《An illusion of mind》


 Prologue

    In a dark room a boy, roughly 18, with short dark blue hair that it almost looks black sat alone in his bedroom. His face, Oval in shape, his eyes were a dark blue so dark it looked black, his nose was sharp but the right size to fit his other features, his jaw toned and sculpted. his toned body and height making him look like what any woman would find ''handsome''.

    He sat atop his modest bed, the bed sheets not the softest, but comfortable. Arron clenched and unclenched his fists, making sure he wasn''t dreaming. Today was the day...

    "Man... I just... Man it really feels unreal..." He said a wide smile creasing his face. His head snapped when his name was being called.

    "Arron! Get down for breakfast!" It was Arron''s father- well... More like guardian but Arron basically considered him his father, it was the priest of the church he was staying at.

    "Coming!" He yelled back as he stood up and grabbed his bag with all his stuff which wasn''t that much stuff. He also took a small snack for the way as the journey from this village all the way to Peia where Prism academy was, took about two days at least, for his meals he would get some pocket money from the church for meals along the way.

    He jumped down across the stairs skipping all of them a habit of his that he did when he was excited.

    "Boy! I told you to stop jumping those stairs! You''re gonna break your head one day!" A loud reprimanding voice resounded to his left and he turned to see his little sister, Erica stood with a wooden spoon in her hand her apron on as she glared at him. Arron rubbed the back of his head and smiled.

    "I mean it''s the day!" Arron said excitedly he didn''t have to explain much as Erica shook her head with an audible sigh.

    "Just because ''it''s the day'', doesn''t mean you can go around jumping all day long!" Erica scoffed before a second voice came to Arron''s aid, the one that called him down before.

    "Erica, Give him a break, it''s his big day, he''s going to the academy after all!" Bentley, his father and Erica''s father, while Erica was not biologically related to him. He grew up with her, he adored her and most of all... He loved her, she along with all the other church kids was why he was going to the academy in the first place! It''s to better their situation.

    "But dad! He still didn''t even take the exam yet! And we shouldn''t forget the fact that he might fail and straight up be refused!" Erica clenched her fists around the wooden spoon, while she absolutely hated the idea of Arron failing she still didn''t want to exclude that possibility, she was just that type of person, while most people would call her a ''buzzkill'' or a ''party pooper'' she did not care.

    "You saw how he handles a sword, you know he''s going to pass the test for sure." Bentley chuckled as he shook his head, "Don''t be so negative Erica."

    "I''m not negative! I''m logical!" Erica stomped over to the kitchen where she kept grumbling to herself.

    "Don''t worry Arron, Erica is just-"

    "I know dad, I know how Erica is like. She might sound cold hearted but I know she wants the best for me." He smiled knowing his sister well, she was just on another one of her worried rants.

    Suddenly he heard the sound of small feet against the floor as two small figures padded over to him giggling and laughing along the way. "Older brother Arron!" They both yelled in unison. The twins, his younger sisters, Briana and Diana. The stormed over to him lunging at him almost knocking him over.

    "oof! Slow down you two! Hahaha!" He laughed as he returned their hug hugging each with one arm, the two twins were almost carbon copies of each other if not for Diana having dark brown hair and Briana having lighter brown hair, same thing for their eyes. They were the cutest thing he''s ever laid his eyes upon.

    While Erica was two years younger than Arron, making her 16, the twins were younger by much more, they were 8 years old. "We will miss you!" They yelled as they tightened their hug almost suffocating Arron.Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

    "Okay! Okay! You can let go now... I will miss you too..." He said in a strained voice gasping for air when the two little gremlins finally released him from their suffocating grip.

    They giggled as they dropped to the floor before they ran off to play another game of hide and seek, disappearing down the corridor. "Do those two never run out of energy?" He rubbed his throat his voice slightly huskier from the lingering strain.

    "You don''t have to worry about those two. You should worry about yourself." A voice resounded out behind him and he turned only to see a short boy with black hair and dark brown eyes, his face was round adorned with black eyes and thick brows, his nose was small along with his mouth. His younger 13 year old brother, Stanley.

    "You''ve got an exam, go practice or something, or study... Do they not have written exams? Or are you just confident enough in the practical to be able to pass?" Stanley posed the questions one hand on his hip looking up and down at Arron in judgement.

    "Don''t worry Stan, I got this... I''ll figure it out." Arron responded scratching the back of his head. Stanley gave him a blank look and shook his had before walking away, "Not my problem if you fail."

    Arron sighed, those were his siblings, none of them were blood related, however each and everyone of them loved each other dearly. They were living humbly and Arron sought to change that, by going to Prism academy and changing their life.

    "Breakfast is ready, get over here you reckless boy!" Erica said her fluffy black hair bobbing with her head movements. She was quite the short and petite girl.

    Arron ran over and quickly pulled a seat and plopped himself down before grabbing a bowl of soup, Erica frowned, "Eat slowly brute." She reprimanded as she took a seat of her own. The soup that Erica made was one of the best he''s tasted, it spread a warmth through his body, the taste comforting and homey like. He''s definitely going to miss this.

    He took a piece of bread and quickly gobbled it up and went back for seconds after finishing his bowl, "Seriously Erica, you''re the best cook." Erica couldn''t help but show a smile before she giggled softly as she too started eating her soup.

    The others were around them each to their own, she had made plenty so each one can have seconds and even thirds if they were lucky. The twins were particularly devouring their food, it was clear where they got all that energy.

    meanwhile Stanley was just eating calmly like any normal person would.

    Their dad, the one who took care of all of them, the one who took all of them in their lowest ate slowly as well, not minding how fast they were eating.

    "Arron, make sure to take care of yourself along the way." The humble priest said as he sipped his soup, he had an aged look on his face all the hairs on his head were practically grey only a few remained in their original black colour.

    "Sure will dad!" Arron beamed a smile at his father along with his siblings, "Everyone! I will make sure to pass the exam and make it into Prism, just as I had trained for all these months!"

    Erica shook her head sighing but she eventually looked at him, a relinquished expression on her face, "make sure not to fail big bro." She said finally a small smile on her face.

    "Just make sure not to die, I heard they put you up against monsters in that exam." Stanley said calmly eating a piece of bread.

    "Do your best big bro!" The twins both yelled out in unison before breaking out into a fit of giggles as they ate their food.

    "Don''t talk while you eat you two!" Erica reprimanded before she slowly turned to Arron, "Seriously big bro. Do your best..." She said as she sighed, "We''ll be waiting here for you."

    "I''ll send you prayers." Their dad spoke again with a fatherly smile on his face, "Bring light to our faces." He said with a widened smile, he had full confidence in Arron.

    "Thank you everyone. I''ll be back the next chance I get..." He said as he stood up off the table and walked over to his bag before he picked it up and slung it on to his back. "Bye, see you soon." He said before he walked out of the door and closed it behind him, leaving his family to finish their breakfast. He had already gotten his fill so he took off to where that merchant group his friend told him about would be. He had money to pay and tag along with them, their destination was Peia just like him.

    <hr>

    Arron walked through the streets until he reached it. The merchant group, his friend told him about.

    "Excuse me?" Arron tapped one of the merchants on the shoulder and the merchant turned around, "What is it boy?"

    "I was wondering where you guys are heading?" Arron asked simply looking over the many carriages with different merchandise and other things.

    "Peia, why you wanna know?" He turned to Arron raising an eyebrow as he dropped a crate inside of a carriage.

    Arron smiled as he spoke once more, "I want to tag along, I got the money to pay you. A few silvers are enough right?" Arron said his smile widening excitedly.

    "Yeah, that''s enough boy. Let''s go, I''ll check in with the leader." He said before he walked up to a tent and walked inside.

    After a few minutes the merchant walked back out and nodded at Arron. He pointed at a certain carriage that mostly held merchandise. "Over there, you''ll have to sit there since we don''t have much space inside." Arron beamed and handed over 3 silver to the merchant before jumping into the carriage. He didn''t care where he was as long as he arrives at Prism...

 Chapter 1 Road trip

    Arron slept through an entire day throughout the journey, the road was bumpy but he quickly got used to it and slept thoroughly.

    Arron had a dreamless sleep as he was only woken up when it was time to set up camp for the night. The next day they would arrive at Peia where he would depart to prism.

    He sat alone on a rock as he didn''t really have much to do until he saw a perfectly shaped stick nearby, he jumped for it and swung it in the air. "Oh yeah... This is perfect, I can use this..." He smiled as he started swinging the stick around like a sword, trying out combos of swings thrusts and slashes and eliminating ones that aren''t effective.

    After hours of rigorous training that he very much enjoyed he panted heavily before he positioned the stick in front of him readying himself with a confident smile. Sweat dripped down his chin his dark blue hair dripping wet. He took in large breaths and let them out before.

    He let out a small breath, and unleashed it... The ability that he was sure would win him full entry into Prism. His wooden stick had a white sheen to it for only a single moment before he swung down and dust flew into the air.

    After the dust settled down he looked down at the rock that he was previously sitting on and his smile widened, "Awesome..."

    The rock was perfectly split down the middle cracks running through it, and not only that but the ground under was scarred as well as if slashed with a blade, except he only used a wooden stick he found on the ground...

    "Kid, that was pretty impressive." A voice startled Arron out of his amazement at his own display. His head snapped back to see one of the merchants the one he was talking to.

    "What are ya'', an adventurer or what?" He said his hand flying to his chin scratching it before he shook his head, "Nah, ye''re too young to be an adventurer... A trainee? Or what?" He asked narrowing his eyes in scrutiny at Arron.

    "Oh... Uhhh, I was heading to Prism actually... That''s why I''m tagging along with you, I want to take the entrance exam..." Arron said simply.

    "Oh~~ so ye''re one of those~" the merchant smiled recognizing what type Arron was, "Ambitious ain''t ya?" He let out a hearty laugh.

    "I suppose I am, but I believe I have a pretty good chance at getting in!" He exclaimed happily as he clenched his fist in excitement, the next day they would arrive at Peia and first thing he would do is head to the academy!

    "That you should, that you should..." The merchant let out a hearty laugh impressed by Arron''s confidence. "Anyways, don''t dilly dally too much. Be up early in the morning and don''t waste time. The convoy ain''t gone wait for anyone." He said sternly before he turned around and departed to his own things.

    Arron paused for a moment, the merchant was right. The merchant group that he tagged along with was pretty big, he had underestimated the size of the convoy. There were about 500 carriages from what he could see and that was just what he could see! This was probably the work of the merchant guild... But that caused a question to stem up in his head.

    "Doesn''t a group like this necessitate good protection?"

    <hr>

    The next day, Arron woke to find it still dark outside. "Huh, it''s pretty early right now..." He spoke as he got up and did his morning stretches. He let out a contented sigh before he skipped right out of the carriage to see the merchants were already getting their horses ready and packing up the tents.

    The guards or mercenaries that they hired stood to the side chatting with each other not bothering to pack anything. He noticed that they were a group of knights with full body armour that covered everything including the head and face. The only two without said armour were two individuals. One skinny guy with sharp features and a spiky nose. He held a bow with him signifying that he was either their scout, or their sharpshooter, and those didn''t need much armour as they never engaged in close quarters combat.

    The other was a woman, she wore chainmail armour and held a sheathed saber in her hand, she had some curly brown hair and dark brown eyes. She had slightly tanned skin. She carried herself with a stern air, her eyes flicked around the area as if searching for any signs of danger ready to intercept at any moment.This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it

    One thing Arron noticed about the guards around the convoy was that they all had a small badge out for everyone to see. There was a pattern, the most common colour around the badges was the platinum colour follow by the gold colour.

    According to Arron''s common knowledge the badges distinguished mercenaries from each other as each one meant a rank in the system of the mercenary establishment. Starting from copper, which meant F to D rank. Once a mercenary makes it to D rank they become a silver mercenary and that will continue to be the case until C rank, which would then allow them to advance to gold. This will continue until said mercenary advances to B rank which would then open the door for them to become a platinum adventurer.

    This however, is different. Platinum mercenaries have different badges, each badge has three empty star slots in it. Zero slots filled means the mercenary is still in B rank. One slot filled means the mercenary is close to the A rank range and two slots filled means they are in the brink of achieving said height. All slots filled means they are an A rank mercenary. Among the mercenaries Arron could see a few which had full star slots...

    However...The badge that the woman had ported was different... She had it around her neck displayed fully like a necklace, and it might as well be one as it had the sheen to it. It was a ruby red coloured badge which distinguished her from common mercenaries.

    Arron couldn''t help but gape at the sight, he''s never heard of mercenary badges like that before but that could only mean that she was in between S rank and even higher...

    Arron gave them an admiring look before he turned and went off to fill his water canteen up in the nearby lake.

    <hr>

    Arron held the leather canteen in the water, watching the surface bubble. After a few seconds the bubbling ceased and he raised the canteen out of the body of water.

    He waited for a few moments water dripped from the canteen until it partially stopped, then he put the canteen back in his belt hoister that Erica had sewn for him. She took time out of her week to craft it for him, so he was going to use it well.

    He smiled as he remembered his little sister''s frowning face and imagined it replaced with a smile. He couldn''t help but let out a few giggles as he walked back to the merchant group.

    "Haha~ I should get back to the group..."

    <hr>

    Not long after, Arron and the group resumed their road trip, they would not be stopping until they reach Peia.

    Arron had no problem with that. The exam was 4 days away, and when they arrive Arron only has to hold out for a night so he can get accommodation since Prism academy offered that to potential students three days before the exam.

    Of course not anyone can get accommodation as first you need to be checked for active mana to even be able to participate and receive these privilege. Arron knew all this because he did his research, he paid for the news paper which cost him quite a bit actually.

    "Soooo..." A femenine voice broke him out of his thoughts, "You also going to Prism?" The voice asked in curiosity before Arron turned to the source.

    His eyes met caramel coloured eyes before his vision expanded to see her full face. Tanned skin, brown curly hair, round little face with chubby cheeks. She had a short and petite stature as she sat huddled in the corner of the carriage. Arron couldn''t help but notice her clothes, she wore leather armour with a small leather bag slunk around her shoulder. Her boots were meant for rough terrain, like she''s a traveller, however... She looked only 17 years old, 2 years younger than him.

    Arron immediately noticed the numerable bandages and patches on her skin, they were precisely focused on her face more as there were several patches on her nose, cheek and forehead.

    "Uhhh.... Yeah? What about you?" He asked tilting his head to the side, he was curious about his new carriage companion as he had not seen her before. Maybe she''s been on another carriage and she''s accidentally wandered into the one he stays at? It''s a big group, so it was a mistake that can be made.

    "I am as well!" She jumped up enthusiastically, before the carriage bumped and she stumbled flat on her face, she recoiled back in pain, clutching at her now red nose and into a box, slamming her back against the corner causing her to yelp in pain. She stumbled forward falling back onto her face again.

    She groaned in pain, her voice muffled by the wooden floor of the carriage as she slowly pushed herself back up against the wall. "S-sorry... I''m a little clumsy..." She spoke, her eyes watering from having recently hit her nose.

    "Yeah... I can see..." Arron spoke, having now realized where all those bandages and patches came from. "Are you okay though?" He asked in slight concern as the fall did not look that light.

    "Yeah, I''m used to it. Don''t worry." She spoke holding up a hand, her other hand dove into the leather bag slunk around her shoulder to pull out some patches and some paper towels, she removed the old ones which were now ruined before she stuffed her nose with the paper towels to suck up the blood leaking out of her nose.

    She stuck the patches onto her nose once more fixing them tightly. It looked like she was prepared, maybe this happened more often than not... "Anyways, my name''s Rynia!" She exclaimed enthusiastically. Arron was taken aback by her sudden burst of energy after having stumbled and hurt herself just a moment ago.

    "I also am a hopefully student of Prism aspiring for greatness! I''m tagging along with my mom right now because she''s got business in Peia! So I''ll take this chance to join Prism!" She beamed her smile shining, her two front teeth looking like those of a squirrel.

    "Nice to meet you, Rynia. My name''s Arron. I''m also going to Prism." He flashed her a warm smile as she shook his hand repeatedly. Arron was a little weirded out by her behaviour but he would try his best to not show it... It looks like it''ll be a long ride to Peia...

 Chapter 2 Arrival and test...

    "What great afternoon! Isn''t that right Arron?" Rynia stretched her arms as Arron stepped off the carriage, they had arrived at Peia and all that needed to be done now is pay the fee of entering Peia.

    Arron rubbed the sleep out of his eyes and did his stretches as always. He glanced over at Rynia and nodded groggily. "Sure..." He said as he rubbed his back.

    "Why the long face, Arron?" She asked, her hands fell down to her hips. Arron just walked past her ignoring her.

    "You didn''t let me sleep, with all your nagging..." He spoke as he remembered how she talked about random topics none stop.

    "N-nagging?!!" Rynia exclaimed in exasperation as she physically recoiled as if she had been slapped in the face.

    "I could never!" She scoffed as she turned away from Arron.

    "Yeah, whatever you say," He rolled his eyes before he walked past her ignoring her completely.

    "Let''s go! To Prism we goooo!" She exclaimed garnering the attention of the city guards.

    "Ah, it''s more of those." A guard said nudging his colleague on the side to look over at the two kids making their way over to the gate. "We''ve been getting them none stop, can you believe that?"

    "I mean, Prism is... Prism, you can''t expect there to be any less kids all around the world to not come here." The guard shrugged before he turned to the duo that was now nearing them.

    "Entrance fee." He said simply as Arron handed him 2 silver coins.

    "What about you?" The guard turned to Rynia raising an eyebrow.

    Rynia just dug into her satchel rummaging in the small bag until she felt the familiar cold feeling of metal. She pulled out a small badge...

    "Here you go!" She spoke as she handed the guard her mercenary badge, a silver one.

    Arron''s brows shot up in surprise as he recognized the silver badge signifying that she is either a D rank mercenary.

    The guard accepted the badge and looked over it for a moment before handing it back to Rynia. She smiled and put the badge back into her satchel.

    <hr>

    Once they were in the city Arron had several questions, "You never told me you''re a mercenary." He said on a whim as they walked through the city streets.

    "Yeah, I don''t mention much to folk I just meet, cause my mom kinda made me sign up for mercenary work." Rynia said a small bitter smile on her face.

    Before Arron could prod further Rynia jumped up and pointed at a street food stand exclaiming excitedly, "Over there!"

    Arron looked over at the food stand to find that it served meat on the stick, and frankly... He was sort of hungry as well. "That looks really good..."

    "Let''s go get some!" She exclaimed as she tugged him by the arm to follow her.

    Then Arron took a pause, "Listen, I barely know you but there is one thing I''m certain of... You''re rich so pay for me and I''ll tag along with you until we reach the academy." Arron tried to hide his grin, his eyes shining at seeing a new opportunity. He could tell Rynia was not a social person based on her clumsiness and slight stutter, so he was

    "Haa?! F-fine then! But only because I don''t have anyone I can hang out with before I get in the academy..." Rynia pouted and huffed turning away from Arron, crossing her arms.

    Rynia sighed and started towards the food stand, "Let''s just go eat..."

    Arron smirked, he secured a wallet now. He doesn''t have to spend any of his personal money.

    <hr>

    "Yeah, two rooms. That''s what I just said." Rynia spoke, her tone was augmenting in pitch... "This is the fifth time I said it..." Rynia''s voice shook from the anger boiling just beneath the surface.Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

    "Yeah, I heard you. I was just making sure you didn''t want a joint room." The inn lady said, trying her best to hide a grin.

    "No, I don''t want a joint room!" Rynia exploded in anger, Arron was just standing awkwardly to the side. "Alright! Jeeze, calm down!" The inn lady reached down and opened a drawer picking up two keys and tossing one to Rynia and the other to Arron, all that with one hand to her ear. "You burst my eardrum girl!"

    "Was that so damn hard?!" Rynia snatched the key out of the air her tone dimming down in pitch now that she got what she wanted.

    "I was just messin'' with you..." The inn lady grumbled before she made her way to the back, the sound of dishes and water splashing resounded afterwards. Rynia let out a long sigh and along with it her anger. Rynia nudged Arron on the shoulder and urged him on, "Let''s go. Tomorrow we can go to the academy and we can get a place to stay..." Rynia sounded tired and looked tired, I mean for her it was probably hard to sleep in a carriage, so he understood her. For Arron though, it wasn''t hard. But it was tiring because she wouldn''t let him sleep then.

    Arron followed Rynia upstairs and walked through the hallways until he found his room. It was right next to Rynia''s, "Goodnight..." Rynia said before slamming her door shut.

    Arron closed the door slowly and turned to look at his room. It was a bland one. A study wooden desk to the left with a wooden chair, a small bedside shelf. A humble bed with soft white cushions.

    Arron sauntered over to the bed, threw his hide satchel on top of the shelf before plopping himself down on the bed. And drifted off to dreamland...

    <hr>

    The next day. Rynia walked through the streets looking for a place to eat. The inn they were in didn''t serve breakfast. Arron was walking to her side, "Hey," He called out.

    "EEECK!!!!" She jumped and slammed her head on a sign before she recoiled into a water puddle from last night''s rain... Her clothes were soaked, her head hurt, and her heart was beating rapidly... "Awww... My clothes..." She looked down at her soaked state and grumbled.

    "I-I''m sorry..." It looks like Arron underestimated how clumsy Rynia was. He offered her a hand and she took it. She stood up on her feet and looked into her bag before she let out a sigh of relief...

    "Haa~ Thank gods... I brought a spare change..." Rynia reached into her bag and pulled out a smaller leather bag, this one reserved for her extra pair of clothes...

    "God... I have to find a clothing store that''ll let me use their changing room..."

    <hr>

    "I feel new!" Rynia exclaimed her hands on her hips as she puffed out her chest proudly. Her enthusiasm returned once more. Arron did not know how she manages to keep being so cheerful and bubbly when these types of situations always happen to her. At least this time she didn''t get hurt. Arron thought to himself as he shook his head.

    "Let''s just eat so we can go do that magic test at the academy." Arron spoke simply as he started eating his breakfast. It was a simple breakfast of mashed potatoes and a side of soup. Not as good as his sister''s though.

    "Alright!" Rynia dug into her food quickly, devouring her mashed potatoes.

    "So, you said you were tagging along with your mom. Where is she now?" Arron asked curiously as he took a bite of a piece of bread.

    "She''s back with the convoy." She said, her voice muffled as she chewed her bread thoroughly.

    "What?" Arron paused, "Why?" He asked tilting his head to the side.

    "She''s a mercenary." Rynia shrugged as she swallowed before she fixed him with a confused stare, "Did I not tell you?" She asked as she tapped her finger on the table.

    "No, you didn''t." Arron raised an eyebrow in curiosity, "What''s her rank?" He asked casually taking another bite of bread.

    "I don''t know... But her badge is red, I think it''s SSS-rank..." She said, the words flowed out of her mouth so casually it stumped Arron.

    "What?!" He practically screamed drawing attention to himself and to Rynia. Rynia covered her ears, a grimace crossing her face. "Why are you screaming?!"

    Arron looked around the caf�� feeling several gazes pierce his back as he sighed, "This isn''t just a casual thing to say... I mean your mom is literally one of the few SSS-rank individuals in the whole world!" His tone was lowered now , careful not to draw any more attention to himself and Rynia. Arron thought back to that tanned woman that he had seen with the convoy.

    Now that he compared, he could definitely see the similarity.

    "So?" Rynia says her eyes looking down at her food, a strange stoic expression on her face, her spoon played with the mashed potatoes. It was clear that she had lost her appetite.

    "What do you mean, ''So''?" Arron asked in exasperation, "You could of said it sooner and we wouldn''t just be allowed in the city, we would be treated like nobles-"

    "I didn''t say it for a reason, Arron!" She slammed her hand on the table. The sudden, unfamiliar anger in her voice, "I don''t like people associating me with my mum!" Her eyes bore into his, a frown on her face as she stood up abruptly, her eyes shadowing over. "Let''s just go..."

    Arron was about to say something, but he decided against him when Rynia walked away from him, exiting the caf��.

    Arron stood up and ran after her. He knew he had touched over a topic that she was probably uncomfortable with...

    "Wait!" He chased after her, thankfully she was just speed-walking away. "I''m sorry if I said anything you''re uncomfortable with. I wasn''t aware your mother was a sensitive thing for-"

    "Just forget it." Rynia took a deep breath before she met his gaze again trying to smile, "Let''s just go to the academy... We''ll be late if we don''t..." She said and Arron nodded.

    They should focus on what''s important.

 Chapter 3 Test.

    While Arron and Rynia walked she explained to him.

    "So, the academy actually has a ton of designated areas to apply for the test, the requirements are simple. You should have active mana and you should have prior experience using it." Rynia said calmly.

    "So, we''re going to the nearest one?" Arron asked, he was met by a simple nod.

    "Yeah, although, you can also apply to do a written test to enter prism. But that''s for smartasses and geniuses not for us simple folk who like to fight." Rynia shrugged.

    "Wait, so we don''t have to do a written test?" Arron asked turning to her.

    "Yeah, Prism is an academy that nurtures an ability that you already have, it doesn''t force an ability into you with rigorous studying or any of that." Rynia rolled her eyes, "I mean could you imagine training and also cramming for tests?" She chuckled. "That would be a nightmare."

    "Huh... I guess that does make sense..."

    "It does doesn''t it?" Rynia turned to him and stopped walking, "Well we''ve arrived." Rynia said as she gestured at the place they arrived at.

    Arron looked up to see a ton of people lining up for. At the end of the line stood a man with glasses and a blue robe, beside him was a blue crystal ball. There were several other parallel lines with the same set up. Recruiters with crystal balls beside them which the people each touched the crystal, then if it shined the recruiter would scribble something in their notebooks and tell the recruit something before they left.

    "Huh... Do we really have to wait in the lines?" Arron asked turning to Rynia. "Yeah, we do." She answered simply sighing, "I know it sounds tiring but the tests are quick, the lines are quickly gonna pass." Rynia said straightening her back, her cheerfulness returning.

    "Let''s go! That line over there looks short!" She said as she sauntered over and took her spot at the line.

    Arron walked up beside her and sighed, "Well, it''s time to wait..."

    <hr>

    It didn''t take that long thankfully, like Rynia said people were quickly doing the test and most passed since they already knew they had active mana.

    And finally it was Rynia''s turn. Since the cheerful girl was already an adventurer, she was sure she can pass the test.

    "Just place your hand on the ball and-" Rynia already put her hand on the ball and it shone in a blue light, which made the recruiter sigh. "Maybe I should just stop saying that." The recruiter opened his mouth to speak more instructions out but Rynia already passed by him.

    It was Arron''s turn. He walked up to the crystal and the recruiter already had his notebook. Arron placed a hand on the crystal ball. He knew he had active mana, he wasn''t worried that he would fail.

    And sure enough, the ball glowed in a blue light.

    Arron smiled and walked past the crystal ball following after Rynia who went on to the next area. Where a female recruiter was, the recruiter was there to see what experience the person had with mana. There were stacks of cards next to the recruiter on the table.

    "Show me a single move that utilizes mana." The recruiter said boredom clear on her voice. She yawned as she fixed her glasses and stared at Rynia.

    Rynia nodded and Arron was quite curious on what she would show. "Alright, let''s do this." Rynia let out a breath a she prepared herself mentally.

    Rynia crouched down, her fist clenched as she cocked it back all before she punched down on the ground. However, strangely the ground was completely unharmed, the recruiter waited for something to happen.

    Arron tilted his head to the side in confusion, "What is she doing?" He asked as Rynia smiled, and right then and there, after Rynia already moved her fist off the ground it was like an invisible force hit and the ground broke.

    The recruiter''s eyebrows raised slightly before she scribbled something down on her paper, "Take a card, go to any inn that is empty and give them this card. They''ll let you stay for free until the entrance exam begins."If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.

    Rynia gladly took the card and stepped back walking towards Arron. "What was that?" Arron asked, bewildered and confused. "A delayed hit." Rynia smiled as she tapped him on the shoulder and walked past him. "Now, go and show me what you got." She smiled before she crossed her arms and pushed Arron out in front of the recruiter.

    "I believe you heard what I said to her. Go on." She spoke as she let out a sigh.

    Arron nodded as he picked up a lose rock from Rynia''s previous hit. He threw it up in the air before his fist shone in a white silver light. He punched the stone hard shattering it to dust.

    The recruiter nodded before she spoke. "The bare minimum. Pick up a card and go." She said as she fixed her glasses on her face. Arron furrowed his brows slightly but decided to not pursue the matter. He picked up a card walked over to Rynia.

    "Let''s go, the recruiter''s a bit of a jerk." He said as he walked along with her. Rynia whistled a tune unfamiliar to Arron as they walked on, it was time for lunch.

    <hr>

    "So like, what''s the deal with the entrance exam?" Arron asked as he took a bite of his steak.

    "I don''t know." Rynia shrugged, "The exam changes each year. Like right now, it''s probably different from last year." She said as she shrugged.

    "Last year it was a survival test in a forest with other people as well. The previous year it was a tournament with judges and other stuff. This year... I dunno''." Rynia shrugged.

    "They''re probably gonna test our combat ability." Rynia followed, she cut up her chicken breast and took a bite of the smallest piece. "I don''t have a problem with either, if it''s going to be a survival test then it''s fine by me. If it''ll be a combat test then I''m okay in that department as well." Rynia smiled.

    "I''m an adventurer after all~" She waved her knife at Arron pushing her chair back.

    A loud thud reverberated in the quiet diner, breaking the atmosphere and bringing attention to the source.

    Rynia lay on the floor, "A-Ow-"

    The loud thud was followed by a swift sound of a sharp end getting stuck on wood. The knife penetrated the wooden floor. But that wasn''t the most shocking part, her eyes quivered in shock. The knife penetrated the wood mere inches away from her eye.

    "Ah jeeze..." Rynia said, her voice quivering in fear of what might have happened if the knife fell just a mere inch to the left...

    "Are you okay?" Arron got up swiftly after Rynia fell, he walked around the table and offered her a hand again. She took it and got up. He gave her a handkerchief, Rynia was confused why at first until she felt the warm liquid oozing down on her cheek. "Damn it... Maybe mum was right, maybe I shouldn''t be around knives after all..." She whispered under her breath.

    "Let''s just finish our lunch and look for an inn afterwards..." Arron suggested before he sat back down on his seat. Rynia sat down on her seat as well. She reached into her leather satchel and pulled out a patch which she swiftly applied, showcasing her experience with applying these on herself now.

    "Okay." She said her voice quieter now from the usually cheerful girl.

    A waiter came and asked about her wellbeing but she swiftly drove him away. "I''m fine." She said, waving a hand in a dismissive motion. "Go away." The waiter nodded before he left.

    "You''re really clumsy, aren''t you?" Arron said sighing. Rynia nodded, letting out a long sigh. "I am... And more than that it just seems like bad luck is chasing me wherever I go!" She complained, before she took a deep breath to calm herself.

