Day 22, central camp.
A crowd of students gathered around the stage, the high-ranking army officials were explaining the exam while the thousands of young people paid attention with serious faces without making any sound.
The training had tempered both the mind and the body, so they set aside childish attitudes and began to mature. The young ones were transitioning slowly from students to soldiers, preparing themselves for the harsh reality of this world, war.
"The exam will start this afternoon. Together with your squads, you must venture into the jungle and find and capture your targets. The generals beside me will be your targets; they cannot attack you, but they can defend themselves from your attacks. They will wear a device under their uniform which will activate automatically once a certain amount of damage is received. Therefore, do not hold back and attack with everything you have," Commander Stevenson explained.
The students who were attentively watching Commander Stevenson slowly diverted their gazes towards the generals behind him. General Riskgood gave a fierce look and slightly moved his lips upwards forming a sadistic smile; some young ones swallowed with difficulty at the sight.
"Next, your targets will be assigned, so that's all for today. Good luck and give it your all," Commander Stevenson placed his hand over his forehead and bid farewell to the students. Subcommander Sofia Escalante, who was standing behind, moved aside so her superior could leave unobstructed.
With a slight nod to the generals and other military personnel present, Commander Stevenson bid farewell and headed towards his tent, escorted by soldiers serving as guards.
Sofia watched his back intently as her comrades-in-arms began to disperse.
"Subcommander Sofia, they need you in the assignment area; they need to verify that the targets are assigned correctly," said a young woman around 25 years old.
"Understood," replied Sofia with a serious tone, her face showing apathy. During these last few days, an inexplicable feeling was starting to grow inside her.
Lunchtime arrived, and the star squadron was waiting for the food. Kaller had been designated as the cook for the day, so he decided to prepare rice with pork chops. As a basic rule of the army, every soldier must be able to fend for themselves, so domestic tasks must be common knowledge among the students. Even a student had been punished for refusing to cook and had to undergo corrective examination.
"This exam is going to be tough; we got General Riskgood..." Tania, who was not very enthusiastic, was lying on the table with a deep sigh.
"My fingers are shaking a bit; the general is quite intimidating," Luis added, recalling how sadistic he looked. His uncle, who had served in the army, had been under General Riskgood's command, and the few stories he had told left him sweating cold.
"It's not that bad," Lina said, playing with her blonde hair that shimmered under the sun, staring fixedly at the ladle held by Kaller.
"How conceited," the rest of the squadron thought unanimously.
The exam would last a week, and each squadron had to bring their tools, food, and other necessary implements to survive outdoors. They would face various challenges through the jungle and had to cover a great distance to reach their objective, testing their endurance, teamwork, ability to adapt to unexpected situations, etc.
Fighting against the target and capturing it was the culmination of their training, but not the final one; they were going to evaluate different aspects.
Time passed normally, and the various squadrons had lunch quietly; however, the anxiety and nervousness of some young ones were evident.
When it struck 3:00 PM, a holographic screen suddenly appeared throughout the central camp, containing information about the exam and a map of the surrounding area. Each student had been assigned a tablet and a communicator, so they downloaded the information onto their tablets and prepared to start.
"I wish you the best, young..."
"Soldiers, pass this exam if you don't want to come back to us," Commander Stevenson unexpectedly interrupted, initiating the exam through the holographic screens with an unusual correction in his tone.
Sofia Escalante looked at the situation with some confusion. "Did he just call them 'young'?"
Hundreds of squadrons ventured into the jungle and cautiously watched their peers, fearing that someone might start a fight or hunt them down; the fight between squadrons was not prohibited.
"Get ready, guys; humans are not the only danger," said the dark-haired, prominently tall young man with an expressionless face. The rest of the squadron nodded in response, and they followed Kaller, who led the way into the jungle.
Other squadrons looked suspiciously at Kaller's group; they were among the most outstanding and powerful. They had defeated Mathias Flamegood and the Mortal squadron, considered the strongest ones. They had passed all previous exams, and Lina Airgood and Kaller led the ranking among their respective paths.
In the overall ranking, they were tied for first place with two other squadrons, all with perfect scores. Mathias Flamegood's squadron was in the top 4 with only one defeat at the hands of Lina Airgood. On the other hand, the Mortal squadron had dropped out of the top 10 due to consecutive defeats in the squadron battles.
The star squadron had already passed the exam with their current ranking, but they aspired to the top and to pass with honors. Additionally, the squadron's classification only represented a group grade and not an individual one, so Bruno, Tania, and Luis wanted to prove themselves worthy.
After venturing into the jungle, Luis took the lead as the scout to guide the squadron and alert them to possible dangers.
Luis ran and jumped among the trees while the rest of the squadron followed him. Tania, who was in the worst physical condition, had greatly improved her endurance due to training, so the current pace was not a problem for her. However, Lina supported her with a wind ability that slightly increased her speed, so the current pace did not tire her at all.
