Becky had noticed the tension between the two teammates she had just made and opted for a stopper. So she decided that they should know each other's names at least.
"I guess we all need to know each other better. My name is Becky Silver," she said, and the two of them looked at her.
"My name is Tessie Shyren. That's enough for an introduction, right?" she said rhetorically.
Zero sighed.
"I'm Zero Dusk." he muttered, and Tessie arched an eyebrow. He stared at her, waiting for her to insult him, but she didn't.
"Okay, so how do we proceed? It's clear we are not totally balanced up. If we had a Level 3 or at least Level 2, we could all engage in attacking, but I'm not ready to babysit a full-grown adult." Tessie said with pure disgust.
Zero decided to keep quiet before he ended up attacking her.
"Look, I wasn't planning an all-out strategy when I thought of the team. I want us to stay under cover and at least begin to attack towards the end when most people's HP has dropped."
"That's a good plan, only that we still don't know how long we are taking this exam," Zero said.
Just then, the ten-minute counter elapsed, and a spherical stone was dropped into every student's hand.
"I guess these are our teleporting stones," Zero muttered as he stared at the stone.
He noticed three deep holes on the stone. Two were coloured red while the last one was blue.
Suddenly, everyone's watches beeped. They all looked at them to find out that their timer had begun to count.
1:59:49
"Two hours?! That's long!" someone blurted.
Everyone began to teleport away from the open ground. The teleportation worked like a portal, and from one position, all one would see was the person tearing up like his body had turned to nothing but dust.
Zero looked at Becky and Tessie as if asking if they were ready to teleport.
They all tapped on a red circle, and they were immediately teleported into a dark room.
Zero stared around to see if they were alone, and yes, they were.
Becky then moved her fingers, and a crystal formed in her hand. It shone brightly, and she was obviously using it to illuminate the room.
Now Zero could see the room more clearly.
The room wasn't old, but it looked empty—too empty to be a classroom.
He looked at the door. It had an interlock.
He walked up to it and locked it tightly.
"So what's your ability?" Tessie asked as she stared at him. "If we plan on making it out of here victorious, then we have to know each other's abilities. Already, Becky's ability is obviously ice. Mine is speed."
Zero heaved a sigh.
He didn't have an ability, and he knew that well. But he thought about his system and tried to think of a standout attribute that he could use as his ability.
Nothing came to mind.
"I do not have an ability," Zero let out.
"What?!" Tessie exclaimed in disgust.
Becky looked at him in shock.
"You mean you are a Lamer?!" she queried.
Zero simply nodded as he sat on the ground.
Becky stared at him. He wondered what was going on in her head.
"You are even more useless than a Level 1," Tessie admitted.
Becky then stepped in.
"No need to lament. You are already in the team. Now we just have to adjust," Becky said.
Zero scoffed. He didn't want her pity.
Tessie just rested her body against the wall and stared at Zero the whole time.
Becky couldn't help but feel uneasy about the atmosphere. From time to time, she would check her watch to see how much time had gone.
At about 1:26:44, Zero's system kicked in.
[Ability Detected: Shadow Movement]
Zero's eyes sharpened.
The last time his system had warned him beforehand, it had helped him. Now he was going to make full use of the information.
"Quick. Someone is here," he said and stood up.
Tessie looked around and felt like he was making a fool of himself. However, Becky stayed on high alert.
She had also felt a presence in the room and was shocked that Zero had sensed it too.
Just when Zero was about to speak again, a man emerged from Tessie's shadow.
In an instant, he threw a heavy punch at her gut, sending her skidding across the room.
Zero's eyes immediately caught a glimpse of his watch.
Level 3.
Zero then took a combat position, his eyes locking straight onto the opponent.
The man dashed backward and attempted to unlock the door.
Zero followed him almost instantly, as if he had read his movements beforehand.
The man grinned widely. His dark eyes stared coldly at him.
Zero threw a punch at him, but the man saw through the attack. He choked Zero against the door while shifting his body backward to avoid the punch cleanly.
Then the man slammed Zero's head hard against the door.
He grabbed him and threw him to the ground.
[9/10 HP]
Damn. A single HP for just a headbutt? He's too strong for me.
Zero looked at his watch and saw that his HP had also reduced by one.
He scoffed lightly.
The man unlocked the door, and two other guys came in.
One held a large double-sized sword across his shoulder.
His watch read:
Level 4.
The other looked slim, and his watch read Level 4 also.
Zero's heart pounded.
Just how the hell did this team find us? And why now?
Two Level 4s and a Level 3.
On his side, they had a Level 5, a Level 4, and him—a Level 1.
If only I was at least a Level 3, I would have been sure of the outcome of this battle.
Just as he was lamenting to himself, the man who had used the Shadow Movement ability grabbed him by the collar.
"Come on, boy. I love your senses. You and I will make a good spar," he said and laughed.
Dammit. I'm dead. There's no chance I have against this Level 3, and his ability makes it even harder.
[Optional Quest: Defeat the Level 3 to gain a level up and 50 EXP.]
"What the hell?"