SMEPT

"Ethan Miller. Please head to the elevator." A loud voice on a microphone called out. Ethan sheathed his knife as he walked out of the door. His heart pounded loudly. He took a deep breath. People done with their tests were sent to another room, so he had no idea what he would be facing. He zipped up his bag apprehensively.

Ethan walked towards a large elevator. Ding! The doors popped open as a red haired girl popped out. Thump! She staggered as she fell on one knee. Her face was littered with wounds. Her armour was torn in half and her weapon was full of scratches.

Ethan rushed forward, trying to help her. She held a hand forward. She didn't want his help. He stopped himself. She didn't want any one of her competitors to help her. Accepting his help was akin to showing weakness. He would have done the same.

Ethan walked into the elevator. There was no need to exchange any words. She probably wouldn't give him any pointers. After all, it benefited her in no way. His heart throbbed silently as the doors slid shut.

Ethan saw her sorry figure one last time before she disappeared from his vision. He wondered if he would ever see her gain. Probably not. He sighed. Getting into Keystone was akin to trampling on others. There was no room for any sympathy. Others wouldn't be kind. The only way to move forward was with your strength.

Beep! A figure flashed in front of his face.

.

.

Top scores:

1)9:07

2)9:35

3)10:12

4)10:56

.

.

.

20)20:05

.

.

A list showed the top 20 participants. Their names were hidden, but the time they had taken provided something to compare himself to. The final top 20 participants would probably range from 7 minute to 15 minutes. Ethan had to ensure he finished in around 12 minutes, or he'd possibly fail the test. After all, he didn't want to take any risks.

Ding! The elevator slowly opened. Humid. That was the first word that came to his mind. The entire air was full of moisture that seemed to engulf him. He stepped onto a hexagonal platform. Perhaps the environment was catered to some kind of creature. Beep! Beep! A set of mechanical doors popped open as the elevator doors closed.

Squeak! A soft yet sharp noise echoed through the tiny room. Ethan immediately drew his knife. He held it in a reverse grip. Pat...pat. A mouse emerged from the doors. Or at least something that looked like a mouse. The creature stood a metre tall and 2 metres long. It had sharp white teeth that contrasted with its pitch black fur and red eyes. A long, thing tail extended from its behind, curling slightly. This was no ordinary rat. It was a monster.

Ethan clenched his knife. It was a beast type monster. Squeak! The rat's terrible voice pierced through the air. Now wasn't the time to study it. He needed to be fast. Whoosh! The wind whistled as he shot forward. He slashed the little rat's eyes. Squeak! It fell back as it screamed in pain.

Ethan switched his dagger's position. Stab! He plunged it into the rat's brain. Schlop! A weird sucking sound could be heard as he pulled out his knife. The rat fell down. It had perished easily. He wiped the blood off his knife.

Suddenly, the entire platform shuddered. The floor opened as the rat was sucked away. Boom! The platform started rising. Ethan was moving to the next floor.

[00:15]

Thud! The elevator stopped moving. They had reached the next floor. Ethan bent forward, ready to jump at anything that arrived. Shhhh! A set of steel doors opened. Squeak! Another rat appeared, slightly bigger than the last one. It pounced towards him, its eyes glistening red.

[Mana Reinforcement]

Ethan poured mana into his dagger. Suddenly, everything felt lighter. Ethan jumped into the air, dodging the rat's outstretched claws. Stab! He stabbed downwards mid-air. The knife cleaved off its head.

[00:25]

Ethan landed on the floor silently. He'd cleared this floor quicker than the last. Shhh! The elevator moved up again. Thud! The gates opened once more. Thud! Thud! Screech! A loud sound pierced though the air. A grey coloured rat popped out. It was larger than the last two, its snout about as tall as Ethan himself.

"You've got to be kidding me!" The test definitely wasn't easy. Monsters were classified into ranks from G to S, just like humans. In the earlier ranks, monsters could be overwhelmed by a difference in skill. That was why expecting G rank awakeners to take down F rank monsters wasn't unthinkable.

A monsters rank signified the magical power it could hold. As the ranks increased, the difference in magical power widened, slowly determining the power difference between monsters and humans. A C rank monster could kill a C rank gatekeeper with ease. And monsters grew stronger as they evolved.

A monster at a particular rank was either born that way, or evolved to reach it. For example, wolves were high ranked monsters that started at D rank. Rats, however, could only start at G rank- the lowest rank- and had to evolve multiple times to reach D rank.

Evolved monsters were more powerful than their pure-blooded counterparts. It was obvious. An evolved monster possessed greater skill and their instincts were sharper, having gone through hundreds of battles. And that made them more dangerous.

Ethan clenched his teeth as an evolved rat stood in front of him. He wasn't afraid of the rat. No, he'd be able to take it down easily. But he was terrified of the monsters that would appear on the higher floors. This rat was probably a G-3 or G-4 ranked creature. But up there, there would be F-2 or F-3 rank evolved rats.

Ethan was mad. He was beyond livid. These people were crazy. They wanted them to kill F ranked monsters, and evolved ones at that. He rushed forward. The rat raised its paws. Screech! It slammed them down, trying to squish him.

Ethan slid between the paws. He plunged his knife into its belly, ripping it open. Splash! Its innards fell out as it perished. He kicked its corpse away. Shhh! The lift moved upwards as he rose higher and higher.

