"BATTLE ROYALE?!" erupted from the mouths of 150 students scattered throughout the city center grounds.

Nervous chatter broke out between contestants while Riarshi's eyes darted around the sky, scanning for where Chester's voice came from. He could only see dark gray clouds floating above the rooftops of tall buildings and the occasional glint of sunlight peeking through their thinner edges.

Riarshi lowered his gaze. He spotted a man dressed in a Hero uniform standing atop of the band stage. A bronze circle plated his chest and black messy hair sat ruffled on top of his head with random strands waving over tired eyes. His mouth hung open as though he was shouting, but it was not his voice. Instead, it was Chester's that projected from his throat like a megaphone.

The spells these guys use are freaking insane, Riarshi thought.

"You heard right!" the voice boomed from the Hero's mouth, loud enough for everyone in the square to hear. "You will take part in a Battle Royale to determine which of you will join us here at the POH!"

The voice cut off. The bronze Hero wiped a line of spit trickling from the corner of his mouth. Chester's voice quickly boomed again. "If you look down at your bodies," he directed, "you'll notice that we have equipped each of you with state-of-the-art sensory armor."

Riarshi glimpsed down at his chest. His eyes widened. Chester was right. A white and blue breast plate shielded his upper body with patterns similar to the normal POH uniform. 

A black circle plated the center of the armor, while the chest portion was cream-white and the abdominals were navy-blue. Riarshi knocked his knuckles on his chest armor. It was made of a solid, shiny plastic which reflected the small amount of sunlight leaking through the overhead clouds.

Minutes ago, Riarshi agreed he'd stop questioning the POH's magic, so he didn't dare question this abrupt change in attire. He was already half exhausted from these unexpected twists and turns today, and he hadn't even thrown a single punch.

"These garments will quantify the magic you use and receive, like a sensor," said Chester's voice. "Every spell you cast that deals damage, blocks, or heals will grant you with a certain amount of points, depending on spell strength. To the opposite effect, each spell your armor detects as a hit to your body will negate points from your total score. The black circle on your armor will display this number.

"Something else to keep in mind," the voice continued, "everyone will have their own individual score for this sixty minute exam. The only rules we will apply are that there is obviously no killing allowed; you will automatically be disqualified if your score drops to negative five hundred, and the thirty students with the highest scores will pass. Simple, right?"

The bronze Hero sat down in a folding chair at the back of the stage, his mouth still open. "Do not worry about injuries, we have a gold ranked healer here at the HQ and we will portal her there if things get messy. Oran here will also monitor you all, and will serve as my personal megaphone."

The bronze Hero, Oran, delivered a short, half-hearted wave from his seat.

Like a spotlight in the sky, a massive 00:30 projected over the square just before the clouds, casting a dim blue light along the walls and pathways of every building.

"I will now start a thirty second countdown," Chester announced, "and when it hits zero, we will turn on your sensory armor and the Battle Royale will begin!"

Oran raised his fist in a salute as the voice wrapped up. "Good luck, everyone. And don't forget to break your limits!"

Oran closed his mouth, and Chester's echoing voice faded into the cloudy sky above. He moved his jaw side to side and rubbed the bottom of his chin. His job complete, he grabbed a newspaper from who knows where, flicked it open as he sat, and started reading, crossing his legs.

The timer buzzed with a loud BRING!, bouncing throughout the city and causing a few contestants to flinch in their spots.

28.

No one moved.

25.

Panic ensued. Everyone looked frantically around the square, spinning in circles with horror stuck faces.

Wait - wait - wait, what's going on? Is that it? Is that all they'll give us to go off of?

17.

Okay, this is definitely not thirty seconds, Riarshi's mind cursed.

Something strong grasped Riarshi's shirt, tugging him by the sleeve and pulling him away from where he was frozen to the ground. It was Tabito. He yanked on Riarshi's arm, his eyes wide.

Riarshi snapped out of his daze, turned his feet, and took off, quickly catching up to Tabito.

"Dude, come on," panted Tabito, "we can't just stand in the middle like this, we'll be sitting ducks."

"Where the hell are we gonna go?" Riarshi asked, picking up speed with several timely sparks at his feet.

"Anywhere but here," said Tabito. "Knowing how freaked out everyone is, I wouldn't doubt if things just blow up here. People can't think straight, they'll simply wanna duke it out right when the bell sounds. We gotta find cover."

Hara ran behind them, her black hair flowing wildly in the tailwind of her sprint. 

Tabito looked over his shoulder. "Coming with?" he managed to tease with a grin.

"Just shut up and run," Hara hissed. "Let's head to an alleyway. We can hide there for now and figure out what to do next."

Tabito and Riarshi nodded.

