"This is annoying!"
Arthur muttered as he dodged the flaming scimitar of his opponent.
Not only does he and Gray have to face two strong warlocks, potentially from Class A, but they also have a hidden archer raining down lightning-infused arrows.
[This could be an excellent time to ask for my help.]
'Nope. Sir told me that I should not unleash your power in this competition unless it is necessary.', he replied to Inferno's offer.
[Don't you think this counts as 'necessary?']
'Nope, and besides.', a smile formed on his lips, 'I got this covered.'
"Just in time.", he muttered as his opponent's movements became familiar. He had finished analyzing the enemy.
"Now then.", he flicked his sword and with a burst of magia almost knocked the scimitar off the young demon's hands.
"My turn.", he spoke as his opponent's eyes widened with shock.
Arthur jumped forward and exhaled.
'Night style fifth form: Blade Frenzy.'
His sword became blurred as he executed 21 strikes against the scimitar. Strong winds shook the trees as he finished one cycle and began the next.
His senses sharpened and his perception amplified. His opponent is now on the defensive, looking for any way to turn the situation around.
"Mace", he yelled.
Suddenly, projectiles of earth hurtled from Arthur's side.
He swore. There is no way he can dodge them, no matter how slow they are to his perception.
He is still in the middle of a cycle.
The temperature dropped and just as fast as the projectiles came at him, a wall of thick ice shot out of the ground beside him and blocked them.
'Gray!', he grinned. He thanked the Founder for her acute senses.
Unfortunately, the earth attack against him was enough for Blade Frenzy to falter.
The young demon fully grasped this opportunity.
{Fire Code: Volcanic Fist}
A molten hot punch headed straight for Arthur's face.
"A good one.", he leaned back, "But predictable."
The punch missed him by an inch, the intense heat of the powerful flames felt like a warm blow of air to him.
But his opponent wasn't done. He jabbed his scimitar at Arthur.
{Fire Code: Ignition Thrust}
The scimitar tip flared and a swirling ball of flames exploded right in front of the young Night.
"Whoa!", he quickly jumped back out of range. The flames this time were hotter compared to the previous attack.
Before he even landed, the young demon unleashed another code at him.
{Fire Code: Infernal Bolts}
Flames scattered around him, condensed and formed multiple glowing bolts. He pointed at Arthur and the bolts flew at him with the speed of lightning.
Speaking of lightning.
Arthur noticed multiple crackling arrows coming at him. The hidden archer is trapping him.
Fortunately, Arthur was still in his pseudo Catharsis state and his perception is magnified. To him, the flame bolts and arrows were coming at him like a ball thrown from a distance.
Fast, but slow enough for him to react.
Ghost hissed and glowed blue as he streamed magia into it and used Devastating Ripple to blow away the arrows.
"Bugger off!"
He then dashed toward the incoming bolts.
'Night Style sixth form: Bladeflow'
In a single continuous flow, he struck each bolt at a certain point and connected the attack. The bolts were deflected away and he quickly closed the distance between him and his opponent.
"Peekaboo!", he told the wide-eyed young demon and used Phantom Blades.
The demon blocked Ghost with his scimitar but the magia blades struck him, pushing him back.
Arthur could see that the flames covering the curved blade of the scimitar is weakened. His opponent is low on magia.
'Time to end this.', he increased the magia flowing into Ghost and unleashed Blade Frenzy at an even faster rate, two cycles in a single minute.
The young demon defended himself with the curved blade of his scimitar. The good news is that he is holding well against the brutal attacks.
The bad news?
Arthur was aiming for the sword.
Just as he completed the fourth cycle, Arthur swung his sword upward, magia trailing to form an arc. Just as quickly, he brought it down.
'Night Style eight form: Pendulum.'
The impact of the double attack formed a magia burst and shockwave. The force was enough to deal damage.
With the sound of shattering glass, the curved blade of the scimitar snapped into two, much to the surprise of the young demon.
"Huh?"
Arthur smirked. He had unleashed every strike on a single point on the curved blade of the scimitar. His goal was not the demon, but his blade.
Before he could snap out of his shock, Arthur came close and grabbed his face.
Using his monstrous strength, he slammed the demon to the ground. The ground cracked and a crater formed as he unleashed a powerful magia burst.
With a groan, the young demon slipped into unconsciousness.
Arthur was breathing heavily but he stood up and turned around.
What about Gray?
"Oh."
Gray Aria walked toward him, still in Catharsis and mist curling from her body. Her opponent lay in a crumpled heap, unconscious and trapped under a six-foot chunk of ice.
"Looks like you didn't need my help.", Arthur remarked. Gray just looked at him, "We are not out of trouble yet. The archer."
He nodded and scanned the trees. His ears picked up the sound of an arrow sliding against a quiver followed by the crackle of electricity.
He took out a knife from his belt and threw it in the direction of the sound and as expected, he heard a muffled yelp that sounded like a female.
