Bam!!!
Boom!!!
Swoosh!!!
"Ack!! Stop!!!"
"Have mercy please!!!"
Zen pleaded with a pitiful voice as he was being beaten up by Arthur.
It had been a few hours since their sparring started. Zen, who was still a little confident in the beginning, was beaten and tossed around over and over again.
Arthur looked at Zen who looked as if he was dead and ordered, "Stand up. We're not even halfway through our sparring yet."
'Damn…'
Zen, who was sprawled on the ground, cursed in his heart as he got up.
His body which was full of bruises and injuries all healed at high-speed visible to the naked eye.
Even though he had seen this many times, Arthur could not help but become amazed by what he thought to be Zen's talent.
'What grade is his regeneration talent exactly…'
His thoughts soon came to a sudden halt as he saw Zen who was already charging towards him.
Arthur chuckled and said teasingly, "Oh, you're taking the initiative now, huh?"
Although he was teasing Zen, it was because stirring up emotions were needed in order to further stimulate his potential.
That was also the reason why Arthur wanted to pressure Zen through beatings. Even though it cannot compare to a true life and death crisis, he judged that it was the most effective choice at this point in time.
And so, their sparring, or rather Zen being beaten up, continued for a few more hours.
***
At the same time…
Sera was standing within a crowd as she looked at the stage in front of them while thinking about the information that she had gathered while walking around earlier.
The so-called disciple recruitment was not an ordinary test where participants had a test to take individually. Instead, the participants just needed to watch a demonstration and do their best to catch the demonstrator's eye.
'The instructions were not clear… but I think it's manageable…'
One thing that Sera noticed was the abundance of female teenagers that were participating. Although there were still some males, their numbers were almost negligible.
The stage was surrounded by seats in a circular manner. There were also some special seats that looked like a throne with a man sitting on it.
Closely looking at that particular area, Sera saw a group of people with tan skin and yellow-orange hair, just like the color of the sun.
The man had a crown on his head, looking elegant and majestic. There were also people who looked to be nobles in the seats close to him.
One thing that was notable was the fact that they all had a family crest on their clothes with a symbol of the sun in it. The throne and their clothes were also embroidered with red and yellow threads.
Sera compared these symbols to the symbol of the carriages she saw earlier and confirmed that they were one and the same.
"Look! It's the Apollo Familia!"
"What!? You're right! Why are they here?"
"Silly, don't you know the reason why we are here?"
"Isn't it just a disciple recruitment? I just rushed here after hearing the news so I didn't have any time to ask anyone…"
"From what I know, the person who will be recruiting a disciple today was from Apollo Familia!"
"What!? Is it the firstborn, then?"
"No…"
"Then who is it!?"
"This…"
"Stop wasting our time and just say it!"
"It's the Apollo Familia's outcast!"
"What!? The one who just arrived at the capital earlier?!
…
Sera carefully listened to the chatter that surrounded her, gathering as much information as she could.
'It's the so-called outcast again…'
She did not know if it was fate or something but she seemed to be destined to meet with this "outcast".
Before she could think any further, a loud shout sounded.
"Look! It's the Luna Familia!"
"What?! They are here too?!"
"It's really them!!"
"They must be intrigued by the comeback of the Apollo Familia's outcast!"
"Right, it must be the reason!"
…
Following the gazes of the participants, Sera saw a group of people with pale skin and silver hair, just like the color of the moon.
There was also a special seat arranged for them, on their lead was a beautiful and elegant woman with a cold and aloof expression who proceeded to sit on a throne of her own.
She and her company wore dresses embroidered with dark blue and silver threads.
Just like the Apollo familia, the Luna familia also had a family crest of their own which contained the symbol of the moon.
Looking alternately at the Apollo and Luna familias, Sera silently compared the two of them.
These two groups seemed to be the opposite of one another.
The Apollo familia consists of more men than women, while the Luna familia was the opposite with more women than men.
'Why are there so many women participating… What's so special about that outcast?'
She could not help but wonder.
After all, it was obvious that the Luna Familia mostly accommodates women. Then why would many aspiring female teenagers participate in a disciple recruitment hosted by a member of the Apollo Familia where men were more abundant?
Sera also noticed that there seemed to be underlying tension between the two groups of people.
Although they both exchanged greetings, the tension between them was felt by the people in the stadium.
Before Sera could observe any further, silence descended upon the stadium.
She followed the gazes of the participants and saw a figure who had unknowingly appeared on the stage and was surprised to find that the said figure seemed to be a woman.
The figure wore a black shirt with long sleeves, black pants and a black cloak over her body, making it impossible to see the outline of her body.
She had a light creamy skin complexion that further stands out with her black outfit and hair with the color of the sun tied into a ponytail.
However, one thing that was noticeable was the fact that she had a black blindfold that covered her eyes.
The figure soon opened their lips and began to talk.