Chung's Distraught.

Two days passed by in a flash, and with the subject of the test unknown, no one knew what to prepare for so everyone was scrambling. Over a hundred people showed up at the testing spot ready to try their luck to become a disciple of the School of Initiation. Everyone was fidgety and discussing their ideas to each other.

"What do you think the School of Initiation will test us on?"

"I don't know, but I do know the last major recruitment a decade ago had three tests and they were all extremely difficult. No average joe would have been able to pass that test. It required a lot of practice and knowledge not available to us outsiders."

"Oh, so I guess since they're allowing us this opportunity it shouldn't be too hard right?"

"I really hope so."

Towards the front of the crowd, a puff of red curls could be seen. It was a young man, with a face full of freckles. His hands could be seen shaking in nervousness. It was Chung, the man looking to change his future. He took a deep breath, and withdrew a small piece of papyrus out from his pants pocket.

The previous day, Chung was approached by a man wearing a pale lilac colored magua garment offering him a deal.

"Is what you say true!?" Chung was in disbelief.

"Entirely," as the man said that, he opened up the face of his garment and two white stars could be seen.

"....!" Chung tried to say something but seeing those two white stars his legs threatened to cave in. He staggered back and nearly fell from the shock.

"Y-you're actually an elder from the School of..!?" Chung couldn't believe his eyes.

"Listen, follow these instructions and you'll pass the test tomorrow guaranteed," He took out a small portion of papyrus and handed it over to Chung.

"However, if I find out that in a years time you still haven't entered the cave to search for the blue rhinestone, I'll have you killed."

Gulping down a mouthful of saliva, Chung nodded sheepishly.

"Good, I hope choosing you wasn't a mistake. In one years time I'll send someone to look for you to receive the blue rhinestone. If you don't have it, you die. Farewell."

….

"Hey…..hey curly cue I'm talking to you!" Snapping out of his trance, Chung looked to the left and saw a skinny man with a thin mustache frowning at him.

"Don't you know to listen when someone is talking to you? Taking a School of Initiation exam with this sort of awareness, should you even be here?"

Before Chung could reply to this guy, a light cough came from the very front of the crowd, It was the same brawny man from two days ago. Seeing that the he had shown up, everyone quieted down.

"Seems a quite a few people showed up to participate, that's good. I won't speak much, so I'll cut to the chase. Unfortunately, certain circumstances cropped up that affect how many people we can accept today."

"What?"

"Wait, how many can get a spot?"

"This.."

Many from the crowd became disheartened and their confidence of getting a spot crumbled hearing less people could attain one now. Seeing the crowd getting rustled, the brawny man waved his hand signalling that the crowd should quiet down.

"Yes, unfortunately, as things are now, we can only accept...one person."

The crowd erupted.

"This has to be a joke!!"

"Only one person? There are more than a hundred of us here!!!"

"This is unbelievable, what cropped up? Why can't ten people be picked to join? What is this!!?"

"Alright calm down, calm down. Our rewards for the test are as follows, a one star disciple token; anyone with this particular token is considered a one star disciple at our school, they'll have complete access to all one star facilities. The winner of the test will also be granted a one star guest room token for a friend or family member."

Even after hearing the rewards, some from the crowd still couldn't stand for this and left the premises. With more than a hundred who showed up, only less than 80 stayed to fight for a spot.

The brawny man looked on with indifference. It wouldn't matter to him if even only one person showed up.

"With the rewards revealed, let us now get to the test," he announced, "Today we will be testing those here on their foresight. The ability to predict, that is what will be assessed."

Hearing the brawny man's words, some were confused while others nodded their heads. How was this going to be assessed?

As if knowing what the crowd was thinking, the brawny man pulled out a candle and set it on the table in front of him.

"I will light this candle here, and you all will write down your predictions for how long you feel it will stay lit. There is a stack of writing paper and ink pen here, those participating can write there predictions now." With that said, the crowd came up one by one grabbing a pen and paper to write down how long they thought the candle could last.

"The predicted time that is closest to how long it stays lit will be deemed the winner and become a one star disciple. Those are the rules, we will begin in 5 minutes."

"This seems a little too easy of a test don't you think?"

"How will predicting a candle prove to the School I am worthy to be their disciple?"

Some in the crowd couldn't quite understand why the school chose to do a test like this.

"Haha, you guys are idiots, how could just anyone see through what the School is thinking? There's definitely a deeper meaning behind this test and you villagers just can't see it."

One of the confused guys earlier looked over to see just who had the balls to ridicule him. He saw a skinny man with a needle thin mustache smirking at him.

"And who are you? Isn't everyone here a villager? Doesn't that make you an idiot as well?"

Hearing the words of this commoner, the thin mustache guy couldn't help but laugh in disdain.

"Haha, of course you wouldn't know me, I come from a completely different world from you commoners. I came from the Sato clan, I'm sure you've at least heard of that before, right?"

"Sato! That's the village chiefs surname? This guy is from village 1?"

"What's he doing here?"

Hearing that someone from very first village had shown up, everyone couldn't help but look over in hushed whispers.

