The sounds of murmurs filled the air as they stood in line once again for the third test.
Most of the murmurs were expressions of confusion over the need to make all the candidates take the third test when only those with one pass from the first two tests needed another pass to qualify.
The rest of the candidates were either already qualified from passing both earlier tests or already disqualified for failing both of them.
Lloyd stood lost in thought over that same reasoning, but he couldn't reach a definite answer.
The murmurs were interrupted by one of the guards stepping forward from the private discussion they had been having.
"I hope you're all ready for the third test," he said. "I believe we gave you enough time to recover from the last one."
"The mechanics of this test are a bit complicated, so pay close attention," he said as he tilted his head to his left, signaling two of the other guards to step forward.
One of the two guards carried a large wooden pole with a circular head that had an opening at the top.
"This is a snare pole," the first guard said as he pointed to it. "I'm sure you've seen it before around the town. It is an essential tool used by the Doshin to safely stop any insurgency that might occur in the town."
"It will also be the main focus of the third test," he continued. "The test entails a practical simulation of disorder, as we are about to show you."
He turned and nodded to the two guards, and they took their positions facing each other.
"In this simulation, Takahashi here is a hostile robber causing trouble," he said, pointing to the unarmed guard. "Saito is the guard, and his objective is to capture Takahashi and bring him in."
"Takahashi's objective," he continued, "is to evade capture by the snare pole."
"If Takahashi manages to evade capture for two whole minutes, then he passes. If he is snared before the time elapses, then Saito passes," he said as he turned back to the line. "That is the premise of this test. You will be grouped into pairs, and each of you will assume one of those roles for one round before swapping with your partner for the second."
Before he could continue, someone in the line spoke up.
"Excuse me, sir, but I have a question."
"Was I not clear on something?" the guard asked.
"It's not that," he replied. "My question is, why are we all taking this test if the outcome for most of our qualifications has already been decided? The only ones who need to take this test are those who only passed one of the first two tests, since this gives them a chance to earn their second pass and qualify."
"So I wasn't the only one thinking that?" Lloyd thought as he saw many of the others agreeing with the sentiment.
"That is what I was about to get into right now, so don't worry," the guard replied.
"For the sake of simplifying my explanation, I will refer to those who have passed two tests as two-passes, those who have passed one as one-passes, and those who didn't pass at all as no-passes," he said after a brief pause.
"As for why we are making you all take the third test," he continued, "think of it as a sort of redemption for the no-passes."
"For the two-passes or one-passes, you only need to pass one round of the third test to qualify," he continued, "but for the no-passes, if you manage to pass both rounds, then you will be able to qualify as well."
"So that's why," Lloyd thought as his tense expression softened. "It does make sense. I didn't think they were so considerate."
"I will announce the pairings before the test begins, so listen carefully," the guard continued. "After the announcement, take a few minutes to get ready before we start. The rest of the guards and I will be busy getting your snare poles ready."
He announced the pairings, and the line broke up as the candidates huddled into groups just like before.
This time, Lloyd had his eyes set on a guy who seemed about the same age as him.
"Reiichi Hakamada," he thought as he looked at him. "If I remember correctly, he's only passed one test, so he needs one more pass to qualify."
"I'm lucky that I didn't get paired with a no-pass," he thought. "It would be difficult to stay under the radar while still letting them get both wins. At least now I can win one round and lose the other without having to worry too much."
After a few minutes, the guards called them back, and all the pairs took their positions.
"We're all taking the test at once," Lloyd thought as one of the guards handed him a snare pole. "Are they trying to wrap the test up quickly?"
He noticed that there was a guard assigned to oversee each pair. He also noticed the tense expression on his partner's face.
"I'm tired of this too," he thought. "Let's just get this over with."
When the guard overseeing their test gave the signal, they started.
Lloyd immediately launched himself at him, aiming to snare his neck with the pole right away, but at the last second he shifted his trajectory slightly.
That, coupled with his opponent turning his head, caused him to miss.
His opponent backed away, grabbing the pole during Lloyd's next thrust and forcing it to the side so he could pull away.
This back-and-forth continued for almost a minute before Lloyd decided that enough time had passed.
He tripped him by hooking the pole around his feet, then held the opening of the circular head just above his neck, forcing him to concede and giving Lloyd the first win.
The second round commenced with his opponent holding the snare pole.
Even though he was meant to be on the offensive, his opponent still hesitated to take action, and the two were forced into a stalemate with the clock ticking down.
It turned into a cycle of thrust, dodge, and thrust again until Lloyd feinted a trip and threw himself onto the ground in front of his opponent, where he was forced to surrender.
The two shook hands as the test concluded, and Lloyd turned his attention to the rest of the pairs, who were mostly finished with their tests as well.
