The World That Broke

XIX

"Any ideas on what the test will be like?" I asked, testing Selena's knowledge.

She arched a brow, the corners of her lips tugging upward. "You tell me. Aren't you the Author?"

I gave her a dry look. "Just because I'm an information broker doesn't mean I know everything."

Even with my meta-knowledge of the novel this world was based on, there was only so much I could predict. The exam might differ from how it played out ten years later in the timeline I knew, but the structure likely remained consistent.

"The exam takes place over several events, lasting anywhere from a week to a month," I explained. "There are eight stages. The first is an elimination round, and the remaining tests are thematic, each representing one of the Seven States: Fighter, Seeker, Dealer, Trickster, Caster, Maker, and Reader. To pass, you only need to complete half, but I plan to clear all of them."

Selena tilted her head, curiosity flashing in her eyes. "At least you did your homework. Any particular reason you're so eager to clear them all?"

"I'm aiming for a gold-tier hunter pass," I replied.

She raised an eyebrow. "Ambitious. I'll bite—what's so special about that pass?"

I leaned back slightly, thinking about how to put it. A regular hunter's license granted the basics: access to low-level resources and the freedom to operate within limited jurisdictions. It was a stable path, but not particularly exciting. Bronze and silver-tier passes were the norm, catering to those who wanted steady work without excessive risk.

"A gold-tier pass," I began, "opens doors. It gives you access to top-tier resources, rare intel, and high-paying contracts that go beyond the usual assignments. Gold-tier hunters can operate internationally, with jurisdiction that surpasses regional associations. They get first dibs on the best jobs, equipment, and recognition. It's the kind of pass that makes your name known—and respected."

"Or feared," Selena added with a smirk. "Okay, I think I understand."

"Exactly," I agreed. "And it's not just about prestige. It would improve my standing within the Hunting Dogs."

"Ah," she said knowingly.

The hunter ranking system was still in its infancy, the brainchild of the Hunter Association's current president. In the future, licenses would evolve into more sophisticated tiers beyond bronze, silver, and gold. For now, gold-tier was the pinnacle—a prototype of what the system would eventually become.

"How many participants do you think there are?" I asked, glancing around the crowded lobby.

Selena shrugged, feigning innocence. "Oh, how should I know such sensitive data?"

I narrowed my eyes. "I don't know… maybe you took a peek or something."

She smirked, crossing her arms. "I mean, I do have very good eyes, but are you accusing me of something criminal?"

"You're such a tease," I said, grinning.

Selena tilted her head, her smirk widening. "Careful, your wife might get jealous."

I rolled my eyes. "Just spill it."

"Where do you want me to spill it?" she shot back, her tone dripping with mockery. "And how wet do you like it, anyway?"

I groaned inwardly. That one was on me.

She chuckled, clearly enjoying my discomfort. "Fine. I might've taken a little run through their system while no one was looking. There are over twelve thousand participants. Apparently, this isn't the only lobby. And the passing rate? About 20%."

"Twenty percent?" I echoed, my brows furrowing.

"Yup," she said casually. "Competition's gonna be tough. But hey, you wanted a gold-tier pass. High stakes, high rewards."

"Fair point," I muttered, scanning the sea of applicants around us.

Selena gave me a sly grin. "Better make sure you're more than just a pretty face in that suit. They'll eat you alive otherwise."

"Good thing I've got some bite to back it up," I replied, straightening my jacket.

Suddenly, the lobby fell silent. I glanced up, noticing that the clerks had disappeared. In their place, a massive jumbotron now hung overhead, its presence so seamless I hadn't even noticed the change. Aura abilities—likely a combination of Maker, Trickster, and Dealer—had been used to pull it off.

The screen flickered to life, revealing the face of the Hunter Association's president. He was a plain-looking, middle-aged man with a shiny bald head, dull eyes, and a stubble that seemed like an afterthought. He wore a red cape, of all things, paired with a plain white shirt and shorts.

"Greetings, aspiring hunters!" he began, his deep voice booming through the hushed lobby.

Despite his strange attire and unassuming demeanor, his presence was commanding in a way I found so in-character if him. Appearances could be deceiving; I knew better than to underestimate him.

"Welcome to the Hunter's Exam," he continued, his dull eyes scanning the room as if he could see each of us individually. "You're here because you think you're ready. I assure you, most of you are not."

A heavy silence settled over the crowd.

