Chapter 164 - Next Phase The participants began to initiate conversations with one another. One hour thirty minutes later, Gustav sensed something and looked up. Trrooiinn! A bright flash of light appeared in the middle of the space surrounding the participants. When the flash of light disappeared, a man in an orange-colored military-like jacket with black stripes could be seen standing there. He had beautiful yellow-colored long hair that reached his lower back. The large room instantly quietened upon noticing him. "Welcome to the MBO tower! I am Gradier Xanatus, the overseer of this batch’s participants." The man voiced out with a solemn expression. "You all should know why you’re here... The MBO entrance test registration is going to begin in a few minutes. However, before it does, I’d like to say a few things. I’m sure you all are still confused about what happened on your way to the tower." He said with his hands placed behind his back. "That was the beginning phase of the MBO entrance test put in place to test the participants’ reaction to dangerous and sudden situations... Those that were unable to get to the tower failed the test and have been transported back to the facility." He narrated. Chatter! Chatter! Chatter! The space became a little noisy after hearing that. The participants now had looks of understanding. Some of them already had a feeling that similar events were about to occur when they noticed that the officials in the vicinity didn’t bother to help them when the grounds exploded. Gradier Xanatus’s words confirmed their suspicions. "Expect more surprises during the test. Things will not be as they are said to be because the only thing that never changes in this world is that things hardly ever go as planned... Those who can fully understand and adapt to that thought process will be able to handle unexpected situations... Only those who are good enough will stand the chance of getting enlisted into the MBO. So, make sure you do your best!" He stated with an authoritative tone. "Now the registration process shall begin," He voiced out before disappearing along with a flash of light. Trruunnnuuuu! Trruunnnuuuu! Trruunnnuuuu! The floor in the middle of the room opened up, and several silver rectangular pillars emerged from them. These pillars had two palm prints on each of their bodies that glowed blue. "PLACE YOUR HAND ON THE PALM TO CONFIRM YOUR IDENTITY AND MOVE ON TO THE NEXT STAGE!" 1++++++-y The voice of the man who had just left echoed across the large space. The number of participants in the large space area was close to two thousand. Still, the pillars were only about twenty in number. Lights that formed numbers begin to emit from each pillar. Gradier Xanatus once again explained that when a pillar showed the number on their palms, it would be their turn to touch the pillar and confirm their identity. Twenty participants stood up from their seating positions and walked towards the pillar after seeing their number. They placed their hands on the palm print, and bright light enveloped them, scanning their body from head to toe. After a few had been selected and their palms had been scanned, the process was completed. The participants who had undergone the process disappeared from their standing position. Contrary to everyone’s expectations, names, ranks, and bloodline grades of the participants were not displayed. For some reason, the MBO decided to not disclose this information even though they had it. The participants didn’t know that the MBO wanted everyone to partake in the next test blindly, without having any idea of what their fellow participants’ strength was. Gustav turned his palm around to face him and stared at the number on it again. >00126< ’The number of participants in this venue should be at least ten thousand. How is it that only about one thousand made it to this place?’ Gustav wondered. ’There are probably other places in the tower where participants were teleported to,’ After thinking about it for a while, he came to this conclusion. ’This place is really huge, so I’m sure it will be able to fit the ten thousand people... What could be MBO’s reason for this separation?’ Gustav couldn’t help but think the MBO was playing at something again. Although lots of participants had been disqualified during the first phase, they would definitely still be more than a thousand left, and they could all fit in within this large space, but they were teleported to other places within the tower. Trooinn! Above one of the pillars on the left, the number on Gustav’s palm was displayed. One participant was teleported a moment ago from that spot. Angy was still seated, waiting for her number to be shown. When she saw Gustav getting up, she felt a wave of uneasiness and disappointment hit her. She knew a time like this would eventually come when they would have to be separated during the test. Despite knowing that their separation was coming, she still wasn’t happy about it. She could only try to do her possible best to get enlisted so she could accompany him. "Goodluck Gustav," She voiced out with a smile. 𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝕨𝕖𝗯𝚗𝚘𝕧𝕖𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝕞 "Hnm," Gustav nodded while staring at her. "Try your best," Gustav added before moving forward. "I will," Angy muttered with a look of determination. Gustav walked majestically towards the second to the last pillar on the left side. His bearing and vibe of confidence, along with his handsome looks, dragged a lot of people’s attention towards him. Especially the batch he came in with earlier. Some of them still had a grudge against him due to what happened earlier. However, at this moment, they could tell that his bearing wasn’t that of an ordinary person. ’I wonder what grade he is,’ These were the thoughts of almost every mixed-blood in the vicinity. Gustav arrived in front of the pillar and stretched out his hand to touch it. Trooinn! Lights reflected from the pillar and scanned his entire figure. In a few seconds, he disappeared from his spot. Zing! Gustav’s eyes regained it’s clarity after the blinding light disappeared, and he found himself in a different place.