    Arron glanced at her in silence for a moment before he focused back on his meal. He continued eating calmly just as Rynia ate her own.

    "So, you. What''s your story, Arron?" She asked after a few seconds of silent.

    "Me? Well, I just want to help my family... The usual..." Arron said as he took a bite of his steak. "You? You never told me your ambitions, why are you going to Prism?"

    Rynia pursed her lips for a moment before she sighed. "Glory..." Arron''s eyebrows raised in slight surprise as he tilted his head to the side. "Why?" He asked the expected question.

    "It''s cus'' of my mum..." Rynia finally said. "Every single time I tell someone my mum is Resnora Liaharice, they fawn all over me. I don''t wanna be know as just that Resnora''s daughter... I wanna be known for something that I did! Something strictly me!" She said as she stabbed her fork into the chicken breast on her plate.

    "Huh... Wait... Your mother is Resnora Liaharice?" Arron asked in bewilderment and Rynia pointed her fork at him, "See?" She said rolling her eyes. "This is why I don''t like telling people who my mum is..."

    Resnora Liaharice, one of the few SSS-rank individuals in the whole world. While Arron knew her mum was an SSS-rank herself he didn''t know she was the Resnora Liaharice. The stormweaver knight. She was a force to be reckoned with. One of her feats that Arron knew was when she fought a dragon head on. Totally on her own, she held it back and gave it a fight. According to some mercenaries that were present there at that time, she managed to injure it leaving a scorching scar on the dragon''s forehead and breaking off one of it''s horn.

    It was a dragoneborn. The highest level a dragon may ever reach other than godhood.

    However, as much as Resnora''s feats were admirable, he could not just ignore what Rynia was saying. "I''m sorry, I understand. I guess that''s a good... Ambition?"

    "Whatever, let''s just go..." She sighed. Her mood soured whenever her mother was mentioned. "I don''t feel like eating anymore."

    Arron ate the last bite of his steak before he got up and followed Rynia out. They had already paid the bill- well, more like Rynia paid the bill, he couldn''t afford any of this food...

    <hr>

    "Where are we going?" Arron asked as he walked by her.

    "To an inn obviously! We gotta get some night-night before we have to train and get ready for the entrance exam!" She exclaimed cheerfully, it seemed like she finally reverted back to her bubbly self.

    Rynia spotted an inn they could sleep in. "Come on!" Rynia tugged Arron along and they entered the inn.

 Chapter 4 Demon sightings?

    Resnora Liaharice. Once you hear that name you immediately recognize it, especially if you were a mercenary. The stromweaver knight, the thunderous monster, the crackle of a thousand lighting strikes forged into a weapon in human form. Most who face her almost never get to see her weapon, the crackle of her weapon may as well be the last thing you ever hear if she were foe. Her feats include participating in the latest demonic stampede and getting close to slaying a dragonborne, which none have succeeded in for 500 years. She might as well be higher than SSS- rank...

    However, what few knew was that she had a daughter... A daughter from an elf, rumour has it that the father had some unfortunate event happen to him and that he had left a daughter for Resnora to care for. He was most likely the reason Resnora had never shown a smile to anyone after...

    "Miss, Resnora. There is a disturbance in the back of the convoy... There seems to be a wild animal attacking the adventurers!" A mercenary cried out as he panted. His gold badge shone in the campfire light.

    "Watch your to-" A platinum ranked mercenary attempted to interject only for Resnora to hold up a hand stopping them.

    "Why do you think a single wild animal is worth my attention?" She asked tilting her head to the side. She wasn''t angry, irritated or any of that. She was merely curious on why this gold ranked mercenary who should have experience was calling for her aid.

    "W-well..." The mercenary took a step back in hesitation, Resnora''s monotone was really making him nervous. His eyes flicked to the side avoiding her gaze. He leaned in to whisper in her ear, "Well... Some of us think it''s a demon... Because it''s really putting several platinum ranked mercenaries to work..." His voice was low as to not alert any adventurer of the situation.

    As soon as Resnora heard the word demon she grabbed the gold ranked mercenary by the forearm. Her veins pulsed on her hand as she tightened her grip. "Are. You. Sure." He tone didn''t change, but it carried a dangerous hint to it with how slow she spoke.

    The mercenary clenched his jaw as he tried his hardest to pry his arm from her grip. He was unsuccessful. He nodded frantically as his forearm felt like it was breaking under her iron grip.

    Resnora let out a sigh before she let go of his arm, seemingly relaxing. The other mercenaries watched on in confusion and slight hesitation at Resnora''s strange behaviour. "Uhm-"

    Crackle*

    The sound of thunder clapping reverberated and in Resnora''s place was scorched earth, the grass was gone and a small crater appeared. She disappeared from sight shocking every single mercenary in the area. The gold ranked mercenary''s eyes almost bulged out of their sockets as he collapsed down to the floor, his breath quickening and his heart beating rapidly.

    <hr>

    On the other side of the convoy. The mercenaries were slowly being overwhelmed by this strange creature. It didn''t match the description of any monster in the mercenary guild''s catalogue. It was a large bear, larger than the trees around them, it''s eyes were red in colour. Two curved horns protruded from it''s from head and curled around it''s ears. It''s tail wasn''t that of a normal bear but it looked bony and spine like, no skin encasing it.

    The bear slammed it''s paw onto the ground, smashing the rocks beneath into dust. "W-what the hell are we supposed to do?! We can''t hold back this thing!! We have to run-" A mercenary attempted to shout before a pink fleshy tendril stabbed through his chest silencing him and lifting him up into the air as he gasped and looked down at his impaled chest in shock.

    The pink tendril was protruding from the bear''s back. Okay, this thing was definitely not normal. "We should-"

    Crackle*

    The loud sound of thunder clapping resounded twice simultaneously, and the bear was.... "Gone...?" A mercenary asked lowering his blade in confusion. He immediately brought it back up as he remembered that he cannot lose his focus. It may be a trick by this wicked beast...?

    "Wha- It''s Resnora!" A mercenary shouted as he pointed at the tanned lady with curly brown hair that had a spiky edge to it now that lightning crackled around her. "W-where is the bear-" The mercenary gasped as right next to Resnora''s feet, was the same bear''s decapitated head. It''s body was nowhere to be seen. The only evidence that it was ever there were the trees it had destroyed. Not a single drop of blood was left from it...You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.

    Resnora''s expression was schooled, her gaze never breaking from the dead bear''s head. She waited...

    Her sword whip like weapon held in her hand tightly, her chainmail armour crackled with electricity. Her eyes then widened when from the bear''s neck oozed a black viscous liquid. It looked like blood but pitch black.

    Resnora''s features hardened before in a single crackle of her whip blade she erased any last tracks of this foul creature from the earth. "Impossible... All the way over here?" Resnora looked around at the green forest her eyes scanning the area as if looking for any evidence of allies of this creature. when she found none she sighed and she sheathed her whip blade. The weapon retracted back into a normal sword shape that resembled a saber when she charged it with electricity.

    "This... This couldn''t happen on it''s own... There has to be a third party..." She mumbled under her breath, she turned her gaze over to where the bear came from, and there, a path of destruction. Grass torn out, scorch marks littered the ground, dirt flung around and trees destroyed. The source having been the demonic bear thing that Resnora killed in an instant.

    She glanced around at the destruction, several bodies littered the ground, mercenaries of all ranks. This thing was strong enough to even beat A ranks... She sighed before she glanced back the platinum ranked mercenary who was still standing in shock. He was a platinum rank, he had seen death all around so he wasn''t shocked that his co-workers died, he was shocked at Resnora''s display of power.

    Once she fixed him with her icy stare he froze in fear of what she might do to him. While he knew that she was on his side, deep down he was afraid of how much power she has, that in a single moment she would go mad and attack them, or obliterate the whole convoy...

    "You, tell the convoy leader to distribute my pay to the mercenaries... I will leave prematurely and we are almost to our next destination." Resnora ordered her cold icy stare lingering on the platinum ranked mercenary.

    "W-what?! B-but miss-"

    "I don''t care what you have to say. Take the money." The mercenary blinked and found Resnora right in front of him, her eyes looking him up and down. "You''re a mercenary, all you care about is meaningless wealth. Take the money and don''t complain." He eyes narrowed as a scowl replaced her expressionless face.

    "I-I..." The mercenary gulped as Resnora roughly released her grip off of him, her glare lingering on him. "Yes ma''am, I will inform the... Convoy leader..." He lowered his gaze trembling in his boots. Suddenly a loud thunder clapping like sound reverberated right next to him and he had though that he died.

    He flinched covering his face with his arms as he cowered in fear. He slowly opened his eyes only to see empty space and the earth scorched right next to him, streaks of electricity jumping from rock to rock. "..." He let out a long breath that he didn''t know he was holding before he chuckled a nervous laugh. "Th-that''s right... If you hear it, then it''s not meant for you..." He continued chuckling nervously to himself. The fear lingering even as he chuckled.

    <hr>

    Thunder reverberated around Resnora as she appeared at the end of the path of destruction the demonic bear left behind. Electricity crackled around her chainmail armour, her breastplate glowing, charged with electricity. She had her armour custom made so she didn''t destroy by simply moving...

    "What the..." Resnora''s eyes widened when she was met by the sight of a... Forest... A normal forest, no destruction, no flames, no torn out grass, no blood. This was where the bear came from. It was impossible for many reasons, the demonic bear was giant, its aggression simply couldn''t allow it to walk through the woods without attacking every moving object.

    It was like the damn thing just appeared out of nowhere. "This is serious... I need to contact them..."

    "Tanya''s going to have to take a look at this..." Resnora''s face hardened, her brows furrowed into an ugly look. "Why are there demons in the middle of the stellar empire?" Was all that echoed in her mind at the moment.

    Her days back in the latest demonic stampede flashed before her eyes. So many lost, so many missing, but not many know the truth...

    "It looks like they''re finally making their move..." Resnora sighed, "This is giving me a headache..." Resnora pressed two fingers to her eyes as she groaned.

    "Maybe it isn''t so bad... The gang is going to get back together..." A small rare smile creased it''s way onto her face, she tilted her head up looking on at the blue beautiful sky, "This is going to change very soon..." The smile immediately disappeared off her face.

    That hellish place... I wish it to disappear... No gods can make it disappear... gods, such a powerful concept yet nothing can be done about the nether plains.

    If someone were to hear what Resnora was thinking, they would admonish her, curse her, disregard her words as blasphemous. But once someone really thinks about it, she''s sort of right... Well in her own view.

    "I should go now... No need to delay things anymore." Resnora pursed her lips before a thunder clap reverberated through the forest sending every bird out of the trees if the demonic bear hadn''t already done it... She left a scorched area where she used to be, electric streaks danced around in the now charged rocks.

 Chapter 5 Gathering for the exam...

    Arron... Was going to do it, he was finally here... He was ready to do the test...

    He walked towards the giant looking academy... From far away, it looked like a whole castle. From what he learned from Rynia, that was the dorm rooms...

    The streets were full of students of all sorts, some looked big and strong while others look small and composed. Arron passed by several students as he and Rynia made their way towards the gates. Just a few meters away, the way out of poverty, a way for him to spread good in the world...

    "It''s Prism..." Rynia said from his right as she looked up at the triangular shaped building. "It''s called Prism for a reason I guess..." Rynia quipped in from the side, "Also that''s the main building where all the classes are, there are lower levels with like, a lotta stuff for training or something. The upper levels are for classes and libraries and other boring stuff." Rynia shrugged, "Now for the real deal..." Rynia stared her eyes practically shining like stars in her excitement.

    "That over there!" Rynia pointed straight at a round colosseum looking place. It was gigantic, it was so big, that it dwarfed the whole dorms area that looked like a damn castle. "Holy... What is that?" Arron couldn''t help but voice out in awe.

    "That''s what Prism is famous for... Well, besides the higher education and the glamorous facilities part. That my friend, is Prism''s own realistic simulation magic arena." Rynia couldn''t help but giggle. "The thought that we might have a chance at using this is just... Ugh! So exciting!" She exclaimed as she ran forward, "Come on! let''s get this damn exam over!"

    "Okay! wait up!" Arron called out as he chased after her.

    <hr>

    The spacious area where all the students gathered was not even crowded, and that said a lot about Prism''s size as the number of participants wasn''t something to take lightly.

    There was a big wooden stage set up in the middle of the academy''s park, where a big statue was erected, glorifying the academy''s founder. Kamrig the founder and the one trusted by the ancestors of the stellar empire''s royal family.

    "Holy... It''s. It- it''s her!" A random voice shouted from the crowd, and attention all around was brought to a single girl. Golden blonde hair, shining in the sun. A pair of golden eyes that looked like yellow tourmaline, gemstones that are worth more than gold and silver. She ported some leather armour, perfect for the exam they were going to take, a rapier was strapped on her waist as she stood her back straight with a determined look on her face... Her skin, white as snow, it almost gave off a divine aura, that of an angel who descended down to grace mankind with it''s beauty.

    "No way..."

    "She''s also taking the exam? I-I hope I end up in the same class as her!"

    "W-wait... Who?" Arron asked as he eyed that beautiful girl that everyone was staring at now, "The princess, Amanda dummy. Don''t tell me you had no idea what the princess of your own empire looks like?" Rynia leaned in narrowing her eyes at him in scrutiny. "Pfftt~ N-no way you actually didn''t know~" She giggled as she patted him on the back.

    "I didn''t. She''s pretty cool I guess." Arron looked back at the girl who everyone was eyeing now, admiration, challenge and jealousy. "I don''t really care though, is she strong? If she is she might give us trouble in passing..." Arron sighed. Rynia just stared at him blankly, "are you serious? You don''t even think anything about how pretty she is?"

    But no, Arron was a man with a goal. "As long as she doesn''t stop me from passing, she''s awesome." He gave her a thumbs up. Rynia just slapped her own face with the palm of her hand. "You''re so hopeless man..." Rynia sighed and straightened her back, "Well! Let''s-"Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

    Thud!

    Rynia tripped on a stone and fell face first into the ground. In the process of falling she had bumped her head into the person standing in front of her.

    That person stumbled forward before he turned back slowly. Arron raised an eyebrow as Rynia pulled herself up she looked up only to be met by two jewels, yellow tourmalines staring right back at her. She pulled back slightly only for her eyes to drift lower to find a hand extended forward. Rynia looked up again and now she caught the full picture of the person she had bumped into. She stifled a gasp with her hand as she stared up at the person.

    Golden locks fell on his forehead, his nose just the right shape, his face looked like it was sculpted by the finest artisan to ever exist. He had that knowing smile, as if everything around him was calculated to the finest detail. He ported leather armour, similar to his sister, with a sword strapped to his waist. "Are you okay?" He said, his voice a melody to Rynia''s ears, she couldn''t stifle the gasp anymore.

    "I-I''m sorry," She took his hand as he helped her up. "I-I didn''t know you were in front of me your highness, I apologize." She bowed her head, and Arron''s eyebrows shot up, "Highness?"

    "Hm?" The prince of the empire turned towards Arron raising an eyebrow, "Ah, it seems you don''t know me. Nice to meet you, my name is Evan, I''m sure you saw my sister over there." Evan pointed over at Amanda who was now glaring daggers at him, "Don''t mind her, she''s a little mad at me." He chuckled that smile never leaving his face.

    "Also, don''t call me your highness. Here, we are all equal." His smile widened as he helped Rynia up, "Don''t stumble on your feet during the exam, it might mess you up~" He giggled before he waved a hand at Rynia who was still shocked, taken aback by his demeanour, "Bye, see you in the exam." Evan turned and left them there.

    Arron''s tilted his head to the side, "He seems like a nice guy." Arron crossed his arms over his chest. "Th-that''s... I can''t believe it... I just stumbled like a damn fool into the fucking prince of the empire!" Rynia stomped her foot on the floor.

    "So?" Arron said, glancing over at her while she pressed her hands to her cheeks, her face turning redder than a tomato in embarrassment... She could feel the eyes of so many on her. Jealousy and animosity clear in the glares she received. So many fan girls around that wanted to be in her place. But Rynia was more afraid that Evan would cut her head off for that, she wasn''t the least bit interested in him.

    "What do you mean so?!" She glared at Arron, "It''s the frickin'' prince! What if I get arrested for treason?!" Rynia exclaimed before she could stop herself from talking. Then she realised how dumb she sounded.

    "Arrested for treason? Don''t be ridiculous, you just bumped into him. Also he seemed totally fine with it, he even said that we were equals here." Arron rolled his eyes. Rynia was quite the childish girl...

    "Y-yeah... I sounded pretty stupid there."

    "Let''s just go." Arron sighed before he walked without looking where he went, "Ow!" A high pitched yelp resounded and Arron recoiled back as a brow haired girl stood back up rubbing her forehead, "Watch where you''re going!" The shorter girl exclaimed, she didn''t seem to have a single weapon on her, just fingerless gloves on with some leather armour that covered her chest and grey undergarments. "S-sorry, are you okay?" He asked as he reached a hand out before he stopped himself.

    "I would have been if you weren''t so blind!" The girl exclaimed and now Arron could see the emerald green eyes of hers and the small little nose she had. He would call her cute if her glares weren''t melting a hole through his head. "I''ll, just go..." Arron turned around and went back to Rynia who was still patting her clothes. "What was that all about?" Rynia asked raising an eyebrow at him.

    "I don''t know, she was really rude though." Arron shrugged.

    "Meh, who cares."

    Suddenly a loud dinging sound reverberated, washing over the crowd silencing them and bringing their attention over to the wooden stage.

    "Welcome ladies and gentlemen to the entrance exam of our lovely Prism academy," The host was a guy with black hair, brown eyes and an average look to him. "I am the vice principal of Prism academy, I personally welcome you all to our exam."

    Arron''s eyes widened, "That''s the vice principal?" Arron asked almost in disbelief, "I don''t know, if he says he is then he probably is. Who cares." Rynia just shrugged.

    "I am so glad to see that this year as well as last year, have so many great potential students among them!" He exclaimed before he spread his arms apart, his voice for some reason reverberated through out the whole area, "probably a voice boosting mana device." Rynia said calmly as she shrugged.

    "Just focus, it''s probably important," Rynia tapped him on the shoulder.

    "First of all, I''m sure you all are quite curious about what the exam might be about..." He smiled as he held a finger up.

    Everyone waited anxiously for him to announce what the exam will be.

    "Survival free for all."

 Chapter 6 Survival exam...

    Whispers resounded through the crowd.

    "survival? It''s survival!"

    "Is it individual? Or can we make teams?"

    "I don''t know, I hope we can, I don''t think I can pass without teaming up..."

    Arron looked around curiously to gouge reactions out of all the faces around. Rynia had her hand on her chin thoughtful about it.

    "We are also glad to announce that the exam will take place in a tropical setting. Inside of the virtual simulation arena!" The vice principal exclaimed throwing his hand in the air. This brought a whole other wave of gasps and whispers.

    Rynia''s eyes widened as a wide excited smile creased it''s way to her face. "Holy crap we''re doing the test there?!"

    But before the surprise and excitement could escalate. The vice principal announced, "Now for the rules!" He stole everyone''s attention to him. His eyes flickered with mischief as he smirked.

    "First! This is a free for all, so you can absolutely team up with anyone you want. However! Do it at your own risk, you may be betrayed. That is on you if it happens though." He shrugged as he held a finger up. Then he held another finger up.

    "Second! No weapons of your own. We cannot afford for others to get an advantage of equipment, you will be provided everything by the academy." He said calmly before he held up another finger.

    "Third!" He grinned, "There is no third rule, just a reminder that you will be provided special magical suits that will detect if your life is in danger and send a notice to the arena to teleport you out."

    "Any lethal wound will count as a defeat and you will be teleported out. Any incoming attack that is deemed lethal will count as a defeat as well. So if the suit judges you aren''t durable enough to survive let''s say, a fire ball that levels an entire city block you will be teleported out thought, I doubt anyone could achieve that level of destruction among you fledglings." He chuckled softly.

    "Well, without further ado, let''s start right away!"

    <hr>

    Arron stood in on sand, his fingers wrapped around a sword''s hilt tightly as he looked himself over, checking out his new suit that was provided to him by the academy. He whistled before he looked around, "Why did they have to put me all the way at shore?" Arron raised an eyebrow as he looked around him. The exam already begun, so if he found others he should probably be ready for a fight.

    He took a few steps around, checking out the beautiful island. He couldn''t believe how this could be a simulation by a magic machine. He reached down and picked up a handful of sand in his hands. He then let it pour down back to the beach. It looked so realistic, identical to normal sand.

    "This is really cool!" Arron exclaimed with an excited chuckle. Now he gets why Rynia was excited to do the exam in this arena.

    "It''s cool isn''t it?" an unfamiliar feminine voice resounded behind him. Arron turned around quicker than he ever had before. And he saw her...

    "Virtual simulations, woven with magical energy. It''s almost impossible to fathom the complexity of this device isn''t it?" A short figure of a woman stepped out from the shroud of the trees...

    Vibrant curly short blonde hair. Round face and pointy small nose. Her hand wrapped around a tree branch as she fixed Arron with her blood red eyes. "I think we should team up, don''t you think so as well? Hero~" She giggled as she walked closer.

    "H-hero?" Arron tilted his head to the side, confused at the strange compliment. "I''m not a hero though?"

    "Meh, you just strike me as one." The blonde haired girl sauntered over to him. "Come on, do you wanna team up or not~?" The girl had an impatient look on her face as she stood before him.

    "Uhhh..." Arron looked around a little awkward, eventually he nodded, "Okay... Let''s team up then..."

    "Awesome! My name''s Regina, Regina Domina. What about you mister hero?" She spoke, a hint of mischief lingering in her words. "Arron."

    Regina waited expectantly for him to continue.

    "Just Arron..."

    "Eh? You don''t have a last name? Why is that?" Regina''s eyebrows raised in surprise.

    "I''m going to assume you''re a noble, by the way you''re surprised." Arron sighed, "Most commoners don''t have a last name, you know."

    "... Really?" Regina frowned, "I didn''t know that... and you''re a commoner? That''s tough buddy. You''ll have a hard time in the academy."

    Arron shook his head a few times.A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

    <hr>

    The two started walking along the beachside, "so, are commoners really rare in the academy?" Arron asked, turning towards his right where Regina sauntered giddily. The girl was a bubbly one that''s for sure, and a little strange too...

    "I mean... yeah. Commoners don''t usually have the resources to strengthen themselves. They would have to get in through sheer talent alone." Regina shrugged.

    "And like, nobles have a lot of resources." Regina threw her hand around, her voice sounded really obnoxious in Arron''s point of view.

    "Yeah, I can understand that." Arron nodded.

    Suddenly, a loud explosion sounded out from the forest to their left. Their heads snapped towards the source when they saw a flying figure crashing into the ground. "What the..." Arron narrowed his eyes, trying to get a better look at the figure sprawled out on the ground.

    It was a boy, short green hair. A bow slung around his shoulder as he gasped for air. Only after a moment did Arron notice this boy''s ears. They were elongated, he wasn''t human. "Is that an elf?" Regina asked from beside him. "That''s awesome. It''s not common to see elves trying to get into Prism. But it looks like he''s in a bit of a pickle." She giggled as she walked over to him. "Come on! Let''s help him hero!"

    "For the last time! I''m not a hero!" Arron yelled as he ran up after her.

    It took only a few seconds to reach the crater where the elf sat. "Agh... Cough* F-fuck..." He cursed as he sat up. The green haired elf untangled his bow from his shoulders before he stood up, pointing it at the forest where he was blown away from.

    "Hey!" Arron called out to him but the elf was startled. He turned swiftly and fired an arrow blindly. Arron was startled and barely had enough time to draw his sword. However, out of nowhere Regina appeared and broke the arrow in half.

    "You have to be careful how you use that weapon, you stupid elf!" Regina stepped towards the still startled elf as he stepped back.

    "W-what. Stay back!" The elf yelled notching an arrow as he aimed it straight at Regina.

    Arron''s eyes widened, "Wait! Stop! Everyone just stop!" Arron yelled as the two turned to him.

    "Listen, we''re not here to hurt you. We''re just curious on what happened." Arron slowly and cautiously stepped towards the elf. At his words, the elf visibly relaxed, the tension leaving his shoulders. "There''s a fire mage that''s blowing everybody apart. He sent me all the way over here... He''s powerful, be careful." He said as he sighed and plopped himself down on the sand.

    "I need to relax..." The elf lied down on the ground breathing heavily.

    Regina narrowed her eyes on him, furrowing her brows before she turned to Arron. She stared at him for a moment before she shook her head and walked over to a big rock.

    "Regina? What are you doing?" Arron asked raising an eyebrow. "I''m getting him a pillow." Regina said calmly as she hefted the big rock over her shoulders.

    "I think the sand is actually a better pillow than a big rock." Arron said holding in his chuckle.

    "Yeah. I''m sure it is." She said, Arron could have sworn he saw Regina grinning.

    "Hey! Elf. Here you go!" Regina said hover the big rock over the elf''s head before.

    "What? He-"

    "Regina what are you-"

    The rock dropped on the elf''s head and right before it connected. The elf disappeared into light blue particles.

    "Wha- Regina! What the hell did you do that for?!" Arron yelled, his brows furrowed in both anger and confusion. There was no reason to eliminate him... Right?

    "Shhh!" Regina shushed him as she pressed a finger to his lips and waited. Arron stumped by her sudden move, angrily slapped her hand away. He opened his mouth to demand answers from her again however.

    Ping!

    player eliminated!

    +1 points

    "What..." Arron''s eyes widened at the blue screen that had appeared in front of Regina. The blonde girl simply smiled and nodded while rubbing her chin. "That''s what I thought."

    "What? What is going on?" Arron asked, his previous anger melted to give way for confusion.

    "Points. We have a points system. This changes everything..." Regina''s smile widened into a grin. Her eyes glinted in mischief as she spoke once more. "This changes the exam''s type to points gathering..."

    Arron frowned, "What does that mean?"

    Regina glanced at him, "It means we have to gather as many points as we can to get a higher placement in classes." Regina said as she looked back at the blue screen in front of her. She swiped her hand through the screen, the screen dematerialized into similar blue particles to those that appeared when the green haired elf was eliminated.

    "And to gather these points we have to eliminate players?" Arron pressed a hand to his temple.

    Regina shook her head. "No, there are probably more ways than one to gather points. I suspect staying alive till the end will give a huge amount of points."

    "Wait, hold on. Earlier you said something about class placement. What does that mean?" Arron asked. He was curious what these classes meant.

    "You don''t know Prism''s ranking system?" Regina turned to him a perplexed expression on her face. "How do you not know it?"

    Arron shrugged. "Whatever. I''ll just tell you."

    "Students in Prism are divided by classes, ranking from F all the way to A." Regina said.

    "What about S rank?" Arron asked tilting his head. This was similar to the mercenaries ranking system. "There is no S- class. Instead there is the royal class." Regina said as she smirked. "That''s where I''m trying to land so I better gather as many points as I can." Regina rubbed her chin.

    "We need to act quickly. Once everyone realizes the type of exam we''re in they will start hunting for players left and right... And we can''t afford them taking all the points!"

    "So we have to eliminate players?"

    "Yeah, but also look for other ways to gather points." Regina smirked, her smirk then faltered as she seemed to recall something. She turned to him eyeing his sword as she looked up at him smiling sweetly. Arron could tell it was false sweetness from the getgo. "Hey... So I actually forgot to pick a weapon... I just took this little combat knife..." Arron raised an eyebrow at her. "Can you give me your sword-"

    "No." Arron shook his head dismissively.

    "Meanie!" Regina pouted, puffing her cheeks up as she crossed her arms.

    "Let''s just go... We have a lot of work to do if I want to end up in the royal class." Regina sighed after a while.

    "Alright..." Arron took in a deep breath as he unsheathed his sword. "All we have to do is eliminate players... How hard could it be?"

 Chapter 7 The warzone.

    Azure blue hair as blue as the night sky, lit by a shooting star. Dark blue sapphires for eyes. Features soft but sharp. Stoicism as hard as steal. And a pink hammer of doom, conjured by her fair hands.

    "HEEELP!!!" A loud screech echoed through the forest as one of their team''s members ran for his life. Only for a dagger to shoot straight for his heart causing him to disperse into light blue particles.

    The leader''s eyes almost bulged out of their sockets as he immediately turned towards the source of the attack. Pink hammer came straight down at him. He barely managed to block it with his sword. He parried after a fair struggle.

    "What the hell?! Who is she?!!!" One of his team members that he had gathered together, shouted at the top of his lungs. The team leader jumped back distancing himself from the stone faced beauty in front of him.

    "That''s her... It''s really her..." His eyes widened as he stood up and stared straight at her all familiar face. "We''re fucked..." The team leader sighed as he held up his sword, his grip, iron tight on the hilt.

    "Who?" One of his ignorant team members voiced his confusion.

    "It''s the duke''s daughter." He said turning to his teammate. "Which duke?" His teammate asked tilting his head to the side.

    "Lumine, you daft brute. Duke Lumine." He said in an irritated tone as he prepared for a volley of different attacks. He''s heard of her before. Evelyn Lumine, the duke''s daughter with a powerful ability.

    Suddenly a pink ethereal spear flew straight at him which he barely managed to dodge. Though, he couldn''t do it without injury as the spear pierced his shoulder causing him to scream in pain.

    "Attack her! What are you waiting for?!" The team leader yelled at his teammates as he laid sprawled on the floor the spear still impaling his shoulder. He knew he was safe. That he would be teleported out and healed back to peak state if he was eliminated but... Looking at Evelyn''s stoic face as she absolutely tore his team apart... It scared him.

    He watched as Evelyn, on her own, disposed of any and all who approached her or attacked her. After she was done. She let out a long breath before she approached him. The downed team leader tried his best to back away, stammering to push himself back despite his injury.

    Evelyn held her hands up high before a giant hammer materialized in her hands that she swung down at full force. The team leader brought his hands up in a futile attempt to protect himself only for blue energy to surround him. His environment changed. He fell on his back on hard wood as he sighed in relief.

    "Holy shit, she''s scary..."

    <hr>

    Evelyn huffed letting go of the giant pink hammer in her hand causing it to disappear. "That should be the last of them..."

    Ping!

    +13 points!

    +5 extra for single-handedly wiping a team!

    Evelyn raised an eyebrow in surprise. "I get extra if I wipe a team on my own?" A small, rare smile crossed her face before she hardened her expression and cleared her throat into her hand. "Good. This way I can easily get into the royal class."

    She turned around, away from the carnage she had created. Then she proceeded towards the centre, where she had seen and heard a large commotion. Explosions, magic, fire flung all around. It''s a battle ground for the ones that are brave enough or reckless enough to engage in battle with the strong.

