286 Selections Part 2 (1/2)

'Very well... I'm looking forward to your decisions later on.'

Ace thought after seeing the ten magicians who had just completed their simulation as they gather around and talk about their experiences inside.

The Pilot Selection exam was actually quite easy on itself as it just mostly tests the decision making as a pilot.

Ace then busied himself with the current updates about the asteroid that Avalon has found. He wanted to make sure that it was truly an asteroid before he creates a plan to deal with it.

***

The third batch of the magicians taking the simulation exam includes Hilda Calem. She was already excited about it ever since the first batch completed their own exams and heard a little about the simulation.

It seems that there were different simulations so it was useless to ask about their experiences inside. It may just hamper their judgment and be unable to perform well.

After all, even if they were not selected to be a pilot, they were still promised to get an in-game item as a reward after completing the exam. This was more than enough to get serious about this. There was nothing to lose at all.

'Haaa~'

Hilda took a deep breath as she prepared herself. She wasn't pressured at all as she approached one of the majestic Steel Knights and even gave it a touch to have a feel about the real deal.

The one in front of her was a full black humanoid war machine equipped with a rifle gun on its right hand and a small shield on the other. It was still a bit bulky but not the same way with the one at the center.

There was also something similar to a jetpack, or probably a booster of some sort, attached at the back of the war machine.

'Does it have a name? I hope that Wallace can share it with us...'

She suddenly had a feeling that she would be able to connect more to a Steel Knight if she knows its name.

She had suddenly realized that the mysterious 'sync rate' that needs to operate a Steel Knight or Iron Knight may actually prove to be helpful during the examination.

Anyway, now that she had gotten closer to it, she could feel that the pressuring energy hiding deep inside this machine was also getting clearer to her.

It was a sensation that she couldn't properly describe as it felt very powerful and suffocating at first but after getting closer to the machine, it feels gentler and very safe under its shelter.

This all happened quickly as she entered Mech Frame's cockpit to experience being inside the real Steel Knight even for half an hour.

It smelled refreshing and noticed that she was immediately covered by gushing mana!

'I'm synchronizing already?'

It was very similar to the Steel Knights she piloted inside the Virtual World!

[ Hello, Miss Hilda. I'm Avalon and I'm here to help you start the simulation. ]

A genderless voice was suddenly heard which didn't surprise her.

”Hi, Avalon. Are you similar to Freya inside the virtual game?”

[ You can say so... But I can't give you any quests. ]

”Haha! Of course...”

[ Very well. You can start the examination by placing your hand at the spherical glass that you can see at the center. ]

Hilda also knows that touching this spherical glass is part of the standard activation sequence needed to run the Steel Knight inside the game. It was different from an Iron Knight in the real world that normally requires a key to operate.

Anyway, it seems that touching the glass won't be activating the machine but the simulation test at this time.

”Alright... I'll take the exam now...”

Hilda said and as soon as she touched the glass... nothing happened.

”Avalon? Is there something wrong?”

'Maybe I should insert some of my mana?'