Primordial Conquest

Chapter 25: Final Exam

"Alexander! Alexander!"

"Hmm... Arbus, what's up?" Alexander mumbled slowly as he rose, blinking away the remnants of his sleep.

"Wake up already idiot. Did you forget our final exam is today? We're to assemble in the base's hangar in an hour." Arbus shouted as he pulled on his boots.

With a tired sigh, Alexander swung his legs off the bed and gazed around the mostly empty room they were now in.

About a month ago, Instructor Kate had ordered Arbus to move out of the boys shared bedroom, due to the constant complaints she received from the other trainees. This was something she had already suspected would happen eventually given his circumstances.

Arbus had simply agreed. He wasn't all that surprised by this at all. Especially since he had a similar arrangement back on Terytl-b, despite commander Mitz's best efforts to make his fellow Sentries get over it.

He was relocated to one of the spare rooms in the resting area.

To almost everyone's surprise, Alexander had volunteered to go with him. Arbus wasn't exactly sure how to feel about that. It was the first time in years he felt like he'd made a genuine connection with someone.

His suspicion towards Alexander had slowly decreased over the last few weeks, although it wasn't entirely gone.

He still found it rather odf that Alexander decided to make friends with him of all people, despite the reasons he gave.

A few possibilities had naturally crossed his mind. One of them was that this was a long game by Alexander and Jet. It was possible that Alexander was just pretending to be his friend, and that he would reveal that during this final training mission. If so, that would sting, sure, but it wouldn't change much for Arbus.

After this exam, they wouldn't be seeing each other again anyways.

Another theory he had come up with, was that Alexander was sent by Bastain.

Arbus wasn't sure how he would feel about that one being true.

If it was, it would mean this was Bastain's way of keeping tabs on him.

He was the one who asked Bastain to watch him in the first place, so there was a high chance of this theory being correct.

'The second theory being true would definitely hurt more' Arbus mused inwardly as he glanced at Alexander from the corner of his eyes.

If the second was true, it would mean that Alexander's job was to watch him and then alert Bastain if he ever "went off the right track"like they had discussed.

This meant that Alexander would be able put an end to his quest for vengeance, at any point he wanted.

Thinking back now, Arbus wondered what would have happened if his fight with Rin at the cafeteria had gone further than it did.

Would Alexander have told Bastain about it? Or was that not enough of a reason? He wasn't sure.

Frankly, he wasn't even sure if the theories held any weight to begin with. He had just picked these two out of countless others after all. There was also a chance he was simply someone who wanted a friend, as well. He decided to let the matter rest for now.

Three months had passed since they'd arrived at the training facility. And so far, their batch had done pretty well compared to previous years.

Especially trainees like Jet, Rin, Alexander, and even Arbus himself.

By now, they'd completed nearly every training exercise in the base.

Only a handful of Blue Mornans had been disqualified after failing too many simulations in the mental training room.

Once Alexander was ready, they left the room and headed toward the Tomber base's hangar, where they had first arrived months ago, and where the other trainees were currently gathered.

They joined the long row that had already formed as they waited for the instructors to arrive.

Arbus surveyed the room curiously. Most of the trainees looked extremely nervous.

Arbus thought that was only natural, considering how important this final mission would most likely be.

What caught his attention, though, was the way a few of them kept sneaking glances in his general direction.

After his fight with Kate, most had gone out of their way to avoid him, with the exception of Jet's inner circle.

In recent months though, even that had stopped entirely.

they'd simply decided to pretend that he didn't exist.

Honestly Arbus had preferred that quite a lot to how it was before.

Which was why their sudden attention felt a bit unsettling. Even Jet and Rin, who had seemingly forgotten his existence, were stealing a few glances in his direction.

He decided to ignore it for now, hoping it meant nothing, and he was just being paranoid.

Eventually, Head Instructor Kate entered the hangar, with Head Instructors Ty and Dutch following close behind. The room fell silent instantly.

"Welcome, trainees, to your final exam. This exam is what will determine your future in this organisation"

"Before we start, I want to offer my congratulations on making it this far." Kate began, her voice cutting through the silence.

"The past three months have tested each of you in different harrowing ways. You've been pushed to your physical and mental limits. Some have exceeded expectations, while others have shown remarkable improvement."

"Today will be the day that puts everything you've learnt so far to the test." Kate said as she stepped back, letting Head Instructor Ty take the lead.

He surveyed each of the trainees with a thoughtful expression before he spoke.

"Your final exercise, will be a 100-mile trek through the mountains surrounding Tomber Base. You will navigate the terrain, return to this base from the opposite exit, and do so without dying.... hopefully."

Murmurs rippled through some of the assembled trainees.

"A walk?" one of the Blue Mornans whispered skeptically. "That's it?"

Ty sighed, his expression darkening. "This is not 'just a walk.' This is a life-or-death mission that almost half the trainees who reach this point don't survive!." He shouted.

"If you've done your research on this planet, you should know that Tomber is one of many planets in this system infested with the monsters left behind by Solaris."

Several trainees tensed at the mention of the name, while some frowned in confusion.

The instructor studied their expression, then continued.

"Solaris, is a Reincarnator who passed through this star system over a century ago, during his battle with our previous Sentinel. The same Sentinel who now serves as the king of our galaxy."

"These monsters, or puppies as he used to call them. Are why this planet has so few inhabitants."

"They are monsters of varying sizes. Some are even strong enough to kill you in a single bite. They roam the land, hidden by the endless snowstorm of the planet. They have also been found beneath the ice, and even in small and large bodies of water."

A few students visibly paled as they finally realised how dangerous this mission was.

A Blue Mornan trainee raised her hand tentatively.

"What is it?" Ty simply asked impatiently.

"Instructor, I was just wondering what the point of sending us on this mission is, if it's so dangerous. A-after how far we've come, isn't it unfair for the deciding factor of our training to be such a deadly test?" she asked, her voice hesitant.

Ty stared at her cold gaze. "It seems you still do not understand your position. You are to be knights. Your job is to run headfirst into danger when your Vanguard commands it. Your purpose is to shield innocent lives from harm by being the first to face it. You are no longer simple sentries. Fairness does not exist for Renegades!"

His voice rose as his gaze swept across every trainee. "Renegades are warriors who fight the battles no one else wants to. We are the only thing keeping this universe from falling apart.

"If what you're looking for is fairness... then quit now."