Explosive damage

Charm and Zinc exchange looks.

The atmosphere in the room felt tense and filled with nervous energy.

What was even more surprising was that some of the candidates for the upcoming test looked restless and vicious. 

As if they were just waiting for the physical part of the examination to start.

So that they could use it as an outlet for their anger and cause explosive damage.

The newcomers to the room were being eyed like hungry slabs of meat.

For predators who relished in exploiting the weak.

Survival of the fittest was definitely the order of the day in the waiting room.

Already candidates were eying each other up and down.

"Charm is that you?" asked Brendan incredulously.

A familiar face with movie star good looks approached her, Charm blushed furiously. 

Her heart rate already felt escalated and on seeing Brendan it felt like a time bomb in her chest that could implode at any second.

"Yes, it's me. Looks like you also got forced into doing this test today," she responded. 

This was not how she wanted them to meet, if it was up to her they would have been back at that breakfast table flirting with each other.

Or perhaps even taking a walk around campus and getting to know their surroundings better like a date, she thought dreamily.

Instead they were all stuck in a cramped waiting room.

There were no windows for light to come into the room.

The room had been clearly designed to hold a large number of people but instead of feeling welcoming it felt the opposite.

Everything just seemed hollow and sterile, to give the illusion of space.

"Are you okay?" asked Brendan worriedly.

Her eyes had glazed over and it reminded Brendan of the time she passed out at the beach. 

"Oh, don't worry about me. I'm fine," Charm answered reassuringly, also wishing the ground would open and swallow her up.

Not to be ignored, Zinc spoke up, "have they given any instructions since you've entered the room?"

"Well, we have to join lines based on our gender, male or female, doesn't matter to them if we identify as rocks. Basically we have to bathe to remove any outside contaminants and change into the gear that they have provided."

"That's the reason why they are all wearing these tacky looking white jumpsuits," interrupted Kat. 

Kat said it so unabashedly.

As if it didn't matter to her that she was caught eavesdropping on their conversation. 

Her admirers were far behind as they brought up the rear.

Those same guys with the exception of Nate.

Who bristled closeby since Kat was always surrounded by Brendan's friends.

"Since we are both girls," Kat smiled as she tugged Charm along in the direction of the female section, "we should stick together."

It was more of a smirk in Charm's opinion.

There was no friendliness in that smile and Kat's body language suggested otherwise.

Charm only went along with Kat because she didn't want to put up a fuss otherwise and have the others think any worse of her. 

Kat had been very deliberate in steering Charm away from Zinc.

Since the boys wanted to talk with him alone. 

Unlike Charm, Zinc wasn't naive.

He knew exactly what the other guys had in mind for him. 

Still his heart hoped that Charm would look back at him but she didn't.

She seemed deep in conversation with Kat. 

"You don't look worried about what we'll do to you," drawled Brendan.

Zinc raised an eyebrow at him, "should I be?"

"Rumors are going around that you killed a Locust General demon with your bare hands and that you are being favored by the superiors here," interjected Adam, Brendan's best friend.

"I'm not surprised that you are all the type to gossip," Zinc said snarkily. 

It wasn't so much what he said but how Zinc said it.

That ticked the group of boys off and they crowded around him and Brendan. 

"Don't go thinking you're special and letting your ego get the best of you, who knows what can happen to you during the test," said Connor.

"Is that a threat?" Zinc questioned. "All this says to me is that Brendan is that much of a coward that he has to have his friends speak for him."

Brendan had also been watching Charm and Kat walk away, he heard his name being called and was drawn back into the conversation.

"I don't need others to speak for me," he said to Zinc. "If I had a problem with you, I would say it myself but you are not worth the energy."

Basically, Brendan was implying that Zinc was so insignificant that it was just a waste of breath to even speak to him which triggered Zinc's temper.

They were deliberately trying to back him into a corner and waste his time.

Somehow they picked up on the fact that being dressed properly in the right gear was a necessary prerequisite to take the test.

Zinc was not going to let these bunch of idiots get him disqualified from the test before he even tried. 

"Out of way," Zinc snapped, he brushed past them and they let him.

They had no choice, they had seen how easily the guards had eradicated that girl earlier for being infested with the demon locust larvae.

Not knowing what their limits were as yet.

The boys didn't want to push their luck by starting a fight with Zinc and drawing the ire of the guards. 

Their eyes followed him closely as he went to join the line for males.

Nate saw him coming and stuck out his feet so Zinc would trip.

As Nate saw an opportunity to ingratiate himself with the group.

No offense to Zinc, it wasn't personal and since Zinc wasn't his friend Nate didn't feel guilty.

The guys laughed and guffawed at Zinc.

They went over to Nate and patted him on the back. 

He was finally on their radar and they wouldn't mind another errand boy. 

Of course, when Zinc fell to the ground his cheeks warmed.

No one offered a hand to help him stand to his feet. 

The spirit guards watched from the sidelines but did not move to intervene.

Zinc simply wasn't worth it. 

"Let him go," said Brendan. "I'm sure we'll have plenty of opportunities later on."