Entering the Stadium, the trio was greeted by numerous rows of desks and chairs and a large aisleway running through the middle of the Stadium's floor. A holographic screen hovered above each desk for inputting answers while a few pieces of scratch paper were provided as well as some pencils. Watching as each examinee find their seats, the trio followed in kind.

The written exam applied to any examinee who was taking the Entrance or the Team Exam. To prevent cheating, especially between teams, the test administrators would intentionally separate team members to make the exam fair for those who are taking the standard Entrance Exam. They do this by giving each examinee a pin with a number and a letter on it. The number signifying the row while the letter signifying the seat. According to Drew's pin, he was assigned to '7B', row seven, seat letter 'B'. Looking at Elias's and Wan's pins he noticed that they were sitting in the same row but at opposite ends. Elias was "11A" while Wan was "11Z" but it wasn't as though they were going to cheat. 

"I guess I'll see you guys later." Drew waved to Elias and Wan as he ventured off to his seat. 

"Yeah," Elias said pursing his lips before turning around, "good luck." 

"Good luck to you too." Drew smiled. 

"I'm a bit nervous," Wan muttered under her breath twirling with her pigtail. 

"You'll be fine," Drew assured placing his hands in his pockets. "Elias is also in the same row as you. Don't be too nervous." 

"You've got this." Elias cheered placing a hand on her shoulder. "We're all in the same boat."

"If you say so." 

"Then I'll get going," Drew said walking away from the duo. "I'll see you two in three hours." 

 "See ya," Elias bid as he and Wan walked to their respective row. 

"Good luck!" Wan smiled waving goodbye to Drew. 

With the trio separated, Drew walked over to his row which was situated towards the southeast end of the Stadium where a middle-aged proctor with a clipboard stood. Every row had two proctors, one at each end, as an extra precaution against cheating. From the Exam information, each proctor was a B-Class Genetic Warrior and usually, these proctors were teachers from Star itself. 

Sitting at his assigned desk, Drew looked at the holographic screen projecting off his desk. He still had a few minutes before the Exam began so Drew decided to take a better look at his surroundings. Drew was sitting one desk away from the Stadium steel wall which was about five meters high. Above that wall, countless rows of bleachers separated onto multiple floors could be seen. Each steel bench curved slightly to outline the circumference of the Stadium. As he scanned the bleachers, his eyes were met with a glass screen that could be seen in the distance. Behind that glass screen, the Academy's Dean, Milford Schnee, watched, with a fine glass of blood-red wine, the examinees filter into the Stadium. Overhead, from the main Stadium floor,  was a retractable roof, which was currently closed due to the snow, that was outlined with stage light and large speakers for special events. Not only was this Stadium going to be used for the Written Exam but it was also going to be used for the Practical Exam, where the trio would have to fight twenty robots which imitated Genetic Warriors. 

Glancing down at his screen, Drew noticed that it was time for the exam to begin. Pulling down his father's messenger hat for good luck, Drew looked up at the proctor who was walking down the aisle with a microphone. He couldn't get a good look at the proctor but that didn't matter. All he needed to do was listen to the instructions. The proctor switched on the microphone, the static noise coming from it tickled Drew's ears. The proctor tapped on the microphone with his finger then coughed, clearing the phlegm from his throat. Yuck. 

"Alright," He began in a clear voice which resounded throughout the Stadium. "Welcome to Star's Biannual Entrance Exam. We have a full exam today with over nine hundred applicants. Five hundred participating in the standard Entrance Exam and hundred teams, ranging from 3 to 5 members, participating in the Team Exam. You will now be taking the Written Exam, which has been sent to your screens. You will not open it until I tell you to begin! It is currently nine o'clock. You will have three hours to complete it. If you are a standard Entrance Exam examinee, your score will immediately be given back to you. Only the top 300 will be able to move on to the next round. To those taking the Standard Entrance Exam and failed to make, you may leave the vicinity at the end of the Written Exam once ranks are out. For Team Exam examinees, your Written Exam scores will be forwarded to you along with your Practical Exam scores at the end of the day. You will receive a Pass-No Pass. You may head up to the bleachers once you have completed your test. Now...Begin!" 

And with that, the Written exam had begun. The atmosphere in the Stadium grew tense as the clock on the holographic screen began, each precious second ticking away as every second was wasted panicking. Opening the file with the Exam questions on his screen, Drew picked up his provided graphite pencil and the sheets of scratch paper. The first subject was History, mainly on the history on the establishment of the Orion Alliance and the history of some of the main planets in the Alliance. This was not a problem. Within half an hour, Drew blazed through all fifty questions with ease and inputted them into the answer screen. As he did that, the guy sitting in Seat A in his row was pulling out strands of his hair while the girl in Seat C was biting her nails to the point where they almost bled. 