    Most examineers moved towards the centre once the exam had started. That included Evelyn, she swiftly had to retreat as there was too much chaos out there, both chaos and powerful players that were out for her head once they recognized her. They most likely deemed her a dangerous threat.

    "Evelyn Lumine is it?" Evelyn stopped abruptly as she turned towards the source of the voice up on a tree branch. She was met with silver long hair tied in one pony tail. The hair was so long that it reached her waist. Two silver white eyes that matched her white hair as she held out a halberd.

    Evelyn raised an eyebrow, "Alice?" Evelyn spoke in an almost taken aback tone. "Are you here to fight?" Evelyn asked as she turned fully towards the silver haired duke''s daughter.Help support creative writers by finding and reading their stories on the original site.

    There were three different dukes in the stellar empire. The first being duke Lumine, Evelyn''s father. The second being duke Sylvia, Alice''s father and the third being duchess Astrid.

    "No, I''m actually here to have a tea party." Alice glared at Evelyn, her tone dripping with sarcasm as she pointed her silver halberd at Evelyn. She scowled at Evelyn. Evelyn merely met her scowl with a cool expression.

    "I see." She said as she conjured a great sword in her right hand and then gripped tightly with her other hand. "Let''s do this then."

    "Now you''re talking my language." Alice sneered as she jumped down from the tree branch she was standing on.

    Alice''s silver eyes met Evelyn''s azure blue eyes and they dashed at each other.

    <hr>

    Explosion after explosion erupted near Evan as he swerved and dodged expertly the light blasts that were flying in his direction. "Hey sis, don''t you think you should dumb down on the intensity?" He yelled over the sound of explosions. Yet his voice was barely audible.

    "Shut up!" Amanda shouted as she sent a volley of light blasts towards him. He dodged by jumping up and boosting himself to the right with an explosion of light magic. "Aggressive aren''t we? Did you not have your morning tea?"

    Amanda''s eyes narrowed at him before she took out her rapier and lunged towards him stabbing forward. Evan took out his bladed spear to block her attack. Sparks erupted from the clash as Evan pushed her rapier down to the ground. He smirked before he kicked her in the chest, sending her flying back.

    "Well, I think this has gone on long enough. Bye bye~ I''m leaving~" Evan waved hand at Amanda before he jumped to leave. Amanda was about to give chase but a stray ice shard was sent towards her which she was forced to dodge. Evan successfully escaped as he ran as fast as he could away from the centre.

    "Damn it! He''s escaping." Amanda cursed under her breath before she turned her attention to the chaos in the middle. The intersecting fights created a chaotic scene that resembled a warzone. She blocked a stray arrow before she took a step back. "This is too dangerous. I need to leave or I''ll risk getting eliminated..." Amanda ran out of the immediate area taking a different route from Evan''s.

    "How many points do I have now?" Amanda asked out loud before a blue screen appeared in front of her.

    Points: 73

    Amanda nodded. While she didn''t know what the bare minimum is to get into the royal class, considering that 1 point is equivalent to an elimination. She thought that this high number of points was definitely something...

    While Amanda was running. When suddenly, a loud explosion froze her in her place as the ground in front of her erupts up into a column of dust.

    Out of the dust walked a short, brown haired girl with grassy greens for eyes. She broke out into a fit of coughs as she steadied herself. When the brown haired girl''s eyes met Amanda''s they stared at each other for a moment.

    Before the girl took a fighting stance, using her bare hands which surprised Amanda. Amanda unsheathed her rapier pointing it at the girl taking her stance as well. Amanda gritted her teeth. She needs to engage in a fight then... There was no other solution.

    "Alright, here I go..." The brown haired girl said in a high pitched voice before she lunged at Amanda, disappearing in the blink of an eye and appearing in front of her, already throwing a punch in her direction.

    Amanda, panicked and startled, swung with her rapier and managed to meet the blow head on by sheer luck. Her blade clashed against the other girl''s fist and to her utter shock. The girl barely even flinched, she did seem shocked, but shocked that Amanda managed to block her strike and not at the pain that was supposed to be there.

    Amanda gritted her teeth and kicked at the ground, jumping back, creating distance between them. "What the hell are her hands made of...?" She gritted through her teeth. "You must be someone important... What''s your name? You managed to block my strike, so I at least have to know your name." The brown haired girl asked raising an eyebrow.

    Amanda paused. Her expression morphing from shock to bewilderment in sheer moments. "How do you not know who..." She shook her head before narrowing her eyes at the girl opposite her. "My name is Amanda Stellar." She said, prompting an intrigued expression from the brown haired girl.

    "The princess," The girl''s eyebrows raised as she whistled, "didn''t expect to see you here." A wide grin spread across her face. "Well, no matter." She shifted her stance, lowering the base of her body and extending a foot out front along with a hand. "My name is Suzan Terras. You can call me Suzi." All before she jumped forward at high speeds, her fist flying in the air.

    However, Amanda was prepared. She swerved out of the way, however... Then she winced, a small cut appearing on her side. All around Suzi''s fist, a silver aura that roughly resembled a claw. Amanda''s eyes widened as she finally saw the mana coating. She swiftly countered while Suzi was still in that same position. She swung her rapier down on her.

    Suzi spun around, catching the rapier in her hand which was covered in that same aura. She attempted to swing at Amanda while her weapon was seized.

    Amanda gritted her teeth and pointed a finger at Suzi before 5 balls of pure light appeared behind Amanda and shot at Suzi. Suzi''s eyes widened and she covered her face with her clawed hands, successfully protecting herself but giving Amanda enough time to kick Suzi away.

    "You''re tough. I''ll let you have it Amanda." Suzi spoke. She was ready to jump at Amanda however a sudden large fireball descended on the two forcing them to run away in the same direction. They didn''t make it far though before the fireball exploded and sent the two hurling away in the air.

 Chapter 8 Daggers or sickles?

    In a clearing, rid of trees in the tropical island, stood a boy with short stature, his hair glimmered in the dark, reflecting a dark green shine from the light of the moon. His eyes, a shade of green that gave off a lighter vibe. His face calm and collected. He practically radiated calm and calculating energy.

    He stood in the clearing opposite him a girl with a whip in hand. She had auburn curly hair and brown eyes. Glasses rested on her little nose, as she fixed the boy opposite her with a glare.

    "It''s you isn''t it?" Her eyes narrowed in scrutiny. She flicked her wrist and the whip crackled against the ground. "You''re that bastard aren''t you?" Her voice was high pitched, a stark contrast to the rough and antagonizing tone she was using.

    "Depends on which bastard." The boy spoke nonchalantly as he reached for his waist. "But to me, it just looks like you''re eager to fight."

    "You''re Adam Illusio aren''t you? The bastard with the sexual assault allegations." The girl spoke her eyes scanning his features for any hint of dishonesty.

    His brows raised before a condescending sneer crossed his face. "Yeah... That kinda'' sounds like me." Adam said, his tone carrying indignation all over it.

    "Except for the sexual assault allegations. They''re just that allegations and I''ve already been disowned by my family, so what are you getting at here?" Adam raised an eyebrow at the girl in front of him.

    Rika Strenae. She was one of the important ones that Adam had to watch out for, she was the daughter of a Barony but they called her a genius of the century. Not for her battle prowess, but for her intellect and intelligence that was why Adam knew her name.

    The brown haired girl''s glare intensified, her brown eyes glaring intensely at Adam. Adam simply drew his weapons out and brandished them out for Rika to see. Dual curved blades that were both short and had a weird design.

    He needed to make sure his entry into Prism was guaranteed. He didn''t have anywhere else to go if he didn''t make it into the royal class... Well he mostly did it for the added boons, he could just get into a normal class but where''s the fun in that? He wouldn''t have a luxurious stay or free food everyday.

    Adam was getting side tracked. He took on a defensive stance. He was going to stay passive until Rika attacks first. "Are those daggers or sickles?" Rika narrowed her eyes on Adam''s choice of weaponry.

    "Doesn''t matter as long as it''s light, sharp and easy to handle. Then it''s my kind of weapon." Adam snickered.

    Rika dashed forward and flicked her wrist. The whip crackled as it flew straight at Adam. The green haired boy slashed at the whip but the hard ropes weren''t cut by his weapons. Instead, Rika tugged at her whip and sent one of Adam''s daggers flying to the ground.

    "Ah, oh nooo you got my dagger." Adam, feigning panic. He grinned as he dashed forward at high speeds. Rika''s eyes narrowed before she pulled on her whip sending the tip flying at Adam''s face. He grinned before dodging.

    He was mere inches away now, a single swing and he''ll eliminate her however... she pulled tight on her whip using it to block the slash coming for her. Adam''s weapon simply slid off the rope as she side stepped. She kicked forward sending Adam back a few. "Ah, not bad. I thought they said you''re only brains, but I guess you got brawn as well." He grinned before he sent his dagger flying in the air.

    Rika jumped to the side her teeth gritted as she fixed him with a glare. "I will cut off that tongue of yours..." Rika snapped. The dagger embedded itself on a tree as Adam broke out into a sprint. He jumped over Rika''s whip strikes and rolled until he reached the tree and grabbed his dagger, pulling it out.

    "Woah~ there! This is just an exam, calm down tiger~" He chuckled before he sauntered over to his thrown dagger, the one Rika had previously disarmed from him, and picked it back up. "Seriously, what''s your vendetta against me?"

    "I just don''t like bastards like you. Now die." She spoke, her tone cold as she finally stepped forward moving out of the defensive position she held.

    She rushed forward her whip snapping around her at high speeds. A bead of sweat fell down Adam''s chin as he prepared himself to clash with the girl in front of him. He had already gathered enough points to land him in the royal class he presumed. So another kill wouldn''t be too bad would it? Although, it would be awkward to meet afterwards...

    Adam wasn''t dumb. He knew even if you were eliminated you can still get accepted in. There was just no way they would just allow a single person into Prism at a time. Obviously if you got enough points you''ll get into Prism regardless if you were eliminated or not. Though, getting eliminated is probably going to take a few points away.

    "Alright then," He spread his arms apart both daggers in hand before he smirked. "This should get me a few points..." He whispered before his daggers began to glow green. The mystical aura encasing them flowed like a tendril of flames that was slowed in time.

    +13 points

    "I knew it." His grin widened. Rika''s eyes widened all before...

    <hr>

    Thud!

    Rika''s back hit he wooden floor as she stared up at the ceiling wide eyed. "... What?" She muttered under her breath.

    "Ah, Mr. Strenae''s daughter got eliminated." Her head slowly turned to the right to see a broad shouldered man with a shaved beard. Her eyes reflected her emotions, confusion, disorientation and slight disbelief. "What happened?" She asked looking up at the man.Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions.

    His eyes gleamed in amusement as he smiled and spoke in his gruff and deep voice. "You got eliminated." Rika gasped, "What?!"

    "Don''t worry, don''t worry... You have enough qualifications to land you at least A class and maybe even the royal class." He chuckled, "No need for panic."

    "What? But I was eliminated..."

    "Yeah, you were. But that doesn''t mean you''re not getting in, does it? If we worked by that system we wouldn''t have a single student admission every year." He scoffed, "anyways. You''re one of the important ones that we''re keeping an eye on. So they''re already pushing for royal class."

    "So I''m still getting into the royal class?" Rika looked up at him with hope in her eyes.

    "Yeah. Now you get it!" He crossed his beefy arms and let out a hearty laugh. After he was finished he looked down at Rika who was still looking down her jaw clenched. "What? Why do you still look bummed out?" He tilted his head in confusion.

    "I wanted to eliminate that bastard... He beat me in a single moment... I didn''t even know what happened." Rika complained as she plopped herself down on the floor. "Well get up now. You can head to the reception. There you''ll find all the eliminated players," He said pointing back at a door. Rika sighed before she got back up and walked out of the door grumbling under her breath.

    <hr>

    Adam huffed as he wiped at his forehead. He removed the sweat there. His smile widened as he waited for it...

    Ping!

    +10 points for eliminating someone strong.

    "Just as I thought..." Adam sneered. "So we are actively being judged by the observers and are given points according to what the judges deem as a high feat." Adam rubbed his chin. "I see..."

    "Welp." He snickered. "Time to go gather more points!" He chuckled softly before he started away.

    <hr>

    Adam snuck through the forest quietly. His eyes were all around his surroundings scanning the area for any suspicious behaviour before.

    "Dude, how are we going to get into any class at this point? We haven''t found anyone at all this whole time!" A loud obnoxious sounding voice resounded and Adam''s ear twitched and he started following the source.

    It didn''t take him long to arrive at another clearing. This one harbouring a lake in it''s center. "Seriously though! If we just sit around and do nothing we''re not going to get any progress on our points!" The same voice resounded and Adam, from a tree branch, could now see who it belonged to. An average height, black hair and brown eyes looking guy. He held a sword on his waist.

    Adam snickered quietly to himself. "Good prey..."

    He jumped down and slashed straight at the nearest person''s neck. The person immediately disappeared in a flash of blue particles before the group started taking notice of him. He took advantage of their shock to lunge straight at another person. He pinned down one of them and before they could resist he plunged his daggers straight into their chest... Or well he tried but his dagger struck the cold hard ground.

    He stood up and faced the two remaining people. "Ah, look at you. Unlike your friends you will go out knowing who I am. It would suck if you actually made it." He hissed, as he twirled his daggers skilfully.

    "Bye bye~" He said simply before he dashed forward and slashed at one of them stabbing him in the shoulder before he thrust his other dagger into his head, turning him into blue particles. The last one remaining took a trembling step back before he pulled something out from his pocket. It was a rock... But this rock had different complex circles of text on it. "What is that?" Adam squinted his eyes on the small stone.

    However the one holding it clenched his fist on it before a loud ringing sound erupted into the air. Adam clasped his hands over his ears to stifle the unexpected sound.

    "What the hell is he doing?!" He exclaimed until the sound finally calmed down and the small stone in his hand broke into pieces. Adam frowned and he stomped forward. "What the hell was that? Answer me!" He grabbed the boy by his collar and held a dagger to his neck. The sharp weapon slit skin and blood dripped down his neck.

    "H-Hehe... Hehehehe~" The boy began to chuckle, a bead of sweat rolling down his chin. His lips trembled as he forced himself to sneer. He was clearly nervous, a weapon to his neck.

    Suddenly, he let go of the boy spotting a glint over at the trees shroud and sure enough, an arrow flew from the trees straight at him. He slashed the arrow into two pieces narrowing his eyes at the source. Suddenly his eyes widened as he saw similar glints all around him. "... I see... So that''s what the loud sound was for." He said, smiling nervously before he slashed at the still laughing boy, turning him into blue particles.

    Out of the trees stepped several figures, each with their own armour. "It''s only the second day in the exam and they already made that big of an alliance?" Adam chuckled, the way his voice quivered gave away his nervousness.

    He was surrounded. He didn''t have any way to escape other that to carve a path through their formation. "Bastards..." He cursed under his breath, pursing his lips.

    <hr>

    Rika laughed out loud as she watched from the reception, her hands clenched tight on the rectangular device she was given to spectate. "Serves you right!" She giggled uncontrollably.

    "You really don''t like him, huh?" A feminine voice resounded next to her, drawing her attention to the right.

    Rika took a moment before her expression shifted to recognition, "Oh! Alice? What are you doing here? Out of all the people out there I''d expect you to be the last person out!" Rika exclaimed as she stood up.

    Alice''s expression turned grim as her shoulders slumped and let out a long sigh. "I went after Lumine..."

    "Evelyn? You went after Evelyn? You know she has an ability right?" Rika''s expression changed to shock and then to confusion.

    "I do know she has an ability and a powerful one at that... But I just couldn''t keep my hands to myself when I saw how easily she disposed of a group of examineers." She shrugged as she plopped herself down on the couch. Currently they were in an exclusive area where they could watch and spectate the exam as people who had passed but were eliminated. The ones who had been eliminated and refused entry to Prism are already gone.

    "Huh?" Alice picked up the device to get a better look, only for her brows to raise. She whistled as she stared at the screen. "He''s not doing that badly eh~"

    Rika''s brows furrowed and she snapped her attention to the screen of the device only for her jaw to clench. "Damn it!"

    <hr>

    Adam dodged a strike while slashing at another''s knees only for an arrow to strike him right in the shoulder. He cried out in pain before he ripped the arrow out and bit his lower lip hard enough to draw blood.

    Ping!

    +2 points

    Adam frowned. Even for this I''m getting points? I''m starting to think administration is just giving out points whenever they feel like it... He didn''t have much time to continue that trail of thought as he had to block, parry and dodge incoming attacks...

    This was going to be a hard fight.

 Chapter 9 Unexpected help and red haired child?

    Adam was in a bad situation. He eliminated a lot of players but he was getting tired, fast.

    He jumped over a sweeping kick landing one of his own in the form of a drop kick. As soon as he fell on the ground he rolled to avoid a hammer falling on top of him. He dodged it by a hair''s breadth.

    Adam lunged at one and swiftly eliminated him with a slash to the neck. He had to retreat after as he dodged an array of arrows falling on him from the sky.

    "What the hell? Who is this guy?" One of the attackers spoke. He was more on the leaner side, he had beefy arms and broad shoulders and of course, he wielded a heavy weapon which was a war axe.

    "He''s literally just a disowned nobody! How is this even possible?" Another cried out as they shot arrow after arrow towards their stubborn prey.

    "The leader told us to hunt this way but to me it just seems like we''re getting eliminated more than we are eliminating..."

    "No dumbass, this method works. We just so happened to bump into a freak of nature like this fucker right here..."

    <hr>

    "Reporting back. Our target is putting up a good fight. He had already eliminated a great deal of us." A deep voice resounded from a tall and stern looking boy. He held his hand up against his forehead in a saluting motion. His name was Edward and he is part of the group currently hunting Adam Illusio for his high standing.

    "So? Send in more people. I don''t see the problem." A soft feminine voice was heard on the other end. The voice carried a hint of detachment and cruelty to it, yet it also held a softness like no other.

    "Ah, well... We can''t overwhelm him with sheer numbers, a lot of us want to... You know... Pass the test so we can make it into prism?" Edward scratched the back of his head as he spoke.

    The receiving person, finally turning around to face the boy with wide crystal skyblue eyes. "I. Don''t. Care." She said dismissively. She had long snow white hair, like a wide expanse of an arctic desert that stopped not even at the horizon. Her pale white skin, perfect like the porcelain of a fine castle. Her eyes were wide, giving off a distant aura, like she is the least bit concerned about what the boy was saying.

    "But lady Lilea-" Edward started before he was interrupted.

    "Kill that boy. Under my command all of us will receive good points for defeating a strong person like him. Weather we participate or not." Lilea spoke calmly before she turned away.

    Edward pursed his lips. The reason all of these people were following Lilea''s leading wasn''t because she''s stronger than them... But because they were smart enough to realize that with that many powerhouses in the exam, they were basically guaranteed complete loss unless they banded together under a single person''s rule. And that person was Lilea Ferox. Not only because she has the mindset of a leader. But because she is also an artificer.

    An artificer... Someone who utilizes magic circles to inscribe magic functions to an item. Like the people who made this whole arena. A whole team full of the world''s best artificers banded together to create such a marvelous thing like the arena they were in...

    Lilea was an artificer... Or well, she was a weird one. She called it something like... Magi-tech.

    "It''s how she was able to make those loud stones and the stupid necklace that she can watch through." He spoke aloud as he moved through their base, moving towards the exit. All of this was personally directed by Lilea herself. She had them build it all. Edward had to admit. She was great at giving instructions and making directives clear as day.

    Edward sighed. Though, we do have to deal with her shitty personality... Edward continued walking until he reached a certain area in the base where he picked up a rectangular object with several runes on it. One given to him by Lilea herself.If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.

    "What is even-" He was interrupted as his eyes widened. "Who the hell is that?"

    <hr>

    Adam punched forward sending an attacker away. "Alright... I think I can do this actually." Adam let out a nervous chuckle.

    However right as he was about to start attacking again, a random sword was sent flying and he barely dodged it by tilting his head. He grunted as he felt an impact on his side. He swiftly countered by slashing down at the blurred attacker. For only but a moment he managed to see a red sheen.

    He jumped away and he finally got a good look at his attacker. "Who the hell are you?" He asked as he coughed clutching his side trying to steady his breathing. The figure opposite him wasn''t what he expected. A short, what someone would call... A little girl. She had red hair tied in two long pig tails. She had a giant hammer bigger than even her, hefted across her shoulder as she sneered at Adam.

    "Are you sure you''re supposed to hold something that big on your back? It might stunt your growth." Adam''s confident smile returned as his grip tightened on his daggers.

    A vein bulged on the short girl''s forehead and she charged forward her hammer hefted into the air ready to smash Adam''s head in all before.

    Thud!

    A foot connected with the short girl''s head and she was sent flying to the side, her hammer fell where she used to be as blue particles appeared right before she crashed against a tree.

    "What the hell man. Look at all these free points around here!" A soft feminine voice echoed in the clearing as every eye turned to the new factor at play. Blonde curly hair, blood red eyes, milky white skin and a cheeky smile on her round face. She gripped the eliminated player''s hammer by the handle before she hefted the heavy looking hammer over her head.

    "It is time to..." She paused as she glanced at Adam''s injured form. Her expression changed from excitement to confusion and then to amusement in mere moments. She pressed her hand to her lips before she blew him a kiss and winked. "It''s your chance to run pretty boy~" She giggled loudly. Her hand clenched around the hammer before she hefted it up like it was nothing and the mayhem began.

    She slammed the hammer down on one of the allied examineers eliminating him. Then she moved for another one, slamming the hammer into their chest sending them back to the lobby.

    "Ah! I''m finally having some me time!" She exclaimed and now the entire group''s attention was on her.

    Adam gritted his teeth. He didn''t know why, but this girl pissed him off with all that exaggerated movement. He wasn''t about to let her have all the points...

    He dashed forward, his daggers shining in that same flame like dark aura before he started shredding through their ranks.

    "Insane bastard... I told you to run away didn''t I?" Regina, sneered in indignation as she slammed the hammer down on a sprawled enemy. She was about to get stabbed by an enemy from behind but she let go of the hammer and spun around chopping the incoming attacker''s neck with her hand staggering him before she reached down and pulled out a combat knife and stabbed towards his chest. He burst into blue particles.

    "You think I''m gonna let you have all these points?" Adam chuckled as he stabbed towards another one''s neck, causing him to burst into blue particles as well.

    "Just so you know, I''m coming for you next after we''re done with these ones." Regina spoke calmly as she turned back towards another incoming attacker and simply pointed at him.

    Adam, seeing this furrowed his brows as he took a pause to gauge what she is trying to do...

    The incoming attacker simply froze in place before clutching his head and bursting into blue particles as he was teleported away. Adam''s eyes almost bulged out of their sockets as he took a step back. "What the hell was that..." It has to be some type instant magic that affects the body... Mind magic? Flesh magic... No wait, that''s forbidden.

    "What?! Everyone! watch out! She''s a mage!" One of them shouted at the top of his lungs but it was too late.

    Each and every single person she pointed at clutched their heads before they disappeared into blue particles. After eliminating a sizable chunk of their numbers she proceeded to switch to hand to hand once more. She jumped among a group of five and eliminated each one with a well timed stab and slash with her knife.

    Adam stared in sheer shock. In a few mere gestures she had took out the most part of his attackers... She was dangerous. He couldn''t fight her without knowing what she can do first...

    He proceeded to shred through their ranks. One by one they fell. Either to Adam or to Regina, the unexpected intruder and his reluctant saviour.

    "W-what the hell are they?!"

    <hr>

    "This is bad... Holy fuck how did they manage that?! I need to inform her..." Edward moved back, heading towards the makeshift hut where the white haired girl he needed to talk to was.

    He pushed through the leaves held there and walked inside only to find... "Hey there." A dark blue haired boy sat on his leader''s chair. The boy stood and Edward couldn''t think for a single moment before the boy''s blade shone and he was teleported out of the exam. He could only hope he got enough points to land him a good class...

    <hr>

    "Phew! That was nerve racking." Arron rested his hands on his hips. He had been instructed by Regina to go here. He did so and he found some white haired girl. He eliminated her sneakily and sat there waiting until some dude barged into the tent. He eliminated that guy as well. Now as he was instructed, he needed to wait for Regina to get back to him...

    So he waited...

 Chapter 10 Fight continues? Or not?

    Amanda was soaring through the sky with Suzi right next to her. The two of them were blown away by the fireball but they weren''t eliminated.

    Amanda was falling down at increasing speeds if she hit the ground at this velocity she was sure to be eliminated... "Damn it!" She cursed through her teeth as she gripped her rapier as hard she could pouring as much mana into it as she can. She had to time this perfectly to avoid any injuries.

    Suzi was screaming all the while they were falling but Amanda''s attention was on the ground. Her rapier''s blade glowed in a bright light and it was sure to bring the attention of any nearby players. It looked like a shining star, the brightest in the night sky.

    "Radiant strike!" She thrust her weapon down against the ground, tearing up the grass and throwing dirt around. The resulting recoil managed to twist her trajectory into a nearby bush. The bush managed to cushion her fall well enough for her to breath a sigh of relief.

    As for Suzi. She didn''t have any way to tank her fall except for well... take it head on. Suzi smashed right through a boulder, shattering it into small pieces. She sat there groaning in pain as Amanda stepped out of the bush she fell in. A few sticks were protruding from her hair and she spat a leaf out of her mouth. "Damn it, that was still a hard fall..." She rubbed the back of her head.

    She walked towards Suzi who, seeing her, attempted to step up on her feat only to fail. Leaving her vulnerable to an attack. But Amanda didn''t attack yet.

    "Just get it over with," Suzi closed her eyes letting out a pained moan as she awaited the incoming strike. Amanda let out a long sigh before she swung her rapier down on Suzi''s head causing her to burst into blue particles and disappear.

    25+ Points!

    Amanda saw the blue screen in front of her. She turned away from the crash sight and walked. Heading south where she saw a few built huts. Maybe she can fish a few points from there...

    <hr>

    It had been three days now since the start of the exam. Evelyn made it to the middle after fighting Alice for a while and eliminating her. She encountered a few groups after that and swiftly disposed of them.

    Evelyn found that the center had significantly calmed down since she heard a massive explosion. Most of those who were in the center had been eliminated or fled the scene.

    Evelyn encountered a few injured individuals which she eliminated both for herself and for them as well, as the arena instantly healed anyone who was teleported out.

    As she walked the area around her became increasingly desolate, until she finally came face to face with a familiar figure. "Ah, your highness." Evelyn spoke up. In response the figure in front of her jumped up and recoiled away, startled at the sudden disturbance.

    "Who-" Evan snapped his gaze towards her, turning around, his movements wary and cautious. Evelyn came face to face with Evan, the prince of the stellar empire. However once he recognized her he calmed down significantly before he brought his guard up once again.

    "Evelyn... hehe... It''s nice seeing you here..." He said as he took a few cautious steps back. "It''s nice seeing you''re still not eliminated as well your highness." She took a step forward causing Evan to flinch and take a few more steps back.

    Damn it... Why do I have to face her?! Evan cursed inwardly as he glanced back preparing an escape route. He had took a roundabout way to go back into the center and had been the one to cast that fireball spell to send Amanda and that brown haired girl he saw away from the center, both to help Amanda escape the chaos of the center and to rid himself of her constant attacks.

    Now he regretted coming back to the center.

    "It looks like I am quite late." Evelyn glanced around at the empty center. "What a disappointment. I had hoped to get a few good points from here..." She turned back towards Evan, and he could have sworn he saw her eyes glimmer, the flames on the ground reflecting on those azure irises.

    Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings.

    "Evelyn! Why don''t you... Head north, yeah! Head north I heard a big commotion happening there when I passed by a clearing. Evan offered his most convincing smile and took another step back.

    Of course, Evan wasn''t lying. He had seen a big fight happening there, a lot of people were ganging up on unsuspecting individuals and it seemed like they encountered some strong people who were giving them a run for their money. Evan hoped to divert Evelyn''s attention to that group. He had seen they made a small army, that group was doing a good job in terms of sheer numbers.

    They probably based themselves around an artificer of sorts. He saw them use some enchanted items.

    "Oh really?" Evelyn turned north and stared directly at the thicket of trees in that direction. "Are you sure your highness?" She asked turning back towards him, her expression that same accursed stoic face. Evan hated it as he couldn''t tell what she was thinking with her always stone faced and such. Even as children he barely saw her break her stoic demeanour.

    A small bead of sweat rolled across Evan''s face. What he was about to attempt might either get him eliminated or might help him succeed and survive till the end. Evan figured out long ago that five days from now was the limit the exam could go on for. Because the entrance and welcoming ceremony would always be 10 days after the entrance exam would be held. And it had already been three days.

    So five more was the limit and two days would remain for preparations and invites to be sent out. I just need to survive five more days... I had already gotten a lot of points so surviving will only boost my chances of making it into the royal class.

    Evan shook his head breaking out of that train of thought as he took in a deep breath trying to steel his nerves. Evan smiled at Evelyn before he pulled out his bladed spear and swung down encasing the tip with light magic causing a light slash to shoot out towards Evelyn. The blue haired girl''s eyes widened and she swiped a hand creating a pink barrier which blocked the light slash and broke.

    The moment the barrier dispersed into thin air Evelyn was ready to retaliate. She glared at where Evan used to be however. "He escaped." Evelyn glanced around, scouting the area with her eyes alone.

    Evelyn hadn''t expected the prince to do something like attack her. He seemed a bit nervous she wasn''t really looking to eliminate him. He would have given me a good sum of points though... She mused to herself before she turned north where the prince had pointed out. "Let us see if he was telling the truth."

    <hr>

    Regina let out a long breath as she finally let the hammer fall and picked up two one handed axes. She turned around facing the last remaining enemy... Or well, second to last as Adam was still there.

    She approached graciously, relishing every step. "Oh~ how much points is this gonna be~ I''m excited to see!" She let out a manic laugh before she swung down and eliminated the last player. Regina had purposefully disregarded any notification she had to build the suspense into a satisfying end.

    She turned around to face her final opponent. "So, pretty boy. Why didn''t you run when I told you to do it?" Regina tilted her head to the side menacingly staring at Adam who met her gaze with his own intense stare. He sneered as he spread his arms apart, showing off his dual daggers.

    "You take me for a coward? I won''t run. Especially after someone ordered me to." Adam chuckled as he took his fighting stance.

    "Are you serious?" Regina spoke up, her voice trembling in amusement as she stepped forward. "You saw what I did to those idiots with my magic right?" She chuckled almost mockingly.

    "I know you can''t use it too many times." Adam cut her laughter short as his blades began to glow in a whisp dark green flame. "If you could, you wouldn''t have bothered with hand to hand. What''s a mage like you even doing with weapons?" It was his turn to chuckle as he took another step forward. "Is it an ability?"

