The Examination begins

Kane fell silent. He had completely lost his appetite. Abel who was within Kane's Plain noticed his obvious somber mood and left him stewing in it for a little while. When he could not take the prolonged silence and unmoving state Kane was in, he decided to talk to him.

"Do remember when we first visited the hunter association? When you told the attendant you were in the grunt realm. You noticed the look the other guys gave you when they heard that right? Let me tell you something, I can bet my left ball your brother is still in the grunt realm.

Let me tell you something. The average person enters the grunt realm at the age of twelve. I became a grunt when I was nine, and that was a result of the combination of being lucky and blessed with the right genes and an extremely brutal training regime.

You, you became a grunt at four years old. You became a mutant a month later. Do you understand what I am trying to say, it takes a minimum of two years for the average grunt to become a mutant but you did it in a month.

You are special Kane. Don't let memories of the past mar your future. Others need a few weeks before they can take another core water solution while you need a few minutes. They would need months of recovery after advancing through tiers of the grunt realm while you needed a good night's sleep.

By the time you step into the warrior realm, your heightened observation and adaptation mutation would be so overpowered that you could probably breeze through your study of the dao and create your very own absolute abilities and you would do it in record time too.

Let me share a secret with you. Do you know how old your father is? He must be hundreds of years old and he still just became an emperor realm being. This just shows how awesome your talent is. So cheer up lad. I am sure that you would catch up to those bullies and request an explanation from them in no time".

"Thank you, master. I don't need anything from them. It's just that anytime they are mentioned it brings back sad memories" said Kane with tears streaming down his face.

"Its all right. Turn those memories into motivation until nobody will be able to make you cry" replied Abel. "mmmh" Kane agreed and began eating again, albeit much slower this time.

He spent the rest of the day watching TV and spending time in the lounge. Time flew by as it was already the last day for the recruitment examination registration. He waited patiently and discussed the strategy he would take when fighting in the tournament.

It was decided that he would use the power of his adamantine body and dominate his opponents with simple skills like rock body and lunge. This would make him less flashy when compared to other geniuses but also outstanding with his peculiar body at the same time.

…

Time flew quickly and it was already time for the tournament. Tickets had already been sold out to those interested in watching the tournament and the venue should be filled to the brim.

After eating breakfast, he left the hotel and took a taxi to the arena. He got to the arena in a few minutes and paid the fare before stepping out of the taxi. He saw a lot of people heading into the arena and followed them.

At one of the arena's entrance, he was stopped by a guard and he had to show his registration card before he was allowed entry. He was then led to a large room by a storm cradle service disciple since he was a contestant. The room was well furnished and filled with other contestants.

There were thirty-one people in the room. He was the thirty-second person. "These are the other contestants in the mutant realm. The tournament will soon begin so you can rest here before it gets to your turn. This screen here shows the current placement and you can find your opponent.

This screen broadcasts fights between people in the mutant realm so you can learn something from your future opponents" the service disciple explained as he pointed at the two screens hung from the ceiling of the room as he was showing Kane around.

He stopped when he felt there was nothing left to explain. He asked Kane if there were any questions he would like to ask and Kane confirmed that there was nothing more he would like to know. "Okay. When it gets it's time for you to fight, step onto that platform and you will be teleported directly to the stage" said the service disciple as he pointed at the teleportation terminal in a corner of the room.

He wished Kane good luck and stepped out of the room. Kane looked around and observed the faces of everyone in the room. They were all dressed in combat robes and had a kind of haughty air around them. They even looked at him with disdain in their eyes mostly because of his choice of clothing.

He was wearing a white t-shirt and a black jacket over it and jeans trousers. The same clothing that is worn by mortals. He didn't mind and walked closer to the two screens above him. The one broadcasting the live matches was currently displaying nothing as there were no fights currently taking place.

He looked at the screen that displayed placings. He looked for his name and quickly found it. He was going to participate in the third fight of the first round. His opponent was Wahhab Boutros who was in tier 2 of the mutant realm. He wondered who that was but he did not have to look too long.

"Hey you, are you Kane Smith?" Kane heard a deep voice and it didn't take a genius to know that he was the one being talked to. He turned to the origin of the voice and saw a well built man who had a bald head and wore a white combat robe. He seemed to be talking with a group of people before Kane entered the room.

"Yes" replied Kane. "Worthless. Now you have seen your opponent, I advise you do the needful and quit now before I mess up your pretty face" said Wahhab before his group burst out in demeaning laughter. Kane ignored them and found a corner and sat on a sit before closing his eyes.

"Do not reply to our conversation" said Abel. He was afraid that Kane would begin speaking to himself once they began talking.

"Don't worry about these guys. You are all in the mutant realm and cannot project elemental energy from your bodies. What you should be really worried about should be those who have beast blood mutations and those who are in higher tiers than you.

All in all, your various mutations and resistances would make you quite formidable. Only observe their movements and counteract. Don't be on the offensive. First, use your heightened observation with your adamantine body. Combine them with the rock body and lounge as your opening fighting style.

This will help you train your passive and active skills. When the enemy proves to be too difficult, then switch to archery. Remember don't shoot to kill. This is just a competition. If they still have the advantage, use Siruzen's sword. It is an evolved realm weapon. It would give you an edge at the very least" explained Abel. Kane did not respond as agreed but was very attentive to his master's words.

It was soon time for the fights to begin. The first fight was between a woman called Nahla Naifeh who seemed to be in her early twenties and in tier 5 mutant realm and a woman called Nada Asghar who was also in her early twenties and also in tier 5 mutant realm. The two ladies who seemed to both be prodigies stepped on the platform and were teleported onto the fighting stage.

There was a referee who was a middle-aged man that stood in between the two contestants to make sure that they were ready before starting the match. When preparations were made, the referee stepped back and waved his hand to signify the start of the fight.

Nada took out two short swords and switched to a defensive stance while looking at her opponent. Nahla on the other hand bared her claws as her nails turned metallic and extended a few inches. This greatly shocked Nada as this meant that her opponent had a beast blood mutation.

Nevertheless, the fight commenced as the two ladies clashed. Nada seemed to be extremely skilled with her short swords and her movements were swift. She was probably using some speed-boosting skills.

She did not gain the upper hand in the fight though as her opponent Nahla dodged her strikes as if she could read her moves. Nahla's claws were also much more powerful than the generic short swords Nada purchased from the hunter association market place.

It didn't take long before her short swords were shredded by Nahla's claws and the injuries she sustained began to pile up. The referee called off the fight when it was obvious that Nada would die if they continued fighting. Nahla had won.