Chapter 71 - Preparation For The Assessment

"All of you were surprised, but what would you expect? Since we only have a month to train, I am training you harshly. After that, everyone will separate to have their respective positions in the gang."

"Does that mean, Boss, that this is just practice for the actual assignment of our positions?"

"Yes, but technically, you will be in the Armed Forces Department since you will be focusing on that matter. But it depends on you if you show any interest from the other departments." Roger stated, that easily made everyone understand his notion.

And as Roger gave them the initial understanding of what their training would be, he bid his farewell.

"Remember no resources. If you get caught, I will personally punish you since I don't want to teach you something that you are not willing to learn. Understand?"

"Understood, Boss!"

Roger then left them, and the next day, he attended school. He then encountered other students as they noticed him entering school, which was rare for them. Roger would only go to school once a week because of his gang business.

But since he would be gone for three weeks to train his men, he decided to attend school and, by the end of the week, excuse himself.

"That was shocking to see you, Roger."

Roger faced the person who was speaking beside him. It was Yuno, and just as he faced him, he let out a sigh.

"Well, that is better than not attending." Roger jokingly said, with a scoff.

"What was going on with your gang? I heard that some people from the District Overdrive came here. What happened?" Yuno asked as they were on their way to their respective rooms.

Roger smiled and answered, "Well, it was just about my gang. They were investigating them, but I closed a deal."

Yuno nodded, then Roger finally entered his room. After that, Roger took his class for a whole week and went to see the faculty at the end of the week.

Roger took a test for him to get a three-week excused attendance. And since he had prepared for it, he passed the test, and finally, the week when he would assess his men had come.

***

Roger went his way to the mountain by the Blue Neighborhood's side. Just as he arrived at the feet of the mountain, he opened his eyes wide and widened his senses to inspect the results everyone had garnered.

He started to see some of them that were hungry and playing with everything they could get from the fruit of the mountains. Just as he saw this, he was about to accept dissatisfaction towards his people.

But, it didn't mean that they didn't have any potential. It was only that they were not capable of enhancing their instincts on their own. Hence, Roger had thought of pouring some of his knowledge into them.

He then leaped to one tree branch and then approached the closest suffering man he had. 

The man's name is Oliver, and he was just a young man like him but older by two years. And as he arrived at his side, his eyes were filled with disappointment.

'He had decided to sleep his way out of the hunger.' Roger thought, then let out a sigh. He looked at him again and inspected him. 'It is not a bad decision, but he could have thought of hunting some wild animals.'

Roger looked at the area to see if there were any animals free to hunt. But when he saw the situation, even the plants were not good to eat.

'I see... Then, self-destruction was what he chose.'

"Wake up," Roger uttered, then pushed his toes against Oliver's lying body.

Oliver slowly opened his eyes as he felt groggy when Roger pinned his toes on him. And when he completely opened his eyes, he was surprised to see Roger standing there, looking down on him.

Oliver, then, immediately fixed himself and stood before Roger with his head facing the ground.

"I am sorry, Boss. I don't know how to survive in the wild. The plants and fruits felt poisonous, so I chose to only drink water."

Roger let out a sigh and shook his head. He tapped Oliver's shoulder and then gave him a complacent smile.

"You do not have to worry. I finally know where you are good at."

Oliver raised an eyebrow but didn't dare ask Roger. And just as Roger willingly shared what was on his mind, Oliver couldn't help but be amazed by him.

"You don't know how to find food, and you followed my order that you don't have to reinforce your body with internal energy. Hence, you picked the safest route to survive a week-long in the wild, which is to sleep it through."

"But, I didn't gain anything from it."

"No... You just proved that your body doesn't require much food intake since your physique can survive without eating. Look at you. You can still stand up even after a week with no eating."

Oliver was surprised at himself too. He looked at his body and noticed that he didn't feel weak at all. And listening to Roger's words, he believed that he had something within himself.

"Don't worry, you are not the only one who had the same results."

***

Roger continued looking everywhere. He then went to the side of another man and gathered everyone after giving them their assessments individually. And just as the 30 Awakens stood before him in a line, he exhaled deeply.

"You did well. And now, I am sure of which practices you should continue in this whole month's course." Roger stated, watching everyone listen attentively to him.

"Your actions in the wildness reflect your capabilities. Even with the different situations, what was important was the survival instinct. Hence, those who were not good with their physiques, or those people who felt weak with living in the wild, step forward to your left."

Almost half of the population moved to the left, and Roger looked at them discerningly. He then nodded and then approached them.

"You will not follow us, instead, you will practice more cultivation. Your bodies don't fit into the harsh training and it would even backlash. So, I am suggesting that you practice cultivation more attentively and more profoundly. I know you can see your talents in cultivation."

It was a vague notion, but Roger knew that they would push themselves to excel in cultivation since they didn't have the right body for the external arts. This could imply that they will serve as the gang's support.

But, they were not to be underestimated as their purpose of cultivation was to enhance their bodies and compensate for what was lacking in them. 

The theory behind this was that the more good external arts a person had, or even a better body, the less internal energy would be used to reinforce their bodies.

Hence, if the situation was the other way around, where they had a weaker body, they would need more energy to strengthen themselves.

"Even though you will all be the support of the gang, all of you will still have an equal position. You are the founding members of the Demonyo Clan, so I am expecting more from everyone."

Everyone showed an enlightened expression after his words. And just as Roger motivated them, he then approached the other half of the population.

On the right were the Awakens, who survived and toned their bodies in extreme conditions. They were those who hunted without internal energy, those who felt energized even after starving themselves, and also those who had eaten dangerous fruits.

They wouldn't die even if they did, since the properties of the poison and the harshness of the environment were still minimal. However, Roger didn't invalidate the fact that they did something extraordinary.

"For first-timers, you lived in the wild despite living all of your life in the streets, extorting money from people. But, I am not pleasing you since the next three weeks will be harsh." Roger stated solemnly, intent on delivering his speech.

"You will hurt yourselves. You will earn scars and also injuries that any of you wouldn't imagine having. But, it will be satisfying as the results, I promise, will be equal to what I call "average"."

Roger smirked, then shook his head. He then let out a sigh of disappointment and moved to get some distance between the men.

"All of you are still weak. Even with your achievements in cultivation, it won't be enough to defeat me. However, it doesn't mean that you are useless. I will make everyone the best."

Everyone listened to him, and they slowly understood what Roger said.. And as they recollected what they had done in the past few days, they realized that what he had said was real.