Chapter 12. My Entrance Exam! (V)

As soon as I entered the empty ground, I jumped right into the puddle and turned on the lightsaber- this was where the real part of the combat simulator began. 

"Hah!" The first attack came from Hakasa, who withdrew the Akenamaji from the back using the right hand and swung it toward me. The blade was very close to my shoulder tip and I barely avoided the blade by blocking the sword using my own blade, which I just turned on minutes before. I could see the sparkles coming between my lightsaber and the sword. However, even though I used considerable amounts of strength, when I tried to move away from the blade, the blade still hurt my shoulder when I got away - Hakasa indeed had a very powerful blade. 

After I moved away from Hakasa, I balanced myself and aimed my blade to the right hand side to launch my attack on Hakasa's neck. However, as I swung my blade toward Hakasa, while I assumed that my blade was powerful enough to cut the sword in half, it was easily blocked by the sword. What made her sword so powerful that even a laser blade cannot not penetrate? I wondered.

As I was blocked from launching further attacks, I withdrew my lightsaber and tried to find a new spot by swinging the blade toward the lower body. It also didn't work as the speed of my blade couldn't keep up with Hakasa's speed, which she dodged my attack way before I was able to touch her. 

If this was the optimal performance I could have by now, then without the this, I might have been dead by now, I thought. 

After trading attacks between Hakasa and me, even though the injury I took was not lethal, it was still exhausting for me to launch any more attacks. How could I inflict some threat onto Hakasa? If I kept doing this, I would soon be exhausted - but more importantly, when will Jun fight off Marinda and aim his railgun onto Hakasa? 

——-

Jun turned his back and found the movement near the ladder getting to the control room. He soon realized that the person was no one other than Marinda.

"Stop!" Jun said while aiming his railgun at Marinda, "if you climb any step further, I will blow you off the ladder!"

"If you use your railgun in this range, the blast it produces could destabilize the whole structure and both of us could be killed in a second," Marinda responded calmly while climbing up the ladder.

"It doesn't matter as at least I can eliminate one of you," it seemed that Jun won't move his railgun away. 

"That's some nerve you got here. However, if you think about who Araka was facing, you should think twice before you move," Marinda said while positioning her pistol at Jun's knees.

What should I do? Jun thought, even though it was clearly a simulation, how could I overcome this situation? 

"Anyway, since you know this is just a simulation, you could fire at me and report that both of us got the critical hit of 125%, and the session would just come to an end" Marinda changed her tone and said.

——— 

"The jacket is indeed annoying, huh." Just as I became fatigued with Hakasa's constant attacks, Hakasa took off her zipped jacket and changed into the full track-and-field outfit - it didn't make any sense in the middle of the battle as this could lead to more exposures. I could see face turning red and her muscles pumping up and down. 

As the battle between me and Hakasa tied up, I heard a loud noise coming from the crane. It was indeed the sound of the railgun firing. Did Jun eliminate Marinda? Or it was something else.

Meanwhile, right in front of me, Hakasa was launching another attack. She pointed the sword sideway and sprinted toward me, and the exhaustion from the previous attacks was nowhere to see. I positioned my body into a defensive position, but I was uncertain if the wind of the battle was still on my side. 

"Hah!!"

"Araka, move away!" It was the voice of Jun.

My reaction was frozen for a moment, as I didn't know what to do at that point - it was clear that Hakasa's attack was unstoppable, yet I had to abandon my position in order to move away from the puddle. 

"Araka, move away!" Jun called out to me again. 

I tried to move myself backward, but Hakasa's blade was increasingly close to me, which made any movement unrealistic. 

"Got you -" 

In a split second, I saw a light beam was fired at the puddle. It was just moment before Hakasa's blade landed on me, and I could clearly feel both the heat of the beam and the sharpness of the blade. 

Then everything turned white. 

"Simulation ended, please stay where you are."

After a brief seconds of silence and emptiness, Tesa announced the end of the simulation. Was someone eliminated in the session? I was wondering.

After several minutes, everything inside my counsel turned back to reality, with me standing right in front of Hakasa, while Jun and Marinda standing on the ground that was lifted into a platform. In fact, everything in the arena turned into nothing but small rods and props: my lightsaber and Hakasa's sword just turned into thin rods, while Jun's and Marinda's weapons turned into some plastic models that had bare resemblance to the actual weapon. 

