Trials (3/5)

"In a moment, we will begin the first test,' Akino announced from her position across the field. "The first test will be a simple sprint. Its designed to test your acceleration and your top speed. Make sure you give it your all."

Having been taken aback by the fire within Jak's eyes, the Elven woman had retreated to the end of the field, itching to get on with the test. As someone who still had to grow mentally, Akino had all but expected the youth with the fluffy red hair to be sulking, wallowing in self pity and shaken nerves as he struggled to complete the next stage of the Exam. To find that he wasn't in a downtrodden state, but rather one of unwavering spirits, the elf was thoroughly confused as she shifted her focus onto the current test. A desire to know more about him began to manifest along with a weird need to touch his fluffy, crimson colored hair.

"Um, but where exactly are we running to?" One of the examinees asked. "Are we just gonna run towards you? And how are you gonna keep track of how fast we go?"

As if on cue, the area in front of them shifted, white lines appearing before the five of them, long straight lines that lead to the end of the lengthy field. Akino stood to the right side of the newly made track, glasses pushed up as she raised her hand. She didn't bother answering the newbies question as it wasn't required of her to do so, only needing to tell him what to do and when to do it.

"When I bring my hand down, you run." Akino said simply, barking the orders loud enough for the others to hear. "I'll give you a countdown and when I say 'GO', sprint nonstop to the end like your tails on fire."

"10"

"9"

The area fell even quieter as the onlookers held their breaths, the only noise coming from the current runners and the Elven woman.

"8"

"7"

"6"

The examinees all took their stances at the starting line, of which was just a big white rectangular box that showed them where to keep their feet.

"5"

"4"

"3"

Akino almost couldn't hear herself over the pounding of her own heart as she watched everyone prepare to sprint forward. She had done it over a dozen times that day but she had yet to feel the same intensity as she had now as she readied herself to bring her hand down.

"2"

"1"

"GO!!"

Before any of the examinees could even get fully past the starting line, there was a loud BOOM as the redhead launched himself forward, becoming a literal blur of black and crimson as he raced down the line. Akino barely had time to register his speed as he barreled past mere seconds after she had thrown down her hand, a sharp wind ruffling her hair as he skid to a stop.

The room remained silent as the other examinees finished up their end of the test, running past the finish line almost a full ten seconds after Jak. None of them even came close to the speed the youth had demonstrated, the youngling having completed the run in record time. Even more so, the boy didn't even appear to be out of breath as he waited for his results to appear, meanwhile the other contestants seemed to be slightly winded from the full 90 meter run.

(("What...the hell was that???!!!!")) Akino shouted internally as she shifted her green eyes onto the space above Jaks head. (("That wasn't the speed of a mere rookie. Its at least an H-rank adventurer which isn't very impressive until you remember THAT HE'S FREAKING TEN!!"))

One by one, numbers appeared over everyone's head, informing them of how long it took them to go from one end to the other as well as giving them an overall score below it. However, Akino had no interest in the score of others as she stared at Jaks numbers, quickly writing down each one.

2.45 seconds. That's how long it had taken him to completely run the length of 90m, completely commanding the room. Whilst everyone wielded a time of 8 to 11 seconds and scoring 200 to 250 points, Jak maxed the score out at 300, earning almost half of what he needed to pass the physical assessment. Akino wasn't even sure how he had moved so quickly what with her being too far away and Jak blowing past her before she had time to analyze. It seemed to be too much to just be pure physical strength, no newbie having ever truly reached that speed at that age, even demihumans had trouble reaching that level of acceleration and most of them were built to be lightning quick and agile.

"He shifted his magic," Flora explained, seeming to read Akino's mind as she made her way over. Rather then look surprised, the blonde woman appeared to be quite amused with the newly developed situation. "Right before the start of the match, he moved nearly all of his magic towards his legs and core muscles, giving him an amplified run. As he ran, he made sure the magic was evenly distributed so as to maintain balance and further increase his speed with each step."

