"Scratch that, school is fun!"
Arthur shouted excitedly while waving the sword in his hand around.
Looking at the scene of the intermediate-stage grandmaster instructor lying on the floor like a worn-out rag, Layla regretted not telling Arthur to hold himself back.
◇ ◇ ◇
After the announcement of the practical exams, the examinees dispersed to the various practical exam centres. They were assigned these halls randomly and were all sent messages that contained the hall numbers.
Coincidentally or not, Arthur and Layla were assigned the same hall so they made their way over there together.
The professors and instructors of the academy, alongside some nobles, royals, and other dignitaries were present to watch the practical exams.
Because of this, some examines strived to create a good impression in the minds of these dignitaries. Even more so when there were more of them present than normal due to this year's exam being the most anticipated in years.
It was the first time that a member of the Devildom's royal family was participating, after all. Because of this, all royal family members were present. Some of the nobles and lesser royals also took this as a chance to curry favor with them.
When the magical tests began, the students were called in groups and were asked to display their best magic spells and they were graded accordingly.
The test was flashy with many students displaying magic attacks focusing more on appearance than power, naturally, they were graded lowly.
Many even lengthened their chants as if the exam was not grading their magical but chanting ability. Some overexerted themselves to cast spells they normally would not be able to, a few of them even collapsed from the magic exhaustion.
When it came to Layla's turn, she gracefully walked over to the testing grounds, caring not for the thousands of eyes upon her, and proceeded to cast her spell. Although Layla liked using magi-tech guns to fight, she did not neglect her actual magic training.
She decided to perform splendidly. Although some thought that she was one of those who were attempting to leave an impression on the dignitaries watching, her motivations were quite different from what they thought.
'I don't want Arthur to be the freshman representative. If he becomes the representative, it'd be a disaster.
For that to happen, I have to use his inability to use magic to my advantage. This would be the best way for me to close the gap from the written exams, those last questions were quite difficult and I'm sure I didn't get them right. But Arthur, that genius definitely did.'
She stared at the training dummy and analyzed it. It was a dummy without arms and legs, capable of withstanding the magic of all the previous exam candidates.
It was also changed to a new one each time to prevent unfairness.
'With the budget the academy gets, it's not impossible for them to be made of materials that average twelve-year-olds cannot destroy but they most likely would not. In that case...it's safe to use 'that' spell.'
She rose her hand and channeled her magic power to produce a blue flame not much larger than an average fireball.
The surroundings began getting noisy after seeing her chantless casting but she paid it no mind and compressed the flame before shaping it long and narrow, then launching it like a bullet.
It drew a blue-white line in the air as it flew over and swallowed the target up.
**BOOOOMMM!!
The target exploded with a loud sound, but the momentum of the flame bullet did not wane out. It pierced through both layers of the dummy and went towards the wall behind it before slamming on the magical barrier that was cast on the wall.
Layla turned around and was confused at the dumbfounded reactions of the spectators.
'Huh? Why's everyone looking at me funny? Is it that weird to be able to destroy a weak practice dummy?'
Layla's thoughts could not be more wrong. The young devil had concluded that the dummy provided was not going to be strong enough to withstand her spell, this was why she felt it was normal for it to be destroyed.
However, this year the academy had received twice the usual budget as such the equipment provided was also twice its original strength, which included the dummy.
It had various layers and although the outer layers were pierced by other examinees, the inner layers were still intact as they were made of materials that even an inferior-stage grandmaster would have a hard time with.
The fact that she, a superior-stage master realm, destroyed this completely meant her strength was totally out of the norm.
As she went back to her seat she asked Arthur if he knew the reason for everyone's weird gazes. After hearing the reason, she was nonplussed. However, the message she received from her father saying 'good work', made her smile and she did not care about it anymore.
To prevent an unnecessary hassle, Arthur had already requested that his name should not be called during the magic test.
After all, to everyone else, he was unable to use his magic power. Only Arthur knew that he could still use his energy provided certain conditions were met.
The exams went on without a hitch before concluding for the day. On the next day, after all the examinees had a proper rest, the combat test took place.
The examinees were to fight against an intermediate-stage grandmaster realm instructor, of which there were hundreds prepared.
Most of the participants were not even in the master realm, and even those in the master realm were at most intermediate stages. Very few were like Layla and Arthur who were in superior stages and among those participating this year, there was no grandmaster.
Due to this, the examinees were not expected to win, just to hold out for a certain amount of time.
The combat tests were also as flashy as the magic tests, with many examinees using magic and auras of various colours and attributes. Those with innate abilities and skills also displayed their skills.
When it came to Arthur's turn, many focused on him due to his status and the many rumours about him that had been going around.
He simply ignored all these gazes as he walked to the testing grounds and picked a random sword before facing off against the similarly armed grandmaster.
'This is boring, I should end this quick.'
The area battle area was surrounded by multiple transparent magic walls that doubled as barriers, they were strong enough to resist most attacks, this was to prevent them from disturbing other ongoing matches.
Arthur on the other hand just sized up the instructor and couldn't help but compare him to the monsters and people Creusery made him fight during their usual expeditions together.