Seeing everyone take notice of him, he laughed proudly.

"Haha! That's right, I'm from the chiefs clan, in the town above you! After passing this test I will become a true disciple of the School and master their martial arts heritage to seek even greater heights!"

Hearing the lofty goals of this man from village 1, the crowd couldn't help but sigh in admiration. If only they were born into such a prestigious place, then wouldn't they too have the privilege to have big dreams like his in life?

Chung only sneered silently.

'Those are some big goals you got there, but do you have an answer sheet like I do? Do you have the support of a 2 star elder? I don't think so!'

All of a sudden, a gong was rung. The test had started!

Right when the gong rang, the brawny man had lit the candle, but the most shocking thing was how he did it!

Chung looked on with wide eyes as he saw the brawny man put his finger up to the wick and ignited the candle.

He ignited a candle with just his finger alone!

"Woah, so cool!"

"So what I heard wasn't all! Those from the School are capable indeed."

"With power like that, they are undeniably the natural rulers of this land."

Chung couldn't help but shake in anticipation. His eyes which used to be dull suddenly flared with light.

'Will I be able to do stuff like that after receiving my token!?'

He couldn't help but think back to what the 2 star elder told him.

"Within a years time, collect the blue rhinestone from the black cave outside of village 3"

The blue rhinestone? He didn't know what that was, but he didn't care. With who he was now, would it even make a difference whether he knew or not?

A barrage of exclamations suddenly flooded Chungs ears.

"What sort of joke is this!?"

"This has to be a mistake! He didn't mean to do that right!?"

"Is there a flaw in the test?"

Everyone was confused beyond belief, except for Chung, who shook uncontrollably.

"I-I...won! He didn't lie to me, he truly didn't lie!!!"

Seeing that the brawny man walked up to the candle and extinguished it, Chung knew he had the best time. If the prediction he wrote wasn't spot on, then it had to at least be kind of spot on.

"The test has now been concluded, I will take a look at everyones predictions and evaluate the scores."

"This is outrageous!"

"What sort of scam is this, I wrote such a long time of 25 minutes on my paper, and you snuffed the flame before we could see if my prediction was any close!"

"Yeah what a load of bull this is."

Within the sea of outrage, the skinny man from village 1 was shaking in rage. He was thinking the brawny man extinguished the flame just to make a fool out of him. With nowhere to hide his face, he left the crowd in anger. He knew he didn't win with his 45 minute prediction.

"ENOUGH!" With a stomp of his foot, the ground shook ever so slightly. The brawny man coldly looked at the crowd.

"If you have any problems with how this test had been conducted, you can go discuss it further with the School."

The brawny man was then able to finish going through the results in absolute silence. As he went through the results, there was one instance where his eyes flickered for a moment.

It was then that the brawny man looked up from the table and asked,

"Who's Chung?"

"That's me, sir!" Chung walked forward in excitement. This was it, he will no longer be a fish, but a dragon amongst men instead.

"Such an outstanding result, you were only off by one second! With your foresight you would rank amongst the best even at other Schools in neighboring districts!" However, a look of pity flashed through the brawny man's eyes, as he knew this talent was going to be wasted.

Like that, Chung was allocated his token and room. There he lied, cozily on his new bed.

______________________________________________

Looking up from his book, Chung knew he had just zoned out and didn't take in any of the information he just read. Realizing up to this point, he slapped his knee in irritation.

'Why do I keep forgetting!?'

He was already an hour late for his daily token polishing! He developed this ritual the day he received his token from the brawny man. He would always polish his one star disciple token to keep it in peak condition as to not have it be tarnished. It was also a sign of respect to the School and elders for allowing him to be a disciple. He pulled out a jar of wax. His motto was always, 'Wax first, polish later' A wax followed by a good polish is the best way to protect the true value of your favorite items.

He went into his pocket and felt around. 'Ah, there it is'

He pulled out his one star disciple token and was about to wax when he noticed something was off.

'What's going on here? Why does this feel different in my hands?'

He flipped the token over and when he saw the guest house symbol on the front instead of the prestigious true disciple symbol, he nearly keeled over from the amount of confusion and anxiety.

A stifling sensation flurried through his chest like a tsunami the likes of which had never been experienced before.

Chungs face scrunched up like a ball of yarn as he yelled at the top of his lungs,

"THAT BUMPKIN! HE HAS MY TOKEN!!"

A deafening screech filled the entirety of village 3. All the young villagers who were working on their tasks looked over in utmost confusion.

This was the biggest tribulation Chung had ever experienced. He had to get that token back or he would be forced to return to his previous life, and there was no way he could accept that after having a taste of this lifestyle.

Chung twitched as he looked fiercely at the young villagers working the land. Spit shot from his mouth as he bellowed,

"You all better work as if I'm here. If I find out anyone of you slacked off while I'm gone…..Oh ho, you better pray I never hear of it."

With that said, Chung immediately turned and sprinted at his fastest speed possible towards village 2.

"What was that all about?"

"I don't know but it was scary…"

The young villagers were frightened by that sudden outburst.