Mr. Woodenbow walked to the middle of the arena and addressed us.
"Alright, everyone," he began, his words echoing. "The second phase of the evaluation is the Combat Test. This will determine your combat skills, reaction time, and overall efficiency. Each of you will face three dummies and two drones. And, your performance will be scored based on it."
He paused, scanning every face.
"But Remember, this is about your skill, not your brute strength. Now… show me what you've got."
He then called the first student, "Julius Hartfield."
Julius stepped into the designated combat zone.
"Ready?"
Beep!
Hum!
Soon the dummies were activated, followed by the drones, which started circling him.
Julius without wasting any time activated his Earth Elemental, he created three sharp stone spikes from the ground, spinning at an unimaginable speed, he shot each one toward each dummy.
The spikes leave behind an afterimage, hitting all three dummies at once and destroying the dummies in a matter of seconds.
Soon after, drones tried to outmaneuver him, but Julius was faster, conjuring boulders, he sent each flying through the air with pinpoint accuracy.
The holographic display flashed, earning him a perfect 100 out of 100 score from the teacher.
"Nicely done Julius," Mr. Woodenbow commented with a nod of approval"
"Next, Aria Frostheart."
The name on everyone's lips was called.
Aria made her way to the middle of the arena. After Mr. Woodenbow's gesture, the dummies advanced toward her, but she remained calm.
Beep!
Hum!
With a simple gesture, she conjured an ice field that spread across half the arena, freezing everything in its path, including the drones.
Rumble! Rumble!
Others watched her in stunned silence.
'Pretty Impressive.'
Then she tapped her foot on the Ice field beneath her.
Smash!
Crack!
With just a loud smash she shattered both the ice and the dummies into countless fragments.
It was a performance of sheer elegance and overwhelming power, leaving no doubt about her superiority.
For a first year student, this type of performance is truly praise worthy.
Then she turned to Mr. Woodenbow and said, "All done."
The professor was stunned, " Y-Yeah… Um, Miss Aria, your points would be…"
On the display, her points appeared: 100/100.
"Whoa! A hundred…"
"She is on a whole another level."
"I wanna go home."
The area went into a loud murmur; everyone was surprised by her score, but no one questioned it.
Next up was Anna.
She wielded her Fire Elemental with extreme precision, creating a high-temperature fire sword as she sliced through the dummies and drones.
Her movements were fluid, almost like dancing, and she managed to score 89.
One by one, the rest of the student's names were called. Then, finally, my name was called.
"Zane Skylark."
Haah…
Taking a deep breath, I walked into the combat zone.
My goal was simple: deliver a performance strong enough to secure a decent rank but not so exceptional as to draw too much attention.
But after witnessing Aria's performance, a small part of me wanted to do even better—just enough to leave an impression.
Beep!
The dummies and drones activated, rushing toward me.
Releasing my Ice Elemental, I conjured an ice field—not as large as Aria's but still a decent size.
I froze the dummies in their tracks. But the drones still however maneuvered above the frozen field, as they charged toward me.
But I had already predicted it, I conjured two ice spheres and launched them at the drones.
Shot! Shot!
Crash!
They shattered mid-air. Turning back to the dummies, I drove my fist into each one, cracking them into shards.
Silence.
Noticing the silence I turned toward Mr. Woodenbow and the others, they had mixture of surprise and uncertainty on their face.
Even Aria had a curious look on her face.
'What happens?'
Mr. Woodenbow cleared his throat, his voice was unsteady. "T-that was… remarkable, Zane."
I tilted my head, confused by their reaction.
It wasn't until long after I reviewed my performance in my mind that I realized my mistake. I used both the ice field and the ice spheres parallel at the same time.
'Damn it! Just my rotten luck.'
It was a feat that required a high level of control and understanding over the Ice Elemental.
'They are still staring at me.'
But it's too late now.
"Fuck…"
I cursed myself silently.
So much for staying under the radar.
Ding!
The display flashed: Score: 90/100.
It was an amazing score, but I wasn't happy.
'Why am I like this… Haah…'
I couldn't afford to let my excitement get the better of me again. From now on, I needed to think rationally.
