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nThe Jetlensr and Sandford families stood together and looked out over the massive sea of people. The news reports had estimated that the batch of attendees for this year’s Exams was a record-breaking 180,000 children. If it wasn’t for the existence of Watcets and the internet, organizing an event of this scale would have been nearly impossible.

nTo participate, each child had to register online a full two weeks earlier, and in doing so, they would receive a confirmation notice that gave them the time they needed to appear. The first phase of the Exam was always the same. The number of attendees would be slowly chipped away through each stage. The first of which was a 200 question written test. Only those who scored 90% or higher would move on to the second phase, and this test was conducted through a unique program that utilized the Watcet. So technically, the first round of failures started if the person didn’t own one.

nCynrik, Brance, Gabby, and Benny opened up the Exam program on their Watcets and waited patiently for the timer to count down to zero.

n“You know, I’ve been thinking, what’s stopping people from cheating if everyone will be taking the test at the same time on their Watcets?” Cynrik thought out loud while tapping his chin with his index finger.

n“You’ll understand when it starts.” Oswald Sanford, Benny, and Gabbys Dad was the one to answer Cynrik, while the other adults just stood in silence, looking out over the hundreds of thousands of children and families.

nCynrik simply nodded and looked up from his Watcet, which showed there were only three minutes until the Exam started. Then, off in the distance, he noticed dozens of large battleships rising into the sky above the crowd.

nCinyah, too, saw these ships and immediately turned around and grabbed both her children into a tight embrace. “Listen to me, you two; Mommy loves you both more than you’ll ever know.” As she spoke, tears began welling up in her eyes. “I have no doubt you both will easily pass the written test, but whatever happens after, always remember to watch over each other. No matter what, your safety is the absolute most crucial thing. I don’t care if you fail the exams, as long as you come back home to me.”

nCynrik and Brance were both shocked to their cores; they thought it was just a simple entrance exam where they may have to beat up a couple of other kids or something, but Cinyah was acting as if there was a high possibility they could die. The fact that Cinyah’s voice was wavering caused both boys to have a lump form in their throats.

n“Avoid anyone from the Jetlensr or Evasden Clan at all cost. We have done our best to hide you from them for so long, and after the kidnapping incident, I’m worried they will come after you both. I do not regret sheltering you both for so long, and no matter what anyone says, I am proud of you two.” Trying her best not to break down completely, she gently kissed both her son’s on top of their heads and gave them one more hug before standing up and covering her mouth with her palm.

nRikard was also emotional, but instead of saying anything, he just put his hands on both their heads and smiled lovingly.

nCynrik closed his eyes and pulled up his hood, and looked down so no one could see the face he was making, while Brance’s eyes glittered with tears. They both knew something was up with this Exam. This was evident by not only their parent’s reactions, but a casual look around showed that nearly every parent they could see was behaving similarly to Rikard and Cinyah.

nExhaling slowly, Cynrik looked up at his parents and swapped to his AC Loadout, leaving his hidden blades in storage, which startled them both, but they couldn’t react fast enough as Brance also changed to his T1 while leaving his shields in his inventory.

nKitted out in their new armor, combat boots, and tactical pants, the only article of clothing that stayed the same was Cynrik’s red and Brance’s white t-shirts.

nStanding side by side, the brothers smiled confidently at their parents. “Don’t worry; we’ve got this, Mom and Dad.” Cynrik, wearing a cocky smile partially covered by the shadow of his leather hood, said, crossing his arms over his chest.

n“Yeah, just wait to hear our remarkable scores; you’ve taught and trained us both well. We can take anything these exams throw at us.” Brance’s voice didn’t waver as he made his declaration.

nRikard let out a boisterous laugh, and Cinyah giggled at her two brave young boys. Behind them, Oswald and his wife had finished speaking to Benny and Gabby and rejoined the group.

