"To all the newest recruits, this day will be your assessment to become a soldier. It will be a competition. Whether you win or lose doesn't matter, as you will all be chosen to be part of the army based on your performance. But that doesn't mean I discourage you from winning because winners always have an advantage."
"Sir, yes, sir!" The soldiers shouted with excitement.
"Good. You will be grouped into ten. Pick up your color from the box up here and go to your group." The soldiers quickly picked a color and found their group. They were quite curious as to why their assessment was within a group. How would they be able to choose if they were in a group?
"Now that you already have your group, remember to know their names and look at their faces, as they will be someone whom you will be with for at least two days or more. This assessment is not a one-day affair unless you can do it in one day." The soldiers raised their brows as they were not informed of what was happening.
"This will be a team activity. The catch is that you need to cross that mountain. You can't use the main way up to the top, but you will use the side part. And I must remind you that there are lots of traps there. Also, you need to find your flag color in that mountain before you can finish the main task. Do you understand?"
"Yes, sir!" The recruits were happy because they thought that this was fun.
"Remember that if you lose a member, then you will lose. Lastly, you will never know when the enemy will attack; thus, some veterans will join in the fun to make sure you will enjoy it." The recruits were shocked but still nodded with pride.
"Then your bags are already prepared for you. The one who breaks the rules will be immediately sent home. The fastest group will be given a prize, but the group that will not be able to finish the task and will be the last will either be punished or will not pass the assessment and leave the army."
The recruits began to talk to their group mates and choose their leaders. Even if they don't want their groupmate, they can't be just blunt. Anyways, this is an important event; thus, some grudges need to be hidden, and they just need to concentrate on their task.
"This assessment will last for 3 days, and if you don't arrive in time, then you are considered a failure. The assessment begins!" All recruits nodded and continued to discuss with their teammates. All groups gathered and talked about their strategies.
"Captain, is an assessment really needed? Didn't you say that this batch is one of the toughest and that they have the potential to be groomed as an elite? And the assessment is rather different from the past." The vice captain asked the captain as he was rather confused because they already talked and an assessment will not be needed, but the captain changed his decision.
"Yes, assessment is not needed for this batch, as they have passed it already when they first entered the army, but since they are tough, why not train them hard? Also, since they are a batch wherein everyone has a bit of strength, this batch is not harmonious. This team activity will give them a bond to get them connected with each other."
"I get it, but how come you just decided it just today? I mean, the preparations seem to be done fast, and you even contacted veterans for this assessment. Does that mean they are really a wonderful batch?" The captain just smiled.
"It was actually an order, but I quite like it. I want to see how this batch can perform."
"Is it the general? Will this batch have the opportunity to be---"
"Sometimes we just need to pretend to be blind. Since they want to train these recruits, then let's just do our best." The captain walked away, leaving the vice captain scratching his head.
"Train the recruits? It is probably to train her," the captain whispered.
The recruits were all holding their bags, looking at the tall mountain ahead of them. This side of the mountain is rather dangerous, and it was obvious that no man had been there.
"It is already lunchtime. We better eat before going up the mountain," Dew stated. He was the chosen leader of the Blue Team, which Amishta was part of. The members agreed and took a seat on the ground and circled themselves to eat.
"Amishta, I am Zion. I was very impressed with your archery skills yesterday. Though you lack some strength, you can surely be strong in the future." Zion is the clown of the group. He was very talkative and blunt. Amishta was not surprised that almost everyone recognized and knew her name because, of course,she was the only girl in the army.
"Thank you." Amishta smiled.
"Hmmp! Don't get ahead of yourself because of your archery. You are still a girl, and you are not supposed to be here," a muscular man stated. Amishta felt the disgust in his words when he stated the word girl, so she supposed that this man had some problems with a girl.
"Enough with that. We are already left behind, so eat your lunch already and let's head up," Dew commanded, and they all nodded. Dew has a leadership aura that is exploding from him. It adds up that he comes from a family of soldiers. He was obviously trained before, unlike them. They were rather respectful towards him. In the whole group, probably no one can fight with him.
After eating, they went straight to the mountain. They can still see some groups above them, but most of them are already ahead of them. But they shivered when they saw bloodstains and arrows on their way. It seems like the captain was not really joking. They became vigilant and observed their surroundings.
"Team leader, maybe if we walked ahead of them, then probably these bloodstains are from us," Zion spoke, which made others think. Dew nodded.
"Yes, so remember not to part with the group. It is just the beginning, but they are already cruel; thus, expect the worst—"
"LOOK OUT!" Amishta shouted and blocked the arrows that were coming near them. Everyone helped each other in blocking the arrows. The arrows seemed like they were not stopping.
"We need to get out of here. Run away from here!" Dew shouted. He moved with the group while trying to block the arrows. As they moved from another place, the arrows stopped. They were terrified but still remained calm.
"Argh!" A man shouted in pain. He was shot in the arm. He pulled the arrows and gritted his teeth. Amishta put medicine on the wound and cut a small piece of his clothes. She wrapped it perfectly while the others were just looking at them. They still can't think properly because they're shocked.
"Thank you," the man stated. It was the man who spoke badly to her a while ago. The team leader silently praises Amishta for being attentive and calm.
"Let's continue. It is getting darker, and we need to find a place where we can spend the night."
The members walked faster and tried to stick with their group. They are already exhausted, but they can't bear to be the burden of the group. They were 25 in the group, but they were not totally united. They just want to be done with the assessment.
"Let's stay in this place. It seems fine. We need to rest first. Since it is nighttime and we don't know where the traps are, we better just eat whatever we have right now. We can just hunt something in the morning."
The recruits build a fire and sit around it. They were very exhausted. They just eat whatever food they have from their bag. Most of them are not familiar with each other, so they don't share their food and just eat without minding others.
Amishta sits in the corner with Jose. They were teammates, but since they didn't want to talk, they just stayed together without a noise. Zion suddenly came and disrupted the peace.
"Hey, you competed before, but it seems like you are quite harmonious with your silence. Are you both a thing?" Zion stated, but they just stared at him and looked away. Zion just shrugged.
"I am just joking. Can't you both just speak to me? I may be your fan." They still ignore him, so Zion just shuts up. He seated himself with them and observed the two. It becomes peaceful again until a sword fight breaks through.
They suddenly get up and look at what is happening. Their teammates are fighting, and it was a fight that can lead to death. Their team leader knocked the two of them to separate.
"What is wrong with the two of you? If the rules don't state that a member shouldn't be left behind, then I should have killed you. Don't try my patience because I don't have one," Dew coldly reminded them and glared at their two teammates. Everyone keeps quiet and just observes.