Talen sat up on the bed clutching his mother's scarf. He wanted to miss her, but he was too empty to do so. He hated that, at least he hated wanted too
His body and mind felt refreshed. "What is this bed made of." He turned around feeling its soft surface, on his callus hands.
Suddenly there was a mechanical whir in the room, the robot's voice spoke. "Food court. Training hall. Both will be accessible in an hour." Then there was silence.
Talen glanced at the bathroom, an empty smile on his face. "Time for a well deserved long, hot shower." He said, stretching.
Stepping out of the shower, water flowed down his chiseled body, mapped with scars and bruises of all sizes, the biggest being the newest addition.
The next two days began:
Talen was surprised at how exhausting they were.
After his shower he wore his uniform. The hour passed, his door slid open with a click, he went to the food court and training hall there he saw the other candidates.
Overall, there were 20 remaining candidates, they all wore the same uniform as Talen however, they had different numbers on the back. With this Talen concluded 100 candidates in total, 80 couldn't pass the trial. 'well, don't they have a high pass rate.'
Being surrounded by mysterious strangers, and knowing the fact that any of them is a potential threat; Talen instinctively began observing the candidates while avoiding being observed.
Studying the candidates while avoiding being a studied himself exhausted Talen; he had to make mistakes while training which, with his tempered body drained him mentally and physically. Still he stood out at least his face did, multiple female and some male candidates stared, some took secret glances.
However, Talen still got results from his observation: Three standout candidates.
The first out of the Three was a female, number 037. She seemed be the same age as Talen, 18 most of the candidates were. She had white hair, cold black eyes, and a sharp chiseled face, the most standout physical feature being her long slender furry tail, it began purple and faded into orange. 'Why does she look so familiar.' Was Talen's thought, every time he observed her. What made her standout wasn't just how she looked but how she behaved.
Even though she fooled everyone into thinking she was just training, Talen noticed how she similarly observed all of them, while also being as forgettable as possible. But she couldn't escape Talen's eyes. And he couldn't escape hers.
The second candidate was a male, number 007. Physically he was already a standout, he had two curved black horns protruding from his forehead. Even more, he walked around like a war god; with his 7 feet tall, thickly muscled frame. He had dark toned skin, with long flowing silver hair, and golden eyes. His face was simply beautiful.
What truly made him standout to Talen was the look in his eyes, they were kind and gentle to everyone, but behind them was an unshakeable will and spirit. He was going to be difficult in a fight.
The last standout was a male, number 040. He was physically very forgettable; he had short black hair, his face seemed gaunt and almost malnourished. However, his body was the total opposite, it was healthy and fit.
What made him stand out to Talen was, how adept he was at slithering around while being unnoticed, and still able to manipulate events in his favour. He would cause fights only to slither into the shadows to watch, with a vicious grin on his face. Only two people noticed.
....
Talen returned to his room, after the robot's voice announced the training hall and food court would be closed shortly. It was the second day already,
He sat on his bed collecting his thoughts.
"Tomorrow's the D-day." His fingers grazing his mother's scarf like he always.
"From the conversation I've heard. We all went through the same trial, killing those wolf looking monsters, the aim was either to measure how good we are at killing chaos monsters or, how potent our Zone enhancement is." He looked up. "If it was about how skilled we are they would have used stronger monsters. After all those wolves were only Wretches. That means the aim was the Zone, but what about the zone." Shaking his head Talen thought. 'That's in the past now. I heard the second trial is a sparring match between candidates, to test us.' He smiled, the faces of the 3 standouts flashing in his eyes. "At the very least I can see how I measure up to them."
He stood up and walked to his mirror. Looking at his reflection he sighed, he took out a bobby pin from his pocket and tied his long hair back, leaving two curtains just like his mother always did.
He walked back to the bed and sat on it in a lotus pose, he closed his eyes, going into the Zone.
For the next 6 minutes Talen ran hundreds of simulations of him fighting all the candidates, based on his observation of them.
In the simulations, he won each fight, except his fights with numbers, 037, 007, and 040. They were too much of a mystery. Eventually Talen began to feel something trickle down his nose, the Zone's side effects. He couldn't stay in longer, as tomorrow was the second trial, he needed to be his best shape.
