"Only strength?"
The acting Lord Yorhime asked in a slightly confused tone. Just like him many of the contestants present were confused as to why someone would choose only one attribute, especially one as odd strength.
In Pesia, physical strength alone was something that was greatly overlooked as it wasn't a core attribute. The best it could do was provide a slight advantage. This was slightly different for the Komi race as most of them possessed strength that naturally exceeded humans but even then it wasn't enough to be considered a core attribute.
The best attribute was of course magic, because someone with a weak body could use mana to strengthen themselves and surpass someone who was even naturally strong physically. So although magic wasn't mandatory, many if not all considered it the most important.
"Yes only strength, is there a problem?" Aron replied before questioning the acting Lord Yorhime about his reaction.
'Of course there's a problem, our Lady must've made a grave mistake. It's best I bring this to her attention immediately after testing him.' The acting Lord Yorhime thought to himself before giving off a sigh and shaking his head.
"Well alright, the strength test is quite straight forward and simple. A small barrier will be created around me using the standard strength examining instrument the academy uses and you simply have to hit it as hard as you can." Lord Yorhime explained quickly and then proceeded to stand at the center of the stage.
The robed man who had been standing on the sidelines now came closer to the center of the stage and placed a small round marble with the initials G.A engraved on its surface on the floor.
"It's ready." He quickly stated before walking away from the center and back to the sidelines.
'A standard testing device for the academy?' Aron thought to himself as he looked at the small marble that laid between him and Lord Yorhime.
"Good, we're all set. Once the barrier is created you should hit it as hard as you can, your score will be determined by the amount of force behind your strike. So once again I advice all of you to try your hardest because appearing in the top 100 may change your lives forever. Anyways let the test begin!"
As Lord Yorhime finished speaking, the small marble began to glow bright green before a semi transparent dome began expanding from it. The semi-transparent dome continued to expand until it covered much of the center region of the stage.
Lord Yorhime stood calmly at the center of the dome shaped barrier with his hands behind his back and observed Aron who stood some meters away on the other side of the barrier.
'I wonder what he'll score...' Lucas looked onto the stage without turning away in anticipation. Ever since observing Aron's short display before entering the city, he had been curious about how strong he was.
Aron on the other hand simply looked at the barrier with an odd look as if gauging its strength.
'It's not something I'm familiar with and since the ring is not reacting then I can only assume it wasn't something present in Argos's library. I suppose it's to be expected considering new knowledge comes to light often. Which begs the question how outdated was Argos's knowledge...' Aron let out a loud sigh and shook his head slowly.
"I'll be hitting it now." He declared in casual manner as he readied a stance and faced the dome shaped barrier with narrowed eyes.
A deathly silence filled the hall as the other contestants just watched keenly. Aron's fierce gaze was directed at Lord Yorhime who stood within the barrier with his hands behind his back and a smile on his face.
Aron slowly breathed in and his muscles began to tense up as even veins could now be seen on his arms. When he finally breathed out, his left foot pressed against the ground with extreme force as he launched himself forward.
A gust of wind rushed out from under his feet as he moved from that spot to mere inches away from the barrier in the blink of an eye.
In that split second when everyone blinked, he was now in front of barrier ready to attack. Only Lord Yorhime could properly react and even he only widened his eyes as it was too late to do anything else.
Aron's gaze never once shifted from looking Lord Yorhime dead in the eyes even as his fist made contact with the barrier.
*!!!!*
The result of the fist making contact with the barrier was a fierce shockwave that seemingly made the entire building shake. All the seated contestants were forced back different distances while lighter objects were sent flying.
On the outside, bypassing civilians were simply shocked by the large building they were walking passed having all its windows shatter in an instant.
"What was that!"
"Someone call the guards!"
"Maybe an accident happened?"
More and more civilians curiously gathered near the building in worry while some fled the scene out of fear.
Meanwhile back inside the building, the once luxurious looking hall looked to be in complete shambles with many figures trying to stand from ground.
'Argh, my ears won't stop ringing...' Lucas who was closer to the stage experienced the shockwave's ferocity more so than those behind him.
He shook his head to try and get out of the daze he was in as he slowly stood from the crouching position he was in. As he did so, he turned his gaze forward towards the stage with squinted eyes as he couldn't properly see.
"Wh-!!"
When his eyes finally focused on the stage his eyes widened and he was left utterly speechless.
At the now messed up stage, Lucas saw a fierce unmoving figure in a red jacket that fluttered in the wind that came through the now shattered windows. One breeze in particular caused Aron's hood to be blown down and his face to be fully exposed.
Aron wore a neutral expression as he turned his head to face Lucas and their gazes met. Lucas parted his lips in a trembling manner as he attempted to speak but no words came out, his hands also began to tremble on their own and his breathing became rushed.
'Incredible...' is the only thought than ran across his mind.
But as he turned his focus from Aron he would only be shocked more as he realized the dome shaped barrier wasn't in the least bit damaged by Aron's fierce attack.
He simply looked on in awe as another contestant stood next to him and looked forward. This contestant however soon began to walk backwards fearfully before falling down.
"Hey are you ok?" Lucas asked in a worried tone as he finally got out of his daze.
The fallen contestant however didn't utter a word. He instead lifted his trembling hand and point to the dome shaped barrier's location.
Lucas looked at the contestant in a slightly confused manner as he turned around and looked to where the contestant was pointing.
"!!" As if by instinct, Lucas moved a step back and raised his head to look at the dome shaped barrier with fully widened eyes.
Because right above the dome shaped barrier was a floating bright colored letter that flickered weakly.
"S...." Lord Yorhime who was still in the barrier gulped and muttered as he looked above his head.
'Completely unscathed...' Although Aron looked to be calm and composed on the surface, his fists where clenched tightly to the point that some blood began to drip from them.
'I used my full sheer strength in that attack and I still couldn't break a barrier used for testing, maybe if I augmented or used an aspect instead...' In that moment, a displeased frown appeared on Aron's face for a moment as he remembered a conversation he had with his father when he was younger.
.....
[ "Father, if I one day surpass you, would I become the strongest person in our kingdom? Or even the world they migrated to?" A young ambitious Aron once asked but his father only laughed. ]
[ "Hahaha, I like your spirit boy but don't be absurd. You are and will stay weak for a very long time. You are not the first person striving for power and nor will you be the last. Some are already many stages ahead while others are not even born yet. Being strong isn't simply surpassing one goal you set for yourself. Because if someone sets a higher goal than you and achieves it, doesn't that make them stronger? And if they're stronger....then you are weak by default." ]
[ "The day you achieve a feat so high that no one even dares to attempt it, then and only then can you call yourself the strongest." Harald had advised his young curious son in a serious tone but got only a confused gaze in return. ]
[ "I don't understand father, if you can beat someone then aren't you stronger?" The small boy had asked in curios yet unsure tone. ]
[ "*sigh*, never mind boy. One day you'll hopefully understand. And when you do.... your entire outlook of the world will change forever. Enough chatting let's get back to training!....." ]
......
As Aron remembered his father's words, his angry frown faded and was instead replaced by a blank expression. His fists opened and he raised his head to also look at glowing letter above the the barrier.