"Shall we start?"

"Oh wait. I forgot to mention, If one of you manage to land a hit on me once. I'll reward that hunter with one of my bracelets."

The reward he offered enticed the ears of the hunters. It would make them do their best in sparring with him.

The first group went on formation. Genesis was in front carrying a kite shield that covered his entire body. He held a mace in his other hand.

Slightly behind Genesis was Annie. She was holding a spear made out of unknown wood. The two made an offense and defense pair with the shield guarding Annie and giving her opportunities to stab with her spear.

Ken was also in the front line with Genesis. Instead of a mace and shield like Genesis, he was holding a huge battle axe, it seemed like he specialized in breaching through the defenses of the enemy.

Leanne was standing at the back of the party with her hands behind her back, it seems like she was hiding her weapon from the instructor's view. The hunters looking at her from behind could see the weapon she was holding.

It looked like she was holding a hilt with no blade. The light was refracting where the blade was supposed to be, it seemed like some type of illusion magic was enchanted on the blade.

The party looked at each other and nodded. It was a go signal for the party to go on the offensive.

Genesis rushed towards Alex and tried to crash into him with his shield. He was followed by Leanne who was aiming her spear towards Alex's head. Alex slowly lifted his hand and opened his palm to stop the incoming collision.

KRUNG~

A dull sound was heard at the moment of impact. Genesis felt like he collided with a sturdy wall. His right arm that held the shield felt numb and a blunt pain was emanating in his stomach area. His vision slowly turned dark as he lost consciousness. His weapons which were no longer being supplied with energy reformed back to their bracelet form.

'Whoops, that's not supposed to happen.'

Alex's hand cleanly pierced through the shield even though his palm was open. His palm hit the hunter square in the stomach and it made the hunter faint on the spot.

Swish~!

Alex slightly tilted his head to the right and grabbed the spear that stabbed the empty air. Annie quickly unsummoned the spear she was holding and distanced herself from Alex.

THUD!

Genesis' body fell backwards. His party was shocked by what just happened. The assault from Genesis and Annie failed.

Alex observed the party's movement. There were currently two people in front of him. The man with an Axe and the woman with a spear. One of them was missing. He knew where the other one was, but he decided to let her be. They were waiting for Leanne to set up an opportunity to strike.

"Is it my turn to attack now?"

Alex was taunting them. He approached the party. Every step he took forward, the party would take a step backward. They were cautious of him.

BOOM!

A deafening sound was heard as Alex lightly tapped the ground with his feet. The ground around him was displaced and chunks of dirt were flung in the air.

The party tried their best to keep their balance as the ground they stood on shook and crumbled. As they kept their balance, Alex darted towards them.

Almost in an instant, Alex closed in on the distance between him and the group. He was now face to face with Ken. Ken quickly swung his axe towards Alex, but he felt no resistance. The only thing that was cut by the axe was the air where Alex was present a moment ago. He suddenly felt someone lightly tapping his nape.

This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

"You're out."

Ken unsummoned his Axe and stood still, he gave a resigned look and let out a sigh. Alex who was behind him a moment ago was now gone. He found him confronting Annie who was fending him off with her spear. Awe was present on his face as he watched the scene.

Annie was thrusting her spear like a madman. Alex was gracefully dodging them, it looked like he wasn't moving from his place at all as he slowly walked towards her. She slowly moved back as he made his advance, keeping him at a set distance. Her thrusts became more frantic, she was hoping and praying that she could at least land one hit on the instructor.

Pook!

Suddenly resistance was felt at the tip of the spear. A smile appeared on her face, but it was quickly wiped away.

Alex was holding the tip of the spear with his index finger and his thumb. A proud smile could be seen on his face.

"Looks just like the movies doesn't it?"

Annie was awestrucked. She wanted to pull her spear out, but she couldn't. The strength in those two fingers were no joke. She quickly unsummoned the spear and resummoned it, but it was already too late. She felt Alex flick her forehead.

"You're out too."

She let out a deep sigh. It was a sigh of relief, she felt like she was fighting a monster. To the hunters watching, it looked like Alex was playing with his food. The scene of beating a whole group by himself was expected.

There was one more hunter who was not out yet. It was Leanne who was currently missing in the field. Alex knew where she was, but he was waiting for her to strike instead.

Alex sat down and crossed his legs. He was looking at the ground in front of him.

"Come out. I know you're there."

The ground started rising and it revealed a woman holding a hilt. It looked like she was concealing herself the entire time and was waiting for an opportunity to strike.

"When did you know?"

"From the start."

A smirk appeared in Alex's face. Leanne shrugged at the answer, she was disappointed that her trick failed. She also felt guilty that she didn't do anything to help her teammates when Alex was fighting them.

She darted towards Alex. Since her trick already failed there was no point in hiding anymore.

She raised the hilt she was holding and brought it down on Alex. She was three feet away from Alex when she swung the hilt.

Swish~

Alex calmly avoided the invisible blade that cut the air beside him. He couldn't accurately gauge the reach of the blade but he was sure it was similar to a sword.

"What a handy spell. Illusion Magic?"

Leanne didn't answer his question. She just kept swinging her sword. Her slashes kept hitting the air and Alex kept dodging like it was nothing. She slashed diagonally, but Alex simply took a step back.

She felt frustrated. No matter what angle she slashed her sword none of it were connecting.

She stopped swinging her sword, and approached Alex. There was a distance of two feet between them, but neither of them went in to strike.

"I surrender."

Leanne bowed her head and slowly walked away. Alex was scratching the back of his head, he wanted to know more about her spell.

"Alright."

"If I call your name please come to the center of the field."

"Group 2. Zen Rias, Than Evergreen, Maki Alfen and Rey Fallenhall. My daughter personally recommended your group, I have high hopes in our fight."

Rey reached the center of the field first. Than and Maki followed. Zen was slowly walking towards the center, he looked like he just woke up. It seems like he was asleep the entire time and he didn't know whats happening.

"Pssst...Rey what does he mean by fight."

Zen queried. He was speaking in a low voice so that the instructor couldn't hear him.

"We just have to hit him once, then we win."

"Is there a catch?"

"Yeah, He's extremely fast and strong."

"Oooh I like challenges."

Zen couldn't control his excitement and quickly equipped his fighting gloves. He even coated them with energy. Than and Maki looked at him with displeasure, they thought that he was boasting again.

Alex noticed the aura around Zen. He observed the auras around the others too but there nothing worth noting.

'The man with the gloves is Middle Minor Class. The rest are Early Minor Class just like the group I fought a while ago.'

"Shall we start?"

Rey's party nodded their heads. They went to their combat positions, with Maki and Zen in the forefront and Rey guarding Than at the back.

Their bracelets crumbled and their weapons formed. Unlike Genesis who bolted towards Alex, Maki and Zen took on a defensive stance.

They wanted Alex to do the first move, just like when they were hunting beasts. The party specialized in counterattacking and exploiting openings.

"Sir, before we start. I have a question."

Rey spoke all of a sudden. He noticed something about Alex when he was watching them fight. It was obvious that Alex was holding back his strength, but he wanted to know how strong he actually was.

"What is it?"

"How much of your full strength were you using last fight?"

Alex rubbed his chin. He wasn't expecting Rey to ask the question. It was obvious that he was holding back, so that he wont seriously injure the hunters he was fighting.

He thought of answering the question with a lie for a second, but he decided against it. He opened his mouth and spoke truthfully.

"Two percent."