[00:35]

Slash! Stab! Ethan cut down monster after monster without a trace of mercy, kicking their corpses away. The monsters increased in strength, yet he never showed any signs of sowing down.

[5:02]

[Floor 13]

Ethan breathed heavily. The F rank monsters were coming now. Three behemoths would attack him, ne on each floor, ensuring that he failed this test. But he didn't care. The others had completed this test in 9 minutes. How could he hope to compete with them? It was useless. He was bound to fail. He clenched his dagger tightly.

Beep! The gates slid open. Thud....thud....thud. A 1 metre tall rat lumbered forward, its tail swinging around. Evolution made had the creature smaller and more robust. The rat's black skull protruded out of its head, forming a tough crown jutting out of its head. Its red eyes had mellowed to a deep brown colour, as if it had suppressed its instincts. Its tail was plated with sharp spikes. A swish would knock down any person unfortunate enough to wander close to it. Its body was covered in pure white fur, reflecting the light in the room. It opened its mouth.

"ROOOOAAR!" It bellowed deeply. From squeak to screech, and screech to roar. This rat had truly ascended to a new level. It had become a Rat Lord. Swish! Swish! Its tail cut through the wind. Ethan stared into its eyes. "ROAAAAR!" Its sharp teeth glistened as it pounced towards him.

Clang! dagger met teeth as Ethan was pushed towards the floor. The rat grunted and snorted as it tried to pry open his skull. Clang! The rat was pushed back as Ethan got onto his feet. "ROOOAAAAR!"

[Mana Reinforcement]

Ethan poured his mana into the weapon as he dashed forward. Whoosh! It whistled through the air, heading for the rats eyes. Its tail shot up. Clang! Ethan deflected his blade, parrying the spiked tail. The rat was smart. It knew how to fight.

Ethan rolled back. He poured mana into his arms, trying to reinforce his strikes. Slam! The tail shot to his side as it crashed into his chest. He was thrown away instantly.

[5:52]

"Ow!" Ethan groaned in pain. The sharp spikes had pierced his torso, leaving him bloodied at the side. He'd managed to coat it with a thin layer of mana in time, saving him from being hurt badly. The rat walked towards him, closing in for the kill. That's when a sudden realisation hit him. The rat wasn't injured. He was. The rat was completely unscathed in this clash of weapons that they'd faced.

[6:14]

Fear flooded into his gut as he stared into the rat's eyes. Was it over? Was he going to die here? Pat...pat...pat. The rat's feet pattered towards him. It raised its claws, aiming to end him. He closed his eyes.

Ba-dump...ba-dump...ba-dump. Ethan's heart thumped loudly. Suddenly, he was filled with rage. This wasn't fair. Keystone had placed him against a monster far beyond his level and they had expected him to kill it. He clenched his teeth.

Who the hell was this rat? A lord? He grabbed his knife. The rat was a nobody- a no good monster that feasted on humans and spread pain and misery. It reveled in destruction, yet it was lazy, ordering its subordinates to fetch prey.

Ethan's eyes glowed blue. They seemed to bore into the rat, dissecting it completely. It shuddered as it took a step back. Ethan glared at it with absolute hatred. And proceeded to yell at it. "Yaaaaaah!" He yelled loudly. He screamed his fears away. He let out his anger at KGS for organising a ridiculous exam, at the rat for giving it a hard time and at this damned facility that experimented on creatures as vile as this one.

"ROOOOOAAAAR!" The rat screeched back, angry that Ethan had managed to scare it. It raised its tail threateningly.

[Mana reinforcement]

Ethan circulated his mana rapidly. His heart thumped, working tirelessly to supply mana to every single part of his body, strengthening him greatly. The pentagram on his dagger glowed blue, reacting to the mana it was imbued with.

Whoosh! Ethan rushed forward, heading towards the rat. Fuck the world. Fuck everything. He was going to beat this monster down to size. Swipe. The rat swiped its claws, trying to slash his chest. "Not so fast, rat," he snarled. He jumped into the air. His blade descended from above, aiming to kill the rat. Stab! He had done it! He had managed to get through the rat's tough scales!

It screamed in pain. "Screeeech!" Ethan pulled out his knife, landing on its back. Slam! His fist pounded into its open wound, causing it tremendous pain. Screech! Screech! Screech! The rat screamed as it violently tried to shake him off.

Ethan stabbed his knife into the base of its tail. Thump! It fell down. The rat quietened for a moment, as if couldn't believe what had happened. Its eyes glowed red. Screech! Screech! Screech! It roared madly, throwing him off instantly. It pounced on Ethan, its sharp teeth biting away, trying to rip his face of.

Stab! Ethan's blade pierced its stomach. It ignored the blow, still trying to claw at his face.

[Skill: Mirror blade (G)]

Stab! Ethan's mana dagger plunged into its neck, bursting through its open crown. His brute strength had managed to pierce through its strongest defence! The rat stopped flailing as its eyes widened. Squeak! It uttered a last sound. From roar to screech, and screech to squeak. The rat fell down.

Suddenly, a set of doors opened. Ethan could hear a person clapping loudly. "Well done! Well done! What an amazing performance!" The moustached man stepped out, looking completely different from a few hours ago. He beamed at Ethan as if he was his own son. Ethan stared back at him. It seemed like he had caught his eye. Well, he'd deal with this. He got onto his feet.