I walked back to the seating area, keeping my head down. As soon as I sat, a strange unease settled over me, like I was being watched.
Turning slightly, I caught sight of her—Aria Frostheart—staring right at me.
'Of course.'
Her gaze was sharp, almost as if she was dissecting me with her eyes. I quickly turned away, pretending I hadn't noticed.
The last thing I wanted was to get dragged into some conversation with her.
Before I could gather my thoughts, Anna sat down beside me.
"Mind if I join?" she asked, though she didn't wait for a response.
"Does it matter if I say no?" I muttered.
"Not really." She smirked, leaning back in her seat. "So… that little show you just pulled—what was that about? You, of all people, showing off? I thought you hated attention."
"I really do," I replied, sighing. "Trust me, I wasn't trying to show off."
Anna raised an eyebrow. "Uh-huh. Sure. Because freezing the arena and pulling off a move that even caught Aria's eye isn't showing off at all."
"Can we just pretend that didn't happen?"
"Sure…. Oh, by the way, Aria hasn't stopped staring at you since you sat down."
"You're joking, right?"
Lowering her voice, Anna answered.
"Nope. If her eyes were lasers, you'd be ash by now."
"Shut up."
"Pftt I'm just saying. Maybe she's impressed, or maybe… she's planning your downfall. Hehehe, either way, it's going to be fun to watch."
I shot her a glare. "Remind me why I hang out with you?"
"Because like me, you don't have any friends." She grinned.
"Oh, you're finally admitting it."
"Mhmm."
"Just kill me already."
…
The combat test ended, and we were led to another area which has rows of compact, private cubicles.
"Your final test. Skill Analysis," Mr. Woodenbow explained. "Each one of you will be assigned a cubicle. It's completely private, so don't worry about exposing your skills to others. You only need to list at least two of your skills, but choose wisely your ranking will depend on it."
'What a relief!'
For the first time in all day, I felt a wave of relief. I had been panicking regarding this part.
I was worried that my unique skills like Distortion, Elemental View, and Quantum Manipulation—might get known to Nova.
At one point, I even considered asking Ruby to tamper with the results, but now it seemed unnecessary.
'Lady luck is on my side.'
Mr. Woodenbow held up a round, tiara-like device embedded with what looked like tiny microcircuits. "After listing your skills, wear this device. It will analyze and verify the skills you've entered."
I stepped into my assigned cubicle. The room was completely white, with a holographic screen in the center and the tiara-like device resting on a nearby stand.
The screen displayed a prompt: List at least 2 Unique/Usual skills.
I stared at it, as I raced my brain.
Unique skills were rare, most people rarely had one. They were a tier above your Usual Skill. But me? I had four: Distortion, Quantum Manipulation, Elemental View, and one more: Immortality.
Revealing any of them was out of the question.
But the Usual skills were different. It consisted of basic combat skills, similar to Ice Field, Fire Bullet, Ice Sphere, and such.
"What to choose?"
Due to my unique nature in using all five Elementals, I possess a variety of Usual Skills.
After a moment, I typed in:
Skill 1. Elemental Discharge
Skill 2. Ice Field
Skill 3. Ice Spear
"Hmm, this much would do."
Finally I grabbed the device and placed it on my head, focusing only on the three skills I just entered.
The machine whirred softly as it analyzed, and moments later, a confirmation tone signaled the end of the test.
[Verification Success. ]
…
The Rank Evaluation test concluded, and Mr. Woodenbow dismissed us, saying the results would be announced after lunch.
I walked down the hallway and met up with Anna, as usual, we are heading toward the cafeteria.
"So, How many skills did you list? Only Ice?"
"Yeah," I replied flatly.
"You still didn't tell me how you managed to use Fire Elemental."
"Not telling."
"Come on, at least give me a hint."
"No."
As we crossed the corridor, a sweet familiar voice called out from behind us. "Can we join you?"
I turned, already regretting it.
And there they were—Aria Frostheart and her group, with Julius tagging along, waving at us like we were best friends.
I looked at Anna.
Anna looked at me.
"Sure." We both said in unison.
'Just kill me already. Oh! Wait…. I can't die.'
End of Chapter.