Immediately Aron noticed Rumi's eyebrows bunch up. A man stood in the doorway looking back at them. He instantly hid the gourd in his left hand, alas it was too late. "ahaha.. you are still awake, honey? Good. Good. I am starving."
Aron had a bad feeling about all this, unfortunately, he can't take his leave when Rumi's arms were locking him in place. "Ohh.. you sure you didn't had dinner at that shitty place?" Hans's expressions stiffened upon his face. "Ahahah.. What are you talking about, my love?"
"Ahem.. ohh.. I see this brat is here as well. Don't you think you are got too frequent at my place?" Aron smirked at the man's futile efforts to change the topic. "I didn't know you are this pathetic, old man." Hans stumbled over, almost falling over on his face.
"The heck.. you said.. ahem..!" He would have certainly responded to this insult had Rumi not been glaring at him like a hungry wolf. It was best to be on good behavior when his wife was like this. Raising his voice in these desperate times will only prove to be detrimental to his mental peace.
"Why don't you serve something good, honey? Believe me, I am craving the food from your hands." It was a good attempt, sadly neither the boy nor the lady looked impressed with his words. "I am busy. Get it yourself." Aron was absolutely enjoying the maltreatment the man received. 'Serves you right, pervy guy hahaha..'
Hans can only smile wryly, bringing the food out from the kitchen and serving it to himself. All this was a lie. He wasn't hungry at all, his belly filled entirely with his beloved wine. But for the well-being of his family, he would have to take on this venture.
Rumi completely ignored the man, focussing much rather on her chats with the kid. Time passed and the only thing that had kept Aron rooted in his place was the conspicuous gazes of the old man who was already struggling with his food.
**Next day**
"Brother.. you got to promise me that you are going to look after this brother, in case you get selected." No matter how small his chances were, Caleb did his best to hug onto his thighs. What's more, after witnessing how some big personalities Aron got himself involved with, he might even surprise him.
"Damn you fatty.. you stink.. get away..!!" Caleb was hugging the boy in a bear hug, unwilling to let go. "Okay.. okay.. I will do something for you too. But at least let me get selected first. Only then I can be of any help to you."
"Hehe.. I knew you are my best brother hahaha.." Caleb finally let go, chuckling to himself endlessly. "Huh.. more like I am your only brother idiot..!" "Hehe.. true that." Fatty chuckled shamelessly. Both of them were from the orphanage and as such, they didn't have anyone else.
"What about the spirit gathering pills that I gave you? Are you even using them?" "Of course." Caleb immediately put his hand inside his shirt to locate a secret pouch, locating a small bottle. This was certainly the most expensive possession in all his life, he got to store it close to his chest.
"See? I used two of them." Aron sighed while putting on his shirt. "You don't need to be frugal, brother. You can have as much as you want. If I get selected, I will buy you another few bottles." His words were said casually but Caleb was already brought to the brink of tears. "I love you brother.." Aron spent the next few minutes trying to avoid fatty's thick lips that were adamant about kissing his face.
"Those interested in appearing for the screening, assemble in the ground!!" A booming voice echoed through the corridors, informing them about the upcoming tests. "Best of luck, man. Do your best for both of us haha.." Fatty slapped his bloated belly as Aron smiled back at him before walking outside.
Walking downstairs, he didn't see too many guys approaching the grounds. The payment of copper coins for participation deters the less confident cadets. Then again, a copper coin was worth taking the chance to flip your life altogether.
Aron can see dozens of boys and girls his age congregate on the lawns of the dorm. About to pass through the main door, someone placed his hand on his chest, bringing him to halt. "Pay up!" Nodding his head lightly, Aron placed the copper coin in the burly man's palm, which allowed him to join the group.
Looking all around he observed that there were very few candidates that were older than him. The academy only wants a fresh lot. The chance of establishing a solid foundation keeps on depreciating with age. 14 to 15 years was considered the best age to begin training for a mage.
"I think everyone is here, Ms. Gloria. You can take them away." Aron was waiting in the crowd, looking around to find any known faces when he heard a man speak up. Gloria? That name sounded vaguely familiar.
Wiggling his way through the crowd he reached the front to find two girls that he recognized standing with their warden. As soon as he saw them Aron retracted his steps hiding among the crowd once again.
No one told him that there will be students from the Academy overlooking their trials. And what type of shitty luck was this? Among so many students in the academy, they had to choose these two from Julia's rival gang? It would be a fool's dream if he thought that these two won't make life difficult for him.
'Tchh.. Let's just hide for now.' Aron was not a coward, but this was an extremely important matter. He didn't want to give those spoilt girls any chance to butt heads with him. While he was trying to step back through the crowd, one of the girls had already noticed him.
