"..??" Aron stood in a dark hall, watching all around curiously. Despite working for years in the Greenville Academy, he had never been to this place ever before. This looked like something exclusive for the students of the Academy.
"Feast your eyes brat... For the next round, yours truly has decided to allow you all the access to the Gamma combat complex." Simon exaggerated with his arms open wide. Everyone except the twins had bewildered expressions on their faces.
"This is the complex that only the first-year students of the academy can access. You must be grateful hahaha.." His wild laughter exploded in the hall. The man was surely excited to introduce this place to the participants.
"Hmph.. what's the big deal about it?" Needless to say, his words failed to impress Christina who was busy shuffling through her hair locks as if nothing in this place was worthy of her attention.
"Looks like we won't be fighting the mud golems. This sure is interesting hehe.." In stark contrast to her, Chris rubbed his palms together in glee. "I wonder what kind of thing we would be fighting against... Do you got any ideas, friend?"
Aron who was busy looking around shook his head. "Even I was only informed about some kind of mud golems that would have tested our combative levels." "Ohh.. even you have never been here?" Considering his surprisingly close relationship with Darlene, Chris was genuinely not expecting the boy to be just as clueless as him.
"It's even better then. I suppose all of us are in for a marvelous time hehe.." Aron can feel his own heart race at his words. Surely, Chris's enthusiasm was affecting him as well.
"Who is coming first? Any volunteers?" Simon called out but no one came forward this time. Certainly, people were most afraid of the unknown. "Hey.. hey.. no one is interested to give it a try?"
"Instructor, can we know what we are dealing with?" One boy finally raised his reservations. "I assure you... you will only be fighting inanimate golems. But what type of magical creation you come across will be up to your luck."
"Step aside!" Not even waiting for the explanation to end, a certain girl organized her long hair into a bun, stepping forth. "What do I have to do?" Her eyes searched for the arrogant piece of shit that tried to intimidate her, yet she can't locate her. Chris and Aron stood at the back, watching the girl next to them march ahead valiantly.
"Nice... Please step forth and step on the platform." Ever since Simon got to know about the true identities of the twins, his tone would soften every time he would address them. Needless to say, this privilege was not extended to anyone else.
"Huh..!" With a sneer on her face, the girl stepped into the raised platform. "Remember to give it your best shot. The results of this round might be shared with the school, in case you make it through."
Christina replied with a nod before she disappeared right in front of everybody's eyes. "Huh..?" Chris noticed Aron's shock and went on to explain. "It's fine. She has probably been transferred to a different location where she can give her all in the fight without any obstruction."
Meanwhile, Christina landed on the floor, her mind dizzy because of the teleportation. Finding herself in a large closed hall, her heart raced in the thrill. The previous two rounds had been painfully boring for the young maiden.
"Strengthening magic: Cluster Defence!!" Small sparks of mana surrounded Christina's body, each one of them coalesced together creating a glowing sheen over her skin. "Magic Resistance" "Physical Enhancement.."
One by one she cast all the best magic spells she possibly could. Apart from the fact that the results from this test were going to determine their future in the academy, Christina had another reason to give her best shot. That was to rub the smirk off the face of that arrogant girl from the MacMillan clan.
"Start..!!" A voice probably belonging to Mr. Simon echoed in the chamber. *Grrr* Just like she was teleported to this place, another being was being transferred right now. Her hands balled into fists, ready to jump at the opponent as soon as it appears.
No one told her that time was also a parameter she can be judged upon. As such, she was better off assuming that it is. *Yelp* A small squeak immediately crushed all hopes Christina.
Opposite her, there was a moss golem, the absolute worst creation when it comes to damage output. "Are you kidding me?" Needless to say, she was mad. "Die!!" Still, she was not going to waste her time on something so useless.
The golem was five feet tall and just as wide. It was like a big green shrub with two black eyes poking between the green slim on its head. In a single leap, Christina had closed the gap between herself and the golem.
*Swish* Her fist met with air. Instead of fighting her head-on, the sneaky bastard has snuck to the side, effectively evading her attack. Quickly turning on her feet, she attacked once again this time making contact.
Thrown back, the golem got back to its stumpy feet. *Eehhhgg* It screeched at her, making Christina crush her jaws. "Are you to run away?" If there was earlier a doubt in her mind that time will be a factor in this round, this moss golem avoiding her attacks had confirmed it beyond any doubt.
"How do you think she is holding on?" Aron was curious about what was going on. There was no way for them to spectate whatever combat tests Christina was going through. Everyone had been staring in silence at the altar from the time she had disappeared.
"No need to worry about her. Her only drawback is her impatience. Other than that she can ace everything else." Chris seemed quite confident in his sister. "I am sorry if I am disrespecting anyone.. but brother Chris, can you tell more about your master? She seems to be big deal out there."
