The rest of the teams that came after the Nevassuare weren't that impressive. Out of the teams that came before us, only one other passed but their team also consisted of High E-Class Warriors who overwhelmed the robots with their power but like the Nevassuare's, their team crumbled but at an earlier point. Once they passed twenty, they raised the white flag thirty seconds before their test ended. The other teams had better teamwork. Unfortunately, they were lacking in power and some of them have even gotten close to passing but their time ran out. However, there was one thing in common that got all the teams, the robots in the sixth wave. There were six robots: five of them were as Mid E-Class but the last one was High E-Class. The problem was that one High E-Class robot. Despite its Otrio level being equivalent to High E-Class, it clearly fought like a Low D-Class warrior. Drew assumed that it's probably thanks to the techniques programmed into the robot's memory which helped to create the seemingly large gap between the norm for a High E-Class Warrior. Couple that with the other five robots on the field and you've got a ridiculously strong force that can obliterate any team lower than that.
In the waiting room, the trio anxiously waited as the previous team was finishing up their Exam. The proctors at the entrance had confiscated all their items temporarily, including Drew's hat, for their Exam and handed them a box. Inside the box was a silver armor set prepared for the exam, all the trio needed to do was the press a button and the armor would automatically be put on. On some racks, there was a vast array of weapons and they were allowed to pick up to three weapons to use in the Exam. Pressing the button on the box, Drew saw the box collapse into a liquid form similar to liquid mercury and fall onto the ground. Suddenly, the liquid metal crawled onto Drew's arms and legs wrapping around his body as if it were trying to swallow him but that stopped once the liquid metal engulfed most of his body except his head. The liquid metal turned into a solid silver exoskeleton which was easy to move around in, however, it wasn't done yet. The remaining metallic liquid expanded on his chest, creating something that seemed like a combination of a tailcoat and a sherwani (A/N: A type of Indian jacket for those who are curious) with its hemmed edges glowing a white hue.
Glancing at Wan and Elias, who had also pressed the button on their boxes, he noticed that their armors we different. Elias's has a silver sleeveless topcoat, the silver exoskeleton exposed underneath it while Wan's had a crop-top hoodie and a skirt.
"The armor fits you the way you desire to have it fit." The proctor laughed reading the curiosity written all over the trio's faces before gesturing over to the weapon racks. "Pick your weapons."
Scanning each weapon on the racks, Drew found that each one was better quality than the one's the trio had been using for practice.
"Titanium." The proctor said as the trio was picking out their weapons. "one of the toughest metals on Earth but is currently considered as a Mid-Grade material for forging weapons. Each one of these weapons can fetch up 50,000 Kalas."
Drew removed a shortsword and an electromagnetic shield from the rack, the light bouncing off the titanium. On the other hand, Elias took two Otrio pistols from the wall as well as a couple of magazines of bullets while Wan only took a short metal staff.
"A Scout, a Gunner, and a Caster. I assume your Scout is also your Tank." The talkative proctor said observing the trio. "If I were in a three-man team, this would be one of the combinations I would go for. It's pretty balanced but it's a shame that you don't have a Brawler. Well, I should stop talking, good luck on the Exam."
The proctor turned around, shoving his hands into his jean pockets, leaving the trio on their own as he prepared to for the previous team to finish.
"If we can defeat that robot first, we'll have a fighting chance of passing the exam," Elias muttered.
Wan shivered. Drew sensing her apprehension.
"Do you think we can do it?"
"If we pull off some risky moves, I think we can but we're going to have to conserve a lot of Otrio to do so," Elias responded with a stern look on his face before turning to Drew. "But in order for this to work, we're going to rely on you. Can you do it?"
Drew looked at Elias and made a wry smile. "If you guys can cover for me, I could pull it off but I'll need an opening."
"That'll be up to me," Wan sighed knowing that they had no choice. "I'll try to minimize the number of [Panels]."
As soon as Wan finished her statement, the previous team had completed their Practical Exam the shot clock buzzer going off like a siren. The shutters opened and the previous team had entered the waiting room with dejected looks on their face. Their eyes we void of any emotion but their faces showed signs of disappointment. They didn't pass. If a team couldn't pass this portion, it would also be considered a failure for the whole Team Exam. Drew finally realized why not many took the Team Exam, the chances of the whole Team passing were slim but that didn't mean that Drew could give up at this point. He had come too far to back out now and so had Wan and Elias. They all had a goal and they will do anything to achieve it.
