Chapter 17: Second phase of the exam
After about three minutes, the results were released. It was time for the second phase of the exam as Belle watched himself being teleported with the rest of the teenagers.
"I see how it works now," Belle said. His powers, since they contained teleportation, had been trying on their own to find clues on how whatever moves them works. "My powers can do that too," Belle said, surprised. He had never confirmed it happening before. "Maybe it only happens when I come in contact with a power I have in my arsenal," he said to himself.
This stage might look like the simplest of them all, but I tell you, it is not. Belle heard a voice as he looked around to notice they were now in an open field. "Each of you just has to cross one door. Remember, if you can't, you don't have to force it. Yeah, this stage contributes a lot to your entrance into the academy, but you can make up for it with good performance in the third round, even if you fail," the voice said as Belle saw doors seemingly appear out of thin air.
"You all can move according to the single file that you are already in to cross the door. The exam starts now," the voice said as Belle saw eager-looking teenagers making their way toward the doors. He was at the last line.
"What is that door?" most people watching the exam asked. They could follow all the second stage of the exam so they could see everything, including the participating teenagers.
"Since the academy wishes to show it, it will be something to tell people that such powers as great as this are trivial in our hands. Hahaha! So childish," a voice resounded in the hall. Many did not know how the owner of the voice used to magnify his voice enough to cover the hall, but they could guess it was either an ability or a gadget.
With everyone hearing what he said, some seemed angry while others seemed to support what he said. As for Elizabeth, she only looked before looking back at the big screen, trying to find Belle. "You all should come on. They do it every year, so it is nothing new," the owner of the voice, whose name was Roberto, continued. He was a youth who had an air of arrogance around him, blue hair, a well-chiseled face, and a bulging body that was easy to notice despite his clothing. Nobody seemed ready to reply to him. "Common, you religious bigots are here and understand what I said perfectly," the youth said, looking towards a man dressed as a priest.
"Watch your mouth. The Obsidians might have failed in teaching you manners, but our Lord, the Savior, is always merciful enough," a young youth beside the man dressed like a priest said, not too loud but enough for people close to hear. The first guy also took notice. "Coming with the 'our Lord' trash again? Apart from the prophecy, you all haven't contributed anything and can be seen as totally useless to the empire," Roberto said causing the youth beside the priest to be annoyed and wanting to stand up. But the priest held him down, only turning to flash a smile at the Roberto before turning to look at the television as if having no interest in the clown.
Seeing all this, most people who had been to the academy acceptance before saw it as nothing new. Most people who knew about the war between the Religious group, Academy, Guardians, and Obsidian also saw it as nothing new. Seeing that he might not be getting the attention of the priest soon, the dude turned to the other side. "Don't tell me you guys came just to witness the exams too," he said a bit more respectfully.
"Sure we did. The competition will be moving forward to the teenagers. With the academy helping to show everyone's card, we won't be averse to it. The scrawny-looking boy that came last in the first phase should be your guy. I would have said the second to him should be you guys too, but since I already confirmed he is the sibling of our big sis, the new divine rank, I won't be giving you guys any extra credit. Let's see the best student you Obsidian can produce after everything is over," the man that the youth was looking at said with a smile. He looked dignified with a temperament that screamed for respect on his face. His name was Biles, and he was acting as the Guardians representative.
Hearing him, Roberto was a bit angry, but then he smiled. "Who cares about basic knowledge that won't actually pay you or save you. Let's see what happens when the teenagers are done with the academy's little toy," he said.
"Exactly what I expect from an Obsidian," Biles said, bursting out with wide laughter.
Back inside the exam venue, the teenagers who walked their way to the door noticed some kind of pressure falling on them. The closer they got to the door, the stronger the pressure became. Soon enough, a lot of them gave up without even making it to the door. Greg was among the few who had given up.
"I wonder how far Liana will go," Greg said to himself. He had actually not forced himself and had given up immediately he felt the pressure. Things like this were really not for him. He had taken tenth position in the first phase, but he was not sure if he would make it to the top three hundred in this round. Though a lot had given up before him, he was not sure if they were up to one hundred. Looking around, he used his eyes to count the number of people who were teleported out before him.
"It is up to one hundred. I should be taking the two hundred and ninety-ninth position, exactly the same position Liana took in the first test," Greg said, smiling a bit awkwardly. He then started taking mental notes of the people who came out before him, only to notice that Belle was not there. He had been keeping his attention on Belle too since his twin seemed so interested.
Meanwhile, Belle continued in his line, seeing more people drop out. This made him think, "Is it really that hard walking to a door and passing through it?" To him, he was taking a casual stroll. The line continued to decrease until it remained only about fifty people in total on the four lines.
"Go, go, cutie!" Elizabeth screamed from the outside. Seriously, she was a totally new level of personality. She hadn't even minded the big names around her.
"She is really an enigma," the young youth who followed the priest said.
"People like her are really the hardest to deal with. It would be great if she has the love of God in her," the priest said.
"I will keep watch and try to show her the Lord's light," the youth following the priest said.
