"Where the hell is that damn city?!" Skysin cursed, scratching his head. The young man was still surrounded by the never-ending desert, nothing but the heated air rolling down the steed dunes of sand.
Skysin thought back to when Valentine had told him Grazanopolis' location. Explaining that if he simply kept straight to the west, he'd find it no problem, especially with his speed. Skysin had merely given her a 'no problem', and Valentine couldn't help but understand that Skysin would definitely get lost.
And here he was...lost. How nice.
The golden-haired speedster trudged through the desert, arms crossed, cursing to himself with each step, "mom and grandpa Al would have a field day roasting my ass right now."
"Shoul've took a map when I had the chance," Skysin added, sighing to himself.
Valentine did offer him an entire world map, but the cocky speedster denied.
'Why take a map when I can get around the world faster than someone can blink?' Skysin had previously asked himself.
But that's when it finally hit the young man.
"Being super-fast doesn't mean I can have a good sense of direction! FUCK!!"
Sometimes ignorance isn't bliss.
As Skysin kept his now-walking pace, his violet eyes locked onto a line of buildings sitting behind a few dunes in the distance. Skysin's ears had twitched like a fox, hearing the noise of traffic.
"No fuckin' way..."
Skysin flashed into a blue blur, his destination obviously close.
The boy had stood before a bustling metropolis, seamlessly blending both modern and advanced technology with yuman activity. Towering skyscrapers dominate the skyline, their sleek windows shimmering in the warm light from the shining yellow sun. Many structures have holographic panels, displaying advertisements, messages, and simple vibrant lights, giving the city a lively, energetic atmosphere.
The teeming sidewalks below are like a beehive of activity. People from all walks of life move about their daily lives, some ambling leisurely while others are engaged in conversations or heading purposefully towards their destinations. Markets line areas of the people-filled streets, selling gadgets, exotic foods, or clothing.
While floating cars and Lucanaships glide effortlessly above in the sky, average vehicles powered by chaotic energy and gases sat in traffic, honking away at each other.
Skysin whistled, baffled by the grand view. "...Damn this place is nice." Taking a step forward, he went on with his adventure, raising his head to gaze at the humongous skyscrapers, "it's the complete opposite of Ternal Island."
This is Grazanopolis, the capital city of planet Grazen. A vibrant area surrounded by the broad and hot Sandy Sun Dunes. Like most metropolitan areas, Grazanopolis is where races and species of all kinds come to start anew, whether to start a business, gain fame as an actor or Omi-Artist, become a challenger, or in cases like Skysin, a rover.
Skysin seen all kinds of people, giant individuals who stood at nearly eight-feet tall, smaller people who barely passed even three-feet, some with animal-like features, anthropomorphic, others who had a different pigment of color entirely with antennas, and the average yuman race as well.
While the top five species of the omiverse were the Yumans, Mythics, Seraphim, Fellens and Nephilim's, that didn't mean other subspecies existed.
Skysin crossed his arms, thinking about what his mother Valentine had explained to him, 'the Omi-Soldado quarters... she said they'd be in the city. Now I just gotta find 'em, wherever the hell they are.'
While Skysin kept a brisk pace, his shoulder collided into someone else's. "Ah, sorry about that," Skysin turned around, looking at a particular individual simply dressed in a black cloak.
"E-Excuse me," the cloaked person had hastily bowed, the soft tone of the voice instantly told Skysin it was a woman. "Sorry," She apologized, standing straight once more.
'How the hell is she not burning with that thing on?' Skysin asked himself, squinting his violet eyes.
Pushing the thought away, he figured it'd be best to ask her about the location he's been searching for, at least. "Don't worry about it. Actually, do you know where the Omi-Soldado quarters are? I'm kinda lost..." Skysin gave a small chuckle, rubbing the back of his head.
"Oh...yes," She pointed straight ahead, gesturing to a large panel of an Omi-artist, a beautiful young woman with ocean blue eyes and blonde hair, holding a microphone. "Y'see that panel with Tiana Shultz? Once you get to that street of the building, just make a right and you'll see the quarters, can't miss it."
"Great! Thanks a ton, I appreciate it."
"No problem."
Skysin disappeared in a mere instant, turning into a flash of blue.
The cloaked woman was completely dumbfounded, "h-huh...where'd he go??"
Back to Skysin, he stood before the giant structure of a building, reading the huge letters above the glass doors, reading 'Omi-Soldado Corps,' along with an insignia of a gun and sword aimed diagonally, sitting before a shield.
"Finally, I'm here."
Without any distractions, Skysin pushed the large glass door open, entering a giant, luxurious lobby area. The floor and walls are made of sleek white tiles, people in white military uniforms, armor, or regular clothing walking around.
Skysin made his way to the reception office on his right, coming to see an older woman, maybe in her late twenties wearing glasses, her hair bundled into a small bun.
The golden-haired boy made a smile, waving at her, grabbing her attention, "hey there, I'm here for the rover exams. I'm not too late, am I?"
"Ah, the entry is just down the corridor on your left. Go down that hall and you'll see the door."
"Thanks."
Skysin made his way, getting to the door and entered, stepping into a gymnasium-like area. A row of tall metal bleachers paralleled, although the right-side is where everyone sat.
