Arthur's grip on his sword loosened as he faced Grey in his true form.
Tremble**
His heart hammered as the air turned dense while it went through to down his already stressed lungs. He wanted to run away so badly—but he would be embarrassing himself. Running away after sensing bloodlust wouldn't be a good look for him.
From what he knew, for a person to have this much bloodlust—they had to have killed enough monsters to acquire this stage.
However, this ability was usually accessible to those who were willing to push the boundaries that differed humans from monsters. It was often acquired by top-class adventurers who had explored many dungeons throughout the years and had been put in so many life-or-death situations. After acquiring it, the adventure can produce a unique aura that can scare away weaker monsters or basically anyone weak.
'How can teenagers have this much bloodlust?'
Arthur asked himself while Grey approached him with a straight look on his face.
He was only a few inches taller than him now that he was out of his titan armor. He was built with arm muscles the size of thighs, and a large and broad chest that was outlined by his uniform. His hair was black and as long as that of a woman with blue eyes. And in his left hand, he still had his greatsword—only that this time he had it had reduced in size to fit into his manly hands.
His power had also drastically increased after cutting off the final connection with his armor and giving himself the chance to use all of his mana.
"I need you to give me everything you've got, Arthur Bellrock," he said. "We only have five minutes until the timer ends, so show me what you've learned during your short time here!"
He charged and they crossed swords once again…
Arthur pushed back after realizing that Grey's full strength was even more terrifying than the armor. He prepared a wind spell in his other hand, then dashed forward once again changing his sword style for the first time since they started fighting.
CLANG—CLANG
Both their swords rang as the two metal blades clashed with a nerve-cracking force containing natural mana. If he kept focused, he was able to see Grey's sword movements as they fought, giving him a chance to counterattack and block.
Yet, he could tell from the way Grey fought that he wasn't as good as Elizabeth—he was relying mainly on his magical abilities and physical strength.
Once his spell was ready, he blasted a twister from his palm with the little mana he had absorbed from the air, but then Grey stomped the ground, and an earth barrier shot out, blocking Arthur's attack in an instant.
Arthur cursed.
Though he wasn't so surprised that his spell had failed to do any damage since his affinity for wind was still weak. Also, Grey was on another level compared to his current state. And because this place was filled with natural mana, Grey's magical abilities had been heightened.
'How do I take down someone like this…think Arthur…think!'
"Keep your head in the game, Arthur!"
Grey's voice shot through his ears before he appeared in front of him with a fist flying toward his face.
In that one second, the next thing Arthur felt was incredible pain as his vision turned red from the blood shooting out of his nose, Grey's fist had bashed into his face like a brick thrown by someone with super strength for a skill.
The world was in slow motion body as he was shot straight through the air before falling miserably on the hard ground and cracking his neck instantly.
"Arghh…"
Just after that…they heard Professor Glory's voice.
"Time's up. Team Y wins!"
She announced, and the barrier around the field was pulled down. Healers rushed in to attend to the injured since the game had become a bit too violent.
Grey approached Arthur and stared at him in awe:
"You've done well kid, I'm looking forward to seeing you soon."
"…how…you…so fast…?"
Arthur forced himself to speak despite feeling completely paralyzed. Each word brought pain to his damaged ribs, but he needed to know why he was defeated so easily.
He knew his opponent was strong; he knew he wasn't holding back on his true powers; he knew he was supposed to fight at full strength—but he failed to decide whether he should use his fire magic or not to.
He had failed to surpass himself.
He once again felt hopeless.
"Don't feel so horrible about losing--you were going to lose anyway," Grey spoke, seeing the sadness on Arthur's face.
"You should at least know that usually, a first-year would have surrendered the moment I unleashed my bloodlust. I am genuinely impressed that you stood your ground, showing that you'll make a great warrior someday."
Arthur smiled forcefully after his words and said:
"Thank you, that was fun."
"You're welcome. And you know, it would have been even more entertaining if you didn't hold back your abilities this time. I heard a rumor that you defeated an S-class magic beast by wielding special-grade lightning and fire magic."
Arthur scoffed at his last statement.
"Oh, that…I don't know what came over me that day. I could feel the attributes responding to me so perfectly…my body had somehow evolved thanks to Elizabeth's control skill."
"So, you think that's why you were able to control all of them?" Grey asked while studying Arthur's injured body.
"Yes," Arthur responded, trying to move his body despite having no response from it.
He began to feel specs of mana in the air…but couldn't absorb any of it. For some reason, his connection had been temporarily severed.
The ground below him rose, and he was brought closer to Grey. He then touched his chest, and a sensation was released throughout Arthur's body when he shared his mana.
'Healing magic.'
Arthur quickly recognized this time of magic from Miss Catherine. She had recently used some of her mana to heal the severe injuries he had incurred during the selection exam. Though, Grey's was a bit weaker than hers.
It took a minute before he could finally move his body after Grey restored his cracked neck.
Arthur hoisted himself from the ground. Most of his body was still aching from how far he had pushed it this time.
"Listen to me, Arthur. I believe you have more potential than most first years. Work hard, then maybe we'll have a rematch where you won't hold back at all," Grey said with a fond look as he helped him up.
"There you are!"
They were interrupted by Theo, who came out of hiding with Linda; both were in the same uniforms: black uniforms.
"You…"
"What a spectacular fight that was!"
Theo clapped while looking at the amount of damage these two had caused. He then faced Grey with a daring look as if they were about to duke it out in a battle.
"So Grey, is the lowblood in?" he asked with a confident grin.
Grey's face relaxed before heaving a loud sigh that sounded like a groan. He had accepted defeat.
"Yes," he answered with a gentle nod, "but he needs training if you want him to be perfect."
"Of course, I know that. He will be training with Linda in the training room the old man got us," Theo said.
"Y—Y—You…s—should stop calling Headmaster Reginald old man, i—it's disrespectful," Linda muttered softly. She was the shy one in the group, and everyone seemed to have gotten used to it.
But as they conversed, Arthur felt left out.
"Um…what's going on?" he asked.
They all stopped talking and turned to him.
Theo cleared his throat.
"As you know, the disciplinary committee is a team of the strongest members in this Academy."
"What about the student council?" Arthur interrupted.
"Everyone knows that the student council is our shadow, obviously."
"Most students forget that we even exist," Grey chimed in.
"That's because we've always thought that the three of us could manage the school," Theo argued and cleared his throat again.
"Due to some circumstances, we believe it's about time we start accepting new members to the disciplinary—starting with you."
Arthur's jaw dropped. Were his ears lying to him?
"Me?"
"Yes, you are the one I've chosen."