Chapter 28 - Teamwork Exam(Part 1)

"Quiet, you brats! I'm about to announce the four teams and the content of your teamwork exam. Don't come crying to me if you missed something because you weren't paying attention while I was talking!"

It was the next day, and I was back at the Academy for the third and final exam...of the first month. Kumar was going to take fifteen minutes to give us the rundown on what this exam was going to entail, after which we'd be given an hour to familiarize ourselves with our assigned teammates, and discuss stuff like how we could work in tandem, in order to score points in the exam. Also, Kumar had activated his Primary Manifestation, though at a height of five meters instead of the maximum of fifty.

I was tempted to bring it up, but it wasn't my style to speak up when so many people were around, I was nowhere near that extroverted. I'll mention it the next time he and my sister come over to my pl-...huh, they'd been coming over so regularly that in my head, it felt like a routine thing without me even realizing it. Anyway, he then began breaking down the teams for the exam. He'd better have not grouped me with any of the people I specifically asked him not to.

As it turned out, the three people who I'd be teamed up with were Suri Patel, Zoya Sokolova and Taayin Sharma. Of the three, Zoya was the only one who I'd describe as unproblematic...Suri was the type who was perpetually stuck in a bad mood, and Taayin had those crazy eyes that made me super nervous and uncomfortable. Maybe I should have just given Kumar a specific list of the people I'd be okay with teaming up with...well, ideally, I'd team up with none, but that wasn't really an option in this exam.

And then he got to the exact details of the exam. Each team would head out to a different Teleportation Point, which would teleport them to a spot outside the Sanctuary, into sort of underground bunkers that opened up to the outside, where we'd roam around and fight Mutants. Accompanying each team would be an instructor, to observe, and step in if things got too dangerous or out of hand.

Huh, I...really didn't expect this, I didn't think I'd get to go outside the Sanctuary till I was an X-Warrior. Oh, and each team would be assigned a leader, based on how they scored in the XFE combat exam. I'd passed it with a pretty decent score, but each person only knew their own scores, so I had no idea where I'd placed. After a few more minor details and clarifications, he revealed who the team leaders would be...

"Okay, this team's leader is...huh...actually, two of you got the exact same score in yesterday's exam...Zoya Sokolova and...Kilzachs Light. Uh...they didn't tell me what to do if this happened. In which case, there's only one option, one way to do this fairly...you two will battle it out in rock-paper-scissors to decide who the leader will b-."

Oh, hell no.

"Wait! Can I just defer the role to her by default?" I interrupted immediately in protest..

Come on, help me out here...

"Any specific reason?" He inquired with a raised eyebrow.

Well, duh.

"Of course I have a reason...I really don't wanna."

...maybe I shouldn't have been so blunt.

"You know...if you'd been able to come up with a half-decent excuse, I might have able to do that for you, but honestly isn't always the best policy, Zax," He remarked with a sigh, "Rock-paper-scissors it is."

Well, whatever...if I lose, I'll just try again.

"<Activate Anomaly, Tier One: Save>."

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.

.

.

.

It took five tries, but eventually, I won. What the hell...she didn't throw out the same sign each time, first she put out rock, then on my first do-over, she put out scissors, then rock again, then paper, and finally, scissors in this last round, when I finally won. Okay, so I learnt something new...when I use Load, it doesn't guarantee that the events I already went through would repeat exactly as they did previously...guess that means stuff like fate and destiny are totally bullshit.

Man, what a waste of twenty percent of my XFE. Anyway, each team was seperated into a training hall, where we'd be given an hour to discuss strategy and whatnot. And I had to play nice and genuinely try to work with these people if I wanted to pass this exam...what a fucking pain in the ass. Thank fuck I'm not the leader of this team, that'd make the situation even worse.

I decided to set a new Save point now, so that if the exam went badly and I ended up using a significant amount of XFE, I'd have time to recover it...not to mention that I'd be able to discuss a better strategy based on my experience of the previous attempt...I can't forget that the outcome isn't set in stone though, the second and subsequent attempts could be a lot different to the first.

"Let's discuss how we should proceed once the exam begins. First, let's all introduce ourselves, along with a rundown of our abilities so that we're all aware of what each other can do...is that okay with everyone?" Inquired Zoya, looking around the group.