"Araka, you can move now. The simulation is over," Hakasa said while waving her right palm in front of my face, signaling me to lower my arm. While I looked around, I found everyone's tight suits were soaked with sweat, and everyone seemed to be tired of everything that had happened until this point. 

"Here is the damage report for the combat simulation:

Jan Jun: 125%

Peni Hakasa: 115%

Peni Araka: 100%

Otanaku Marinda: 5%

"

So it was Jun who triggered the end of the simulation. But what happened? I thought while still unwrapping my head from the simulation. 

"Huh, Good job, everyone," Marinda walked to me as the platform lowered to the ground, "it seemed to be that both of you were very well adapted to a combat situation, even though it was just your first try."

"So Marinda, may I ask why Jun had the highest damage that triggered the end of the simulation?" I asked. 

"Marinda 'shot' me from the back," Jun said, "she got me right after I fired my shot."

"That was indeed some lethal shot," Hakasa commented while still panting, "you basically boiled the water we stood upon."

"So would we get our green armbands?" Jun asked.

"Well," Hakasa said, "I think the instructors said before that your score in this session doesn't really matter, as your rating had already given you a pass for this entrance exam."

"Hakasa was right. That's why I tried to give you an option to end this session earlier. I was really impressed that you still put all your best effort into this session."

"Thank you instructor Hakasa and Marinda," I said while still trying to catch my breath, "I'm looking forward to becoming an SAIR agent just like you."

"Instructor Hakasa, do we have more stuff to do after this?" I asked. 

"I don't think so. For your case, you pretty much prove your ability and reflex for combat situations. If you're talking about something else, then I think you need to meet your own division instructors first."

"Umm, but instructor Marinda, I was still wondering about one thing. So why are there 'sorceries" in an institution like the SAIR, as If I remembered correctly from the guideline, the SAIR was mainly focused on scientific research and investigation, and it seems to be things like mage and sorcery was something never would be mentioned in places like this," Jun asked.

"Well, that was a bit complicated," Marinda said. "Indeed, at least in the public, we're indeed presented as a hybrid of research institutions and special investigation units. However, in recent years, as your if instructors had mentioned, we are facing increasing challenges and complexities during our investigation, and we are also seeing a rise of criminals taking advantage of the supernatural powers for their crime. While I was initially not part of the SAIR, the upper level seemed to be interested in developing new tactics for the missions. I'm not sure about the other branch of the SAIR, but at least it was the case for our branch."

"So what type of 'spell' do you use, if that's how you call it?" I asked.

"Me? Mine is the one that could interfere with the gravity field. I won't disclose too much here, but basically it's really useful to counter geological phenomena and manipulation of the magnetic field. Still, it's not that powerful as you see in anime or comics, but it's a handy one." I couldn't believe something like this could actually exist in this world, I thought.

"So do they have somewhere where I can learn these spells?" Jun asked 

"Actually, this is not under the jurisdiction of the SAIR, as you see from the official documents with no mention of it. It was still part of, what I could call, a 'partnership' with some local partners. It's still hard to master these skills as even to this day, many of the techniques were still considered too advanced and even destructive that they never really released it to the public."

"Come on Marinda, I think you may have spilled too much by now. They're just new recruits and not even full time agents," Hakasa said."

"Don't worry Hakasa, I swear we will never tell anyone else, not even our instructors," Jun felt guilty about asking too much.

"Just kidding, just kidding," Hakasa said, "but at least you know more about our institution and know why we have Araka here. Anyway, I think we can conclude our session by now. Let's get ourselves changed and maybe I can report to your instructors after."

After getting into the changing room and taking off the tight suit, I finally felt relief from the battle. This was perhaps one of the more calming showers I had ever had, even more calming than the ones after those competitions. Indeed, I found my underwear being soaked in sweat. 

However, just as I was getting into the shower, I saw Hakasa and Marinda was heading the same way after me.

"Agent Marinda and Hakasa," I immediately grabbed a towel to wrap myself around, making sure I'm not fully naked in front of them. 

"Don't worry, Araka, you don't have to do that," Marinda said with her recognizable smile, "we came here because the shower from the other changing room was broken."

"I see. Yeah I don't mind sharing the locker room with you, since we're around the same age."

