*Rnnnnggg*
"So, that's all for today. I want you all to practice the basics of meditation. I expect a considerable amount of progress from y'all by tomorrow"
"Yes sir!"
The students bowed to their instructor as he left the classroom before packing up their notebooks.
"Sara?! Who is Sara?" a voice called from the door
"That's me" a pink haired girl raised her hands
"C'mon, let's walk to the door together" the person by the door said before leaving ~I really have no idea why Kers told me to do this shit ~
Sara immediately packed her books and walked out of the classroom, leaving her classmates speechless.
"Did I hear wrong? Or are my ears and eyes deceiving me right now?"
"I don't know anymore dude. It's one surprise after the other lately. What would Thalia, the daughter of Zeus be doing with a mere human"
"Who knows? Perhaps, they need her for something"
"I know it. I saw Ares speaking to Sara after the separation. Maybe it's something connected to that"
"Ares spoke to a human?"
"I've had enough. I'm going home"
…
"Over here" Thalia waved towards Sara, who looked confused while standing at the entrance of the school compound
Seeing Kers and Thalia, Sara made a bee line towards them with a forced smile on her face
"Whoa," Thalia stopped her "Why the long face?"
"It's nothing" Sara shook her head
"Okay, if you say so. I heard that Ares spoke to you" Thalia said as they began to walk towards the center of the academy
"Oh yeah. It was bout being his apprentice or something like that" Sara said absent-mindedly
"What did you say?" Kers inquired
"I told him I'll think about it"
"You're a very interesting human" Thalia nodded her head "by the way, have you seen Orpheus? I haven't set my eyes on him since that day"
"I know right?" Sara lowered her head while her shoulders became slouched
"Ha! I see it now. You like him, right?" Thalia asked
"What are you saying?!" Sara exclaimed with a red face
"Yeah, she likes'im" Thalia muttered to herself
"No, I don't" Sara protested
"Maybe we'll see him at school tomorrow" Kers walked into the dormitory "I need to freshen up"
"Is she always that distant?" Sara whispered to Thalia
"Na, she's cool. See you tomorrow" Thalia followed Kers
"Bye"
…
On a large open field residing upon a small hill, seven human figures stood atop it.
"We're here" Mr. Stylianos announced "Sirius, I leave the array to you"
"Yes sir" Sirius retrieved a bottle of blood and crouched to begin to draw the array
"Why are you drawing an array?" Orpheus asked
"The smaller one mainly for avoiding stray attacks, you know. But it also helps reduce the force and strength of the trial" Mr. Stylianos explained "While the larger one is to conceal the fact that a trial is being taken here"
"Oh nice" Tana nodded her head
"I'm done sir" Sirius said
"Hm" Mr. Stylianos nodded before turning to Orpheus "go sit at the center of the two arrays. And with the orb of course"
Orpheus took the ability orb from Aella and walked to the center of the arrays before sitting in the lotus position
"You can start whenever you're ready" Mr. Stylianos yelled and immediately activated the arrays
"Alright, it's now or never" Orpheus took a deep breath and equipped Cosmos
He then pricked his thumb and dropped his blood on the pink orb before him before he began to absorb the ability. While he was absorbing the ability, the space around him began to distort. After a while, the pink orb became empty as the temperature around Orpheus bean to increase gradually
"It has begun" Mr. Stylianos said
"I pray he makes it" Aella muttered
Orpheus grunted lightly as the rate at which his surrounding's temperature was increasing began to build up.
~How is this a trial. I am literally being roasted alive right now ~
[It's the endurance trial. So, it's temperature. Don't worry. Just make sure you do not move or go unconscious]
"Aarrgh! How the hell am I supposed to stay conscious. I feel like I'm turning into jerky" Orpheus grunted loudly as the temperature immediately shot up
"Is he alright over there?" Andrian said on hearing Orpheus' grunt
"Aarrgh!! F***ing fudge" Orpheus yelled again
"Okay, I'm going to help him" Tana began to walk towards him but was instantly stopped by Sirius
"Don't risk it." Sirius shook his head "If you go over there, he will fail the trial and remain an intermediate magus for the rest of his life"
Hearing this, Tana reluctantly returned to her former position while staring anxiously in Orpheus' direction.
~Costas, when is this supposed to end? ~
[It should be stopping right about… now]
The moment Costas finished speaking, the temperature increased five times stronger than it was the first time.
"Damn! How is this stopping?!" Orpheus yelled in pain
[I, myself, do not understand what is going on]
As time passed by, Orpheus' body became hotter and hotter to the point that his clothing began to burn
"Why does… fire… always… attack… my clothes...?" Orpheus muttered while panting heavily
[Orpheus! Try to keep your eyes open]
"What… do you… think… I'm doing?" his eyes began to flutter "I think… I'm gonna… have a… little… shuteye"
[Orpheus! Wake the hell up!]
As Orpheus began to fall unconscious, a large sphere of fire appeared, encasing him in it. Orpheus now looked like he was wrapped in a cocoon.
"What is happening?" Andrian asked
"I don't know. This have never happened before" Mr. Stylianos said with worry written all over his face
"Just one question though." Aster spoke up "He's not gonna die, right?"
"Probably not. I've rarely heard of anyone dying during their trials" Mr. Stylianos rubbed his jaw
"I hope this one doesn't include in the 'rarely'" Tana said
The fire cocoon began to dissipate gradually while they were trying to find out the cause of the phenomenon
"It's dispersing. I guess he passed" Mr. Stylianos nodded his head
"Hold on. Is he sucking all the fire into his body?" Aster said with wide eyes
"His aura has changed to that of his white dagger" Sirius pointed out "Even his eyes are white"
"It happened again, but with Seira this time and not Khaos" Aella muttered
"Is… he al-already a-a s-saint?!" Mr. Stylianos yelled in shock
"Who knows?" Tana shrugged
"Which one of them is he?" Mr. Stylianos asked with stars in his eyes
"I don't know. Who knows?" Tana shrugged again
"Oh, come on" Mr. Stylianos stomped his foot in frustration
"Master, do you wish to continue the duel on your own or should I help you from here on out?" Seira|Orpheus spoke
"Who is he talking to?" Mr. Stylianos peered closely in Orpheus' direction
"His aura has returned back to normal. I guess the blade was talking to Orpheus" Sirius said
"Haaa" Orpheus exhaled loudly "I wonder what's next"
[Duck!!]
"Huh? Woah!" Orpheus exclaimed as he quickly crouched
*Boom*
A loud explosion resounded in everyone's ears as a small crater appeared some meters behind Orpheus
"What the fudge was that?" he asked in shock
"I see. They're testing his agility and perception" Mr. Stylianos nodded his head
"Who are the 'they' if I may ask?" Aella asked him
"Don't know, don't care" he shrugged, making the others to shake their heads
[Orpheus, push your five senses to the limit. Your agility and perception are being tested]
"Ya know, I think I should have allowed Seira to finish the trial on my behalf" Orpheus panicked as a large amount of wind blades and bullets began to form around him "Cosmos"
The twin blades on the ground reappeared in his hands. Meanwhile, seeing the large amount of wind blades and bullets, Mr. Stylianos and Sirius began to panic
"S-sir, h-he is…" Sirius stuttered with wide eyes "Why i-is his own li-like…"
"What's wrong?" Andrian asked
"His… he…" Sirius stuttered
"What happened? Speak?!" Aster boomed
"His trial is on the demi-god difficulty, if not higher" Mr. Stylianos blurted
"What?!"