In his room, Raia was leaning against the wall while waiting for the next part of the exam to start.
[The combat assessment exam will start.]
As the voice sounded, the walls, floor and the dummy doll began disappearing. A few seconds later and Raia was standing in the middle of plain grassland.
About 50 from where he was standing was a humanoid creature, looking at him fixedly. It has a dark muscular body, a pair of red eyes and a long pointed tail.
[Fight or kill the enemy within one hour.]
'One hour? That is a long time considering the cultivation state of my opponent.'
The creature in front of him was just at high 2nd level Martial Spirit State. Even if it has the combat power of 3rd level Martial Spirit State, Raia can still kill it easily.
With his combat power reaching 5th level Martial Spirit State, he only needed a single strike to defeat it.
The combat assessment of the students requires them to defeat an opponent one level higher than their own cultivation level. A 6th level Martial Physique State examinee will have to kill a 7th level Martial Physique State enemy.
For some of the students, this will be a pretty easy exam. Their combat power is higher than their cultivation states after all.
However, most of the students will have difficult time in finishing the exam.
It is a good thing that the combat assessment does not fail the student instantly just because they didn't kill the enemy. They will be evaluated by how they fought their opponent, how much damage did they receive and deal to the enemy, techniques used, their mental status, and many other factors.
Killing the enemy is the end goal of the assessment. Of course, killing the opponent brings higher points to the students. How fast and efficient they killed their enemy played a huge role in grading these examinees.
The creature standing from a distance showed its fangs as it growled at Raia. It took a battle stance and prepared to charge at him.
However, at this moment, Raia kicked the ground and immediately appeared in front of the humanoid creature. The distance between them was not that far so he covered it pretty fast.
The next second, he released a punch to the head of the humanoid creature.
'Boom!'
The creature didn't even have the chance to evade and received the attack directly. Its head splattered into mist and its body collapsed to the ground lifeless. Then, it slowly disappeared until it completely vanished.
Raia sighed and sat down to the grass to wait until the test is over.
…
Meanwhile, Principal Ivan and the other officers were clapping their hands and laughing while watching Raia.
"Good, good! This kid is really good! As expected of someone with that high combat power. Even a 3rd level Martial Spirit State opponent is no match for him." Prinicipal Ivan said with elation.
The others also gave their compliments. They already kind of expected this result but it is still amazing to see it with their own eyes.
"I guess we already know the outcome of the rankings." Principal Ivan commented.
The others nodded in agreement. With what Raia achieved, it would be impossible for the others to overtake his results.
"Emir, have you prepared the rewards and recommendation letters?" Principal Ivan asked one of the teachers.
Sir Emir nodded and answered. "I have already prepared them, sir. Everything is ready."
"Good, good." Principal Ivan said with satisfaction. "Raia is already done but the other examinees were still fighting."
They all returned to watch the screens that displayed the students fighting their opponents.
…
Except for Raia, the other students were still engaged in combat with their opponent. Some of them were having a hard time and the others have the advantage.
Jacob, a 2nd level Martial Spirit State, was fighting his opponent, 3rd level Martial Spirit State with ease. Although, he couldn't kill it with one strike, he was still able to push the enemy to a disadvantage. With some of the skills passed by his family, he was able to have the upper hand from the very beginning.
About twenty minutes after the combat assessment started, he finally killed his opponent.
While watching the body of the creature disappearing, Jacob smiled victoriously. "With this, my rank will definitely be first. I am confident that I almost got a perfect score in the written exam. The strength exam is obviously a bonus and I know that the others were still fighting at this moment."
This time, he remembered what Raia said yesterday. Jacob chuckled and thought to himself. 'He must be dreaming if he wanted to take the first place. Not on my watch, kid.'
Jacob lied on the ground while waiting for the time to end.
Meanwhile, the other examinees continued fighting their opponents.
As time passed, some of the students gradually gained advantage to their enemies. Aaron was one of them.
At first, he was having a hard time fighting the creature. Killing a 7th level Martial Physique State enemy while on 6th level Martial Physique State is very difficult for him.
For all of the students, this was their first encounter with this type of creature. It was specially made for this exam after all. Fighting an unknown creature is rather difficult for many of the students. Even though most of them, including Aaron, had some virtual pods in their homes and trained battling beasts through simulations, they have all what they need to defeat their enemy in those situations.
But this time, they were fighting with their own fists, a stronger unknown foe.
Aaron remembered the advices and information that Raia told him a few days ago about hunting and fighting a stronger enemy.
He recalled what Raia answered when they asked questions like what is the first thing to do when fighting, how to find the weak spot of an enemy, how to defend certain attacks or how to get an advantage against a stronger opponent.
Basic topics but most of the students rather forget.
As Aaron recalled the information he learned from the clear explanation of Raia, his battle became easier.
Thirty-five minutes to the test and he finally turned the creature into a corpse.
Aaron sat and tried to catch his breath. "I've got to thank Raia again."
Two other students applied what they have learned from Raia like Aaron. They were Caroline and Veronica.
It took Caroline, an 8th level Martial Physique State, twenty five minutes to kill the 9th level Martial Physique State creature. On the other hand, although Veronica is at 7th level Martial Physique State, it took her the same time as Aaron to finish the exam.
Time passed quickly. At the exact second the one hour was up, all of the students were forced to exit the virtual pods.
Raia stepped out from the pod and the first thing he did was to look for Aaron. However, Aaron was already running towards him while wearing a big smile on his face.
