Arthur stood in line, the warm morning air carrying an eerie energy of anticipation. The enrollment testing area was out front, its doors wide enough to accommodate a group of young people eager to prove themselves. The atmosphere was filled with a sense of purpose, the young boys and girls all hopeful of having a chance of entering the academy.
As Arthur surveyed the crowd, it became clear that he was just one of thousands of awakened youths who had gathered for an important registration test. The air buzzed with excitement and tension, creating a palpable mood that enveloped everyone present. The diversity of faces reflected the many families and aspirations of the gathering at this momentous time.
"Please put your hand out." A stern woman said, holding a scanner device. Arthur sighed, putting his hand out for the lady to scan. This was the procedure to assess whether a person was truly awakened and if they met the required stats to become a student at the academy. Arthur watched as many aspiring students were turned away. Some roared in anger and threw a tantrum whilst others walked away in shame.
"Mana [Slightly below Average], Physique [Above Average], Strength [Above Average]. You have met the required physical entry criteria for the next test. You may pass." The lady spoke, gesturing for Arthur to enter. Surprisingly his mana core rating wasn't completely bad, there must have been a lot of newly awakened here.
Arthur walked through the gates, with a smile. The Enrollment Test Centre was a massive complex, designed to evaluate the abilities and potential of those who had awakened to magical powers.
As he made his way through the bustling crowd, he couldn't help but feel a mix of anticipation and excitement, but he still kept his cool, analysing the candidates around him. The enrollment process to the academy was a crucial step for every awakened individual, determining their path in the magical society, be it magic scholar or Hunter, or artisan. Everyone had a goal.
Arthur followed the crowd and entered the assessment hall, the bustling of students in the large hall echoing all around. He scanned around, finding the scenery to be slightly strange. The test hall had a glass dome shaped ceiling and a forest of trees bordered the middle of the large dome shaped building.
Where he was situated right now was the entrance to the forest.
Whilst no student entered the forest, Arthur noticed many eyeing the trees, trying to garner what the next test could be.
"Yooo broo! You made it. I've been waiting for you." Leo's voice came from behind Arthur, as the blonde haired playboy jumped on his friend's back.
"Get off me fatty." Arthur pushed his friend off, smiling.
"You won't guess how many girls' numbers I got. It's crazy. Come I'll introduce you to a few birdies." Leo gripped Arthur's hand before dragging him towards a group of girls. However, luck seemed to be on the poor boy's side as the doors of the hall loudly shut causing the bustling of movement and chatting to stop.
"Welcome fellow aspiring students of Vanguard Military Academy. We will now commence the next test." A holographic screen appeared in front of the young individuals catching everyone's attention.
"Above each one of you, there will be a ranking number, based on the data we have taken from your aptitude test and the physical stats we have determined from you. The goal of the next test and final test is simple. Secure a ranking in the top 1000 by the end of this hour, There are 4767 candidates present. You must knock the other person out or make them surrender to take their rank. Every method apart from killing is accepted. Bare in mind, Instructors will be monitoring your activity. Good Luck to all. Your time begins now." The voice announced, before the screen disappeared.
Confused chatter arose, as all the candidates checked their rankings. Arthur looked at his
"We have to run and stall for time." Arthur ordered, his eyes constantly scanning his surroundings. Leo nodded, understanding finally how grave the situation was. Only 1000 people would be accepted into the next test and there were over 4000 present, meaning per person in the top 1000 there were 4 people that wanted their spots.
"There's a group following us, start chanting. I need you to fire a destructive waterball behind us, one that will create a mist on impact." Arthur looked back, at his pursuers, thinking of a plan.
He had been observing the people as soon as he entered the assessment arena, allowing him to note how strong his potential enemies were. Most of the noble kids had formed groups and all had mana core pressures above Tier 2. He knew this, as he made sure to become familiar with the different mana core pressures of the Hunters at the Bureau.
They must have been nourished from young, using potions, by their families. Arthur predicted that they would mostly be in the top 1000, so right now they didn't pose any harm. It was the people below - the small fries - that he had to worry about. Although they didn't seem strong individually, they quickly formed groups to prepare to hunt the top candidates down.
"Okay I'm ready." Leo nodded, a large swirling ball of water above his head. He turned around momentarily, throwing the ball of water at the pursuers.
"Crap! Mages! Earth walls." One of the pursuers shouted from behind. Leo's waterball exploded on impact with an earthen mud wall that protected the group of 20.
A dense mist immediately diffused into the air, surrounding the whole area they were in.
"I'll use hit and run tactics to dwindle their numbers, Bury yourself into the ground using earth magic and use mana to uphold the mist. Without it, this plan won't work." Arthur ordered, taking his katana out from its sheath. Leo's body slowly disappeared, as it fell into the ground below.
Arthur's body flickered as he found himself situated above the group of pursuers. His initial prediction was wrong. There was a minimum of 60 here, and the numbers were growing. He wanted to continue running but he knew that was impossible. This forest was definitely not endless, playing cat and mouse was going to be a waste of effort, their numbers were a lot larger.
'There's 7 groups, they all still seem to be on edge from one another, meaning I can cause some fun. Let's stir some trouble.' Arthur leapt down behind several earth mages, taking them by surprise. Their eyes widened in shock as they saw the smile plastered on Arthur's face. Before they could scream a battle cry, they had already been knocked out. He hid their bodies behind some bushes before flickering away into the trees again.
The silent assassin locked eyes onto his next target, with an evil grin on his face. Arthur knocked out another party, this time picking their weapons up.
He threw a battle axe at another party, whilst simultaneously shooting arrows with a bow at a different party.
"Arrghh!! Who the hell threw that?!" A large burly dwarf roared, looking round. He took the large battle axe off his back, looking at the stupid beings that dared initiate a fight with him.
Meanwhile, the same party looked back at the dwarf's group, with bloodshot eyes.
"Oh, so you want to dwindle our numbers ay. I'll complete your favor!" The human party that Arther had shot arrows at were also infuriated.
With this, Arthur's plans were set in motion.