It was time. The proctors had finished cleaning up the main arena. It was finally their turn.
Wiping away the feelings of anxiety he originally had, Elias cocked a grin.
"Let's go!"
With that, the metal shutters had opened, the light peaking out from the arena. This was the first obstacle and they had to overcome it. They've run away from too many things because they were too weak, too cowardly but that was the past. Now, they had the courage to move forward, breaking away from the constraints of their pasts which have tied them down for too long. They were going to 'shatter' the glass that had prevented them from stepping towards the future, the new future that they would shape with their own hands. The new future that would change the entire galaxy forever.
The trio had emerged from the light into the arena, no one had paid any mind to them. Why? They were only High F-Class Warriors and every other team after the Nevassuare team except for one, who we Mid to High E-Class Warriors, hadn't passed so what good was a three-man team of F-Class Warriors? Well, this three-man team shouldn't be underestimated because this very three-man team that they were ignoring was about to put on a show that no one would forget.
The shutters slammed behind the trio. There was no going back. The clock on the Jumbotron had reset. Five minutes. Five minutes to take out twenty robots to pass. The metal shutter at the other endzone had opened. One robot emerged. The shutter closed and not a sound was made for two seconds. The robot moved. One...Two... the sound of a gunshot resounded throughout the whole Stadium and not even a second later, the first robot fell onto the ground. Its glowing core had gone dim and what remained was a clean hole that penetrated through the robot's thick body. The bullet fell out on the other side. Tink. The bullet rolled across the floor, its capsule still burning hot from the shot. Standing across from the robot a hundred meters away. An orange-haired teen wielding a gun in one hand stood in front of the robot, which have collapsed on the ground, smoke emitting from its barrel.
"That's one." He counted with his finger still on the trigger as the robot collapsed on the ground with a loud thud.
One of the proctors in the stands dropped his pen. He knew that this team was made up of only High F-Class Warriors and that there were only three of them. This wasn't normal. That first robot was a Low E-Class and the model-looking teen shot a bullet through its Core effortlessly and despite those Cores being one of the weaknesses of the robots it shouldn't have been penetrated that easily by someone of High F-Class. He didn't even use a Kraso of Otrio, unlike the previous teams. It was just a regular bullet. Were the robots malfunctioning? No, that's not possible, the robots were all tested and inspected before the Exam. Then it came to him. Although the teen didn't use any Otrio he must have used a Technique and it must be a high ranking one!
"Nice shot, Elias." Drew complemented readying his sword. "Seems like Riush taught you well."
"He wasn't one of the best Gunners in Star for nothin'." Elias said holding up his twin pistols as two robots emerged from the endzone.
The shutter closed and Elias fired two shots, the recoil jerked Elias's arm back slightly but it was something he could easily handle. Once again, those bullets hit the Cores of the robots before they even had a chance to attack falling on the ground with a loud thud. The past five months of hellish One P*nchman training hadn't been in vain! Taking a glance at the stands, Drew noticed that everyone was shocked by Elias's performance, even the Nevassuare team.
"That's three." Elias counted.
"What Class are they?" One spectator murmured as three robots rose from the ground.
"High F-Class." Another one answered sensing the trio's Otrio levels.
"Inconceivable! Those robots are Low E-Class so how could a High F-Class take them out so easily with a regular old bullet?"
"It's a Technique," Jeremiah said pushing his glasses up. "That's the only thing that could explain it. It seems like that Gunner had mastered a Technique and for a gun, that's even harder to do than a bow and arrow. Judging from the power of the Technique, it must be Spinning Bullet. There is no doubt. It's Spinning Bullet."
Thomas who originally wasn't paying attention looked at Jeremiah in astonishment. "Being a High F-Class and defeating a Low E-Class Warrior was already a feat on its own but not using any Otrio and to master a technique like Spinning Bullet, that's a whole 'nother story."
