Chapter 32: Gymnasium

The United Governments loved their privacy.

No details of the exam were ever publicly announced. No one knew whether they’d be tested on their theoretical understanding of Psions, or their depth of historical knowledge, or their practical use of Martial Manuals.

Some were written tests. Some, just basically a large tournament that pitted examinees against each other.

This year’s License Exam seemed to focus on the basics. If this first test was any indication, it seemed that the United Governments would be testing examinees based on the Foundational Movesets.

"Any advice for me?" Eren asked.

"I dunno. Just win, I guess." Seeing his unconvinced expression, Geister tapped him on the shoulders with gusto. "Your talent in the Primal Strike is enough for you to advance through the first stage with ease. You don’t need any other advice."

Eren wasn’t talented. He simply knew more than others. And as it turned out, he knew a lot lot more.

"The tests aren’t the problem. It’s your fellow examinees. Friends and allies come hand in hand with victory. If there’s one thing that the License Exam always emphasizes, it’s cooperation."

Eren looked at Geister, then towards the fading figure of Kaiser in the crowd. A picture of their past flashed in his mind.

"I see," he muttered. "You met in the License Exam..."

Geister looked off into the distance, his eyes bursting with youthful vigor of the past. "The good ol’ days. The License Exam is where I met my adventuring party. Kaiser, me, Elena... such simple times."

Then, he turned to Eren. "Look around, boyo. Some of these guys may be your future friends and allies."

A future such as that was not in Eren’s plans. Allies, yes. Friends... there’s no such thing.

But perhaps it was good to take a look around and see which of these youngsters were interesting enough to be his temporary allies.

"EXAMINEES. REPORT TO THE POSTED LOCATIONS OF YOUR DIVISIONS."

A PA system broadcasted that announcement throughout the entire school. The woman’s staticy voice repeated multiple times, serving as a last warning for examinees to say their goodbyes.

"You’re in Division 1-A," Geister said to him.

Tens of thousands of hopeful Awakeners registered for the exams. The United Governments found it fitting to separate the examinees in smaller divisions of about less than a thousand members each division. Easier to manage that way.

"You know where to go, right?"

"The gymnasium," Eren muttered.

He took in the sights of the Main Building’s familiar interior. Nostalgia crept through his thoughts. He remembered reporting for the school’s general assembly each month in the gymnasium.

He was barely ten back then. But he still knew where to go.

"Ready to leave the nest?"

Geister wasn’t allowed to accompany him further onwards. No mentor, teacher, or parent. Examinees were all on their own. The true start of the License Exam.

"Good luck, Eren. I’m counting on you."

Eren laughed. Somehow, Geister convinced Dr. Reid to take a simple bet. If Eren attained a License, she owed him a date. So, their romance was quite literally dependent on his performance.

What a sense of deja vu.

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Eren was amongst hundreds of his peers as they made their way out of the Main Building, following the grassy path on the campus leading towards the oval arena in the distance.

Chattering was minimal here. Only hushed conversations and anxious steps. They were like green-eared soldiers marching towards their first battle.

Everyone was nervous. He felt it in the air.

Their worries were palpable, like a fog in the air that clouded their otherwise excited expressions. That haze of uncertainty followed the crowd as his fellow examinees made their way to the gymnasium for the general assembly.

Aside from a few furnishings and flashes of strange, exotic materials lining the structure itself, the gymnasium lined up exactly with the image Eren had of it in his mind.

This place looked the same. Were his schoolmates, friends, and teachers the same? Their faces warped in his mind.

His musings persisted until he made his way inside the gymnasium.

Entire sections of the bleachers were closed off. Only a thousand seats at the center remained available for the examinees to sit in.

Seats were occupied quickly. Friend groups stayed close to each other for comfort. It created clusters within the tiered seats, leaving awkward single spaces for loners to sit through the gaps.

Eren surveyed his options. His instincts pointed him at the very back. It was the perfect position.

The curved rooftop behind the seat gave him a sense of safety. No one could surprise him from behind. And in this elevated position, he could see everything, hear everything, expect everything.

Once he took his seat, he started his observation.

Subtle glances. Obvious gaps in seats. Conversations. Athan taught him to treat these dynamics as threads. Individually, they were a tangled mess. But once merged together, it created a tapestry of their past, present, and future.

Navigating complicated situations became easier then. Allowed him to find advantages he could pursue. Obstacles to avoid.

A few individuals stood out. A lot of eyes gathered in their presence.

They were famous amongst the crowd. Probably one of those heirs and scions from the Prominent Families Geister told him about.

Some earned attention through their idiosyncratic features. A bald, monk-like figure meditating by the side. A face exotic from this country, their clothes outing them as an outsider. A beautiful girl by herself.

Eren would be one of these isolated people, if not for his retreat to obscurity. No need for unnecessary attention.

A few minutes later, the crowd settled down. Seats were filled now.

The door to the gymnasium opened. Kaiser walked in with authority. His echoing steps silenced the murmurs and instead filled the examinees with a charge of excitement.

Kaiser walked to the center of the gym, ignoring the looks of admiration and respect hummed around him.

A well known figure, he seemed to be. His fiery red hair was a beacon that made him recognizable in a crowd.

"Good morning." Kaiser’s cloudy left eye observed every single examinee in the room. His stare felt like a thousand needles.

"There are 927 of you now. Less than ten will earn a License."