Rye sat in a corner, knees close to his chest, looking like a man watching his dreams slip away. Small chuckles echoed from the background quiet enough not to be outright bullying, but loud enough to sting.
He forced a smile.
"Maybe… maybe fireball just isn't my thing. I still have three other skills in stock," he whispered.., trying, and failing to hype himself up.
"Lyra Francis!" the instructor called.
Rye's head lifted.
Her…?
It was the girl he had bumped into back at the apartment.
He leaned forward slightly, watching her step out with quiet confidence.
"Go!" the instructor barked.
With fluid movements, Lyra scooped up the arrows from the quill that was hanging on her waist. Her posture shifted instantly.., arms extended, back straight, bowstring pulled fully to its limit. She looked like she had trained this form a thousand times.
Then...
Swoosh!
The arrow sliced through the air and struck the dummy dead center in the forehead. It pierced through and kept going after passing the other side.
Gasps erupted across the field. The reaction was just as intense as the crowd's response earlier when the axe-wielding woman split her dummy in half.
"Good job! Join the completed group," the instructor said, grinning as he wrote on his clipboard.
Rye stared in disbelief.
It went straight through…
A perfectly round, fist-sized hole was left in the dummy's head.
As Lyra walked over to the completed group, Rye sank deeper into his sulking corner.
"Greyford Greta!" the instructor shouted.
"Hmph."
The guy scoffed loudly.
Rye recognized him immediately, the same jerk who shoved him aside earlier just to grab the first staff from the box.
"You are all pathetic," the man bragged, smirking. "Watch and learn how it's supposed to be done."
"Go," the instructor commanded.
"[Fireball]!"
A massive orb of swirling flames formed at the tip of Greyford's staff, crackling with heat. He launched it toward the dummy.., far faster than any cast so far.
BOOM!
The impact ignited the dummy into a towering pillar of fire. Flames continued devouring the figure long after the explosion faded.
"Amazing!" the instructor exclaimed, eyes wide.
Greyford brushed his hair back arrogantly.
"Hah. This is nothing. None of you fools can comprehend the magnitude of my power."
Rye cringed from secondhand embarrassment, even while acknowledging the guy's power.
"You may proceed," the instructor said.
Greyford strutted away with his chin raised high, looking down on everyone, including Rye. The examinees despised his attitude… but also couldn't deny his overwhelming firepower. The second-strongest fireball today only managed to burn the dummy's whole body, not keep it blazing like a torch.
After several more examinees finished, nothing came close to the earlier displays of strength.
Eventually, the instructor clapped sharply.
"Alright, examinees!"
The chatter died down.
"The first part of the test is over!" He snapped his fingers.
In an instant, the boxes, dummies, and equipment vanished into thin air.
"We'll be grading you based on the information gathered today. But fear not! There is still one more exam.. and this will be the final one."
His smile widened.
"This last exam will test your teamwork and cooperation! It will take place tomorrow morning before sunrise, and your groups will be formed based on your performance here today."
He clapped once more, dismissing them.
"You can bring the equipment you have with you, take it home, take it anywhere," the instructor announced, hands clasped elegantly behind his back. "But you must bring it tomorrow. If not, you will be disqualified. And in case you're wondering…" His smile sharpened. "Yes, this is also a tiny part of the test."
The examinees murmured among themselves.
"You are now dismissed. Exit through the same hallway you used earlier." He turned and began walking toward the exit at an unhurried pace.
The examinees gradually filtered out, chatting, complaining, and analyzing everything that had happened.
Rye walked toward the exit last, lost in thought.
Maybe I should try out the other skills I have… he thought.
He knew exactly what [Summon Undead] would do.. summon something dead, though he still does not know what kind of undead it will summon.
Could I maybe summon an overpowered monster using this..? He thought as he chuckled to himself
He still didn't know what [Aura detection] or [Commander] might do, though.
Maybe I should test them after I get back to my apartment, he decided.
Even now, the strange book weighed on his mind.
Why did it have skills like these?
Why did it give him a system at all?
Who made it?
Why him?
Questions piled up in his head as he stepped out of the examination area.
"Holy shit! Rye!"
A voice shouted from the crowd of examinees sitting along the benches.
Rye snapped his head toward the sound. "Hm?"
A guy jogged toward him, waving.
"Rye! I knew it was you!"
The newcomer had short gray hair, brown eyes, and wore a hoodie with black pants. A couple of piercings glinted on his ears. He looked young, around his early twenties.
"It's me! Hawks!" he said, pointing at himself.
Rye blinked.
Hawks…?
Then it hit him.
"No way..! Hawks Tequil?!" Rye's face lit up completely.
"Who else but me?" Hawks laughed, spreading his arms.
Rye stepped forward and hugged him tightly, giving him a friendly pat on the back before letting go. "Holy shit! What are you doing here?"
"What else, man? I'm entering the Tower. I'm taking the exam!" Hawks grinned.
Rye felt a sudden warmth in his chest.
Hawks… I never thought I'd see him again.
They had gone separate ways after graduating high school. Hawks moved away to study in a college far from Rye's town. It had been three years since then. No contact. No updates.
Hawks had been his friend.., his best friend, from the start of school all the way to the end.
"How'd you even recognize me?" Rye asked.
"Bro, it's been three years, not thirty. You don't change that drastically," Hawks teased.
"Oh. Yeah, true," Rye laughed awkwardly.
A short silence settled between them... just long enough to feel the weight of time.
Rye broke the silence first.
"Well… how come you never contacted me after you moved out?"
"Oh, right." Hawks rubbed the back of his neck. "It's kind of embarrassing.., though if I'm being honest… my phone got stolen."
"What?" Rye deadpanned.
"Yeah… and when I lost my phone, I lost all my contacts. After that, college got stressful and I kinda… forgot." Hawks winced. "Not because I wanted to. Everything just got overwhelming."
Rye could only nod. He'd always known Hawks' life wasn't exactly smooth even back in high school.
"ATTENTION!"
The instructor's voice boomed across the hallway.
"Oh shit, that's my queue," Hawks said, glancing toward him.
"Hey," Rye said quickly, "let's meet outside after your test. There's a place nearby we can talk. Catch up on everything."
"Oh, alright then." Hawks began walking toward the benches. "See ya, Rye!"
"Yeah, see ya!" Rye waved back.