    "No, no. It is magic... Though you''re a little wrong about my usage of it." Regina shook her head. "Enough chit chat." She pointed at him with one of the axes in her hand before she lunged forward. She swung down. A simple move that was met with a simpler parry.

    Adam tried to strike with his other dagger but he was met with a kick to the stomach sending him back a few steps. Regina threw a horizontal swing as she leaned forward as much as she could. Adam barely had time to dodge and throw a swing of his own. But Regina had already pulled back. "Nice defence pretty boy~" Regina cooed.

    Adam''s brows furrowed, "You know just the right way to piss people off..." He smirked, "I like that."

    "Hm~ I have a feeling I will hate working with you in the academy..." Regina''s face fell from amusement to boredom. She didn''t get as much of a rise from the boy as she wanted. She lunged forward once more only to receive a knee to the stomach. "Agh!" She grunted.

    He attempted to stab her in the head with both his daggers in a trap jaw motion. However she brought her axe up to block her right side and grabbed his wrist with her other hand, dropping the axe in the process.

    Regina twisted around, pulling the boy along with her and throwing him over her shoulder, slamming him to the ground by his wrist. "Ah~ I''m getting Deja vu for some reason." She chuckled before she jumped back.

    Adam groaned before jumping up onto his feet, regaining his balance. "Impressive throw," Adam''s grin returned. "I have to admit... But honestly I still hate your face."

    Regina let out a loud laugh. "Same!"

    "

 Chapter 11 Not that impressive...

    "So, lady Rania. Has the exam been to your liking?" A sharp and attentive voice resounded as the screen''s light flickered from player to player.

    "Meh..." Rania leaned her head on the palm of her hand as she leaned back in her comfortable chair. The gruff man to her right had a sour look on his face as he covered his face with his hand and shook it.

    The other tall man wearing a tuxedo standing to Rania''s left simply sighed. He had a neat look to him. Slicked back hair, well trimmed mustache and shaved beard

    "These kids. They''re not as good as last year." Rania yawned as she continued watching.

    "Well, yeah. I mean. Last year we had a kid with a speedster ability. You know how rare those are." The gruff man with the long beard spoke. "It''s kinda hard to compete with that."

    "Reinhardt! You know the princess''s niece and nephew is in this year''s batch!"

    "Meh, don''t worry about it. I don''t really care. Also, I''m not a princess here. I''m the principal, mister Gray. " Rania yawned again. Her eyes droopy as if she could fall asleep at that exact moment.

    His name was Hector Gray. He was a professor at the academy. Specifically the homeroom professor of the royal class students. He was a zealous man who believed that there was worth in everything. Even seemingly insignificant insects that annoy you. So he wasn''t simply going to let the princess believe that these hardworking students who came here to study and change their lives have no worth...

    "You know what? Let''s switch the screen. There has to be someone good here." He picked up the remote and started flipping through the drones over and over until.

    "Wait! Stop!" Rania suddenly held a hand up her eyes widening slightly as she leaned forward, her eyes no longer droopy and sleepy, instead attentive and focused on the screen. Hector turned back to glance at Rania in confusion before complying.

    "Who''s that?" Rania narrowed her eyes at a tan short girl with curly hair who was currently travelling through the forest by jumping from branch to branch.

    "Uhhh... Pull up her file, number 342." Hector called out to Reinhardt who was standing there watching. Reinhardt hurried to look through the file section and swiftly found her file. "Rynia Liaharice..." He read through her file. "There shouldn''t be anything special about her. What did you see in her your highness." Reinhardt turned back to Rania who was watching the girl intently. The moment she heard the girl''s last name her eyes widened.

    "Since when did Resnora have a daughter?" She exclaimed in surprise and recognition. "Holy crap! She didn''t even tell me!" Rania chuckled as she threw her head back against her chair.

    "So... What does this mean?"

    "It means this batch isn''t as hopeless as we thought! I thought only my nephew and niece are gonna make it to royal class but it looks like I was wron-"

    Suddenly a loud sound echoed from the screen stealing all attention as they stared at the sight on the screen. "Ahhh... Ow... Ow..." Rynia was sprawled on the floor, groaning as she clutched her forehead which seemed to be bruised. She let out soft pained sobs as she rolled on the floor. "I knew running on branches would be a bad idea..." She muttered in pain.

    "Or not... Change the screen to my niece. I want to see what she''s doing." Rania sighed as she waved a hand, her expression clearly disappointed.

    "Alright. I thought she was something special." Reinhardt stifled a chuckle as Hector sighed and pressed the button on the remote.

    A blonde girl appeared on the screen. Wavy long beautiful hair. She looked like a carbon copy of Rania just taller... Reinhardt needed to keep himself in check lest he let something slip by his tongue.

    "There she is. She didn''t get any different all these years I hadn''t seen her." Rania rolled her eyes. "She''s not even doing anything much. How many points does she have?" Rania asked Hector who pressed a button on the remote.

    "203." Hector said simply.

    Rania barked a laugh. "That''s what I expected. This is what happens when you put well trained royalty among common folk. They get annihilated."

    Hector narrowed his eyes on Rania before shifting his gaze back to the screen.

    "Oh? Look at that. Someone''s here to challenge her. I wonder who it is." Rania raised an eyebrow. "Who''s that?" She narrowed her eyes but no matter how she looked at the person across from Amanda she just didn''t recognize them.

    "Who''s this? Don''t tell me it''s some random girl. I thought it would at least be a noble who challenges my niece. What''s going on here? Do they want to get eliminated or what?" Rania chuckled softly. "Reinhardt, check that girl''s file. I want to know if she''s a royal from some obscure kingdom or somethin''. Though, I''m sure I''ll recognize her if that''s the case..."

    The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.

    The figure opposite Amanda... It was a girl. A girl with long black hair that was dirtied with dirt, leaves and sticks sticking out of it. She had dirt under her eyes. A bow slung around her shoulder and a dagger strapped to her waist. Her eyes... They were yellow... her pupils were slit like that of a predator''s as she nocked an arrow on her bow.

    "The duke''s daughter?" Reinhardt raised an eyebrow. "What? No. That''s not Evelyn or Alice. She looks homeless." Rania turned her head towards him her eyebrows furrowed.

    "I think he means the other duke." Hector spoke up as he turned back towards her.

    "Oh..." A look of recognition crossed Rania''s face as her frown deepened. "I never liked that guy. Too many relations with the elves." Rania shook her head. "I''ve been telling my brother to remove him from position of duke but he just doesn''t understand. What''s the girl''s name?"

    "Willowris Morro, ma''am." Reinhardt answered and Rania''s gaze darkened as she focused her attention on the impending battle.

    <hr>

    Amanda faced her opponent her hand clenched around her rapier tightly as she awaited for them to move. But... The strange wild girl was just staring at her with her glowing eyes. The air turned earie as the area quietened. Amanda could even hear the sound of the bow string tightening from the sheer silence the area had fallen in.

    Amanda was about to open her mouth to speak as the tension in the air simply got too unbearable. However, the sound of the air being split echoed, an arrow shot straight at her and she was forced to block it. Amanda''s eyes widened and she recoiled from the sheer force the arrow carried. She was forced to take a step back.

    The girl with her eerily calm demeanour nocked another arrow onto the bowstring. Her eyes never blinking a single time during this whole time.

    Amanda needed to stop her but she was too quick and precise. The arrow shot forward at blinding speeds. Amanda attempted to block it once more but the arrow met it''s mark. Embedding itself into her shoulder. "Agh!" She screamed in pain as she clutched her shoulder and doubled over.

    Willowris nocked a third arrow on the bowstring and prepared to shoot. Her fingers, several veins bulged on her hands as she tightened the string of the bow. Amanda''s eyes widened before she slammed her fist to the ground and a light wall appeared in front of her. Willowris shot the arrow nonetheless.

    The blurring projectile zipped through the air at incredible speeds before it met the wall of light and it shattered the moment it hit the wall. However, the wall of light was not unscathed. Cracks littered it''s surface. It looked on the verge of breaking.

    "Ah... This hurts but I need to keep going..." Amanda forced herself up on her feet and pointed her rapier at her opponent. Willowris met Amanda''s determined gaze with her own eerily calm stare. She was like a predator eying it''s prey.

    Amanda shuddered under her stare but she pursed her lips and steeled herself. "Radiant strike!" She thrust her rapier forward and a beam of light shot forward. Willowris''s always calm demeanour finally showed a crack to surprise and she was finally forced to move. Thought, not unscathed. part of her shoulder was burned as she stepped to the side.

    Amanda saw her chance and she took it. She swiped a hand and a spell circle appeared in front of her. "Array!" She shouted before several orbs of light appeared behind her. She shot forward like an arrow, swinging her rapier diagonally. Willowris''s eyes widened and she unsheathed her dagger.

    She swung up and managed to parry Amanda. This opened up a window for her to slash at Amanda who was still staggered from the parry. She thrust her weapon towards Amanda but that was where she made her fatal mistake. Amanda''s orbs of light were still floating behind her, and the moment Willowris was distracted the orbs shot forward and struck her in multiple spots scorching them.

    Willowris''s jaw tightened but the most eerie part is that she didn''t let out a single scream. She continued forward with her dagger still poised to stab Amanda despite the burn all over her body.

    The dagger did not meet it''s intended mark which was Amanda''s heart. Willowris''s strike had been tilted downwards slightly by the orbs of light. "Agh!" Amanda screamed as the dagger stabbed her in the stomach. However, she could not let this chance go. She swung down with her rapier even as the dagger was stuck in her stomach.

    Willowris''s eyes quivered as she stared up at the rapier''s blade rapidly falling down on her. Her hand was on her dagger which was stabbed in Amanda''s abdomen, and her other hand clutched her bow. She made a split second decision and let go of her bow. Her hand shot up and grabbed the rapier''s blade with her bare hand. She kept a tight grip on it even as Amanda pushed down on it.

    Amanda gritted her teeth before she squinted and relaxed her face. She let out a long breath, opening her eyes again, a determined look crossed her face as she whispered under her breath. "Pillar of light..." A magic circle appeared right above them which Willowris spotted.

    "No..." Willowris''s voice was low and raspy. Like it was always stuck as a whisper uttering her first words since the beginning of the fight as she realized what Amanda was doing.

    Amanda breathed a sigh as she knew the fight was already over. A beam of light descended down on the two of them washing light all over them. The two appeared as shadows, silhouettes stuck in the position they were in before the pillar of light descended.

    A loud crashing sound resounded from the ground breaking under the force of the pillar. After the pillar dispersed Amanda was left standing alone. Unscathed from the pillar of light but damaged from the fight she just had. "Who the hell was that?" She muttered before she winced and pulled out the dagger stuck inside of her and threw it to the ground.

    She winced before she sat herself down on the ground and a light green aura emitted form her abdomen where the stab wound was still visible. "This won''t do much but it''ll help if I want to continue the exam..."

    <hr>

    "Mana healing? Who thought her this?" Rania chuckled softly. "That''s impressive. Give her 10 extra points Hector." Rania waved a hand at Hector who simply complied.

    "When is the good stuff going to begin?" Rania raised an eyebrow at Reinhardt who smiled in turn. Honest to himself he was also excited for the final event of the exam.

    "In four more days. We''ll drop it in and we''ll see what happens." Reinhardt replied.

    "Honestly I doubt anyone would survive let alone kill it." Rania shrugged.

    Hector turned back to them. "Don''t doubt them. You don''t know if anyone of them has the ability to pull it off so why are you assuming they''ll just roll over and get eliminated? There are thousands of them in there. I''m sure there is someone in there that can kill that thing." Hector spoke in a reprimanding tone.

    "Maybe Lumine''s daughter can do it?" Rania raised an eyebrow. Reinhardt gave her an acknowledging look and nodded.

    "The kid with the ability right? Maybe she can pull it off with a little help. Who knows." He shrugged.

    Hector sighed before he turned back to the screen. "Let''s just continue..."

 Chapter 12 Clumsiness overflow

    "Run! Run!" Rynia ran for her life. 10 figures jumped after her. Arrows shot at her and magic spells zipped past her head nearly missing her. "What did I do to deserve this?!" She cried out as she dodged a swing from a dagger wielding player who tried to intercept her by rolling on the floor.

    All she did was walk into a particularly populated area. Did she really deserve this? All Rynia had done since the beginning was hunt easy prey and go far south. Until she ended up in an area with several huts and makeshift tents. There was a collection of people there and they attacked her immediately. Why are the people so hostile here?

    Rynia turned around and threw three throwing knives from her hands. She managed to eliminate their weak link before she turned and ran for her life once more. Okay... If I keep this up I''ll eventually eliminate all of them! Okay! Yeah that''s a pla-

    She tripped. Rynia tripped and rolled on the floor somehow dodging two flying arrows that would have hit her if she didn''t trip. She managed to pick herself up into a running motion.

    "Oh god! Oh god! I forgot how frickin'' clumsy I am!" She screamed out as she ran. She yelped as she dodged an arrow that zipped past her and shattered a part of a tree''s trunk. Fuck eliminating them! I just need to survive!

    Rynia looked up and saw the tree branches. A sour look crossed her face as she remembered the incident prior to being chased. She was jumping on tree branches before she smacked her forehead on a tree branch and fell butt first. That had hurt a lot. But this was her only option if she wanted to escape these people. Damn it!

    She glanced back at the now 9 rapidly approaching figures. She turned back and without hesitation, jumped up onto a tree branch and then jumped to the next. She continued jumping from tree to tree as the 9 others stopped in confusion before swiftly following in her steps.

    They jumped after her and Rynia jumped forward. Travelling through the trees.

    The chase continued as Rynia dodged and weaved through a volley of arrows and spells. Rynia reached into her pouch and produced three more throwing knives. "Take thi- AH!" She tripped on her own feet and stumbled forward. Rynia''s feet got caught in a tree branch in which she spun around on accidentally launching the knives out blindly.

    All the knives hit a target. One struck an attacker on the shoulder. Another eliminated a whole player and the third embedded itself on someone''s leg, rendering them unable to give chase.

    Rynia spun around the branch her feet still stuck on it and she came all the way around to push an attacker who had jumped on Rynia''s tree branch to strike at her with a sword. She pushed him down to the ground and Rynia finally regained her balance. She grabbed the tree trunk for dear life as she bawled for a moment. "OH MY GOD! AH..." She caught herself and turned around to stare at the stunned faces of her pursuers.

    One of them was gone, another was on the ground probably with a broken foot or ribcage Rynia didn''t have to worry as that person was shortly eliminated, bursting into blue particles that dispersed shortly after, due to the critical condition that the large fall had put him in. And the final one had a knife through their leg. They cannot give chase anymore, thankfully.

    Rynia''s eyes almost bulged out of their sockets before her lips widened slowly into an awkward smile. "Uhm..." She punched the tree branch she stood on but nothing happened and swiftly jumped towards another. Rynia glanced back and the moment one of them stepped on a tree branch an invisible force hit the tree branch exactly where she had punched it before.

    The tree branch broke under the pursuer''s foot and they fell down. A snap was heard the moment their legs hit the floor. And if that snap wasn''t enough, the scream that followed suit confirmed it to Rynia''s ears. Rynia continued running and kicking or punching down at any tree branch she jumped on. Which then would swiftly snap with the delayed force of her hits.

    Yes! This is good! I can escape if I just keep going like this! Some of her pursuers fell down and the others were much more careful now. They would step on branches that Rynia didn''t step on. That way they would avoid them breaking under their feet.

    After a few minutes The trees to jump on were becoming scarcer as they rapidly approached a clearing. By now the number of pursers had already dwindled down to three. I can handle this much...

    Rynia jumped down to the ground and continued on foot until she reached the clearing. They had arrived at an edge of the island. Rynia found herself skidding on sand from the initial strong jump she did. She landed throwing sand everywhere before she stood straight and turned around reaching down to pick up a rock. She punched the rock without doing any damage to it or to herself.

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    She kept the rock in her hand as the three pursers landed on the sand. "You lost seven people chasing me. Was it really worth it?" Rynia asked tilting her head to the side. The only answer she got was an arrow zipping past her head.

    "Alright then... Let''s fight." Rynia grinned as one of the pursers in the middle ran forward with another swiftly at his tail. The both of them held bladed weapons. One with a long sword and the other with dual short swords.

    The one with the long sword threw a diagonal slash at her which Rynia dodged and retaliated with an uppercut to the stomach. The long sword wielding examineer blocked it by catching her punch. Rynia smiled before she threw the rock she had earlier punched into the air. The opposite end that didn''t receive Rynia''s punch was pointed at the sword wielding attacker, who was now confused at Rynia''s actions.

    Rynia threw another punch with her now free hand which the attacker caught by letting go of his long sword completely. Now the attacker had her by both her fists. However, what the attacker didn''t expect was the rock that was in the air to suddenly get propelled by a strong force and hit. "Wha-" The attacker exclaimed as the rock struck him in the face knocking him back. Successfully delivering a staggering blow.

    Rynia was not done she took the chance to step to his side and slam her fist down onto his throat. The moment the attacker was going to hit the floor. He burst into blue particles. Rynia huffed before she picked up his sword and threw it with great force at the incoming enemy. He utilized his dual short swords to block the flying sword.

    "You... You have an ability don''t you?" He snarled as he shot forward at high speeds. Rynia received his attack by taking her last throwing knife from her belt and throwing it at him. He simply deflected it like the sword.

    He swiftly ducked under Rynia''s incoming fist and attempted an upperslash which Rynia met by stepping to the side and delivering a punch to his swords.

    He frowned before he slashed at her again. Rynia didn''t miss with the dodges. She weaved and retaliated with volleys of her own punches. An arrow zipped past her head and she dodged by tilting her head. She glanced at the archer for only but a moment before she focused back at her own battle. She punched forward as hard as she could and her fist met the cold steel of the dual short swords attacker.

    He in return blocked each strike she launched at him and returned her own. Rynia continued her futile attacks which were blocked every single time. Her strikes were simply too weak to push against the attacker''s defences. But... Why... Why is she smiling?

    Rynia''s smile widened as she delivered one final strike to the attacker''s chest. Which was blocked, this time the attacker felt it. A force pushing against him... But why was it final you may ask?

    Because... "Say bye to your swords buddy~" She chuckled softly. The soft vibrations only sending the attacker into another confused trance until. The attacker''s eyes widened and his swords began receiving invisible strikes to their flat sides. He kept getting pushed around by the force the swords were being subjected to. He gripped the handle of his swords as tight as he could. But...

    Crack!

    The swords steel began to develop cracks into it from the numerous invisible strikes that were being delivered to it. Rynia''s smirk widened before she simply walked forward. The attacker could do nothing but wait for her to approach or let go of his battered weapon which were still being struck by the invisible forces and face her in hand to hand.

    He waited too long to make a decision as Rynia delivered a powerful strike to his face. He immediately burst into blue particles and dispersed into the air. Eliminated.

    "Now..." Rynia turned to the last remaining attacker. The archer. "Your turn." Rynia grinned before she started forward only for an arrow to shoot straight at her. Rynia''s eyes widened before she snapped her hand up and caught the arrow mid air. A cold sweat ran down her cheek as she glanced down at the arrow in her hands. Her lips trembled, slowly taking shape back into a nervous smile.

    "That was dangerous... This was the first time I managed to do that trick! Yes!" She threw a fist into the air as she jumped in celebration before she had to duck down and dodge another flying arrow.

    Rynia sighed. I have to deal with him first... She stood back up before she broke out into a run. The arrow was still in her hand as she pushed on the arrow with her hand. She dodged arrow after arrow as she ran. She jumped behind a boulder. "I got it now..."

    Rynia peaked only for an arrow to strike right next to her head. She took a deep breath in and exhaled as she looked forward. A determined look crossing her face before she jumped out and broke out into a sprint. She dodged each arrow that was shot at her until she finally got the perfect position.

    She held the arrow in her fist, ready to throw it with her bare hands. She closed an eye and aimed before she launched the arrow. The archer got ready to dodge but sighed as the arrow zipped past him. He let out a relieved breath. He nocked another arrow on the bowstring and got ready to fire once more.

    Rynia''s grin widened as the arrow''s trajectory changed sharply. An invisible strike pushing it back. The arrow hit its mark, plunging itself in the archer''s heel.

    The archer cried out in pain as he doubled over. "H-how! Agh..." He cried out in pain once more as his bow fell to the sand. He panicked as he knew Rynia was fast approaching now that she''s got a chance. He reached for his bow and grabbed it he nocked an arrow on the bowstring ready to fire as he looked up only to be met by a knee to the face.

    "Haa!" Rynia grunted as she delivered a running powerful knee to the archer''s face. A crunch was heard as Rynia fell back to the sand and swiftly twirled around to send a spinning kick to the staggered archer''s head. Her foot was about to meet the back of his head before he burst into blue particles and disappeared.

    "Haaa..." Rynia breathed out in exertion. She had been running for a long time only to engage in battle with three individuals. She was tired. "These people really don''t get that I''ve been a mercenary for 2 years now..." She shook her head. "Oh well. Not like they know who I am." She shrugged before she plopped herself down on the sound to take a rest.

 Chapter 13 The zone...

    Regina huffed the dual axes still held in her hands. "I didn''t expect him to run away. What a bummer." She sighed in disappointment and a little irritation. She remembered how Adam had tricked. He looked like he was going to attack but then just disappeared from view. It sort of angered her now that she thought back at it.

    She let out a long breath and with it her irritation. "Welp. I guess it''s time to find Arron then..." Regina walked forward. It was then that she realized she hadn''t checked her points.

    A blue screen appeared in front of her. "Holy moly!" She smiled as she stared at the blue screen.

    +132 Points.

    Regina giggled uncontrollably. "This was so easy! She was definitely right about how easy I could get into the royal class."

    "Regina?" A soft voice sounded out from the trees as Arron walked forward his sword held in his hands.

    Regina''s face twisted into a frown as she turned left to see Arron poking his head out from the tree lines. "What are you doing here?" Regina raised an eyebrow. "Didn''t I tell you to wait at their tents?" She placed a hand on her waist raising an eyebrow at him.

    Arron opened his mouth to speak but Regina cut him off. "Never mind. Come here. Tell me how many points you got!" Regina ran over to him, skipping her steps excitedly as she giggled.

    "Uhh... Well I got 100 points for eliminating their leader and another ten for conspiring with you apparently." Arron said hesitantly.

    "Yeah well-"

    Regina was cut off suddenly as ping caught her and Arron''s attention. The loud beep resounded through the forest as a blue screen appeared in front of them.

    Attention to all examineers.

    The "zone" will begin shrinking.

    All present examineers near the edges of the map must move to the center or else they will risk elimination.

    Thank you and good luck.

    Regina froze as did Arron. The two of them stared at the blue screen in shock. "Well... I guess they don''t really have that much time. Well I mean. The entrance ceremony is 3 days away. 2 days is all we have left..." Regina rubbed her chin in deep thought.

    "So we have to move to the center?" Arron asked tilting his head to the side. Regina glanced at him as if he just stated the obvious. "Yeah. No kidding."

    Arron frowned before he nodded. "Alright. Let''s go then. What are we waiting for?" Arron asked as he tapped his foot impatiently.

    "We''re waiting for whoever''s hiding in the trees to come out right now." Regina spoke slowly as she turned her head to the right. Her gaze piercing, like that of a predator''s on their prey.

    <hr>

    Evelyn''s eyes widened as the blonde''s blood red eyes turned to her. She felt a shiver run down her spine at the uncanny display. She narrowed her eyes into slits as she contemplated her decisions... She could flee. She could come out and face those two. Or she could wait.

    Evelyn wasn''t a normal ability user. Of course she possessed an ability. Which had a few several strange effects that brought her attention from all the corners of the world. Some even called her a sorceress They said that the element she had control over was not yet known to the world. It was strange really. Sorcerers usually had an element they controlled and could bend to their will freely. So why would they assume she was a sorceress when she didn''t have an element to control?

    Her pink energy looked like pure mana. It wasn''t any natural element that existed...

    Nonetheless Evelyn was well versed in close quarter combat which wasn''t that common with ability users as they almost always relied on their abilities. So she could definitely hold her own against those two. But why was she scared? The blonde gave off a strange feeling that was... Familiar... Familiar and... Warm... It made her feel strange.

    She jumped down. Evelyn was curious now. She stared straight at the unusual duo in front of her. The blonde being the most interesting between the two. The other seemed like any other normal player.

    "Ah... So it''s you?" Regina raised an eyebrow. Throwing Evelyn a glance of scrutiny. Regina''s lips quivered until she couldn''t hold it in anymore. A wide grin etched it''s way on her face. "Let''s get this party started right away then!"

    Evelyn''s hands moved through the air. Swiftly creating several pink daggers that she then grabbed and threw at Regina. The blond girl received the daggers with her dual axes. Slashing and shattering them out of the air.

    "Is that all you got?" Regina shouted. Her tone almost disappointed as she broke off into a sprint. She parried and slashed ping weapons out of the air with ease.

    Evelyn, all the more quiet, readied to engage in close quarter combat. She created dual short swords. They were one of the many weapons she was well trained at using. Her eyes followed Regina''s movements, flicking from side to side.

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    Arron watched from the side. "Do you need any help?" Arron shouted, cupping a hand next to his mouth to amplify his voice. Regina simply ignored him as she slashed down at Evelyn who blocked. The force of Regina''s attack pushed the blue haired girl back a few steps. Regina wasn''t done yet. She slashed up using her dual axes but Evelyn merely dodged.

    Regina was stumped as she had used too much force to attack. Now she was completely open for an attack from Evelyn. "Oh, no-"

    Evelyn''s short sword went straight through Regina and came out of the other side.

    Arron''s eyes widened at the sight in front of him. But, the following event shocked him even more.

    Regina disappeared from her previous position and re-appeared a few inches under Evelyn''s dual swords. A wide grin replaced her previously shocked expression as she lunged forward. "Oh, yes~" She laughed as she slashed with her axes.

    Evelyn''s face contorted. Her eyes widening as she met Regina''s gaze. Evelyn barely had time to kick off the floor, attempting to jump back and to pull her arms back and bring them in front of her chest in preparation for Regina''s strike.

    The axes sharp end met the pink dual swords with a loud clank. The dual swords trembled in Evelyn''s hands as the force of the dual axes pushed them into her chest. Much to Evelyn''s horror and Regina''s delight, the dual swords began to show cracks.

    The cracks spread like a sider web through the glass like material they were made out of until finally the swords shattered into many pieces. Evelyn was safe from the slash as it missed her by an inch. However, the same couldn''t be said about the knockback.

    She was sent flying, streaking through the air like a loosed arrow. She clenched her jaw as hard as she could before she crashed right into a tree, kicking up dust all over the place.

    Regina stood on her feet grinning wildly as she stared at the dust cloud. She knew this wasn''t over yet, as she still hadn''t received a notification for eliminating Evelyn.

    Regina''s eyes narrowed as she focused in on the dust cloud. Her brows snapped up in surprise as she met Evelyn''s gaze. The blue haired girl had created a barrier behind her last second to cushion the impact of crashing against the tree. Evelyn stood back up, the barrier behind her disappearing into thin air. She met Regina''s gaze head on.

    "You are one who uses tricks to win aren''t you? How dishonourable." She spat, a scowl creasing her face.

    "Yeah? And who cares about honour when you''re dead?" Regina threw her head back, barking a laugh, the sound sharp and sudden.

    Evelyn kept cool, her expression stoic once more. She snapped her hand up, not letting her focus slip for a second as a spear appeared in her hand. She gripped it tightly as she stomped forward, movement forceful and firm as she approached.

    Suddenly, Evelyn rushed forward, twirling the pink translucent spear around in her grip before she swung down with the spear. Regina blocked the spear''s strike with her axes grinning willy as she prepared to counter. Evelyn wasn''t about to let her have it she swiped her hand in the air and a long sword appeared in her right hand.

    She thrust forward. Regina''s eyes widened. She kept an axe blocking the spear and slashed with her other axe diverting the sword thrust to the ground. The tip of the sword stabbed the ground. Regina gritted her teeth before she grunted and pushed on the spear, sidestepping out of the spear''s way.

    She slashed with on of her axes at Evelyn. The blue haired girl''s expression did not falter. The moment the axe''s blade was going to hit her face, a ping barrier appeared to intercept it. A loud clank reverberated as the axe''s blade and the barrier met. Much to Regina''s surprise the barrier was strong enough to stop her strike.

    "So you''re a smart girl now, huh?" Regina hissed through her teeth as she clenched her jaw. Evelyn was already swinging a great sword down on Regina. The previous weapons having been dispersed. The pink blade went straight through Regina as the image of Regina stood straight, a wide smile across her face.

    Amanda''s eyes widened. When did she have time to- Her eyes widened even more as she turned around and saw Regina. She turned around and all she saw were different copies of Regina. What? What is this?! She gritted her teeth. She was surrounded and she didn''t know which one was the real one.

    Suddenly, they all began moving. Closing the distance between them and Evelyn. "Did you know that when someone is surrounded with no escape in sight. They tend to panic and act irrationally." Regina''s voice resounded behind Evelyn.

    The blue haired girl snapped her attention to the one who spoke. She turned with a throw, sending the great sword in her hand flying at the image of Regina that spoke.

    "See? Like you just did. You assumed that the real me is the one that''s speaking right?" The image chuckled, her form unhindered by the pink sword that went through her.

    Evelyn breathed as a cold sweat went down her cheek. They can speak... Illusions... She turned attempting to spot the difference between each and every copy. But, no. They were just that, copies. Each identical to the other. Evelyn released a breath. It seemed she had given up.

    Each step of the images resounded out, their wicked grins all that Evelyn could see. So she closed her eyes. She listened closely. Their steps approaching.

    "Did you finally give up?" Regina''s voice resounded from Evelyn''s left. "That''s sort of disappointing you know~" Only for it to resound to her left without missing a beat.

    The images continued approaching, until they were mere inches from her. They all raised their axes into the air ready to strike her down. Evelyn snapped her eyes open and she spread her arms apart. Her energy surged, her body shining like a pink star in the night.

    All the clones eyes widened. From Evelyn''s body a spiky sphere erupted out stabbing into every single image. Surely the real one would have been harmed... But no.

    The real Regina was standing a few paces away watching, a wide smile on her face. "That''s honestly impressive..." She murmured a cold sweat rolling down her chin. "Now let''s-"

    "Regina!" Arron called out as he ran towards the blonde girl. "We need to leave now!" He shouted as he tapped her on the shoulder.

    Regina flinched as she was pulled out of her focused state. "H-huh? What? Why?" Regina glanced at him before looking back at where he was pointing. "Oh... Yeah we need to leave." Regina dashed after Arron as they both ran. Evelyn''s gaze also snapped to where they were running from and she also broke off into a sprint heading in a different direction.

    They were all running away from a colossal blue wall that exuded particles like those that appeared when a player was eliminated. They were running from the zone.

    Attention to all players.

    The zone has begun closing. It is highly advised to move away from the edges of the map.