"But thats-"

"Impossible for even a newbie to do considering the complexity of shifting ones magic. Even for those experienced, it would take a while for them to be able to pull off what he just did." Flora shook her head as she took the clipboard from the Elven woman and began to quickly document the scores of the other examinees. "What's more, he doesn't even seem to realize what he did which is even more ludicrous. Despite his cute appearance, the kid has the potential to be something amazing."

"Instinctively control the flow of his magic? But hes only ten!!" Akino rebuttaled, keeping her voice lowered so no one could hear their conversation. "Controlling ones magic THAT efficiently at that age is literally impossible. Even ELVES of the same age couldn't do what he just did at that age and you're telling me its INSTINCTUAL!! I call bullshit."

Flora shrugged as she finished recording the numbers, giving a small smile as she handed the board back to Akino. "Believe me or not, we'll have more chances to see it in the next two tests. However, let's finish up everyone elses for the time being."

Akino had almost forgot that they were still in the middle of the trials, Jaks overwhelming speed having captured her attention to the fullest. Recovering quickly, she ushered the others to the side as she called out the next five examinees, of whom were slow to approach. Jak had displaced a sizeable chunk of earth back when he had initially sprinted forward, leaving two of the examinees without a proper foothold to start the test.

Flora quickly fixed it though, repairing it with a wave of her hand, allowing the trials to once again run smoothly.

Nothing else happened after that. Everyone ran the test 5 times each and completed with relatively average speeds and time, with the only exception being Eriz who finished at the time of 5.34 seconds and a score of 280. Akino was no longer put too much focus on him though as the first test was rapidly concluded, far faster then the first trial had been. Everyone had scored pretty well in the first test so it was much more cheerful all around as everyone talked amongst themselves as the WGC receptionists conversed with each other. After a while, Flora separated from Akino and walked towards the group, causing the examinees to instantly quiet as they waited to hear what she had to say.

"Congrats to everyone for making it this far. We will now proceed with test number 2 of the physical assessment." Flora lifted her hand straight up into the air and gave it a wave. "For this one, it's all about reflexes and how you maintain your cool under pressure. Be aware that this one can seriously injure you so please make sure to keep your guard up."

The room shifted yet again, objects appearing from thin air as the examinees looked on, before immediately drawing back the moment the things came into vision.

Five beings stood tall and at the ready, giant clubs held in their hands. With puke green skin, ugly facial features and naked bodies only covered by a cloth below the waist, the monsters were easily recognizable as Goblin Guards, one of the weaker monsters in the dungeons dotting the Rifts. Though strong enough to crush a C-rank adventurer with a single swing of their immense clubs, they were extremely slow and didn't normally travel in packs. They almost always roamed the entrances to lower tier Dungeons and Rifts, hence why they had received the name Goblin Guards.

"Take a good look. These will be your opponents for the second test. All you have to do is survive for as long as possible." Flora smiled as she surveyed the room, taking in everyone's repulsed expressions. "Be aware that these are tamed monsters but only when it's time to stop. Once you go in there, it'll automatically start and they'll be looking for some fresh meat, especially if you happen to be female."

A few of the female examinees looked rather nervous as the goblins began moving about, aimlessly wandering their section of the room which was about 70m by 70m. Saliva dripped from their mouths of which was flung in the air whenever the let out a random shout, an ear piercing yell that caused everyone to momentarily plug their ears. Standing at about 3 meters tall, the goblins clearly had more then enough lung power as their roars increased in volume as the time went on.

"The longer you survive, the more points you get. When you reach 300 points, the monsters will be stopped automatically via electric shock, of which will provide you enough the to retreat or enough time to be extracted. Bonus points will be added if you manage to block a hit, disarm them, or knock one down." Akino struggled to speak over the goblins incessant screeching, hands placed firmly over her sensitive ears in order to keep from going completely deaf. "We will begin the trial with the fastest runner from the last test and then proceed in alphabetical order."

Flora walked over to Jak, of whom didn't seem to he affected much by the monsters cries, instead taking the time to stretch out his own muscles.

"Jak Yanda, you'll go first," the blonde receptionist said, placing a hand on the kids fluffy head. "Try not to die."

//My apologies for not wrapping up the second trial in this chapter, but I promise next chapter will end the second one and then we can dive into the third and last one.

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