"No, you should actually keep your distance," the priest said. "Why?" the young youth asked. "Let those more eager people do that," the priest said, as he looked towards Roberto, making his follower understand what he meant.
"She being from a big clan with her brother will really prove to be a problem," Biles muttered to himself with a forced smile.
"I am loving her," Roberto said with a smile to someone close to him.
"I don't think we should take a rash approach with her. We should let others test the waters first," the person he talked to replied.
"What do you know? We have always been the ones testing the waters. Let's see her brother's show first though before we confirm. I think if he turns out super good, we won't be testing or seeing others test the waters. We will see everyone jump into the waters at the same time," Roberto said, laughing out wide.
The exam continued, with more people crashing out among the fifty remaining participants. It was down to fifteen people when the pressure started to fully affect Liana. She found it increasingly difficult to walk. "I can't lose to him. He took tenth position in the first round. It's either above tenth or nothing," she said through gritted teeth.
One step, two steps, Liana continued, but then she felt her body lose balance and collapse backward. Before she could hit the ground, a little hand caught her. "Did you really need to prove yourself that much?" Liana heard Belle's voice, which immediately rang in her ears. Belle had positioned himself directly behind her due to the departure of most of the other exam participants.
Liana slowly opened her eyes to see Belle looking at her. "Give up now. You made it to tenth position. You didn't lose," Belle said to her. On any other occasion, Liana's stubbornness would have prevented her from giving up, but this time, only one thing was on her mind. "He looks even more beautiful up close."
"Can you two please be less lovey-dovey in line? I need to use my last bit of strength to move forward to the first position," Belle heard a voice that he immediately recognized as the scrawny-looking boy without even looking. "You can leave now," Belle said. "Okay," Liana nodded to Belle before being teleported out immediately.
"My brother is so cool! Flirting skills: Hero that saves the damsel, level 100 maxed!" Elizabeth exclaimed with wide laughter, causing those around her to laugh as well. The exam continued, and none of the remaining participants seemed willing to give up. However, Belle's case was different. He didn't feel any pressure at all; to him, it felt like home. Adrenaline rushed through him as he approached the door. "That door holds something valuable to me," Belle muttered to himself. He wasn't sure what it was, but he was certain it held value.
Among the remaining nine participants, four were from the prominent factions of religion, guardians, academy, and obsidian. The other four were from notable clans. Only Belle stood without a fully confirmed background. While they knew Elizabeth supported him, they were unaware of who supported Elizabeth.
Soon enough, someone stood before one of the doors, ready to push it open. It was Herbert, an elegantly dressed boy from the Blood Lotus Clan. As the door creaked open, sweat immediately rushed down Herbert's forehead. "I'm stopping here," he spoke out as his body quickly teleported away. Even though he hadn't fully opened the door, Herbert had done enough to generate wild cheers from the crowd outside and make his clan proud. They wondered if the others coming after him could do as well.
Another person pushed a different door open, not as wide as Herbert had, but enough to let light escape. Boom! Their body teleported away. In a similar fashion, another door was pushed open by a silver long-haired girl in silver clothes and fishnet hand gloves. The whole crowd outside erupted with cheers as she almost fully opened the door. "Third in the first test and this in the current test. The academy has surely recruited someone incredibly talented this time. Many other participants from their faction made it to the top two hundred," many people said in awe. Even the guardians, obsidian, and religious groups looked towards the academy's representative to see the smile on the middle-aged man's face.
Another person walked to the door and pushed it, but the door didn't budge. Then another person met the same fate. After them came a blonde boy who seemed to exude perfection. Creak! The blonde successfully pushed the door open and took a single shaky step before being teleported out. "You religious bigots aren't bad," Roberto said mockingly to the priest, deducing the boy's affiliation from the priest's reaction. "Looking forward to seeing what the obsidian has to offer," the youth following the priest proudly said, as he was the younger brother of the priest.
"Go first," Belle said to the scrawny-looking boy, making way for him. Now Belle understood why he didn't feel the pressure and why he felt a need for something behind the doors. "Are you afraid you will fail? No need to be. You've come this far, so it will be a pass. I'll go first, though," the scrawny-looking boy reassured Belle as he confidently passed him. Creak! He pushed the door open and took the first step, but before he could take the second step, he was teleported out. "Seems we'll call it a draw in this district. Let's see what the guardians can offer," Roberto remarked, although the priest was uninterested in engaging with him.
Creak! An easy-to-overlook teenager casually pushed the door open and took a step, then two, before completely disappearing through the door. The whole crowd erupted in frenzy. "He walked in! He actually did!" Biles exclaimed with a smile. However, he was cut short from saying more as he saw Belle push open the door. Creak! The door opened.
CREATORS' THOUGHTS 
LaughingShadowDea
LaughingShadowDea Okay I want to use this chapter to say thank you to Drokto, Ft-Ken, Jane-Au23, WAIDH, and a lot others that has been collecting my book for the views and the love they have been showing to my work, I really appreciate, seriously remembering I have you all gives me a reason to write, don't forget you can share your thoughts for the story with me if you have any
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