"Yeah, whatever," Suri replied with a shrug.

"If I must," Remarked Taayin, a look of disinterest on his face.

"Uh...what they said," I added awkwardly.

She looked a bit miffed at the less-than-enthusiastic responses.

"...I suppose I'll go first. I'm Zoya Sokolova, and I fight using rapiers that I form using my X-Abilities, I'm at my strongest and most effective at close range. I have the Light Attribute, and I can heal minor injuries like cuts, bruises, scrapes and fractures at a fairly fast pace using my palms or the bottoms of my manifested rapiers, though I can't heal major injuries like broken bones or deep stab wounds. That's about it, I think...who wants to go next?"

No one responded for a few seconds, until Taayin spoke up with a sigh.

"First off, loving the enthusiasm levels we got going on here...anyway, I'm Taayin Sharma, my X-Abilities let me tear apart my targets with my PM, and my SM lets me restrain my target for five minutes if I touch their skin directly. Oh, and I got the Dark Attribute."

"Your Secondary Manifestation sounds like it could be very useful, thank you for that detailed introduction, Taayin...okay, then, who's next?" Asked Zoya, staring between Suri and I.

I decided to go next, since Suri looked like she'd already made up her mind to go last, and it'd be more awkward if neither of us spoke up, so I bit the bullet and went next.

"Uh...hi, I'm Kilzachs Light. I can fight at any range, though I'd say I'm probably strongest at long-range, I'm pretty confident in my accuracy, if nothing else. Uh, what else...I have the Dark Attribute and...that's about it, I guess."

Real smooth. Anyway, I managed to get through it, that left Suri...

"Suri Patel...my Primary Manifestation is a chainsaw and my Secondary lets me fling out shuriken. Either close range or mid range works for me. And I have the Wind Attribute."

With that, introductions were done, but now there was a bit of an awkward silence. Zoya looked like she was trying to think of something to say, but wasn't having any luck with that. Seriously? What's she so confused about, I mean, just jump straight to the point...okay, this isn't going anywhere, I'll see if I can jumpstart this thing by prompting her.

"So, uh...we should discuss our battle formation or whatever, if we each know what our role is and stick to it, things should go smoothly," I spoke up uncomfortably.

"Oh, yes...right, let's begin!" Exclaimed Zoya, clapping her hands loudly, after giving me a grateful look, "Hm, all of us can fight at close-range, but it would obviously be a waste, not to mention unproductive, to have everyone fight up front...and we would probably get in each other's way too. At most, two of us should be up at close-range, and of the two others, one at mid-range, and the other at long-range. How about this, Taayin and I fight in close-range, Suri at mid-range with her shurikens, and Kilzachs at long-range?"

"Actually, can I be at close-range?" Suri requested, looking displeased.

"W-well, the problem is that Taayin and I don't have any ranged attacks, so-."

"I don't care what we do, I'm happy so long as I'm at close-range, the rest of you can do whatever you want," Chimed in Taayin.

A few seconds later, the three of them were in a full-blown argument...well, technically, Taayin and Suri were arguing over which of them should be fighting at close-range, while Zoya was desperately trying to calm them down. Well, until she snapped.

"Fine! You two idiots can fight up front if you want it so bad, but don't expect me to be of any help at mid-range!"

...the longer this discussion went on, the worse the strategy became...I really didn't want to do much talking, but at this rate, they were going to drag me down with them and I'd fail this exam. Let's see, given their unreasonable demands regarding positions in the formation, I only saw one solution that didn't involve spending energy trying to convince them to change their minds...

"Why don't all three of you fight at close-range?" I interrupted them.

The finally stopped yelling and turned their attention to me...okay, this is very uncomfortable.

"I don't know...isn't that too risky, we might end up getting in each other's way, and won't it be too difficult for to cover all three of us from long-range?" Replied Zoya skeptically.

"I really don't care so long as I'm up front," Added Taayin with a creepy gleam in his eyes.

"Yeah, what he said," Agreed Suri.

Okay, let me think...I had seen each of them fight, during the training exercise against Instructor Satou, and based on what I'd seen, what would be the best way to utilize each of us?

