Epics of Noche 1, Anchor

EON CH 49

COMBAT TEST.

1774, SEPTEMBER 26th MONDAY 11:30am.

Noche swallowed. She could still pass the physical portion of the Cross entrance exam. Even if she failed the physical, as long as she got a perfect score on the written, she would graduate.

The gym went dark, everyone vanished into smoke, and Noche stood alone. Silence eerily filled the environment around her. Then she heard water... A dripping. There was a small red puddle. It rippled as a crimson droplet fell into it.

Raising her head, Noche found her own mutilated naked corpse wrapped in barbed wire. The points digging into her flesh, like she was a pig wrapped up at the butchers. Tightening, the wires squeeze this copy until all the limbs exploded and blood rained down everywhere.

Noche was aghast. The sight was horrifying. Yet, it did not scare her as much as the sight that came next. The bloodied sack of meat that was her body dissolved into sand. THAT DESERT! It knew she was failing! It was coming closer!

She took a step aback and shut her eyes tight. Sound returned as she heard the world live and breath around her. Slowly opening her eyes, the blood puddle and sand was gone. Only her classmates and test proctors stood about. They did not seem to notice what she witnessed.

Yet she still felt the trembling in her limbs... The chill deep within her bones. Noche had to pass the Cross entrance exam... Her life depended on it. The Grave brothers lead the students to the center of the gymnasium.

"Well, now that the bench incident is over with... We can resume today's exam." They said, "We're only half way done with the physical, so let's wrap this up already."

Noche shivered at the word half done.

"Alright, the three Create tests are pretty simple." They said, "You have to do three things to prove you are proficient with Create. One, turn a sphere inside out. Two, Create one cubic foot of fire, water, lightning, air, artificial wood, and metal. Three, Create one semi-complicated object. Such as a sword, chair, guitar, or tire."

The Grave brothers turned around.

"As a remainder, if you run low on Drive, you can force yourself to recover... But if you don't rest afterwards, you can cause yourself fatal harm." They grinned, "Now, begin."

One by one, each student began to form a sphere of energy. Acting similarly to a hologram, the students made sure they didn't do anything that would puncture the sphere. One by one, they demonstrate their spatial awareness by turning the sphere inside out.

"Good, everyone has a basic understanding of spatial relations."

The Grave brothers marked down notes.

"And it took me a fucking week to master it." Noche whispered to Cherries.

"Next up, element creating!"

Everyone snapped back to attention, and one by one they all created the elements listed earlier. While no one had any particular difficulties, Noche noticed she created lightning, air, and water with such ease that her classmates couldn't compare. However, her fire was the worst of the group. Once more the Grave brothers scribbled down their notes.

"Next up is a semi-complicated object."

Mary was first to demonstrate. Her creation was a syringe full of chemicals. Next was Alice, who created a pistol decorated with skulls and spiderwebs carvings. When Cherries had his turn he made an entire sewing machine. Varen's creation was rather simple since it was an umbrella. However, when Noche stepped up she hesitated.