Panting and swinging their arms wildly, they speedily retreated out of the square, feet smacking the pavement as they hit the streets. Running along a main road as the timer's tick echoed, they suddenly braked on their heels and booked it down the nearest side alleyway.

Zero

BRING! This ring screamed louder than the first, shaking bits of dirt and dust off the imitation buildings surrounding the square.

In the distance, an explosion of magic erupted from within the city square, twice as loud as the timer and rumbling the asphalt ground beneath their feet. Red, blue, yellow, green, and every other color one could imagine stained the walls and alleyways of the replica Spiritfield with bright, colorful flashes. Shadows of the tallest buildings danced with the light show at the center of the city, sending the small alleyways into total darkness.

Gasping for breath, Riarshi, Hara, and Tabito leaned up against a brick wall about two streets over from the city center. For a few moments, they tried to regain lost air from their all-out sprint away from the chaos of overly excited teens.

Tabito was the first to speak, but sucked in quick, shallow gasps of air between each word. "This is - insane. How can - they have a freaking mega important exam be such a cluster bomb?" He winced and placed his hands on his hips, closing his eyes tight. Knowing Tabito, Riarshi knew he would have rather used a word other than bomb. "This feels so unorganized!"

"That's just - how they - do things at the POH." Hara muttered through breaths. "It's ridiculous. No one knows why they're like this. It's like they're not taking this seriously at all." Annoyance dripped throughout her shallow voice. Her nose scrunched.

Riarshi stood tall and took one last big breath of air. "So, each of us has to make it into the top thirty scores to pass, right? I mean, I guess that's simple-" he cut himself off, realization overcoming his senses.

Jumping backward, he guarded the center plate of his armor with his hands. A large fold of skin sat between his brows. Sparks erupted around his feet. 

"Wait, don't tell me, you both led me here to grab points for yourself!"

Even though Tabito was still huffing for air, he let out a strained laugh.

"Come on, Tabito. Don't play dumb. Hara even said it herself, 'if you get in the way I'll crush you'. You know I'd be an easy target to farm points off of.

Hara appeared far from amused at the unexpected accusation. Her dropped jaw displayed taken offense. "Are you serious?" she said in disbelief. "No, you idiot," she snapped. "I can't believe it. After all this time you seriously don't trust us?"

Tabito's grin faded. He did a double take at Riarshi, suddenly realizing his friend was serious. 

Riarshi didn't back down. Mistrust tainted his vision and blinded him. It seemed that no matter how close he grew to the two high magic users, there was always a sense of uncertainty hiding within him from years of abuse and violence. He had tried to erase these infectious feelings, but the scar ran too deep.

He genuinely trusted them, but there was always a small, quiet voice that asked, "what if?"

Hara's cold glare melted, somehow sensing Riarshi's struggle. Her voice softened. "Hey, don't you remember the deal we made at the diner?"

Riarshi thought back. It was only this last Saturday - not even a week ago - when he met with Tabito and Hara at Merino's to air out what they all had been harboring emotionally for the last three months.

The day prior, Riarshi and Hara's building tension had finally exploded into a heated exchange, resulting in them cursing each other out and projecting their burning hatred for one another. All while this took place, Tabito sat to the side, seemingly unable to interfere between his two screaming friends. Riarshi had hated Hara because of the way she treated him, along with his secret jealousy for her magical strength, while Hara hated Riarshi because of the unnecessary burden he placed on Tabito and herself and the seemingly careless life he lived. 

If it wasn't for the argument in the academic building and the heart to heart that ensued, neither of the trio would have realized the dark burden each secretly carried deep inside their hearts.

All it took was a fist bump from Tabito and a comforting hand from Hara to assure each was willing to share their burdens. They made this promise to guarantee all three of them would reach the next step of their dream, no matter what hardships or obstacles they might face.

Riarshi's guarded walls came crumbling down. He chuckled shamefully to himself and lowered the hands from his breast. "Yeah, I remember. Sorry about that, guys. I trust you, I really do. I don't know why I would ever question it. You guys are my best friends. I don't know what came over me."

Tabito grinned at him from across the alley. "No problem," he reassured.

"Now get over here and let's plan," Hara ordered. "Unless... you want me to send you to negative five hundred points right this second." Her thin lips quirked into a smirk.

"No, thank you," Riarshi chuckled. "Well, what about your promise, huh?" he dared to joke. 

Her sapphire eyes glowed bright blue, lighting the entire shadowed alley to its corners. Her smile faded.

"I'll keep my word."

"Kidding," said Riarshi.

"I thought so," scoffed Hara. "But seriously, get over here... I have some insider information about the Tryout you both need to hear. 'A tip on how to survive', so to say," she said in a mock male voice. "I heard all about it yesterday."

