"I'm such a fucking coward..."
He stood up from the bed, feeling as tired as when he had fallen asleep. Darius decided to go take a shower where he found a black uniform and boots waiting for him with a letter instructing him to put them on and eat something while waiting for further instructions. He did so and waited until It was about eleven a.m. when Darius heard people walking outside.
Curiosity getting the better of him he walked up to the door. Looking through the eyehole he could see several other nobles being led somewhere, all wearing the same black uniform.
At that moment Darius noticed an attendant walking towards his room. The attendant was surprised to find Darius waiting for him behind the door as he said, "My lord, it is time you enter the briefing room with the other nobles."
As Darius was about to go out the door the attendant waved his arm as he said, "No need, if you would kindly step onto the platform, my lord. the man motioned to a large black circle in the middle of the room. Darius reluctantly walked towards it, not sure what would happen.
The platform began to descend slowly, picking up speed along the way as it began to descend faster and faster down, until it lowered Darius was standing in a small conference room filled with eighteen-year-old youths who didn't hesitate to stare at him. None actually saying a word.
Darius felt incredibly awkward as he stumbled off the platform. Due to his royal entrance, all eyes were on him, he was in the worst situation he could have ever possibly dreamed of. He was completely surrounded by a bunch of stuck-up teenage nobles who could tell he wasn't one of them from the moment he stepped off the platform.
"Good evening, Lords and ladies." An attractive voice came from the top of the stairs. A beautiful woman stood on a platform in front of all the candidates. Two other women stood just behind her. Each with a sabre strapped to their sides.
The test administrator was, in the eyes of all men the perfect woman. Her curvaceous body was the perfect hourglass figure and she was the kind of woman nations would go to war over.
Darius' heart skipped a beat as she stood in front of him. She wore a White blouse and a short black pencil skirt. She exuded confidence and intelligence and to Darius, she was the kind of woman who only existed in his imagination. Her black hair and red eyes were the epitome of feminine enticement.
"I will be your test administrator today for the first, low-level challenge. We are currently on the ground floor of the academy known as the arena. Here you will prove yourselves worthy of inheriting your parent's legacies. The following tests will require you to use skill, intelligence and bravery in order to pass the test let alone make it out alive."
There were many gasps and murmurs throughout the crowd as the woman spoke. "It's her!"
"I can't believe it's her!"
"I heard that she was a qualified Spiritknight by the time she was 15!"
"Wrong! She was 14!"
"I heard that she is close to being a titled knight!
Hearing the murmurs around him Darius figured out one thing. The woman in front of him was a genius! To become a Spiritknight at 14? Darius was already 18 and he was struggling to enter the Spirit-smith guild as an assistant! Such a prodigy was clearly worlds apart from him. She knew her identity as a celebrity would make a fuss, however, she would not let it bother her from executing her orders.
"For the lower ranking nobles this will be your first and only test, for the highest ranking nobles however, this test will be one of several. If you don't have a weapon already one will be provided for you based on the outcome of your smiter tests. Oh and one last thing, make the first kill count. For most of you, your parents will be watching, don't disappoint."
With that, the lady disappeared. It was clear to everyone she had just been another hologram. Two platforms then appeared where she had been standing with smiters on top of them. One with the inherited smiters and the other with smiters that had been chosen for certain candidates. These smiters were the only weapons that could destroy a spirit and the sight of them was what made everything that had happened feel like this was really happening.
"Shit, I never took any smiter test!" Darius muttered to himself as the various weapons had names engraved on them. He began to panic at the thought that he would be going in there completely defenseless, when the platform Darius had come down from descended once more, on top of it an old hammer with the name 'Darius Omen' on the haft.
Darius hadn't known this but his hammer had been a smiter all along. The other contenders snickered among themselves at the sight of it.
"Hey you, what's your name?" said a particularly smug-looking young man. Darius knew that because of his temporary status, they couldn't do anything to him so he spoke with confidence. "My name is Darius Omen."
The young man screwed up his face for a moment as if in thought before saying, "Omen? I don't think I've heard of that house before. But then again, the lower houses are as good as peasants."
Everyone looked at Darius, the disgust written plainly on their faces as they backed away from him, like he would give them some sort of commoners virus if they came near him.
"It's because he's not from any house." came a girl's voice from within the crowd. "He's my brother's substitute."
The girl walked out of the crowd, scrutinizing Darius carefully. After a few minutes, she said, "Clearly Lionel has no intention of passing the test." Her short black hair slightly covered part of her beautiful face and one of her azure blue eyes.
If Darius had to use just one word to describe her, it was 'hot'. She wore a small leather jacket and red tank top with a midriff, showing off her amazing curves. The cargo pants she had on did nothing to hide her legs and with the swords strapped on her back, she looked like a warrior chick. And as a matter of fact, she was. Lionel's twin sister, Lara took pride in her martial arts talent, apart from her impressive intelligence. Darius was sure he had never seen anything this sexy in his life.
Lara noticed the way he looked at her and was immediately disgusted. Although he wasn't the first guy to look at her like that and was definitely not going to be the last, she was not going to accept this from a hick commoner like Darius. She lunged at him so fast that even with his already incredible agility and reflexes he was no match for her.
She drew one of her swords with her left hand and pressed it hard against Darius' neck. On closer inspection, her hair wasn't black but rather navy blue.
"I don't care if you're Lionel's substitute or not. If you look at me like that again I'll slit your fucking throat." Darius could barely move. Although all the other nobles wouldn't dare lay a finger on him because of whose substitute he was, if she was really Lionel's sister then there was a good chance she could probably do it.
At that moment the administrator's voice sounded. "All participants, please stand on one of the platforms and await entry into the arena."
She backed away from him and stood on one of the platforms. The other nobles opened a path for her. With her demeanour and rank among the nobles, she was not to be taken lightly.
All the nobles began shuffling toward the circular platforms on the floor. As Darius proceeded to the one nearest him he was waved off quite violently by one of the nobles. To them he still wasn't one of them, he was just being used as cannon fodder for real nobles.
Fear had gripped Darius so tight didn't even notice this happen. His heart was racing and the room began to spin as he stumbled towards the next platform. He could barely hold his hammer as they descended into the arena. He had held it so many times for so long, it felt no different from an extension of his own body. It was the only thing calming his nerves in this perilous situation. It was then that they arrived at the intended location. It was a dense green rainforest, surprisingly realistic. Darius could hear various insects and birds chirping as the platform lowered him into the dense, green thicket.
"Participants, your first challenge is simple. Survive the day." The administrator's voice sounded throughout the arena.