"Interesting." Asher stroked his chin and he maintained his gaze on the display screen.
Raven then continued.
"Excluding Hanru, there are a few other impressive students here who are First Dawn quality, but none come close to him. The closest though, would be Koln. Unlike Hanru, he has no relationship or connection with nobility or power; a perfect fit if I may say. His only con is that he traded his brain for brawn, but that doesn't mean that he is easy to manipulate. On the contrary, he's a stubborn musclehead who's only focus is getting stronger.
"Koln also has a pretty 'unique' background. A denizen of the Fallen Creek province, one of the poorest regions in the kingdom, he is the second son of a hunter. After his talent was confirmed to be unique and well above average, his parents took a large loan and spent most of their savings just to get him here. I even heard that his father had offered his organs as collateral for the debts. It seems his family is betting their all on him and for that reason, Koln has pressured himself to do better than everyone else."
"A pretty nice drive, but it can cause damage if not properly watched." Asher commented.
"There are a few others as well, young master, but I feel that we should focus our attempts on these two, or at least, get one of them to join us." Raven couldn't help but add.
"Not necessarily. With time, I'm confident that I can make you much stronger than that Hanru fellow, so what's the need?"
Raven was stunned by Asher's response as he never thought his young master would say such wild words. Even so, he fully believed them. Others might feel that Asher was spouting overbearing words due to ignorance, but Raven didn't feel the same.
Having followed Asher for almost two years now, he knew that his young master was no ordinary fellow. From the potions he made, the techniques he thought him and the speed of his growth, Raven felt that Asher was extremely mysterious young master and would never boast about something he couldn't achieve.
"But you do have a point. There is no harm in having them join us." Asher completed his statement.
"You handle the other targets while I take these two, is that alright?" Asher asked.
"If it's your will, then yes, young master." Raven answered.
Just then, someone approached Asher from behind and roared.
"Hey, kiddo."
'Speak of the devil.' Asher thought as he cut his mental communication with Raven before turning around.
"You're a fraud, aren't you?" Koln asked Asher with a deep stare.
Unlike most students his age, Koln had a big figure and looked a lot more older. He had the physique of an adult and even had the voice to match it too. Despite that, Koln's personality was straightforward and simple, much like a naive child.
'I see what Raven meant by saying he traded his brains for brawn.' Asher's face couldn't help but twitch his lips at Koln's question.
"What do you mean by that?" Asher asked back.
"You were somehow first amongst those who reached the mountain, but it took you three minutes to complete your challenge. How else do you want to explain this other than the fact that you're a fraud?"
Asher was once again stunned speechless by Koln. He couldn't help but wonder whether this big fellow had a pea-sized brain or something.
"So, taking my time with the test equates to me being a fraud, huh? Since when was that a thing?" Asher asked.
"Maybe." Koln replied.
"Let me ask you a question, did I do well to pass the qualifiers or not?" Asher asked again.
"...you should." Koln replied after a bit of thinking.
"Then why should I bother doing more?" Asher stared at him with an inquisitive look
"To get a higher ranking of course. Don't you know that already?" Koln looked at Asher with surprise.
"A higher ranking? Heh. Is there any benefit to doing so? Was there any prize announced for first place in the qualifiers? How about second place or even third place?" Asher smiled.
"Since there's no benefit, why bother? A show of strength? What's that worth even?" Asher chuckled.
Koln's eyes widened as realization dawned on him. Although he wasn't so smart, he wasn't stupid either. Thanks to Asher's words, he now understood Asher's thought process.
Furthermore, Koln wasn't the only one affected by Asher's words. Aurora, Lyn, Wendel, Emma, even Hanru, and the other students close by were stunned by Asher's questions.
Whereas the others did their best to pass the test, the young master of the Arnhaunt family implied, through his questions, that he purposely didn't do so and only aimed to pass the qualifiers. According to him, there was no reason to push himself even if it was just a bit, since there was no benefit in doing so. Whether he took one second or three minutes, as long as he passed the qualifiers, he would gain the same as the others which was promotion to the tournament. Since that was the case, why bother showing off?
"That bastard..." Aurora muttered as she tightened her fist and gritted her teeth.
How could she not understand that Asher was subtly mocking them with his questions? Whether intentionally or unintentionally, he was indeed doing such.
'The Arnhaunt young master sure is an interesting fellow.' Wendel couldn't help but chuckle inwardly.
"Young lady, please don't pay attention to him." One of the students who stood behind Emma Saunters spoke to her in a low tone.
Emma snorted disdainfully at the statement.
"Hmph. Why would I be bothered? For what only the heavens know, he could be lying and trying to sound like smarty pants while acting a high and mighty. Maybe he actually had a tough time with the puppets, who knows?"
Meanwhile, she gazed deeply at Asher.
'Asher Wyss Arnhaunt, pray we don't cross paths in the tournament.'