A Failure's hopeful Journey

You Xi Wang riding on a black and silver chrome lev bike caught many eyes. He was looking very manly. Soon he reached the school and parked his Lev-bike. He came to his classroom and greeted his classmates. His team was already on the way. He took his seat, spent some time chatting with the people. Girls were trying to play with Maya but the furred beauty dug her head in the sling having no intention to mingle. Allan was the first one to arrive.

Allan sat behind You Xi Wang and shroud sat on the desk in front of You Xi Wang with Maya. These two looked good, and Shroud just sat there in silence. Fenny and Neo came together. The boy was threatened by Fenny, that if he did not pick her up, then she will trim his mane-like hair. Yuki was the last one, and she looked beautiful in a black top and blue jeans. The pups ran after each other, turning the class atmosphere lively. 

Maddison soon walked in with the help of a student, stood on the podium, and said to You Xi Wang and his team, "Team Phantoms, there is a slight change in the exam today. You will take the written test first, then the essay. After you are done with that, you take the practical assessment. Any problems?"

The five people stood up and shook their heads. They were asked to go out and report to the examination hall where they will take the exam. A special team of invigilators was present there when the group reached. The invigilators asked them to queue up through the scanner. They will be frisked to see if they are carrying any cheats on them. If they were found to be carrying anything, that would lead to an instant DQ and expulsion from the school. After the checking, they were led to their designated seats. The desks were cordoned off with a special compound which prevents the examinee from using the spiritual probe to cheat. The components of this compound were kept secret, as if used in a battle it will be extremely dangerous for the forces of the council. 

The examiners watched the clock and at 10 o'clock the exam started. The whole process was digital, the examinees were required to use a stylus and write the answers on the screen. This was to not forget the basic foundation of humanity n the age of technology. The time allowed for this section was just one hour and forty-five minutes. The next fifteen minutes were allocated for the vocal interview. You Xi Wang's stylus moved at a constant speed and he kept answering the questions one by one. There was no fluctuation on his face. He only used one hour and ten minutes to finish the exam paper, the rest of the time was spent double-checking his answers.

The invigilator spoke, "Hand in the solution paper, please."

The group of young people did as told and submitted the screen to the invigilator. The invigilator then asked them all some questions. They were all tested by different invigilators. They were then asked to write an essay, and this was an important thing so none of them could slack off. The essay composition was a time of thirty minutes. You Xi Wang wrote the heading in clean and graceful handwriting. His handwriting skills were taught to him by his mother, yet it looked sharp and straight. The essay was titled, The World In a Nutshell. This essay summarized what You Xi Wang felt from the day he arrived in this world. 

The people here tried nothing new, the growth process was at a standstill. Life was so comfortable that people did not feel the need to try anything new, and a place world where there was no growth could not develop talents or leaders. This was not yet the pinnacle of human talent or growth. The council was too focused on the dark dwellers, and the entire world seemed to be a battlefield of the two forces. This could only change if the masses felt the need for new things. This world was governed by the council, and thus it was their responsibility to create the need. 

You Xi Wang stated some facts in his essay. These facts were about how the entire world was now following the same standards. This had created an advanced yet mediocre society. Metropia needed new things not only in the infrastructure of technology but also in mindset. He checked the whole thing, edited what he felt he should, and submitted the essay when the invigilator asked him. They were given a five minutes break and after the break, they were to test their strength. 

A burly man in a battle suit was standing in the strength testing room of the school. He was their examiner for this section of the exam, Adonis Matthaeus. The man had a slightly tanned skin complexion and his muscles looked very dense. Even with the battle suit on, they gave off a very powerful vibe. He saw the group walking inside the hall. He nodded in approval when he saw that the group was standing in a Pentagon Formation. They all maintained an attention stance taught in the school. 

Adonis spoke, "Change into a battle suit, you have thirty seconds."

They all waved their hands and wore the battle suit taken out from their space rings. The battle suit was taken out and put on in a blink the movement was like taking a breath, smooth and fluent as if natural. Adonis nodded, entered the score of the team on a scorecard. He instructed them to take test their strength. The team punched the power pole starting with Fenny followed by Yuki, Allan, Neo, and You Xi Wang. They were all given one attempt each and were asked to punch their best. The scores were 900, 980, 1000, 1150, and 1500 respectively. This score was far more than what they scored in the internal assessment.

