Bang!

A loud noise rang out as a student punched a metal device with every ounce of his strength.

"Four," Xaphon announced with a poker face.

The student walked away, looking unsatisfied.

This is the strength test, the first part of the physical exam.

The students were asked to hit a metal device, called the Dummy, as hard as they can. It in turn will measure their strength on a scale of one to ten.

Over a hundred students have gone, and so far no one had managed to get above six.

"These guys are total weaklings. I mean, how hard can that thing really be?" Carmen voiced confidently to Khidon and Aeri, "I bet that I can get a ten easily."

The trio had opted to stay together after the Choris incident united them.

Aeri didn't seem to agree with Carmen's bold claim, "Instead of standing here talking big, why don't you actually go up and do it?"

"Oh ya? I'm gonna go right now! Just you wait."

As soon as another student came back after scoring a five, Carmen walked up to the Dummy.

Xaphon signalled for him to proceed. Carmen balled his fist so tight that his knuckle turned white, then he swung at the Dummy with all his might.

Bang!

"Seven!" Xaphon announced, putting on a face of approval, although slight, for the first time in front of the new students.

"Only seven!?" Carmen felt like crying. Just how hard is this thing?

He was not spared from Aeri's merciless jabs as he made his way back to the group, head down in disappointment, "What happened to your easy ten? I heard somebody bragging about his strength moments ago."

"Hmph! I was only using a fraction of my strength. I merely underestimated the difficulty of that thing. Plus, seven is still higher than what everyone else got!"

"Ya right, keep telling yourself that."

"Why don't you go and try instead? I'd be surprised if you get over four!"

"You think everyone is as weak as you?"

Aeri stormed to the front of the Dummy and gave it her most devastating blow.

Thunk!

"T-" Carmen's eyes widened as Xaphon announced her score.

"Three."

"Ha-hahaha-haha-hahaha...*cough...*cough!" Carmen completely lost it. He couldn't stop bawling his eyes out until he choked on his own laughter.

Aeri's cheeks can be seen visibly reddening until they took on the same shade as a tomato.

"A th-three, haha, you got one of the lo-lowest scores, hahaha, this is hilarious." Carmen still can't rein in his laughter.

"Shu-shut up!" Aeri finally let out a squeak.

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This was the first time Khidon has seen Aeri this riled up since they'd met. And unbeknownst to him, a smile started creeping onto the corner of his lips.

Carmen has finally managed to calm himself down after a few minutes. Aeri however, stood beside them silently, face still hot from embarrassment.

"Hey Khidon, we haven't seen your strength yet. You should go up next."

Khidon didn't see any reason to reject Carmen's suggestion. After giving Carmen a nod, he began to walk towards the Dummy.

However, before he was able to get there, a massive figure stepped in his way.

"I'm going next." The big student stated.

He was a head taller than Khidon, even though Khidon was already pretty tall for their age. He also had wide shoulders and thick, muscular arms. He was a giant among the student.

Khidon shrugged his shoulders, "go ahead, I couldn't care less." he ignored the big student's rudeness. One turn early, one turn late, it doesn't bother him at all.

The big student walked to the front of the Dummy, and turned his head back to the crowd, "My name is Angus, you weaklings should remember my name, and that I am the strongest out of all of you!"

The crowd erupted in anger, but before the students could say anything, Angus turned back to the Dummy and strikes it with a decimating blow.

BANG!

"Nine!" Even Xaphon was surprised this time. After all, it has been years since a new student was able to achieve such a feat.

The anger that had brewed previously among the crowd quickly died off.

Strength, that's the only rule in this world. The strong are respected, and no one can speak against power.

"Your turn," Angus crossed his arms and looked at Khidon in contempt, "show 'em a good contrast of the gap between our strengths."

"Don't worry, I will be sure to do that." Khidon agreed to his "request".

Angus frowned as Khidon walked past him to the device. He agreed to it, but why does he sound like he meant something else?

"Testing after Angus, he's gonna make an embarrassment out of himself."

"Look at him. He's stick-thin. How high can he possibly get?"

The crowd threw comments at Khidon.

Khidon was by no means skinny. In fact, he has a lean figure that is actually very well-built. However, after Angus displayed his overwhelming muscle and power, Khidon looked small and weak in comparison.

"That idiot! He should've waited for someone else to go before going like that. He's gonna become the laughingstock of the school at this rate." Carmen said worryingly.

"He seems like he knows what he's doing. He just might give you a surprise," Aeri replied.

"A surprise? How can he possibly match against a nine!? We both know how hard that thing is. I wasn't even close to hitting eight, and that guy got nine, nine! Tell me, how can he possible beat Ang-"

CRACK!

"..."

An eerie silence washed over the crowd, as everyone's jaws dropped to the floor. Even Xaphon froze after seeing the number, or rather, the lack of it. All eyes were glued to the gaping hole in the middle of the Dummy.

"Hey, I'm dreaming aren't I? This must be all a dream. Pinch me, there's no way this is real." Carmen told Aeri, "Owwwww! Not that hard! Not that hard! Why didn't you use this much strength when you were up there testing?"

"If you dare mention another word about the test, I will kill you." Aeri gave Carmen a death stare, then proceeded to twist the hunk of flesh pinched between her fingers as hard as she can.

The extremely loud and unpleasant scream that followed woke everyone from their shock.

"What happened? Did the Dummy malfunction?"

"My eyes must be playing tricks on me..."

"Oh my god, what kind of monster is he?!"

Doubt and disbelief exploded from the crowd.

Xaphon silenced them with his booming voice. "There was nothing wrong with the test. He did this with his own strength." Then, he looked at Khidon with a hint of excitement behind his eyes, " That is a ten."

It was way more than a ten. To score a ten was hard enough. However, to leave a hole in the Dummy was a completely different feat. Of course, he can easily accomplish the same thing to a Dummy of this level. But to think that a twelve-year-old could cause this much damage...

"So, is that enough of a contrast for you?" Khidon stared up at Angus.

"Im-impossible!" Angus bursts out in anger, "You must be cheating! I'm gonna crush you with my fists!" He stormed towards Khidon, ready to give him a beating.

A wall of fire flared up in between them, forcing Angus back with its intense heat. "This is the first warning. One more and you'll be disqualified." Xaphon gave Angus a cold look. Between Angus and Khidon, it was pretty obvious which he favours.

The second test was the speed/stamina test. Everyone was stunned once again as Khidon finished the fifteen-kilometre run in a mere one hour, receiving another perfect score.

By the third test, the students were already numb to Khidon's over-performance. No one said a word as Khidon scored another ten after holding up one hundred kilograms for an hour completely unfazed during the endurance test.

When the physical exam was finally over, everyone breathed a sigh of relief. Competing against Khidon in the physical tests was a traumatizing experience. However, whether they were ready or not, the next part of the Trials was coming. Everyone watched in silence as Caren walked to the center of the field.