CHAPTER 1028: THE NEXT TEST

The decision was made, and the rest of the day moved into preparation.

The announcement spread quickly through the facility that tomorrow would mark the beginning of the combat phase.

By the evening, the candidates were summoned once again into the underground training hall.

The massive chamber stretched wide. Its reinforced walls humming faintly with layers of protective barriers of metal and some electronic waves.

Rows of candidates gathered in formation. Their postures were stiff and restless. The air carried a very clear nervous energy, like the taut string of a bow pulled to its limit.

Captain Adrien stepped to the front of the platform, his presence commanding silence as always as a veteran they all respected.

His eyes swept across the assembly before his voice rang out, firm and steady.

"Tomorrow, you will begin the next stage of this program. You’ve trained your bodies, you’ve adapted to your Magic by reading through the manual, and you’ve proven your stability. But none of that matters unless you can apply it where it counts most, which is in combat."

A ripple of gulping sounds passed through the group. But they didn’t say anything outside their minds.

Adrien continued with measured but uncompromising words.

"This will not be a sparring match with each other. Tomorrow, you will face a real opponent, Sergeant Drake." He gestured toward Erend, who stood straight-backed in the corner of the chamber, his hands behind his back and expression that looked like it was carved from stone.

Dozens of eyes shifted toward him. Some of the candidates swallowed nervously, others clenched their fists with barely contained excitement.

Erend’s reputation spoke louder than any introduction.

For weeks they had trained under his watchful gaze that seemed piercing into their souls, enduring their sharp commands and relentless standards.

Now, the idea of facing him directly was both terrifying and exhilarating.

Adrien let the reactions hang for a moment before pressing on.

"This will be your first test in unleashing the Magic within you under combat conditions. I know that some of you are eager, and some of you are afraid. Both are natural. But you must remember that recklessness is as dangerous as hesitation."

He paused, his voice dropping into a deliberate weight.

"You must stay in control. You must keep your focus. Magic is power but power without discipline is destruction. If you ever fail to remember that, you will harm not only yourself but everyone around you. In that moment, you will be expelled from this program."

The words drew a heavier silence over the chamber.

At the rear, behind a pane of reinforced glass in the observation room, Thomas the scientist adjusted his glasses as he studied the briefing with a furrowed brow.

His screens lit with diagnostic outlines and schematics. It was lists of stabilizers, monitoring nodes, and the minimum safety measures they’d install tomorrow.

Beside him stood Conrad, the former special forces soldier turned engineer, his broad arms crossed.

Unlike Thomas, he wasn’t concerned with charts. His eyes lingered on Erend, then shifted to the candidates, weighing the mix of nerves and confidence in their faces.

"They won’t need much equipment for tomorrow, right?" Conrad muttered, his tone practical. "We don’t need to prepare heavy tech. What they’ll need is a medic team on standby and procedures to pull anyone out fast if things go south."

Thomas exhaled through his nose, nodding reluctantly. "Yes. This phase is raw. If something happens, it won’t be because of faulty equipment. It’ll be because of them... or him." His glance flickered toward Erend.

Conrad smirked faintly. "Then we’d better be ready. Tomorrow’s gonna show us who’s really cut out for this."

Back in the chamber, Adrien concluded his speech, his gaze sweeping once more across the gathered faces.

"You need to rest tonight. Tomorrow, you will fight. And when you fight, remember that this isn’t about winning or losing. It’s about proving you have the discipline and ability to control your power. That is what will decide your future."

The candidates stood in uneasy silence. Excitement and dread churned together in their eyes as they stole another glance toward Erend, the silent figure who would test their resolve tomorrow.

—

After dinner, the smell of burnt tobacco lingered faintly in the facility’s designated smoking area.

The night air was cool, the faint buzz of fluorescent lights humming overhead.

Three figures stood huddled together, faint plumes of smoke rising and curling toward the opened sky.

Two men and one woman, all in their candidate uniforms, sharing the quiet ritual of cigarettes before the storm that awaited them tomorrow.

"I want to see Sergeant Erend’s strength tomorrow. Is every news about him true, or just exaggeration?" one of the men said, flicking ash to the ground as he exhaled.

His tone carried a mix of skepticism and curiosity, though in his heart there was an anxious glimmer.

"I think it’s true," the woman replied, her voice calm but heavy with certainty. She took a drag, letting the smoke drift slowly from her lips. "I saw him in action when the strange creature attacked years ago."

The other man tilted his head, interest sparking. "Really? How’d he fight?"

She paused, staring at the glowing tip of her cigarette as if the memory replayed before her eyes.

"He... strong. That’s the only thing I can say." Her words carried weight, almost reluctant, as if no description could truly capture what she’d seen.

The first man chuckled, shaking his head. "We will see. Maybe we’ll finally topple him from his throne as the strongest."

He showed them a wide grin full of bravado that didn’t quite hide his nerves.

The woman’s lips curled faintly upward, a small smile touched with amusement. "I don’t think so," she said, her tone neither mocking nor dismissive, just certain.

"Tch." The man scoffed, grinding his cigarette out against the railing with a sharp flick. "I said we’ll see."

The three of them fell into silence after that, their smoke rising together into the still air, their thoughts turning toward the trial that awaited them.

Each of them carried their own mix of doubt, confidence, and unspoken fear.

—

By morning, the facility stirred awake.

Alarms buzzed softly through the dorms, and the halls filled with the low shuffle of boots after their morning exercise.

The candidates gathered again. Their faces washed in pale morning light that bled in through narrow slits of reinforced windows.

The day of reckoning had come.

—