Grey: Monsters

Immediately after visiting my mum, the scary girl escorted me to the military base to register.

A week later, the exams started. There were three phases: the written exams, oral exams, and lastly, the combat exams.

The written exam was the easiest so far, even though I had already done two of the exams. The questions covered calculations, arithmetic, the government, and some other minor topics. Personally, I think I'll ace the written exam. As for the oral exam... I'm fucked.

The combat exam was said to test a lot of things—our physical capabilities, decision-making, and more. It's just like facing a real-time battle. The combat exam was moved to a week later, and during the free time, we were told to train and work on our bodies.

During that free week, while I trained, I also had enough time to talk with the scary girl named Saiya. She told me a lot, including about my current situation. She said she was only watching over me until the designated three months expired, after which she would have no business with me. She even went as far as saying that there were no cameras or spies watching me and that I should relax.

I don't trust her words.

There's no way a living human with no heartbeat wouldn't be under constant watch.

At the end of our conversation, I told her to tell no one that I was Tokita Ayuma's son. I wanted everyone to believe I am dead. That's right—I'm already dead.

***

"B, you've been awfully quiet lately."

"There's a reason for that, bro. I've been constantly watching your kind, and to be honest, I've been amazed. If only my kind could exhibit the level of cooperation your kind does, we'd be unstoppable."

"Well, thanks to the heavens they don't."

"But are you sure the decision you made is the right one, brother? About joining the military?"

"Yeah, I know it's crazy, but look on the bright side: we get to make money and pay for our rent in this beautiful house."

"I don't understand humans. So, you're ready to risk your life for money? You know if they catch us, they won't kill us. Worst-case scenario, we'll be used for experiments. And I don't mind killing some of your kind to keep them shut"

"Yes, yes, yes. Everything you say is true, but when that time comes, we'll sort ourselves out and nobody will die, got that?"

"Hmmm…I'm not really afraid of your kind. I'm afraid of their progress, and the ones I'm really afraid of are my kind, because the more your kind advances in technology, the further my kind will go to take over this world."

***

The combat ground felt like a terrain inside a building. It had the same feeling as the wasteland outside the walls. Having been outside, I know that feeling all too well.

All the aspiring rangers were donned in our battle suits, with weapons of our choice in hand.

I chose a gun.

But what surprised me about the weapons, especially the guns, was that the bullets were weird.

How should I put it?

It's liquid, but when shot, it comes out solid—almost like a water gun that shoots stone.

After some minutes of waiting, a voice echoed from the control room.

"Congratulations to you all for making it to this final stage of the exams. As you all know, this will be the final stage, and passing it will make you cadets. There isn't much to the rules; the only rule in this stage is to survive. Now, about your battle suits, tap the button on the right side of your neck…"

A mask popped out, covering my face and displaying a holographic screen. On the right side of the screen was some text:

"Physical capability: 1%."

"…The battle suit draws out the physical potential of your body and gives you extra stats. It may increase your strength, speed, agility, and so much more that depends on your body. If you pay attention to the windows, you'll see some numbers—that's the amount of strength the suit is currently drawing. And wow... we've got some surprising stats so far, a one! Hahaha, sorry about that, whoever is the bearer of that number…"

Is this guy making fun of me? But still, though, how the fuck is this suit only drawing out one percent of my physical capabilities? I know I'm weak, but damn, man, I'm real buffed up! Show me some mercy—

"Get out of my way."

"Huh?"

I turned, and behold, in front of me was a small girl. Why are girls so scary these days?

She was short, very short. She had long red hair tied together, fair skin, and she was kinda cute—but still scary.

"Don't think too much about it, man. That's just who she is."

A guy patted me on the shoulder. He had the same red hair and was taller, almost my height. They looked alike—seems like they were siblings.

"Oh, I'm Kitetsu by the way, and that's my senior sister, Hinetsu."

Your senior sister?! More like your child.

"I'm Ryuma."

"Oh, Ryuma, let's work together then."

We shook hands. He's a cool guy.

The speaker continued:

"Now, let's get to what to expect. Just take this as a tip: you'll be experiencing two wave attacks, and you'll have to cooperate to survive them. You can form teams among yourselves or better still go solo. The first wave will be a group of E-rank Nephilims—they're the easy ones. Then the next wave will be D-rank Nephilims. That being said, this mission has no time limit, and there are no quits. Quitting will result in instant disqualification. Now, my final tip for everyone: Survive."