Skysin came to see three soldiers standing just a few paces away from the bleachers where everyone sat. He swiftly made his way over with the other participants, sitting beside a middle-aged man, and a certain young man around the same age as Skysin, making a small circle of white flames with his index finger.
Crimson red hair, and relaxed grey eyes with orange pigments at the outer edge, almost like make-up. His youthful skin being a color of beige. A wide wolf-grey headband tied around his forehead, letting the ends drape down to his back. Black studs piercing his ears, attired in loose, khaki coveralls, the legs of his pants sitting right on his black boots.
Suddenly, one of the three soldiers, a woman, had stepped forward, grabbing everybody's attention, "this must be everyone, I presume?" She asked, her tone commanding yet soft, arms crossed under her well-developed bosom. "Good, I'm the head tester for this entry exam, my name is Nebula Tartervem, a captain."
One of the men whispered another, a bit surprised, "...holy-Malerenz...! She's from the Leviathan Clan in the Nephilim Province, I heard she's a hot piece of work...but she's more than I expected."
'The Leviathan clan, huh?' Skysin asked himself, looking over to the Leviathan princess, who was at least a year or two older than him.
Nebula's sharp, aggressive eyes are like a pretty sea of emeralds, having long curly lashes, and a sleek, warm tone of fair skin. A small patch of blue scales on her round cheeks. Standing at the average height of at least five-four, having a curvaceous yet balanced proportion. Dressed in a fitted jacket with an asymmetrical front closure that sat on her prideful bosom, highlighted by gold trim running down the edges. Epaulettes on her small shoulders and golden accents, piping along her chest. Wearing a brown sling wrapped around her waist, barely above her wide hips, a sheathed rubied cutlass latched to it. Her trousers the same color as her jacket, feet attired in simple low top brown boots.
Nebula is a beautiful young woman, through and through.
Nebula raised her fist over her mouth, clearing her throat, "...we–the omi-sodaldo give you all the chance to either join our ranks, or become rovers, able to legally travel the omiverse. Of course, you must be able to somewhat defend yourself or have a good amount of fighting experience. And your chaotic energy must be efficient as well." Nebula sat a hand on her hip, "as beautiful as the omiverse is…it's still highly dangerous, filled with the unknown, and unforgiving circumstances. Which I'm sure everyone has heard as children."
After a slight pause, people murmured to each other. Nebula looked at the soldier on her left, giving a curt nod as a gesture. In response, the woman raised her hand, "if you're here to join the ranks of the omi-sodaldo, please follow me. If you're here for rover exams, please remain here with Captain Tartervem, thank you."
Many people began to move throughout the bleachers, some following the young soldier to an exit door leading to another testing sight. All while other individuals, including Skysin and the crimson-haired boy remained.
Nebula's emerald green eyes fixed onto the rest of the remaining individuals, "there will be three different exams held for rover entry. Aura, chaotic arts, and hand combat. Pass all three, and you'll be given your rover identification. Fail and you'll be excused."
"Please follow me so we may head to the first exam," Nebula gestured to them, turning around, making way to a large set of metal doors not far from her.
As Nebula got to the doors, she faced the examinees once more, staring at Skysin, his violet eyes. 'They look so familiar…' Nebula thought to herself.
Skysin noticed her stare, merely smiling and gave her a wave. Nebula grunted, withdrawing her head from him.
'Well screw you too lady…'
Nebula opened the large doors, entering a large, square-shaped area. In the middle of the wide space, sat multiple circular, clear platforms, each having a single soldier standing by with a black tablet in hand.
Nebula stood to the far left of the room, by another officer who sat at a large, rectangular desk made of sleek wood. "First will be aura testing. The platforms will gauge your energy, and the officer standing by will record that data. Depending on how dense it is, you'll either fail, or move onto the next test."
Nebula gestured her hand over to the platforms, "please choose your spot so we can begin testing shortly, thank you."
As all the examinee's wen to their own placements, a certain officer, male, had approached Nebula with a slight grin on his face. Dressed in the same militaristic attire as her, standing at six-foot-one. The maroon scabbard of a broad sword latched to his black sling.
A slim build, having long, curly ocean blue hair that fell on his back and almond shaped eyes, the same color, just a darker tone, his bangs falling right over his forehead. He's quite the looker, to say the least.
"Nebula, I'm surprised you're here as well. They didn't notify me of you being a part of testing," The young man gave a small chuckle. However, one could tell just by the way he smiled towards Nebula, there's a certain infatuation he has for her.
Nebula grunted, crossing her arms under her chest, eyeing all the examinee's getting started with their test, "my master forced me to attend this, and be the head tester at that."—Nebula rolled her eyes, repeating what her master stated—"It's all a part of being an officer."
Nebula looked over to the young man, "what're you doing here though, Zeris? I thought you'd be busy with other stuff."
"Well, I got all of it outta the way, surprisingly,"—Zeris chuckled with a shrug— "Besides, when I finally got the news of you being here, I figured I should at least check on ya, to make sure you're not bored to death."
Nebula gave small laugh, "why thank you…"—Nebula shook her head with a smirk— "I can definitely say it's not as exciting as the trainee exams are for joining the omi-sodaldo."
Suddenly, one of the soldiers had raised a thumb towards Nebula, letting her know that all the examinees were now ready. Nebula gave a quick nod and spoke out, "Alright everyone, you only get one chance of this! You may begin!!"
***