Hunter Exam (3)

Tyr paid close attention to how the exam was going to go.

'Since only one person got called, I guess that means that this isn't going to be a team exam. I wonder why they call 20 people at a time then? Time management?' He could only imagine.

The first contestant entered the arena by jumping off of the railing and falling 20 feet before landing on the ground.

It was a seemingly old man wearing a white kimono. He also had a wooden sword sheathed on his waist.

"Begin!" The voice from the speaker shouted.

As soon as it did, something began to materialize from the stone floor in front of the examinee.

The crowd of examinees made slight reactions of surprise as a punching box formed out of seemingly malleable stone in front of their very eyes.

It was a box with a small punching bag hanging down under it.

Tyr furrowed his brows, 'Strength is first...' He kept note of how each part of the exam went.

The old man unsheathed his sword, swiping at the punching bag and tearing it into pieces.

Slight noises murmured from the examinees as they saw this.

'I see...' Tyr mused, 'So it doesn't have to come from a punch or anything like that. You can use weapons...'

Time quickly passed as Tyr continued observing the exams that came and went.

Everyone was first tested in what seemed to be their striking ability. Each strike was given a rating.

"45!"

"32!"

"66!"

Afterward, they were forced to dodge a single Aura bullet shot at them at high speed. Similarly, each person was also rated on their speed.

"52!"

"69!"

"22!"

'It seems we are graded on a grade from 1-100.' Tyr surmised from these results.

After these two tests, the exam took on a more unique turn. The stone materialized into different beasts that the examinee had to fight off.

Up until his turn came around, Tyr imagined that the beast had to have been based on the speed and strength of the examinee since each creature was very distinct.

"Next, Tyr!" The voice called through the speaker after about 25 or so minutes of waiting.

Tyr hopped down into the arena. As he did, his eyes scanned the 5 groups of people standing above him near the railings.

They had been almost nonexistent during the entire examination process, not moving an inch.

Sure, they were communicating with each other, but other than that their slight murmurs from the distance didn't mean anything.

"Oi!" A familiar voice abruptly sounded from one of the groups.

Tyr squinted his eyes and narrowed down the place where the voice came from.

He looked at a group that had 5 people in it. The two in front were girls. Tyr couldn't see how they were dressed or how they looked properly from this distance.

Behind the two girls was a super tall guy who Tyr instantly recognized, and also a guy of average height who wore glasses--who Tyr also recognized.

'Jonas and Yurin...'

Finally, out from all four of them walked a midget--around 5'6 ft. in stature.

Tyr's eyes expanded, "H-Hanzo!?" He yelled in shock, "What the hell are you all doing here?"

Hanzo had his arms crossed. He was smirking as he stood over the railings and stared at the young teen.

"What do you mean, why am I here? I wanted to see how you would perform. I brought you here... I don't want to just leave you to fail." 

"Really? Because you left me instantly all by myself as soon as I got here."

"Oh, shut up and stop whining. Isn't your test beginning? Focus on that!"

Tyr looked around, "Who are these people? More Hunter Squads?"

"Bingo!" Jonas yelled from behind Hanzo.

Now that he was closer, Tyr could get a better look at all of the teams.

A few people in front of their groups were stoic, their expressions stern and their body language hostile.

Others, however, smiled at Tyr as though they had known him for a while.

"Let's see what you can do, Hanzo's dog!" A tall man in front of one of the groups yelled, a grin on his face as his team laughed. He wore black leather clothing--similar to some sort of rockstar--and had long black hair that seemed to be held up by gel or something.

On hearing this remark, Hanzo's face remained fully stoic--a gentle smile on his face and his eyebrows loose. His squad didn't make a single move either, totally unaffected. They didn't even turn their head toward the guy who made the comment.

"What did you say?" Tyr turned, facing the rockstar-looking guy with furrowed brows.

The guy simply smiled in reaction to him, not saying a word as his squad continued to laugh.

At this moment, Tyr felt the eyes of all the other squads zone in on him.

'Oh...' Tyr realized at that moment, 'They are trying to see how I react. They probably want a calm and collected guy that doesn't take offense to words.'

Tyr turned away from the guy who yelled at him...

'But to me, ignorance is cowardice. I'll deal with this test first. It's a bigger priority than that idiot.' Tyr wasn't just going to let any insult like that slide though.

"Begin!" The announcer yelled through the speakers.

Tyr prepared himself as the punching box and bag formed in front of him.

He unsheathed his spear, 'I'm not taking any chances. Soul Mend: Polaris Tiger.'

His body transformed, growing in size and changing in visual. The squads seemed intrigued by this ability.

Slight murmurs of conversation sprouted from Tyr's transformation.

Yurin was especially taken aback, "He first had that super speed, which I thought was an Ancestral Ability... but now even more?" He said under his breath to his squad.

Even the other examinees were impressed, conversing amongst themselves.

"Huh? How is he transforming without an Aura Core?"

"Does he have an Ancestral Ability?"

"Then he shouldn't be taking the physical exam..."

For those who had an Aura Core, their Hunter Test was less of a test and more of a confirmation.

They would place their hands over an Aura Orb, which would confirm and describe what Ancestral Ability they exactly had.

Knowing this, almost everyone was naturally at a loss.

Tyr tightened his grip on the spear, 'It's a bit weird to hold a weapon in this form. I'll need a lot more practice. But for one attack, I'll be fine.'

He held the spear with both hands, preparing himself to attack as he spread his feet apart.

All the squads looked at Tyr's vigorous stance with varying feelings of excitement, curiosity, disdain, and even jealousy perhaps...

'Come on, Tyr.' Hanzo thought to himself, smiling slightly.

At that moment, Tyr lunged forward--forcefully thrusting his spear directly into the punching bag.

*BOOM*