( 4 hours later )
Leo would have almost missed reaching the location of the first test if it was not for another stickered candidate who he bumped into by chance.
That candidate was in an incredible rush to reach the test location and it was only because Leo followed him hurriedly that he was able to reach the test location before the gates closed.
It was a thrilling experience as for the last four hours Leo was trying to find out the location for the first test relentlessly, however, no matter how hard he tried he could not find the test location as it was planned to be a secret.
Information gathering was an important skill for any assassin and the test locations were designed in a way that those who were weak in this department would never reach the test locations in the first place.
Although one might wonder just how big could the Assassin Alliance headquarters be if it was built underground beneath a small hut?
The Assassin Alliance headquarters was actually a colossal structure, comparable in size to a small city.
Despite its subterranean location, it was bathed in brilliant light, making it surprisingly well-lit, but despite the visibility, its sheer size made navigating through its vast and complex layout a challenging endeavor.
As the gates closed a mere ten seconds after Leo's entry, the Assassin who noticed that Leo had piggybacked his way to the test arena openly glared at him, however, Leo pretended not to notice his animosity.
*Humpf*
The Assassin grunted as he got lost within the sea of black robed candidates, leaving Leo to his own thoughts.
" Welcome young seedlings! Congratulations for making it to the first testing arena.
This year out of 3200 tokens distributed, a record breaking 1200 students have found the test location for the first exam.
This is the best ratio in over a decade" A man who stood levitating in the air said as Leo rubbed his eyes twice, wondering as to how someone was standing in the air?
" I'm the Assassin Alliance leader. I'm the current guildmaster of the Night guild and I'm the person who will personally oversee this test and give your performances a score alongside the other elders.
The first round will be a mobility test.
The mark of a good assassin is their silent approach and to test this silent footwork, we have set up floating steps over a shallow pond which will sink if excessive pressure is applied to them.
Your goal is to cross the pond without sinking into the water and only those of you who complete the challenge shall be eligible for receiving our scores.
Queue up in ascending order of your tag number and approach the pond one at a time.
Start now-" The man levitating in the air said, as although Leo did not personally know the reputation that came attached to the man called the Assassin Alliance leader, he could clearly notice the awe and worship that the rest of the assassin's felt towards him as everyone paid complete attention to every word that he spoke.
Quickly organizing themselves in a single queue, all 1200 participants patiently waited for their turn as the first challenger attempted to cross the pond which had 21 small floating steps over it.
Taking a small run-up, the man skipped over the first, second and third step, before losing his rhythm due to the uneven distance of the steps and falling face first into the water.
*SPLASH*
Leo barely held in his laughter as he found this failure to be hilarious, however, much to his surprise not a single individual in the entire queue laughed, as everyone watched on in the same pin-drop silence as they came in.
'What a bunch of boring brats-' Leo thought to himself as soon the first participant waddled out of the water and the second one made his attempt.
Leo did not pay the first Assassin much attention after his failure and was fixated on the second challenger's attempt when he suddenly heard a peculiar sound and turned his head slightly to see that the first assassin who had failed the test had decided to decisively take his own life.
With a dagger plunged into his own chest, the Assassin took his own life in a sad corner as blood spurted everywhere.
Leo almost broken character and was about to rush to his side when he realised that nobody here gave a shit about the first assassin and that although he was the first to take his life, suicide was actually a common practice in this profession with many assassin's already growing numb to it.
Since he had failed the Assassin exam and betrayed the expectations of his sect, many chose the easy route out by killing themselves rather than heading back to their sect as a failure and soaking in the embarrassment.
At best they would be excommunicated, at worst if they brought shame to the guild they would be tortured and forced to starve for days before being granted a horrific death.
The world of assassin's was a cruel place where death and danger was a currency they dealt in daily and it was a world which was not meant for a pure soul like Leo in the first place.
"Candidate 0012, you pass with a judges score of 7" The Assassin Alliance leader said as his voice jolted Leo out of his stupor as he saw that there was indeed someone who had crossed the pond and stood at the other side of its bank.
'Damn, I could not watch him cross the pond' Leo cursed in his mind as he wished to mimic a successful attempt, however, he missed his first chance to do so.
Thankfully, there were still many candidates before him from whom he could copy the footwork necessary to cross the pond, however, he did need to pay attention to their attempts and ignore the suicidal bastards who were giving up their lives after this small setback.