While Marinda and Hakasa taking off the suit, I took a look at them. I found Hakasa indeed had a good looking physique, just like the one shown in the simulation. She looked quite similar to me as if I were more tanned; meanwhile Marinda was just like a typical girl from the northeast with much lighter skin and broader shoulders. 

"Araka, you get a nice body shape. Are you by any chance in competitive sports?" Hakasa asked.

"Yeah, I'm part of my school's track and field team, and I do 1k and 3k running."

"That's good, I also did running before joining SAIR," this may explain why I may have heard Hakasa's name before.

"Ah, Araka," while Marinda was taking off her suit, she turned to me and sniffed for a bit, "you smell quite refreshing even after such intense training. What brand of deodorant or perfume did you use?" 

"Ugh, thank you. It's just the one I usually use," I replied and grabbed it from my locker in my changing room, "it's not that easy to find though, as I bought it in Astoria, but why?"

Marinda took me to the side and whispered to my ear: "Because Hakasa always got that smell after training, which I don't really like to be honest. I told her to get one but she always said that most ones on the market don't work. The price doesn't really matter as I can make it as a gift."

"Hey, what are you talking about?" Hakasa seemed confused while turning her head to me while raising her right arm, " Araka, do you think I smell bad at this point?"

"Umm, I think it's a good time to get rid of that suit and take a shower now," I said.

After putting on my normal clothes, I walked out of the changing room and saw everyone else outside.

"Sara-cha!" it was Tenka who talked to me first, "why did it take so long for your session? I thought something went wrong for yours."

"It's just because our session was quite complex. I mean, we had to do both training and combat in the same session," Jun explained, "How was yours going, Sukeo, Tenka, and Okuri?"

"It was quite straightforward for me," Sukeo said, "in fact most of the time it was just the instructors asking questions about my ability as a researcher."

"For mine, I did quite a bit of range training and used my crossbow to shoot some targets," Okuri said, "it was quite fun though."

"For mine, I just did a scenario of performing first aid in some emergency situations, which was a bit tricky since they only gave me a quite small time frame. Still, I managed to pass it at the last minute," Tenka said.

"Hello, my fellow candidates," it was Marinda and Hakasa who also exited from the changing room, "so I'm Marinda, and this is Hakasa. We're all full time active agents at the SAIR North II Branch. Hope you have enjoyed your sessions. So I remembered correctly, you were with Jinlin when you came here, right?"

"Yes," I said. 

"Well she told me that the car would be ready any chance by now, and I explained to her why this session takes so long. Anyway, very nice to meet all of you, though me and Hakasa still have other things to do. If you have any questions regarding our division or branch in general, Jinlin is a very good resource."

After we dismissed Hakasa and Marinda, we walked to the main lobby to meet with Jinlin.

"So Araka, do you know that 'Hakasa' girl by any chance? She looked pretty much like you. Is she your relative?" Okuri asked, while showing his curiosity. 

"Umm, you could say that since she is part of the Peni clan, though my mother never mentioned her name."

"So it's pretty much the end of the entrance exam, right?" Jun said, "Does anyone has any idea about what's going on next?"

"I think our next step might be the final interview, in which we need to be clarified about our consent to become an SAIR agent."

While we were on the way, a group of SAIR agents stopped us. 

"Excuse me, may I ask if you're Peni Araka, Jan Jun, Hikutani Okuri, Yoiki Sukeo, and Peni Tenka?" They displayed their ID while talking, which showed that they were agents from SAIR Central.

"Yes," Sukeo answered.

"Sorry for disrupting your conversation. As you see here, we're the agents from SAIR Central who are responsible for the final part of this entrance exam, in which you will consent your allegiance to the SAIR, and after that you will pick up your documents and certificate next morning at the dormitory lobby. It is still possible, if you want, to be opted out from this, so we will reconsider your candidacy any time you want to join us again at your local branch at a later time. I know it may be a hard choice for some of you, but it shouldn't be too hard for you as you already had conversations with some leaders from the SAIR Central. This is also a good opportunity for you to express your questions and concerns about being an SAIR intern, as we will accommodate whatever you mentioned for your best experience. Meanwhile, we have reserved five rooms for each of you, and we have also assigned agents to help you finalize your registration with us. Please come with us."

As such, we followed the staff and entered the room designated for each of us.

"Take a seat," as soon as I entered my designated room, I found my corresponding staff member, who was a young man wearing glasses and looked like someone who's around 30 years old.