'He's weak for a grandmaster. Or is it that I'm too strong for a master?
No, don't be arrogant, Arthur.'
Meanwhile, the instructor who was randomly assigned to Arthur, thought that he would be like the other low-rank nobles and lesser royals who just used energy cores to increase their realm while having no real skills.
He was also of the faction that believed Arthur's inability to use his energies to be a lie. Holding his twin swords, he nodded to the moderator to commence the match as he decided to beat Arthur the way he did the others.
"Begin."
The moment the moderator spoke, the instructor bent his body and kicked off the ground. . From his perspective, he had slowed down quite a bit to slip into Arthur's attacking range.
He would surprise Arthur by slashing just the tip of his nose, then using the chance to pin him down.
That was what the instructor planned, however…
The right hand that was meant to deliver the slash was caught instead.
And since Arthur was capable of such a feat, it could only mean he had seen through all of the instructor's movement.
"!?"
"..."
Arthur wordlessly took ahold of the instructor's arm, putting it over his shoulder without a moment's delay. Then, using his own body as leverage, he flung him over!
With great momentum, the instructor's body was thrown towards a wall. As it was, he would have collided with the wall, but of course, he wouldn't be an instructor if he couldn't recover from this much.
He adjusted her body mid-air, and as soon as his feet touched the wall, he launched himself towards Arthur.
"Hmm...This much is expected from an instructor of the Royal Academy."
Arthur turned his body and evaded the instructor's attack with a breadth of a hair. The instructor landed on the ground while raising a cloud of dust. Before long, he turned over and plunged back in.
His speed as she charged, his flexibility to instantly kill his momentum, his agility to change his trajectory.
All of those qualities were ones expected of the royal academy's instructors. And the cherry on top was that he hadn't shown his full potential.
This made Arthur grin a bit as he began to think he might enjoy the combat test more so than he expected. Seeing the look on his face, the instructor was confused
"Why are you having so much fun…?!"
"I don't know when it started but I like it! Fighting against someone!"
His twin swords waved as though they danced, drawing near Arthur, prompting the young prince to finally unsheathe his own sword to receive those blows and ward them off.
"That's one hell of an annoying quirk!"
Every time the swords locked with one another, a rigid metal clank echoed in the silent hall as the thousands of spectators were all watching quietly.
Amidst the intense sword fight, the instructor shuddered. He realized Arthur's foothold mostly hadn't moved from its spot. Arthur had been repelling his swordplay without moving.
He had two swords while Arthur only had one. Just by the number, he should have the upper hand.
Even though he was only on the lowest level of instructors in the academy, the fact that he made his way to that position alone was proof that he was definitely skilled.
And yet, Arthur warded his attacks with plenty of room to spare. What exceptional sword handling, observation, and flow reading.
'Even so, I can't lose to some brat!'
So what if his skill was outstanding, skills didn't directly relate to one's own physical capabilities? A grandmaster and a master had a great gap in their physical ability. Plus he could use his magic and aura while Arthur could not.
In fact, he had already been using his magic to enhance his strength for a while now. Yet he was being withheld by a twelve-year-old who, not only didn't use an artifact but was also unable to use any energies.
There had to be something up Arthur's sleeve. However, he didn't know what that something was.
"Please, put in some serious effort!"
"I'm damn serious!"
At least, on the swordplay front. However, soon after, a chance to win was given to him.
**CLAAANKK!!!
Arthur's sword blade was broken in half. This was due to the difference in the quality of their weapons. The ability to pick a good weapon was also graded so there were bad weapons purposely mixed in.
Arthur just randomly picked a sword without checking, unfortunately, it was of horrible quality.
"!"
"HAAAaaa!"
The slight chance of victory blinded him of his initial aim as he went for the attack. It was right after Arthur's sword shattered. Even Arthur, couldn't evade in time, as such one of the instructor's swords managed to embed itself into his arm, albeit shallowly.
Arthur had tried to jump backwards, but the instructor was closing into him. Apparently, this strike of his was backed with a force more immense than the last one. He could even sense a bit of Aura on the blade.
Just by giving a slight opening due to an unexpected situation, he could deliver an injury at that very moment. He showed that he deserved his position of being a royal academy instructor.
The wound on Arthur's arm was only bleeding slightly, a minor laceration at most. It would pose him no problem to leave it alone.
His sword broke but the fight was still on. Things were getting interesting.
"Ah… Y-, you okay?"
The instructor finally remembered that Arthur was a prince, not just any prince but the prince of the Devildom of Hell. He was scared he might get executed for harming Arthur.
His body had only moved reflexively as he saw that small window of golden opportunity. He was glad he didn't let himself loose with that attack.
Still, receiving his attack in that circumstance and yet only suffering a slight injury, made him realize that this prince was truly a force to be reckoned with.
That opening he gave away would've claimed his life on a battlefield. His worry, however, pissed Arthur off.
"Are you perhaps looking down on me?"
"N-, it's not like that, but—"
"Then you better take me seriously, okay?"