The boy chuckled, shaking his head. "It's okay. You don't belong to any prominent family, it's not your fault." Chris took a dramatic pause. "My master's name is Saintess Rhine Oswald. She is the head priestess of the Church of Eden."
Aron instantly had a realization. The Church of Eden was one of the most popular in the country. Not only that, Aron was especially familiar with this specific church because they run most of the charitable organizations under them. Not only that, the orphanage that Aron was part of before joining the Academy was itself under the jurisdiction of the Church of Eden.
"Wow.." Aron was genuinely shocked by the revelation. He didn't exactly know how much power the head priestess held, nevertheless, the title seemed to be no joke. And once you attach that title to a powerhouse like the church, you get a true juggernaut.
"Haha.. amazing.. isn't it?" Chris laughed, not conceited about his master's identity but rather filled with sincere pride. "Of course.. no wonder both of you were top-grade talents." Aron bobbed his head in understanding. Considering the authority of the church, these twins might actually match Julia's societal credentials.
*Thump* Midway through their conversation, a large screen lit up over the stage. '45 points.' 'Stage 1 cleared.' Two sentences are displayed on the screen, starting a gossip among the participants of the screening test.
A girl raised her voice to consult Mr. Simon on the contents of the screen. The instructor rolled his fingers along the contours of his chin, a persistent smile on his face. "It's pretty self-explanatory. Ms. Christina has cleared the first stage of the trial, in other words, she defeated her first opponent by gathering 45 points."
"What is the upper limit of the points for the stage, Mr. Simon and is every stage worth the same point?" Another person inquired. "Good question. So, every stage will garner you a maximum of 50 points in total. But.."
He took a long dramatic pause between his sentence, witnessing the words on the screen morph to display 'Stage 2 in progress!'
"Every subsequent stage gets exponentially difficult, making you harder and harder to gain those points." His sharp eyes swept over the young boys and girls, making each one of them avert their gazes. Only two of them remained unnerved.
Aron was not sure why, but he can feel Mr. Simon taking a curious look at himself. This was in contrast with his earlier behavior where he refused to put anyone but the twins in his eyes. 'Did the crystal ball incident make him suspicious?'
From owning an entire grimoire to possessing a superhuman level of strength, the repertoire of his abilities has grown by a lot. Yet, the lack of a matching status made Aron inherently apprehensive of the world around him.
"Mr. Simon, do we have a passing criterion as well?" Thankfully, Chris's comment brought the man's attention away from Aron. Simon took on a sincere expression. "Of course.. anyone who can at least clear the first two stages will pass the trial and move to the next round."
His words had an immediate effect on the crowd. The sense of crisis was greatly mitigated for most of the aspiring apprentices. If it was only two stages.. they might just have a real chance to enter the prestigious Greenville Academy. At the same time, the point score on the screen increased to 90 with the second stage cleared as well.
In the dark chamber, Christina stood alone. Her breathing was not as unhindered as the first time she stepped into this place. Opposite her lay some damaged pieces of rocks. That was what has remained of the rock golem that confronted her.
While the first stage was all about time, the second stage tested her offensive capabilities. The rock golem truly had monstrous defensive stats. Her face was a bit flushed and she had to wipe the sweat off her brows.
The pieces of rocks suddenly began glowing before they disappeared. Not giving her any time to catch her breath, another creature made up of magic manifested in its place. As soon as the first heatwave hit her, Christina knew this fight was not going to be a walk in the park.
Some distance from her stood a very lean bi-pedal magical being. It was twice as tall as her, its entire body searing under raging flames. A fire golem was not something to joke about. The amount of mana it takes to create one is many times that compared to moss or even a rock golem.
*Screech* Another blast of heatwave hit Christina. "Now we are talking haha.." "Divine Magic: Blessing of the mother goddess!!" Her calling onto her Divine magic meant that she had finally acknowledged her opponent.
A figure made entirely of bright white light materialized behind her. The image was not particularly well defined, it's gender unsure. But gradually the figure hugged Christina and began merging with her.
*Screech* The fire golem was not in a mood to wait for her transformation to end, instantly leaping towards the young maiden. Mid-air, it threw a punch that conjured a flaming fist. The bright tongue of flames hit Christina right on her face.
"You are not playing around are you?" Any normal human would have simply been toasted. But Christina remained unharmed, waiting for the golem to reach her. As expected, the combusting figure displayed no sign of emotions on its scorching face.
Its motive is as simple, keep attacking until either the opponent is neutralized or he surrenders. Christina opened her eyes, a strange glow in her eyes. The fire golem had reached her and once again used its fist to attack her.
*Bang* Not caring about it, she threw her own punch meeting the golem head-on. Right now the strength coursing through her body was unparalleled. Her mana channels were working at their full capacity, resisting the flaming bubble that has engulfed her.
< Kudos!!>>