"Let's keep running," Kaller mentioned indifferently.
"We have about 2 kilometers more before we stop," Lina quickly added, keeping an eye on the area behind them through her wind control.
The star squadron had decided, collectively at Kaller's suggestion, to venture into the jungle at full speed. The other squadrons emitted feelings of jealousy and disdain, so there was no guarantee they wouldn't gather to attack them and make them quit the exam. Kaller, who was sensitive to emotions, noticed a marked enmity from the Mortal squadron; they were still resentful of the defeat.
"I don't detect anything to the northeast; we can stop there," Luis was activating and deactivating his ethereal vision ability in 500-meter intervals, thus acting as a radar and detecting any possible inconvenience. In that state, his gaze merged with the ether and he saw the world in opaque colors where purple predominated.
The ethereal signature of living beings was quite clear to his eyes, and depending on the shape and density of these signatures, he could determine their level of strength. The denser the signatures, the greater power they were capable of unleashing. On the other hand, the more defined the shape, the greater the development and control of their ethereal abilities.
Lina's ethereal signature was the densest among the students, only equaled by Mathias Flamegood, but in terms of shape, Lina had a whirlwind-like form, while Mathias showed signs of a small flame, indicating that Lina had trained her ethereal abilities to that point.
Tania had a fairly low density, but the shape resembled a harp, whereas Bruno had a high density and the current shape was a cube; he had not yet taken a path of development, so he remained as simple as possible.
Kaller was the strangest among those he had seen; the density of his ethereal signature was almost nonexistent, resembling dispersed gas, and its shape did not exist. Sometimes it took the form of something inexplicable and then returned to nothingness.
Lost in his random thoughts, Luis stopped in front of a small stream and looked around, exploring the area.
"There's nothing here; we can drink water from this stream and establish a route plan," Luis suggested.
"Alright, Luis, thanks for leading the way," Kaller responded, taking out the tablet from his backpack and searching for the map of the area.
"Leader, have you thought about how to deal with the dangers?" Although Tania had a clear idea in mind, she wanted to confirm.
"Luis will lead the way with Bruno following right behind. In the middle, it will be you and me, who have no ability to explore. In the rear, Lina will keep watch in case of any unforeseen situation. In the face of an enemy, we will switch to the standard formation, with close-range combatants in the front and long-range ones in the back, and you will always be in the middle," as if it were a memorized speech, Kaller quickly explained the action plan to take.
"Understood, Leader," Tania replied with a mocking smile.
"It seems like a good idea," Bruno looked at Tania with a disappointed expression as if she were beyond repair.
Luis and Lina nodded simultaneously, looking at each other; the rivalry between them had surfaced again, and they wanted to show who could do it better.
At a slow and steady pace, the star squadron moved, walking among the trees and surrounding rocks, marking certain areas on the map as designated camp and rest areas. The first point was a few kilometers away, and they would reach it by sunset if they maintained the current pace.
South American Central Headquarters, 6:00 PM.
"Mr. Airgood, General Commander Riskgood has given orders," an individual with a round face and lacking hair on both his face and head held a sealed envelope with some documents.
In front of the individual stood a man with a serene face and tranquil eyes, emitting an aura of peace that relaxed the atmosphere, standing at about 1.70 meters tall and around 40 years old. He had short, silky, blond hair that shimmered under the sun.
He raised his hand calmly and applied a small amount of ether to the document, breaking the seal; confidential files had a security mechanism linked to the ethereal signature, so if anyone else attempted to manipulate it, it would be destroyed instantly.
Request for Cooperation, ID: 072324.
Subject: National Security.
Grade: Maximum urgency.
Greetings, esteemed Subcommander Sebastián Airgood, I address you on behalf of the South American Council and the General Commander of the South American Forces, Alan Riskgood.
In view of recent events that we have recently informed you about, the Council unanimously decided to investigate and resolve the issue. Therefore, to ensure the success of the mission and the safety of those involved, it was decided to request your cooperation and commitment to the task. We await a prompt and positive response.
Sincerely, Commander Alan Riskgood.
"Hah... that old man always disguising orders with nice words and calling it a 'request'," Sebastián Airgood returned the letter to the round-faced individual and opened the doors of the room.
"Sir, th-the response?" the secretary said with a fearful expression, gripping the letter tightly in his hands.
"Tell the old man I'll go shortly," responding with his back to the secretary, Sebastián Airgood opened a window and jumped out of it; he was currently on the 50th floor, and his fall was accelerating with each passing second.
Without warning, a scythe appeared in Sebastián's hands, which he agilely mounted upon. Suddenly, he accelerated towards the north. The speed at which he moved increased incessantly, and a sonic boom was heard when the sound barrier was surpassed. A man with a grin from ear to ear, mounted on a scythe, was moving at the speed of a combat jet.
