Let's see what she's going to try and make me do…
"I mean, it was pretty easy, but I feel like everybody else did great as well. They should've just ended the test when they noticed everybody was about to fall asleep from boredom," I muttered, and the girl seemed amused with my answer.
"Hey, do you know what we're doing on the next test? I haven't taken this before, and my parents wouldn't give me any details on it… they're such assholes aren't they?" The pink-haired girl responded.
"I mean, I guess,"
Unamused with my simple answer, she tried to reignite the conversation, but I already knew what she was trying to get, so I made sure to bore her as much as possible.
"What's your name? Mine is Laura,"
"Cyrus,"
"Oh, what a cool name? Did your parents name you that? It kind of sounds like something a slummer would have…." She said with a sadistic smile.
This… *sigh*... Kids these days are so rude.
"Yeah, I guess my parents named me that. Also, how did you know I was from the slums?" I asked as I thought I had washed pretty well and put on some nice and clean clothes.
"I can just smell it. You're dirty as hell,"
"Mhmm… Anyway, the test we're doing is a magic test. You fight large monsters and try to impress the teachers… that's all,"
"Huh? What about the ranking system? Isn't there a ranking system for this part?" She asked as her personality now reverted back to the cheery and fluffy thing from before.
So damn creepy…
"Yeah, there's a ranking system, but nobody really cares for it. Are you telling me you want to get the first place or something?"
"I have to get first place; otherwise, my family will beat my ass… I'll be willing to pay you a hefty amount if you just let me get first place… pretty please," The little girl begged.
"Whatever. You have to make sure you actually pass the rounds; otherwise, you'll be devoured by the higher competition,"
"Oh, and that's why I want you to lose in the first round,"
The girl's smile slowly tried to warp, but she quickly caught herself before it became any worse.
"No can do. I have to get a decent score,"
"Huh?! Why the hell does a lowly thing like you expect to actually get into a good school. You know, I gave you a chance, but now you're trying to piss me off… do you even know who I am?!" The girl shouted, grabbing the attention of everybody else as we walked into the stands of a large enclosed stadium.
"Nope. Also, don't care,"
SLAP
All of a sudden, a stinging sensation brushed against my cheek, and when I looked at Laura, the devious little girl, I saw her slightly red palm.
"If you want forgiveness, then get on your knees and beg," She demanded, and my eyes went cold as the procter quickly split us up.
An intense battle was already commencing in the center of the stadium, but I couldn't rip my eyes away from the child who had slapped me across the face.
After hearing a large explosion, I finally looked away and decided to watch the ongoing battle, which was more intense than I had thought.
A kid was on the fifth round and was now fighting a fire lion, a monster with high attack power and speed but pretty low defense.
Though… it seems the kid wasn't going to last any longer as even with his water magic, he couldn't do anything as his water just turned to steam upon hitting the lion.
It was red and had a mane of large, hot, and bright flames that looked as if they could melt through practically anything.
BOOM
"AND THAT'S IT! CALL OVER THE MEDICS!" The announcer shouted, and the lion was quickly restrained with blue magic chains before being dragged back through the large open gate.
The child, on the other hand, was severely hurt with high degree burns, so he was immediately taken away to the infirmary.
Not only was my section here, but also a few others, as this part took a while to get through.
The monsters here took longer to kill as the teachers wanted the kids to be able to display their full power without getting one-shotted by something so aggressive that it would literally just charge through your magic.
…
"Oh, what's up," I said as Asger, Petra, and Mari all sat down next to me.
About an hour and a half had passed, meaning some other groups had finished taking their tests and now were funneling into the large arena.
"This place is amazing," Mari muttered as she looked around with sparkling eyes.
"Keep your guard up. There are a few beasts lurking around," I muttered, and the kids immediately understood what I was trying to say.
Some of the kids were currently being manipulated by Laura into doing her bidding, and whether that be through money or… cuteness, I don't really know.
"Alright! And next up, we have Cyrus! Please come to the arena!"
I quickly waved the kids goodbye before walking down the long stretch of steps, eventually reaching a gate where I was given confirmation to jump down into the arena.
Without hesitation, the first round started, and just like before, it was simple enough for me to get by without revealing most of my cards.
For this, my plan was to get to level four and lose on it after putting up an amazing fight… let's just hope I don't die in the process, though.
"First, a blood rabbit. Easy enough," I muttered before swinging my arm up and creating a decently sized wave that crushed the rabbit into oblivion.
It popped like a balloon when pressed up against the wall.
The next round though was a bit harder as it actually had a rock lizard that had extremely low speed, low attack power, but insanely high defense.
It was kind of like a smaller and opposite version of the fire lion.
"Alright… [Tidal Strike]... [Water Manipulation],"