Chapter 420: Test of Will

‘Unleashed’ his aura may have been an overstatement. What Derek did was more like letting it trickle out. In fact, he could count this ‘exam’ as one for him as well. Where he had been, there hadn’t been much reason to hold back when using his aura, so he didn’t have a lot of practice in it. He had gotten better and better at directing it, though, and it was showing as he could tell that with the small amount he was currently holding to, barely any was leaking out in the directions other than directly in front of him.

Of course, he knew all that would change once he took it up a few levels. But none of that really mattered. And, on top of all of that, he chose a slower method because he did have more control. He didn’t want to just drop it all like a bomb and have the whole academy rushing over, preparing for the worst. This way, he wouldn’t have to worry about much—if any—of his aura leaving the arena.

“Good, good,” Derek said as he kept an eye out on all the kids. He would have disappointed if any of them faltered at such a low level of aura. Their average levels were just under level 100, after all. Thomas had definitely been growing a bit slower than Brandi had, but his skills had looked quite sharp in his previous battle, and Brandi had materials to craft with that would make even the most veteran crafters jealous. “I’m going to turn it up a notch.”

With that, Derek concentrated deeper and sent another wave of aura out. This should be somewhere around an average level 100’s aura, he thought as he watched closely. Since it’s so close to their own levels, none of them should have any problem what so ever moving or reacting in this small amount. It’s when the level gap—or stat gap—is wide that it gets that gravity-like feeling and overwhelms one’s senses.

Unfortunately, Derek did end up being disappointed. Nobody dropped out, but a few of the students began twitching, and a couple even started shaking. If they’re like that after just this much… Derek shook his head.

“Another level coming,” Derek shouted. “This one should be around level 150. Prepare yourselves.” With the warning, he saw a few students clutch their fists in preparation. Others, like the tank that was in Thomas’s group, stood firm without batting an eye.

Derek sent out another wave—this time to a few cries and grunts. Two of the students who were having trouble before fell to one knee. Derek inwardly shook his head in disappointment. They had plenty of stats to withstand the current level—they just needed a little willpower to reinforce themselves. Other than those two, many others were struggling, but at least they were all still standing.

If a student remained standing at his next increase, then he would consider them passing… barely. “Here comes an aura from your average level 200 warrior. At your levels, you may be hindered, but you should at least be able to keep yourself steady and maybe even move a little at this level. If you can keep yourself upright here, and not sprawled out on the ground, then in my eyes, you would at least be considered passing. Though, as academy students, I expect more than just passing.”

Hehe, Derek snickered to himself. He was getting into playing the wise professor. He was correct in thinking that it would be entertaining. Maybe I could do something like this once I retire… he looked out over the kids. Nah… too much work. I’d rather just drop by randomly and take over a class here and there. That’s much more fun.

Finally, after giving the students ample time to prepare, he upped the aura he was using again. To him, this aura was nothing—hell, he hadn’t even pushed enough aura out for the whites of his eyes to turn void-colored yet. Though, in no world did he think that any of the students would still be standing once he went that far. And he did plan on going that far if any of them were left after a couple more increases.

Again, voices cried out. The two students that had been on one knee fell flat to the ground. That was the point when the instructors that were on standby began moving in and pulling those students out. More and more students fell to a knee, and some even skipped a knee and fell straight to their face from standing. They had been fighting hard to stand, so when their legs gave out, they really gave out.

The instructors continued to flash in and pull students out. “Take the kneeling ones too,” Derek said. It was already a given on what would happen with those who were already struggling so much if he increased his aura once again.

Included in those that were kneeling was the ‘epic’ ranked student—the awful support class—that had raised his hand earlier. Derek clicked his tongue and shook his head. That student probably had more stat points than every other student in the class, yet he was one of the first quarter of students to drop out. Maybe he should try to change to a lifestyle class or something. Unless something changes, he’s going to get someone killed.

Derek waited for the instructors to clear out all the students who were at their limits. Once they finished, about half the class was gone. Some of the students who had only dropped to a knee tried to convince the instructors to let them stay, but they ignored the students and moved them far to the side, where Derek’s aura wasn’t prominent.

As he prepared to unleash more aura, Derek looked over the remaining kids—specifically Thomas. The boy was doing well. He was clenching his fists and was a little shaky, but, compared to most of the remaining students—and especially the eliminated ones—he was doing much better. Though there were a few monsters in the class. The tank on Thomas’s team was one—he seemed like he was still just casually standing.

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The elf that was on Thomas’s team was doing well, too. He still wore the same impassive facial expression as before, even though he was shaking almost as much as Thomas was. On top of those students, many of the other students that had impressed Derek in the previous battles were doing well, too. Even the tank from the worst team he saw was still standing. He was having a bit of trouble, but he was standing.

The spear user who tried to take things into her own hands and ignored the rest of her team was also doing well, too. And that was after having been beaten up pretty good by the wolf. So, while she may have been impulsive and hard to control, she at least had a decent amount of willpower to back that up. She would either need to focus on going solo or learn to play well with others going forward if she wanted to be successful.