They were holding back. Also, they have improved a lot after the assessment. Adonis looked at the roles and primary classes of the team and nodded. He again scored them and ordered them to get on to the next level. They were now supposed to use weapons. Fenny chooses dagger, bow and arrow, short sword, sniper rifle, and drone bombs. Yuki chooses Katana, shuriken, longbow, Kunai, and light machine guns. Allan chooses Javelin, assault rifles, long swords, knives. He was exempted from the fifth weapon as his class was Medic. Neo chooses brawler gloves, halberd, spear, light machine gun, and sniper rifle. You Xi Wang chooses Spear, Bow and arrow, Long Sword, Brawler glove, Dagger, pistol, sniper rifle, and assault rifles.

He selected eight weapons because the team leader must have a minimum of seven weapons completely mastered. Adonis nodded, and they all showcased their skills one by one. They were asked to fight against bots. The result was perfect. They all defeated the bots with ease. Adonis entered the score. The first part was completed. Now was the time for a final step. Adonis vs Fenny, Neo, Allan, and Yuki. You Xi Wang would face him alone. The team would have to face Adonis for thirty seconds. Adonis was a primal soul realm cultivator. Thirty seconds against him were thirty days for these kids. You Xi Wang also had to face him for thirty seconds. 

The team gathered in the center of the field. Fenny was in command. She arranged Neo and Yuki to be the primary attackers and Allan as support. While she herself used her sniping skills. The battle started with Adonis's command, "Come."

Yuki rushed from the right with her Katana, and Neo rushed in from the left with his halberd. Yuki immediately used her ice slash skill, casting a sword light made of sharp ice. She drew her Katana again. This went on five times. Neo used his halberd and swung it down on Adonis's head. Adonis scorned and waved his hand. The attacks heading towards him vanished. He wanted to attack but Allan fired when Adonis was just raising his left hand. This timing was perfect, it disrupted his attack and did not allow him to defend as well. He was showered with bullets, but his physique is so strong that the bullets didn't even tickle him. Fenny did not fire because Adonis still was not in a weak moment. Ten seconds have passed.

Yuki threw away multiple Kunai's and smoke bombs to create a screen, and Allan followed her by spraying bullets all over Adonis. But the attack did not go as planned Adonis vanished and chopped at Neo's neck. His hand was quick, but it was met with a bullet from Fenny. The bullet did not stop the chop, but it gave Neo the time to roll away and he quickly turned around while he hacked his Halberd horizontally at Adonis. His Halberd was glowing with spiritual Energy. The Halberd connected with Adonis's waist. A light shield appeared, stopping the halberd. 

Adonis spoke, "Good. Time to end this." his figure vanished and Yuki fell down. She was hit on her neck and fainted under Adonis's palm chop. Neo switched his halberd with his brawler gloves. Allan came and stood back to back with Neo. Neo spoke, "Momma, what now, senior is moving so fast that we cannot see him." they could not even sense him. Fenny spoke, "Lightening Caltrops." 

The boys felt as if they heard a heavenly blessing and immediately scattered caltrops in the whole field. Fenny dropped her sniper rifle and ran to the center of the field. Adonis thought that it was a desperate regrouping and appeared behind Fenny. Fenny sensed it and activated her spiritual skill. Her whole body was covered with lightning snakes. The caltrops around the field were something she designed to target heat, and at this moment she was emitting a lot of heat. The caltrops flew towards her, she backstopped and bent down avoiding Adonis's palm chop. She turned and was already behind Adonis. The caltrops were only a meter away, and they all exploded. 

BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM.

Adonis and Fenny were now covered with the smoke. The smoke cleared and Allan saw Fenny laying down, and there was no trace of Adonis. Neo felt something heavy on his neck and he also fell down. Adonis stood in front of Allan and said, "Your team is good, but you are still not good enough. Do you surrender or do you also want to fall down?"

Allan raised his gun and fired with no words. Just as Adonis moved to appear behind him, the sniper rifle dropped by Fenny automatically fired at Allan's head. Allan ducked, and the bullet connected with Adonis's palm. Adonis did not expect that the gun could still fire. This was his weak moment as he was wondering how smart this move was but Allan broke his train of thoughts, Adonis was showered by bullets. 

Adonis used his hands to block the bullets and then was about to attack, but the timer rang and he realized that the examination ended. Allan was still conscious. They have passed the assessment. He nodded and punched in the score. Allan wiped his sweat, sat down on the ground. The school staff came in in order to help the fainted kids. They also restored the deformed field. It was now You Xi Wang's turn to face adonis. 

He walked to the center of the field and stood facing Adonis. He had the cogwheels turning in his brain.