Second Stage

"So let me get this straight. I was the only one who reached the thirteenth floor. And all of those times listed there were for people who reached the eleventh floor?" Ethan sat in a room with a small towel wrapped around his shoulders. The SMEPT guys had decided to sterilise him after he exited the elevator, so they had blasted him with hot water.

Ethan shuddered as he recalled how he'd been washed thoroughly. He didn't want to go through that again. "Yes, that's true. All of the times listed there were applicants who collapsed on the twelfth floor. We considered their times up to the eleventh floor." He beamed at Ethan. "And what happens to me?" Ethan frowned at him. This guy was suddenly getting chummy with him. A little too chummy.

The moustached man smiled. "You've broken the record for this centre. So you'll obviously be placing first." First? A bolt of lightning passed through Ethan. His feet felt weak. "W...What do you mean? Y...You said that all kids who couldn't defeat F rank monsters would be failing. You s...said that we had to clear the fifteenth floor. Are you p....pranking me?"

Ethan couldn't believe his ears. Surely this was some cruel trick. He hadn't even reached the final stage, yet this guy was smiling as if he had already got into KGS. "Hey kiddo! Let me tell you a secret." He inched closer to him. "All of these kids! They're not getting into KGS. "They'll most likely be a part the 1000 people getting kicked out in the next round. After all, this SMEPT has pathetic applicants. Except for you, of course!"

Ethan felt like puking. This guy was kissing up to him because he thought he was getting into KGS. "Let's see here. Ethan Miller.....15 years old....hmm..." He froze. "P...potential ranked F." His face contorted in rage. "Y....you filthy commoner. What're you doing in my office? Get out this instant," he roared.

Ethan stared at the guy in disgust. This guy was a perfect example of a boot licker. He treated rich and powerful guys wonderfully and liked to trample over poor and weak people. Ethan got off his seat. "Get out! Every second you spend in my office makes it dirtier. Out!" Ethan stopped by the door. "Why'd you tell me that the SMEPT has thirteen floors? It seems like I'm on the fourteenth floor right now. After all, there's a filthy rat in front of me." He smirked at the moustached man.

His face contorted in rage. "Y...you damn brat! Get over here!" He moved towards Ethan. Ethan turned around and started running. "Seems like you have a love-hate relationship with me! Earlier you were telling me to go, and now you're telling me to stay. Sorry. I'm not into tsundere rats!"

"You filthy commoner! Get over here!" He screeched out loud. "So this is how a tsundere rat sounds when they're 'dere'. They screech. I wonder if they squeak when they're 'tsun'" Ethan smiled at his own joke as he rushed towards room. He slammed open a door and headed inside.

Ethan saw a bunch of people sitting around, waiting for the test to end. He plopped on a seat. The tsundere rat wouldn't be able to hurt him here. He leaned on a chair as he closed his eyes, enjoying the sensation of doing nothing. He had passed the second round. He didn't need to worry about anything else for today.

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[First place. Ethan Miller. Time - 7:52]

Ethan gazed at the screen displaying his result. He had passed the test. He walked towards a lady sitting behind a desk. "Ethan Miller." She said his name. "Here's your card. Congratulations on getting first place!" She smiled at him. Ethan took a red coloured card and stuffed it into his pocket. He started walking away.

After placing sixth in the first test, he didn't think that he would actually place first in the second test- in an examination where the competition was much tougher. Of course, as the tsundere rat had said, the people in this MEPT weren't that great. But that was compared to the guys who actually got into KGS. They should have been much better than the guys with him in the first round.

Ethan shook his head. That probably wasn't it. The only reason he'd placed sixth was because that white haired young master had screwed him over. At least the second test had been fairer. Monsters attacked all humans equally. They didn't care about your background, or how much money had, or how powerful your dad was. They only killed endlessly. They were a lot like the Mercator.

Ethan looked at his watch.

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[Name: Ethan Miller]

[Age:15]

[Status: Awakener(Physical)]

[- Stats]

[Attributes: None]

[Rank: G-6]

[Strength: G-6]

[Agility: G-6]

[Stamina: G-6]

[Mana: G-6]

[Magical circuit: G-4]

[Personal stat(unnamed): G-5]

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His rank had risen to G-6 in the last exam after slaughtering tons of rock golems. All of his stats had risen to G-6, except for his personal attribute. He frowned. That was strange. This stat had risen every single time he'd ranked up. Except for this time. He wondered why.

Personal attribute was a stat that was different for every awakeners. No two awakeners were the same, and their differences were highlighted by this stat. For example, an awakener who tamed monsters might have 'Diverse Communication' as their personal stat. Another tamer would have 'Beast Favourability' as their personal stat.

Both awakeners had stats that helped them tame animals. But their uses varied. One could talk to monsters while another appeared friendly to monsters. Each had their uses in combat. Even though both awakeners were a part of the 'beast tamer' subtype, their powers and combat ability varied greatly.

G rank was considered the 'baby rank'. It had many reasons, including awakeners' lack of ability to absorb monster mana, or their general uselessness in dungeons, but its main reason was that G rank awakeners didn't have a personal stat. All G rank awakeners were practically the same in terms of their abilities. It was only after they advanced to F rank that they finally started to develop their own specialties.

Of course, this was also the reason why awakeners took disproportionately long amounts of time to rank up. Most KGS students advanced to the upper stages of G rank in 3 years, yet they reached the peak of D rank by the time they graduated. The ability to absorb monster mana as well as their combat ability increasing exponentially was why they advanced much more rapidly.

Ethan placed his palm on his chest. Ba-dump...ba-dump...ba-dump. He wondered what his personal stat would be. The Mercator's items only increased potential. They didn't affect the user's attributes. Yet.....this heart was strange.

Since the day he'd gotten this heart, it had behaved erratically. It started beating fast randomly. And today, it had infected him with rage. The sudden burst of anger he had felt definitely didn't originate from him. His heart had started beating quickly and he'd felt an indescribable feeling of anger.

Of course, he was thankful. Getting this heart was something that'd help him a lot. A LOT! But it was strange. Of course, it didn't act up as much as it used to when he'd just received it. But just when he thought it had stopped acting up, it had reacted.

Well, not that he was complaining. The emotions he had felt had helped him kill an F rank monster after all! He lightly tapped his chest where his heart was. "I wish you'd injected me with a dose of mana or something. Then I'd be able to go to the fourteenth floor as well. Whatever. At least you helped me out today."

He smiled. He couldn't wait to see Estelle's reaction when he reached home. Her mouth was wide open when he'd told her he passed the first test, after all. Beep! Beep! The bus honked, telling all the students that it was leaving. He rushed forward. Hopefully it was the heart that was changing and not his body. He didn't want to deal with something dangerous.

"Wait up! Mr first place is coming." He smirked.