4 Appraisal

"Wait!" Somebody shouted from behind him.

It was Scar. Although he was nervous, he mustered all his courage and stepped forward. 

Red looked back to see Scar approaching him. Although his eyes were determined, he was shaking like the tail of a rattlesnake. Whether the shaking was caused by the cold, or Scar was just completely terrified, they could only wonder.

"I'll do it, Jarxen sir." He volunteered in a deep voice, stepping forward towards Red.

Jarxen was about to pick up and throw the kid into oblivion when Red stepped forward and went in the way of Scar himself. "Thanks, Scar. I appreciate it." He smiled, heading to the Testing room.

Everybody stopped for a second. The next thing they knew, Red was already inside and the eyes of the humanoid already lit up a bright red-orange color. It greatly resembled the color of magma just before it hit the earth's surface, foretelling the bloodbath that might result.

"RED!!! Are you crazy?! You're smarter than anyone else, here! I should be a better sacrificial candidate." Scar angrily shouted. He was frightened of course, but he was willing to sacrifice himself for some odd reason. 

Red just gave him a reassuring look in response.

Scar knew he's weak, but he's stronger than the lot of them. He's a trustworthy ally, that kid. Red thought to himself as he faced the humanoid and put up his arms.

Technique: Mixed Martial Arts... analyzing... analysis completed...

... ...

Before Red could react, he instinctively dodged to the right. He didn't even see it coming but a hook squarely landed where his head was a split second ago. Red then jumped upwards just when the humanoid swept a low kick right where his feet were.

Strange, what am I doing? Red asked himself, perplexed. It's as if he wasn't the one controlling his body...

... as if his body has a will of its own.

The humanoid then crouched low and sprung forward, as if ramming his head towards Red's stomach. To Red's disbelief, he managed to do a screwdriver vault just above the humanoid, making it crash so gloriously on the other end of the Testing room.

What's happening? Blond couldn't help but ask himself. He swept off his bangs to one side so he could see a little better.

"It seems like he's handling it pretty well," Blond commented in disbelief.

"No doubt about it. Can any of you guys move like that?" Curl turned around but she was only given denial.

Red still hasn't dealt a single counterattack against the humanoid but he had a knack for dodging. The humanoid was getting restless as it unleashed a barrage of kicks and punches that Red so easily dodged and parried. He was like a cockroach scurrying away from a person trying to stomp on it.

Red was simply untouchable.

Just when everyone started celebrating, the humanoid stopped. It's like someone pushed the pause button on him.

Technique: Street Fighting... analyzing... analysis completed...

... ...

To everyone's surprise, the humanoid changed its way of fighting it suddenly latched onto Red and kneed him to the stomach, and bumped its head to smash his nose. Red was almost too late to react to it. He barely had enough time to shield his stomach and nose with his hands.

Although he was able to avoid the severe blow, his hands got gravely injured and he had no way to raise a fist towards the humanoid. That's when he heard the next announcement.

Technique: Taekwondo... analyzing... analysis completed...

... ...

Beeep!!!

Red turned around and snapped his leg for a roundhouse kick. The humanoid, however, suddenly stopped moving midway as soon as the beep resounded in the testing room. That didn't stop Red from landing a blow on the humanoid's head.

Everyone gasped at the sight of the humanoid's head being severed. The head flew off and creepily bounced on the white tiles with a metallic sound. The eyes of the humanoid lost its color as a dying whirring sound echoed throughout the room.

Jarxen was stupefied at the sight. He had never seen a cleanly executed roundhouse before and it mesmerized him. But when he got back to his senses, he immediately dashed to the already open door to the testing room and grabbed Red by the collar.

"What do you think you're doing?!" He roared as saliva sprayed on Red's face, making him flinch in disgust. "The beep was heard and the fight is already over, why did you have to destroy a humanoid that's worth millions if not billions of dollars?!

Red kept his cool as he looked at Jarxen in a disinterested manner. With eyes likened to a snake, Red answered Jarxen while shrugging. "First of all, you never told me about the beep. I thought the fight will end if one of us is already dead. And second, I didn't know that humanoid is worth that much. He seemed like a piece of junk to me."

Jarxen threw him off from the Testing room. "All of you! To the lodging room!!!" He ordered as he dashed off the Block and towards the Dome outside.

Red tried to stand up but he couldn't use his hands to steady himself. Blond and Scar immediately grabbed him by the armpit and lifted himself up. "Thanks," He muttered with a sense of tiredness in his voice.

"I found a few first-aid kits inside the lodging room. Let me patch you up." Curl volunteered after seeing the helpless state of Red's hand.

"Thanks," Red said once again.

All of them went to the lodging room and occupied the bunk beds there. There were exactly a total of eight beds, just enough for the head-count of the teenagers.

The group willingly gave the bunk bed nearest to the door to Red. Just from his recent actions alone, everyone had already recognized him as their leader, although some of them subconsciously did so. As for Scar and Blond, they treated Red more like a friend rather than a superior.

"Urgh!"

Red flinched as Curl gently grabbed his arm and placed his hand on her lap. "Can't you be a little more gentle? Red pleadingly said.

"Sorry! This is my first time trying to dress an injury." Curl responded as she heaved a huge sigh of disappointment.

"Here, let me do that for you." One of the girls volunteered. "I'm a pretty good doctor... or am I? Well, I don't know but I have a gut feeling that I can do this one. Just a gut feeling."

She gently grabbed the bandage from Curl and advised her not to move. "Just stay still and let me take care of the rest." She genuinely smiled.