They wanted to talk but were interrupted by Vivian.
"Alright. Good job guys. Before you start discussing the exam, let me make an announcement first." With her voice, the students turned quiet.
"The rankings of the exam will be given at the main auditorium where all of the rewards will also be presented to the top students. You are all required to attend the ceremony that will start at 4:30. We will also hand over to you the results of each of your exams after awarding the rewards. Until then, you can relax. Nice work guys. See you later." Vivian smiled and then left the room.
The students inside the room began talking about the exam. Various expressions and emotions erupted in the air.
Raia pushed Aaron out of the room and asked. "So? How did it go? Did you kill the creature?"
Aaron gave a laugh and answered with a smile. "Of course I killed it! It took me about thirty five minutes but I am very happy about that! I feel that I will enter the top 100!"
"That is good then." Raia said with a thumbs up.
"Thank you again, Raia. Without your help.." Aaron didn't finish his sentence.
Raia waved his hands in front of him and spoke. "I already said that it is good I am able to help. Let's go to the main auditorium and find a good spot to sit."
"Okay. You also killed the creature, right?" Aaron asked as they walked towards the direction of the main auditorium.
"Of course I did." Raia quickly replied.
"How long it took you to kill it?" Aaron continued.
Raia faced him and said with a smile. "About two seconds, give or take."
Aaron chuckled and rolled his eyes. "Yeah right."
There was a clear disbelief in Aaron's words but Raia just laughed it off.
…
There were already students coming when Raia and Aaron arrived at the main auditorium. In the front of the pre-arranged seats was a stage decorated nicely. The two of them chose to sit at the back seats.
A few minutes later, two students approached them.
"Raia, Aaron!" Caroline shouted as she sat beside Raia.
Veronica also greeted the two as she sit. "H-hello."
"I didn't see you two during break time." Raia said.
"Oh. We didn't leave our room. We just ate there." Caroline answered.
"R-Raia, I want to thank you because the things I learned from you really helped me a lot. Thank you." Veronica said shyly.
"That is right! I did very good in all the exams! Thank you!" Caroline exclaimed.
Raia just smiled and said. "I'm glad to be able to help you."
They began talking about the exams. Caroline and Veronica told the two how they quickly answered the written exam and manage to kill the creature with the use of the advices that Raia gave them.
The auditorium was slowly being filled with the students as the time of the ceremony closed by.
At this moment, Raia's attention was caught by a group of students entering the auditorium. The three noticed him and turned to see where he was looking.
"Hm? Jacob Philips? Do you know each other?" Caroline asked Raia.
Raia shook his head. "No. We just met briefly at the beast pet store yesterday."
"Beast pet store?" Aaron asked.
"The smith shop is doing good so mother gave us credits to buy some things we wanted. We were at the Collins beast pet store to buy a pet for Rina when we encountered Jacob."
Raia then told the three what happened.
"That kid has some air with him." Aaron clicked his tongue.
"But he really has a high chance of getting the first rank." Caroline said.
"That is right. He has the highest state among all the students after all." Veronica agreed.
"Why did you ask him what will happen if you get the first rank?" Aaron asked with confusion.
Raia didn't answer him.
"Don't tell me that there is a chance that you can take the first rank." Aaron said with wide eyes.
Raia gave a smile and replied. "I don't know. Let's just see the results."
At this moment, a voice sounded around the main auditorium.
"Students, take your seats. We will begin the awarding ceremony."
The students quickly followed and took their seats, each one waiting for the good news.
…
Sitting on the front desk while smoking his cigar, Gran is waiting for customers. It was afternoon and there weren't many customers coming.
At this time, the door opened. Gran turned to see who it was only for his eyes to widen.
Standing at the door, a red haired lady wearing a pink dress was smiling at him.
"F-f-faye?! What are you doing here?!" He shouted as he approached the lady with rushed steps.
The lady frowned and said. "So I am not allowed to come home anymore?"
"N-n-no! That is not what I meant. Aren't you supposed to be at school?" Gran asked while stuttering.
Faye embraced him and replied. "School has already ended. I came home as soon as I can. I already miss you, dad."
Gran hugged her back. "Come in, I'll close the shop so we can have time to catch up."
"Okay."
Gran closed the shop for the day and listened to her daughter as she told her life at school.
Faye entered an all-female high school located at the other end of Forzen City called Christine Women's Academy. The school is a bit strict and didn't let its students to leave the campus easily after they enrolled.
During this four years, Faye focused on her studies barely leaving the campus ground and contacting the outside. She wanted to concentrate on school and didn't want any distractions.
After a long talk, Faye asked his dad. "Are you surprised?"
"Of course I am. I thought there are still a few days before you come back. Never expected you will come home today." Gran responded.
"You are surprised. That is a relief." Faye said.
"What do you mean?" Gran asked her.
"Will Raia be surprised if I show myself to him today?" Faye asked as she tried to think about it.
Gran's brow twitched. "R-Raia? I am sure he will be surprised. Don't worry."
"Really?" Faye asked.
Gran nodded and said as he remembered something. "Right. Raia's final exam is today. I am sure he will be more surprised if you go to his house now."
Faye smiled as she heard this and agreed. "Okay, I'll do that."
"You are there to surprise him so don't be shocked when you see him, alright?" Gran said.
"What does that mean?" Faye asked in confusion.
"Just see for yourself." Gran smiled.
A few minutes later, Faye left and head straight towards Raia's house.