"So you're Peni Araka, as shown on this ID, right?" The man sitting in front of me asked and showed me the photocopy of my ID.

"Yes," I replied.

"Very nice to meet you, Araka. I'm Jinyong, ID BJ48-C4212, from the SAIR Central 4th branch responsible for the New Capital Region. Let's start the conversation now, shall we?"

The beginning of the interview was very straightforward, which was just about the performance during the entrance exam. It was hard to imagine how much I had accomplished so much during the last three days. While regarding my special skill and my matake, he told me that I would also develop those skills after I meet with my assigned instructor, who would be Huashin.

"So here concludes my summary for your performance and your upcoming tasks. What would be your primary concern regarding joining the SAIR? Don't worry, everything here will be confidential."

I raised my hand and said: "I would like to use a different name during the missions."

"That is?"

"Sara, Peni Sara," I said.

"May I ask why?"

"I think it's a family thing, I guess. My mom worries a lot about my privacy and safety, and she said I could not sign documents with my real name until the age of 18. As such, I want to use the other name my mom gave me."

"That makes sense. We know that it's really rare for someone with such a sensitive family background to be in the SAIR. Of course, we will accommodate that."

"But I still want to have a normal life as much as possible. I mean, I don't want anyone I know to find out I work for the SAIR and drag them into danger."

"That's okay. We have something special here," Jinyong grabbed a box from a document storage box below the table: "This is called a conceal mask. While it may seem invisible, it will make your face untraceable on cameras and even on pictures. Basically, you will always be remembered as Sara while you're in this mask, while Araka without this. To put it on, place it in front of your face and the mask will stick onto your face quickly. To take it off, apply some water evenly and it will just come off. You could try it on to see if you're comfortable with it."

I put on the mask and opened my phone to see if my face could be recognized by my phone. Surprisingly, I felt nothing when I was under the mask. While I try to line my face with the camera, I found that my face recognition no longer works.

"Now take off the mask," Jinyong handed me a cup of water.

I applied some water on my face and I could feel the mask peeled off quickly. When I turned on my phone, it was unlocked as soon as I took off my mask - it indeed works.

"How was it?" Jinyong asked.

"I feels quite good, like I couldn't feel anything on my face," I said, "but how could I make sure the others don't know about it, I mean I would be absent from school if there were missions during my school days."

"Of course, I have to clarify here: your friends and classmates will eventually know it. However, they should feel proud of you being in the SAIR. While for your concern of exposing your friends in danger, what we consider is that we will not send you directly to frontline missions, as the current agenda goes. Since you're just an intern, we will most likely keep you at the back bench to make things easier and let you learn about the skills. Basically, it's similar to being in a mandatory conscription program, in which you at least could have some of the leadership skills and military skills you would not learn elsewhere, while also contributing to society. Since you said you really want to save people, we may give you some missions, but you will always be accompanied and protected by Huashin, who from my understanding is among one of the top agents in the SAIR Central. Also, we have also added consent with your parents and they have a perfect idea about what is going to happen. If they let you in, your parents must be proud of you."

"I see. Then I think we can proceed."

"So for the first month, you will move away from your original school and study in our own school. You can still greet your classmates at the beginning of the semester, but they will know you're in some kind of extracurricular schooling, as it was perfectly permitted by the government. After that, you will go back to your school twice a week to catch up on necessary courses. During the one month period, we will offer these courses at our training facilities, which will also always look like normal institutions."

"What about the school uniform?"

"You will keep your original school uniform whenever you're off mission. However, we will issue you both combat and civilian uniform prior to your first visit to the local branch, along with special backpacks that look exactly the same as ones you can get on the market, in which you can put on the zipped hoodie whenever an emergency happens. But all of these would be after your initial training."

"I see."

"So we have checked these. Now here are several terms that we need to to ratify, basically we want to make sure you don't leak informants and information about our organization to anyone outside of the organization without permission from your instructor, who in this case will be Huashin and Haseku…"

After a few questions and forms regarding my background and consent for confidentiality, I gave my signature to the final form - I had formally become a member of the SAIR. However, even with the excitement in my mind, I still have to wait until the process finalized.

Jinyong looked at the form I signed and paused for a second. After several seconds of silence, Jinyong stood up and gave me a hand.

"Welcome home, Provisional Agent Peni Sara of the SAIR Central."