Selection
1189 Words
"Thank you for answering my call."
Raja Avanindra looked at us one by one, "As you know, today you will take the military entrance test." He said calmly.
As we know? I'm so sorry, but I didn't know that. I glanced at Mrs. Daiva questioningly.
He shrugged his shoulders as if to say, "I don't know."
Damn...
"But from what I can see at a glance, it looks like someone started this selection prematurely."
The king fixed his gaze on Badhra who was lying helpless in the middle of the hall.
"Your... Y-Your Majesty... Forgive me for not being able to pay your respects."
Badhra stammered, looking up at the king of the prone position.
I laughed inwardly seeing him still unable to move, but it doesn't matter, he should be able to move after 24 hours have passed.
"Yeah. It's fine. It's your fault anyway for acting so carelessly. And I thought we had a new genius here...."
The king's eyes darted around looking for someone until they finally stopped at me.
"So you're the tenth member that Daiva talked about? So young... how old are you?"
I slightly raised my face, replied, "16 years, Your Majesty."
"Oh? Younger than I thought. I thought you were 25 or something," replied the king.
Ha?
Wastu immediately approached the king then whispered,
"Your Majesty, they are all high school students, so, no one will be 25 years old."
Raja Avanindra immediately realized his mistake, then laughed.
"That's right. I almost forgot."
Turns out he was pretty ridiculous.
Was the immense pressure just me?
Raja Avanindra stroked his beard.
"I don't like complicated things. So the selection will be very easy. You just have to endure the pressure I put on you."
Suppressing with his aura? Was his aura really that great? I'm interested.
But it seems that some participants underestimate this selection.
"Before I begin this selection, all of you, stand up!" the king ordered as he raised his hand.
In no more than a second we were all standing tall, carrying out his orders.
"Let's start!" he shouted, leaning on his throne, closing his eyes, focused.
The floor of the hall shook, the royal palace shook violently. Slowly our bodies were pushed to the earth as if pressed from above by something.
Great.
But with a little trick, this selection will be easy to pass.
"Soul Protection."
I put a shield on my soul, that way the pressure it exerts won't feel as strong as it may be.
Actually, neither the air nor the atmosphere depressed us, but the king attacked our souls with his very powerful aura so that we saw the earth-shaking.
I remained standing straight, staring intently at the king.
"Oh? Not bad...." The king was impressed.
Unlike me who easily resisted the king's soul attack, the others seemed to have a hard time.
"What is this? The pressure is so strong!"
One by one, they began to fall and fall. However, there are still some people who can survive.
One of them is Devdan.
I knew it.
He looks very relaxed, just like me.
"I'll increase the pressure. Get ready!"
King Avanindra looks like a child who is very enthusiastic about seeing a car crusher and wants to try it on his favorite doll.
The pressure exerted increased 2x from the previous one, causing more and more participants to fall, kissing the floor of the hall.
However, since I've used the trick on myself, something like this won't have any effect.
When the king saw that much had fallen, he decided to end this selection.
"All right. This is enough."
The remaining 10 who made it through the selection.
Devdan was able to hold on till the end, instead, he yawned lazily, looking very bored.
"Hm..." The king nodded in satisfaction, stroking his thin beard again. "...Alright, 10 people is a fine number." He said, then laughed very silly.
"From now on, those of you who survive will become the real 'The 10 Rulers'!"
The real?
"Your Majesty! What about us?" asked one participant who failed.
"Don't worry! All of you will remain as the royal army, but you will be divided into 10 platoons, and each platoon will be led by a Ruler."
Ha? So now I have to be a commander? The pinnacle of misery was waiting for me, laughing mockingly.
Ugh... I can feel it.
The participants who failed to feel very happy with what King Avanindra said, started cheering.
This is really crazy.
After the selection was completed, Wastu ordered the participants to return to their respective homes.
Mrs. Daiva and Devdan approached me at the same time.
"That was very difficult, wasn't it?" While putting his hands behind his head, Devdan says something unbelievable.
He's always been like this.
"How about you?" Mrs. Daiva asked me.
"Very easy."
"So we're going to be commanders, huh? Sounds like fun!" Devdan looks very excited.
Suddenly, King Avanindra approached us who were busy talking. The three of us spontaneously bowed.
"Ah...no need to be so formal, I just wanted to say hello to the youngest commander in the history of this kingdom." He laughed.
This guy loves to laugh, it just makes me sick.
"What is your name?" He looked me straight in the eye.
"Aray. You can call me that."
I don't want my surname to be known, because I think he knows both of them.
"Nice name! I expect a lot from you." He said, putting his hand on my shoulder.
"Very well, Your Majesty."
"You should practice more because there will be many difficulties for you in the future."
Do you mean trouble? Such nonsense.
“Sorry, Your Majesty… but, nothing like that would happen to me.”
"Don't say that... you know? Life always has a funny way of proving we can be wrong."
I fell into the silence.
This guy... talks a lot.
"You must have control over yourself. Realize this and you will move on to a higher level in life." He looked at me warmly, continued his bullshit,
"Yeah... anyway, good job!"
He waved his hand and walked away leaving the three of us.
That advice wasn't just for me.
But also to Devdan and Mrs. Daiva.
Even though this fellow kept smiling and saying his wise words, I could tell that he was rotten to the bone.
For the time being, I will work for him.
But I wonder what kind of people who become 'The Ten Rulers' are. I didn't pay much attention to them during the exams, so all I knew was Devdan.
If later I will be met with them, I hope they are not full of nonsense people.
"I heard from the king, you will become 1st platoon commander with 4 people as your subordinates. So... be prepared, your day off will be a little disrupted." Mrs. Daiva raised her eyebrows.
"Don't tease me. This wouldn't have happened if you hadn't tricked me the other day. I'll repay you one day."
"Ugh...." He forced a smile on his face.
I once again, my quiet days, please don't take them away!
- Writer