Spinning Bullet is regarded as one of the hardest techniques for a Gunner to master. It wasn't the hardest but if mastered to a high level, a Gunner can easily kill beings two levels above himself without using a drop of Otrio but the weakness of the technique was its recoil. Since the bullet is spinning at almost triple the speed of a normal bullet, when it leaves the barrel, that means there is triple the recoil that goes along with that which could blow off an arm.
"What family is he from?" Thomas asked. "He couldn't have learned that unless he's from the upper echelons or he knows someone from there."
Jeremiah looked at Thomas whose jaw dropped to the floor, smirking before averting his attention back to the arena.
"Where ever this pretty boy is from, he seemed to have undergone some hellish training to have mastered this Technique. However, we still haven't seen the capabilities of his other teammates."
Then the next thing that happened shocked Jeremiah to the core. Within twenty seconds, the trio of F-Class Warriors had defeated the set of three robots but in those last five seconds, he finally saw the green-haired guy move. The Gunner took out two of the robots but this time, Jeremiah could sense some Otrio being used. On the other hand, the green-haired guy took one step and in a flash, he was in front of the robot. Jeremiah couldn't even see him move! This type of speed was too fast for a regular High F-Class Warrior so it must be an Ability. No, like the Gunner with the first three robots, the green-haired guy didn't even use Otrio. In that case, it must be pure physical ability. No, something still is off. Even if one trained their physical ability to the max at High F-Class, their speed still wouldn't be that fast. Wait, his hair color! It's dark-green so that means he must be an Avian and more specifically, one of Nightengale descent. Avians were naturally born to be fast but the fastest of them all was the Nightengales, who specialize in the assassination. Thus, they are naturally fast. Combine that with some extreme physical and endurance training and you got yourself an ace speedster,
In the next moment, the green-haired guy shattered the core of the robot in what seemed to be one smooth thrust. That's not right. He must have used multiple high-speed thrusts at close proximity to crush that core into bits and pieces. Top it off with the speed and momentum he gained earlier and you have a move that can instakill a Low E-Class Warrior.
Noticing the immense shock written all over his face, Thomas had finally realized what Jeremiah was saying earlier. "Even if there are people weaker than you in strength, they may be some that surprise you."
Thomas had been defeated, by his own arrogance, and he had learned a valuable lesson.
With three robots on the ground, the next wave of robots immediately arose from the ground. There were four.
"Wan!" Elias called to Wan clutched her staff tightly in her hand.
"Okay!"
With a wave of her staff, Wan created a purple [Panel] under the robot. Suddenly, the robot's movements began to slow down rapidly, this was one of Wan's [Panels], [Poison]. Wan's [Poison] panel could easily kill anyone her level or lower but with any opponent higher than her, [Poison] could only delay their movements, which turned out to be successful. Noticing the robot’s movements, she averted her attention to Drew who had been using [Aegis] to defend himself from a barrage of bullets. Once again, Wan casted another [Poison] [Panel] under the robot, allowing an opening to its vulnerable Core to form. Drew, who had been relieved of some pressure, pushed [Aegis] towards the robot while Elias, who had slowed down the movements of the other two robots, used [Polarity] on the same robot and drew it to [Aegis] which was moving at a speed of 100 kph. The robot, who couldn't muster enough strength to break free, let its body collide with [Aegis] which slammed its body against the arena wall, leaving a small impression on it with the robot being crushed into pieces of scrap metal. One down, three more to go.
Dispelling [Aegis] Drew turned to the other robot Wan had poisoned and stabbed it straight into its Core. Two down, two more to go. Drew spun on his heel to assist Wan and Elias but it seemed like they didn't need it as the remaining robots were on the ground, two bullets piercing their chests. Checking his Otrio Core, Drew still had a good amount of Otrio left but if the trio wanted to pass, Drew would need half of his Otrio remaining for the sixth wave. It was up to him if the team wanted to pass.
With the fourth wave down, the fifth wave came. There were over two and a half minutes left on the clock just as planned. If it weren't for Price and his thugs tossing out their high ranking Techniques like trash, Drew believed the Exam would have been a lot worse. Thanks to those Techniques, Drew and the others were able to conserve a tremendous amount of energy that would have been wasted in the second and third waves.