The next subject was Language Arts. To Drew’s surprise, there were only two questions but they weren’t multiple choice. Instead they were essay questions that required him to read a random passage and provide his input on the usage of three literary elements. If he were Elias, this would have been a breeze but Drew began to have a slight headache. Identifying the elements wasn’t a problem but conveying them into a coherent essay while providing textual evidence to support his analysis was a struggle. Nevertheless, Drew was able to get through the section but it took him an hour, ten minutes to draft and fifty minutes to write. He still had two subjects left, Mathematics an Sciences and half the time remaining on the clock. 

Glancing over at the people next to him, he noticed that they haven’t even made it through History. History was multiple choice! There was at least a twenty-five percent chance of getting the question right even if they guessed and at least, unlike Language Arts, there was a defined answer to the question given. Sighing to himself, feeling a bit of pity for his fellow examinees, Drew continued with his test. As he scrolled down to the next set of questions, which were Mathematics, Drew saw a guy three rows in front of his leave, slinging his backpack over his shoulder, walking out the door to the bleachers in an aloof attitude, folding his hands behind his head in a confident manner. He was sitting right above Drew’s row, looking down at everyone else like they were ants.

Despite his calm exterior, Drew was internally screaming while jotting down his work on the scratch paper. How the ****, did he finish so quickly? Did he start with a different subject first?! I just finished Language Arts!  

Realizing that he had yet to finish his own, Drew continued to focus on his test. Halfway through the Mathematics section, about twenty minutes later, the second and third examinees finished their exams. Watching them go up to the bleachers, Drew saw them approach the guy who finished first. Judging from their interactions and their seating proximity, Drew could tell that they were taking the Team Exam.  

“That exam was really easy.” The guy who finished first said in an arrogant tone, flicking his hand out to exude his confidence. 

“It was.” The girl who finished second said licking her rose lips in a seductive manner which could make any man drop dead for her. “The questions were extremely easy thanks to your studying tips, Thomas. Look at all those losers down below struggle with such elementary questions.” 

“Ha,” the first place guy who’s name was Thomas laughed, “these maggots are too weak to go against us. We will be the ones who dominate the Entrance Exam.” 

“I wouldn’t say so,” said the guy who finished third, “we haven’t even taken the Practical Exam and you’re calling it a victory? Thomas, as your advisor, I wouldn’t suggest looking down at others as they may come back in a way that you could never predict. There is a saying from Earth: Don’t count your chickens before they hatch.” 

“Smartass.” Thomas spat as the guy. “Who could possibly beat I, Thomas Nevassuare, in anything.” 

The other guy sighed pushing up his glasses.

“I’m not saying that someone can beat you. I’m saying that there are those that will surprise you. You may be the heir to the Nevassuare Family but you should be humble. Your arrogance can kill you in the long run and I’m here, on your parent's orders, to prevent that from happening. You should never underestimate anyone.” 

“Now, now you two” The girl smiled sweetly clapping her hands together, “we still have to wait for Jonathan and Vera. It looks like they're almost done.” 

All of a sudden, the arrogant guy called Thomas, attitude took a one-eighty. He went from a complete piece of turd to a gentleman in front of the girl despite his terrible attitude being as bright as day. How shameless. 

“Of course, my dear Rose." 

Disgusted by his personality, Drew continued working on his exam. He was almost done with the Mathematics sections. Mathematics wasn't his forte but he was good enough at it to understand all the basics. A few problems were challenging and they made Drew a bit hesitant with his answers but as long as he got the general steps, he could still get partial credit even if his final answer was slightly off. With no time to double-check, Drew had finally made it to the Science section which is essentially just Alchemy. Drew was psyched. The five months he spent learning Alchemy from Uncle Ryhard were finally coming into play. Every question was as easy as pie for him. From the  Laws of Thermodynamics to Gene Regiment formulas, all the information rushed from his head to the paper and to the screen. Inputting his final answers into the screen, Drew found that he had twenty minutes left before the exam ended. Scrolling through the exam questions on the screen, Drew revisited the History and Mathematics sections to see if he could catch any errors. He found a couple of silly mistakes in the History segment due to inputting his answers in too quickly and quite a lot in the Mathematics segment due to some slight miscalculations. Fixing those errors, Drew took one last look at the Science section and felt confident with his answers.