“Okay,” Derek said. “Here we go. This should be somewhere around an average level 225 to 250. I’m not really exact on the level. Prepare yourselves.” With that, Derek poured out more aura—probably more than he should have. Instantly, the increase caused half of what was left of those standing to fall straight to the ground. Whoops… Derek thought. That may have been a little too much of an increase. Probably more of an average level 250, and not level 225.

At the side, a few of the instructors sighed as they rushed in to remove the students. There were plenty of students who were still standing, though—about a third of what had been left from before. The other sixth of the students had all fallen to their knees, though.

“Those on your knees, but not on the ground. You did well. This is as far as you go, though. You should be proud of yourselves, at least. I’d consider giving you all a B- if this was graded. As for those of you who are barely standing at all, I’d give you a B+ even. Good job.” Derek said. “Instructors, if you would please remove everyone who is not standing firm from the test. Use your best judgement.”

Again, there was some fighting back from a few of the students—especially the ones who were removed, but were still standing, albeit barely. The impulsive spear user was one of them, but Derek could tell that she was going to fall to a knee at any moment—even before he turned up his aura. The aura he was currently using was about what he had dropped on Sabrina and her guards the first time they met.

His level wasn’t very high at that point, but because of his… ‘modified’ status at the time, he was punching well above his weight class. When the instructors cleared out the rest of the students, there were a total of twelve kids remaining. It was all Derek could do not to break out into a grin. Thomas was still standing.

That showed that his willpower—combined with his stats and whatever extra stats he’d been given from any Void Beasts he’d consumed—was enough to compete with the guards that had been with Sabrina at the time. Of course, those guards were hit unprepared by his aura with no warning, and the students had been able to adjust to the aura slowly. He imagined that none of them would have been standing if he would have started at the current level he was showing.

Derek was glad that none of the instructors showed any signs of slowing down when they moved in and out of his current aura. That wouldn’t have been a good look for the academy if they had of. He figured that the six instructors were all comparable to the members of the raid that joined who were around the 220 level or so at the time—people like Ciera Cook or the deceased Sachiko Sato who sacrificed herself blocking attacks that invaded his Time Prison. He doubted they would be on Shae’s level or Tyron’s level once they reached level 250, but he was sure there would be at least a few who would be somewhere within the academy.

“Alright! The twelve of you have done a very good job up to this point. There would be no shame in stepping away now—you’ve already proven yourselves,” he said, but seeing that nobody budged, he continued. “The next raise in aura will surpass that of most level 250 warriors that you’ll meet.”

Instead of seeing fear, he saw excitement flash in all the remaining students’ eyes. Even Thomas had broken out into a grin, and the impassive elf finally had some fire in his eyes. All the remaining students were already on shaky legs. Beside them, he heard some of the instructors whispering to each other… wondering exactly how much stronger an aura could get.

“One last warning. I have been known to send people directly into comas just from my aura alone… nobody? Very well…” Derek said. Then he pushed. He finally got to the point where he felt his eyes constrict a little—that was the point where he knew that the void-color must be taking over the whites of his eyes. He couldn’t help but feel a slight grin form on his mouth. I warned them, Derek thought. Then he pushed—not all out, but enough that he believed none of them would be able to continue.

“Ugh!” He heard groans coming from each and every student that was still standing. He also heard a few cries from the side where some of the rescued kids caught a small portion of it that leaked out to his surroundings. The instructors moved quickly and pulled those students back even further as soon as they felt it.

Derek glanced over at the instructors once they were finished and saw that none of them could contain their surprised expressions. He wasn’t sure if it was because there were still a few students struggling to stand, or if it was because of his aura.

He turned and focused on the students. Finally, the final student—the impressive tank—fell. However, he kept his aura up. He could see that there were some students struggling. Thomas was one of them. Clearly, the kid didn’t want to disappoint Derek. However, to Derek, he’d already proven himself more than capable at his level. Still, he wanted to see how far he would push himself.

The tank managed to struggle up to one knee after a while, and still pressed on to try to make it back to both feet. The other students weren’t so lucky. Thomas and two more had made it from a prone position back to all fours, but they looked to be at their limits. Eventually, the tank pushed back one last time, and found himself in a half-crouched position before falling back to one knee.

Thomas tried his hardest, but he just couldn’t manage to get to a knee. Finally… Derek felt that it was enough and withdrew his aura. He could have gone even harder and further humbled the students, but he thought he’d humbled them enough by this point.

With the release of his aura, all twelve students—well, the ones who weren’t already sprawled out on the ground—fell limp. A cacophony of heavy breathing sounded out from the arena and Derek’s smile grew wider.

“Those who fell, A-. Those who continued to struggle, A. And you…” Derek walked forward and stood over the tank, who had already managed to roll over onto his back. “A+. Good job.”