Fear, that's all that took over their minds.
Trembling, that's all their bodies could do.
Alex continued to approach them slowly, as if deliberately prolonging their anticipation. The material lightning sword was still in his hand, dragging it along the ground, leaving a trench and marks on his face.
A creepy smile appeared on his face. "The sword will leave scars, and the lightning will mark burns like fire. It'll be a wonderful combination. This deviant will make you even more beautiful today."
One of the girls fell to the ground, tears in her eyes, begging the supervisor to stop him.
*Cough*
The supervisor coughed, reminding Alex that he was facing one of the institute's elders, on their territory. Alex sighed and took a deep breath. He did indeed want to teach them a lesson. To have girls who had never left their glass house mock him had made him truly angry.
"Spoiled idiots, not even fit to warm my bed. They dare to call me a deviant. If I see one of you in front of me again, even by chance, I'll make her wish for death without ever reaching it."
Alex left the scene, while the girls regained their breath. The auburn-haired girl was seething, and like anyone with some influence, she couldn't accept being defeated by someone weaker and lower in status. She found no one but the supervisor to direct her anger towards.
"Don't you know who I am? Aren't I a teacher? How can you let him treat us like this?"
The supervisor, who seemed to have enjoyed the previous spectacle, smiled and said, "You bullied one girl and insulted another in my presence, acting as if I wasn't there. But now I remember that this is the Earth Dragon Institute, not a nursery. If you provoke the wrong person, your fate will end in death or worse. Now, hand over your documents for registration in tomorrow's exam."
At first glance, this teacher might seem careless, but the reality is quite the opposite. This man, who's in his forties with twenty years of experience, has not only witnessed but has been a part of the most significant events. He knows the truth about this world and its madness, a world surrounded by death from all sides.
Demonic creatures, wars with the Anka, but it's not just that; most humans die in factional conflicts for power. The institute here is a miniature representation of these conflicts. In the supervisor's eyes, these girls are fortunate; they've learned an important life lesson before joining the institute.
In the first exam, there were six hundred candidates divided into twenty groups across five regions at four different times. After the exam, three hundred and sixty passed through the forest and completed the twenty tasks. Those who ranked first in their groups, twenty individuals in total, would receive Pure Origin pills and Enhancement pills as rewards.
Today is the last and most important day of the exam, the day of facing the Mirror of Souls. This magical mirror doesn't reflect a person's appearance but rather their spiritual world, manifesting their spiritual form. But that's not all; the mirror can also gauge the strength of one's energy and the number of mana stars.
To pass as a fighter, one's spiritual strength must exceed one hundred points. For a mage, after converting spiritual energy into mana, they must have three stars.
The candidates didn't enter through the back door this time; instead, they came through the main gate. A grand mirror, two meters tall and one meter wide, was mounted on an ornate wooden frame at a raised spot in the courtyard. It glowed softly but didn't reflect any image. With the supervisors' guidance, the youth formed lines in the courtyard, while a beautiful blonde woman dressed elegantly in white, wearing stylish glasses, stood before the mirror.
Raising her hand in front of the mirror, the blonde woman summoned a yellow light at the tip of her index finger. She moved her finger in a circular motion, creating a magical circle. Using a gentle and authoritative tone, she addressed everyone, allowing her voice to reach all present.
"Welcome, new contestants. The moment you've been waiting for has arrived. Now, we will identify your spiritual forms and measure their strength. I ask everyone to ingest the Nasik herb before standing in front of the mirror. Your order in front of the mirror will be based on your arrival timing in the previous exam. The first will stand first, and the second will follow, and so on. The top twenty, as you've heard before, have a special prize. However, of course, they need to succeed in facing the mirror first."
The lady opened a scroll to read the first name. "There's a record this year, someone completed the task and reached the finish line in just forty minutes. Let's see their performance before the mirror. Mr. Steve, please step forward."
"Wow, Eldis, did you hear that? Someone finished the task in under an hour, and their name is Steve, just like me."
"She's talking about you, you clever one." The distance required to cross the forest is an entire hour of running.
Without mentioning the time required to complete the task, achieving a record like that was truly impressive. Under everyone's gaze, Dew ascended the platform. Some were amazed by the speedy youth with the record, but the winners from his group were gaping, seeing the clown they had mocked for chasing a crow stand before them as a victor. In the end, Steve was the one laughing.