"I got it...Zoya and Suri, try working together, Zoya can attack fast and aggravate the Mutants and draw them in, back away, and then, Suri can finish them off with her chainsaw. As for Taayin...I think you should just fight as you please. If we assign you a restrictive role, you'll almost definitely not stick to it, so we might as well account for that right away. Also, fight well away from the other two, that's the only thing you need to keep in mind...that aside, feel free to cut loose. Since you two will be fighting in tandem as a pair, and he'll be fighting off on his own, it'll feel like I'm covering two people instead of three. The main issue is...will you two girls be able to work together effectively?"

Finally done, that was way too much talking for my liking, they better not ask me to repeat anything.

"Wow, you're really blunt, and you've got me totally figured out, it's kinda spooky...heh, you've got balls for a Dud, man!" Laughed Taayin with a look of amusement, smacking my back.

Ow...

"You shouldn't use that term," Frowned Zoya disapprovingly, before adding, "Hm, on paper, that's a pretty solid plan, all things considered...but unless all of us perform our roles near-perfectly, it could fall apart."

"Personally, I'm not worried about covering you guys, I'm perfectly confident in my aim. But I totally get it if you're unwilling to take my word for it...how about we go through a few basic moves? You two try fighting the training dummies in tandem, and I'll back you up from the other end of the training hall...I'll use Phantom Mode if you want. If this goes well, we should be able to trust each other during the actual exam," I suggested.

Talk about incompetent, forcing me to speak so much just to avoid failing. Anyway, they agreed to my suggestion. Oh, yeah, I got myself a replacement X-Blaster for the one I busted in my duel against Seila yesterday. I got the same model, X-Wr-0-2115, since I figured it'd be too risky to get something I'm not used to. Though it doesn't matter too much since I'd be relying on my X-Pistols this time, since they had a longer range and higher penetrative power.

As it turned out, I didn't have any problem backing them up, I just needed to predict their movements in the split second it takes for me to fire my X-Pistols and for the shot to reach my target, and avoiding hitting either of them became a cinch. Of course, that meant that I could only fire when I had a clear shot, I'd have to hold when they were in my line of fire.

Kumar had given all the teams wireless communicators that latched onto our ears, which let out communicate even when we were too far to clearly hear each other. They were pretty useful, especially since I could let the girls know when I couldn't cover them, or I could even tell them to do something like 'duck on my signal' and use that opening to take out the target.

"I think that's enough, we shouldn't waste too much XFE," I called out, after using up about eight percent.

At the minimum output setting, my X-Pistols consumed two percent of my XFE per every five shots fired, and at the maximum output setting, they consumed four percent per every five shots fired.

"Huh...I thought you were being a little arrogant earlier, but your confidence in your shooting is totally justified...," Remarked Taayin, letting out a whistle.

"Oh, uh...thanks, I guess."

I have no idea how to respond to compliments. We still had about ten minutes left before we'd have to head out, and we were using that time to rest up a bit, seated at the sidelines.

"Hey, I've been wondering about something ever since the team leaders were announced...do you know Instructor Silva, outside of the Academy, I mean?" Asked Zoya curiously.

How did she...?

"Well, I...uh, what makes you say that?"

"When you told him that you didn't want to be leader...he called you Zax. He doesn't seem like the type to call someone he doesn't know well by a nickname, so...," She pointed out.

Crap, did he? I can't remember...

"Yeah, I guess we kinda know each other, uh...he's a classmate of my older sister's, I found that out after the first day he showed up," I replied honestly, though I left out the little detail of who my sister was.

"Oh, that makes sense, I guess...if you don't mind me asking, why didn't you want to lead? You clearly have a knack for analysis and problem-solving, even if you are a bit awkward when it comes to talking."

I feel attacked...

"There's a lot of reasons, I guess...I'm not used to talking to people normally, I don't like getting too much attention, and maybe I am good an analyzing, but I'm definitely not good at leading people. I couldn't give an inspirational speech to save my life."

"You're kind of a pessimist, aren't you?"

Stop asking me questions, I mean, I literally just said that I'm not used to talking to people and that I don't like attention.

"Not really, I wouldn't strictly label myself as such."

Seriously though, what's with the interrogation? I mean, she'd only asked two questions, but I felt like I was being grilled...

"Hey, I have a question! Would you kill someone?" Inquired Taayin with a look of interest.

"What kind of question is that?" Sighed Zoya with a disapproving look.

"The type of question that can really give you a clear idea of what a person's like."

