"Cough!!!" Everyone looked up as several people stepped onto the podium. They were dressed in aristocratic-looking clothes, except for the man in front, who wore a Greek-style garment. They all smiled, except for a woman with striking blue hair who stood silently.
"Greetings, examinees. I am the principal of this university. You may have heard of me, or perhaps you haven't—it doesn't matter. What matters is the exam you will all be taking today." The man in the Greek outfit, who appeared to be in his sixties, bearded and quite muscular, smiled kindly and continued, "Alright, let's go over the rules…"
One by one, the people on the podium explained the rules. Alex wasn't paying much attention, as he already knew them. However, one detail caught his interest—something the simulation hadn't mentioned.
"If any of you wish to give up on the exam, simply look at the university for 30 seconds without looking away. We'll detect it and know that you wish to return. That's all you need to know about the exam. May the blessings of the gods be with you, and good luck to you all," the man concluded with a smile.
He waved his hand, and the trees behind him parted to reveal a path.
"You reach the path, and the exam will sta—"
BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!!!
Before he could finish, people had already started rushing towards the trees.
"Hahaha, smart kids…" The man smiled and laughed.
--
Alex was among the trees, but unlike the others who were darting around like monkeys, he moved slowly, keeping to the ground. He knew the secret of this trial, so there was no need to rush.
"Let's see…" Alex found a cave and settled inside.
"Let's see how powerful the spell is... Gahhh…" He concentrated on his Spark energy, gathering it around him.
"Damn it…" Alex was drenched in sweat. No matter what he tried, he couldn't recreate the reaction described in the simulation.
BSHHHHH!!!
Spark energy gathered in his hand, but just as it was about to expand, it dissipated.
"Damn… wait…" Alex remembered the prompt. It said he had reached mastery level in the fireball spell. Did he need to…
"No, that wouldn't make sense. I can feel the spell; I know it, but I can't cast it. If I needed mastery to create the spell, I wouldn't even be able to comprehend it… It must be my energy reserves. If I had trained for 85 years, I would have expanded my energy reserves enough to use this… But since I couldn't upgrade my tier, it means…" Alex stood up.
"Just Tier 4 will do… the peak of Tier 4…" Alex smiled, took a deep breath, and then concentrated on his finger. Just like when he first cast the fireball, he used it again.
BZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZT!!!
BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!!!
A laser-like beam shot from his finger, and a nearby tree exploded without him even realizing it.
"No… Five trees… at the same time… Hahahahahaha!!! YESSS! I WILL CALL THIS [Kagami Laser]!" Alex was thrilled with his discovery. While he needed to work hard to reach the peak of Tier 4, once he did, he would be able to use the laser that shattered the sky. Who could stand against him then?
"Alright, time to finish this damn exam…" He looked toward the enormous tree and jumped in its direction.
--
Meanwhile, in a room at the university, a group of people was gathered, staring at a massive book. The book was like a glass display, constantly changing, with numerous screens showing its contents.
"This is fascinating…" One man, dressed as an aristocrat, approached and pointed at the book.
"Leon, it seems I wasn't wrong about this youngster. He's ruthless—the first thing he did was eliminate the competition," the man said with a smile.
"He may be perfect for the Guildia. What do you think, Sir Demetrius?" he asked a man seated in a chair.
The man, with blonde hair and blue eyes, dressed in Greek attire, had a chiseled jawline and muscles straining against his clothes. His stunning blue eyes shone with a cold light, giving the impression that no one in this world could oppose him.
This was Demetrius Heracleides, one of the only Tier 8 Dynamis warriors in the kingdom and the Supreme Commander of the Guildia.
--
"Damn it… I didn't realize how far this place was…" After walking for hours, Alex finally reached the large tree and looked up.
For a moment, everything went silent.
Bzsshhhhhhtttt…
The wind stirred the leaves, and the trees shook around him.
"Yep… I'm not in the real world. My instincts are screaming at me… haha…" Alex calmed himself. He knew where he was; his mind didn't need to remind him.
"Anyway, I escaped before by breaking through the illusion. But other examinees are all around me. Last time, I managed to hide in the cave and fend them off from there. If I try to use the spell now and break through, it'll be too noticeable…" Alex formulated a plan and glanced toward the mountain.
He had a rough idea of where the cave was, as described in the simulation.
"I should have chosen the information… damn…" He gritted his teeth and began to climb the mountain.
Thirty kilometers away from Alex, a man and a woman crouched beside a tree.
"We can't escape this forest, can we?" The woman, with tanned skin, blonde hair, and black eyes, dressed in bronze battle armor, asked.
"Yeah… but I think if we keep going up the mountain, we'll reach the end…" A man with black hair and eyes responded.
"But what do you think is up there? Will the material still be there? There were a lot of fast people… Lightning Asterius was also—" Before the man could finish, both he and the woman looked at him.
"Who… are you…" the man asked suspiciously.
"Cough… sorry, I was just saying—"
CLANG!!!
The woman drew an axe and attacked him while the man used a spell to hold him in the air.
The man smiled and jumped.
He disappeared.
"DAMN IT!!! LOOK AROUND, Ariadne!!!" the man yelled, casting a spell to sense the surroundings.
"Sorry, did I disturb you? I apologize, but…" the mysterious man reappeared behind them.
"Gahhh…" The head of the man rolled to the ground.
"AAAAAAAAAGGGHHHLLLL!!!" Ariadne screamed in fury as she lunged at the man.
"DIE!!!" she yelled.
BANG!!!
She was knocked out cold.
"This one… kekekekeke… this one is handsome…" the mysterious man grinned.
GZSSSSTTT!!!
"Oh, looks like the others got their prey too," he sneered.
"Astor, are you there…" a voice crackled from a stone.
"Yes, I got the first one… do we…" Astor glanced back at the university.
"Not yet. We need to capture all those with talent for the gathering. Make sure to disguise your power as an Air Element; don't let the supervisors find out. We couldn't fully infiltrate the academy, but I've heard there's a powerful person overseeing this exam. I don't know if the leader can fight him, so be careful. Don't fail us, bastard," the deep voice commanded.
"Kekekekeke… of course…" Astor laughed and vanished into the forest. like a shadow he appeared he disappeared as such mystery.
End of Chapter.