Purotekuta

CHAPTER THREE

The inside of Mamoru High is so much bigger than I imagined it would be. The ceilings look to be about twelve feet tall, overarching structures holding the ceiling in place. The walls are almost completely made up of glass. Chandeliers are hanging from the ceiling, adorned in crystals. The building had to be at least ten stories high.
          I walk down the hallway, signs pointing me in the direction of the stadium. As I walk, I look around at everything I can.
          Numerous trophy cases are lining the walls, names of students that graduated from Mamoru High, and lived on to be great protectors.
          I see the arrows I am following point to a door that had a sign on it saying, ENTRANCE EXAM STARTS HERE. I guess that's where I need to go.
          Making my way towards the huge quartz doors, I push them open. I marvel at the sheer size of this room. I estimate it could fit at least five hundred people standing comfortably.
          There are already many students here, waiting for the exam to start. I head up the stairs at the back of the stands and take a seat, pulling out my phone to check the time. 9:28. The exam is starting in two minutes, Guess I made it just in time.
          Two minutes pass in the blink of an eye.
          A young man walks onto the stage, looking to be in his thirties. His waist-long, silky, bright-orange hair billows behind him as he walks.
          "Helloooo Mamoru High entrance examinees!! Welcome to Mamoru High School!" He announces, his voice bouncing off the walls of the enormous auditorium. What is wrong with him? Doesn't he know what he's doing right now?
          His volume is probably related to his affinity, voice manipulation. Father taught me about him. His affinity allows him to make his voice louder or quieter ar his demand.
          I look around at some of the examinees around me and mostly see a similar confusion to mine on their faces.
          "You all are here because you want to be protectors! But it's not going to be easy to get into Mamoru high! First, you must take the written exam. Soon after, we will test you on your physical strength in the physical exam!" He continues on as my mind wanders. 
          I wonder what the physical exam is going to be, It's different every year. I hear rustling coming from the far side of the stadium.
          Looking over, I see another examinee sitting there, looking uneasy. I can't make out much from where I am, but he doesn't look like he's okay. I can't go over there right now. I'll be sure to speak to him after the written exam.
          "You all are probably wondering, what is the physical exam going to be?" Looks like my question will be answered.  "Well, This year's physical exam is pretty straightforward. We will take you to the Rural Training Facility. There will be bots there that you must defeat!" He says, raising an arm and gesturing behing him as an image of the bots' silhouettes show up on the screen behind him.
          I can't see the last bot through his gigantic yellow wings, and I don't feel like saying anything about it.
          "There are three bot's that you have to defeat! There is one pointer, a two-pointer, and a three-pointer! The more points you have in the end, the better the chance you will have to be in the top twenty!" Why did he only say three bots? There are four bot's up on the screen.
          I look around at the other examinees to see if they noticed what I did.
          An examinee stands up. The force of the motion must have pushed his glasses down his nose a little, because he pushes them back up and combs through his ice-blue hair.
          "Excuse me, sir!" The examinee speaks with a note of authority in his voice that I haven't heard in a long while. I wonder what family he comes from. "You said there are only three bots that we have to defeat, but there are four bot's being shown on the screen. Could you please clarify what you mean, sir?" So polite. Who is his father, I wonder? He looks familiar.
          "Good catch, Teinei! The bot that you are talking about is worth zero points! This bot is only there to be a distraction, and prevent you from scoring points!" Huh. I wonder how that is going to play out.
          I am bored out of my mind sitting here, and just want the exam to start so I can get this over with. Leaning my head on my hand, I stare off into space while slightly paying attention.
          "Thank you, Sir! It is much appreciated!" The examinee sits back down in his chair. Teinei? Hmm. I don't believe I know that name.
          "Now for the written exam! Second-year students are going to be passing out your tests. Good luck everyone!"
          My exam is already on my desk by the time I look down. They must have passed it out while I wasn't looking.
         The test doesn't look that hard, It's just a bunch of questions about what you should do in the situation of a villain attack while giving you the scenario. This should be easy.
          "Alright, everyone! The exam has started! Get to work!"

The written part of the exam is over, but we can't see our scores until the end of the exam. After the written exam ended, they moved us outside the gates to the Rural Training Facility, which is where we are going to be taking the physical part of the exam.
          I am figuring out who would be my hardest opponent so I can try to avoid them. It's not like they would be a problem to me anyways, just a nuisance.
          "Hey, you!" A voice growls from my right.
          I look over at another examinee storming towards me. Why is he scowling at me? Do I know him? The guy seems like he has anger issues, his red eyes filled with rage that never seems to go away. Why is his hair sticking up like that? It looks like a porcupine; and what family has black hair other than mine?
          I rack my brain to try and figure it out, but I can't think of anyone else. My father had drilled into me all the mid and high-ranked families in power so that I can identify all of them if we happen to come in contact. I wonder if he's not from a family with that much power. He seems like he does though; He wouldn't be coming to this school if he wasn't. He wouldn't have a strong enough affinity.
          "Is there something I can do for you?" His eyes narrow at me, his scowl deepening. What's this guy's name? I can just make out what his name tag says. Ikari.
          "Yeah, there's something you can do for me." He has a slight growl when he speaks, almost like a wolf.
          I wonder if that is on purpose. He doesn't seem to have any animal traits about him. I wonder what his affinity is? "You can stop looking so smug about this exam, because we all know that I am going to be in the first place!" I cock my head at him, feeling confused. Do I look smug?
          "You must be mistaken, I'm not being smug. I apologize if it seems that way, but I assure you that I'm not trying to." I apologize, not daring to take a step back. He doesn't look like the kind of person who would appreciate a weak opponent. 
          I had hidden my wings from view before I went into the stadium inside the school for the written exam, and they are still hidden now. I don't want anyone knowing who I am. If they do, they will treat me differently.
          Ikari starts radiating heat, the veins on his arms turning bright red. It seems that Ikari's affinity has something to do with heat. He growls at me, the veins in his arms growing brighter.
          "You will fail this exam. You are just a meager wolf, how are you going to defeat those bots without an affinity, huh? You're going to fail, and I'm going to win, nerd." Ikari growls, whirling around and storming off in the direction of another examinee.
          He didn't even consider the fact that I could have an animal characteristic as well as an affinity. Who trained him so meagerly? His affinity seems a little odd, though. It has to be something powerful since he's so confident that he's going to win.
          An alarm rings out above the courtyard of the Rural Training Facility, the gates opening wide, allowing us to start the exam. Everyone else rushes in, and I follow close behind.