"I know you're there.", Arthur spoke casually, "I intentionally missed so don't get any ideas."
There was no response but he is sure that the not-so-hidden archer is listening to his words.
"Your actions don't suggest that you intend to attack us. You're probably testing the waters, or perhaps gathering information?"
The almost inaudible gasp his ears picked out confirmed his guess.
"I suggest you go back to your group. Tell them about the ones they should actually be aware of."
"Unless you want to take on the three of us."
"Three?", Gray's blank face cracked in confusion.
Arthur nodded, "Any moment now."
Suddenly there was the clinking of chains followed by the crackling of lightning. In a flash of purple lightning, a jagged blade attached to a chain hurtled toward Arthur.
But just as it was about to strike him in the head, Arthur's sword glowed bright blue and he swiftly deflected the chained blade.
Knocked off course, it flew at a tree before the chain became taunt and someone yanked the blade away.
"Awww. I almost had you!"
A familiar voice exclaimed and someone dropped from the sky.
"Make way for Lord Ray!", Ray Callen declared as he landed beside Arthur, his body covered in lightning.
Arthur chuckled, "Better luck next time, my friend."
He looked in the direction of the archer, "Still want to take your chances?"
Again, no reply but the sudden rustle of leaves indicated that the archer has left before things became ugly.
The woods quietened a bit but the sounds of battle still resonated all around them.
He turned to Ray, "I'm glad to see you're okay."
Ray grinned, "Of course you are. What gave me away? I made sure to be undetectable."
Arthur tapped his ear, "There's no way I can't recognize your annoying voice."
The young Callen smacked his head.
"Damnit! I forgot you're a bloody dragon half-blood!"
*******
Leah Stelian was amused.
"He's pretty sharp. You are the best in the class in concealing your presence yet he still found you.", she told the green-haired girl with a bow slung over her shoulder.
She and her small group of five Class C students are resting after wiping out a group of second years.
"He was scary.", the girl spoke with a shudder, "I didn't even see his knife coming at me."
She looked at her leader, "Are you sure he doesn't have an attribute?"
"You saw it yourself, didn't you? Did he use an attribute in his fight?", Leah asked back.
The girl flinched under the gaze of the young vampire, "No I didn't.", she murmured.
Leah nodded, "Exactly. I've known Arthur Night for some time. He's a combat specialist who's been training since childhood. Even without an attribute, he is on par with high-level CAT 3 warlocks."
"Judging from what Ellen said from her observations, Night is trying to assemble his class.", Jude, a young man with blonde hair, fiery red eyes, and a coppery complexion spoke.
"Strength in numbers.", Leah said, "They probably marked themselves so that Arthur can find them, probably a particular scent."
Ellen, the girl who spied on and tried to attack Arthur asked, "Does he have the nose of a hound?"
Leah nodded, "Of course. The Night siblings are the descendants of Arthemia, the strongest dragon half-blood that ever lived. Their senses are far superior to normal people."
Her eyebrows furrowed as she thought about the situation, "Arthur has come up with a simple plan this time. This doesn't have the same complexity as what he cooked up with the attack on the dorm."
Leah narrowed her eyes, "Just what are you playing at?"
There was silence among the group until Jude got up from the log he was sitting on.
"So. What's our next move.", He asked and gripped his spear.
"We continue on our way to the tower.", Leah declared
"What about Arthur Night?", Ellen asked.
The young Stelian sighed, "We leave him alone until we cross paths. I promised not to target Special Class A. Plus, we may need their help in the future."
"But why? Aren't they the worst class?", another teammate asked.
Leah looked at her, "They are the worst class, but they are not the weakest. Just look at Jason Kain. Many won't admit it, but he is someone on par with Aaron Cadis. He can easily beat some of the instructors."
"Speaking of Jason.", she turned and gazed at the black tower in the distance, "I bet it's about time we got the message."
Jude frowned, "What message?"
"About the second qualifier. It will most likely be Jason, considering the fact that he and Aaron are rivals.", Leah said.
"Or it could be that guy from S Class.", Ellen suggested, "Isn't he the strongest among the first years? He could be the second qualifier."
"Maybe. But knowing that guy, he will be focused on obtaining the most points at the moment. The objective is to enter the tower with the maximum amount of points, not just be the first ones there.", Leah replied.
Suddenly all of their bracelets beeped as a message was transmitted to all participants.
"How could this be?!", Jude demanded, not believing his eyes. It was not only him.
All across the island, many are shocked by the message displayed on their bracelets. None can believe the names in front of them.
Two participants entered the tower right after Aaron Cadis.
"Well well well. What do we have here?", Leah said with an amused smile.
"What is the meaning of this?", Jude demanded her, visibly shaken.
She looked at him, holding back her laughter at seeing his face.
"It means that Arthur Night is not the only dangerous one in Special Class A."