7 Guild Tryouts.

"Congratulations Yoko!" Rae hugged me, stuffing my face in her big melons. I hugged her back before she let me go, "Although it may not seem like it, C-Rank is something to be proud of! You can be safe behind higher-ranking team members!"

I laughed nervously, "That's not really ideal for me, my abilities aren't functional next to other people unless they want to get cut."

"Hmmm, I see. Well, after tryouts, if you make it through them, I'll relay this information to whichever team you're assigned to." Rae said as she held my hand. I felt the nauseating amount of mana fill the air again and the vertigo washed over me. I didn't vomit this time, but I still didn't feel well.

"Woahhhhh! Mommy's guild!" Hae-won yelled as I heard her run inside. I followed Rae and I presumed we were in front of an elevator due to the noise the button made. We traveled down and went the doors opened, all I could hear was conversation.

"This is where you'll be trying out with the other recruits," Rae said as I followed her to the crowd and she left my side. I heard some steps on a metal platform and soon her voice came over a mic, "Welcome recruits to the monthly Ego Guild tryouts. There are 400 of you, and only 50 will pass. This will be decided through a series of tests. The first test is endurance, the second test is wits, the third test is physical strength, the fourth test is teamwork, and the final test is fighting ability. I wish you luck."

Rae then got off of the mic and I felt the ground below us move. I instinctively put my hand on Kura but then let go when I remembered that I was in a secure facility. Soon the platform stopped and Rae's voice was heard again, "The first test, endurance, will test how long you can run this 800-meter track. Begin!"

I heard multiple feet shuffle and I began to jog. Since this was a test of endurance, there was no need to run. I heard many people pass me by and after around half an hour, I heard the shuffling of less people. And after an hour, the number significantly increased.

"Well that does it, those of you who stopped running, have failed. Please exit to the left." Rae said in a monotone, "Now, for the 325 people left, in the next five minutes please return to the platform."

I wasn't too winded as my grandfather often made me run up and down the mountain for hours. I believe I was the first person to return to the platform, as I couldn't hear anyone else near me. I decided to sit on the ground with Kura in my lap. I could feel her vibrating due to her wanting to be used. To calm her down, I began to gently caress her scabbard.

"That's a beautiful blade you have there," I heard the voice of a woman next to me, "Thank you, it was my grandfather's."

"I'm Cha Haneul, what's your name?" I gave Haneul a small smile, "Yoko Hachimura."

"You speak Korean so well for a foreigner," Haneul said with a bit of shock in her tone, probably due to me being Japanese. We made small talk for the duration of five minutes and Rae got on the mic again, "Please make your way onto the platform, as the second test is about to begin."

The platform moved down again, and once it stopped, a familiar smell and feeling assaulted my senses. I knew we were probably in a cave.

"The second test, wits, will test how long it takes you to escape this cave. You have one hour, the faster the better. Begin!" I didn't hear the shuffling of feet this time probably due to the cave's lack of lighting. That wasn't an issue for me and I walked off the platform fine and walked away from the group.

Once I was far enough away, I sat down and thought of a way to escape. I could walk around aimlessly and hope to find the exit but that's retarded. I also don't remember there being any rules against me using my abilities. Besides, I wanted to test something anyway.

I stood up and focused on my mana. I could feel it flowing within me and I wanted to increase the flow rate and divert it to my arms. I succeeded in increasing the flow rate, but diverting the increased flow to my arms was difficult.

I sighed and just unsheathed Kura. I'll work on that technique when I have more time. I didn't even need to apply [Aura] to Kura, as she cut through the cave rock like butter. I was cutting my way to the exit, which I succeeded in doing.

Once again, I was the first person on the platform and I felt a strong pulse of mana behind me. I was about to unsheathe Kura when the person spoke, "Yokooo, you're not supposed to realize you can use your abilities!" I heard Rae's voice and I calmed down.

"I don't know why no one else thought of it. They probably will in a few minutes," I laughed and Rae sighed, "Well, while I was in the Control Room with Hae-won, I got bored and decided to make you this!"

Rae handed me something that was soft and stretchy, "What is it?"

"It's a blindfold! I made it because firstly, it would make you look badass, and secondly, because it lets people know you're visually impaired. I don't know if that's a good or bad thing, and you don't have to wear it if-" Rae began to ramble so I just gave her a hug, "Thank you, Rae, I'll wear it."

I let her go and put the blindfold on. It was soft and actually pretty comfortable, I was going to thank Rae again but she left. Probably due to more people arriving on the platform.

"She's first again?"

"Did she cheat or something?"

I heard the murmurs of those around me and internally sighed. I ignored them and focused on forming my technique until time ran out.

"Congratulation to all 200 of you who passed, those who failed, please return to the platform you arrived on," Rae said monotonously before the platform began to move again.

The platform stopped and Rae spoke again, "This test is easy. All you have to do is punch the big red machines and exert a force of over 250 psi. After that, head onto the stage and successfully dodge 5 or more attacks from our friendly robot. Alright? Begin!"

I heard many people move to the left or right, so I moved right and used Kura as a walking stick until I felt the machine Rae was talking about. I set Kura down and exhaled. I focused on my mana and thought, instead of increasing the flow rate of my entire body, why not just increase the flow rate of the area I want?

So, I did just that. I increased the flow rate of mana in my right arm and I felt my muscles bulge. I applied [Aura] onto my arm and punched the machine, "HAA!"

*BOOM*

A loud explosion followed by a strong shockwave flooded the room. After that, the entire room was silent for a moment until I heard a murmur.

"Does that say 3500 psi?! She's a monster!"

3500 psi?! What the hell? I didn't expect that much power to be released, I thought I was going to get like 500 or something!

[New skill created: Amass]

[Amass: A rudimentary technique that allows you to stockpile power into a specific limb. May cause serious strain over time and can be further refined.]

Wow...it reminds me of a show I watched. I didn't really like it, cus' the main character kept crying.