CHAPTER 22
Stepping through the portal was a strange sensation for Ray.
It felt like his senses had dulled slightly; he could feel his body moving, but at the same time, not moving at all.
His skin prickled faintly, and his mind spun for a few moments, leaving him disoriented.
Just as his stomach was about to churn, the strange feeling abruptly ended.
The group was spat out of another portal, stumbling forward slightly as they landed.
In front of them lay another field, but this one wasn't as vast as the previous one.
It was moderate in size, with a few pieces of equipment arranged ahead.
One of the objects hovered in the air, suspended like a piece of meat dangling on a rope in front of a beast.
Strangely, there was nothing visibly holding it up; it floated calmly in the wide open space, almost as if defying gravity.
It looked like a punching bag, but far more solid in form.
On the ground, a bar of some kind caught his attention.
The type of bars found in parks, where kids would hang by their hands with their legs dangling above the ground.
A monkey bar, or something similar.
But this one was much taller and longer—almost five metres in length—with so many bars that Ray didn't even have the leisure to count them all.
Two figures stood about two metres away from the group.
One was a woman holding a tablet, her eyes fixed sternly on the teens.
The second was a burly man in militant attire, arms crossed in front of his body, standing just two feet behind her.
"Welcome, Aspirants."
'Aspirants?' Ray raised an eyebrow in confusion. 'We haven't even taken the test yet, and she's already calling us that?'
"... I know you must be confused by me calling you all 'Aspirants,' but don't fret. The moment you all decided to join the Aspirant corps, you became Aspirants.
This testing—or assessment—is merely a formality to determine your strength and how we should rank you."
'Oh.'
The woman nodded slightly, scanning each teen as if memorising their faces, though she was truly gauging their abilities.
Ray decided to do the same, observing them carefully.
First was Kai, standing as confident as ever, back straight, towering over the rest.
'Tch!' Ray muttered inwardly.
Turning his gaze slightly to Kai's left, a timid-looking girl stood nervously.
Her brown hair cascaded to her shoulders, and her black eyes darted anxiously between the equipment.
'Humph. She reminds me of Van,' Ray mused silently, glancing at his best friend, who fidgeted nervously, his leg shifting on the hard rock ground.
Suppressing a quiet chuckle, he raised his head to the last girl.
She stood tall and proud, her gaze icy and unwavering.
Her light blue hair caught the sunlight, almost silver in its brilliance, cascading down her back.
Her fierce blue eyes were fixed on the equipment a few metres ahead.
Ray noticed something about her from the moment they entered the portal earlier: her expression never changed.
Even now, she remained the same.
Unchanging. Calm, collected, and fierce. As if, even if a storm descended, she wouldn't be moved.
She looked well-dressed, as though she came from a wealthy family. Kai did too.
It was just him, Van, and the timid-looking girl who were… well, dressed plainly.
With a shrug and a quiet sigh, Ray turned his gaze back to the instructors out on the field.
'What a weird bunch.'
"We don't have much time, so let's begin."
The woman's voice cut sharply through the air, snapping anyone lost in thought back to attention.
"First off, Trisha Hunt. Please come forth."
The ice-cold girl stepped forward with calm, precise movements, nonchalant and controlled.
Staring at her, Ray unconsciously shuddered.
'Why do I feel like there's a sudden chill in the air?'
"Do you have an ability?" the woman asked.
Trisha gave a firm nod.
"Good. For the first test, you may use your ability as you see fit."
She gestured toward the strange floating punching bag hovering in front of Trisha.
"... All you have to do is punch the bag as hard and as strong as you can. This is a strength test."
Trisha didn't utter a word.
She took a stance, placing her dominant foot in front of her body, poised and ready.
Suddenly, frost began to seep from her hands.
Her eyes narrowed into slits as she focused on the punching bag.
Right before Ray's stunned gaze, ice rapidly formed around her fist, encasing it like a gauntlet of solid ice.
"Go."
The single command was all she needed. She exhaled calmly, and the mist swirled into the air.
Kai's brows furrowed.
"Show off," he commented.
Ray tilted his head toward him, frowning at the strange remark.
'Crazy boy.'
Trisha wasted no time.
She lunged forward with full force, her hand drawn back behind her body.
As she approached the punching bag, she drove her fist forward with all her might.
The next second, it collided with the bag with a deafening bang.
Her fist remained pressed against the bag as it rang loudly.
Numbers shuffled rapidly in front of her eyes, flickering and spinning.
Taking a calm step back, she observed the numbers before they stopped on a particular value.
"Str… strength; 50?" the woman stuttered mid-announcement, eyes wide at the display.
The mouths of the surrounding teens dropped in shock at what they saw.
All except one person.
"I don't get it. Is it impressive?" Kai commented with a casual frown.