After completing his introductions and the subsequent formalities, Deuzetai had all of us ascend to the stands. In our lines, we marched in an organized manner under Deuzetai's guidance.
Many students were already terrified of the High Professor, allowing for such a seamless atmosphere to be conducted.
A show of force was Deuzetai's way of earning people's respect. He was a man who knew how to handle fear. And now that I experienced it personally, I could say, that such skill was quite impressive.
This body of mine could feel instinctive oppression being directed at it. It was such a subtle yet influential feeling.
In internet slang, Deuzetai was simply standing there, menacingly... yet somehow calmly at the same time. His was a calm before the storm. A calm that I knew could erupt at any given moment to unleash rage incarnate.
He would be a sight to behold in the days of Ragnarök when he would fight Giants and die drowning in their blood.
But... such a time was a long way off. I just couldn't help but recall those scenes whenever I glanced at Deuzetai's proud demeanour.
It was an interesting feeling to know how these Named characters would meet their ends, and yet I was meeting them in the flesh right at this moment. There was a sense of... discontinuity within me.
As if I was solving a puzzle by taking out its pieces instead of putting it all together.
"Caelum Phricius." Deuzetai's voice wrenched me out of my thoughts.
I instantly straightened up, not expecting to be called.
"Me..?" I muttered, recalling how the first test was supposed to go.
Given that Aethercaller University was a school for combatants, my first test was going to be a duel with a golem. A special golem with a pattern to its weak points.
I had to figure out a way to strike this golem in the set "password" to efficiently take it out. If I did not have such an ability, I would have to use brute force to rend my way through its tough body.
That was how Lily defeated her golem, and how Virion tried to do the same, although to a lesser degree. The lack of blood during the fight prevented Virion from doing his best.
If not for such a fact, he would've tied with Lily with no sweat.
Shaking my head and ridding myself of those thoughts, I stood up and poured mana into my ring. The gaze of thousands of examinees was then trained on me.
"There you are," Deuzetai nodded as he felt the reaction from his own ring. "You will be the first."
The High Professor then turned to the crowd of teens after confirming that I had arrived at the edge of the arena.
"Given that there are eight-thousand and one examinees who have passed the first stage, Mister Caelum here will be the first person to experience the school's toys. From then on, we will go by batches of one hundred."
Ah, I got it now. It was Deuzetai's OCD at work. He was bothered by the extra one person and arbitrarily called upon someone to take the test first.
And that person was me.
Not like I minded such small aspects of life.
Thus, I walked forward, still cloaked in flowing cloth, and arrived near the centre of the arena. The sound of Deuzetai explaining the mechanics of the test flooded my ears, but I already knew what he was saying and what he was going to say.
My memories of writing my book were as crisp as they had always been.
"Mister Caelum Phricius, do you understand what I have just explained?" Deuzetai asked, and I nodded.
"Yes, Professor."
"Very good. You may proceed to Quadrant One. Your duel will begin in thirty seconds."
My footsteps swiftly brought me to where I ought to be. I could feel the pressure of eight thousand curious gazes bearing down upon me.
I breathed. And yet again, that mysterious feeling washed over me.
Pure and unbridled focus.
The world was suddenly composed of only me and the golem that was forming from a blue crystal ball.
I watched in slow motion as the smooth stone flooring cracked and turned into fine dust. It swirled in a tornado-like fashion as it formed a small body and long limbs. The golem was vaguely humanoid, and it glared at me with its neon blue eyes.
All around the golem, a pit had been carved out of the stone.
I thus looked down upon my opponent as it slowly stood up to its full height.
It was eighteen feet tall. Thirty-six if I counted its now-raised arms.
WOOOOOONG— WOOOONG—!
The golem vibrated, seeming as if it was sending out a war cry. A pulse of mana pushed me a step back.
F+ rank mana.
"Hm," I grunted as my eyes flashed with a deep blue hue. Mana Vision showed me the inner workings of the golem before me.
I saw a trail that indicated my way to victory. I just had to follow it with my dagger and my newly evolved body.
And with my new talents, all the commands that I sent to my body were swiftly heeded. I took one step forward, and then another, and then another.
The next thing I knew, I was running at a speed I had never run at before. The ground below me was a blur as I stayed low, following basic principles of combat common sense that I had written about for [ Evergreen Passage ].
Fwoosh—!
A stony arm came swinging towards me. I leapt to my right, still in full stride.
Boom—!
The arm smashed into the stone floor, sending a shockwave that almost caused me to lose my balance. But I already knew that such a thing was going to happen. I reacted swiftly, narrowly evading the arm that was about to strike at me from below.
Every part of this golem, every attack, every defensive mechanism, every weakness, I had written it all down in an extensive document to post as an auxiliary chapter. I knew everything about my foe.
Thus,
Fwooooosh—!
The sound of whistling wind was apparent. The signifier of a coming attack.