Chapter 40 - The Reveal

"...I'll be supervising your status reveal," Viscar states as Licht's lips twist to form a snarl. Just what he was trying to avoid. It seems that the semester to come will only get troublesome, because humans, regardless of where or who they are, are the same.

"I will like you all to make three separate lanes." Viscar yells out, "I'd want to get this over with before lunch." He mutters afterward with a tired look on his face.

Three separate lanes are made, and Licht drags himself to the closest lane to him. Nothing he could do now. Sorry, but there might be a lot of corpses before the semester ends.

"Next! And keep it quick, we don't have all day."

Licht absent-mindedly follows the flow of his lane, but snickering from in front of him interrupted his random thoughts.

"Water Element? And look, it's at the beginner's level." Someone's annoyingly familiar voice mocked, "Not only is it the weakest of all elements, it not even in intermediate level! I mean, it's to be expected since it's you."

'Are they stupid?' Licht thought to himself, surprised at their foolish prejudice against the water element. To be frank, when comparing elements, no one is higher than the rest in terms of power. It's all in how you use it.

Licht spots a clenched fist in between the bodies of people in front of him. It was his roommate, who had mistaken him for a girl. Ah, what was his name again? Mike, Max, ...Tim? It didn't really matter to him anyway.

Licht was at the front of the line after a few minutes. But unlike three years ago, he didn't hesitate when he places his hand on the familiar crystal ball. An uncomfortable chill passes through him as he watches his status slowly appear in front of Viscar.

It glitched and shifted, while displayed in front of everyone else. Viscar stared at it with glazed eyes, he couldn't understand what he was seeing. The kid with unmatched strength, had a faulty status board so, how was he so strong?

Laughter begins again, this time aimed at Licht, "He was acting like a big shot earlier! What the hell?!" Davie had tears in his eyes. Had he not learned his lesson?

Licht lifted his hand from the crystal ball and went into the corner where those who have been assessed stood. He now attracted all types of look, those of pity and eyes that mocked him silently.

Whispers soon began, "How can there be such a useless noble?"

"Didn't you hear? He was adopted."

"I heard that his mother is dead, and his father was a murderer."

"Why is he in the hero class, if he's so useless?"

"Ehhh?! What if he bribed the school? He is a noble after all." Viscar grips his fists in anger. How dare they mock his school?

"Silence!" He yells, showing the intensity of his anger on his face. He was not going to take any kid's nonsense anymore.

He took a deep breath and continued assessing their statuses. He finished in a few minutes and decided to move to the next stage quickly. "To see how well you deal with an opponent, we're going to have you choose a weapon after this assessment. With that weapon, we'll want you to fight in pairs."

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"Has everyone picked their weapon?" The students were gathered in a large arena, similar to the one where their exams were held. However, this one was sizeable, with a wide stone platform for friendly and not-so-friendly sparring.

"Just to be clear, your sparring partners are to be chosen randomly." Groans echo throughout the arena, random pairings were a universal pain.

"Just remember!" He began with an evil grin, "You don't get a say. Anything goes as long as the other party isn't killed."

"But Director Royule," a girl with grey hair interrupts. "There are nine boys and seven girls. That means that one girl will have to pair with a boy." She says as her green eyes narrow on Viscar.

Viscar scoffs, "I never said that I will pair the boys with a boy. As I said, I will choose your partner at random." The girl furrows her brow but does not question his decision.

Viscar scanned through the small crowd, looking for the first participant. His eyes lock on Licht, but he soon discards that thought after some consideration. It's better to save the best for last. His eyes shift to the figure next to Licht.

"Joel," Viscar begins. "Why don't you do us a favor and take care of Miss Merewein." He gives a sly smile as he gestures to the platform.

The girl from before, Ellyn Merewein, opens her mouth in disbelief. "T-that's not fair! I just asked a simple question!"

Still holding his smile, "See, on the battleground, there's no such thing as fair. Anything goes." Ellyn grits her teeth as she clenched her staff. She couldn't talk back.

She was just a mage, what could she do against a berserker. She raises her trembling hand, "If we lose, what happens?"

"Except for visiting the infirmary in case of injuries, nothing else." Viscar could see her sigh in relief. On a different occasion, they would be expelled immediately, but it was their very first day fighting someone they know nothing of.

He sighs, he didn't like dealing with newcomers. "Okay, onto the platform."