18 Tests

'So this is the place…'

A few days had passed since Mike had received the metal tag with the symbol 'Ø' on it from 48, during these last few days Mike had moved in the direction that the metal tag had pulled him and he had eventually arrived in the city of Greenvale, a city the size of Morkove with a few level 3's in the city at all time, Mike was of course a little nervous being in the city but he had a feeling that if he didn't show up then 48 would hunt him down

'It's like that Chinese saying about riding a tiger… One can not simply jump off at the halfway point…'

Even though he was nervous he still walked down the main street with a blank expression on his face, a so called poker face that hid his thoughts away, while thinking about how his mother always had told him he really should smile more Mike walked in the direction that the metal tag was pulling

'Seems like it's on the other side of the city… What a pain…'

While grumping internally Mike walked onwards though the busy streets and gradually he neared the outer edges of the city, the busy streets turned a lot more quiet and the people that were on the streets was often guiding livestock around

'A butcher district huh…'

Mike looked at the group of six legged pigs that was being lead towards what he assumed was a slaughter house by a group of people before he gave a sigh

'A person gotta eat… and so does a city'

Mike followed the pull of the metal tag and soon arrived at a slaughterhouse at the edge of the city, it practically laid next to the walls, just as he was looking up the at sign board that read 'Jack's slaughterhouse and butchery' a person called out to him

"Can I help you with something?"

Mike looked over and saw a man holding a cleaver and wearing a bloody brown apron, Mike gave a nod and took out the metal tag and showed it to the man that gave a nod

"Follow after me new blood"

Mike gave a nod and followed after the man with the bloody apron into the slaughterhouse, the smell of blood was so intense that he could practically taste blood in his mouth, unknown to Mike a smile crept onto his face as his heartbeat speed up, soon the two of them arrived at a room that seemed to function as a freezer as the man opened the door a gust of cold wind blew out and got Mike's mind of the lovely smell of blood, the man seemed unfazed by the cold and walked in.

Inside the freezer hang butchered carcasses from meathooks, with just a look Mike estimated that there was well over 500 carcasses inside the freezer

"Close the door after yourself new blood"

Mike gave a nod and closed the door to the freezer before he hurriedly followed after the man, after walking for a little under a minute the man stopped and pulled a empty meathook, a click sounded out and a trap door opened in the floor then the man gestured to the trap door as he spoke

"Enter new blood, you'll be tested when enough new bloods show up"

"How long am I supposed to wait?"

The man gave a slight frown before he asked

"What you got a date or something?"

Mike tilted his head to the side and spoke bluntly

"Nah it's just if I don't kill anything in a couple of days I'll get the shakes"

The man stared blankly at Mike before he burst out laughing

"HAHAHAHAHAHA! You sure make good jokes, new blood I like you already… As for your question, your in luck as you should be the last of a new group to arrive"

Mike gave a nod before he walked over and crawled down the trap door's ladder, as he was halfway down the man closed the trap door that shut with a click, Mike gave a sigh and crawled down the ladder and found himself in a long hallway that was dimly lit from no apparent lightsource

'No that's not right… it's completely dark down here, my night sight has just gotten better… oh well'

As Mike walked down the hallway he noticed that the walls was covered with something but he didn't feel like touching it to find out exactly what it was so he just continued down the narrow winding hallway until he reached a door which he opened, past the door was a room that was lit it looked like a common room where a about 10 people was gathered around a table playing cards, they all looked over at Mike some of them showed astonishment and one of them exclaimed

"He's completely clean!"

Mike looked at the group of people, they all had some black spots on their clothes or skin, there was even one young man that had his face completely black

'Oh so that was the first test…'

Mike then ignored them and scanned the room and found a man with a mask that stood and leaned against a wall off from the group, Mike walked over and handed the metal tag with the 'Ø' symple to the man, the masked man gave a nod and asked

"Who referred you?"

Mike thought for a moment before he answered

"48"

The masked man gave a nod before he spoke out loud

"Alright, the test will now begin, all new blood line up!"

The group that was playing cards stopped and walked over and lined up after Mike, the masked person looked at Mike and asked

"Since you passed the first test with flying colors you get to go last on the next test, so to the back of the line with you"

Mike gave a nod and walked to the back of the line and waited, one by one the 10 or so people walked past the door that rapidly shut after them making impossible to see what was going on inside, as Mike had waited for about 30 minutes he finally got his turn and walked into the room, inside to room Mike's nose caught a faint scent of blood, there was also a masked woman inside along with three gagged and bound people, one of them a child around 10 years old, he seemed to be struggling the most of the three to get free, one of the others was a woman in her 20's that was hyperventilating, pale as a sheat and bathed in cold sweat, the final was a man in his 50's that seemed clam, as Mike finished inspecting the three the masked woman spoke

"Kill the ones you feel should die, your test have already begun"

Mike gave a nod as a red light shone softly in the depth of his eyes, then while humming a tune he spun the knife around as he walked over to the old man and without saying anything he stabbed the knife directly into the old man's heart and gave it a twist and waited a couple seconds as the old man stopped twitching before he pulled the knife out, then he walked over to the bound and gagged woman and gave a frown as he looked at her chest

'That's rather big… can't reach the heart with the knife, oh well the throat it is…'

Then he quickly swiped the knife over the woman's throat as he held her head with one hand and looked into her eyes, when he saw the light disappear he let go of the woman and walked over to the child as he did he felt the knife 'cry' out for blood and gave a wry smile as a red light once again shone in the depths of his eyes

'You sure are a thirsty knife… Well I to be fair I did just use you to draw blood so it's no wonder you would get thirsty'

Mike walked over to the child while he spun the knife around and still hummed the tune from before as he suddenly stabbed the knife into the shoulder of the child that screamed in pain into the gag

'I wanna be the very best, like no one ever was~'

Mike still humming his tune suddenly stopped and looked up at the masked woman with a eerie smile on his face as he clearly spoke

"[Drink]"

The child soon turned into a dried corpse under the gaze of the masked woman, after a few seconds she spoke

"Your test is now complete, go into the next room"

Mike gave a nod and spun the knife around as before he sheathed it again before he walked into the next room leaving the masked woman alone with the corpses, she gave a sigh and looked at the dried up corpse of the child before she muttered

"What a monster… He's perfect!"