Efy entered the expansive hall, the venue for the examination event. Located at the heart of the academy, the hall stretched out to the size of half a football field, filled with rows of neatly arranged seats that invited attendees to take their places. The walls were adorned in a deep, rich hue reminiscent of a dark tuxedo, creating an elegant atmosphere that was further enhanced by the golden-coloured curtains draping gracefully from the windows. The overall ambiance was one of sophistication and anticipation, setting the stage for the gathering ahead.
A humanoid figure loomed over the stage, as tall as the curtains, which were like a 3-story building. The person wore a deep purple cloak that hid their face like an alley in the night. “Welcome students, to Port Of BlackFountain Academy! Your attendance here means that you are all willing to prove your strength to enter this school, in pursuit of a higher understanding of Xor, both theoretically and practically. You may call me Miss Zeon, I am the principal of this establishment!”
Any confidence each of the ten thousand persons present there was immediately suppressed by the radiating waves of Xor that exuded from her; it was the first time Efy had experienced such a phenomenon. Judging from the other examinee’s faces, they looked astonished as well.
“Now then, without further ado, let me explain the rules of this examination. Each of you will be transported to separate copies of the same battlefield across the sky. You will all be randomly divided into teams of five and face the other team in a 5v5 capture-the-flag competition. There will be five empty flagpole stations situated behind you, they will be used to hoist your enemies’ flags. However, your flag will be attached to your backs at all times. The objective is to capture the flags from your opponents and successfully hoist them at your base. You cannot hoist an enemy flag without your own and once a flag has been hoisted, it cannot be removed! This does not mean you are out of the competition by any means. There are three ways to secure your spot in the academy. The action of hoisting an enemy flag is an instant win for the person. You may also accumulate 50 damage points, one hit per target gives you one point. If a person cannot complete any of these tasks, they will have to be saved by their teammates. If a team manages to secure all 5 enemy flags, regardless of who hoisted them, that entire team will win, this will be called a wipe-out. Only through a wipe-out will this team receive additional rewards, such as school-funded books.Also, the teachers stationed as well as myself are not allowed to play rescue during the exam, so it is possible for you to die.
Now then, allow yourselves to fill up your arsenal to your hearts’ content!” Zeon announced with a hearty smile.
In an unexpected turn of events, the walls of the hall erupted with an impressive display of racks filled with an array of armour and weapons, reminiscent of a jack-in-the-box springing to life. The sheer variety was staggering, showcasing thousands of different styles of weaponry and protective gear, all available for us to wield. Yet, it was clear that most of us only required a single weapon and a set of armour, assuming we hadn’t come prepared with our own.
Efy was a child in the playground, running around stuffing as many weapons as he could fit in his Xor orb. He was not limited to one weapon, seizing the opportunity to extend his armoury even further. Efy had not bothered with equipping any armour, after all, armour was just a placebo used to help Xor users increase their defensive enhancements. It would not matter to me anyway, all I knew how to do was move objects around, he thought to himself. He amassed a total of 100 weapons, 25 were shortswords, 25 were daggers and the rest were arrows, they were all he knew he could control well enough for battle.
It was only a matter of time before the examination would begin.
—
…
–-
“Good luck everyone!” Zeon wished happily . Out of nowhere, the ground sprung, launching everyone towards the roof at vast speeds. Just as they were all about to crash into the roof, a large-scale teleportation portal captured them and distributed each of them to their 5v5 battlefields. They were all grassy areas with small forests at each starting side and a flatland plain at the centre. This is amazing! I really can see the hundreds of other battlefields in the sky from here. Efy basked in the view, it was truly a stunning sight to see. “Hello! The name’s Xander. I’m glad to be on a team with you! I saw your performance against Audrin, you have potential. ” Xander smiled. This boy’s hair resembled the colour of moon rocks, his eyes were expressive yet a dull black, he looked to be 17 years old, standing at an average of 165 centimetres.
There were three other people behind him, one boy and two girls. They were all around average in height. “I already met the others while you were daydreaming. Zai is the one with the long-black hair, Clara has the short dark-brown hair and Jai is the boy with vanilla yellow hair.” Xander continued, barely giving an introduction. “I’ll try my best,” Efy replied confidently. “Of course, if you ever need any help, call for us, we’re a team, we want everyone to win.” Xander spoke with comfort in his words, and Efy felt that this town was not so bad after all.
“We will be on the offensive, as soon as the counter strikes zero, sprint as quickly as possible to the centre, let’s end this quickly.” Xander instructed, taking the role of a leader seamlessly.
A 10-second counter then appeared above everyone’s battlefields. It was at least 50 times bigger than the one Audrin created, it was colossal. As the timer slowly counted down, everyone inserted their flags into a backpack which they wore on their backs and prepared to sprint. As soon as the countdown hit zero, all five of them rushed forward.
