After overcoming the hurdles, maneuvering through the pillars and the dodging the traps in the way, All of them finally reached the finish line.
“More have arrived, Students may I ask your name, age and profession?” An instructor inquired.
“My name is Yota, I’m 15 and I’m a Fire Magician!” Yota replied excitedly.
“An excited one!” “Ok next!” The instructor noted down their information diligently.
“Ric, 15, Sim Barriard”
“That was too short!” “Next!”
“Name’s Ren! I’m 16 and also an amazing Fire Magician! Remember my name! I will soon become a famous magician!” Ren answered with a fiery passion in his eyes.
“A passionate one!” “Next!”
“I'm Jim, age 16, class Earth Magician”.
“A Quiet one” “Next!”
“My name is Desos, That’s D.E.S.O.S, I am also 16 and a swordsman, Please write it as specifically as possible.”
“Uh… ok?” “A weird one.” “Next!”
“Name’s Jeff! I’m 17 and also a Highly durable Tank!”
“Another passionate one!” “Next!”
“Uh um My name is Fray, I’m 15, I am a water magician”
“A timid one.” “Okay, Thanks for the info students, you all can go there to get checked.”
They went towards a group of instructors who then asked them to stand infront of a device and asked a question.
“ So have you killed someone in this exam?”
“Nope!” Yota replied in his usual casual/childish way.
“Next!”
Ric’s turn was next, went in front the device while observing It calmly. “This is the lie detection device I read about, made in the kingdom of Velhiem, Croptus D2-11, it detects fluctuations in mana to find out whether the person is lying or not, it’s my first time seeing it in real life.”
“Have you killed anyone in this exam?”
“No.”
“Ok, Next!”
Like that, all of them answered the questions and were ordered to gather with the other students who arrived there earlier than them. “Hmm, there are quite a few people here, except for us, approximately 10 have made it thus far this early. Most of them are the servants of the young masters of the noble families, The ones we need to watch out for are…”
The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.
Ric’s gaze wandered around, observing the participants carefully, amidst that he found a familiar face. “Hmm? Isn’t that him? Halberd? and the 3 people with him are probably the servants which carried him here. If not for the encounter from before, I would have kept an eye on him, But now he’s not worth the effort, the ones I should watch out for are… the twins of the Rodrich Family, Albert and Stein. Both of them are well known prodigies, proficient in swordsmanship and strategies, Together they are known as the twin stars of the Rodrich Family. But…”
As Ric was observing the participants, he saw someone with a domineering aura. “who is this guy? He looks like us, a commoner, but strong, his clothes are torn, and that body of his covered in scars…And I don’t know why but I get a familiar feeling from him, he’s an unknown variable, I should keep an eye on him.”
Meanwhile, Yota saw Ric observing others, standing alone and thinking something, seeing Ric so focused, Yota tried to probe him.
“Ric, what are you thinking?” Yota called out, but Ric was focused.
“Ric!” Yota screamed again, but his voice fell on deaf ears.
He then came closer to Ric’s ear and inhaled a big amount of air, and screamed at the top of his lungs!
“Ric!!!!”
“What in the world?!” Ric suddenly snapped out of his thoughts and was taken aback by Yota’s scream.
“What the heck Yota?! Why are you screaming?!”
“Because you wouldn’t listen!”
“So you scream at my ears? Do you want me to go deaf?!”
“Come on! You wouldn’t go deaf from just that!”
“Ugh… Nevermind, so what happened?”
“Nothing?”
“Huh? Then why did you call me?”
“Oh, I was just curious about what were you doing.”
“What?” Ric sounded annoyed as he went near Yota and grabbed his shoulder and said with a wholesome(kinda) smile on his face “Are you serious?~”
“Uh- Ric, um…calm down? ”
"You stop me from what I was doing just to find out what I was doing?"
“H-Haha, I can’t do that can I?” Yota said, as he slowly backed away.
“…”
“Chill out Ric! Fighting is bad, Voilence is not the answer! ” Yota ran, as Ric chased him.
“You’re right”
“T-Then-“ Yota slowed down thinking he is safe and turned back only to find Ric right behind him.
“It’s a question, And the answer is Yes!”
*****
As time passed and the was ready to set, Many students rushed towards the finish line, some of them were injured, some were traumatized, some were killed and some of them were killers. As for the killers, they were identified immediately and were taken without a chance to resist, But as the time was nigh, a commotion aroused when a man was identified as a killer.
“I am not a killer! This is bull****!” the man shouted, his voice trembling with desperation. His words, however, went unheard. The four council members swiftly charged at him, stopping only when the cold steel of their swords rested against his neck, a silent yet deadly warning. “Do not resist, if you value your life” Rudd exclaimed
“D-Do you even know who I am?!” he raged, releasing an immense amount of magic from his body. The surge knocked the four council members back, giving him the opportunity he desperately needed. Seizing the moment, he dashed toward the students.
“If I can take even one of them hostage, I can escape!” he thought, raising his arm and reaching out for the nearest student.
But suddenly—something flew past him. In an instant, his arm was severed.
It was so fast that it took him a moment to realize what had happened. When the pain finally hit, he collapsed to the ground, groaning in agony as blood spurted from the stump. It flowed like a relentless, unceasing river.
All eyes were on the man. Some of the students, including Yota, couldn’t handle the gruesome sight and vomited on the spot. Even the council members were stunned and an eerie silence swept in through the air. Then, a deep voice broke through the tension, sending chills down everyone’s spine.
“Hmm… bring him here.” Reinhardt commanded, except for Rudd who snapped out and obeyed the command, All the council members were stunned. It was not that they haven’t seen an arm sliced off before, Just that the severed arm was no where to be seen, It was as if it disintegrated in the air.
“Berserk potion. ” Reinhardt exclaimed after observing the man for sometime. He continued
“Take him away and wake the others up.”
“Y-Yes sir!” Rudd replied and shook the other council members back to reality.