Primordial Beast System

EPISODE 6: Evaluation.

The recruits were soon divided into groups and assigned quarters. Adam and Eve were separated, each placed in different dormitories based on gender. Adam found himself in a small, stark room shared with three other recruits, all Ascendant-class. Their disdain for him was evident, but Adam paid them no mind. He was used to the hostility.

The first day of preparation involved physical assessments. The recruits were marched to an open field as soon as they finish taking their bags to their rooms after inspection of their luggage contents.

On the field, there were obstacle courses which had been set up.

Adam observed the Ascendants breeze through the challenges with practiced ease, while the Outcasts struggled to keep up. His turn came, and he moved with surprising agility, a result of the system’s subtle enhancements. Though he didn’t outperform the Ascendants, he completed the course with a quiet determination that earned a few curious glances.

The physical fitness tests continued throughout the rest of the day.

When it was evening, the students were brought to a lecture hall where they were lectured on history of the Arcs and humanity’s struggle for survival.

Adam noted the sanitized version of events, designed to inspire loyalty to the military rather than reveal the harsh truths. When the lesson was over, the students were dismissed to get back to their dorms and rest.

Later that night, Adam sat on his bunk, reviewing the system’s interface. The stat points he’d earned beckoned to be distributed, but he hesitated. Strength? Agility? Intelligence? He needed to choose wisely, especially since he had nobody to guide him.

He distributed 5 stats each to both Agility and strength. His body was enveloped by a slight warmth, indicating a change in his physical ability.

The next morning, the students were gathered at the open field of the base. They were introduced to combat training.

Wooden swords and blunt weapons were handed out, and the students paired up for sparring. Adam was pitted against a smug Ascendant named Marcus, who wasted no time asserting his dominance by attacking Adam as soon as the match began.

Each strike was calculated to humiliate Adam rather than to defeat him.

But Adam endured. He studied Marcus’s movements, noting his overconfidence and predictable attack patterns.

When the opportunity arose, Adam sidestepped a wide swing and landed a clean blow to Marcus’s ribs. The room fell silent, the recruits stunned by the outcast’s audacity.

Marcus snarled and lunged forward again, still in pain, but the instructor intervened, praising Adam’s fighting strategy for remaining calm and dealing decisive strikes.

It was a small victory, but it fueled Adam’s resolve. Being able to fight against an Ascendant and win right now was his proof that he could survive this, even thrive, if he played his cards right.

That night, Adam met Eve in the dining hall. She was seated with a group of Ascendants who she had won over with her charm.

She caught Adam’s eye and gave a subtle nod, a silent applaud for his victory earlier and a promise that they would look out for each other.

“You’re adapting well brother,” she said later, when they found a moment to talk in private.

“But be careful. The instructors are watching us closely, and not everyone wants us to succeed. We are still outcasts after all.” She emphasized.

“I know,” Adam replied. “I’ll keep my head down.”

Eve frowned but didn’t press further. She knew her brother’s stubbornness well enough to recognize a losing battle.

Whatever had gotten over him, wherever he was drawing strength from did not matter to her, as long as he kept winning, that was all she cared about.

The third and final day of preparation involved a simulation exercise. The students were rallied into one of the military chambers inside the gigantic hull of the arc.

A controlled environment mimicking the surface world.

Inside, a man in decorated military uniform with three silver stars hanging on his shoulders stood before them, there were hundreds of students, each unarmed and confused on what the test will involve.

“Welcome to the last stage of your preparation training, I, Commander Darius will be your instructor today. We will be conducting a survival test with a simulation of what life is like on the surface.” The said.

Instantly, the hall filled with murmurs of students.

They have only heard of the surface of the planet from lessons in school, they have seen some videos and pictures. Many of them are starting to panic.

“Keep it down maggots. Did I not say the word simulation?” Commander Darius shouted, resounding over the speakers and putting an end to the student murmurs.

“You will be paired into groups of 5, each of you should find four others and register a group with the soldiers behind the red line over there, those of you standing without groups at the end of the day will automatically become a new group.”

“Do not be deceived by the grouping, this is an individual test, the groups are to simulate what our strategies are when we venture to the surface, so choose your team wisely. Your ultimate goal here is to survive. once you have formed a group, step towards the nurses, they will link you to the neural network temporarily.” Commander Darius added

Adam looed around and students were already forming groups, as he had expected, the Ascendants were pairing among themselves, leaving the Outcasts to pair among themselves.

He turned to his back and saw his sister Eve was walking towards him with a golden haired boy with green eyes.

“Guess this will be our team then.” Adam said, but was interrupted by a voice from behind him.

“I will be joining this team!” Marcus, the Ascendant boy that Adam had defeated during the combat evaluation said, walking towards them.