    Thank you.

    The missive appeared shortly after the wall began moving. It moved slowly at first but Regina and Arron could see that it was slowly accelerating. They had to make it as far away from the edges as possible to not risk getting cornered or thrown into the zone.

 Chapter 14 Final zone

    The soft sound of feet padding against the ground resounded as Regina and Arron ran for their life. Regina threw a glance back at the colossal wall of blue particles that was chasing them. Each acre of land the wall passed disappeared, consumed by the endless sea of particles.

    Regina grit her teeth as she increased her pace. The massive wall was moving at high speeds as well. "Arron. How are you holding up?" Regina asked turning to her companion.

    "I''m doing pretty well. I think I can run for a while if we continue at this pace." Arron said breathing heavily.

    The two of them ran until they spotted a light cutting through the vegetation. It was a clearing, one clear of vegetation. Like it was ripped asunder by blades and magic. The two skidded to a stop as they took in the sight in front of them.

    <hr>

    Rynia ran as fast as she could. "Ahhhh! Why did the zone have to start moving when I was at the farthest point from the center!!!" She cried out in frustration as her feet padded against the ground repeatedly in a full sprint.

    Suddenly, an arrow swished past Rynia''s head which missed her barely. Leaving a thin line of blood on her cheek. Rynia turned her sight to the right. She saw an archer. A brown haired girl with a bow and arrow pointed at Rynia. Another arrow was loosened and it missed Rynia again. The archer was running as she shot arrow after arrow at Rynia.

    Rynia ducked, rolling on the floor as she picked up a rock on her path. Why is my luck so terrible?! She cried inwardly as she spun and shot the rock flying at the archer. It his the brow haired girl square on the forehead and nocked her down enough for the wall to catch up and swallow her.

    Rynia resumed her running. "Damn it all!!!" She cried out into the heavens. She ran until she could see light peaking through the shadows of the thick trees. She jumped for it...

    <hr>

    Evelyn swerved, running between the trees. She swished through the air like a falcon, weaving between tree branches as she distanced herself from the zone.

    She gritted her teeth before she put even more force in her feet, kicking the earth like it owed her money. She shot forward like an arrow creating a machete of pink pure energy. The glass like object was the perfect tool to cut the branches in her path.

    Any vegetation she met would be cut up and left for the colossal wall to swallow hall and disperse into itself.

    Until she finally reached a clearing in the woods. A familiar clearing, one left without vegetation from constant fighting. She burst from the dark shade of the trees into the light...

    <hr>

    Amanda was running as fast as she could. She ran forward with as much speed that her legs allowed her. She glanced back at the fast approaching wall of blue and huffed. "This isn''t enough..." She hissed through her gritted teeth as she turned her attention back to her path.

    Amanda Raised her hand to her chest, a soft glow took over the palm of her hand. A yellow glow that then enveloped her whole body. "Haste." She whispered.

    She blitzed forward at incredible speeds. Her eyes moved faster than her body did to weave around the low hanging branches and dodge the tree trunks in her way.

    Soon enough, she burst into a clearing in which she had been blown away from before in one of her previous fights. Her feet skidded against the vegetation free ground as she came to a stop.

    <hr>

    Evan was already away from the edges of the island, all he had to do was move a little closer until he was in the center. He spotted several figures bursting forward at high speeds.

    All before the blue wall came to a stop behind them.

    <hr>

    Adam was already on his way to the center right after his encounter with Regina. He swiftly made it to the center of the island with no trouble to stop him.

    He stood straight, his daggers in his hands as he glanced around. Doing a quick headcount. There was a total of 56 people who made it if he counted right. "Alright... It shouldn''t be too difficult..." He whispered a smile spreading across his face.

    The zone had completely stopped behind them now. It had encased them in an enclosed area. Probably to quicken the battles between students and end the exam as soon as possible.

    <hr>

    Everyone''s gazes drifted to the blue screen that appeared in front of them. Each having different reactions to the contents of the screen. Surprise, excitement, dread, relief and boredom?

    ping!

    Attention to all examineers present.

    Seeing as the exam had already gone on long enough.

    The school staff had decided to add and extra event with extra opportunities

    to gain points for those who wish to gain a higher placement in classes.

    We wish you luck!

    "What do you think Arron?" Regina raised an eyebrow at the blue screen. She rubbed her chin thoughtfully as she glanced to the side. "Arron?" She turned her full attention to Arron then. The black haired boy seemed to be looking for something, or someone. He was completely absorbed in his search that he didn''t pay attention to the short blonde haired girl next to him.

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    "Arron? Hello? Are you there." She waved a hand in front of his face, attempting to bring attention to herself.

    "Ah! Sorry... I was searching for a friend of mine... I can''t really see her anywhere here." Arron said, a hint of worry creeping into his voice.

    "Friend? Oh, I didn''t take you to have any friends." She crossed her arms raising an eyebrow.

    Arron frowned. "I''m human you know." He grumbled before he continued his search, peering through the ranks of the remaining examineers and possibly his opponents.

    "Let me help you look for her! An ally is always good in these situations. We might face a situation where we would need as many people as possible. What does she looked like?" Regina looked up at Arron in curiosity.

    "Short. But not as short as you. Tanned skin. Curly brown hair. Look for her. I''m worried she got eliminated though..." Arron''s voice quivered a little at the end.

    "Hey, by the way. Everyone seems calm..." Arron glanced around at the examineers. All of them were glancing around wearily, but none were attacking. "Well not calm but, tame." Regina corrected.

    "Obviously because we don''t know what this next event will be. They''re wary." Regina followed up as she surveyed the crowd as well. "You know... The ones who lasted till this point of the exam are the smart ones and strong ones. The lucky ones probably got taken by the zone." She grinned. "And a trait of being smart is not looking for trouble when it doesn''t come looking for you."

    "Ah, so they''re keeping each other at bey?" Arron glanced around. Nobody was making a move that would warrant trouble. They just throwing weary glances at each other, assessing their own situations.

    "Look over there." Regina suddenly jumped up. Arron followed her line of sight and saw a familiar figure. Standing alone and awkwardly looking around. "Is that the one you''re looking for?"

    "Oh yeah! That''s her. Rynia!" He called out for her.

    The brown haired mercenary jumped at the sound of her name. She turned around until she spotted Arron. Her face was surprised at first until a wide smile crossed her face. She ran across the clearing all the while shouting. "I knew you would make it!"

    "Ah, well... I guess I did." Arron flashed an awkward smile. Arron glanced around awkwardly, a little embarrassed about Rynia''s previous shouting. His eyes settled on Rynia "This is Regina. She''s been my teammate for the exam since the beginning." Then he gestured at Regina who was standing with a weird smile on her face. She was just staring at the two, not blinking. Her blood red eyes fixed on the two friends who now brought their attention over to her.

    Rynia could have sworn she saw an almost relieved smile on her face before it swiftly faded. "Ah, nice to meet you. I''m Regina, Regina Domina." She extended a hand towards Rynia with that same wide smile. She felt validated, extremely so. Hehe, as she predicted again. This is the best! It''s exactly as she said it would go!

    Rynia stared at Regina''s hand for a while, a small conflicted look flashing across her face. She turned towards Arron with a worried expression on her face. "Uhm... Are you sure she''s not tricking you. I''m getting a bad feeling from her..." She whispered as she leaned over to Arron.

    "Huh? What are you talking? Regina is like the main reason I''m here. She''s the one who planned our attacks and helped me gain a little over 200 points." Arron furrowed his brows at Rynia''s out of place suspicion. Rynia didn''t strike him as the overly cautious type... So why is she saying this about Regina?

    "Ah, I apologize if I made a bad first impression. People often steer away from me... I don''t really know why." Regina''s smile widened as she retracted her hand. "But I hope that we can cooperate without any problems as we are teammates from now on. Since you are Arron''s friend aren''t you?" Regina smiled.

    You don''t know why people don''t like you? It''s because that stare... It''s so uncanny, it gives me the creep... Is what Rynia wanted to say but she couldn''t do that in front of Arron who was currently teaming up with the girl. Again...What if she can''t help it? Then I''d feel like a douchebag... Rynia sighed inwardly before she flashed her best smile.

    "I''m sorry if I seemed hesitant. Sorry, I tend to trust my gut feeling as a mercenary most of the time. And for some reason I''m not getting the best vibes from you. Though, it''s probably nothing." Rynia smiled and extended her hand forward taking Regina''s in hers. For some reason, Regina seemed to smile at Rynia''s mention of being a mercenary.

    "Gut feeling... I can understand that. I find myself often trusting my own guts." Regina grinned. It''s what got me all the way to this point after all...

    Ping!

    The final event will begin shortly.

    Please do not panic as all the following is part of the exam.

    Your safety is our top priority.

    Loading.......

    Regina''s eyes darkened for a moment, a wide grin spreading across her face as she surveyed the several faces of the examineers slowly changing to curiosity and eagerness to know what the sudden change is and what it is for. Most of them will get eliminated in this event... oooh~~ it''s getting real exciting...

    "What do you think it is Rynia?" Arron turned to his friend, after having dismissed the blue screen.

    "I don''t know. But I hope it isn''t anything hard." She groaned as she rubbed her back. "I got hit pretty badly when I was in a fight earlier..."

    "It''s not gonna be easy." Regina spoke out from the side. The two turned towards her in confusion and curiosity. "What do you mean?" Arron raised an eyebrow expectantly. Waiting for an answer.

    "Well, this event is supposed to be the finale of the entrance exam." Regina gestured around her. "This event is going to be something powerful enough to eliminate most if not all the examineers that made it to the end."

    "You bet it''s going to be something either impossible for us freshmen... Or something extremely difficult with an extremely generous reward at the end." Regina said as she smiled. Rynia looked to be on the verge of breaking down.

    "Oh, I see. Well... I guess I''ll just have to be eliminated then. I''m not confident at all." She stammered in a quivering voice.

    Ping!

    Undergoing finale preparations...... Please wait.

    Every person present was shocked as the area around them suddenly shifted in real time. The zone disappeared, replaced by a normal looking sky. the worn out ground changed into a tiled floor. The tiles seemed to be made of strong material, not easy to break and shatter.

    Pillars erected out of the ground as a countdown appeared over all the present examineers. Their faces contorted in shock and awe at the scene happening in front of them. The final event has started...

    Ping!

    10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1...

    Please prepare for arrival.

    Sending in the juggernaut...

 Chater 15 The juggernaut

    The place was changed. All of it. It was turned into a battle arena. Grey tiles were beneath their feet and pillars were erected at each corner of the rectangular arena. The soon to be students waited with bated breaths. Either terrified or excited to know what this juggernaut is...

    "Wait. Look over there." Rynia jumped up as she pointed at the center of the arena. Blue particles started materializing. From the ground up, slowly taking shape into something else.

    "Oh wooooow~... It can also simulate living beings?" Regina giggled excitedly. Rynia glanced over at her. "There were bugs back in the island. They looked gross but if you killed them they would turn into blue particles." Rynia said.

    "Oh yeah, I knew that but I didn''t know it could simulate life to this scale!" She gestured at the mass of blue particles that was currently increasing in size.

    "Don''t you guys think it''s getting a little too... Big?" Arron said, staring at the form the blue particles are taking. The two girls glanced at him for a second before turning their gazes back to the center. Where the amalgamation of mana and blue particles continued growing.

    "So what? Size isn''t the only thing that matters." Regina grinned as she brandished her dual axes that she looted off of that team they had eliminated. "It should just be big to be scary." She brushed away Arron''s concerns.

    "Wait a minute." Regina narrowed her eyes at the continuesly increasing density of mana in the center. The other two followed her gaze. "What is it?" Asked Arron.

    "..." Regina looked a little paler than usual, her eyes wide open, a nervous smile on her face. "Hey, hey, hey now... they can''t just throw us into a fight with this thing..." Regina spoke as a bead of sweat ran down her chin.

    Rynia and Arron were even more confused than before. "Why? Do you know what it is?" Arron asked, tilting his head to the side as he surveyed the large mass of blue particles. "What could this even be?" Arron narrowed his eyes at the creature. It had the body of a humanoid with hind legs like those of a quadropedal. It had a tail vaguely resembling that of a lizzard but it''s head was... It was that of a rhino...

    "This thing looks weird, this juggernaut thing..." Rynia leaned in as she narrowed her eyes as well.

    Regina took in a deep breath and let it out. "It''s a chimera." She said as she started jumped up and down, stretching her arms and legs. Her hands landed on her dual axes. "Get ready."

    The other examineers also seemed to have pulled out their weapons in preparation for a fight.

    Ping!

    Loading complete.

    proceeding with finale...

    A loud roar reverberated, the sound deafening, stabbing into every ear drum, shaking the whole arena. The beast slammed it''s fist into the ground. The seemingly reinforced tiles just cracked under it''s might as it surveyed the corwd with it''s red evil eyes. "What the hell... It really is a chimera." Rynia''s mouth gaped in awe at the sight of the creature.

    "Wait. Hold on! Why are they seriously throwing us kids at a damn chimera!!!" Rynia cried out in fear as she took a step back. "Obviously because this is the final event. So it has to be something strong that''s out of our league to eliminate all of us... But to also give a chance for a shining star to appear." Regina replied before she threw a side glance at Arron who was too focused on the creature to have noticed their idle chatter.

    "We can''t just stand here and wait for it to eliminate us!" A loud dominating voice resounded, louder than it should have been. Most likely due to magical usage.

    All attention turned to one individual. Golden hair that glistened under the artificial sunlight. He wore the face of a leader. Even if it was quite the charming and soft looking face. His expression told more than his appearance did.

    It was Evan. The emperial prince. He pointed his spear at the beast. "Everyone! I know we may have been opponents earlier. But against a greater threat like this chimera here. We must unite to beat it and share the rewards or perish while fighting each other." His voice was stern and resolute as he spoke.

    His charisma managed to wake some from their trance of shock and surprise. "Come on everyone! Pull yourselves together!"

    "Go! Any and all close range fighters. Do not engage yet! Ranged fighters. Shoot as many powerful attacks as you can at the chimera! We need to see what it can do. Those of you confident enough to keep up with it can engage. But be careful!" Evan barked orders one after another and the examineers present simply followed their prince''s commands.

    Amanda stared at her brother shouting orders. His commands were short swift and simple yet efficient. She gritted her teeth. She had many words to say to him but she simply bit her tongue and released all her anger out with a sigh. She glanced back at the creature which was now heaving, saliva dripping from it''s maw. Weirdly. Even if it had the head of a rhino it still had razor sharp teeth.

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    Amanda took in a deep breath. The monster was terrifying. She unsheathed her rapier despite her initial fears. It should be fine... I''m not fighting it alone. She glanced back at the examineers getting ready to attack. The ones she spotted with bows knocked arrows into them. Some who were holding staffs begun gathering mana. Amanda could feel the thin energy gathering up, making up that fire ball that a mage would throw or encasing arrows to strengthen them.

    She sighed. She counted as a close ranged fighter but she knew some spells that she could throw here and there. Light beam. She thought inwardly as she thrust her rapier forward shooting a golden beam of pure light straight at the giant. "H-huh?" It was utterly unscathed. It''s tough hide protecting it from the volley. It was like throwing water droplets at a rock.

    Evan put a hand on his chin. "What should we do now?" He hummed as he thought. The creature roared loudly and the mere shockwave simply blew away all incoming projectiles. "Does anybody know a really powerful spell?" He shouted as he turned around, his eyes scanning the crowd for any volunteers.

    Arron, hearing this had to bite his lower lip. I can''t use that now... especially when it''s so early in the fight as well. I sould leave it for later. He took in a deep breath and stayed his hand.

    The creature so far hadn''t eliminated anybody, it simply roared and smacked away any incoming projectiles. "Alright everyone! All close ranged fighters, close in and attack it from all sides. If you feel like you can''t handle it. Fall back!" Evan barked his orders once more.

    Nobody even seemed to question his authority. They just followed along, be it because he was the emperial prince or that his had an authorative aura.

    "Alright, it''s our turn now." Arron glanced back at Regina and Rynia. Rynia nodded and was about to follow him to engage the creature but...

    "No." Regina replied. Arron frowned. "What do you mean no? He said we should attack it now!" Arron''s brows furrowed in confusion.

    "So you want to be the first dummy that the monster tests it''s abilities on?" Regina snorted. "Atacking first is for the brave. But also for the fools." Regina shook her head, a mischievous smile on her face. "It''s best to stay back for now."

    Rynia rubbed her chin in thought of what Regina had to say. "You know what? I kinda agree with that. Let''s just stay back for now. We''ll see what the monster can do and then we attack it!" Rynia grinned.

    All of a sudden, everyone''s attention is brought back to the center of the arena by a large roar. One louder than any before. The juggernaut slammed its claws down into the ground and gripped a tile before it picked it back up and swiftly punched it. Sending debris at all the examineers near it. Some managed to escape the blast but others were eliminated.

    The beast''s tail thrashed around at high speeds, eliminating any and all close enough players. "See? We would''ve been like that if we were too hasty." Regina huffed. "It''s kind of greusome for those durable enough to survive the hits but not durabale enough to handle the pain. Look at that guy his jaw''s broken." She pointed out, hissing.

    Arron glanced at where she was staring. "Oh... That looks pretty bad." He nodded, a grim look crossing his face.

    "Everyone! Fall back!" Evan shouted as he fired a few light beams at the creature, which did nothing. He bit his lower lip in frustration. There was just no way for them to come out victorious. They lacked fire power. "Excuse me?" A voice resounded behind Evan.

    The emperial prince turned back to meet firey red blazes for eyes. Though, they emitted a cold aura to them. Her expression, a stark contrast to her looks. Her red hair had a few orange streaks going along it, her skin, milky white like snow. "I know a pretty powerfull spell. But I need time." She said in an even tone as she held up her book. A book with several ingravings on the cover. It had a neat and expensive looking leather cover.

    "How long do you need? And is it really powerful?" Evan furrowed his brows. He knew who this girl was. Firey red hair. Cool demeanor. An expensive looking grimoire. He knew her. It was Anastasia Algrex. A count''s daughter, rumoured to have incredible talent. "I think I only need half a minute at worst." She said in a lower, respectful tone.

    "Okay. Make sure to take your time with conjuring the spell. And aim it well. I will put my trust in you." Evan nodded, releasing a small sigh of relief. "We''ll buy you some time. The juggernaut started moving but we''ll try and hold it down so you can conjure your spell." He took a few steps away.

    "Wait!" Anastasia called out. "My spell is destructive and has a large area of effect... Are you still sure I should use it?" She voiced her concern. Though, her face portrayed a cold and uninterested look on it.

    Evan turned back to meet Anastasia''s gaze. "Use it. It might just be our only hope of defeating this juggernaut." He said throwing her a smile as he turned away and walked forward. Even better.

    Evelyn wasn''t quiet through all this. She conjured daggers and spears to throw at the juggernaut. She was one of the few doing at least a little damage to it. Though, mere scratched probably didn''t count as damage.

    Evan approached the azure haired beauty and took in a deep breath. "Evelyn. I have something I would like to request of you..." He glanced around warily.

    Evelyn looked him up and down, assessing his intentions. "Whatever would you need from me? Your highness?" She asked as she bowed slightly. Her demeanor graceful, emitting a noble aura as usual.

    "I know none of the other players come close to you in close combat..." Evan trailed off as he glanced back at the juggernaut.

    At his words, Evelyn threw a glance at a certain blonde haired girl with bloody red eyes. She was conversing with a black haired boy and a brown haired tanned girl. I''m not sure that''s true anymore.

    "So, I woult like for you to distract the juggernaut long enough for Anastasia Algrex to conjure her spell." He threw a thumb back at the fiery haired girl who was threw fire spells at the juggernaut. Evelyn''s eyes followed his thumb to the girl. "Ah... If it''s her I''m sure this would work." Evelyn nodded. Recalling a certain memory of when she first met the fiery looking yet extremely calm and cold girl.

    "Since you''re so sure... I hope we can cooperate on this..." Evan stepped to the side. "We should go right now. We can''t afford to lose anymore manpower to the juggernaut."

    Evelyn nodded and gave a small bow before quietly walking towards the rampaging beast.

 Chapter 16 Heaven break Jarvirths wrath

    The juggernaut screeched as a pink blade stabbed it through the shoulder. Evelyn''s feet kicked off the giant monster''s back, pulling the blade with her. The wound she had inflicted swiftly disappeared in mere seconds. Evelyn''s eyes narrowed. Doesn''t matter, all I''m tasked with is buying time.

    She ducked under the flying claw of the juggernaut, slashing it''s wrist with a swiftly conjured great sword. She dodged the attack and with a swift hand gesture that was similar to pulling on something, several pink spikes errupted from the ground and stabbed the creature through the chest. This seemed to rile it up even more as it simply let out a deafening roar. The roar shattered the pink spikes.

    Even the small barriers Evelyn set up on her ears cracked from the loud sound. Evelyn encased her fist in pink energy that took the form of a spiky sphere. She punched the creature right in the stomach. The creature didn''t let out a single sound as it simply breathed down at her. Evelyn''s eyes widened and she glanced up at the creature''s mad red eyes.

    It balled it''s fists high up in the sky and slammed down on Evelyn. Evelyn didn''t expect the swift retaliation. It was like she struck a wall of steal. She did have much time to set up a pink barrier.

    The monster''s fists slammed down on the pink barrier. Cracks littered it''s surface, spreading along it until it was about to shatter. A second golden barrier appeared under the pink one, much to Evelyn''s surprise. The monster''s fists shattered the pink barrier and struck the yellow one. The yellow didn''t hold up as well and swiftly shattered. But by the time the monter''s fists hit the ground, Evelyn was long gone. A cloud of dust erupted from he impact of its fist on the ground.

    "Are you okay?" A stern but worried voice resounded right next to Evelyn. The blue haired girl nodded as she conjured a pink battle axe. "Good. I''ll help you out. What was my brother''s plan." It was Amanda. The imperial princess. She threw a glance at Evelyn who''s eyes never left the confused beast which was still blinded by the cloud of dust.

    "His highness instructed me with stalling." Evelyn responded, her voice cool and even. Amanda furrowed her brows. "I might not like my brother but I know he''s smart... I''ll have to trust him on this one." It sort of irked Amanda how well she knew her twin brother.

    "Is your highness going to help me as well?" Evelyn asked, her tone remained respectful and even. Amanda frowned at Evelyn''s way of adressing her. "Evelyn. We''re friends. Stop talking so formally." She huffed. "Just call me Amanda." She unsheathed her rapier and pointed it at the beast.

    "... Yes. Amanda." Evelyn said as she held the war axe she had conjured in both hands. "That''s more like it!" Amanda smiled as she threw a glance at her friend. "And as for your question. Yes, I will help you stall." She grinned.

    A loud roar broke them out of their conversation as the dust cloud around the beast cleared and it resumed it''s rampage once more. Players all around shook in their boots.

    "H-how can those two face such a terrifying beast without fearing for their life?!"

    "I-I think that thing is dangerous..."

    "Th-the princess can handle it... Surely now that she''s working with the duke''s daughter, those two can surely put a dent in it!"

    "But the beast doesn''t even look hurt!"

    The players broke it into a flurry of murmurs. Whispering their concerns and worries. The crowd was unstable. Evan couldn''t let this continue. "Everyone! Please calm down. I want all close ranged fighters to fall back. Any ranged fighter do not shoot unless you''re sure your attack will hit the juggernaut!" Evan barked orders once more. "Do not worry. My sister and the duke''s daughter, lady Evelyn are more than capable of holding the juggernaut off."

    His voice, ever the more reassuring, prompted the whole crowd to let out collective sighs of relief.

    "Yes, I''m sure they got it."

    "Of course they got it! Are you questioning the capabilities of the princess?"

    "Dude, shut up. Arguing is doing nothing right now."

    Over all, the crowd was a lot calmer.

    <hr>

    Regina whistled as she spotted the princess and the duke''s daughter facing off against the creature on their own. Her blood red eyes however, did not miss the prince moving back closer to the edges of the arena. Her lips curled into a sneer as she tapped Arron on the shoulder. "We should move closer to the edges." She pointed her thumb back.

    Arron raised an eyebrow. "Why though?" Arron furrowed his brows.

    Regina stared at him blankly. "I thought by now you would have stopped questioning me." She rolled her eyes. Rynia jumped into their conversation. "What are you talking about?" She asked tilting her head to the side.

    "We should move to the edge of the arena." Regina said once more.

    Rynia furrowed her brows. "Why?" She asked, now even more confused. Regina sighed. "I have a feeling that we should. Just trust me on this one." She rolled her eyes as she turned away and started walking away from the fight between the duke''s daughter, the princess and the beast.

    "I think we should follow her." Arron said as he started walking behind Regina. Rynia nodded. "She''s acting weird. But let''s follow. Doesn''t hurt to listen does it?"

    <hr>

    A loud roar shook the entire arena as the beast slashed it''s claws in the air. Only for Evelyn to simply stab a dagger into its arm and cling on to it, using its own momentum to propel herself into a spinning slash using the pink waraxe she had conjured. The strike landed right on the beast''s neck. but its tough hide managed to stop the blade from cutting further.

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    "Fall back!" Amanda called out as the beast was about to strike her with it''s other claw. Amanda thrust her rapier forward. "Radiant strike." A beam of light shot out of her rapier and struck the beast''s claw, only hindering it for a moment, which was enough time for Evelyn to discard her waraxe and fall back down to her feet. Jumping away from a tail swipe.

    "It''s difficult..." Evelyn admitted as she stood next to Amanda, she heaved, breathing heavily as she wiped sweat off her forehead. Despite her tired state she still managed to keep her graceful and noble aura. The disoriented beast was heaving as well. Though, more from anger and rage rather than tiredness.

    "Let me attack for now. Take a break, Evelyn." She patted her friend on the shoulder and walked towards the beast, fearlessly. Her rapier shined brightly as she swiped it in the air swiftly. "Array." She spoke under her breath as several orbs of light materialized behind her. "Let''s do this then you foul beast!" She lunged forward slashing at the juggernaut''s ankles.

    The beast roared as its tail struck out, swiping through the air. It narrowly missed Amanda who then jumped up and slashed the beast across the chest, vertically. Once she was face to face with the raging beast she thrust her rapier straight at its face. It shined brightly. "Radiant strike." A beam of light shot forward engulfing the beast''s whole head in the bright burning light.

    She kicked off the beast''s collar, landing on her feet a few paces away. The beast''s head was smoking. It wasn''t moving until the smoke cleared. "Unbelievable... I expected something like this... But not even a single scratch from a point blank radiant strike? What is this thing made of?" Amanda''s surprise was clear in her tone.

    "How much longer do we have to stall?" Amanda mumbled under her breath as she glanced back. Beyond Evelyn stood Evan, he was quite the distance away and he seemed to notice Amanda''s gaze. He nodded at her with a smile. Amanda''s expression hardened and she turned back to face the beast. "A little bit longer." She muttered as she pointed her rapier at the beast. It was exhaling steamy breaths of anger.

    "Pillar of light!" She exclaimed as a spell circle appeared above the juggernaut. "Die! You durable weak rhino!" Amanda edxclaimed. Evelyn''s cheeks burned a bright pink from second-hand embarrassment at Amanda''s shout. Her expression remained the same despite the embarrassment clear on her face. It is unbecoming of a noble... Let alone a royal...

    Amanda''s whole body glowed brightly as the spell circle above expanded. She sacrificed some area of range to strengthen her over all power. The spell circle changed in real time and as soon as the juggernaut was about to recover. Amanda unleashed her spell. A pillar of light descended from the sky and struck the juggernaut head on. It fell like a wait on the beast''s shoulders, forcing it onto its knees as it grunted in pain.

    "What kind of..." Amanda''s mouth gaped as the creature started trembling and forcing its way up back onto its feet. It was brute forcing its path through Amanda''s most powerful spell. "Evelyn! Don''t let it gain its strength back!" Amanda yelled as she focused on keeping up the pillar of light.

    Evelyn was already on the task as she rushed at the beast. She conjured a pink dagger and rolled as she slashed the juggernaut''s heel, it was forced back onto its knees but the stubborn beast simply regenerated and forced its way back up. Amanda kept the spell going and Evelyn kept slashing at its body, hindering it''s regeneration and keeping it in place. The beast pushed up at the pillar of light which kept descneding down on it.

    "I can''t keep this up much longer! My mana is running out!" Amanda cried out as droplets of sweat dripped down onto the arena tiles. They were broken and cracked from the juggernaut''s rampage and the constant fights.

    <hr>

    Evan gritted his teeth. His eyes quivering as he watched the juggernaut regenerate and fight off the golden beam of light descending on its shoulders. He bit his lower lip as his eyes landed on Amanda.

    "Anastasia. How much longer?!" He shouted in a tone higher than it should have been. The girl with fiery red and orange hair and beautiful firey eyes, Anastasia, floated in the air. Her body glowing as whisps of flames occasionally danced along her milky white skin. Her eyes were focused on the grimoire''s pages as they flipped at high speeds. Her fiery hair floated up into the air from the overflowing amount of mana gathering around her.

    Evan''s eyes watched on in awe. But he knew it wasn''t time to be awed by Anastasia''s display. "Hurry up! We need to cast the spell now! They can''t keep it held down much longer." He hissed through his teeth. His eyes flicking back occasionally to steal glances at Amanda.

    "Its done!" Anastasia said in a serious and stern voice as she finally looked up after not breaking away from her grimoire for almost 2 minutes. Evan jumped up and shouted. "Amanda! Back away now! Stop your spell and run!" Evan shouted as loud as his lungs could allow him.

    Amanda''s head snapped towards Evan, her eyes wide and cautious. This wasn''t the time to shout a retort so she simply broke her spell. Evelyn''s eyes widened as the spell stopped abruptly. She threw a swift glance at Amanda and saw her sprinting away from the juggernaut who was still recovering from their combined assault. Evelyn threw her pink daggers and broke out into a run as well.

    They ran as fast as they could towards Evan. The fiery haired girl''s hair next to Evan flaired wildly as her eyes fixed on the target. The juggernaut. "[Fire magic: heaven break Jarvirth''s wrath]"

    Everything went quiet for only but a moment. The entire area went into a deep cold silence. Even the beast was silenced by the sudden change in atmosphere.

    Suddenly, atop the beasts''s head out of thin air. A strange shape opened up. It looked like a demonic eye, the pupil, a slit like that of an apex predator. The colour of the eye was a deep orange, like a jewel crafted out of pure fire.

    All players that were in any way shape or form near the juggernaut at that point simply disappeared into blue particles.

    A moment later the beast exploded into into a sphere of pure fire that engulphed the whole radius around the beast. Nothing could be seen on the inside, not even a shadow of the beast. Amanda and Evelyn were launched forward from the blast. Every single examineer that wasn''t eliminated watched on in awe and shock at the spectacle before them. The heat was too great.

