Green

Honk! Honk! "Move out of the way, asshole." A young voice screamed. "Estelle! Don't swear! How many times do I have tell you?" Ethan's father scolded her for the millionth time. "But dad! Those assholes might be the reason why Ethan misses his test! I'm just telling them to move away!" "You..." He sighed. "I should have left you at home if I knew you'd be this much trouble."

They slowly made their way through the traffic as they reached the test centre. Ethan rushed out. "Best of luck! Don't forget to call us when you're done!" His father called out. He didn't bother to reply. He was late. He didn't want to miss the exam because some young master wanted to celebrate their birthday today.

Taptaptaptap. "Hello, my name is Ethan Miller. I hope I'm not late," panted Ethan to a receptionist. "You're just in time." She smiled. "Head to the second floor. Room H." He rushed upstairs. Room H was a wide hall with a bunch of chairs arranged neatly in rows. Almost all of the seats were occupied. He searched around, trying to find an empty seat.

Ethan plopped down on the only chair he could find. He sighed in relief. He wasn't late. "And who are you?" He heard a voice right next to him. A posh looking kid with dark green hair looked at him with disdain. "Ethan," he responded as he wiped the sweat off his forehead.

Ethan quickly pulled out some stuff from his bag. He didn't bother looking at the boy sitting beside him. "Ahem!" He turned around. "Yes?" Ethan glanced at the boy. "I was talking to you." The boy frowned at him. "Oh, I'm sorry. I was a doing something. What were you saying?"

The boy raised his eyebrow. "I was asking what your potential was." He looked a Ethan expectantly. "Why do you care?" Ethan frowned at him. The boy was shocked. "Do you...do you know who my father is," he sputtered. Ethan snickered. "Sure as hell don't."

The boy frowned. He opened his mouth, as if he wanted to say something, but then he stopped himself. "Whatever. I'll allow you to sit beside me for now." He folded his arms. "Damn young masters," muttered Ethan.

They sat in silence for a while. "Where are you from," asked the boy. "Centin," said Ethan. Silence. "Well, aren't you curious about me?" He eyed Ethan curiously. "Nope," said Ethan. He had too much on his mind to worry about some arrogant kid sitting beside him. "I...I see," he stuttered. What was wrong with this guy? Ethan was sure he'd said enough to annoy this guy, but he was still talking to him. Were all young masters like that?

Ethan pulled out his knife. Forwards. Backwards. Forwards. Backwards. He'd developed a habit of flipping his knife while sitting idly. Originally, he'd started doing this to improve his coordination while fighting. But now it simply became a method to pass his time.

"That's a nice knife you have there." The young master eyed him suspiciously. "Relax. I'm not going to stab you or anything. I have better places to stick my knife." The boy looked shocked once again. "You...do you know..." "...who my father is. Yeah, yeah. I don't." Ethan completed his sentence

The boy glared at him. He stared at him silently for a few moments. "I've never seen a knife like that before," he remarked. "Where'd you get it?" "I dunno," said Ethan. "I must have picked it up somewhere." Flip! Flip! "What's it called?" "It's called a kris. Apparently, its an Indonesian weapon. It's my primary weapon for now."

"Oh? You're using a dagger as your main weapon? That's interesting. I use one too." He pulled out a dagger. His dagger was, to put it simply, beautiful. It shone in a lustrous bronze colour, almost reflecting Ethan's face perfectly. It was narrow near the hilt and wide near its edge.

"This is a Greek dagger. Its my primary weapon." He said proudly. "Wow, it looks pretty good." Ethan was genuinely impressed. Of course, his own method of fighting had deviated from this weapon, but that didn't stop him from taking a look. "My daggers' good for stabbing, while yours is good for slashing," he proclaimed.

"Yes, that's true." Ethan had to agree with his observation. "Say, how good are you with your dagger?" "Huh? I'm the best! I....."

Ethan continued talking with the green haired boy. He was quite surprised, to be honest. He had a negative view of young masters- he thought they were all conceited idiots who couldn't be bothered to talk to any 'plebeians'. But this dude was pretty cool. Sure, he was slightly arrogant, but that was just his way of speaking.