Pressing the submit button, Drew turned in his test with five minutes left to spare. Most examinees were also about to finish. Picking up his bag, handing in his scratch paper to the proctor, and pushing in his chair Drew made his way to the bleachers. Wan and Elias were also about to finish up so Drew waited for them in the middle of the aisleway right at their row. Elias pressed the submit button with four minutes to spare. Stretching his arms, Elias took a large sigh of relief and picked up his shoulder bag, turned in his papers to the proctor, and met up with Drew in the middle. At the opposite end of the row, Wan pressed the submit button, with three minutes to spare. Drawing a cross over her heart with her hand, she pushed in her chair and handed her papers to the proctor. One could even see her hand wobbling as she handed them in. Walking over to Drew and Elias, her body began to tremble, she looked as though she would faint any minute. Almost at the aisleway, Wan tripped over the air. Before the fell, Elias grabbed her hand, pulling her towards him. 

"You okay?" Elias asked holding her hand. 

"Yeah," Wan replied recovering from her fall. "Thanks for worrying. That was scary." 

Ah. Those two would make a great couple. Drew thought to himself witnessing this soap opera play out.         

"Shall we?" Drew asked pointing to the bleachers. 

Elias and Wan nodded in agreement.

Leaving the area, the trio made their way up to the bleachers along with some of the other examinees. Arriving at the bleachers, the trio sat down at a bench closest to the entrance. Looking at the remaining examinees scrambling to get their last answers in, the trio felt relieved that they were able to finish in time. Time was ticking away and the Written Exam was going to be over in Three. Two. One. 

"TIME IS UP!" The same proctor who made the previous speech announced as the timers on the holographic screens of the remaining examinees' desks closed automatically submitting their tests. "If you didn't finish your test, your test will be automatically submitted. All remaining examinees, please make your way up to the bleachers. You will have a thirty-minute lunch break. If you are taking the standard Entrance Exam, you will be doing your physical tests in Small Stadium at 12:30. If you are taking the Team Exam, you will be staying in here. More instructions will be given at 12:30. To those taking the standard Entrance Exam, please look at your communication devices for your rank. If you failed, you may leave the vicinity. Thank you."  

Turning off the microphone, the proctor signaled for all the remaining examinees, about a hundred, to head up to the bleachers for lunch. Some of those examinees looked dejected. While others were nibbling on their fingernails or shaking with anxiety. As they arrived to the bleacher, the remaining examinees broke off into their respective groups. As everyone was settling down, some communication devices lit up like Christmas lights signaling that the results for the Written Exam were out. Of course, this only applied to those taking the standard Entrance Exam. Staring at their communication devices, examinees either reacted with delight that they passed while others glanced down at the floor, looking dejected and immediately left the Stadium with their heads hung low. As the failed examinees left, Drew overheard their some of their conversations.  

"I can't believe I failed! What am I going to say to my parents?" One examinee panicked.

"It's okay," another examinee said, probably his friend, "you still have next year to take it."

"I failed again!" Screamed a female examinee who was walking down the stairs of the bleachers. 

Drew felt lucky that he didn't have to see his results right away but the fact that they were delayed till after the Practical Exam made Drew a little anxious. Not getting his results right away gave Drew a somewhat bitter feeling, his right leg was tapping on the floor furiously as he ate his ham sandwich.  

"Don't pay attention to them. They do it to arouse sympathy. Just keep looking forward." Elias said noticing Drew's discomfort. 

"Sorry," He apologized, "I couldn't help but eavesdrop." 

"That's not important," Wan interjected her mouth full of lettuce, "we should focus on the Practical Exam which comes next." 

"I guess so," Drew replied. He couldn't but feeling apprehensive about what was going to happen next. 

"So," Wan said changing the topic, "what did you guys think of the Written Exam?" 

"It was okay." Drew answered tipping his hat, "there were a couple of questions I was unsure about on the Mathematics portion but I'm hoping to get some partial credit since I understood the gist of the problem." 

Elias tapped his forehead a few times then responded. "It wasn't too bad. I finished forty-five minutes before time was up but I went back to check my answers. I was a little hesitant with my answers for the Science portion but I think I'll be fine. Of course, Drew here is learning Alchemy so it was probably the easiest section for him. How about you, Wan?"

Wan placed her fork down and swallowed her lettuce before looking at Elias and Drew. "I think it was a bit difficult. I was struggling but not as much as the guy next to me. I think I may have missed a question or two in all the sections except for Language Arts." 

"That's good. At least you're more confident about your answers than you were five months ago." Elias smiled. 

"I guess so." Wan laughed. "But I can't say for sure." 

"It's fine. All that matters is if we can pass or not. We won't know that until the Practical Exam is over." Drew said taking a large bite out of his sandwich. 

"Agreed," Elias nodded taking a large swig of water from his canteen. 

"Lunch is going to end soon," Wan said looking at the time on her communication device. "We should clean up a bit." 

After cleaning up their area, the trio sat attentively and waited for the proctor to announce the next steps.