    The blast lasted for a few seconds before it diminished, dispersing into the air. The ground had a giant spherical crater.

    But the most shocking part was the monstrous figure in the middle of the crater. It was the juggernaut. Though it was missing a few limbs and a head seemingly. "T-to think its body is still mostly in tact after such a skill..." Arron muttered as he stared down at the giant crater, a bead of sweat rolling down his chin. The blast was so dazling that it stole away any hope of using his own skill on the juggernaut. Was this his competition? Was this what he had to compete with? It got his blood boiling. Excitement surged through his body.

    "What the..." Rynia''s jaw could not close at the moment. She needed Regina''s help to close her mouth. "... Fuck..." She muttered under her breath.

    "That... Was incredible." Evelyn couldn''t help but voice out as well. Though... The caster laid sprawled on the ground, her chest rising and falling eratically as she tried to catch her breath. She was going into mana exhaustion. Such a spell to be used obviously had a drawback. "I... can''t move."

    Amanda only watched in complete shock. There were a few burn marks on her forearm but she couldn''t care less as that spell was too great to simply pass over. "There is no way a student can cast such a spell..."

 Chapter 17 There is just no way...

    Rania watched on from her chair. An impressed look on her face. "Ah, a kid that can use an ultimate art. How dazzling." She chuckled softly. "How is she not selected for the special division?" Rania asked Reinhardt. Reinhardt was in charge of combat training for the royal class and for the A class. But he also had another job that was kept unknown to normal folk.

    "As you can see, the spell has a drawback. She immediately goes into mana exhaustion as soon as she uses it. And... Well compared to the other kids in my division it simply is... lacking." He said, his eyes overlooking the screen with a professional look.

    Rania nodded as she turned back to the screen. "You''re right on that one." She smiled as she looked over the area. Hector smiled, while he knew that those two were right about this being lacking compared to the special division. He was still proud that there was at least someone this powerful in the new recruits.

    The special division was the highest rank class anyone can reach, simply put it was in another league. It had few students but they were extremely anomalous with their abilities and strange effects that they had. Reinhardt, was the instructor of that division.

    Rania chuckled softly, the sound sudden, drawing the attention of the other two. "Is there something funny your ma''am?" Hector asked, raising an eyebrow at her.

    "Oh, sorry. It''s just that they think they won..." Rania spoke, her voice dripping with amusement and mockery. "Look how few remain. She had eliminated her allies as well in an attempt to take down the juggernaut... They''re totally not ready for what''s coming next." Rania couldn''t hold it in anymore. She broke out into laughter.

    Ma''am, if you laugh like that people will misunderstand that you''re plotting something. Hector released a sigh, shaking his head at the principal''s childish behaviour. She was the princess, the king''s twin sister. Yet, she was acting like this. She was already 37 and she was this childish. Reinhardt couldn''t stifle his laughter any longer as well. But he was laughing for different reasons than Rania.

    He was laughing at her childish demeanour. "Hahahahaha!"

    "I knew it was funny to you too as well Reinhardt! You understand! HAHAHAHA!" She continued laughing like a total maniac. Does she want the kids to fail or something. Hector shook his head again.

    Rania''s laughter dissipated into soft giggling until she fully stopped. "Haaa..." She cleared her throat before she focused back on the screen. "Proceed." Rania said, her voice turning bored once more.

    <hr>

    "D-did we really kill it? Is it dead?" A voice resounded from the very few remaining players.

    "W-what do you mean? Of course it''s dead. It doesn''t have a head!" Another responded.

    Evelyn stared at the destruction caused by the spell that was cast by Anastasia. The fiery haired girl was heaving on the ground, breathing heavily. Her condition seemed to deteriorate. However, her state did not take away from Evelyn''s surprise at the level of power this spell had. She continued staring, wide eyed at the display of power.

    I can''t do anything close to this. While Evelyn was a close ranged figher with her ability and all, she couldn''t help but feel jealous at the power of Anastasia''s spell. Her well trained noble demeanour didn''t seem to be able to hold in her jealousy. Her fists shook and her eyes quivered, all before she let out a sigh and swiftly collected herself. Masking her true feelings once more.

    "Evelyn, are you alright?" Amanda asked as she placed a hand on Evelyn''s shoulder. Evelyn shifted her gaze to Amanda''s arm. And there she saw it. A large burn mark on her forearm. Amanda was disregarding her own well being just to check on Evelyn. The blue haired girl turned towards the princess. "You''re hurt." She said as she eyed the burn mark.

    "Ah, don''t worry. It''s just a little scratch. I got caught up in the explosion. By the way you were pretty fast back then... Maybe I should''ve casted haste." Her words turned into a mumble as a contemplative expression crossed her face for a second. She turned her attention back to the matter at hand.

    "Don''t worry though. It doesn''t hurt that much! Besides..." She smiled as she showcased the burn mark and much to Evelyn''s surprise. The burn mark started partially healing.

    Evelyn''s eyes widened as she stared at the extraordinary sight in front of her. Mana healing?! When did she learn something like this? It was safe to say Evelyn was shocked. It was mana healing afterall. An extremely difficult technique to learn. Yet the princess already knew how to use it? Outshined again... Her mind drifted to a certain blonde haired girl that had bested her in close quarters combat. The only thing she was confident in... She was beaten in.

    "Well that is most relieving." Evelyn nodded slowly her expression a stark contrast to how she was truly feeling. Her fists clenched until they turned white. She let out a long breath and composed herself.

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    "Stay alert." Evan spoke up as he walked up to them. "For some reason we are still not being transported back..." He looked over the destruction and nodded slowly. "Even its body isn''t being dispersed like all the other creatures..." He narrowed his eyes at the corpse before glancing back at Anastasia who was currently clutching her chest and coughing her lungs out.

    Anastasia can''t cast that spell again... Infact I think she''ll just get eliminated on her own in a few seconds... How can we deal with this if the monster comes back to life or has a second phase?

    Suddenly, Anastasia erupted into blue particles and disappeared. "looks like the mana exhaustion got too dangerous." Evan furrowed his brows. "Whatever... I should focus on this matter instead." He mumbeled as he glanced around for a few moments. Searching around for anything that looks useful.

    "Does anyone else know a powerful spell?!" Evan shouted once more, drawing everyone''s attention to him. "Of course, it doesn''t have to be as powerful as the one you had just witnessed. Anything really strong would work now." Evan waited for an answer.

    But it never came. He released a long sigh. He had expected this. The remaining players were discouraged with the previous power display from Anastasia. What should I do? He pinched his brows.

    <hr>

    Meanwhile, with Arron and the other two girls. "I don''t think there is anyone that can match this power." Rynia voiced her opinion. "I mean, with so many already eliminated form the blast radius. What are the chances that someone with a strong skill like that remains?" She shrugged her shoulders.

    Regina glanced at her. "You''re right on that. There probably isn''t someone with a powerful skill like that remaining. But we can still hope. That thing probably carries a lot of points for the one that eliminates it." Regina pointed at the corpse of the juggernaut. The corpse was unmoving. But the fact they aren''t teleported out or that they hadn''t received a message for it''s defeat weighed heavy on their minds.

    "By the way. That was pretty cool how you knew about the explosion before it happened." Rynia spoke, her tone carrying a small hint of admiration as she spoke.

    However, Arron was thinking about something else...

    Arron stared at the corpse of the juggernaut. His hands clenched tightly around his sword. I should step in now... He took in a deep breath but he was still nervous. It was a close kept secret after all. If he were to reveal it... This is so I can get into the academy. This is for my family. He exhaled and was about to raise his hand up but another clutched his and brought it back down.

    It was Regina, she met his confused gaze with her eery and strange eyes. Arron could always feel that there was something behind her eyes but he could just not tell what it was...

    "Are you planning to do something?" Regina''s grip tightened on Arron''s wrist causing him to wince, his eyes wide as they drifted down to her hand. It looked small compared to his, but that petiteness hid terrifying strength behind it. Moreover... Arron was confused and a little fearful at Regina''s sudden change in demeanour.

    Arron glanced back to see that Rynia was a little ways away from them. She probably can''t hear what Regina is saying... He bit his lower lip.

    Veins bulged on her hand as she gripped his tightly. "Don''t do anything stupid. The prince only wants what''s good for him. He wouldn''t care to throw away somone like you if you lower yourself to the rank of a pawn." Regina''s face held a serious and dark expression on it. "I''m saying that by showing your hand like this. You''re just offering yourself as an easy tool Arron." She let the words sink in as she let go of his hand.

    "Don''t get the wrong idea. All I''m saying is whatever you''re hiding keep it hidden until it''s the right moment..." Regina gave him one last glance with her blood red eyes before she turned back to chat with Rynia.

    Arron''s eyes bore into her back as she turned. "She wasn''t acting like this when we were together during the exam... Was that all an act?" He muttered under his breath before he let it go with a sigh. "She''s probably right though. The prince''s plan led to so many being eliminated... I can''t really trust him." He nodded as he rubbed his chin.

    He glanced over at the center of the crater and his eyes widened. "What the hell." He rushed over to the edge where the other two were standing. "What is going on?!" He asked hurriedly glancing at Regina and Rynia who were equaly as shocked at the scene unfolding down in the center.

    <hr>

    "The juggernaut... it''s... it''s transforming!" One of the remaining players exclaimed as the corpse of the juggernaut began to shift. It contorted and produced disgusting grey ooze that leaked from its broken and cut limbs. It was replacing its old body parts.

    Its body also changed. It changed from the original large and robust size to a smaller and more manageable and more human looking size. Grey ooze leaked all around it. Spilling onto the ground, sizzling furiously.

    Once the transformation was complete it stood tall in its new form. It was more human looking with a humanoid body, it did keep its grey skin. It had a round head. Its features differed from before where it had a rhino''s head. Now it looked like a disgusting mockery of human appearance. It had a wide smile laden with razor sharp teeth, set in a row to strengthen the structure. Its nose were mere holes in the place of a nose and its eyes were completely white in colour, lacking any pupils at all.

    "I knew it... Its not done yet..." Evan''s lips quivered in frustration. "Damn it... can we even do anything about it now? Did it gain any new abilities? I need to test it out..." Evan''s eyes searched around him for a moment before it landed on a duo. On the left, blonde hair and golden eyes, staring, mouth agape at the sight. On the right, azure hair and dark blue eyes staring at the sight in a... strange calmness.

    That was his solution. "Evelyn. Go fight it... you''re our best close range fighter." Evan said calmly as he walked up to them, he placed a hand on Evelyn''s shoulder. "Do your best..." He offered her a warm smile. Evelyn received his smile without even a crack in her expression. She simply nodded and turned towards the monster.

    She jumped into the crater, sliding against the ground and cushioning her landing with some pink energy. She exhaled heavily as she faced the creature in its new form without any hint of fear in her eyes.

    "I''ll take that thing down..." She muttered under her breath as she resolved herself. The juggernaut, in all its new glory breathed heavily. Turning its completely white eyes towards Evelyn. A deep rumbling sound resounded from its throat, similar to gurgling. It was like it was laughing at its prey''s feable attempt.

 Chapter 18 A whole team for a single beast...

    Each step Evelyn took resounded in the silence. The atmosphere filled with tension. The beast''s disgustingly sounding gurgling stopped abruptly as it stood straighter from its usual hunched over posture. Evelyn''s eyes widened as she saw the true height of the juggernaut''s new form. It was almost 8 feet tall.

    Its lanky and skinny figure was what made it truly terrifying. Its ribcage was visible through its grey skin that was hugging its bones like there was no muscle in between. Yet, Evelyn could tell it was a powerful being.

    She took caution in her steps. A spear materialized in her hands as she walked. The creature slowly and creepily turned to her.

    Then al of a sudden, it disappeared from its previous position. Evelyn''s face paled and her eyes almost bulged out of their sockets. She made a split second decision as a clawed hand appeared right in front of her face. She threw her head back dodging the attack by letting herself fall backwards and then catching herself.

    The creature zipped past her, a gust of wind caused by its sheer speed followed along with it as it skidded against the ground, going past Evelyn before eventually stopping.

    The creature looked completely unbothered as it stood tall. Its lanky arms flailing limply at its sides. If that hit me... I would have died... Even though she knew death was out of the question as they were still inside the arena. But she just could not get that feeling of dread to leave her heart.

    Evelyn Gripped her spear tightly. Pink energy seeped out of her fingertips and onto the pink glass spear, reinforcing it further. She felt she needed to do such a thing for a fight of this caliber.

    However, right when she was about to plan her next move. The juggernaut disappeared once more. It hadn''t been eying her. Instead, it reappeared right at the top where most of the remaining players were. The massacre began right then and there.

    The beast proceeded to eliminate any and all players who were present. Smashing one into the ground turning him in blue particles before moving to two others and slashing them back to the lobby with its sharp claws.

    Evan panicked. This thing is too strong! He took out his spear which was slunk on his back. He swiftly cast a spell. "Array!" Several light orbs appeared behind him and he pointed his spear at the creature. "Radiant strike." A beam of light shot out of the tip and struck the beast on its chest.

    Amanda, seeing her brother attack the beast did the same and unsheathed her rapier. "Radiant strike." She thrust her weapon forward and a beam of light shot out to strike the beast on the back. Searing its grey skin.

    "Mana claws!" An unfamiliar voice resounded as a girl with short brown hair and green emerald eyes proceeded to run straight at the creature. Silver claws materialized on her fists as she swiftly slashed at the creature, moving at incredible speeds that shocked both Evan and Amanda. The girl struck the beast right across the chest. carving an x pattern on its skin.

    Amanda''s eyes widened. This strange unknown girl managed to damage the beast while her radiant strike barely left a burn?

    "Let''s destroy this dumb skinny prick." The strange girl spoke in her soft, high pitched voice. Taking a stance, her hands covered in flaring mana. The energy looked like it was burning, similar to flames.

    "Alright." Evan spoke as he took a few steps back. "What''s your name?" He asked as he stood next to her. His spear held tightly in his hands.

    "Suzan Terras. But you can call me Suzi." She sneered.

    Evan and Amanda''s eyes both widened in shock at the last name. The both of them knew who she was immediately. The strongest man alive... Amanda thought as she stole a glance at Suzi.

    That''s his daughter?! Evan thought the same as his twin sister as they both stared at the new comer. A shocking but great development nonetheless. "Let''s get rid of this thing first." Amanda spoke, her rapier held in front of her. Her other hand behind her back taking on a fencing stance.

    The beast swiftly recovered as it turned around to size up the person who hurt it. The wounds on its chest were gone. "Looks like it kept its high regeneration rate..." Evan muttered as he prepared himself.

    <hr>

    "Should we step in?" Arron narrowed his eyes trying to get a good look at what was going on at the other side of the crater. "They look like they''re in trouble." Arron turned to the two others.

    "I say we should help them out." Rynia raised a hand up.

    Regina shook her head. "That would be stupid. I mean look. They got it handled." Regina pointed at the three figures fighting with the juggernaut in its new form. "See they got it handled." She shrugged, without a single hint of concern in her tone. She was just laying flat on a broken tile, doing absolutely nothing.

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    "From what I''m seeing, they are barely keeping up with that thing. It''s really fast and agile." Rynia said pointing back at it.

    "Dude, do you want to get eliminated?" Regina sat up abruptly, her face carrying a hint of frustration. Her eyes darted between the two of them. "If you do then go help them. See if I care." Regina huffed tiredly as she laid back down. Her head laid on her crossed hands. She looked completely relaxed in such a situation.

    Rynia placed her hands on her waist and narrowed her eyes on Regina. "You''re just not a nice person are you?" She took a few steps forward.

    "I was nice enough to help you two." Regina opened her eyes to glance at Rynia. "If I hadn''t took the two of you to the edge you would''ve been consumed in the blast."

    Rynia furrowed her brows. "That''s not the point. We should help them for all of our sakes. Even yours. If we go and fight with them we might just have a chance. But them fighting it alone with their current power is just not going to work." She spoke, frustration dripping from her tone.

    "Okay, and?" Regina sat up once more. "Go help them on your own." Regina shrugged simply and laid back down. "Why are you trying to drag me with you?"

    "I''m not trying to drag you with me. I''m just telling you that if we work together it''ll be better." Rynia huffed before she turned and started walking until she reached the edge of the elevated ground. "Arron are you coming?" She turned back, throwing a glance at Arron.

    "H-huh? Well..." Arron glanced over at Regina. The blonde girl was just snoring it away now. It was ridiculous. How can she be so calm? He shook his head as he walked towards Rynia. "Yeah. I''m coming." He ran up to Rynia. The tanned girl simply jumped and slid against the curved surface.

    Arron threw one last glance at Regina, remembering her words. It''s best to not use that too early...

    <hr>

    Their situation wasn''t ideal, but so far they were able to hold it off. The juggernaut seemed to increasingly get frustrated. Amanda was able to keep up with it when she cast haste on herself. She would weave and dodge its attacks while also damaging it and creating openings for her allies to land hits.

    Suzi was the main damage dealer. Her fists covered in flaring mana, clashed with the beast''s own claws, sending sparks flying in the air. She ducked under a swing and came flying up with her own uppercut. Her claw grazed the beast in the chest but its sheer sharpness carved a path of blood on the beast''s chest. It had managed to save its face though.

    The beast barely even reacted to the damage it received. It simply gurgled out a strange sound before swiftly slashing down on Suzi. The brown haired girl''s eyes widened as she faced the claw of the beast. With her suspended in the air, there was not a way for her to dodge out of the way. She would received some knockback but she had to block the strike.

    The beast''s eyes gleamed with malice as its wide maw stretching wide into a toothy grin. Does it think I''ll let it win? Suzi''s thoughts raced as an irritated expression etched its way on her face. She crossed her arms infront of her preparing to receive a strike that would have never landed...

    Because from up above a pink ethereal lance struck the beast right in the chest, embedding itself into its body and exploding, knocking the beast back a few steps. The flesh wound healed not too long after.

    Suzi, ever the more surprised, swiftly snapped her head towards the source of the pink weapon. It was a blue haired girl. She stood gracefully, a finger pointed at the beast. A pink aura surrounded, similar to the energy her conjured weapons permeated. "Don''t take your eyes off your enemy." She spoke calmly as she stepped forward.

    Amanda''s lips curled into a smile and Evan simply nodded at the new arrival. The azure haired girl was left behind in the crater by the beast. But she climbed back up and was ready to join the fight once more.

    "You should keep it busy. I''ll pelt it with-" Evelyn froze as a shadow suddenly loomed over her. The beast was right behind her. Its claws already crashing down onto her.

    "NO!!!" Amanda cried out as she rushed forward. But she wasn''t fast enough. Evelyn couldn''t react fast enough. She had underestimated the monster far too much.

    Evan cursed as he attempted to cast a quick spell to stop the beast from slamming its fist down on Evelyn but it was futile. He was slower than the beast.

    Just as the beast''s fist was about to smash Evelyn into pieces, a fist connected with the beast''s wrist, the knockback diverting its claw to the side ground right next to Evelyn. The duke''s daughter was completely frozen in shock. "W-what..." She was still there. She could still feel her skin on her bones.

    "Are you okay?" A soft voice sounded right next to Evelyn. It was her saviour, Rynia greeted with a smile. "Hello, my name is Rynia. And I''m here to help!" She spoke with a wide grin on her face. However she did not have time to chat as the beast had already struck out with another strike. Rynia was in the way of the beast''s claw. However, a pink translucent barrier appeared and stopped its strike right in its tracks.

    "I won''t let you surprise me again." Evelyn mumbled before she placed a hand on the barrier and a myriad of pink ethereal spikes shot out from the barrier, imbedding themselves into the beast''s skin, causing it to gurgle in disatisfaction rather than pain.

    Rynia landed a punch right on the beast''s side, but it did not damage. Rynia looked up at the creature with a cheeky grin. "Why the long face?" She chuckled softly as she ducked under one of its swings before landing another punch right on its chest.

    Shockingly, the spot where Rynia had previously punched on the monster''s side suddenly dented and the creature groaned. Rynia landed a third strike on the creature''s neck taking advantage of its stunned state. The two spots she had punched, the chest and the neck immediately took damage.

    All eyes were on Rynia as she took on the beast head on. She confused it with delayed strikes and well timed dodges and counters. Her ability was clear. It was simple yet effective.

    "Arron! Slash it now!" Rynia called out as she backflipped, distancing herself from the beast. A second figure appeared, this one immediately recognized by Evelyn. It was of course, Arron. The boy who she saw with that blonde haired girl that beat her in close quarters.

    The boy swung down at the at the beast''s back, carving a diagonal wound on its skin. The beast grumbled and merely shook him off. Of course, as usual. The wound healed right after.

    "Great. More help is always appreciated." Evan spoke as he canceled his spell. "You two! If you''re going to help, please don''t hinder our movements. Strike only when you see a chance." He instructed as he walked up beside them. Amanda followed suite.

 Chapter 19 Its all just an exam after all... right...

    "What kind of monster is this?!" All of them had the same thought as they fought the beast. Somehow, it was adapting to their fighting styles, managing to dodge and weave through their attacks that barely even did any damage. Its movements were incredibly weird and hard to predict with how it moved fluidly and flexibally.

    "Wha- Arron! Watch out!" Rynia called out as she jumped and kicked the monster right in the chest, she didn''t bother to use her ability and allowed the hit to land without being delayed. Arron turned around in shock at the monster who had suddenly appeared behind him somehow. "Is this thing playing with us?" Evan clenched his jaw.

    "This is bad... If it''s this strong while holding back... how strong would it become if it really went all out?" Evan furrowed his brows. We need to take advantage of this chance since it is underestimating us... Evan launched his spear at the staggered beast and it stabbed it right through the shoulder. He ran forward as fast as he could.

    "While my sister is faster temporarily using the haste spell, I choose to utilize speed in short burst instead!" Flash step! His body glowed brilliantly before he seemingly moved like a beam of light, appearing up next to his spear, his fingers already tight around it. He utilized the momentum gained from his initial running headstart before activating flash step and kicked the beast right in the face causing it to stagger back, allowing for him to pull his spear out of its shoulder and attempt to stab it right in the face.

    But it was all but a feable attempt. The beast merely tilted its head to the side and dodged Evan''s stab. "Damn it!" He cursed under his breath as he prepared to flash step out of the beast''s range. However, the beast did not attack. Its jaw unhinged grotesquely, the sound of bone cracking resounded as the beast''s jaw opened up to reveal a void like interior. Pitch black and dripping with slimy matter.

    Evan''s eyes widened and nobody was prepared for the beast''s next step. A loud piercing sound resounded. The beast''s screech stunning everyone in their place. Evan clutched his hand on his ears as hard as she could. He had received the worst of it being so close to the creature. He fell down from atop the creature''s chest and fell on the ground still clutching his ears.

    He could feel a hot liquid trickling through his ears as he clutched them, his head ringing, his vision blurring. Muffled sounds resounded around him, he could almost hear his name being called as a shadow loomed over him.

    Amanda ran forward, activating haste and running as fast as her legs allowed her. "Evan!!!" She cried out as she prepared to strike the beast with a radiant strike, but it was too late. The beast''s claw was already slamming down onto Evan. Amanda could feel her heart hammering against her chest and her throat clenching.

    The beast''s claw was uppon Evan, before it could strike him dead. He burst into blue particles, eliminated from the exam.

    Amanda stood, eyes wide for a few moments processing the events. It''s all just an exam after all... Right... She let out a breath of relief that she hadn''t known she had been holding. Her posture visibly relaxed before her face flushed slightly. It''s not like I was worried or anything... She crossed her arms, her cheeks heating up. Lets just hope he didn''t hear or see me do that...

    Suddenly, she heard the beast move and her eyes snapped open. She turned her gaze to the beast in anger.

    "Shit! The blonde guy''s gone, he was giving us instructions... What do we do now?" Suzi cursed, not minding her surroundings at all.

    "Attack it!" Amanda responded, too angry to reprimand Suzi about her cursing. "I would tell you to not curse... But that thing really made me angry. Let''s get that fucker!" She ran forward, her fingers tight around her rapier. "Over here you bastard!" She cried out as she jumped in the air. It was a bold move as the beast was extremely agile.

    The beast simply attempted to swat her out of the air but its claw was met by a pink floating barrier that protected the furious princess. It snapped its gaze to the right where a blue haired girl stood, her hands stretched forward, glowing bright pink.

    The beast swiftly used its other hand to try and strike the princess. However, its claw was stopped temporarily by a seemingly invisible force. Though, what it truly was, is a delayed strike that Rynia had landed. "You better eat this next strike as best you can!" Rynia chuckled softly. But, her chuckling was interrupted with a small pebble that fell on her head. "Ow..." She rubbed her head.

    Amanda was right uppon the beast. Her feet landing against its chest. Her rapier glowed brighter than ever before as she slahsed down with it. Mana coating! Mana cloak! She activated two spells at once. First being the mana coating, it is where you utilize magic energy to coat your weapon with mana to strengthen it and sharpen it. Second, the mana cloak. It is a spell that strengthens the user and the body of the user itself. Enhancing speed, strength and duraility all at once.

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    The beast tilted its head to the side narrowly avoiding Amanda''s blade. However it didn''t avoid it completely. Amanda''s blade met flesh as it tore through he beast''s shoulder, cutting deep into its tough hide. The beast screeched loudly, but now they had expected it and knew to brace themselves for the sudden loud noise.

    The beast, in its fury, reached for Amanda, attemping to pry her off of it. "I won''t allow you for as long as I am present to touch the imperial princess!" Evelyn shouted, her dark blue irises had an an added pink hue to them as she raised both her hands in the air. Several pink ethereal chains burst through the ground and chained the beast''s wrists, holding it in place.

    "Die!" She screamed as she drove her blade deeper. And for the finale! Pillar of light! A large glowing spell circle appeared up above the two of them. The beast screeched loudly, struggling against the ethereal chains, trying to break them with all its might. Evelyn did not let up. her entire focus was on keeping the beast at bey while Amanda focused on her spell.

    The spell circle spun around as Amanda gritted her teeth. She was actively changing variables in the spell. Decreasing its area of effect as much as possible and increasing its pure damage and piercing power. It cost her as much mana as she had left to do that simple task. But the next attack would surely end the beast... Right?

    Arron watched on in awe. His mouth hung open and his fingers wrapped around his blade. He stared on in admiration at the princess and the sheer power and mana emanating from the spell circle.

    Amanda grinned. The spell was finally complete... "See you in hell!" She met the beast''s gaze and genuine fear seemed to flash across the beast''s eyes. Amanda had sacrificed a major variable of her spell to pour all of its funcionality into pure power and damage. That essential variable being the inability to damage the user. Normally when Amanda used the spell, even if she was struck head on with it. She would not face a single scratch. But now, she had sacrificed that variable...

    The spell circle shined brightly, looking like a star among the myriad of stars in the artifical sky. A beam of light shot down from the heavens, crashing down on both Amanda and the beast. The beam was only large enough to cover Amanda and the beast as a whole.

    Evelyn''s eyes widened as her chains broke off. The sudden and unexpected disconnection to her conjured chains causing her to stagger forward. She had used up a ton of her energy and mana to strengthen the chains and hold off the beast from reaching Amanda.

    The pillar of light continued lighting up the area. Both Amanda and the beast screamed in pain. However Amanda''s screams were soon cut short as she burst into blue particles. The pillar of light however, contiued descending on the beast even as its caster disappeared. The beast screeched loudly, its screams muffled by the sound of the earth breaking under the sheer force of the pillar. The ground cracked, spiderweb like patterns extending from the ground around the beast.

    The beast''s form was visible through the pillar of light. It thrashed around, screeching in pain as its skin was burned to a crisp. "Did she do it...?" Arron muttered as he stared at the sight. Soon the pillar of light dimmed in brightness and slowly started flickering. Until eventually, it disappeared.

    What was left in its position was the beast''s burned body. Its grey skin was turned charcoal black by the spell. Its body was limp, unmoving as it laid on the ground.

    "Did she actually do it?!" Suzi exclaimed as she took a few steps towards the beast''s body. "You fucker! Haha! Get fucked!" She spat down at the beast''s corpse. She turned back to glance at the remaining examineers. Which included, Arron, Rynia, Evelyn and herself. "We did it guys!"

    "Get back! You shouldn''t be so close to its body!" Evelyn shouted, despite it being ungraceful of her, the situation did not call for grace. Suzi furrowed her brows, frowning at Evelyn. "Why should I? It''s dead." She pointed a thumb back at the corpse behind her.

    "Yeah, I agree you should get back. We don''t know if it''ll get up-" Arron was interrupted in his speech as his eyes widened. He ran forward, blade in hand but he was too late. "GET BACK!" He exclaimed.

    Suzi''s frown deepened. "Wha-" As she turned, she faced a charcoal black claw mere inches from her face. Soon she burst into blue particles. Eliminated from the exam.

    Rynia''s jaw dropped. "It''s still alive?!"

    Suzi burst into blue particles as a charcoal black claw went through the particles. The beast slowly rose off the ground. A soft groaning sound resounding from deep within its throat.

    "Oh no..." Arron''s eyes widened as he stared up at the tall beast.

    Evelyn raised her hands, pointing a finger at the beast. She attempted to conjure a dagger. The ethereal pink energy collected up in the air. However, her eyes widened and she flinched as the energy turned into pink lightning and zapped her finger. "Ah!" She yelped as she drew her finger back. Mana exhaustion... One of the first signs of mana exhaustion was receiving backlash when attempting to cast a spell or utilize mana in any way.

    She gritted her teeth, but she didn''t have much time to think as the beast blurred through her vision and appeared right in front fo her. "A-"

    She burst into blue particles as the beast slammed its claw down on her. Its palm struck the ground, shattering the grey tiles.

    Rynia was next. The beast disappeared and reappeared right in front fo Rynia, the brown haired girl''s eyes widened and she clenched her jaw. The beast''s claw blurred in the air as it struck at Rynia. However, she met the strike no problem with a well timed punch and dodge. She used this opportunity to strike the beast''s other claw. Now she had both claws marked. She grinned.

    The beast swiftly struck out with its left claw. Rynia grinned as she activated the delayed strike on that claw. She immediately struck out towards its chest, confident that the beast''s strike would have been stopped by the delayed force of her strike. But she was wrong...

    The delayed hit was activated but the beast simply overpowered the delayed force. It swept through to strike at her. Rynia swiftly burst into blue particles right after that.

    The beast snapped its gaze to the only person left. Its charcoal like skin giving it a new terrifying look. Arron met the monster''s gaze, his hand quivering slightly as he gripped the sword as hard as he could. I will have to use it... But I don''t have time... I need time!

 Chapter 20 blink slash...

    Arron was ready for the monster to strike him at any moment. The beast growled as it lunged forward. Striking at... The ground?

    The beast strangely lashed at the ground far from Arron and slammed its fist down on the tiled floor, breaking and sending spiderweb like cracks through it. It roared as it continued rampaging. Slamming and punching the ground.