n-The Exams will begin in 30 seconds.-

n-You will be teleported to the designated testing location to take the Phase 1 Written Exam.-

nCynrik scoffed at the notification that rang out in his head and from the Watcets AI and looked over at the two Sanford children and their parents. “If we land with them, you don’t have to worry; we will help them.”

nAs the words left Cynriks mouth, a bright light surrounded the four children, and they were gone less than a second later. Not only them but every child that had shown up for the Exam and had a Watcet vanished in a veil of light, leaving behind only their emotional parents.

nRikard put his arm around Cinyah and embraced her gently while drawing small circles on her back to calm her down. “They will be fine; those little ruffians took down numerous adults more than twice as strong as them. We’ve done everything we could. I only hope Cynrik doesn’t cause too much trouble and plays by the rules,” chuckling softly, Rikard said in a reassuring tone.

n“I know, but so many children die each year in the later stages of the Exam, and we have no idea what will happen this time.”

n“Those other children aren’t little monsters like ours, especially once they get their Affinities back, all of the Academies will be scrambling to recruit them. So what we should do now is go back to Maeve’s and watch the Exams with her and Jessup.”

nCinyah nodded weakly and cast another gaze over the massive battleships floating silently in the distance. She remembered vividly the events of the Exam she and Rikard took, and all she could do was pray her children would come back in one piece.

nCynrik, Brance, Gabby, and Benny appeared suddenly in a massive building before taking in their surroundings. While not as bright nor good at fighting as the Jetlensr brothers, the two Sanford children had spent so much time with them that they had both picked up some of the little habits Cynrik and Brance would casually do. The biggest being something Cynrik would harp on time and time again. Situational awareness.

nGabby and Benny quickly fell in line behind Cynrik and Brance with cautious expressions on their faces.

n“Relax, we aren’t fighting anything yet. So let’s go this way.” Taking the lead, Cynrik waved the other three to follow him and started down the long corridor they were presently in.

nWalking in silence, after a few minutes, they arrived at a massive wooden door. Not bothering to knock, Cynrik pushed it open and walked in and was greeted by a room the size of a gymnasium, filled with thousands of empty desks.

nWhat do you think? Feeling something was off about the room, Cynrik posed the question to Brance.

nNot sure, there had to be over a hundred thousand kids in the fairgrounds; what are the odds that we would be the first ones to arrive?

nMy thoughts exactly; this feels like bait. Mom told us about the Exams that even the written test isn’t simple. Fuck man, I wish I had Mana Sight right now. We could quickly figure this ** out. Kicking the linoleum floor with the toe of his boot, Cynrik narrowed his eyes and looked around the room.

n“Fan out and check the desks, see if there are any clues in their storage space; I’ll go up to the teacher’s podium and look around.” Giving his order’s Cynrik kicked off the ground and flitted across the room towards the podium, neatly centered at the opposite end.

nBehind him, Brance, Gabby, and Benny all split up, going different directions, and started going from desk to desk in search of any papers or other kinds of clues that would point them in the right direction.

nUpon reaching the podium, Cynrik jumped over and landed behind it. His eyes zipped around, searching for any kind of a clue. It didn’t take long for him to notice some strange carvings inside the wooden four-foot podium. Sticking his head into the hollowed part, he got up close to the roof of the stand and read them carefully, ‘3-13-22-57, OH!’

nBANG

nCynrik forcefully stood up with a little too much strength, and his head burst through the desk part of the podium, but he just ignored it and called out to Brance. “Brance, check the 3rd desk from the back on the left! Gabby, 3rd from the back on the right, Benny, the 3rd from the right in the front.” Finishing up his statement, Cynrik dashed over to the 3rd desk on the left in the first row. “Look for any carvings or something out of place.”

nThe four children ran to their positions and started feeling around the desks assigned by Cynrik. Quickly Brance and Benny called out that there was nothing, and Cynrik couldn’t find anything either. On the other hand, Gabby yelped loudly and called out to Cynrik. “Cyn, there’s a button in the cubby. Do I push it?”

nCynrik’s lips curled up into a grin. “Gotcha!”

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