Aron and Ava rested for the next ten minutes when the girl forced him to get back on his feet. "Let's do some hand-to-hand brawl.." Standing opposite him, she cracked her bones ready to duel him.
For a moment, Aron was distracted by the well-maintained figure of the short-haired girl, but he quickly snapped back. Keeping his hands in front he took on a fighting stance taught by her, in the period of the past week.
With distraught nerves, Aron let her take on the assault role. Needless to say, Ava was an avid fighter. At this point, even he knew that her lack of talent in magic spells has culminated in her physical prowess.
*BAM* *BAM* *BAM* A clean sweep from her long legs made the boy struggle to defend his head by raising his forearms. Each hit to his arm felt like he was banging it against a rock. *BAM* Another swift kick to his abdomen threw him back and landed on his butt.
"Are you okay?" Concerned, Ava came running to help him get back to his feet. "Sorry... I was too harsh." Aron remained quiet, slowly massaging his belly. "I don't know. I think it's fine because I am not feeling any pain."
"Hmm?" His words left Ava befuddled. A kick to his stomach didn't hurt him? But unlike her, Aron can figure things out better. 'It must be the vampire thing..' From the time he was bitten, he had noticed great changes in his body. So much so that he rarely ever feels exhausted even while engaged in labor chores.
His strength was multiple times the usual, allowing him to almost perform at a superhuman level. His reservations aside, wasn't this actually a delightful outcome of the tragedy? He can leverage this to pass the exams.
"Why are you smiling so creepily?" Aware of the mental gymnastics the boy was going through, Ava only noticed the nasty grin on his face, spreading from ear to ear. Obviously, he was planning something.
"Hehehe.. nothing. Let's keep rolling." Aron jumped back to his feet, this time going on the offensive. *Bang* *Bang* A surprised Ava stepped back while blocking the mindless punches targetting her upper body. It was a given that the girl was not expecting to be put on defense against a newbie.
With eyes wide as saucers, she was continuously forced back by the relentless counterattack. Although the technique behind the punches was nothing but crass, what puzzled her was the enormous strength behind them.
"Wait..!!" Aron was made to halt by Ava's cry. He stopped to check on her when the girl took the opportunity to jump at him. Holding onto his arm, she began probing his muscles. "You didn't take any potions to enhance your strength, did you?"
Unable to find any changes in the density of the muscles, Ava questioned him with a cynical look. Aron hurriedly shook his head. "Don't try any drugs when you appear for the screening. They are going to ban the heck out of your ass and you can kiss your chances goodbye if they catch you trying something funny."
Like a good boy, Aron kept nodding at every point the girl made. 'It looks like I spooked her. It's better not to go over this strength limit for now.' He can't risk being restrained just because someone got suspicious of him.
Deeming it to be her own negligence, Ava shook her head and put her balled fist against her relatively flat chest. "Let's continue." Unwilling to take the loss against a total noob, she was committed to doing her best.
*Bam* *Bam* Soon the girl began overwhelming Aron. The superiority of her combat skills along with her experience trumped the brute force the boy commanded.
***
"Huff.. huff.." Having easily completed the 20 rounds asked of him, Aron pretended to breathe roughly in order to not stand out too much among his similarly exhausted peers. "Hahahaha.. Impressive.. so many of you passed!!" Mr. Simon clapped his hands in glee.
At the first glance, Aron counted around thirty boys and girls who had successfully completed the required laps. A strict Simon coldly directed Tracey to send the failed candidates back to their dorms. Looking at the downcast faces of the aspirants, Aron can only shake his head in regret.
If it was up to him, he would have liked everyone to pass along with him. Nevertheless, he can understand the Academy's point of view as well. Recruiting low-standard kids will only put a strain on their resources.
"Don't fret it." Suddenly a voice from behind him broke his stupor. A boy, the same age as him, stepped forth to stand beside him. "Here.. you look tired." He extended his hand for a handshake after passing his water bottle to him.
Aron didn't shy away from taking a sip. "Hello.. I think we are meeting for the first time.. my name is Chris." There were hundreds of slaves in the Necromancy department itself. It's nothing exceptional that Aron found a new face.
"Yes.. this is the first time indeed. I am Aron.. pleased to meet you." Both of them warmly shook hands, each one can see compassion in their eyes. "So, my friend Aron, take my advice and don't think too much about people who don't make it. It will only slow you down."
The boy spoke with an elegance that was not the trademark of slaves. Aron noticed his clothes were not really shabby. "If you want to excel in life, you need to get used to this scene. There will always be people who you will leave behind." Unaware of Aron curiously evaluating his dress and demeanor, the boy continued to shower his knowledge.
"I understand." Aron can't see any malice in his eyes as Chris presented his state of mind as a matter of fact. "Ahem.. if you don't mind me asking.. brother Chris, you don't look like you work as a slave here?"
His question made the boy laugh out loud and that's when Aron heard a prominent humph from behind. "Don't pool us with yourself, slave boy!!" A girl walked past him and stood beside Chris, dressed in matching yellow attire.
