Chapter 5 Testing

"To begin, you will all be dropped off on planet 14 9. The planet is completely uninhabited by any life forms capable of higher-level thought processes and communication. The planet is an evolution system. Your goal is to survive for a standard galactic month. Should you survive this long you will be retrieved and brought back for the rest of the hiring process."

As the woman detailed the objective of the first stage a cart was brought in with several collars on it. The woman picked up one of the collars and showed it to the group.

"These collars will track you and determine whether you are alive or dead. Should you die the collar will signal us and your corpse will be left behind. Should the collar somehow cease to function while you are still alive, you will also be left behind. All of you are required to put one on."

Finishing her sentence, the cart was brought out to the middle of the room. Everyone grabbed a collar and put it around their necks. As Kole put the collar on he noticed that the collar shrunk itself to fit tightly around his neck. Seeing that everyone had put a collar on the woman directed everyone out of the room.

"Now then, everyone board the ship."

After leading the group down several hallways, they arrived at a docking area with a large shuttle. After everyone boarded the ship departed from the station and headed for planet 14 9. As the ship descended through the planet's atmosphere the group was led into the hanger bay.

"Now then, once we get to a suitable altitude all of you will be dropped from the shuttle. Should you come across your fellow applicants you are allowed to work together, though that may not be ideal for you."

As the woman continued her lecture Kole fidgeted around as his body felt uncomfortable. For some reason his body felt heavier which made it harder for him to move around.

"Ah, I see that some of you have already realized, but this planet's gravity is different from your birth planet's. Adapting to the gravity is one of the many problems you'll have to deal with. Now then, the test will begin shortly."

Shortly after her sentence finished the floor of the hanger was opened and all of the applicants were dropped onto the planet below.

'Survival, sounds easy but there are probably lots of issues with this environment.'

As Kole fell through the air he glanced over the terrain below him. Off to his left was a series of mountains with lots of forests and grasslands. Off to his right was a large marsh land. Kole quickly made up his mind. Although Kole had no knowledge about either of the terrains specifically, his instincts told him that the mountains would be a better choice.

As Kole hit the ground his body swayed, and he worked to keep his balance. The increased gravity was already making it difficult for Kole to move around, if a dangerous predator came along it would be very difficult for him to survive since they were accustomed to the planet's gravity.

Looking around Kole saw that some of the applicant shad landed around him. Kole wandered over to the mountains while moving away from the other people. Although the prospect of working together looked appealing at a first glance, if Kole interacted with the other people there was a fair chance that they would betray him, whether for food, their own survival, or to increase their chances of getting picked later down the process.

Two weeks later.

Kole bit into the meat of the direwolf he had killed. The wolf was a second rank creature and had been a challenge for Kole as he wasn't familiar with combat. The mountain he was living on was mainly filled with unranked creatures and first ranks were uncommon.

As Kole had secured water and basic food sources when he entered the mountain, he decided that it would be necessary to use the rest of the time to improve himself.

During the first week he had evolved into a 2nd rank, a bipedal salamander.

Name: Kole

System: Evolution

Rank: 2

Species: Bipedal Salamander

Abilities: Poison resistance, Rire resistance, Acid resistance, Acidic stomach, Weak regeneration, Temperature regulation, weak fire manipulation.

After he had evolved his claws had grown out and could easily cut through the hide of the direwolf. His body had developed scales all over his body. However, the greatest gain was the weak fire manipulation. While his body was tough, the dire wolf was too fast for him to keep up with. He had only been able to catch the dire wolf by materializing a flame on his skin when it bit him in the arm.

'The dire wolf is probably the strongest monster on the mountain. If I want to find any more 2nd ranks, I'll have to go into the range.'

Kole wiped the blood off his mouth as he gazed at the mountain range. Although he didn't realize it yet but the ability that would be the most useful was the temperature regulation.

Meanwhile at the corporation branch.

"So, how have they been doing?"

The woman who had led the group on the station called out to her assistant. Her assistant fixed her glasses as she scrolled through the list.

"Most of the royal were killed of in the first few days by poisonous plants and animals. The rest are currently scraping by in the valleys of the mountain by living off river water. The rest are performing fairly well but there have been a few who wandered into a fourth rank's territory."

The woman sipped her tea as she looked out at space with a smile.

"Let's see how many are left at the end."

Two weeks later on planet 14 9.

Kole shivered as he dragged the ice lizard corpse into the cave. Winter had rolled in unexpectedly two weeks ago and the entire landscape had changed. The temperature dropped well past freezing and nearly froze Kole into a popsicle. On top of the temperature several species emerged all over the mountains and started hunting any prey that hadn't hidden themselves.

Kole had been caught in the middle of hunting further in the mountains and had nearly been torn apart by all of the creatures. He had barely survived by retreating into the cave he had made his home.

As Kole stripped the lizard of every shred of flesh he curled up on the ground and shrouded himself in fire. His body settled down as the flame helped raise his body temperature. His body remained there for another week as he unknowingly entered a hibernation state.

"Hey, wake up."

Kole's consciousness snapped awake as he leapt back. His visions cleared up and the sight of the yin corporation uniform came into his view.

"The test is over, you'll be moving on."

Kole almost didn't believe his ears as he walked out of the cave and boarded the shuttle. As he boarded the shuttle he looked around and saw that there were only a handful of people left. It seemed that there were no other people as the shuttle left the planet shortly after.

The woman sipped her tea at the station as she looked over the list of people who had survived.

"Now then, how will they handle their final test."