    "What the..." Arron stared at the strange sight in complete shock. "What is it doing?" Arron furrowed his brows and took a few steps back, wary of its strange behaviour.

    "Yo~ Hero! Looks like you needed me after all." A soft chuckle reverberated behind Arron. He snapped towards the source of the familiar voice and his eyes widened.

    "Regina? I thought you didn''t want to help." Arron frowned as he met her blood red eyes with his own midnight blues. She laid atop a large toppled over pillar, her cheek resting gently against the palm of her hand.

    "What? Is it a crime to help out nowadays." Regina giggled softly. "I just saw you all struggling to take on this thing and I decided to help. But it really looks like I was late." Her eyes roamed around the area, in search of something before settling back on Arron. "You''re the only one left~" She grinned widely.

    Arron sighed. "Yeah. You''re late by a lot. It already eliminated all the others..." He huffed as he rolled his eyes. His gaze drifted back to the rampaging beast. Still lashing out at the poor ground. "Also..." He glanced back up at Regina''s relaxed figure.

    "Ah, don''t worry. I''m just showing it the image of the person who turned it into grilled meat." Regina seemed to inspect her nails boredly as she spoke. Arron furrowed his brows. "You''re showing it the image of the princess?" Arron raised an eyebrow, wondering how Regina''s magic or ability exactly worked.

    "Yeah, that one. You should hurry to back up a little." Regina turned her gaze up towards him and it seemed an out of character seriousness crossed her face. She jumped off the large pillar and landed on the ground gently. She stretched her arms and legs, releasing a gentle sigh of contentment as she stood tall. She barely even reached Arron''s shoulders in height.

    "Huh? Why?" Arron furrowed his brows.

    "Well, its going to break out of my illusion soon enough." Regina said as she took a few steps forward. She reached a hand behind her back and pulled out a war hammer from her back that Arron didn''t even notice before hand with her.

    "No, that''s not what I mean." Arron shook his head, holding up a hand. "Why do you think I''m going to retreat?" Arron met her gaze, determination flashing across his face.

    Regina seemed to be taken aback by his words. "... I''m sure you have something up your sleave that you couldn''t do before with so many people that might get in the way right?" Regina gave him a confident grin. "I''m saying I want to create an opportunity for you to use whatever it is you''re hiding."

    Arron''s face changed to understanding. "I see... Well... I''m going to need a lot of time and for it to stay put in one place for me to use it. Are you confident you can restrain that thing enough for me to hit it?" He asked, his eyes roaming over Regina''s face, searching for any hint of doubt. But he found only confidence.

    "Confident as a frog in its jump." She beamed as she slung the hammer on her shoulder. It looked quite commical the size of the hammer and the way Regina, seemingly, effortlessly hefted it up.

    Arron released a breath as a small smile crossed his face. "Alright then." He turned back towards the beast which was still rampaging around the ground. "Let''s kill this thing..." His expression shifted to serious in mere moments as he surveyed his surroundings.

    "Get it to stay in one spot for about a minute... I should really work on the time requirement for this skill huh?" He placed a hand on his chin before he shook it and nodded. "Keep it in place. I''ll try to do this as fast as I can."

    Regina merely gave him a nod with a wide grin on her face. She turned towards the beast. "So you''re the one everyone is all worked up with?" The monster paused its rampaging, shaking its head vigorously as its vision cleared. It was finally out of the illusion. It slowly turned its head towards Regina, the sound of its neck''s bones cracking resounded as it met Regina''s gaze with its own mad stare.

    "Eh~ You''re such an empty headed angry monster aren''t you?" She chuckled softly as she tapped the war hammer''s butt end of the handle. "I''ll smash your head in if you keep looking at me like that." Her tone took on a dangerous glint as she tilted her head and started towards the creature.

    The beast, confused and angry opened its maw wide open and hunched its back before releasing a shrill shriek that shook the whole area. It is defnitely enhanced with magic... Regina grinned. However much the creature screamed and screeched. Regina was simply unbothered, her hair dancing around, pushed around by the shockwave of its screams.

    "Is that supposed to scare me?" She lunged forward at the beast, swinging the hammer upwards in an arc. The hammer met the creature''s lower jaw. An audible crack resounded and Arron flinched from the sudden grotesque sound before he nodded. She can definitely handle it. Arron thought as he prepared himself.

    He took in a deep breath and drew his sword back, his sword held low, its tip a few centimeters above the ground. He placed his hand over the sword''s blade with his fingers wrapped tight around the sword handle.

    He exhaled slowly and began taking in slow deep breaths. His body started glowing a silver white colour. His mana flared as he began charging up mana.

    The beast was knocked back by the strong strike. It was strange. Its screeches used to stun anyone around it, so why is Regina not affected? Simple really, I am immune to mind attacks of this calibar! Regina cackled as she struck the beast with her hammer over and over, taking advantage of its stunned state. "Die! Die! Die!" The beast received several strikes to the cranium, yet its tough bones were yet to be cracked.

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    It had enough. It unhinged its jaw and roared loudly once more. Its scream was cut off shortly after by a hammer to the face. "Shut up~ would you?" Regina spoke in a condescending tone as she slammed her hammer down on the beast''s chest.

    It whimpered in a gurgling voice, which just sounded disgusting to Regina''s ears. "Freak." She spat as she prepared to slam her hammer down on it once more. However, a moment later the beast disappeared and reappeared behind her. Her hammer met nothing as she struggled to pull back due to its size. "W-wha-" She snapped her head back to stare at the beast which already had its claw upon her. A fearful look crossed her face and she swiftly discarded the hammer to pull back and dodge its claw.

    She gritted her teeth as she pulled out a combat knife from her waist to slam it down on the beast''s hand, successfully pinning its claw down to the ground. She took advantage of her position and swiftly picked her hammer back up and spun around to deliver a devastating strike to the beast''s face, utlizing both the spinning start up and her momentum to deliver as much damage as possible in one strike.

    The beast flew back, the combat knife cutting through its skin. It carved a straight line through its palm from the center of its claw all the way to between its middle and index finger as it was thrown away. The beast recovered, grabbing onto the ground with its clawed feet, managing to uncannily bring its upper body back up to glare at Regina. Its cut up claw healing a second after.

    "You bastard! You almost had me didn''t you?" Regina chuckled. Though, there was a barely noticeable tremble to her voice. "I won''t hold back anymore. Now you''ve really done it!"

    The beast roared loudly as it swiped a claw at her. Its claw blurring, cutting through the air before it reached her. However, strangely, it went straight through her, doing absolutely no damage. "Idiot." She chuckled as she came from up above the beast, landing a spinning slam with the hammer on the creature''s head.

    The creature had reached its breaking point, having been burned, cut up, broken, shattered and hurt in so many ways. Its rage had reached a boiling point. It slammed its claws down, shattering the already broken floor even further. It started throwing hits around at anything that moves or breaths. Eventually it had spotted Arron''s glowing form.

    Arron was too focused on his internal energy that he didn''t notice the beast''s death stare. The creature roared loudly and started running towards Arron. Each of its steps sending spiderweb like cracks through the tiled floor.

    Suddenly, a hammer intercepted the creature, crashing into its side. The creature took the hit head on and threw a swift counter that was dodged by Regina. She pulled away enough to narrowly dodge its swipe. "I can''t let you do that buddy." She hissed through her gritted teeth as she ducked under another swipe. The beast kicked Regina away, but it was blocked by a combat knife.

    Regina grinned and glanced up only to find the beast already upon her throwing down a powerful strike. Regina barely blocked that attack. She had no window to dodge. This was the opening the beast used to throw a flurry of strikes, so fast that Regina simply could do nothing but block the entire time. Her teeth gritted as she forced the hammer into place, blocking each of the strikes of the beast.

    They were swift and powerful. Its fast! She grunted as another upward swipe sent her hovering slightly in the air. Regina brought the hammer to her right side, expecting a swipe. Which came right after, but what she didn''t expect was...

    The hammer suffered damage, cracks litered its surface at the beast''s enraged fury. "Shi-" The hammer head shattered into pieces as the beast''s claw passed right through it and struck Regina right in the face. The blonde haired girl was sent flying through the air. Crashing onto the ground, rolling and bumping against debris until she crashed into a fallen pillar.

    The beast turned its attention towards Arron. The boy was glowing more than he ever did before. He looked like a much needed light, illuminating the entire arena with his energy. The beast roared loudly as it charged towards Arron. It slammed punched any obstacles in its way, successfully shattering the rocks in its way.

    Arron continued intensifying in intensity. But, anyone looking could tell at a glance that it wasn''t done quite yet. Just as the beast reached a few meteres from Arron, it prepared to launch itself at him.

    However, right before it could do that, a metal end crashed into its cranium. "Ah... I feel like my head''s gonna burst. You gave me one hell of a headache..." Regina whispered as she stood atop the beast''s shoulders, a staff held tight in her grip, warm blood trickling down her head. She winced slightly as she clutched the side of her head, wobbling on her feet slightly. She almost lost her footing but she managed to catch herself at the last second.

    A wide manic grin on her face, her blood red eyes accentuated by her bloody state. The blood on her head, serving as nothing more than a way for her to look more terrifying.

    She swiftly jumped off the beast''s head and yelled at Arron. "You better do it quick, or when we get out of this... I''ll smash your face in with this metal stick you understand?!" She yelled, her words coming out slurred. "Die! Die!" She started slamming the metal staff in her hand against the beast''s cranium until the beast rose, causing her to lose her footing and fall down to the ground.

    "Ah... Fuck... I underestimated the piece of shit. I didn''t think it would break that hammer... It just looked so sturdy. Can you blame me?" Regina sputtered out as she laid on the floor. She tilted her head up slightly, causing her scalp to scrape against the ground slightly. She winced but she grinned nonetheless as she got an upsidedown look on Arron''s figure. He looked like a silhouette in the center of a glowing orb of energy.

    The beast roared as it prepared to slam its claws down on Regina. Arron''s eyes snapped open. He tightened his grip on his sword before...

    <hr>

    Rania leaned forward in her chair. Her mouth hung open as she waited with baited breath. Just as Arron made his move. The screen seemed to split in two and the screen went into static.

    Rania''s expression soured, turning into a scowl in mere moments. "WHY IS IT OFF!!!!!!" She screamed as she pulled on her hair. Just when it got to the exciting part...

    <hr>

    Arron exhaled heavily, "[Blink slash]" He muttered, his eyes taking on a silver hue as he slashed horizontally. For a moment nothing seemed to happen as the energy around him simply dispersed. For a long silent moment, nothing could be heard except for his laboured breathing.

    The whole area was suddenly washed over by a raging hurricane. The entire area was destroyed by the sudden hurricane. The beast''s body simply froze for a moment at first before the top half of it simply slid off the lower half and toppled over to the ground. A soft thud resounded in the silence. The beast soon after, burst into a myriad of blue squared particles.

    "Ah... I won..." Arron''s exhausted form toppled over as well. The soft thud resounding through the whole area as he fell unconscious.

    ping!

    Congrats on defeating the juggernaut!

    for the dealing the final blow you are given:

    +500 points

    Arron''s chest, rose and fell rhythmically. His breathing steady and shallow. The exam was over.

 Chapter 21 Where is this...?

    Arron, had taken the first step towards success. He beat the juggernaut, now he was for sure going to get into the royal class wasn''t he?

    The problem was... that he was unconscious. And that he was in a black, completely empty void like space with nothing to be seen in the horizon if there was one...

    He kept staring up into the black void. He knew for a fact that he was lying down, but he couldn''t move, talk or feel anything for the matter. He could only stare at black nothingness.

    Where... is this...? His thoughts were hazy. They felt like they bounced around the void only to come back to him stronger.

    Suddenly, the first change in what felt like eternity finally occured. The black void was slowly being taken over by a white expanse. It was slowly seeping into the black void, turning it into a white void instead. As the white void continued expanding into his vision. He could do nothing but continue staring off into the white void. Its empty weather its white or black...

    And a pleasent change occured. A tear that looked almost like a tear through a fabric started opening up in the white void. Through this tear, Arron could faintly spot something. Recognizing what it was... it was a scene.

    It was a scene of pure autumn leaves, falling on the ground. There was a pile of the autumn leaves already gathered on the ground. His point of view slowly panned, zooming away from the pile of leaves and he could spot another thing... Or someone.

    He saw a girl. It was a beautiful girl. It felt unfair to only describe her as beautiful. Her orange tangerine coloured hair, fitting well with the autumn leaves like it was one and the same. Like the hair strands believed they were one with the leaves. Perfect pointy small nose, parted rosy pink lips, soft cheeks with a small natural blush to them.

    But what truly cuaght his attention, was the outfit of the girl. She had on a complete suit with a bowtie, neatly tied around her neck. Her hands, which were interlocked on her chest like she was in a deep slumber, had around them white fabric. They were white gloves. That was all he could see of her. Her upper body was the only visible part. Though, another thing he noticed was the round and long item placed neatly on the autumn leaves pile, right next to the girl''s petite round head.

    He stared at her for what felt like days, and he did not get tired of it. Her looks were almost... divine...

    Arron did not realize that he wasn''t looking at a once in a centurie''s skilled artist''s lifework... But at a live scene. A fallen autumn leaf fell to join its siblings, and several followed, falling all around the beauty. One daring little leaf slowly swayed in the wind before falling on the girl''s nose. Swiftly getting carried by the winds right after.

    Arron''s breath hitched as the girl stirred in her sleep. Slowly, her heavenly looking eyelashes fluttered open and she opened her eyes. What greeted Arron was the sight of amber jewels. Those jewels should be a national treasure... No... A continental treasure.

    But, Arron, instead of being fascinated by their pure beauty, was instead terrified to his core. A deep malicious feeling of dread settled in the pit of his stomach. He knew not why, but he did not think for once it was because of the eyes of the girl in front of him. Only an instance had passed since the girl opened her eyelids and Arron felt like he was stuck under a deep ocean.

    <hr>

    Arron jumped up, shouting in pure fear and terror. He gasped for air as cold sweat collected on his forehead. His clothes already damp in sweat he turned around, assessing the area around him. He was in a room... A fancy one. A birch, well sawed and put together bedside table next to the bed he was laying on.

    His eyes darted around the room. The light was turned off. But, he could still see the painted fancy walls and the decorated ceiling. The room was decorated at every corner he turned his eyes to. He could stare at it for longer if not for the feeling of dread that could still be felt...

    "What... Did I have a nightmare?" He placed a hand on his forehead, the gears in his head turned, he tried his hardest to recall what made him so terrified. But to his utter dismay he could not. "Ugh... I feel like I''ve been trapped in a desert for an eternity..." He rubbed his temple, a feable attempt to ease the headache.

    "What the hell did I see that made me so terrified? What could it have been?" He repeated the questions in his head over and over as he stood up from the bed to go grab himself a cold glass of water. He did not care to think of his unfamiliar surroundings, or how he ended up there.

    He opened the door to the room and the blinding light of the living space stunned him for a moment. His eyes adjusted to the light as he shielded them from its stinging rays. "... Why is it so bright?" He huffed as he stepped out of the room now that he could see.

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    He immediately froze. It was a whole living room. Fit with a leather couch and fur carpets. He could see the magically empowered chandelier hanging up in the ceiling swaying gently from the breeze of the magical air conditioning. "W-what is this place?" He couldn''t help but ask aloud.

    After searching the area with his eyes for a while, his dark blue irises settled on the top of the table. There was a white envelope with a red stamp atop it. He walked up to the table, reaching for the envelope. He unravelled it, taking out the letter within.

    His eyes scanned the letter''s contents. Unlike other kingdoms. The stellar empire''s commoners were educated on how to read early on to not stunt the empire''s growth. So he could read just fine.

    His expression slowly turned into shock and excitement both at once. His eyes turned into saucers as he swiftly dashed to the kitchen.

    He was currently in the royal class''s dorm rooms. "No way... These students live like kings!" He swiftly turned on the magical faucet, water flowed out in a steady stream. His eyes widened even more. "Holy crap! Working water system... That means they also get showers? Baths? What the hell! And wait... Me being here... Doesn''t that mean I made it into royal class?!" He couldn''t help but shriek in excitement. "I did it! Guys I did it!" He shouted and jumped, as if his words would reach his family if he shouted loud enough.

    "This is so awesome..." He took a glass and swiftly filled it up with water from the faucet. He brought it to his lips and swiftly downed it in one gulp. The water tasting sweet on his dried out tongue. "Ahhhh~ Nothing like cold water..."

    Suddenly, he remembered a certain detail that was mentioned in the letter. He rushed towards the room he had exited, entering it once more. He swiftly opened the closet and sure enough, there it was. "A suit... Just for me?" Arron glanced around the closet, and sure enough, there were many clothes in there, from casual, all the way to formal clothing. The wardrobe included three sets of school uniforms as well.

    "Oh yeah... there was also something mentioned in the letter about a..." Arron pulled out the letter and read it once more. This time, taking his time with the reading before he nodded. "Yeah. A welcome ceremony. And from what''s mentioned in the letter. There should be food..." At the thought of food his mouth began to water.

    "It just sounds like a party rather than a welcome ceremony..." Arron rubbed his chin and nodded. "There''ll be food, there''ll be drinks and formal clothing is recommended. It was also stated that a music band would be involved or something..." Arron furrowed his brows.

    "What''s a music band?" Arron tilted his head to the side in confusion.

    <hr>

    Arron sat, cross legged on top of the leather cushions. He needed somewhere to sit and he really wanted to try these cushions. They were the softest material he''d ever felt in his life. "Hmmm... Should I go? Should I not go?" Arron pretended to ponder as he swayed from side to side. The answer was obvious since the beginning. "I think I''m gonna go..." He spoke slowly. He definitely wanted to go for the food and he was also slightly curious about what a music band was...

    "Let''s not get too worked up over this... I''m just gonna wear my suit and I''ll go..." The date of the ceremony was the next day. Apparently he had slept for a whole day which was surprising. Understandibally, he was starving when he got up. Thankfully there was this magic tech in the kitchen called a ''fridge'' that could store food inside of it. When Arron opened it, he found it packed to the brim with food. He took what he needed to eat and left the rest inside the fridge.

    Nevertheless, he had eated and the next day. He was going to eat a lot more. He beamed at that simple thought.

    "Oh yeah... Am I gonna see any of the others over there?" Arron tilted his head to the side. He pondered on weather he would see Amanda over there. He wanted to tell her how cool she looked sacrificing herself to deal so much damage to the beast. "I really want to see that spell again..." His eyes shined like stars, excited at the prospect of new experiences and sights.

    "Oh yeah, there was also that rude little girl with the brown hair... Come to think of it... Wasn''t she actually pretty strong?" Arron tilted his head, recalling how that girl took on the beast on her own, managing to block and strike back with equal force. "She''s a lot stronger than she looks for her size." He nodded.

    "Oh yeah... What about that green haired guy? That guy Regina was gonna fight with. He ran away. Did he get swept away when the zone started closing?" Arron furrowed his brows. "Probably not... He looked like the fast on his feet type. Of course he was talking about Adam.

    "Hmmm... What about that blue haired one. She''s always stoic and serious. But she''s a serious fighter. I think her name was Evelyn?" Arron stared up at the ceiling. "She''s pretty strong. She fought with Regina head on and even managed to escape despite having been cornered by Regina." Arron nodded before a small uneasy feeling settled in his core.

    "Speaking of Regina... She did use a couple underhanded tactics to win. She used illusions to confuse the enemies... But who am I to judge her? That''s her own ability. I can''t judge someone based on how they fight." Arron nodded, but the uneasy feeling was still there. "That''s not the only thing weird about her... She has that weird stare to her eyes." Arron shivered, recalling the blonde haired girl''s stare. Her blood red eyes did not help with making her look less intimidating. "Despite her looks she''s terrifying..."

    "But... She did help me land the final blow. I think she also got eliminated because she looked like she was bleeding through the head pretty badly... Hopefully the arena is good enough to fix head injuries..." Arron''s expression changed to that of concern. He brushed aside the uneasy feeling and focused back on the matter at hand.

    "I should go back to bed... Tomorrow is the welcome ceremony." He nodded as he stood up, feeling a little dejected at having to part with the soft cushions of the leather couch. He clenched his fist, resolving himself. "Yes. Tomorrow, I''ll wake up bright and early..." Arron nodded resolutely with a confident smile on his face.

    He had utterly forgotten about his state when he first woke up. No longer did he remember what he had seen when he was asleep.

 Chapter 22 Welcome ceremony!

    It was time... It was the evening of the next day. Arron felt his heart thrumming in his chest. Excited to attend such an extravagant event. He reached into his wardrobe and took out a suit.

    He laid it down on the bed. He looked over the black suit with the neck tie. It looked expensive, more expensive than anything he''s ever seen. He smiled widely. "I''m gonna be wearing that soon..."

    <hr>

    Arron took in a deep breath and tightened his tie as best he could. He didn''t know how to actually tie a tie. He asked a dorms employee to help him. It was quite embarrassing at first. but aparently they often got asked to do menial odd jobs for the young masters that were admited into the dorms.

    The dorms were at the highest floor fo the extremely tall dorms building. The dorm''s levels were divided into all the ranks of the different classes. F class was at the very bottom while Royal class was at the very top.

    He was now standing in front of a large double door. This was a large hall that the academy often used to host parties and special events. He was also guided here by that same employee. He was quite grateful to him.

    "Let''s go in-" Arron was about to take a step inside. But someone suddenly bumped into him. "Move." A boy with dark red hair, like that of ruby, spoke up in an cold voice. He shoved Arron aside as he stepped forward.

    Arron stumbled slightly by the rough push and he narrowed his eyes at the boy, furrowing his brows in both confusion and irritation. "What is he so rude?" He muttered under his breath.

    The red haired boy snapped his gaze back at Arron, glaring at him. He was also wearing a suit similar to Arron''s but with a red tie instead. Arron could see the boy''s yellow, hawk like eyes. He was shook for a moment.

    The boy simply huffed and walked inside.

    Arron, ever-more confused, rubbed his shoulder. "What the hell was that...?" Arron mumbled under his breath. He shook his head. "Whatever, not worth dwelling over." Arron pushed aside his feelings of irritation and walked inside.

    As soon as he laid his eyes on the interior. He immediately forgot about the ordeal. He was met by the spacious and luxurious looking hall. He couldn''t help but let his lower jaw fall. His mouth gaped in awe and excitement. Tables all around carried all sorts of food and refreshments. His mouth watered at the sight of so much food, prepared in all sorts of way with all sorts of ingredients.

    He rushed towards a table, laden with foods and drinks. He reached for a nice looking bite of food. He picked it up and brought it to his mouth before taking a bite. "Mmm~" He hummed in satisfaction as the flavours exploded in his mouth. This is the best thing I''ve ever eaten. A wide smile crossed his face as he chewed. No offense to Erica''s stew... That has its own hearty taste to it. Arron nodded as he swallowed the tasty bite of food.

    "Wow... is that really how commoners behave? Disgusting..."

    Arron''s ears perked up as he heard a snarcky comment from the side. He slowly turned towards the source of the voice. As soon as he saw her, she immediately turned around, pretending as if they hadn''t just said that. I''m sure it was her why-

    His trail of thought was interrupted by another snarky comment. "Look at him... Trying to act like a noble, wearing clothes provided by the academy. Doesn''t he know it''s rude to use the stuff the academy gave?"

    Arron turned around again and finally realized he had been garnering attention this whole time. All eyes were on him and he felt a dreadful feeling crawling up his throat.

    It was? I didn''t know- He didn''t finish his thoughts as another comment came from another individual.

    "How can he come here, walk through that door so confidentally, and think its okey to mingle with us nobles?"

    "He''s probably an F class student."

    "Is there any class lower to place him in?"

    "Hahaha! That''s so mean..."

    Arron''s eyes drifted down to the ground. He felt... shame. He couldn''t bring himself to turn around or... make any move at all. He was frozen in place. He felt the condescending gazes of the nobles around him. Disgust, disinterest, anger, jealousy and even straight up hatred.

    "Hey~ These taste pretty good~" Suddenly, a bubbly voice pierced through the murmurs being thrown around him. All the murmurs stopped and the gazes turned away. Its as if the mere presence of Amanda dissuaded any other noble from acting up while she was in sight. The nobles simply did not want trouble with the princess of their empire...

    He glanced up and like a ray of hope he saw... Amanda. She stood opposite him chewing on the same bites he was eating earlier. "Oh! Hey! Aren''t you that Arron guy that helped us near the end of the exam?" Amanda beamed, her smile radiating warmth.

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    "A-ah yes. I am." Arron couldn''t help but smile as well. Amanda wore a white dazzling dress that sprinkled under the magical chandeliers. "You looked pretty awesome too. I guess." He glanced to the side. Avoiding her gaze. "The way you screamed when you cast that spell. It was super cool!" His voice rose in pitches, excitement overtaking apprehension. He had already forgotten about the condescending looks he had gotten.

    "Ah..." Amanda''s cheeks turned pink in colour. She touched her cheeks, feeling embarrassment creeping in. "Sorry I showed you such a scene..." She avoided his eyes.

    "You don''t have to be embarrassed! It looked so cool! Especially that spell. Can you show it to me later perhaps?" Arron smiled excitedly.

    "Sure I can!" Amanda grinned as she placed her hands on her hips. "By the way, you''re a commoner right?" Amanda tilted her head to the side in curiosity.

    "Well... Yeah. People are probably not gonna like a commoner in the royal class..." Arron avoided her gaze, feeling self-conscious of his commoner roots.

    Amanda scoffed, "Don''t feel bad. I''m just curious. It''s actually really awesome that a commoner made it to the royal class. By the way. What happened after I got eliminated?" Amanda tilted her head to the side. "When I was teleported away. I had already went unconscious from the pain. So I didn''t get to see the end of it." She explained as she leaned on the table.

    "Well, after you got eliminated. The blue haired girl got eliminated as well. And my friend, Rynia, also got eliminated." Arron spoke as he placed a hand on his chin.

    "So you got eliminated after right?" Amanda raised an eyebrow. She had figured something like this would have happened, she wasn''t surprised everyone was eliminated. Her last stand was the do or die of their team.

    But the words that left Arron''s mouth right after turned her eyes into saucers. "No, I killed it." Arron''s words flowed. He spoke like it wasn''t even a big deal. At first, Amanda thought he was lying. But the nonchalance he portrayed was too convincing.

    "H-huh?! No way! How''d you do it?" Amanda exclaimed, then she clasped her hand over her mouth. She spoke louder than she meant to. "I-I mean... How''d you do it." She spoke almost in a whisper, cupping her hand on her mouth.

    "Well... It''s not like I did it alone. I got help from a friend." Arron sratched the back of his head. "She distracted it long enough so I could finish it off." Arron grinned.

    "Finish it off? No way. How did you do it?" Amanda''s eyes were practically shining as she asked her question.

    "Well... Since we''re gonna be classmates soon... I''ll just tell you." Arron let out a long sigh. "Its just one move, and it''s my most powerful move." Arron explained his chin. "It require''s a long time to use though."

    "Really?" Amanda gasped excitedly. "What do you call it?"

    Arron was taken aback by the question but he nodded and spoke up. "Blink slash. I call it blink slash. Since it is faster than the blink of an eye. I gather as much energy as I can and release it in one swift burst."

    "That''s so cool! You''ve gotta show me it later!" Amanda extended her hand forward. "Since I couldn''t introduce myself during the exam seeing as our situation wasn''t quite ideal..." She placed her other hand on her chest keeping her right hand extended towards Arron. "My name is Amanda Stellar. And I am the emperial princess of the stellar empire!"

    Arron''s lips curled into a warm smile. Maybe it wouldn''t be too bad here... Arron extended her hand forward taking Amanda''s hand in a handshake. He felt her soft yet tough skin. It was clear that she trained often. "Nice to meet you Amanda... I''m Arron!" He shook her hand vehemently.

    "By the way. That friend of yours. The one with tanned skin. She''s actually pretty good. And she possesses an ability doesn''t she? I wonder what it is. It looked like she was delaying her strikes somehow." Amanda recalled how Rynia kept up with the beast by confusing it with her ability.

    "I don''t really know either. It looked like delayed strikes and she said they were delayed strikes. But I can''t help but feel that there is more to them..." Arron rubbed his chin in deep thought. Then he simply shrugged. "Meh, it''s probably nothing."

    "Yeah, you''re right. Oooh~ Come over here. Let''s check out this food! It looks pretty good..." Amanda called out to him and went off, rushing for another table. Arron followed swit, his stomach growling at the mention of food.

    <hr>

    Regina, carefree as ever, sat on a chair, humming a tune calmly without a worry in the world. "Hmhmm~ It''s a good thing the arena fixes you up after the exam is over because it would annoy the doctor to fix me up again." Regina exhaled in relief. "He''s a weirdo..." She muttered right after.

    "Oooh~ this food is actually not bad. At least better than the cafeteria food over there." Regina chuckled softly, amused by her own joke. She took a piece of a steak that''s been pre-cut to be bite size and placed it in her mouth. Her smile widened as she tasted the tender meat.

    "This is so good~ well, since I made it to royal class as instructed. It''s my little reward." She resumed humming that tune to herself.

    Suddenly out of nowhere. "Hey you." A figure stood over her, casting a shadow on her. Regina slowly glanced up. The smile on her face dimming down in brightness. It was a tall boy with dark red hair and hawk like eyes.

    "Can I help you?"

    "Give me your chair." He spoke simply as he looked down on Regina. "Uhm... I''m sorry? I can''t give you my chair." her eyes darkened. Is he looking for trouble? Regina''s face was a respectful mask, hiding a coldness that could freeze if let loose. She smiled up at him.

    The red haired boy just did not relent. "I said move." He reached for her...

    <hr>

    Amanda and Arron were peacefully conversing. Chatting with each other about the exam and the abilities displayed by other examineers that they encountered.

    "Yeah, so she shot these really strong arro-" Amanda and Arron were brought out of their idle chatter by a sudden and loud crashing sound. It sounded like wood breaking.

    "H-huh?!"

    "Wh-what''s happening?"

    Whisperes started as eyes all around turned to the source of the loud noise. "It''s a fight!" Someone shouted.

    Arron and Amanda rushed towards the commotion, pushing through the ranks of students. To say the sight in front of Arron was shocking would be an understatement. There was that red haired boy Arron bumped into before. Or rather the boy bumped into Arron on purpose. However, that wasn''t the shocking sight.

    He was groaning as he laid on the ground. "Agh..." He groaned as he squirmed on the ground. A girl with curly blonde short hair stood over him, a wide grin on her face. Her blood red eyes shining with malice. She had his wrist gripped tightly in her hand.

    Oh no...

 Chapter 23 Where is Tanya?

    Far away, somewhere in between the stellar empire and the Zelum Empire, an empire led by zealous followers of a cult. Lay dangerous woods. The of Ezyl.

