, you pass. If you're stopped or incapacitated before reaching your objective, you fail." He paused briefly, allowing the seriousness of the rules to settle in.

After a moment, he continued steadily, "You'll be divided into groups of eight. Four defenders. Four attackers. Each pair will be assigned to a specific sector. Once the test begins, you'll be completely on your own. No teamwork. No backup." Daiken slowly scanned our faces, likely searching for weak points or signs of hesitation.

"Each defender will have exactly five minutes of preparation time. Use this wisely. Traps, weapons, clones, smoke bombs everything you've learned is permitted. Earlier, we stated no killing blows and no excessive force, but after seeing the fruits of your true dedication during the first half of the exam, we've decided to allow you to go all out in each mock scenario. The instructors will remain on high alert, intervening only if severe harm seems imminent. So, do not hold back."

Excited and anticipatory murmurs followed his announcement. I glanced toward the small houses scattered around the testing area, spotting the wooden dummies placed inside. As Daiken's gaze passed over me, it lingered for just a moment longer. I thought I caught a faint smile twitch at the corner of his mouth.

After guiding us through the other areas that would host the different exam scenarios and clearly explaining the rules for each one, Daiken concluded our tour by returning us to the perimeter defense area where we'd begun. He turned his attention directly to me.

"Noa, you'll be tested on this scenario. You'll be defending," he said calmly, before shifting his gaze to Kaen.

"Kaen, you'll be attacking. Your assigned target is the east house." I turned slowly to Kaen with a grin, fully expecting him to glare daggers at me. Instead, he looked surprisingly composed, completely focused on the task ahead. Apparently, he'd finally learned to ignore my provocations or at least, he was pretending convincingly for now. Still, I knew exactly how to get under his skin when it mattered.

I chuckled quietly to myself as I started walking confidently toward my designated position, anticipation bubbling just beneath the surface. This challenge was going to be one hell of a ride.