Back at headquarters, the females were already assembled in the Centurion headquarters. They had kick-started the counting and recording of the results. As a matter of fact, they were about to conclude. As expected, their elites had the best results. The results were according to the number of communicators collected by a person. As stated by the rule, even if your opponent has claimed many communicators before meeting you, if you win, you’re only expected to claim your opponent’s communicator and nothing else. This made things more challenging for the students, and challenging them was Centurion’s ultimate goal. The students were gathered in the same hall they were in before the trial started. Each of them was to step into a small station and place the communicators they had gathered on a platform in the station. A commissioner stood by the side to take the communicators one after the other and upload their info into the system, then the wide screen monitor in the hall would display
It was difficult to explain what was going on and to understand, the ones to ask were the students involved. But everyone had to wait till the counting was done. A time passed and another ten were called. Now, among this ten, half had nothing to submit as well! The highest number submitted so far was six communicators!The students weren’t deliberately placed in awkward positions, but only out of the nature of the situation. Even the commissioners were shocked at the results of the trial so far. Currently, a total of 12 communicators have been retrieved.At this time, the next person called sparked everyone’s attention. “Cruze Shelton!” the commissioner called out.“Finally, an elite.” The crowd's attention was spurred, filled with enthusiasm for the result of an elite of the male category. “Let’s see what their elite can do,” the one who said this was among the female category.Cruze walked up to the platform and emptied a small pouch. A significantly bigger cluster of communicators
The crowd buzzed again when Evan was called. Another elite was called, what would be his result?As they wondered this, the lad in question stepped forward. A lad with a bandaged nose and swollen chin walked up to the station and emptied his pouch on the platform available.“What in the world happened to him?” This question fell out of a girl’s mouth mistakenly, but it likewise was the question of everyone’s mind.The boy next to her shook his head, “No one knows. In fact, Cruze aside, the other elites look like they fought some kind of wild beast. And they wouldn’t say a word about it to anyone.”Everyone was surprised to see how bedraggled and haggard the boys were looking. One might not help but ask if this was the same trial they’ve conducted over the years or if something added to it. It got to the point where the elites were wounded to this extent.“Could it be Caesar?” the girl asked. It was no private matter that Caesar and Evan never crossed the same path without a fight ensu
One after the other, Benji’s haul was counted. The names of many relatively strong students appeared more on Benji’s haul than Cruze’s but in the end…“Benji Sherman, 23 communicators!” The announcement caused a big stir in both crowds.“What, 23? What’s happening here?”Not only the boys, but the girls joined in asking the question. The performance of the top two elites of the male category was this measly. And worst of all…“I can’t see his communicator on the screen.”It was uncertain who said this, and although not loud, those who heard it turned their attention toward the screen. The screen was almost as wide as a cinema screen so everything displayed on it was seen clearly. They saw the names of many strong students, meaning that Benji had fought and claimed their communicators. However, Benji’s name was absent on the screen. Meaning that someone else had claimed his!There was no need to ask if it was Cruze, because everyone was present when his haul was counted, and Benji’s na
The commissioner looked at Finnian, trying to hide his expression but failed in the end. Finnian returned the look with indifference in his eyes as if the commissioner was overreacting. The commissioner, in turn, started counting the devices and uploading the profiles of their owners.Though Finnian wasn’t taken seriously by many, that didn’t mean people thought he was sorely weak and that he would flatly fail to claim some communicators. It was simply that many didn’t think he would perform so well. If the elites performed so poorly, how could a subpar character like him be any better?“I’m much surprised that he could get up to three communicators, he must have had incredible luck in the trial, eh? Haha!” said a boy, laughing lightly. However, when he got zero response from the people around him, he stopped laughing. “Hey, what’s with that expression?”The one beside him happened to be the lad named Gabriel, Finnian’s first opponent and a subsequent opponent in the trial. He, more t
The crowd became increasingly agitated but soon became calm because another name had popped up on the screen. The counting continued!Everyone had something to say but swallowed it to not make a fuss out of nothing. After all, it wasn’t a crime if Finnian’s skill and raw combat prowess could get him this far. Some thought he cheated but even they knew that was near impossible. Anyone who could pull it off might be seen as the greatest mastermind of all time. The eleventh name was a rather promising student and the one who had been Finnian’s opponent in the simulation, Joel Adric.The kid named Joel can be considered one of the few students who drew the attention of the organization besides the elite and special class. His records so far drew Centurion’s attention because, in terms of speed, there wasn’t anyone who could match up to him, except for Evan. And even at that, Centurion couldn’t conclude who the fastest was between them. Also, in terms of combat prowess, he was among the fi
Finnian’s result so far was indeed intimidating compared to that of his peers. The female category loathed him still, but they had to admit that he had taken them unawares. He was among those least expected to achieve much in the trial, and you couldn’t blame them for thinking like this. When it came to bulk physical appearances, Finnian was without a doubt at the bottom of the list. The few times he participated in school sports was a disaster. He never even made it past tryouts in most cases. One time, he tried participating in a race but his weights dragged him down and his team lost. That was the very last time he was seen near anything sporty.Teenagers had a nasty way of spreading rumors and dragging someone’s name into the mud. Finnian was the butt of all jokes for almost an entire school year. Although this didn’t lead to him being bullied, as that was against the rules, it still hurt to be overlooked by your peers. Finnian did well to develop a thick skin to all the comments
The one arguing with Doyle wanted to laugh but restrained himself, “You’re taking this too personal; that’s why. It’s no one’s fault the elites are that strong. It makes no difference if you hate them or not.”“You’re not getting the point,” Doyle cut in. “The elites are strong indeed, but why can’t someone else be strong as well?” This was his argument.The crowd around them was stirred when Doyle said this. Most of them were passive toward the elites and Doyle’s statement pointed their minds in another direction. The mixed crowd was provoked into an atmosphere of intense arguments, to the point where the commissioners had to step in to maintain decorum.“Please remain silent, the counting isn’t over.” Commissioner Glenn announced. This was supposed to quell the intense atmosphere, but the reverse happened.Not yet done? Who else was left?The commissioners stepped in again and the noise died down. Over at the counting station, Finnian had a look of indifference, but truth be told, h