Immortal || ONC 2021-COMPLETE

Chapter 7

The next morning, Keith explained what was written on the instructions for Marcus. This year the new battle royale portion was combined with the survival test. They would be out in the testing center for a total of one week and they would be discretely monitored by the proctors. Only the top hundred that displayed an aptitude for survival skills and fighting would pass on to the next round.

Marcus had knots in his stomach all morning. He tried his best to calm down, but the proctor's words stuck with him. He didn't want to kill anyone, was it a requirement?

The morning passed by painfully slowly, but the time for the test inevitably came. The group lined up in the auditorium and waited for instructions The room was buzzing with a nervous energy. Marcus stood with Keith and Ava close by. All three of them were sweaty and nervous. Marcus's parched throat concerned him. How could he do a survival test if he was already thirsty?

"Alright everybody listen up, I'm only going to explain this once!" the proctor said loudly as he came in. Everyone quieted down.

"I know some of you are concerned about the nature of this combat test. Let me put your minds at ease. We don't actually want to deal with a bunch of dead kids! So do yourselves a favour. There will be multiple waypoints. If you wish to concede the test at any given point, go there and you'll be escorted off the testing center." He paused, hearing multiple sighs of relief.

"If you're injured, don't be an idiot, concede. If you have no way to get water or food, concede. If you have heat stroke, concede. And finally, if you're in the midst of a battle with another candidate, and you know you're outmatched, you can concede at any point."

He paused again, "Let me be clear. If you kill someone in the midst of a battle, who doesn't concede, you can continue the test. However, if someone concedes, and you end up killing them, you're off the test, and you will be charged with murder."

Mutterings rose up in the crowd. The group quickly realized that there would be a very fine line between what was okay and what wasn't while fighting. Marcus was a little relieved at this, but Keith didn't seem so sure.

"It's not so black and white in the heat of a battle." He muttered quietly. Marcus wondered about this as the proctor continued.

"Now that that's out of the way, on your way to the testing center you will each grab a pack. You all have your swords, in the packs, there will be a few canteens, some rations, a first aid kit and a torch. If you find yourselves too injured to get to a waypoint, light the torch and one of the fire mages will locate you." He started pacing back and forth, shaking his head.

"You may wonder why we're being so generous this year. Last year we were hit with some unexpected weather, multiple candidates didn't make it, others were too sick to continue and no one passed. You should be grateful."

With that, the proctor left and the crowd's muttering turned into a loud roar of excited chatter.

The group was first ushered to the courtyard where they were given their packs. In the courtyard was the most beautiful fountain Marcus had ever seen. The sparkling water gleamed in the sunlight, reminding Marcus of his thirst.

"Fill your bottles and drink what you can! Then we're off." One of the other proctors ordered.

"I guess they're not taking any chances this year," Keith said as he grabbed his canteen.

Marcus was glad to find that the testing center wasn't too far from where they were, even so, the pack was quite heavy with the extra water, and he found himself sweating and out of breath by the time they arrived.

They were separated into multiple groups and directed to specific areas. Marcus was glad to be in a group with Keith and Ava.

"Once you hear the cannon, the test has begun." The proctor of their group said quietly. She was a slender woman, but Marcus had the feeling she could easily beat him in a fight.

Keith got Marcus's attention. He nodded his head towards a densely wooded area. Marcus understood his meaning at once.

The boom of the cannon sounded across the testing center, Marcus, Keith and Ava immediately started running towards the wooded area. Marcus could hear clashing behind him, he glanced back to see three candidates already bleeding on the ground, and the rest fighting each other or looking for other prey.

After some time, the group stopped. "That was a good call," Marcus said, sipping some water.

"Our best chance is to wait out for a bit and try to come up with a plan as a group," Keith said. He waited until they had the chance to catch their breath before continuing."Okay, let's talk skills. What are you guys best at?"

Ava spoke up first, "Well back home I'm a medical apprentice. I can identify a lot of different herbs that can be eaten or used for medicine, and I know how to stitch up a wound." She said proudly.

Marcus looked at her, surprised. He realized that he hadn't bothered to get to know much of anything about his two new friends. They hit the jackpot with her.

"Also," Ava smirked, "the guys in my town know not to mess with me. My dad has taught me how to fight and protect myself since I was a little girl."

"Awesome Ava!" Keith smiled. "For myself, I'm pretty good with navigation and hunting, and there's a master swordsman in my city that I've taken multiple lessons from," Keith said simply. The two of them turned to look at Marcus expectantly.

He realized it was his turn to say something. "Um," he froze, "I mostly grow potatoes." He flushed, once again embarrassed at his lack of skills.

An awkward silence hung between them.

Ava and Keith glanced at each other, "So you've never had any experience with fighting before?" Ava asked.

"Oh! Well, there was the one time when my brother and I travelled here from my village. These two guys tried to kill us. I managed to fend them off until some patrol knights came by and saved us." Marcus said, proud of how he handled the experience.

"Hold on that was you?" Keith asked surprised. "My brother is one of the patrol knights. He said those guys were notorious and had been killing a number of travellers these past weeks. He mentioned that you must've been pretty gutsy to not have your head lopped off right away!" he continued, a hint of admiration in his voice.

"Okay, well then if you're a farmer, that must mean long hours of hard work, I'm sure we could use that," Ava suggested.

Marcus flushed again, "well, not quite a farmer yet, just an apprentice."

Silence again.

"Well anyway," Keith changed the subject. "I was thinking of how they're going to monitor us, the best I could come up with is that the proctors in each group are going to be hanging around."

"That or the mages will be watching." Ava shrugged.

"That's good to keep in mind. Now for our next move, we have a few hours of light left. We should try and find a good hiding spot to set up camp." Keith said to Ava.

"Oh great! And then tomorrow we can get started on gathering intel on the other candidates!" Ava suggested.

Marcus sat back, bothered. He watched the two as they deliberated. The both of them had so much to offer and knew exactly what to do next. He was suddenly overwhelmed by feelings of inadequacy. Such was the story of his life.

Something tugged at his attention. He stopped listening to his friends, the sound of a snapping twig had him suddenly alert. Marcus twisted around, sword in hand. His sword clashed against the intruder's sword, knocking it clean out of his hand. In an instant, Marcus's sword hovered against the intruder's neck.

"What the hell?" Ava and Keith gaped at what had just happened, surprised.