The 'real' test, huh...

It had been a month since Dr. Cherrylove had told us about the final exam, and now it was upon us. We had been shipped her in separate buses so I was alone. With a poker face mixed with a slight bit of sorrow, I looked out the window. Unlike 4 months ago, the mountain ranges were covered in snow and the cliffs at the side had icicles dapping at the sides like a never ending curtain. Most of the people on the bus seemed to be around my age, slightly older or younger, but nonetheless rowdy. As the only human on the bus, I kept silent and put on my ear phones and squeezed myself in a corner seat in the back. Weary of my own state from the previous encounter with the elemental bullies, I wore a pair of white gloves to cover up my robotic hands. After a while though, the gloves do certainly feel uncomfortable. But it was a small price to pay compared to have my nerve tested on the subject again.
The whole trip took about 4 hours, and good thing there was a bathroom on the bus. By the time, we arrived it was already noon.

***

The moment I stepped outside, I was greeted with a wave of fresh air too chilly for my liking. The place appeared to be some sort of winter camp, with several squat wood cabins and shops. As we got off, our bus group formed into single file and made our way toward a snow clearing ahead. While following the line I turned around and caught a glimpse of several more buses parked back in the parking lot with students streaming towards our direction as well.

That's quite a bit of people...

By the time we got to the clearing, people were huddled in several masses, chatting, running to the portables, scanning other groups...etc.

It seems that we were all waiting, but for what?

A sudden sharp static noise burst forth, causing many to cover their ears. It was then followed by a voice from the loud speaker:

"Greetings students! We are already behind schedule, so I will keep this brief!" the voice sounded like a middle-aged women, but she was nowhere to be seen.

"What's going happen next is that I will have the teachers here in your group, hand each and every one of you your bracelet as we go along the rules."

That being said, a middle aged man in winter jacket, pulled out a large cardboard box hovering beside him, and wherever he walked, the box followed him. And as he walked up to every student in our group, he took out a white colored bracelet from the box and handed it out to us.

"Today is 21st IIMT annual survival test! Right now, there are more than 12,000 fellow students and classmates partaking this exam. They are of course, not all here as this place is only 1 of 12 starting points of the official testing grounds."

"The rules are simple, 1 hour from now, you will head out from this clearing, and make your way past through the forest in the north and into the testing grounds. Any loitering or returning to the starting point, after the exam has begun will be ruled as automatic disqualification. Further, if anyone tries to leave the testing grounds once the exam has started they will be automatically disqualified. The boundary of the testing grounds should be fairly clear, because once you are within 100 meters of the boundary, the bracelet will send out a beep. And if you attempt to get nearer to the boundary, the beeps will become louder."

"Another really important rule is that once you have put on the bracelet, and enter the testing grounds, taking it off would count as a disqualification. If the bracelet is destroyed during the exam, you are disqualified. And you must put the bracelet somewhere on your body. And this is for boys, please do not put the bracelet in your crouch area, it is despicable and disgusting."

The comment made quite a few guys burst out in laughs, and some of the more subtle girls looked away in disgust. At the same time, the teacher finally got to me and handed me a bracelet. I took it and thanked him, as he quickly strolled off to the next student. I examined the bracelet for a moment, it appeared no different from an ordinary electronic watch from the outside, but the wristband part appeared to be made out of some sort of plastic fiber.

"Now I will go over the specifics on how to pass the exam. 3 days and 2 nights from now, the exam will end and those remaining will be picked up by the hovercraft. Your bracelets would all be turned in to calculate points. All slain monsters and any defeated student will count as 1 point. And by defeated, they must lose consciousness and be unable to fight back. And in each team of two, the pair must receive 2 points in order to pass. It doesn't matter who got the point, because it goes towards the group score. And I must warn you all one more time that, mutilation, and any form of sexual assault is strictly prohibited. And any individual who commits these crimes will not only receive an automatic disqualification but face criminal charges as well."

"And as a bonus objective, the person to wear the crown of midnight till the end that is hidden in the testing
grounds, will be rewarded the tier 7 m 'Star of Death' magic tome from IIMT's rare collection."

There was a collective gasp and murmuring coming from all around the crowd. While still listening, I strapped the bracelet to my wrist and tapped the crystal black screen several times; nothing happened.

"Now girls, I want you to all find your alphabetical groups by last name in the front. Boys I want you to stand where you are for now."

I stood around, watching the girls flock from their groups and make their way to the front of the clearing. This process took about 10 minutes or so, which I quite impressed given, there was about a thousand people, and half of them were on the move.

"Now boys, I hope you all remember your partner's name, and for those of you don't remember, please go up front to the supervisor and ask."

Well, even though I have only meet her on two occasion. It's kind of hard not to remember my partner's last name, given the fact that she was the vice president of our student council, which makes her quite a big deal in this power class based school. As I approached the 'A' last name group, a figured stepped out of the line and called out to me:

"Kard! We've finally met again." Veritas smiled genuinely at me.

She looked the same as she did the month before, white uniform, gentle expression, and elegant as always.

"En..." I replied, fighting the urge to frantically scratch the hell out of the back of my head.

She turned sideways for a brief moment closed her eyes and giggled, which I was thankful for, since I was blushing like a light bulb.

"Sorry, I couldn't compose myself there..." she said, with a faint smile drawing on her face.

"There is no need to apologize, plus if you laugh everytime I make a fail, I am sure you're going to need a new laughter box by tomorrow."

There was a brief suspension in silence, followed by laughter from both sides.

"Ok, I admit that was a pretty bad one. And by the way, you can just call me Kard." I said.

"Indubitably." She replied, as she wiped what I presume was a tear from her eye.

I was less nervous now, now that we had conversation going. I mean what better way to start a conversation than self-humour? You know, there goes the saying: A tree without bark will inevitably die, but a man without shame is invincible.

"So I assume this is your first test Kard-" She cut herself short and looked to me.

"Yeah. Completely clueless about it, I am guessing you've gone through multiple tests like this before?"

"Yes. The final exam never changes. This year it will be my 6th time taking this test."

"Nice." I blurted out.

"The time has come now students! And we will now go by the ladies alphabetical order! Group A step to the forest! The test will begin the moment your team past through the forest! Any individual who attacks the students inside the forest passage will be disqualified."

"Are you nervous?" Veritas cocked her head slightly towards me.

"Kind of." I pursed my lips, as our group made way to the outskirts of the forest.

"Don't be. Just rely on me when you can alright?"

Well, usually it would be the guy saying that line to the girl not the other way around. But knowing our power difference, I quickly tossed away those thoughts and replied:

"Will try. But first I have to say, I am pretty lazy person."

There was a small chuckle between us, as we both came to a sudden halt before the forest.

"Group A..." there was a pause, almost like the calm before the battle, awaiting to be shattered at the first cry of the battle: "INTO THE FRAY!"

Just like that, the test began.

Q: What do you think of Battle Royale type video games?