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Efy dashed through the forest, weaving around trees like a leaf in the wind. He was the slowest on his team by quite a margin, as he only believed he could only swing objects around at his disposal. I really need to practise my running speed at least a little bit more, Efy sighed. The forest was so thick, that they lost each other amidst the density. Suddenly, five arrows appeared from the darkness of the forest, lunging towards Efy.
Fwoosh! Efy barely avoided them, but five more sped through the woods. Crap, looks like I’m dealing with an archer. Efy dispatched ten arrows of his own, he could only control ten without limiting his efficiency. He launched five with pinpoint accuracy that broke the velocity of the incoming arrows, the other five were directed towards the general area he was attacked from.
Efy noticed a shadowy figure dashing from tree branch to tree branch like a ninja. A single arrow headed towards Efy. Efy recycled an arrow from the ground to counter the basic attack. However, the single arrow multiplied into five arrows. All of a sudden, four arrows were left, zooming through the breeze about to hit Efy.
Efy reacted at a turtle’s pace, it was too late to counter it with nearby arrows. However, he stopped three of the four arrows with Xor, freezing them in place one at a time. He had a hard time believing he could actually stop multiple moving objects at once. Unfortunately, the last arrow made its way to Efy, stabbing him in his right thigh.
“Agh!” Efy let out a cry.
Although a battlefield was no place to idle. Five more arrows lunged from the treetops, targeting the fallen Efy. So he can multiply arrows? Efy strategized a plan. I have to intimidate him, however I must be able to intentionally stop his arrows with Xor, but I can only move one object already in motion at a time. Can I really do this?
Efy did not know the answer, but he knew how to get it. He had to try.
The best way to increase your confidence in an ability, was to treat it as building blocks. People who could achieve immediate expertise in their techniques had to be 100% certain they were already experts, even a 99.99% completion rate meant failure. Of course, these people who became an expert directly from being a novice were as rare as a phoenix feather.
Therefore, gradually building your Xor technique step-by-step was much easier, and far more common. If Efy could move one, why couldn’t he move two?
He flicked his wrist and as he had expected, two arrows were depleted of velocity. But three arrows dug themselves into his body. Without time to rest, five more arrows flew from behind him, fortunately, he had remained aware of his surroundings, frantically attempting to keep track of the figure.
He flicked his wrist again, determination filled his mind and body and he was able to deter three arrows this time. The power of Xor heavily relied on momentum, if you fail the first time, you start to doubt yourself, likewise, if you succeed, you can only keep on succeeding. Two more arrows pierced Efy’s skin, he looked like a human porcupine.
But Efy did not cry out this time. He was too focused on the success he had achieved, so instead he smiled.
The archer intended to repeat his attacks as many times as necessary, plotting to steal the flag when Efy could not move his limbs because of the pain.
Efy took a deep breath as he expected the next five arrows to come raging towards him. He held up all his fingers on his right hand and snapped them shut. For the first time in a long time, Efy was achieving progression. He had momentarily focused on only conjuring elements so he could become an excellent mage, thus halting his growth on the only thing he could do. But fortunately he had finally remembered this feeling, the feeling of growth, the feeling of success,
The feeling, of Xor.
As he flicked his wrist, five arrows not only stopped, but Efy managed to keep control of them. “Hahaha!” he let out a chuckle of success. “Your turn.” Efy straightened his face and launched the arrows, at double the speed the archer could produce. The archer, frightened, attempted to counter them with his own, but unfortunately for him, Xor had not taken place.
Thus, only one arrow managed to be counteracted while four tunnelled through his body like a drill. The arrows were halfway through his arms and legs, paling in comparison to the arrow heads that only stabbed the surface of Efy’s skin. Threatened, the archer turned tail and ran as fast as he could, executing Xor in the process. Archers were famed for being escape artists, using Xor for quick movement was only muscle memory.
Efy did not let his momentum cease, he gave chase and took out 20 arrows, twice as many as he could control effectively. He used both his hands, even though this did not make it easier, placebo is crucial when confidence is your power.
Swoosh! All 20 arrows rained onto the swift archer like a house beneath a thunderstorm. The archer dodged and avoided only half of them. Like a shotgun, the 10 remaining impacted his back at once, and the archer soon fell off a tree.
As Efy eventually caught up to him, he noticed that the flatlands were straight ahead.
Zai, Clara and Jai were nowhere to be seen, nor were their opponents. All Efy observed was Xander having trouble with a swordsman. His spearmanship was great but the swordsman was better in technique. Xander noticed Efy’s presence, a result of using Xor to increase his five senses.
Xander started sprinting towards Efy as fast as a horse could run. Of course, he needs assistance. “I got your back Xander, let’s do this!” Efy screamed. Yet, Xander never stopped.
“You’re much more capable than I am, hold him off whilst I hoist this flag. Zai, Clara and Jai should win their battles, we will come back for you and help you out.” Xander promised as he ran off without waiting for a response.
Why didn’t we just 2v1?
Efy was confused.