Huh, that actually was a good question...would I kill someone if I had the chance?

"Depends on the situation, I guess...like, for example, if I came across a child molester about to molest a child, yeah, I probably wouldn't have any qualms about killing him."

"...maybe you should picked a darker example," Remarked Suri sarcastically.

Yeah, I regretted it as soon as I said it, my bad.

"Okay, I guess my question was kinda vague...lemme be more specific, if there was someone you hated, and I mean REALLY hated, and this person isn't a criminal or anything, but you happen to get the chance to kill this person and get away with it...would you do it?" Rephrased Taayin, waiting for my answer with an expectant look.

The instant he said the word 'hated', Tairo's face popped into my head...hm, if I was in a situation where I could kill that bastard and get away with it, I...

"...I'd kill him without a second thought," I blurted, thinking out loud before I could stop myself.

"H-hey, your face kinda got scary for a second there," Said Zoya with a slightly nervous look.

"Hell, yeah, that's what I'm talking about! You totally get it, man...heh, I didn't know Duds could be so cool!"

"Prodigies or not, we're all humans, there's no difference," Retorted Zoya with a frown.

"Whatever, miss goody two-shoes, get that stick out of your ass. Besides, look, he doesn't seem to mind!"

"I mean...I'm used to it, but I'd still prefer to not be called a Dud...either way, it's not like the world will end, so I guess it doesn't really matter."

"Don't get me wrong, I'm not particularly trying to demean you or whatever, I just like saying it cuz we're not supposed to say it, it's kinda like our generation's n-word, you know?" Laughed Taayin light-heartedly.

I...sort of understood that, weirdly enough.

"...you're awful," Sighed Zoya, glaring at him.

"Hey, dumbasses...," Suri suddenly spoke up.

"Oh, uh...what?" Responded Zoya.

"You responded to 'dumbass', huh, that's like admitting that you really are a dumbass...anyway, look at the time."

"You little-...!" Growled Zoya, her eyebrow twitching in irritation, before trailing off with a frown.

"Oh, looks like the hour's up. We should get outside," I remarked, checking the time.

"Huh? Yeah, you're right...let's hurry!"

I'll fast-forward a bit, we left the training hall, exited the Academy, got into a shuttle bus along with an instructor, which took us to an X-Warrior facility. Once we were there, we were made to step onto a teleportation platform, which would teleport us to the underground bunker.

Apparently, there were dozens of these bunkers outside the Sanctuary, and they were used as bases from which X-Warriors could hunt Mutants from. Each of the four teams that our class had been split into were assigned to different bunkers, all four were in areas that were mostly occupied by J and Q-Ranked Mutants.

We teleported to an underground bunker a little ways east of the Sanctuary, the bunker turned out to be a medium-sized facility made of reinforced metal. It had food reserves, running water, a room filled X-Weapons, and about twenty-five rooms with simple beds and bathrooms. It also had a couple of training halls, an infirmary with a row of ten Healing Pods, first-aid kits and other medical stuff. Guess X-Warriors sometimes spend multiple days in these bunkers. As for how we'd get above ground, there was a large platform that went up, effectively an elevator.

It was wide enough for about fifteen to twenty people to comfortably fit on it. Only X-Warriors were authorized to activate it though, which is why the instructor in charge of our team was also an X-Warrior. Instructor Alyssa Reed, she was an instructor for Level K students. She had long blonde hair that went down to her waist, blue eyes, and a polite but strict expression.

"It's time to get moving, students, hop onto the platform," She instructed, moving her I-Watch towards the platform's scanner after we all got on.

As she did, it began moving, rising up at a rhythmic pace. We were heading straight for the dark ceiling though...as we neared the top, a narrow red light beamed down from the ceiling, Instructor Reed moved the face of her I-Watch towards the light. The ceiling then let out a hiss, and began parting down the middle, slowly opening up.

A yellowish light hit my eyes, causing me to blink a couple of times and rub my eyelids, as the light got brighter and brighter...and then, we were outside. Woah...so that's the sky, the real sky...and those are clouds...and this breeze, it felt different to the artificially generated winds inside the Sanctuary...and this radiating heat beating down on me, it was so pleasantly warm...I was in absolute awe, as for the first time in my life, I witnessed and experienced real sunlight...

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