Tracey was bored out of her mind, standing beside her friend she let Gloria handle everything. All this exercise was a total waste as far as she was concerned. Everyone knew that none of these guys will be selected. Academy's requirements are extremely stringent, and they won't show any leniency for these slaves.
In contrast, they might give another thought to an application from a prestigious family even if their kids failed the tests, but these nameless guys were no different than livestock in their eyes. These slaves were aware of the fact as well, but the lure of being selected as a student was too much to avoid.
"How long had it been since a slave got selected?" She directed her question to the man with a thick mustache on his face. "Hmm.. I guess, five years or more, my lady." "Ohh.." Tracey hummed in hopelessness. "Haahh.." Sighing once again she was about to take the backseat once again when her eyes noticed a face peering towards them before disappearing into the crowd.
"Ehh..?" With her sharp eyes, it was impossible for the boy to hide. "What happened?" Gloria heard her surprised voice. "Hahaha.. interesting. This screening might not be as boring after all." "Why so?" "You will see." Not explaining herself she kept up the suspense.
Aron kept himself in the middle of the marching group as the two girls brought them to one of the countless training grounds of the academy. "We brought the lot, Mr. Simon." The girls stepped to the side, letting in view a mam with a bright smile on his face.
"Thank you, my ladies." Aron noticed a tone of subservience in the man's reply. 'I wonder if the students of the academy are truly more powerful than some mediocre teachers.' Standing at the back, the boy pondered.
His estimation was a bit off the mark since the man was not actually respectful towards the girls as such, but rather to their family names. "Good.. at least you guys are not too skinny." Mr. Simon strolled over to the crowd of the slaves, evaluating their physique.
"Let me give you runts a walk through the screenings. The test is divided into 4 steps. First will be the physical round. In the second test, you will each be evaluated for your magical aptitude with reference to your age. In the third step, you need to prove your combat abilities. And in the fourth crucial step, you have to cast a spell."
The crowd ahead of Mr. Simon broke into chatter. From the sustained grin on his face, it was clear that he had been expecting this reaction. "Hahaha.. You don't have to think too much about the fourth step. Believe me, that's the least of your worries. More than 9 out of 10 of you will be disqualified in the first three tests itself."
"Should we begin then?" Getting no particular response from the nervous boys and girls, Trench raised his hands. "One second, Mr. Simon." Before the man can continue, Tracey interrupted him. Pulling up to the teacher, the girl began whispering in his ear.
Witnessing this new development from his safe space, Aron found himself in trepidation. Hopefully, the academy will not let two young students interfere with the screening process. If that was not the case, he was probably in for a bad ending.
He found Mr. Simon nodding a few times as he agrees with whatever proposal the girl came up with. His only saving grace, for now, was the blue-haired girl who had not even bothered to look at him twice. It was like he didn't even exist in her world.
"Good.. we will do that. That way I am sure we can rap all this even faster." A chuckling Tracey happily skipped back to her friend, standing beside her as Simon rounded up the slaves. "What did you say to him?" Though nonchalant, Gloria can't help but question her intentions.
"Nothing much.. just asked him to change a few tests here and there. After all, we can't have people cheating around." While saying that her eyes ventured to the long-haired boy who still kept his head down as the group around him began forming a queue. Gloria didn't say anything in response, quietly witnessing Mr. Simon explaining the rules to the slaves.
"Twenty rounds, not more not less. Anything less than that and you will be sent on your way back." Looking at the vast expanse of the training ground, almost half of the aspirants despaired. But not Aron, who had trained especially for this event.
"Begin!!" Not giving them any time to think, Mr. Simon's voice boomed as the kids sprinted. In the middle of the crowd, Aron too found himself filled with a strange adrenaline rush. This was his time to shine. Only the completion of this course will guarantee that he could stand in the same league as Julia and others. And so the boy ran, faster and faster. Pretty soon he found himself at the forefront.
**Two days back**
"Haah.. haaahh..!!" Drenched in his own sweat Aron was running at one of the training grounds of the Academy. Right next to him, another girl ran on the same track. "Come on slave boy.. You need to push harder."
There was a slight mocking undertone to the feminine voice, but it didn't faze Aron. Breathing heavily the boy was only able to run another three rounds before exhausting himself. Ava agreed and they sat down at the edge of the track, hydrating themselves.
"I think you asked for twenty rounds. If I am correct, we already ran for like thirty, didn't we?" Aron questioned the girl, prompting her to smirk at him in disdain. "Don't be too complacent with yourself. Although the screening tests are usually fixed, it's not like the screeners don't change a few obstacles here and there."
Aron lacked a proper response to that, so he chose to stay silent. "Anyhow.. you are not bad at all. Thirty rounds without any prior training, that's impressive." Aware that she spoke too harshly, Ava tried to motivate him. "Thanks.. haha..!!" As expected, the boy was quick to please, chuckling like a kid at a minor praise.
< Kudos!!>>