As the fifth wave of robots rose from the ground, Wan casted [Water World] recovering some of Drew and Elias's energy. She had only half her Otrio left so she must use it sparingly, sweat trickled down her forehead as she began to feel a little lightheaded.
"Save your energy, only use [Paralyze] [Panels]! Drew and I will focus on destroying their cores." Elias ordered noticing that her energy was depleting rapidly. "Drew, I'll take the initiative to attack you'll deal the final blow."
"Roger that." Drew grinned charging at two of the robots while Elias slowed them down with bullets and Wan cast [Paralyze][Panels] to reduce their movements. [Polarity] takes too much of a toll on the user so Elias was saving it for the final round. Noticing that their actions have slowed down significantly, Drew manipulated his Otrio around his electromagnetic shield, a green hue surrounding it. Like a frisbee, he tossed the shield at the two robots, who were attempting to punch him, at their cores. The shield cut their cores but it wasn't good enough to deactivate them. Elias noticed this immediately and shot at the cracks formed by the shield. The cores finally shattered and this process was repeated for the remaining three robots.
"No way!" One examinee exclaimed as he witnessed the scene before him. His team had failed the exam due to their overconfidence in their power. They didn't create a strategy to defeat the robots which lead to their imminent defeat in the fifth wave but watching this group of High F-Class Warriors deal with them in a more methodical fashion made him host feelings of bitterness, envy, and shame.
This exam wasn't testing one's individual power, it was testing a 'team's power'. If a 'team' with less power was more organized than a team with more power but was less organize, the 'weaker' team could transcend levels and easily defeat a team that is stronger than them even if they are outnumbered. That is why it was called a Team Exam. The word 'team' was essential to pass.
The fifth wave was down and there was around 80 seconds remaining in the Exam. They needed to defeat five more robots which means one every sixteen seconds. Five of these robots were Mid E-Class and were already difficult to take down while the last one was High E-Class. The problem was the High E-Class one. If they couldn't defeat it, they wouldn't be able to take down the rest of the robots.
As the six robots arose from the ground, Drew could feel his heart pounding against his chest, each beat resounding in his head as loud as a drum. His arms have turned red from the recoil of his previous strikes, his veins popping, his sweaty hands clenching the shortsword's handle. This wasn't good. He only had a hundred and fifty Krasos left in his reserves so every strike counted. Elias and Wan weren't doing any better. Elias's arms have swollen to the point where they could be balloons. Even with all the training from Riush, his body could barely handle the recoil from each shot. Judging from his condition, he could only fire a few more shots and cast [Polarity] once before he would run out of Otrio. Wan, on the other hand, had turned a tomato red, her knees had buckled inwards. She was going to collapse any minute but she maintained her composure, she knew that her last casts mattered. She had a hundred Krasos left so she had to make use of them wisely. Drew and Elias depended on her [Panels] to defeat the robots, thus she couldn't let them done, not after what they have been through together these past few months.
They have arrived, the six robots, five smaller Mid E-Class and one High E-Class, that would dictate whether the trio would pass or fail. Tension grew in the Stadium. The spectators didn't know why but they wanted these underdogs pass. They wanted them to show them that they could do it. They wanted to cheer them on after witnessing their previous performance. They wanted them to win.
The High E-Class robot, a towering five meters with slim limbs powered by a glowing purple Otrio, thrusts out one large arm directing the other five robots to commence their attack on the trio. The powerful robots charged towards the trio from all directions, readying their various weapons. The first robot attacked, shooting a barrage of bullets at Elias's side. Elias side stepped utilizing [Speed] and swiftly made eye contact with Drew, both their eyes glowing an orange hue.
"[Weapons Swap]!"
In an instant, both their weapons flew out of their hands, Elias's gun flying to Drew and Drew's shortsword flying over to Elias. Their Skills and Techniques were now linking. Catching Elias's gun, Drew transferred Otrio into the barrel, shooting the bullet at the robot holding a staff in front of him with no hesitation, his arm flying up into the air due to the recoil. The bullet rotated at an inconceivable speed, piercing the robot core which shattered upon contact. One down, five more to go. Meanwhile, Elias had caught Drew's sword, injecting Otrio into it as he charged towards the robot shooting at him. With his mind, Elias commanded the sword to fly. That's right, it fucking flew like all those wuxia novels towards the robot's exposed Core. With no time to defend, the robot had its body stabbed by the shortsword before it collapsed on the ground with an ear-shattering thud.