Approaching the mirror with a hint of nervousness, Steve stood in front of it. For a moment, the mirror glowed with a crimson light, but nothing appeared on its surface. The youth twisted to face the blonde supervisor, completely overwhelmed by tension.
"Why isn't the mirror reflecting my spiritual world? This is bad... this is bad. Where is my beast? Did it leave? Please, don't leave me. Where are you? Where did you go?" The supervisor didn't understand his rambling, but she gestured for him to look at the mirror again. On the surface, there was a shadowy black mist on his back, and two enormous wings expanded, colored white. Blood returned to Steve's pale face, and he breathed in relief before remembering the requirement to measure his strength slowly.
He raised his head to the left corner of the mirror, where a single star appeared, displaying his mana points. This was expected for him. The problem lay in his spiritual form, which only represented a portion of his strength. Steve couldn't lift his gaze to the mirror's right corner and settled for staring at his white wings.
"They're white now. Weren't they black before?"
The supervisor's voice interrupted his thoughts. "Seventy-eight points." Blood rushed back from Steve's face, and he lamented his luck. The passing requirement was one hundred points. He lowered his head dejectedly, tears forming in his eyes. Slowly, he dragged his body off the platform.
"Where are you going? Didn't you hear? You passed."
Steve's features turned bewildered as he stared at the supervisor, who continued her explanation. "It's a high score, considering your spiritual form is of the monster class and hasn't fully formed yet. Young man, you have a bright future ahead. Congratulations, you've been accepted."
The lady opened a scroll to read the first name. "There's a record this year, someone completed the task and reached the finish line in just forty minutes. Let's see their performance before the mirror. Mr. Steve, please step forward."
"Wow, Eldis, did you hear that? Someone finished the task in under an hour, and their name is Steve, just like me."
"She's talking about you, you clever one." The distance required to cross the forest is an entire hour of running.
Without mentioning the time required to complete the task, achieving a record like that was truly impressive. Under everyone's gaze, Dew ascended the platform. Some were amazed by the speedy youth with the record, but the winners from his group were gaping, seeing the clown they had mocked for chasing a crow stand before them as a victor. In the end, Steve was the one laughing.
Approaching the mirror with a hint of nervousness, Steve stood in front of it. For a moment, the mirror glowed with a crimson light, but nothing appeared on its surface. The youth twisted to face the blonde supervisor, completely overwhelmed by tension.
"Why isn't the mirror reflecting my spiritual world? This is bad... this is bad. Where is my beast? Did it leave? Please, don't leave me. Where are you? Where did you go?" The supervisor didn't understand his rambling, but she gestured for him to look at the mirror again. On the surface, there was a shadowy black mist on his back, and two enormous wings expanded, colored white. Blood returned to Steve's pale face, and he breathed in relief before remembering the requirement to measure his strength slowly.
He raised his head to the left corner of the mirror, where a single star appeared, displaying his mana points. This was expected for him. The problem lay in his spiritual form, which only represented a portion of his strength. Steve couldn't lift his gaze to the mirror's right corner and settled for staring at his white wings.
"They're white now. Weren't they black before?"
The supervisor's voice interrupted his thoughts. "Seventy-eight points." Blood rushed back from Steve's face, and he lamented his luck. The passing requirement was one hundred points. He lowered his head dejectedly, tears forming in his eyes. Slowly, he dragged his body off the platform.
"Where are you going? Didn't you hear? You passed."
Steve's features turned bewildered as he stared at the supervisor, who continued her explanation. "It's a high score, considering your spiritual form is of the monster class and hasn't fully formed yet. Young man, you have a bright future ahead.
Congratulations, you've been accepted."
"Second is Hartley Alex. It's the same person who used the flying decoy trick that led to a new rule against using monsters in the competition. Your clever trick worked, but in front of the mirror, there's no more room for tricks."
After a few minutes, the eyes of the people Alex had helped before, along with the seal, stared at the mirror with sadness, while others burst into mocking laughter.
"What is this thing? Is this garbage also a spiritual form?"
"Calm down..."
The booming voice of the supervisor silenced everyone. She turned to Alex with a sympathetic look and said, "Your form is... I'm sorry. You've failed the acceptance exam."