The rest of the class had vacated the room, celebrating the surprise early release. They headed to the cafeteria where they could enjoy a meal without having to contend with the lunch rush. As per usual, Gus ran off ahead of everyone else. Trails of yellow lightning were left in his wake as he utilized his skill—Lightning Legs—to get ahead of the meager crowd. Uchronia took to the library, hoping to enrich herself with the myriad of knowledge accumulated within the walls of the Academy.
All in all, they were oblivious to the fact that Alwin was about to undergo a test so important that it would determine the fate of the rest of his life. If Lapis only taught him combat-related skills, then how was he going to become the best Human Hunter in the future?
You know, the more Alwin thought about it, the more backward his logic felt. All Milvus was trying to do was help him grow strong enough so that he wouldn't die a dog's death. Was Alwin the villain here or was it Milvus? Perhaps Alwin's Yin-Yang Slime form had corrupted him to the point where he could only see in terms of black and white, rather than the muted gray of reality.
Then again, Alwin may have been monologuing because he was scared beyond his wits about the upcoming test. It was a test! No one likes tests! It was the worst kind of test too. A practical test. What happened to multiple-choice questions? Those were fun. Those kinds of tests weren't about knowledge, but rather luck. Close your eyes and fill in the blanks, then see how many questions you get right. It was a test of luck in its purest form.
Yup, here he was running away from reality again. Alwin had to bite the bullet—thankfully not the one from Flintlock's musket. It was test time. It was now or never. It was time to stop stalling. There was no delaying it any further. Milvus stood at the teacher's desk, waiting patiently for Alwin to stop having a panic attack in his mind before he initiated the test. How thoughtful.
"Excuse me, Alwin. If we could begin before your classmates return from their lunch break, that would be much appreciated," said Milvus.
"Right..." said Alwin, dragging out his words to stall for time. "Let's-a go!"
Milvus simply nodded his head. A tentacle slid under his desk and the unmistakable click of a button sounded out throughout the classroom. In response, parts of the floor retracted. The desks and chairs which occupied the room were swallowed up by the ground.
What came up weren't the usual wooden training dummies, but five humanoid figures. Scratch that, it was five humans. How? Did the Hunting Hunting Corp kidnap humans, stuff them in the basement, and only take them out whenever students needed to get some special practice in?
All five figures bowed down, their robes marking them as cultivators—that was Alwin's guess. A man in red robes stepped forward, in his grip was a simple spear, its metal tip aimed right at Alwin. Beside him, a white-robed man unsheathed his sword, brandishing it as he prepared for combat. While these two men wielded traditional weapons, a woman in yellow stood unarmed. However, her bulging muscles told a different story. She didn't need swords or spears when she had a pair of guns that were more than capable of finishing the job. The sound of air whistling drew Alwin's attention. An azure-robed man was spinning his wooden staff, cutting the air in an act of dominance. Finally, a woman dressed in black held a black bow in one hand. In the other, was an arrow. She twirled it around her fingers as she stared down Alwin.
"Five against one? And against humans?" Alwin shouted. "That's not fair!"
"Fair is relative," replied Milvus. "Being ganged up on definitely isn't fair, but reducing it to a one-on-one wouldn't make it fair for the rest of your classmates."
"Wait, what?" Gears were turning in Alwin's head as he processed what Milvus said. Why did he have to speak in riddles? "You're saying that the rest of the class fought five of them at the exact same time?"
"Yes, Alwin. The whole class passed this benchmark, all except you. Unfortunately, you were away with Lapis during that period, so I couldn't exactly administer it then. Alwin, we're not raising you to be researchers or even bakers for that matter, we're raising you to be Core-mmanders. You and the rest of your classmates were specifically brought into this world as weapons for our fight against humanity. I'm sure you understand that focusing on combat-related skills is the fastest and most direct path to our goal. This is the perfect method to test whether whatever Lapis has imparted to you is truly beneficial."
"Of course whatever she taught me was beneficial! Probably! I think! All I have to do is defeat them? Well, that should be as easy as ABCs, easy as 1,2,3. Now let's get this show on the road!" Alwin shouted, doing a flip from all of the built-up adrenaline replacing the fluids in his slimy body.
"Sure, but first a little preamble about what you're up against. It's only fair that you know who you're facing, after all, diving into a battle without any intelligence is a guaranteed way to get you and your future company killed. The Human Hunting Corp managed to retrieve the souls of these up-and-coming cultivators from the Five Element Sect. There was a lot of bloodshed and sacrifice, but it was well worth it. Now they're stuck spending the rest of eternity helping to improve the abilities of students in the academy. Of course, we have a tight leash on them so you don’t have to worry about being killed. But do note that I've increased their strength levels slightly as compared to when the class took them on. It's only fair since you've had extra time to prepare for this."