    In these dangerous woods that have monsters crawling around in every nook and crany. A wooden hut, stood tall undisturbed despite all the wild life surrounding it. Because inside of this hut, stood the most powerful people in the world.

    "Why''d she call for a meeting all of a sudden?" A loud, gruff and deep voice resounded, echoing in the small hut. The source being a muscular wall of muscles for a man. Brown hair and emerald green eyes and a well trimmed beard. He had quite the dangerous glint in his eyes.

    "I wouldn''t know~" Another sound resounded as a tall, beautiful woman laid her cheek on her hand as she leaned on the wooden table in the middle. A small, dark mole sat just beneath her lips, adding an air of mystery to the playful and quircky expression the woman had. She had black dark hair with a sheen of purple arond it. "She''s always been a weird one hasn''t she?"

    "How stupid." A tall, man with a covered face and dark conspicuou clothes that blended in with the darkness, spoke up, voicing his displeasure.

    "Dude, stop being so grumpy." A high pitched voice sounded out. It came for an abnormally short girl, wearing a leather vest with a bit of dirt on it. She had a dark yellow spherical object with several shining blue ingravings on it. The sphereical object slowly floated up and down, indicating that it was magically powered.

    "I think you should learn when to shut your mouth, dwarf." The masked man spoke, his voice dripping with indignation.

    "Hey! Say that one more time, Zen. I''ll burn you to ashes." The short girl outstretched her arm, the spherical object she had split into many pieces, electrical energy danced around between the pieces, indcating a charge up. On her palm there was a pure cyan blue glowing object that fit perfectly in her hand.

    "I''ll slit your throat before you even get to do anything." His tone was cold and dangerous. He pulled out a dark green blade. The weapon, crafted by a master it seemed...

    "Calm down everyone." The gruff man spoke up, trying to dissuade them from fighting.

    "I took time off my job to come here. Just to watch you murder each other?." A sudden bubbly voice resounded and all eyes turned towards the door. "Yo. Long time no see guys." A girl with long hair and bronze gold eyes was standing there. Behind her, two majestic flaming wings extended outwards. It was the woman titled the pheonix, also otherwise known as Rania stella. The princess of the stellar empire. The king''s sister.

    "Ah, Rania. You made it." The gruff man stood up, a wide smile on his face.

    "Signus, its been a while." She smiled, as she pulled a wooden chair and sat down. "So how''s the strongest man in the world been?" She chuckled softly as she fixed him with a raised eyebrow.

    "I''ve been good. My daughter''s been a little rebelious. Wanting to go to the academy." Signus scratched the back of his head, "I''ve been telling her she''ll gain nothing from it. But she said something about making friends. I don''t really get it honesty." He shrugged. "But, speaking honestly. I am a little worried about her..." Signus had a look of concern flash across his face.

    "Hmm~ really?" Rania rested her chin on her hand and smiled. "I know her. Her name''s Suzi right? I got her in my academy." Rania grinned. "Don''t worry, I''ll take care of her." She reassured.

    Signus let out a sigh of relief. "Since it''s you. I trust that you will do your best." He looked visibly relieved, his shoulders relaxed.

    "Since we''re all here..." Rania trailed off, her eyes falling on each of the people present. "Hara." Her gaze fell on the dwarf. Her full name was Harahilda Bluntflayer, she is a dwarf inventor and the best inventor Rania knew. Her greatest creation was currently in her hand. Her and the assassin had calmed down.

    Speaking of the assassin... Rania turned her gaze to the fully masked guy. His blade, was an ancient dragonic dagger, one of their relics. It was truly magificent. But the person wielding it was not any weaker than his weapon. "Zen Hildar". The greatest assassin in the world. He was powerful truly. But compared to the next person...

    Rania''s gaze turned towards the woman with straight long black hair and purple hair. She wore a black dress that only added to her air of mystery. A strange symbol was carved into her neck, a black tattoo of a black cat, its tail wrapped around a pillar of pure blackness. It only accentuated the ominous aura around her. "Artemis Shelley." The witch of calamity. She was by far the strangest of the bunch. Rania did not know what her ability was... she simply knew that she had an ability and that it was deadly.

    She had managed to wipe out a whole army of high ranking demons on her own. Though, nobody knew how she did it. She was just spotted, standing calmly in a crater full of high ranking demon bodies.

    "And finally..." Rania turned towards Signus. "Signus Terras." The strongest man in the world. "There is one more person left. Wait, actually, two more..." Rania furrowed her brows as she surveyed the room.

    Suddenly, the sky outside lit up, blue light shone through the windows for a moment and the sound of thunder crackling resounded right after.

    "Well there is one..." Rania grinned as she glanced back. The door opened and a tanned woman, wearing chainmail armour with a saber tied to her waist, walked in. "I''m here." She spoke in her mature, serious voice. "I called you all here for a reason." Resnora stood tall before she pulled a chair out and sat down.

    "Recently, I was on an escort mission. I escorted a highly precious artifact. It can be even considered a national treasure. I''m sure Rania knows about it. We took it to your academy after all..." Resnora glanced at Rania, and the latter woman nodded, understanding her friend''s words.

    "We were almost to our destination. But on the way we were attacked and that... Was why I had to leave early." Resnora searched the room, attempting to find a certain individual. She furrowed her brows. "Where is Tanya?" Her expression changed to confusion.

    "Tanya? The demon fanatic?" Rania spoke, her cheek rested on the palm of her hand. "I dunno." She shrugged.

    Hara jumped up. "Tanya isn''t here? But I like her. She helped me build the demon detection machine..." Hara looked visibly down at the absence of this so called Tanya.

    "The girl with a little too much interest in demons and a little passion about biology isn''t here?" Signus raised an eyebrow. "Is that a good or bad thing? Cause last time I saw her... she was a little out of it." He tapped his head slightly, a gesture that signified that she wasn''t in the right mind...

    You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.

    "Judging by your need for miss Tanya, miss Resnora. I will guess this matter has something to do with demons." Zen, the assassin, spoke up as he stuck his green dagger onto the table.

    "Ah~ It is truly unfortunate the little one isn''t here." Artemis spoke in an overly sensual tone. "I quite enjoy the company of that petite scientist." She let out an audible chuckle. "

    Resnora nodded. "It does. But, does anybody know of Tanya''s whereabouts?" She asked, glancing around the room. Nobody spoke up.

    Resnora was about to continue her speech before... "I may have heard of something..." Zen, raised a hand. "I am not quite sure if this is true or if what I heard even exists but..." He glanced around at everyone, they were all staring at him.

    "I may have gotten a missive about a secret organisation... And Tanya, that one was in contact with said organisation. She may be a member of it or is simply using its help." Zen finished speaking and glanced up at Resnora. "If anything had happened to her. It is most likely because of that organisation."

    "The strangest part is that we know this organisation exists but we don''t know anything about it. We it is there but anything relating to it is in the black. I even consulted the other higher ups of the assassin syndicate. Nobody knew anything." He searched Resnora''s face for any hint of reaction. But the woman kept her emotions closely guarded.

    Resnora met his gaze. She tapped a finger onto the table. I''m worried about her... What if she dragged herself into trouble with her eccentric personality? She pursed her lips, her teeth sinking into her lower lip.

    "I... see. That should be left for another day to discuss. Now we have a more pressing matter at hand." Resnora breathed before taking an item out of her dimensional ring. Everyone''s eyes widened at the item. It was a finger, a cut off finger that was dripping with a black oozing substance... It was black blood, black blood of demons.

    "What is this?" Signus slammed his hand on the table and tremors flowed through the entire cabin. Strangely though, the table did not show a hint of damage.

    "I encountered a demon. In the middle of the stellar empire." Resnora turned her gaze towards Rania. The blonde haired girl already had her cold gaze on the dismembered finger.

    "Whaaaat... Wasn''t there supposed to be like... a five year difference between each stampede? It''s only been two." Hara jumped up, standing on her chair to lean over and take a closer look. She took out an item from her dimensional ring. It was a crossbow looking item but a lot smaller, with a display screen and a trigger. At the tip of the item, the end pointed at the dismembered finger. There was a hole where mana shined through and begun scanning the finger.

    They all waited for a few minutes before Hara''s expression darkened when she looked at the screen. "Yuuup, it''s a demon." Hara confirmed and closed her eyes, taking in a deep breath.

    "This is strange. How did a demon get inside the empire without being noticed?" Zen turned towards Resnora. "Is it a shadeskin demon?" He asked the SSS-ranked adventurer.

    "No. It wasn''t a shadeskin, it wasn''t even a high ranking demon. It was a simple demonic bear. It was like it just appeared out of nowhere..." Resnora took in a deep breath. "I believe... This might run even deeper than what we think." She exhaled.

    Rania looked completely unbothered as she leaned forward. "So what if demons are coming back? I''ll just burn them back to their nether planes." She rolled her eyes.

    Resnora turned towards the princess and shook her head. "Rania. You don''t understand. We''re talking about a demon that suddenly appeared in the middle of your empire. And its not exactly a quiet demon, Rania." She hardened her expression. "We''re talking about the possibility of the progenitor returning right now." She spoke. Her words were like a switch that started the arguments.

    "Hey, now... Let''s not get ahead of ourselves." Signus held up a hand. "One demon appeared in the empire we can''t just-"

    "But you shouldn''t rule it out fo possiblity." Zen turned his gaze towards Signus. The buff man narrowed his eyes at the assassin.

    "I''d hate to admit it. But knowing Tanya she would say something similar to what Zen and Resnora are saying." Hara stood interjected. "Don''t you guys remember what she always said during the stampede?" Her words seemed to bring about a collective recollection in all of them.

    "Yeah... I do recall it quite well. Hmm~" Artemis brought a finger to her lips, her eyes looking up at the ceiling as if she was remembering. "That little one would always spout somethings about the demonic energy being too dense in demon bodies." She finished.

    "She would say that the progenitor was coming back. Nobody really believed her back then... and honestly, neither did I." Signus nodded, releasing a sigh as he admited.

    "Enough everyone. So what if the demon king is back?" Rania stood up abruptly, her wings flaring. "We''ll just cut its head off. Burn it to a crisp if needed." Rania rolled her eyes, almost scoffing at their overly worried attitude.

    "It''s not that simple Rania." Resnora interjected. "Five hundred years ago, the demon king was sealed by the hero''s party. And that was only after sacrificing themselves along with an angel the servant of the gods just to seal it." Resnora spoke up, narrowing her eyes on Rania. "You''re taking this too carelessly."

    "Then the hero''s party is just weak." She clapped back, her flaming golden wings flaring behind her back.

    Resnora stared at Rania for a little bit before shifting her gaze elsewhere. "The demon king is most likely back. And according to the prophecy, the hero of this generation should also be back. Without him or her, defeating the demon king would be an impossible task. Rania, you''re the one most likely to find this hero, considering you are the principal of the most prestigious academy in the continent. You should search around your students. According to the prophecy, the hero should be a young man when facing the demon king." Resnora spoke calmly as she placed her hands on the table and stood up.

    Rania''s expression did not waver at all. Her gaze remaining fixed on Rania, her flaming golden wings burning even brighter than before.

    "This isn''t just directed at Rania. All of you should keep an eye out for any talented young people you may find and do everything that you can to send them to Rania''s care. Cultivating talent should be our first and foremost priority." She finished making her statement before twirling around and starting towards the door. Her curly hair whipped around in the air as she threw one final glance back at them.

    "Make sure to find Tanya. Zen, you''re most likely to be able to find her. I''m giving you this task." Rania nodded towards him.

    Zen merely nodded, his answer simple and easy.

    turning her gaze to Hara. "And Hara. Make sure to upgrade the demon detection device if possible. We''ll need it soon enough..."

    Hara nodded. "Without Tanya''s help. It might take a bit longer, but I''ll try making it into a bigger version and more wide ranged version." She sighed.

    With that. Resnora opened the door and stepped out onto the grassy area. Her hair flowed up into the air, before seemingly, thunder struck her and she disappeared form her spot. The sound of thunder clapping resounded out, deafening and impactful.

    "Well, if that is all. Then I will take my leave." Zen stood up and seemingly melted into the shadows, disappearing from sight.

    Artemis stood up as well. "I have important matters to attend to. It has been fun to meet up with friends again, goodbye~" She threw a kiss at them before she casted a spell that opened a simple portal in front of her.

    "I''ll go too. I got a lot of work to do." Hara jumped off her chair and proceeded to walk, her tiny steps, only taking her so far before she turned, throwing one last wave at Signus. "See you later Siggy. Have fun raising a daughter." She chuckled softly before the golden spherical item in her hand floated forward, shifting into a metallic golden plate in front of her. She stepped on top of it.

    A blue barrier surrounded her whole body in a blue light. The barrier was made up of several hexagons. It was slowly growing, encasing her. Once it has fully surrounded her. She threw one final smile at Signus. "Ey, maybe I''ll pay a visit to the academy later. See what kind of daughter you raised, kind titan." She threw a little pet name in there before she disappeared along with the golden plate.

    Rania huffed, and without words stepped out of the hut, looking up at the sky. She jumped and with a flap of her wings she flew into the air, leaving a dust cloud where she used to be.

    "Hahaha!" Signus couldn''t hold back his laughter. "That dwarf sure got a big mouth." He was the only one left. "Well, might as well relax a little in here." He threw his legs on top of the table, he interlocked his fingers behind his head.

    "It seems like times are changing quickly."

 Chapter 24 Tanyas whereabouts...

    A letter laid on top of a desk, along with many other papers. A girl with avergae height sat at the desk, staring at the letter in front of her. "Should I go? Or should I not?" She spoke. Her voice sounded shaky and had a slightly crazed glint to it.

    The strange girl had disheveled red hair. Her face displayed exhaustion and a hint of nervousness. The underside of her eyes was noticeably puffy, giving her a worn out look. A small small dotted mole sat just below her right eye. Her lips quivered, curling up and down.

    "Why is Resnora suddenly calling-" She stopped herself. "Ah... It must be because the demon king is coming back." The red haired girl spoke up before breaking out into a fit of manic giggles. "I knew it. I told them!" She slammed her hands down on the desk. The items and papers on top of it rattled from the impact. A small porcelain cup fell down, shattering on impact with the floor.

    A soft knocking resounded in the dark office, breaking the girl out of her crazed giggling. "Who is it?" She called out, her face changing in a mere moment, from crazed to composed and serious. Her mood shifts, a clear testament to her mental state.

    The door to her office slowly opened and a boy with brown hair walked inside, he was wearing a full suit with a necktie. "Miss Me-Tanya. I am here to let you know that the analysis is complete and that it is ready for you to inspect ma''am." The boy looked nervous to be around Tanya. His feet shuffling and his hands trembling even as he gripped his note book tightly.

    "It''s ready?" Tanya peered at the boy with her crazed looking yellow eyes. "Is it truly ready?" She stood up from her chair and stomped her feet towards the boy. She looked down at him. He dared not meet her gaze. He kept his eyes locked onto the floor.

    "Yes, ma''am..." He replied.

    "Great!" She clapped excitedly before she shoved the boy aside and ran out of her office. The sound of her small feet tapping against the wooden floor resounded through the halls. Along the way, many individuals wearing suits, female and male, were spotted by her. Each one''s faces contorted in fear and nervousness, cold sweat collecting on their faces as they cleared the way for her. They all bowed down to her as she ran, completely unbothered, paying to head to their presence.

    "Lab! Lab! Laaaab~ Where is it?!" Her first words resounded with a hint of excitement and softness. However the last ones were shouted in a dangerous and crazed manner. "Open up! Doctor!" She slammed her fists down onto a metallic door with several blue lines ingraved into the metal. It was strange how in this mostly wooden manor, there was a metal door of this calibar in the middle of a hall.

    The round metallic door released a sound similar to that of compressed air escaping before it popped out and rolled to the side. Tanya ran inside. Once she was inside, she immediately spotted a strange looking creature, it was tied to a white padded wall with several constraints. Black blood oozed from several cuts made on it.

    "Ahh~~ there it is!" Tanya ran forward, jumping over the metal terminals, not a care in the world. She knocked over several items, papers and several other items. A few fragile objects broke on impact with the ground. She pressed her face onto the glass separating her from the demonic test subject.

    "Doctor! Give me the analysis!" Tanya had completely disregarded the other figure that was with her in the room. An old looking man with goggles and white hair that was falling from old age.

    The doctor stood calmly staring at Tanya. He stared at her with a completely still face, rid of all expression. He was not fearful like the other suit wearing individuals. He wore a labcoat with a pen on the left breast pocket. He held a check board in his hand.

    The red haired girl slowly turned towards him. "I said. The analysis. Now." She held a hand forward, her eyes locked onto him, her face had shifted completely, doing a complete turn from excitement to coldness.

    "Lady Me-" He began speaking before he stopped himself, taking in a deep breath before continuing. "Lady Tanya." His tone sounded annoyed, almost as if he was forced to say something else. Last time I called her that she got angry and now there is no more demonic research branch. Fuckin'' hell. He clicked his tongue. "The analysis is under your feet. You''re stepping on it."

    "A-ah?" Tanya glanced down towards the ground and sure enough. She was standing on top of a piece of paper. "AAAAAHHHH! NO!" She scrambled to the floor and picked up the piece of paper, making sure to dust it off. "I''m sorry, I''m so sorry my babies~" She rubbed her cheek against the piece of paper. Globules of water underlined her eyes as she whimpered.

    The doctor continued staring down at Tanya''s complete and utter insane display. He shook his head before he walked over to the terminal, continuing his work. He had to make another mug of coffee because Tanya knocked his old cup over.

    Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

    After Tanya was done with her utter insanity. She looked over the piece of paper as she kneeled on the ground, her eyes dancing along the words, taking them in. Her face shifted completely. "Utter bullshit." She hissed through her teeth as she crumpled up the paper and bit into it, tearing off a piece and spitting it onto the ground. "The demon king is already back. He isn''t coming back, he''s already here." Tanya threw the piece of paper onto the ground.

    The doctor''s ears perked as he turned back towards her. "Lady Tanya. If you already knew the demon king is here. Why did you have us go through all this trouble to find out?" He asked furrowing his brows. What a waste of fucking resources. Whatever, at least I have the research about demonic energy...

    Tanya glanced up at him, her golden eyes flashed with malice. "Doctor. I have you here to do what I say. Not to question why I''m doing it." She spat before she stood up. She was wearing black shorts and a crop top with a lab coat. It was quite the outfit. Her knees, exposed were bloodied from the glass shards on the floor. The injuries started healing immediately.

    The doctor''s eyes widened at the display. The wounds weren''t just healing normally, they healed in an instant. They were shallow wounds but even so, mana healing shouldn''t have been that fast... He wanted to study her mana healing technique so bad that it hurt. The fucking bitch won''t let me study her mana healing technique. I''ll find a way to replicate it no matter what... He fixed his expression.

    "I understand lady Tanya." He looked down at the floor. "But ma''am. What should we do with the demon now?" He asked turning towards the demon that was captured.

    "Kill it, torture it, destroy it, experiment on it... Do what you please." Tanya stomped her foot onto the floor. At her words, the doctor''s lips curled upwards. A wide sadistic smile crossing his face. One more step towards my goal... He chuckled as he immediately got to work, his fingers dancing along the buttons of the terminal. Each move calculated and precise. Several robotic arms extended from the ground, holding several tools. The demon''s expression changed from exhaustion to dread and fear.

    As soon as Tanya walked out of the lab, the door closed behind her, sealing shut as the sound of the air hissing resounded once more. The demon''s screams muffled as they were, could still be felt as vibrations through the wall. A bookshelf suddenly shifted, seemingly on its own and covered the metallic circular door, completely muffling the demon''s screams.

    "The demon king is back. The hero isn''t old enough yet... It will attack soon enough." I will need to be ready. Tanya pursed her lips and clutched her head tightly.

    Tanya ran through the halls. Her fingers trembling. She kicked open the door to her office, the hinges of one of the double doors coming off, causing it to break and fall down with a loud thud.

    She ran over to the desk and shoved everything aside. The items clattered to the ground, several of them breaking, shattering on impact. Her hands trembled as she fetched a piece of paper and a pen. She immediately got to scribbling on the white surface.

    <hr>

    A soft voice resounded as a woman with black hair, flowing freely, conversed calmly. The woman walked, and to her right stood a girl. The woman wore a completely black dress. Different from the clothes worn by other individuals around them. They all ported suits with black neckties, signifying their affiliation with the organisation.

    She continued walking through the halls. "Cindy. Is she here yet?" She askedthe girl to her right. The girl, Cindy, with brown hair tied into a pony tail glanced up at the lady. "No, not yet Margaret ma''am..." She bowed respectfully.

    Margaret furrowed her brows. "huh... She''s usually not late. Did something happen with the exam?" She continued walking towards her office.

    "Well it doesn''t matter. How is the state of lady Tanya?" Margaret threw a glance trowards her assistant before snapping her gaze back forward.

    "She''s been spotted writing frantically on a piece of paper ma''am. It seems she is quite stable for now." She nodded respectfully.

    Margaret pursed her lips. That crazy bitch... Why did she have to do that of all things now? She shook her head, releasing a long sigh as she took a turn and walked into her office. The sound of the door closing behind her and her assistant resounded, the sound gentle and soft.

    "Well, if it is stable I guess it is fine." Margaret sighed. "How is the doctor lately?" She turned towards her assistant once more. Cindy placed a hand on her chin, throwing her head back in deep thought.

    "Well, he''s beeing getting annoyed by lady Tanya lately, so he hasn''t had much time to work on his research but lady Tanya gave him a demon test subject. We believe it will accelerate his research even further." Cindy bowed respectfully.

    "Damn it... That guy isn''t shorter of crazy than Tanya." She started nibbling on her thumb nail. "Cindy, are you sure you sent the message?" Margaret sat at her desk looking over a few pieces of paper.

    "Yes, I''m sure I have ma''am." She nodded. Her tone nothing short of respectful.

    Suddenly, the window of her office flew open, a strong gust of wind flew in and rain drops fell into the office. "Cindy, close the window. It is quite cold." Margaret pressed her hands onto her temple.

    "Yes, ma''am. Right away." Cindy bowed before she moved towards the window.

    "No, Cindy. Don''t." A new voice resounded. The voice, sudden and surprising.

    Margaret''s eyes widened as did Cindy''s. "Who-" She snapped her gaze towards the source of the voice. She stared at the figure in front of her for a few moments before she sighed. "You got in through the window didn''t you?"

    "Well, I wanted to surprise you." The voice''s tone was playful and relaxed with a hint of mischief to it.

    Cindy turned around and bowed towards the new individual in the room.

    "How did the exam go...?" Margaret spoke up as her gaze fixed on the girl in front of her. The figure of the familiar short girl stepped forward, plopping herself down onto the seat in front of her.

    Blonde curly hair and blood red eyes that would strike fear in whoever stared into them. A wide mischievous smile and a relaxed posture, a black suit with a black necktie. "Regina."

 Chapter 25 First day of classes...

    Arron sat in a classroom. He was early to sit there. Next to him, sat Amanda. The two of them were conversing. As they talked, they noticed the atmosphere in the classroom was tense.

    Everyone was staring at Regina. The blonde girl had garnered a reputation after her display at the welcome ceremony. However, Regina simply smiled at any judging look she got. They would avoid her gaze immediately after.

    "Seriously? Why would she be in the royal class..."

    "Why is such a violent person in the royal class of all places?"

    "Isn''t this supposed to be a class for the elite?"

    The entire class went silent when a person walked through the door. He was of average height. But he didn''t come short in the physical appearance. He was quite the handsome one. He had short dark green hair, his eyes, a dark green colour surveyed the classroom, lingering on Regina for a few moments before darting elsewhere. It was Adam, and his presence did not help the atmosphere of the class.

    "Great, we have a commoner, a punk and a rapist." A remark was thrown, loud enough to be heard by everyone. The source of the remark was a boy, he was on the chubby side, he had brown hair and feckles on his face.

    "Could this class get any better?" He shook his head. Everyone just ignored him.

    Regina''s blood red eyes were fixed on the dark green haired boy, Adam. She stared at him as he walked through the classroom. All the seats were filled except for the ones near Regina. Adam''s eyes met hers, they stared at each other for a few moments. Regina stared up at him with curiosity while Adam stared down at her, trying to discern her.

    Adam settled down on the seat behind Regina, and that was when they broke eye contact.

    Arron stared at the two''s interaction, his expression confused and slightly curious. "What''s up?" Amanda followed Arron''s gaze to stare at the two. "Oh hey, that''s your really violent friend right?" Amanda''s eyes flashed with recognition.

    "Yea- she''s not." He paused as thought over his words. "Yeah, I guess she is pretty violent."

    Amanda''s gaze drifted to the person sitting behind Regina. "And that''s..." Amanda''s face shifted from excitement to a grim expression. "Adam Illusio." She said furrowing her brows in annoyance.

    Arron raised an eyebrow and turned her. "Amanda? Do you know him?" He asked tilting his head to the side curiosly. "And why is everyone staring at him?" Arron had noticed. He had noticed the stares that the dark green haired boy was getting from students all around.

    "I do... Unfortunately." Amanda sighed. "He''s the son of a prestigious family. They''re called the Illusio family. They might be prestigious but they''re not exactly nobles. But you can hear of them wherever you go." Amanda explained, "He''s part of it and he was recently disowned by his family..." She pursed her lips.

    Arron glanced at Adam curiously. He had seen him fighting along with Regina, before they eventually fought each other at the exam. "Really? What for?" He asked furrowing his brows. The fact that he was disowned by his family was surprising to Arron.

    "Sexual assault." Amanda said, her voice trembling slightly in disgust, as if the mere thought of the act made her want to vomit. "I like to convince myself that they''re just allegations..." Amanda turned her gaze away from Adam. Her mood was soured.

    To say Arron''s face was that of shock would be an understatement. "Oh..." He said, his mouth forming an o shape. He glanced over at Adam. "They''re just allegations though right? It could be wrong." He said calmly. The knowledge was quite surprising to him. However, Arron was a person who would die first before judging someone by a simple allegation. "Let''s not judge someone based off of just that." He turned towards Amanda.

    Amanda, slightly taken aback by Arron''s reply stared at him for a few moments. Her face of surprise cracked to show a wide smile, "you''re right. Hahaha~" She chuckled softly.

    The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.

    Suddenly, the whole classroom went silent as an individual with grey hair and a well shaved face walked in. He had several pieces of paper and notebooks. He set his materials down and turned towards the class. "Settle down everyone." He spoke calmly. His voice resounding through the whole classroom.

    "My name is Hector Gray. And I will be your homeroom teacher from here on out." He said as he placed his hands on the desk and leaned forward. "I hope that we would work together for you, the new generation to reach new heights never seen before. In the generations that Prism has raised, none have not gone down in history from the royal class." He tapped his fingers on the wooden desk. The sound, rhythimic and gentle.

    "And I hope that you will not be the end of the line..." He surveyed the classroom with his gaze. "Now, I do have several rules that I do not wish to be overlooked. Of course, they are different from the normal school rules. I have my own." He narrowed his eyes at a certain chubby boy. The brown haired boy glanced around, not realising the teacher''s gaze.

    "I expect all of you to follow these rules strictly. Otherwise you will be penalized. Is everything understood?" He surveyed the students once more, his eyes scanning the classroom. No response or interjection from the students. "Good."

    He stood straight, taking his hands off the desk before walking around it and leaning back on it, facing the class. "First and foremost. No discrimination. Your origin does not matter in Prism. All of you in the royal class are here because you made it in with your own wits and strength." He held a finger up. The students were quiet, no response or remark to be made.

    "If I spot even a single one of you discriminating against a fellow studen you will face a heavy penalty, expulsion is not out of the question." He narrowed his eyes at some students.

    He extended another finger. "Second." His eyes scanned the class. "Do not harm your fellow students. Weather it be physical or emotional. You will face heavy penalties if I were to know of it. I will deal with you myself." His voice took on a dangerous glint for a moment before returning to the professional tone.

    He held up a third finger. "Third and last. Wrok hard. Do not let yourself fall behind, just because you are in the royal class. Prism works with a ranking system, if you were to be overshadowed by a lower ranking classmate or students of lower ranking classes. You will be replaced and overshadowed." He made it a point to emphasize the replacement part.

    A few students visibly reacted at that, weather it be sweat falling down their chin or simply looking uneasy. "I believe that part is understood." Hector nodded as he let his hand fall to his side.

    "Then, now that we have that done. We shall start with the first lesson in history." He walked back around his desk and sat down. "What do you all know of the cataclysm?" He asked. The last word seemed to stir a few reactions out of the students.

    A hand went up from one of the students. Hector seemed to regard the student who held their hand up with a long gaze. "Lumine. You may answer." He gestured at Evelyn, the one who held up her hand.

    "Yes sir." She rose from her seat spoke up. Her voice radiating confidence, her posture not falling behind. "The cataclysm happened over 1300 years ago. It was a calamity of unknown origin that shook the entire world. It has been recorded that the calamity lasted for three whole days where the world continuously pulsated with both magical and space shockwaves." Evelyn trailed off, taking a breath and letting her words sink in. All before she continued.

    "Based on current knowledge of space magic, it is believed large continuous bursts of magical energy were the ones responsible for the ripples in space. By the zealots of the church, it was believed to be a godly event, most likely a battle between gods." She finished before sitting back down.

    "Good. Lumine, your answer is sufficient. But..." Hector trailed off. "Anyone else has anything to add to Lumine''s answer?" He looked around for a few moments.

    Evelyn was confident in her answer. She sat back down without worry. When no one raised their hand. Hector paused for a few seconds before he spoke up. "Alright, since most of you are familiar with the cataclysm now. I want you to answer me, what do you as a student think the cause fo the cataclysm was." He said as he surveyed the classroom. His eyes landed on a blue haired girl, the one who answered just then. "Starting with you Lumine."

    Evelyn was silent for a few mments. "I believe it was merely the clash of celestial bodies sir. A natural occurance that just so happened to occur near our planet." She gave a simple answer.

    Hector nodded. Simple, sufficient and has a bit of truth to it. Some celestial bodies are considered gods by some. He glanced around at the other students. "Now everyone. There is no right answer to this question as we still have no idea what caused the cataclysm, so feel free to speculate about its origin."

    "What about you Amanda Stella. What do you think was the origin of this event?" He asked as gestured at the princess. Arron threw a side glance at her, wondering what she could have in mind as an answer.

    Amanda brought her hand to her chin, rubbing it slowly. A contemplative expression crossing her face. "I believe it was truly a fight between gods. As we all know, some celestial bodies are considered gods." She trailed off before continuing. "My and Evelyn''s answers sort of line up."

    Hector nodded. "It is a response I''ll give you that." These two answers seemed to open up the door for more speculations. The class continued without any problems. It was quite the fun session for students to put their creative minds into use.