Chapter 40 Free For All Part 2

The very moment the second phase began, a tidal wave of madness and violent frenzy came upon the exam applicants. Were scream slashing and ripping off armbands desperate to gain their 100 points, the moment the words "Let's begin," left the lips of the announcer, Moon D, all hell had broken loose. Once everything had started, the applicants that had been eyeing Jake's, now Zack's, 50-point black armband pounced.

The one who was right next to Jake, the big ugly troll-looking guy, stretched out his hand, forcefully knocking Jake out of the way to get closer to Zack. He smiled a yellow-toothed smile as he tightened his grip on his rental weapon, which happened to be a butcher's knife, fitting for a pig. But he wasn't the only one making his move.

The thin guy with a mohawk that stood next to Zack, and the other applicants that were in front and in back, started to pounce like hungry lions. Zack smirked, thinking, "Yea, this is gonna be fun," as Troll Face swung his knife down. And as the others reached out, in the blink of an eye, Zack jumped out of harm's way.

As the attack on Zack was commencing, elsewhere in the sea of fighting applicants was the mysterious applicant with the wooden helmet on their head. They had the luck of the draw and drew a green armband, meaning they had 20 points, but at the moment, it may have felt as if it was the unlucky draw, as they were being bum rushed by multiple applicants that only had white armbands. The helmet-wearing applicant was backing up, dodging a sword strike that nearly sliced their helmet.

"Hey, hey, watch it, man, this is precious to me," they said, as they had one hand rubbing the helmet. But their pleas fell on deaf ears, as applicants continued slashing at them wildly.

The applicant did everything they could to protect the helmet, giving no regard to the attacks that slashed their body. Small cuts of blood started staining the clothes, but the applicant's guard never wavered, not even when one of their attackers circled around them, slashing at their back. They felt a tinge of pain, but they still remained strong. But the attacker took it as an insult. He kept slashing over and over again, beginning to mock the seemingly helpless applicant.

"Fight back, little wuss, fight back, or just give up!" the applicant responded, still taking each slash from all the applicants attacking.

"If I attacked you, you wouldn't survive, so I cannot do that." The response made the one attacking their back break out into laughter, even some of the others attacking smirked or chuckled.

"You beat me? I don't see that happening in this lifetime, you little pussy," the attacker burst out again in laughter. He was so distracted by the comedy happening before him and his continuous attacks that he didn't realize the mysterious applicant went stiff as a board, and after a while, they started to shake. Not being able to see their face, the attackers thought they were wiping. The attacker from behind laughed harder.

"Aww," they said in a mocking tone, "what's wrong, little baby? Are you scared now?" The attacker smiled a large, fully toothed grin. "Tell you what, if you give me your armband, then I promise to stop hurting you. What do you say?"

But the answer the attacker got wasn't one they expected. "How dare!" the mysterious applicant said. The tone in their voice, it was deep and commanding it was, made all the attacks hesitate, staying their blades.

"What… what did you just say?" the main attacker asked, barely able to glue those words together. Now not being attacked, the mysterious applicant turned towards the one that was hitting their back. The attacker couldn't see their face, but they felt fury, pure rage pouring off the helmet-wearing applicant as they took a single step towards the attacker.

They spoke, "I said—" Before even finishing their sentence, the applicant threw a punch at the attacker, hitting them square in the face. The force of the punch was so strong those around could hear multiple bones breaking. The force of the punch sent the attacker flying, them eventually hitting one of the walls that kept all the applicants in.

"How dare you!" the mysterious applicant continued, "you can attack me, slash me, talk down on my name, even break my precious treasure, but you dare call me that, and you die!" The applicant turned towards the other attackers, and, with no hesitation, they jumped at them.

Elsewhere again, in another part of the exam, there was a young man wearing combat boots, clad in dark blue cargo pants and a matching tank top. He was running full speed ahead with his white armband strapped tightly to his arm. Each few steps he took, he would slash his massive broadsword at a target, with his strength, all he needed was one attack and it was over. After each cut down enemy, he would snatch a band. He, in less than a minute of the second phase beginning, had already cut down nine enemies. But each had a white armband, just like him. 'Only ten points,' he thought. 'I need more.' He kept making his way through the typhoon of wildly fighting applicants, trying to find a better target. Still, as he searched, he cut down each and every foe that got in his way, snagging a white band here and there. He even got lucky and snagged a blue band. As he kept cutting down enemies while scanning the area, his eyes landed on a young woman with short, purple-colored hair. She was moving with grace as she was fighting all those that approached her. She moved with such speed, with such fluidity, that it seemed as if she was dancing instead of being locked in combat. But how she moved didn't matter to the blonde-haired young man. What mattered was what was strapped to her arm. Like Jake, she had the luck of pulling a black armband. She was a 50-point target that everyone was after. The moment the blonde-haired young man saw her, he thought, 'Finally.' He then rested his large broadsword on his shoulder as he broke out into a full sprint, running right at the purple-haired girl. She was so busy fighting off attackers that she didn't see him coming. As a desperate attacker was cut down by the woman, she caught only a glimpse of something heading for her. But she wasn't given a single moment to breathe. After she cut down one foe, two more would replace them. She had no time to focus on whatever it was that was headed in her direction. The blonde-haired boy neared closer and closer to the young woman. When he was only inches from her, he jumped into the air. As the young lady was fighting her attackers, she saw something jump into the air. Even while busy, she couldn't help but shoot a glance at whatever had caught her eye. It's as if time stood still for just a moment. She caught a good look at the young man jumping. She could tell by the look in his eyes that he was jumping, trying to attack her. As he started to descend, she recognized that he was the same young man that asked a question before the second phase even started. But she had no time to think about that. As the young man screamed a battle cry, holding his massive broadsword with both hands, swinging it down as he fell back to earth, she had to react fast. Even with attackers up to her neck, she had to react because this one was different from all the others. She shifted herself, angling her own rental weapon, a rapier, upwards, preparing for the incoming blow. And it didn't take long at all for the young man to bring his blade down onto hers. The force of the collision was so strong that it cracked the ground under her, yet she remained steadfast. She impressively held him off, but probably not for long, because she had to defend herself against the oncoming attack. But doing so left her wide open, and all of her previous attackers started to swarm her, wanting to take advantage of the opportunity. And she realized this. She had to think fast. As quickly as possible, as the attackers started to close in, she bent her knees as much as she could and jumped backwards. The blonde boy, with nothing stopping him, finished falling, crashing his blade into the ground, creating a small crater. His impact threw off the young woman's attackers, many getting injured in the process. As the young man was in the crater, he huffed and puffed, his hair falling into his face. As he started to get to his feet, the target he aimed to take out spoke to him. 'You're pretty strong,' she said in a deepish voice, 'for a boy, that is.' The young man looked in her direction, watching her smile at him. 'Thanks for the help, by the way,' she pointed at all the applicants that laid on the ground after the young man fell like a meteor. 'Those guys were kinda on my ass.' The young man didn't respond at first. He simply pushed his hair back to get it out of his face. 'I'm not trying to help you. I want your armband,' he grabbed the handle of his blade with one hand, pointing it at her. The purple-haired young lady chuckled. 'Just try then, little boy.'"