"He didn't mean any disrespect, Christina. Don't be rude to our friend here." Aron hurriedly apologized as well. Obviously, this new girl was Chris's sister. How can he tell? Well, their faces were an exact carbon copy of each other. Certainly, he was face to face with a pair of identical twins.
"Hmph.. as long as you understand." Opposite to Chris, his sister was the epitome of pride. Even unwilling to talk to Aron in the same breath. "Please don't mind her, friend. You know.. my little sister has lived a rather pampered life."
Christina only sneered at the remark before jerkily picking the water bottle from Aron's hands. "It's fine, brother Chris." Aron truly didn't put the girl's words to heart, after all, he was used to this treatment. Rather he was happy to find such a charming young fellow who called him a friend.
"You must be curious about us.. Actually, you identified correctly. We are not slaves working at the academy. While our family is not high on the nobility ranking, we do hold some prestige in the country." Aron was surprised at the revelation. Wasn't this screening only for slaves?
Chris can probably guess what the boy had in mind, so he took another light chuckle before explaining. "You see, me and my sister were out of the country for our training. And that's why we ended up missing the last screening for the noble candidates."
Midway through the conversation Chris suavely put his hand through his long blonde hair. The twins possessed pristine skin that was the signature of the nobility who were not used to physical labor. As for the girl, other than the smug expression on her face, she too looked very elegant.
"Then why not wait for the next test? It's only a few months away." Aron inquired. "You think we got so much free time?" This time Christina stepped in with a snarky comment, prompting Chris to hurriedly take over.
"Our master wants us to get in as soon as possible. As such, we don't have the luxury to wait for next year." Aron nodded and suggested that they take a small rest together before the examiner calls them for the next round.
Chris was happy to oblige while Christina followed him albeit reluctantly. "Tell us something about yourself, brother Aron? How long have you been working in the Academy?"
Chris truly had a magnificent personality, able to win hearts no matter which strata of the society he was mingling with. This was evident from the extraordinary respect he displayed towards Aron despite his destitute status. The duo talked for a while and Christina didn't bother to take part in their chatter.
"Hehe.. who knew our little slave is this good at making friends?" Tracey remarked as a group of women helped Simon set up the next test stage. Gloria nodded but her attention had rather been diverted to the two other participants beside Aron.
"You don't recognize them?" She shook her head. "Hehe.. I am sure you must have heard about them though. These are the Desmond kids... Remember?" It took Gloria some time to process the information when her eyes shined brightly.
"You mean these are the kids under the tutelage of madam Rhine?" "Indeed. Why else do you think I pushed Mr. Simon to do some changes to the test conditions?" Gloria squinted her eyes, this screening session was getting even more interesting now.
"You think they are worth the hype?" "Shouldn't I be asking that question to you?" Gloria retorted, causing Tracey to giggle. "Overall they don't look too impressive but my vision is not very good for assessing combat levels. Unless I see them fight, I can't gauge their true capabilities." Gloria balled her hands into fists. She won't let anyone stand in her way to reach the top.
*Clap* *Clap* "Gather around brats.. we don't have all day." Simon called out to the kids who each came and stood in a queue. "That's the magic assessment crystal. One by one you will go and simply place your hand on the crystal."
"The results are simple. You either light it up or go home hahaha.." Not wasting any time, he ordered the first kid to step forth. The boy took a deep breath before approaching the crystal ball on the raised pavilion.
The transparent ball lighted up with a dull yellow color, making the boy excitedly look at Mr. Simon. "A yellow shade indicates the lowest aptitude for magic. Although you have passed, aim to raise it higher."
"Red shade is acceptable while green will get you more attention in the academy. All the prodigious kids can light the crystal up to the blue shade. That should be your goal in life." Simon explained while the next girl in the line climbed the stairs.
Unfortunately for her, there was no response from the crystal this time around. It refused to light up no matter how hard the girl tried to focus. Simon shook his head. "Give up." His voice lacked any sympathy even as the girl on the stage was almost brought to the point of tear.
"Next!!" He shouted, prompting the next aspirant to give it a try. One after the other the crystal kept rejecting people. Only a handful of them had passed with the best score being at the verge of reddish shade.
"Trash..!!" Chris massaged his head. Christina's lack of empathy always embarrassed him. As expected, the boys and girls around them didn't take her comments too kindly. Inadvertently even Aron was caught in the midst of the unfriendly gazes.
While the two boys brought their heads down, Christina remained defiant, holding her head up high. Thankfully Simon intervened, causing the gazes to disperse. "Don't cause a ruckus!" Aron felt like his warning was meant more for the slaves than the arrogant girl.
Pretty soon it was Christina's turn. The girl carelessly leaped over to the stage, placing her hand on the crystal. All this while, the snugness of her face had not been toned down even by a bit.
Under her hands, Aron observed the crystal ball glow brightly. "Blue?" He heard a few shocked reactions. Indeed the crystal was shining with a potent blue shade, lighting the whole area.
< Kudos!!>>