Riarshi rushed across the alley and tilted an ear in next to Tabito's.

***

5 minutes earlier

Chester clicked a button on a small control board with his finger and leaned back into a red cushioned, theater style chair. He threw his hands over his head and crossed his legs. He then snatched the drink sitting in the cup holder to his left and took a nice, long swig, and smacked his lips with a loud, Ahhhh!

"Now we sit here and wait!" Chester cheerfully shouted over his shoulder. He clicked another button on the control box and a large, teal projection rose to the size of a theater screen. Displayed on this projection was a multi-angle view of the Tryout grounds and other scattered camera views of the makeshift city.

He leaned in and turned a circular knob. One camera view stretched open to take up the center of the screen. It was a shot of the city center where dozens of colored beams, walls, sparkles, and other attack spells illuminated the dimmed theater he and the other Heroes had settled with an array of colors.

The twenty Heroes who had stood on the atrium stage just minutes ago now sat in two rows of red chairs similar to Chester's. They each had their own popcorn bag and drink in this wide but dark theater room. The light from the projection flickered on their faces and reflected off their eyes.

"Be sure to pay attention for any foul-play, everyone," Chester announced, still fiddling with the control panel. "We'll need to stop that person immediately if things get out of hand." He directed his words behind him as he released the controls and leaned further into his reclining chair. He let out a lengthy, exhausted sigh. Shifting his bottom, his body practically melted into the cushions.

Heroes watched the flashing screen and talked among themselves. 

One gold ranked Hero sat in the back row next to Khohn. His hair was raven-black in the darkness but presented a slight hint of green with every flicker from the screen. He was easily the youngest of the group, as his skin held not a single wrinkle.

His hair waved when he turned his head and whispered to his neighbor, "Hey Khohn, I know this is my first time judging, so I might be out of line saying this... But, doesn't all of this seem a little chaotic? I thought things would become more organized after I had by Tryout, but it seems like nothing's changed."

Khohn swallowed a bite of popcorn and chuckled. "Ah, you are a new gold, aren't you, Austyn? Well, it's supposed to be messy like this, it's sort of what we aim for." The young Hero's look of confusion prompted Khohn to elaborate. Khohn turned to him. "Name one time you were in the field that a demon fight or a criminal call went completely smooth, with no issues or mishaps whatsoever. Name a time where everything went according to plan and no one ever got hurt."

Austyn paused for a second to think, but his eyes quickly widened. He understood.

An older man spoke up in the front row, seeming to have overheard the whispered conversation. His yellow eyes sparkled in the multi-colored flashes shining from the large projection at the front of the theater. 

"Exactly, young man. You must realize that even in your short experience as a Hero, not a single day passes in which everything goes according to plan. Nothing in the real world happens exactly by the book. You can study all the procedures and magic strategy books you'd like, but all of that means nothing in the face of unexpected danger. These kids will get a taste of that chaos today. The weak ones will crumble under the pressure, but the strong will remain collected and make the right decisions."

"But, Commissioner Aryl," Austyn spoke up again, this time a little louder to be heard over the booms from the projection, "why is it every person for themselves then? If we're going for accuracy to real-world scenarios... why didn't we place them into teams similar to how we set up the internship squads?"

A giant man seated next to Aryl rounded on Austyn. His diamond chest sparkled alongside the Commissioner's eyes and an annoyed snarl escaped his flaring nostrils.

"Are you seriously going to question the Commissioner, young blood?" Giradin snapped. "Don't think you v-"

The Commissioner swiftly raised a firm hand, silencing Giradin on the spot. The top-ranked Hero shut his mouth, despite wanting to say a few more choice words, and promptly turned around to face the projection again.

"It's all right, Giradin. Questions are healthy to have as a young Hero." Giradin didn't respond. Aryl turned in his seat to face Austyn. "To answer your question, Austyn, we need these young students to figure that out for themselves. If they choose to fight as lone wolves, they will soon realize that they are more vulnerable to damage from all angles, compared to a well-versed team who can cover each other's weak points.

"These children must comprehend that nothing is more powerful than a team. And fighting alone will only doom them. This, however, is not something which can be taught in a classroom or read in a book. Rather, they must learn through physical trial and error." The old man slowly twisted in his seat and brought his attention back to the screen.

Austyn leaned in toward Khohn, "I guess that makes sense," he whispered softly, hoping to not attract the Commissioner's attention again. "You think these kids will realize that in this amount of time?"

Khohn scanned the screen. Eyes locking on the top left corner,  he spotted a camera angle showing three students closed in a tight huddle.

The corners of his lips curled. "Yeah, I can think of a few who might."