Chapter 131- 3 Days

Chapter 131: Chapter 131- 3 Days

Chapter 131- 3 Days

"What?"

"What do you mean, give everything? Why?"

"My phone? But I can’t be away from my phone."

"This test requires our stuff to be taken away?"

"Why even our jewelry?"

The reactions were naturally those of confusion and worry. They never thought any test would take away their phones or their belongings. It didn’t feel right to them, naturally so. After all, if the previous test, which was complete mayhem, still didn’t require their phones to be taken away, how bad could this one be?

Rize’s expression darkened as he instinctively looked at Venera. The girl had a similar expression as she instinctively grabbed the first thing she cared about. The necklace Rize gave her had been around her neck since she received it. She didn’t even take it off when she showered or did anything else, like training.

It instantly became something akin to a lucky charm and a reminder of the person who gave it to her. Yet now she was asked to hand it over. She didn’t like that whatsoever.

"I guess it is, as you said... going to be very different," Rize said as he pulled his phone out and looked at the guards as they started spreading around the candidates.

"There better be a good reason for this," Venera said coldly.

"I am aware that this is a very odd request. However, for this particular test, we must not allow you to carry anything in that could cause a disruption of the test or cheating. Thank you for cooperating, and you shall receive your belongings right after the end of the test."

With that being said, all the candidates could do was abide by the rules. In the end, if that was a requirement for the test, they were going to follow it to a T. Slowly, the guards gathered everyone’s belongings, putting them in separate bags that had their names and numbers on.

Then, they put those bags away in their storage areas. The process was smooth. Then, they made it to Rize and Venera. The boy handed them his phone.

"Nothing else." He said as he tapped himself. At the same time, he looked at Venera as she took off the necklace with an annoyed look on her face. She traced it with her fingers before she gave it to the guard.

After they made sure everyone gave away their belongings, Ereze nodded his head.

"I shall remind you that if you try to hide anything and we discover that you did so during the test... You’re instantly disqualified." He said coldly.

He knew nobody was dumb enough to dare to do such a thing, but a warning is still a warning. Everyone must know how serious an offense that is.

"*Gulp*"

The fear in the eyes of the candidates was clear, and the nerves were at an all-time high. Finally, Ereze moved to the main topic.

"This test will be a Two-Part test. Each part is different from the other, but they are both connected directly to one another." He said. "The first test will be a written test."

"Written test?"

"Oh my... Written?"

"I guess we did study for a reason. I forgot we could even have written tests here."

"Shit, I should’ve studied in that case."

The reactions varied between surprise and intrigue.

"Silence, please," Ereze said, making the entire place grow quiet again. "The test will be about every single subject you have studied in your life. It will be completely written, so nothing digital will be involved. You are also allowed to have breaks whenever you want. We have provided you with places to eat and rest within this building."

"To rest?"

"What?"

"Did he just say... Every subject we studied?"

"Are you kidding me? How long this damn test is gonna be?"

The murmurs erupted again amongst the people present. A test that huge shouldn’t be possible. After all, they couldn’t really make a test about everything... could they?

"How long will the test be, sir?" One curious candidate asked as they raised their hand. Ereze looked at the girl with his cold eyes and made her shudder in fear before he spoke.

"I was coming to that point. The duration of the test is... 3 days."

Silence.

Not a single soul uttered a word for what felt like eternity. Rize’s eyes widened in surprise. ’3 days? Is he serious?’

"What do you mean, 3 days?"

"That’s too long?"

"How are we going to take a test that long?"

"And this is only the first part? Is he being serious right now?"

Nobody could believe that a written test would be that long. How hard and long must it be for it to require three days of continuous and relentless testing? It was simply a wild idea.

"Yes, 3 days. In which you have the complete freedom to use your time however you wish. You will be spending the next three days here in this building. You will have your own room, where you can eat, and where you can spend time and relax. As long as you don’t try to leave the building, you are allowed to do anything you want, and that includes asking other people for help or giving answers to others."

’Now this is getting really interesting...’ Rize smirked. ’This test is probably going to be really hard. Maybe even too hard for most to finish. The fact that they gave us three days to do it, and we can literally just use our time however we want.’

Oddly enough, Rize didn’t feel nervous at all. He had been studying every single day for the past 10 years without stopping. He had memorized all the material he needed to memorize in every single subject. Not to mention that, with his constant evolution, his brain capabilities have quadrupled, at least. Rize was considerably smarter now, and he could feel it.

"Any questions?" Ereze asked.

For a few seconds, nobody raised their hands. Then, suddenly, a hand emerged from the masses.

"Yes?"

"Um, why are we the only ones here, sir? Where is everybody else?"

"Good question." The man said. "Well, as many of you might’ve noticed. The people present here are the top 1000 individuals in the first test. The reason we brought you here is that your test will be different from the ones the rest of the candidates will undergo. It is considerably more difficult."

"What?"

"Why?"

"That’s not fair... No?"

"Why do we get the harder test?"

"Because you all have shown that you have exceptional talents. Shouldn’t those who have exceptional talents aim to do exceptional things?" Ereze asked. "Comparing yourselves to the others robs you of what makes you stand out. A true awakened faces challenges of their caliber and aims to always break all norms and reach new heights. So, are you all not ambitious enough to aim for such heights?"

Those words cut through any doubt or protests that could’ve emerged from the candidates. Nobody could really counter that argument, nor did they wish to offend Ereze.

’He does have a point. You can’t really be at the top and be treated the same as the masses. You’re either going to face things that are of your level, or you will simply stagnate and grow weaker till you become one of the masses.’

That was why Rize always aimed for a stronger challenge that pushed him out of his comfort zone. He knew that the only way for him to actually get stronger fast was to take the risk and face things that are way harder than normal.

Seeing that nobody had anything else to say, Ereze nodded as he stepped to the side. "Now, please head inside. Your classrooms and seat numbers will be sent to your watch shortly. Please, head inside and take your places. The test will start in 10 minutes."

"Let’s go," Rize said as he started walking. "Hm? Venera?"

The girl didn’t move immediately; instead, she grabbed his hand. "Listen, Rize."

"Yeah?"

"I want you to keep an eye on your surroundings. Especially the candidates who will be in your class."

"Hm? Why?"

"Just do that for me, ok?" She asked.

The look on the girl’s face made Rize frown. But he still nodded his head. He trusted Venera’s gut feeling more than anything. That girl had senses unlike anyone else in the story; not even Kaizer himself could rival her senses.

With that, the two started walking inside the building, where they found themselves in a large hallway, akin to that of a normal school. Rize looked around him, feeling slightly nostalgic at being in a place like this again.

’Now that I think about it. I haven’t been in a high school in forever. I don’t know if I like this or not... But it sure is a throwback.’

The person who walked into this place wasn’t the same boy from back then. He was now older, wiser, and far better on every single front.

However, this test... was also unlike any other test he had ever passed. That will soon become very apparent to Rize.