Of the pairs still remaining, one in particular caught his eye. The two were moving as if their movements had been rehearsed, and the eventual loser lost in such a way that it was obvious he was throwing the match.
Lloyd didn't pay much attention to it.
"They must have made a deal over who would lose and who would win," he thought. "The rules said nothing about that, so it isn't my problem."
The line formed back up as the guards all handed a sheet of paper to the guard who had been addressing them before.
They all huddled up and discussed something while those in the line stood silent.
"What's up with them?" Lloyd thought. "All that's left is to announce those who passed, then we can leave. Or did something come up?"
The guard stepped forward again with all the sheets of paper in hand.
"Before I announce the results, I have something important to inform you of," he said before taking a deep breath.
"You will have to forgive us, but we weren't entirely transparent about the rules when I was explaining them earlier," he continued. "You see, there were some other rules and factors at play that decided who passed and who failed."
For the first time, Lloyd's calm expression broke into utter shock.
"What? There were some rules they didn't tell us about?" he thought.
"Is that what they were discussing before?"
The guard cleared his throat to calm the commotion that had erupted before he could continue.
"This test was evaluating more than just your physical capabilities," he said. "The test was also an evaluation of integrity."
The looks of confusion that had filled the line turned tense almost immediately.
"We were aware of the obvious loophole in the rules that came with my explanation," he continued. "The loophole that those who were two-passes still had no need of doing the test, and that is where the trick came in."
"I'm sure you didn't notice it," he said, "but none of the two-passes were paired with each other, mostly because there would be no point in that since they would qualify either way."
"It was also because those pairings would make them susceptible to persuasion," he continued. "We announced the pairings before the test started so you could know who your opponent was ahead of time. That wasn't an accident."
"Is that why they gave us time to get ready before the test?" Lloyd thought. "So that we could approach our opponents and possibly make a deal."
"I think it has already begun to sink in that we were expecting you to come to some sort of agreement with your opponent. In fact, it was the entire premise of the test," the guard continued. "We wanted to see how you would react when given the opportunity to exploit an opening in the system for your own benefit. It let us assess your morality and behaviour."
"How could you lie to us like that?!" one of the candidates shouted.
"There was no lie in the previous explanation, just a half-truth, and that makes all the difference," the guard replied.
"To the pairs that made some sort of agreement with each other and let one of them throw the match so the other could win," the guard continued, "both of them have been disqualified, whether they were a two-pass, one-pass, or no-pass."
"Is that why they conducted the tests all at once?" Lloyd thought as a bead of sweat trickled down his forehead. "And why every pair had a guard to watch them so they could tell whether someone was trying to throw a match?"
"Does that mean I fell for the trap too?" he thought. "I underestimated them. They fooled us into thinking the test was just a chance for the no-passes to redeem themselves, but that wasn't their intent at all."
"They used the inconsistency in their own rules to lure us into a trap... and I walked straight into it."
The guard drew their attention once more and said, "We observed all of you, and I will now announce the names of those who have passed. If you don't hear your name, assume that you either failed or have been disqualified. And note that there is no room for negotiation."
He started calling out the names of those who had passed one by one, and with each name Lloyd only grew more and more tense.
The guard's gaze gradually lowered toward the bottom of the page, yet Lloyd still hadn't heard his name. He clenched his fist silently as he stood with bated breath.
Then, finally, he heard it as the very last name, right after the name of his opponent.
"Kageto Shirobane."
He let out a sigh of relief so heavy that he almost caught the guard's attention.
The guard rolled up the sheet of paper and said, "To those who have passed, please return here the day after tomorrow at dawn. As for the others, take this loss to reflect and come back next time better prepared."
"You're all free to go."
They all bowed and replied in unison.
"Sir!"
The line broke up, and they all walked toward the exit gate that had been opened for them. Once outside, they dispersed in different directions.
Lloyd was walking alone, lost in thought, when he noticed someone waving at him in the distance. It was Izumi, and Hyogo was with him.
"How did the entrance test go, Kageto?" Izumi asked once he caught up to them.
"It was more stressful than I expected," he replied as the three of them started walking away. "What about you? How did your first day at the site go?"
"It was mostly fine," Izumi replied, "but I got scolded for making tons of mistakes."
"Don't beat yourself up too much," Hyogo said. "You'll get used to it soon enough."
"You mean the work?" Izumi asked.
"No, I mean the scolding," he replied. "I guess the work too."
The two of them kept chatting as they walked away, the light of the setting sun shining on their backs.
Despite the calm atmosphere, Lloyd was still lost in thought.
"The world of man is more dangerous than I thought," he reflected. "But strangely enough... it feels exhilarating."
"Is this what it means to live life the way you choose to?"
He stared at his shadow stretching out before him.
"Are these chills a sign that I'm changing?"