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"Five elements and five of them. So, each one uses a different element. All I have to do is beat them before they beat me. Seems easy enough."
"Good luck, Alwin."
As if waiting for Milvus' signal, the five human opponents sprung into action. The girl in black aimed her bow at Alwin, unleashing a torrent of water-infused arrows, yelling out, “Tidal Flow of Arrows!”
The remaining four charged at Alwin, trailing behind the sea of arrows. This wasn't his first rodeo and neither was it the first time Alwin had been shot at. He dodged the incoming projectiles with ease, rolling past them and hopping over them like he was playing a dangerous game of hopscotch.
Once the arrows had long sailed past him, it was Alwin's turn to counterattack. Sticking to basics, he launched out his own volley of Spirit Blasts, Spirit Scatter Blasts, and Spirit Burst Blasts—all without having to yell out the skill name. Silent casting for the win!
Multiple blue orbs flew out from his Core toward his four incoming adversaries. It couldn't be that easy, right? As if wanting to prove Alwin right, the man in azure raced forward in front of the group.
"Wood Spirit’s Circular Guard!" he shouted out.
An azure aura coated the staff as it began to grow. Expanding wider and wider, becoming as thick as a tree trunk. Gusts of wind were kicked up as he spun his staff. One by one, Alwin's attacks were destroyed upon contact with the giant spinning staff, shattering into particles of mana that dissipated into nothingness.
Along with the wooden staff, the distance between both parties had shrunk. Red, white, and yellow, leaped above their azure brother to engage Alwin, yelling out the different ways they were going to kill him.
"Flaming Lotus Piercing Strike!"
"Steel Edge Crescent Slash!"
"Crater Forming Stone Palm!"
Flames erupted from the tip of the red-robed man's spear, growing stronger with every second until it had taken on the shape of a flower. A literal flaming lotus bloomed atop his spear. He thrusted his spear forward, shattering the blazing lotus and coating the spear with its fiery essence.
The white-robed man performed a flip, the sword held in front of him as he rotated through the air. As he spun, the blade began to glow. For the briefest of moments, the sword appeared to take on the form of a crescent moon before he brought the blade downward, slicing through the air, and soon Alwin.
Meanwhile, the yellow-robed woman had both hands pulled all the way back as far as her body allowed. Her muscles bulged under the strain, expanding beyond belief as she gathered more strength ripping apart her sleeves. She hurled her fists downward, plunging them straight into Alwin.
Alwin watched as all three attacks were about to hit him simultaneously. He waited and waited and waited some more, till the last millisecond. Using his patented evasion technique, a pair of Spirit Hands that he had discreetly summoned—silent casting—the moment the fight had begun, threw him into the air high above the incoming onslaught.
The cultivators struck the Spirit Hands, which were performing an inappropriate gesture. The force of the attacks destroyed the floor, causing dust and the remnants of his Spirit Hands to fly everywhere, leaving a crater where he once stood.
High above them, Alwin did his best impression of a bird—he started bombing them. Spirit Bomb after Spirit Bomb left his Core, emerging specifically from where the sun didn't shine. They rained down from the sky, showering the party below with enormous blue spheres. One by one, each bomb exploded upon impact, and one by one, they sidestepped out of the way. They didn't run or flee, they just shimmied to the left or right to avoid getting caught in the blast zone. Talk about disrespect.
"Coiling Serpent Flowing Water!"
Alwin snapped his head, just in time to watch as the lady in black fired off another shot at him. Water began to gush out of the arrow, spiraling outward and coiling around it until it took the form of a snake. It slithered in the air toward Alwin, rearing its head back as it bared its fangs.
He attempted to summon a pair of Spirit Hands to move him out of the way, but it was too late. By the time his Spirit Hands came into existence, the serpent had struck. He let out a pained cry as it crashed into him mid-air, sinking its fangs into his cute and squishy body. Before it could dig any deeper, it disappeared—the effects of the skill having run out.
Alwin fell. Hard. He crashed onto the floor, skidding along it until he stopped right in the center of the classroom. It was tough. Painful. And now Alwin had a fond hatred toward any serpentine creature. Even worse, when he looked up, he saw that all five humans had surrounded him.
Alwin's situation was worse squared. They didn't just surround him, they had formed a pentagon. Who was in the center of the polygon of doom? Alwin.
They raised their respective weapons above their head, the air crackling with energy. The red-robed man’s spear flared a blazing red, flames licking the metal tip. A glow, white like the moon, coated the white-robed man’s sword. Golden yellow energy surrounded the yellow-robed woman’s fist, earth from the surroundings coalescing upon them. The azure-robed man’s staff bloomed, nature sprouting upon its wooden structure. Finally, crashing waves swirled around the black-robed woman’s bow, emitting the raw power of the sea.
Great, now it was worse cubed. This wasn't going to end well for him.