“I said that I’m not interested.” Numba stated without much emotion, and as if to stress his point, the lone Altered moved away from Gary.

‘Didn’t we have a bro moment earlier? The two of us even smiled at each other… was that just me misinterpreting stuff?’ Gary thought as his cheeks were turning red in embarrassment.

“Come on, don’t you agree that with everyone else teaming up, we would be better off doing the same?” The Werewolf argued, completely aware how pathetic he must appear at that moment. Less than a minute ago, the green haired teenager had confidently refused an offer to join someone else’s group, and now he was practically begging for a cooperation.

“I don’t mean to say that I think you need any help necessarily, but working together would increase both our chances of passing the assessment and stuff.”

Numba let out a sigh, before turning back to Gary. “I don’t know if you’re a good guy or bad guy, but that’s kinda my point.

“All I know about you is that your Altered form looks impressive, and that you punched someone’s face in a while ago. While it would be great to have that kind of power on my side, what exactly is stopping you from betraying me during this assessment? This is my only chance to get into the AFA, so I’m not going to take any chances.

“One thing I learned growing up is that you can rely on the fact that people will always do things for their own personal gain and benefit. Frankly, I don’t see what you could possibly get out of working with me.”

Gary wished to argue, but while his mouth remained open, no words were coming out. After all, what else could he say to Numba other than he should trust him? If their positions were reversed, would he be willing to completely trust the word of what amounted to basically a complete stranger?

Left with no other option, the Werewolf accepted his defeat and turned around. From the looks of it, he was one step too late. The other two teens who had been unable to transform had been more successful in securing teammates, making them a group of five. Additionally, four Altered capable of transforming were also staying grouped together.

‘Screw me, I guess. That’s what I get for trying to be nice. I should have just agreed to the guy’s offer. Oh well, no other choice but to do this whole thing on my own.’ Gary lamented.

“Erghh, excuse me, I couldn’t help but overhear what you were talking about with that guy, and I totally agree. Since he doesn’t wish to team up… would you mind if I take his place? I really want to get in the AFA, and you were super impressive.” A nasal voice interrupted Gary’s thoughts.

Before him stood a teenager with straight, flat hair that was cut on the level of his eyebrows, giving him the appearance of a bowl. Then there were his eyes that looked like upside down moons as he smiled.

“You… were the guy that could, like grow out his hair out, right? Turning into like a Hair Altered?” Gary questioned, as he tried to recall the teenager’s name. The next moment, he covered his mouth, realising how incredibly rude his description might have been. Fortunately, the teenager’s expression didn’t change in the least, rather nodding along.

“Yep, that’s me. You don’t seem to remember my name, but I don’t blame you, I’m as surprised as you’re that I actually passed. I’m Vik, and it would be my pleasure to work alongside you.”

Truth be told, Gary couldn’t join his enthusiasm, from what he barely recalled, he couldn’t imagine the guy becoming anything but a burden, but after getting rejected he also felt bad for him. “Are you sure you wouldn’t rather join up with the group of four? Together, you might have a far better chance.”

“What’s the point? I’m convinced you’ll end up as one of the last five. But even if they change their mind and allow me to join, if it comes down to it, I’ll be the one they’ll abandon in the last round. My gut is telling me that my best chance is sticking with you.” The teenagers admitted with a smile as he rubbed the back of his head.

Gary wasn’t sure if it was due to pity, or him appreciating Vik’s honesty, but with barely any time left on the timer he agreed. The lights near the ceiling of the room turned on as soon as the buzzer sounded. Behind the glass, they could see the three silhouettes.

“Time’s up. We hope you’ve agreed on your tactics to pass the assessment. Heads up, the first ball will shoot out momentarily.”

*BEEP*

Like a silent agreement, the room had been split up into four parts, each one belonging to one of the groups. The side of the white room door opened up, and what looked like a slick cannon had shot out a football sized black ball towards them.

The panel that had opened was right behind Gary, and since he had heard the sound of the panel opening, he had instantly moved away from his position. Alas, from the corner of his eye, he could see that his new teammate would be hit unless he moved. A loud bang went off, and the Werewolf was barely able to pull Vik by his shirt, saving him from the impact.

The ball passed them by at incredible speed, faster than a pitcher’s. It looked to be going around 100 miles per hour. The next second, it had hit one of the teenagers that were in the group of five, bouncing off his body.

“Alright, the count-down will now begin!” A voice was heard over the megaphone.

“Hey I was hit, I was hit, what are we going to do!” The teenager panicked as he looked for help from his teammates.

“There are no rules about what we can do, so let’s grab one of the others, and hold them down!” The leader from the group of five suggested.

Immediately, one of the teenagers who had fought before who didn’t have the ability to transform, ran over to the others and grabbed a teenager before they could react. His teammates were a little scared to attack him, as they had seen what he had done in the fight outside as well.

Kicking the other teenager in the head, he quickly dazed him and grabbed the back of his arms.

“Throw the ball!” The teenager demanded.

He didn’t need to be asked twice, and the ball was thrown, hitting the teenager right in the stomach. Underneath the large timer that was in the room, a photo could be seen of the person who had last come into contact with the ball.

Now the timer was at forty seconds.

The group of five split up now as they tried to get away from the other group of four and seeing as it would be difficult to help out their fires, their eyes had now turned to the one who was on his own.

‘I see how it is, well just try it.’ Numba thought as he started to transform.

******

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