「 An absolute monster.」
"Those are the right words I would use to describe Alex Leonheart because of the absurd amount of potential he possesses," Richard mused, as he and the rest of his classmates gazed at Alex, as the barrier around him continued to crack till it finally shattered, disappearing into nothing as the shards fell all around him.
The shards of the barrier resembled glitter as they slowly fell down around him while they disappeared, Alex slowly realized what he had done. Looking behind him, the split form of the goblin dummy lay with sparks flying out, losing its color and looking like a regular dummy, with wires, circuits, and other robotics stuff poking out from both sides.
"Guess I overdid it a little," he mumbled, glancing at Richard, wanting to see his reaction, almost as if he was silently provoking him to do better.
Miss Mizu, along with everyone else, was completely shocked. No one even took time to focus on Ava's little display, simply throwing fireballs at the goblin while she evaded.
Miss Mizu then let out a sigh as she mumbled, "Darn, kids these days should learn a little restraint. No way in hell is the principal going to believe me if I told her one of the first years split a high-tech monster dummy with a blunt sword." She pinched her nose as she added, "I can already see all the paperwork piling up."
The time given to him was barely used up, yet Alex turned around and descended from the elevated platform.
Turning to Miss Mizu, who was still slightly shocked by his earlier display, Alex asked, "Ma'am, what is my score?" He smiled at the end, then tilted his head to the side as he added, "Did I do well?"
Miss Mizu then snapped back, looking at the scoreboard that was displayed right after Alex was done destroying the dummy. It simply stated, "0," because Alex's attack was so swift and powerful, he had destroyed the dummy too fast for the measuring system to be able to actually gauge his strength.
But Miss Mizu saw all the damage his attack caused, not only to the dummy but also to the platform that now had a massive blade mark on it, so she couldn't possibly say his total score was zero. She simply decided to give him the maximum score one could get from this test, 1000 points. "That's your total cadet score. If you check your smartwatch, it should display a holographic heads-up display of your current rank among the first years."
After hearing what she said, Alex simply smiled then said, "I think I'll check it later when I'm alone." Inwardly, he mused, "Revealing my cadet rank here will simply cause word of it to spread around the school. I don't want to have to start challenging students every day all because I got a high cadet rank. I won't have time to practice with my sword." Alex then continued on his way walking towards the other physical power students. As he approached, he locked eyes with Richard again, paused, then continued walking.
"Whoa, how did you do that? The barrier just shattered into pieces, and you split the testing dummy in two. It was so awesome," one of the female students asked as she walked up to Alex. It was Astel Greenwood, one of his classmates.
"Yeah, you were so cool. The way you swung your sword looked like a scene out of an action movie," a male student with brown hair and blue eyes spoke up as he closed in and added, "I also use a sword too. Do you think you can teach me some moves sometime?" He spoke as his eyes glinted with excitement and anticipation.
A lot of the students in the physical power section gathered around Alex, showering him with praise. Everyone except Jarmin, who was also among them but decided he wouldn't go and be singing the praises of the guy who knocked him out on the day of the orientation. He simply cast a cold glare towards Alex and his little crowd, perhaps thinking of a way he would teach the little hero a lesson later on.
Alex simply shrugged at all their remarks, saying, "Come on, guys, calm down. I didn't really do anything that amazing," he said, trying to sound humble.
.....
Ava was finally through with her test after the timer ran out. She only got 213 points. Once she was done, other students had a go, some of them scoring either higher or slightly lower than her.
It was Emma's turn. She stepped up and used her light magic to smite the testing dummy. She got a whopping 500 points for being the second student to instantly destroy a testing dummy after Alex. Although her attack was not as powerful as his, it was still noteworthy. After a bunch of other students, it was finally Jarmin's turn.
"Jarmin, would you please step up to the platform? It's your turn to be tested," Miss Mizu spoke up, as she looked through a tablet she had in her hand that had the records of all the scores of the students of this class so far. While gazing at them, she mused, "It seems not all the students this year are that talented, except for Alex and Emma. The average points of all the other students have barely been around 200, especially Ian," she gazed at the profile of a boy with brown hair, green eyes, and a pair of glasses. It was the same boy Alex had saved from Jarmin on the day of the orientation.
"He's currently the lowest of the first years, cadet rank 300, with only 20 points. Honestly, his battle with the testing dummy was too one-sided," Miss Mizu mused as she replayed the footage of the battle on the tablet. "He was only defending himself from it the entire time, never once landing a single hit. The system decided to give him 20 because of the one time the goblin tripped on his vines and fell headfirst into the ground, an indirect attack. In reality, he basically has no points," she concluded as she lowered her pad to gaze at Ian in the crowd. He stood a bit far from the rest of his peers, wearing a rather sad and worried look on his face.
"He has no talent and won't last in STAR. With the way he acts, it would be practically impossible for him to become a dungeon raider. Hopefully, he graduates with good grades and is able to get a job in a small company."
....
Jarmin slowly walked up to the hovering platform as the barrier rose up and the testing dummy came online. He mumbled, "He thinks he's amazing all because he made a flashy move. It's not a big deal." His lime green eyes glowed slightly as his body slowly became covered in a green hue. He continued to mumble further, "I can do it too, destroy the dummy in one attack."
Miss Mizu, who was standing close by, could overhear him. Feeling Jarmin was about to give her another batch of unnecessary work, she spoke softly, saying, "Umm, I would prefer it if you did not do that, okay?"
Jarmin looked at her, then back at the dummy, clearly he just ignored her, miss Mizu look shocked as she saw he did. The platform beneath his feet began to crack as he focused his power, surging inside him.