Talen's eyes opened, his mind a bit foggy, he raised his hand and wiped the blood off his nose. A headache already forming. 'still can't go over 5 minutes huh'. He closed his eyes, his body exhausted from two days of near absolute muscle control. He flopped onto the bed with a puff. The bed seduced his consciousness.
Talen woke up the next day and went about his daily routine. However this time, when the robot usually spoke, a calm alarm sounded, his room blinking purple. "All candidates report to the training hall." The robot kept repeating, the doors to all the dorm rooms opened.
Talen walked to his room's open door, looking out he saw the other candidates rushing to the training hall. He walked out of his room calmly amid the chaos so did number 037, 007, and 040. Glancing at each of them. His eyes met hers for just a brief moment, but that was more than enough for Talen to realise she had already seen through his act. He smiled. "This is gonna be fun." Rolling back his shoulders.
Talen arrived at the training hall, it was different. All the equipment the candidates had previously used were all gone, the hall was completely empty, the center was elevated 3 steps leading onto it. On the newly elevated surface stood a man, he had a tall muscular build, with a bald head and a full beard. His hands behind his back.
As soon as all the candidates were in the training hall, around the elevated surface, he looked around then spoke, his tone even. "Welcome candidates, my name is Garvin a 3rd tier squad leader."
The hall erupted with murmurs of admiration, Talen looked around. Catching snippets of conversations. "Oh my god he's a Vanguard." Was the most repeated phrase.
'Being a vanguard must be something special.' Talen thought.
Garvin's voice cut through the murmurs. "The first trial was a test of how long you can last in the zone, before side effects appear and how long you can endure them: Your Zone stamina." His eyes darted around, now in dead silence. "And as you can see only 20 of you passed." He let out a deep breath, his shoulders sinking. He turned around, clicking a remote, then a hologram materialised. "This is your rankings."
On the hologram a list of names appeared. 'No more numbers, then.' Next to them were headshots.
The rankings began appearing from the lowest rank 20. The person being, Arvin Lick. ' At least I know I didn't come in last.' Talen's gaze left the hologram, knowing the bottom rankings were not of importance to him, the reactions were. Moreover if he didn't come in last he was comfortable with any ranking. 'The top rankings are the most important.'
18th, 17th. As the rankings were displayed some sighed with relief, others groaned in disappointment. 10th, 7th..... Soon the rankings reached 4th rank, Talen observed both the ranking and the 3 candidates reactions.
4th place to his surprise was number 040. 'This certainly changes things.' He looked at 037, her face remained passive, but something flashed in her eyes. He looked at 007, he had the same expression as ever. 'Is that some technique, or is he just like that.' Talen wondered. He glanced at 040, His face was contorted into a menacing grin. 'He's that happy with fourth place.' Looking back at the hologram talen saw 040's name, Kestis Sol. 'The name couldn't suit him anymore.'
The next face to be revealed on the hologram shocked Talen: it was his face and name, Talen. He came in 3rd place.
He clutched his mother's scarf subconsciously. 'Huh would you look at that.' Talen had never undermined his skills, however; because of the fact he didn't know what the aim of the trial was he thought he'd be ranked somewhere in the middle.
Remembering Evan's words he smiled, his empty smile. 'He ain't all talk and no bark after all.'
He turned his head around to observe the 3's reaction, but all three pairs of eyes were staring right at him. "We're not hiding it anymore then." He let out a deep sigh, his muscles loosening up. "Ahh that feels nice."
037's expression remained neutral, but again something flashed in her eyes. 'What are you thinking.' 007's expression on the other hand finally changed, he looked at Talen with a warm smile. 'It wasn't a technique after all.' Kestis on the other hand looked at Talen with obvious anger, it was too obvious. 'You ain't fooling me, pal.' Little did Talen know he wasn't trying to fool him.
'Now first place and second place is up to you two.' Talen thought, glancing at number 037 and 007 both of their eyes fixed on the hologram.
Second place was revealed. It was the first thing to crack 037's expression.