As the new day began, the team awoke to the sounds of excitement outside their room.
"OI, HURRY UP; AN INSTRUCTOR FROM THE ACADEMY IS COMING."
"THIS IS WHAT I WAS WAITING FOR. IT DOESN'T MATTER IF I FAIL NOW."
The commotion woke them up, and they looked at each other with confused faces and sleepy eyes. Raymond grabbed his weapons and jumped from the bed, somehow making no noise at all. As he looked at the others' waking up, he opened the door to see what this was. All the candidates were walking like ants toward the cliff, gossiping with each other.
Raymond looked at Layla and said, "Let's wash our faces and go where this is."
She nodded while the other two went along with the other candidates. They went to a nearby tap, and Raymond pondered, realizing he knew very little about Layla beyond her striking appearance. Determined to break the ice, he said, "Do you want to play a game?"
Washing her face in a squat, Layla turned to him curiously and asked, "A game? What kind?"
Raymond's heart fluttered briefly, but he brushed off the feeling. "We ask each other three questions about ourselves. We have to answer within three seconds. If we fail, we treat the other to a meal at our chosen restaurant."
A smile played on Layla's lips as she agreed to the challenge. She took the initiative, asking her first question, "Where did you learn to fight?"
Though caught off guard, Raymond composed himself and responded, "Self-taught."
After a brief pause, he asked, "Where are you from?"
"Holy kingdom. What is your katana to you?" she asked, with a bit of sweat.
"A weapon that will only slash heads." He smirked and asked his final question, "Who is your father's daughter?"
Layla paused, then replied, "Me... Why are you fat?"
Without missing a beat, Raymond retorted, "But I'm not."
They exchanged glances, determining the winner of their game. Raymond realized an opportunity and decided to exploit it playfully. "I didn't answer the last question correctly, so it's my treat," he said with a sigh and annoyed face, trying his best to act devastated.
Layla concealed her joy at the victory, but her moment was interrupted by Khaled's enthusiastic call from across the hall, "Hey, you two! The instructor is here!" He waved his hands in the air, resembling a stranded castaway.
Raymond grinned, reveling in his triumph, and exclaimed, "Let's go!" He sprinted to the other side of the hall, reaching it in three seconds, while Layla followed at her own pace. The candidates had assembled in five neat lines, awaiting the instructor. Raymond's team positioned themselves at the leftmost end of the line, fixing their gaze upon the approaching figure.
The instructor's muscles bulged with veins popping out, and each step made a small crater in the ground. To top it off with a cherry...
'BIG BOOBAS?'
All the candidates looked at each other and whispered, 'Isn't she that teacher?'
'The one with no womanly qualities, right?'
'If I had jugs like that...'
'The next time you say I have small pp, remember that you don't have boobs like that.'
Raymond's intuition kicked in, utilizing his Detection ability, yet he failed to sense any aura from her. "She's powerful, but not more so than Father or that old man," he remarked before his attention was diverted to someone else. In the third row stood a candidate devoid of any aura. Leaning over to Layla, he inquired, "Do you know the guy from the third row? The one with purple hair?"
Layla glanced at the boy while staying conscious of Raymond. Despite her waning concentration and blushing cheeks, she responded, "He... um, he has purple hair, commonly seen in the southern parts of the eastern continent. In that region, only the royal family of 'Malayria' bears the lion tattoo. Judging by his appearance, he must be Prince Amir, the prodigious individual destined to surpass all his predecessors."
Raymond shook his head and teasingly asked, "Are you a stalker?"
"No, I'm not."
Raymond smiled and looked at that guy again. 'So he's the biggest obstacle. But I doubt a prince like him has more fighting experience than-'
However, another individual abruptly captured his attention, causing him to fixate on them with an ear-to-ear smile.
'Found you.'
A woman with hunched back and hollow eyes stared at the ground murmuring by herself as if her life was drained. She was mumbling something by herself, and the prince looked at her. She flinched and stood tall with her eyes wide open.
'How far you've fallen, daughter of Duke Rosesaint. Using you will be easier now. Only if I win against that prince, that is.'
Returning his focus to the front, Raymond heard the instructor bellow, "YOU, OVER THERE! STEP FORWARD!!"
All eyes turned towards Raymond, prompting him to raise his hand and question, "Me?"
"YES, YOU!!"
Blake smirked, Layla looked concerned, but Khaled offered a thumbs-up and exclaimed, "Break their bones!"
Raymond grinned and proceeded towards the instructor. With an unyielding posture, she folded her arms and glared at him as if he were her arch-nemesis. They both came at arm's length, and Raymond noticed, 'She is as tall as me- six foot.'
"Do you comprehend the gravity of your actions? Disregarding an instructor while she's speaking?... Your father would be disappointed. And with the energy of tier one, how did you reach this far? Did your father pull strings to assist you? He must be stooping low to secure your-"
"Shut up, female," Raymond interjected, unleashing his aura with an intensity reminiscent of the sun's rays. The instructor's glare intensified, and she chuckled mockingly. "You don't wish to be enrolled, do you?"
"Not at the expense of my father, no. And even if I am expelled now," he looked at the hollow girl and continued, "I will have no regrets."
'I can't degrade Father's name anymore. After talking with that old man, I am willing to take revenge in other ways. Even though it may take longer than this path.'
They stared at each other for a while, and the instructor said, "I have no reason to expel a tier one who will die at the tournament," she glanced at other contenders, "The tournament will accept death, by the way. And you can surrender by yourself, leaving your team behind."
She turned away and concluded, "That will be all."
Raymond's legs quivered as if an earthquake had struck, yet he managed to give Khaled a thumbs-up and confidently proclaimed, "I survived."
He collapsed on the ground while some candidates stared at him like living trash. Those indifferent stares, however, didn't phase him a single bit. Khaled and Layla came to his aid while Blake rushed toward the prince and spoke with a smile and constant nods.
"You okay, Ray? I thought you were gonna die. But Allah protects the righteous, so I knew nothing would happen," said Khaled with a tight hug. Raymond looked at the nervous face of Layla and scratched his head, "I'm sorry. That was reckless, right?"
She smiled and playfully replied, "I was worried you would die before fulfilling your promise."
Raymond talked to them for a while and knew that the teacher instructed them to fight with each other. Any team could challenge any other team at any given moment. That is what she called 'The Ultimate Improving Method.'
All this time, Blake was still talking to the prince, and finally, they shook hands. Observing this, Raymond's heart went through all the worst-case scenarios.
'...I hope I'm not being paranoid.'