Ch-3

"Okay, so first I need to go to any of the exam points. The one closest to here, will take 2 days to reach without using any of my powers. I think it is better if I save up my power for now, right?" I asked.

"Yes, it is obviously better." Mo said.

I reached the exam point after 2 days. I stayed in a hotel for the remaining 2 days. On the 4th day, there was a huge rush outside the hotel. There were 3 exam points across the planet. Everyone looked excited for the test. The whole city was actually the exam point, so yes, everywhere I went, I saw people nervous, excited or practicing. Then suddenly an announcement came in.

"The stage-1 of the test is to clear this riddle. The riddle will appear in front of you now. Only those who can clear the riddle can continue forward. Best of Luck." The voice said.

The riddle stated, "I am not always cold, but whenever I am, I am too cold. I am the largest of my kind. Thorns can be found here. Remember, that my composition is unlike yours. Come to me, and you pass or else you can mope. The time limit is 4 hours, let's see if you can pass."

"Okay this is not going to be easy." Mo and Me said.

"I know." I responded.

I started cracking my head down. Not always cold meant that it was hot most of the time. Now it is also the largest of its kind. So, the largest warm-blooded animal? But no, it's composition is not like humans. So, it is a plant? A summer plant, and the largest of its kind. I quickly went to a shop and bought an encyclopaedia about flora and fauna. Mo and Me said that it couldn't be a plant, as then it would not have thorns.

"This was it." I screamed with joy.

"What?" They asked.

"See. Thorns mean cactus. Cactus are found in deserts. Deserts are hot in the day, and cold in the nights. And when they are cold, they are extremely cold. Water is the human body's composition, which is the opposite of a desert. So, it is a desert. And, the largest desert is the Sahara Desert in Africa. So, I think we need to go there." I explained.

"Yes, we get it. It does satisfy the riddle. So, how much time will it take to get there?" They asked.

"About 2 hours if I fly. Why?"

"No, because if you are wrong, then you will only get about 1 hour and 30 mins to figure it out." Mo said.

"Yes, think about it carefully." Me said.

What they were saying was true indeed. If I was wrong, I would have wasted both my time and energy to get there. But, as I saw this fit, I thought of giving it a go.

I flew towards Sahara at an extreme speed. I did not use the power in the nature and also did not summon my weapon. It took some time, but I reached the desert. What I saw there was something other than a Desert. It was a huge dome. It had 3 main buildings. 1 of them looked like where we would be having our test. The other one was like a stadium where we would be fighting for our ranks. The third one looked like a normal building. Maybe it was the place to relax, amidst this whole test.

The test building and the stadium were so enormous, that it looked like it could fill a whole state. When I stepped down, it felt even more enormous. The whole place was guarded by the men from the other planets.

I looked around and saw that many of the participants were already there. After the time limit was over, a man appeared in front of us. He told us that he would be conducting the test for us.

He started, "There are… 32,971 participants who passed the stage-1 of the test. I will now explain you all the rules for this test. First, Killing is not allowed in this stage. Second, only 20,000 will be allowed to become Advance Warriors. Now, if you want to know why, then it is because of the criteria set by our superiors. Of course, after the test is over you can retake the test without having this limit. This is only due to the Ranking Test after this. Third, all weapons are allowed in this test. That's it. No questions can be asked. Good luck to all of you."

"Hmm… so, time is of the essence here, as you cannot complete the test after 20,000 people. Also, I will need to watch my back, as attacking others is also allowed until you kill them." I wondered.

"Yes, you are right. You paid more attention to it than I thought you would."

And so, the test started.

We all went inside the building. The building was enormous. It looked like a training field. There were many types of traps and training items inside it. We had to successfully cross the building to become Advanced Warriors. The first test of Stage-2 was very easy. We had 14 tests to clear inside the building. The first one was to dodge huge balls, but they were not very fast. I, like many others, jumped right in. Using the flow of my power throughout my body, I was so fast that I could zap past these balls. I aced the second, third, fourth and fifth test of the phase-2 of the exam.

The 6th test required us to use our power and hit far away targets. People shot out their power of various kinds from their hands, but it didn't break any of the targets. It required for us to summon our weapons. I summoned by bow and arrow and shot out an arrow of wind, and it broke the target. I continued to the next test. All of them required for us to use our weapons. I soon came up to the 12th test. There was a catch here. You needed a partner to pass this test. You had to mix someone else's power with yours and hit a target. It seemed simple enough, but was actually very hard.

Most of the partners who tried to mix their powers, had a very tough time. Mo then told me that powers only mix with similar typing, and don't mix with dissimilar typing.

I didn't know anyone at the exam. Then suddenly a girl came up to me and asked, "Hello, sorry for no introduction, but would you like to mix the powers and attack?"

As I also wanted a partner, I agreed. Our powers were surprisingly extremely similar and we managed to clear the round . The next tests also required partners. We both cleared the tests as fast as we could and finished the exam. We were the 641st and 642nd to pass.

"Thanks for the help." She said.

"Ya, thanks to you too." I replied. "By the way, what is your name?" I asked.

"Oh, I am Asralyn. What about you?" She replied.

"I am Edgar. Nice to meet you."

"Nice to meet you too."

"So, we are all Advanced Warriors now."

"Yes, we are."

"I really like your weapon. That thing which floats around you, and shoots laser beams of light. And you can control them too."

"Oh, yes they are controllable cannons. As my power is of light, I can shoot light beams. They are really powerful. And if I combine 2 or more cannons, they become even more powerful. They can also defend me by forming a shield and teleport me around. I also liked your bow and arrow."

"Oh, that is a wonderful weapon you have there. My bow and arrow are not so special, and I can only bend the arrow's trajectory a little bit. How many of them can you summon at once; those cannons of yours?

"It takes absolutely very less energy to summon them, as it moves openly in the air, and not held by me like usual weapons. I could summon a 1000 of those or even more at my full power, but I can only control 15 at the moment."

"1000!!! And you can control 15 of them at once!!! That's awesome. You really are strong."

"Oh, it is not a big thing actually. I know that there must be way stronger people here than me."

"No, you really are very str…"

I was interrupted by the same guy who had told us the rules in the beginning of the test.

"Now…" He started again, "All the 20,000 gathered here are advanced warriors now. You will now be beginning the Ranking Fights. The first thing for you to do here is find 4 other companions by the end of 24 hours from now. If you cannot find 4 other companions for your fights, then you will be given companions randomly. You can also rest in the building over there. You all have been given separate rooms, so get enough rest until tomorrow's fight. Let the fights begin."

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