The audience couldn't believe what they saw. The two guys who were on the verge of collapsing swapped weapons and managed to utilize each other's Skills! What kind of uncanny Ability was that?
Little did they know, this kind of Ability had enormous restrictions.
Two down, four more to go. Elias and Drew turned their attention to the remaining four robots, their legs frozen to the ground while three of them were moving around in disarray and the last one, the High E-Class robot, standing still with no movement. On the ground, Wan had collapsed, her body void of any Otrio, her eyes shut tightly. She was out of commission but she had accomplished her goal.
As the Drew and Elias were preoccupied with their robots, Wan had made her last moves. She had casted [Song of the Sirens] which put the remaining robots into disarray, their bodies squirming around like octopus tentacles; [Freeze] [Panels], which froze the robots into their place, ice coating their legs since she couldn't freeze them fully; and a [Poison][Panel] on the High E-Class robot, which completely stopped its movements but only for ten seconds. In the ten seconds that Wan had given them, Drew and Elias would have to take out the remaining robots before they recovered.
"Thanks, Wan," Elias smiled looking at her as she laid limply on the ground, "we won't let your efforts be in vain."
How sweet. Drew chuckled before shooting a squirming robot at it's Core. Three down, three to go. Ten seconds remaining till they break free, twenty seconds remaining in the Exam.
Suddenly, one of the remaining robots shot a bullet out of its confusion. As it sped towards Elias who was about to stab another robot to death, Drew erected a small [Aegis] in front of Elias's head deflecting the bullet towards the squirming robot at double the speed and power, headshotting it before it collapsed onto the ground. This was Drew's third Subsidiary Ability for [Aegis], [Ricochet], if an object hits [Aegis] with [Ricochet] casted, the object will be reflected off of [Aegis] at double the speed and power. As of now, [Ricochet] only works if one object or attack hits it. Any more than one object hits [Aegis], [Ricochet] becomes less effective than why the barrage of bullets Drew was blocking earlier didn't reflect back at the robot. Additionally, [Ricochet] cost fifty Krasos to cast which is not very convenient for frequent usage but useful in clutch moments like these.
"Thanks!" Elias hollered to Drew as he pierced the robot through its core.
"Don't thank me yet!" He hollered back.
The ten seconds Wan had given them were over. There were ten seconds left in the Exam, and the final robot had broken out from its status conditions and was speeding towards Drew and Elias. As it zeroed in on the duo, Drew used half of his remaining Otrio to jump over the robot, torquing his body in mid-air in order to get a clear shot at the robot's neck while Elias slide between the robot's legs to hit its blind spot. However, before Elias and Drew could strike, the robot extended it's long arms back, knocking the weapons out of the duo's hands.
"Oh shit!" Thomas who was sitting had now shot up like a stalk. He was at the edge of his seat witnessing the scene before him.
It wasn't over yet. Five seconds remained. Five. Drew's eyes widened as he watched Elias's gun flying out of his hand and his sword flying out of his. They were so close to getting a perfect strike. Four. Drew glanced down at Elias whose eyes were glowing a vibrant orange hue. Noticing the trajectory of their weapons Drew understood what Elias wanted to do. Three. Elias performed [Weapons Swap], Drew's shortsword flying back into his hand as he performed a flip in midair, recovering from the shock of the attack earlier while readying his shortsword for one last strike. Two. Elias caught his falling gun and pointed it at the robot's exposed back. With the last of his Otrio, Elias casted [Polarity], bending the robot's back forty-five degrees, giving them a clear shot at the robot's head. One, Drew utilized the last of his momentum to sever the robot's head from its body as Elias shot a Spinning Bullet through the robot's back at point blank. Zero. The core of the robot went dim. The exam was over.
Drew's body skid across the bare floor while Elias's body flew backward due to the recoil from his last shot. Both of them were exhausted.
They had done it.
Drew felt his body growing weaker but he couldn't care less. It was over and now he could rest.