"Out of the twelve thousand applicants, only a small number will succeed. The path will be brutal, the tests designed to weed out the unworthy." He paused, and for a brief moment, something fierce sparked in his otherwise lifeless gaze.

"For those who survive the first stage, let's see what you're truly made of. You have fifteen minutes to reach your designated training rooms. Good luck, and may the best hunters rise."

The screen went dark, and the murmur of voices quickly filled the lobby again.

Selena shot me a sidelong glance. "Well, this should be fun."

A shimmering series of letters made of aura flashed above my head, spelling out [Room B]. Above Selena's head, the aura spelled [Room A].

"We can't have that, can we?" Selena said, smirking. "How am I supposed to protect you if we're in separate rooms?"

"You don't necessarily have to protect me all the way," I replied with a shrug. "Just save me if it looks like I'm about to die."

Selena laughed, the sound light but edged with mischief. "Nah, your wife would kill me if her hubby got hurt or something."

She stared up at the glowing aura above her, and to my surprise, it shifted to [Room B]. Behind us, a few shouts erupted as others noticed their own markers had changed, switching to [Room A] instead. Without missing a beat, Selena grabbed my wrist and started leading me toward the corridor marked for Room B.

I raised an eyebrow at her little trick but didn't resist. "So, swapping aura markers now?" I said, a smirk tugging at my lips. "Didn't think you were that interested in keeping me company."

Selena glanced back, grinning. "Please, I just don't feel like explaining to your wife how her husband couldn't make it through the first round. Besides, these exams tend to have… hazards." Her grip on my wrist tightened as we weaved through the crowd.

Around us, a few bewildered participants scratched their heads, staring up at the altered aura markers above them. Selena's skill with aura manipulation was unnervingly smooth, and she seemed to relish stirring up a little chaos.

When we finally entered Room B, the space was lined with steel plates, their gaps filled with fluorescent lights casting a harsh glow. A giant LED screen on the wall displayed a counter that ticked upward as more participants filtered in. I kept my senses sharp, using my Soul Link to connect with the mundanes around me. I kept it subtle, avoiding detection, and only linked their auras without equalizing them.

When the counter hit 500, a resonant voice filled the room. It wasn't just sound—it was aura, unmistakable and commanding.

"Here are the rules," the voice announced. "Numero uno: No killing. We aren't barbarians. The killing will come later, so for the bloodthirsty idiots out there, have patience… or you're disqualified. And in this room, disqualification means certain death. Maiming is allowed though… Don't ask me, I don't make the rules. Also, no guns!

"Numero dos: Only the top 150 can proceed to the other stages. Once the counter falls to 150, the door will open. Immobilizing or knocking out your contenders is fair play.

"Numero tres: Don't try too hard, because you can try again next year. That's all. Now, on the count of ten…"

Selena leaned closer, her voice low. "Here's what we're going to do: hide. Let them fight each other and take it easy. Simple enough, isn't it?"

"I have a better idea," I said, grabbing her wrist. "Let me borrow your attribute."

Her brow furrowed, but after a moment, she relented. "Yeah, sure."

I connected her to the Soul Link and drew in her disguise attribute. "I'll need your mental power too, so on my signal, transform us into clowns."

The announcer's voice continued counting down.

"Eight… Seven… Six…"

I channeled the Soul Links, equalizing the aura of people I've 'marked' in the room.

"Three… Two… One… Go crazy, you lot!"

I pulled Selena close. "Now!"

Instantly, a random numbter of mundanes, would-be hunters, and unofficial hunters in the room—including us—transformed into clowns. Their appearances warped, complete with bright wigs, face paint, and exaggerated outfits. Selena and I blended into the chaos, slipping unnoticed into a corner.

"Selena, dispel our disguises," I said quickly. "Let's camouflage ourselves against the walls."

She nodded, and in moments, we were invisible, blending seamlessly with the steel panels.

The scene before us was utter chaos.

A burly man—a likely unofficial hunter—threw a punch at a smaller participant wielding a sword. Nearby, a group of participants with unorthodox weapons ganged up on another contender. The wildest part? Most of the clowns were fighting each other, creating a tangled mess of limbs and weapons.

Despite the rule against killing, it was clear dismemberment was fair game. Blood spattered across the steel floors, and the air was thick with grunts, shouts, and the occasional crack of bones.

As the fight intensified, I noticed participants who sustained severe injuries vanishing in bursts of light—teleported away, likely to a medical station. Another aura ability at work. The Hunter's Association wasn't holding back, but they were prepared to keep things under control.