"And then I cleaved the goblin in half! I...." Beep! Beep! A loud voice sounded in the hall. "All applicants, please pay attention." Snap! In a moment, the entire room was silent. Everybody stopped talking.

Tap...tap...tap. A woman's heels pounded on the floor as she made her way to the stage. "Hello everybody. My name is Macy Williams. You may call me Miss Williams." She smiled. "All of you guys have gathered here to attempt the KGS entrance exams. I'll be explaining the rules and procedures you have to follow." She droned on, listing some boring details. Finally, she got to the last part.

"Todays test will be divided into three stages." Her smile vanished. "The first stage will single out ten thousand participants." Everybody froze. Ninety thousand people would be eliminated in the first round. This meant that 90 percent of people would be kicked out at once. It was frightening. Ethan would have to do better than every G-4, G-5 and G-6 ranked person to get to the second stage.

"This stage will be a practical exam. We'll be conducting the test in a G ranked gate managed by KGS." Beep! A message appeared in everybody's watches. "The message that I've just sent you is a comprehensive list of all missions that you will have to choose from. Different missions award different amounts of points. Higher points means a better score."

Beep! Beep! Ethan's watch was flooded with messages. Using a cheap quality product wasn't helping him out right now. "We've set up cameras throughout the gate, so you won't die. If you are on the verge of death, we'll save you. But remember, you'll be disqualified immediately. Gatekeepers who don't know their own limits are useless." Many kids gulped. There was no way to exploit the rules.

"Alright then." Whooosh! A portal appeared beside her. "Prepare yourselves and step through this portal. The test will begin in 15 minutes. Any latecomers will automatically be disqualified." Thump...thump. Ethan's heart started pounding in anticipation. He was scared, yet excited. He'd have to give it his all from the beginning. Ziiip! He put on a combat suit- the same one he'd worn in Knightsville.

Strap! Ethan put on all of his gear and sheathed his knife. "Are you confident?" The boy asked him. Ethan smiled. "Nope. Only the heirs of the five families probably are." He started zipped his bag. "But I'm confident that I'll do my best. What about you?"

The boy gave him an uncomfortable smile. "I'm confident." He turned around and started walking towards the portal. "We'll meet if we get to KGS. Until next time, Ethan!" He waved without looking back.

"What's gotten into him? Maybe he didn't like what I said." Ethan started walking towards the portal. That sure was a strange young master. Most of them probably wouldn't even bother looking at him unless they knew his background. Huh. Maybe he'd meet him again.

"Ethan Miller. F rank potential." A loud voice called out. He grimaced. Anybody who had heard the woman looked at him in contempt. "Yes. I'm here." She eyed him curiously. "I don't know why you're even attempting this exam. You should've picked some other suitable school to join. Oh well. Who am I to stop you. I'll be here when you come back."

A couple of kids snickered. "Poor guy. He was born trash. This is why commoners shouldn't waste their time here." Ethan clenched his fist. "I don't plan on failing." He stared back at the woman. "Move along," she said. "I don't need to wish you luck. I hope your heart doesn't break too much."

She expected him to fail. The woman expected Ethan to be kicked out in the first round. He looked at the portal swirling in front of him. He wouldn't fail. Not today. Not after he had come this far. He had ventured into a wasteland and stabbed his own heart.

Ethan had shown resolve stronger than anybody here. He didn't care for their contemptuous gazes. He knew he was better than them. For once, he allowed arrogance to wash over him. "I am the best. I am legendary. I am a genius. Nobody is better than me."

"I hope I won't be seeing you again today." He smiled at the woman. She frowned at his reply. "Well, then. I'll see you in KGS. Goodbye." He could hear people laughing. He didn't look back. For now, he felt amazing. He felt like he could conquer the world.

Shing! He unsheathed his knife as he held it backwards. Tap...tap...tap. Whoooosh! He stepped into the portal. He was ready to go to KGS.