Selena nudged me lightly. "This is more brutal than I expected," she murmured, her voice barely audible.

"Better to watch and wait," I replied. "No need to draw attention to ourselves just yet."

We stayed pressed against the wall, invisible to the chaos unfolding in the room. I wasn't here to show off—I was here to win. And with 500 participants reduced to 150, the real game was only just beginning.

Selena's voice broke the tense silence between us, tinged with disbelief. "How did you do that?"

I glanced at her, noting the way her sharp eyes darted over the battlefield of clowns, her expression a mixture of awe and unease.

I leaned casually against the steel wall, keeping my voice low. "Remember when I turned you into a little girl?"

Selena's jaw tightened, and her gaze snapped back to me. "Yeah, I remember. And I also remember you promising never to do it again."

I smirked. "Relax, that's pretty much how I did it—just with less effort and weaker illusions this time."

Her glare sharpened. "You know that's not what I meant."

I sighed, running a hand through my hair. "Alright, alright. When we entered the lobby earlier, I used my ability to 'tether' my aura to as many people as possible. That's the gist of it."

Selena frowned, clearly unsatisfied. "I still don't get it. You're saying you connected to hundreds of people without anyone noticing?"

No need to explain the finer points of my ability or the delicate intricacies of Soul Link. "Tethering" sounded simpler than the reality. Soul Link required physical contact to establish a connection, which made using it on so many people a delicate operation. But my aura pool wasn't large or flashy—perfect for slipping under the radar.

While we had mingled in the crowded lobby, I had subtly brushed past participant after participant, sneaking my Soul Link into as many of them as I could. The trick was to make it unnoticeable, a faint thread rather than a bold connection. By the time the elimination round started, I'd tethered myself to enough people to tip the scales.

Selena crossed her arms, her brow furrowed. "And the aura markers? How'd you pull that off?"

Oh, she noticed that.

I just copied how she changed her own marker [Room A] into [Room B], just on a larger scale.

"That's where the fun began," I said, my tone light despite the tension in the room. "Once I had them linked, I switched their aura markers to force them into Room B. That's why there are so many… colorful personalities in here."

Selena blinked, her expression shifting from confusion to realization. She glanced at the chaos around us—a tangled mess of clowns, each more aggressive and disoriented than the last.

The result of my handiwork was playing out beautifully. The participants I had tethered were now a bunch of murderous clowns—literally—either too pissed, too trigger-happy, or too distracted to focus. By tweaking their aura markers and throwing them into a shared room, I'd turned their instincts against them. Without a clear read on each other's auras, they were unable to identify threats or form alliances.

"I'll admit, it's a bit of a mess," I said, watching as one particularly burly clown swung a massive hammer at a group of smaller clowns armed with throwing knives.

Selena gave me a sidelong glance. "A bit? This is a circus of chaos. You're telling me you orchestrated this just to thin the competition?"

"That's just how the cookie crumbled, I guess," I replied, grinning. "The rules said only 150 can pass. I figured, why not let them eliminate each other while we sit back and enjoy the show?"

She stared at me for a moment, then shook her head, a reluctant smile tugging at her lips. "You're dangerous, you know that?"

"Dangerous? Me?" I feigned innocence. "I'm just a guy with a knack for efficiency."

A loud crash drew our attention back to the battlefield. A particularly large clown, wielding a chainsaw, was carving a path through the chaos, sending others scrambling to avoid him.

Selena's smile faded. "We're not exactly safe here, you know."

I nodded, my tone turning serious. "True. But as long as we stay hidden and let them exhaust themselves, we'll be fine. No need to jump into the fray unless absolutely necessary."

The two of us remained pressed against the wall, camouflaged by Selena's ability. Around us, the chaos raged on, clowns fighting clowns in a brutal free-for-all.

As I watched the scene unfold, I couldn't help but feel a twinge of satisfaction. My plan had worked better than I'd expected. By tethering myself to so many participants and subtly altering their aura markers, I'd sown confusion and chaos, ensuring that the strongest—or at least the smartest—would survive.

Selena nudged me again, her voice low. "You know this is going to make us targets later, right? When they figure out what happened…"

I shrugged. "Let them. By then, we'll be too far ahead for them to catch up."

She let out a quiet laugh, shaking her head. "You're impossible."

"Maybe," I said, a smirk tugging at my lips. "But I'm also getting us to the next stage. So sit tight and enjoy the show."

"I think I like you," added Selena. "And here I thought you'd be boring."

That made me shut up real good.

~019