A few minutes before heading to the test area, Dean was supposed to go to the tent where he signed up so that the instructor could explain where he should go. Once he left the academy and went to the instructor, this one, noticing that the boy, despite everything he told him and the few chances he had of passing the test being human, felt curious. I wanted to know what could motivate you to continue with this.
Instructor: -Tell me, boy, what is it that motivates you to enter this academy with such fervor?
This question was unexpected for Dean, as it is something he had already been thinking about, but he never thought that someone would be interested in it. Although I didn't know if it would be correct to just say that he is coming to find someone, since really, if so, he doesn't need to enter the academy for it. But why did he come in the first place? Was it simply to meet my father? Or maybe I'm really here because I want something? I don't know. I just feel like I want to live for a moment what other guys my age are living, taking advantage of this opportunity that all the people in my neighborhood have given me for me to be here. So, after thinking all this over, he just said:
Dean: -I just want everyone who sacrificed to give me this opportunity to be proud of me.
With that said, the instructor did not need to ask any more questions and, although he did not answer anything, he simply smiled looking at the boy, who could tell he had a great future, since at such a young age he already had a goal to follow and, although it was something very personal or perhaps for others very simple, it is a noble reason for someone so young, so he did not hesitate for a moment to open his own inventory and take out a dark sword next to its sheath, giving it to Dean.
Instructor: -I noticed that you only have that armor to defend yourself, so with this you will be safer.
Dean: - Are you sure you want to deliver this to me?
Instructor: —I am not the one who chose to give you the sword, it was she herself who chose you. Now go and win that competition. Don't disappoint me, boy, because now you have another person who wishes to be proud of the man you will be one day.
Those words made Dean's eyes sparkle in joy as he smiled kindly at him, thanking him as he left, the instructor watching a promising young man walk away on the path he chose, turning around to go back to the tent, listening to Dean call him.
Dean: - Instructor! What should I call him?
The instructor just looked at Dean from a distance, seeing the young man that he was once reflected in himself, for which he simply smiled wistfully and replied:
Instructor: - You can call me Marcos. I hope to see you in classes soon.
Dean, upon hearing his name, only greeted him one last time before leaving for the test to enter the academy. Meanwhile, at that moment, Jamal along with a group of people appeared near Marcos while they saw the boy leaving in the distance, so Jamal decided to ask him:
Jamal: - Marcos, are you going to go see him with us? Or will you still be wearing that ridiculous old man costume?
Mark: - Of course I will go to see that show. After all, you brought someone from Dean's neighborhood with you. I don't want to miss the show he's going to give.
Jamal: - Do you think he will pass the tests?
Marcos: - I don't know. All I know is that I want to see how far he can go before he gives up or before he finds his true path.
This was the last thing Marcos said as his appearance slowly began to change, disappearing all at once to go to the place where the four tests of the academy will be held: the Kings Coliseum.
In the great colosseum could be seen a large crowd settling into the seats selected for each race, since all the races of the province came to see this event, which is being held for the first time since the city was founded, in which they would finally see their descendants, friends, classmates and relatives enter the academy that promises ascension in the evolutionary chain. The academy that promises that those who manage to graduate will be the guardians of their race and the future of the province itself.
Being so many registered, these tests will last three full days, where each group will have an approximate amount of 50 members, of which only those who reach the end of the four tests will be accepted into the gran academia. This was something that was explained to each member before entering the colosseum, so Dean always paid attention to the instructions given by the instructors, being nervous about not knowing what the tests are really about, since they are random. The only thing that can be chosen is the difficulty, but not what you will face.
Once the explanations of how each group would be divided were finished, everyone entered the Colosseum, being received with great applause from all the people gathered at the place. Dean, being the first time I've seen something like this, I was excited. He had never been received with so many cheers, nor had he seen so many cheerful people supporting and shouting words of encouragement, so he was excited to show his skill in this test, looking around, noticing the number of races that were in the place, but his observation was suddenly interrupted.
Presenter: -Welcome to the first test of the White Sword Academy. The fate of these candidates is being decided today. Here we will see who manages to enter the academy to become the future pillars of their races or we will see who will return home to try again next time.
With this presentation, many cheered and shouted with excitement, as this announced the beginning of the academic event: the four great White Sword tests.
Presenter: -First of all, I will say a couple of rules that you must follow in order for this to be fair, little youngsters.
First rule: do not attack the other participants, because here it does not matter to win, it matters to survive and the fewer they are, the lower their chances of surviving in the tests.
Second rule: You cannot go solo unless you have passed the second test. Why is a surprise for later.
Last rule: "We do not abandon any partner." If you abandon a wounded comrade in a life or death situation, you will be branded as a coward, marked for life and removed from the tests.
After hearing the rules, everyone was impressed, but the most interested was Dean, who could understand the first two rules. The first one was logical, as they don't know what they will face until they manage to pass the first test and maybe they need each other in the second test, so they should be united and not try to hurt each other, as that could be disadvantageous for any team in a hunting zone. It doesn't matter if it's a competition or if you have a grudge, one less member or one more member can mean everything in an encounter with monsters, since going solo usually tends to be suicide if you are not strong enough, even against the weakest monster. But what caught his attention was the last rule they gave, so he was curious and approached by raising his hand.
Dean: -Mr. Presenter, may I ask a question?
The presenter was surprised to see a young man with such a worn look, but with eyes still bright with hope and desire to move on, which he could see in other participants, but most only had paths selected for their beliefs, their families or some frustration, none seemed to have anything real of their own, so he smiled kindly and, bending down a little, since he was on a stage, he answered:
Presenter: - Tell me, young man, what is your question?
Dean: - What is the reason for the last rule? Was anyone so pathetic as to abandon a friend on the battlefield while being devoured by a monster?
The presenter had a lot of experience in combat, he was someone who had seen a lot of things, but a shiver appeared on his back, not out of fear or intimidation, he was simply impressed by the fact that a young man would ask him that in such a direct and cold way, but that question had its reasons, so he would answer it.
Presenter: -That's an interesting question, but I wouldn't have the time to tell the whole story...
These words made the audience more interested in the reason for this rule, besides Dean wanted to know that reason, but if he insisted, they would probably take a long time to start the tests, so he better just nodded his head and turned around to return to his place among the participants.
Presenter: -If you pass the tests, I will tell you and everyone the story behind that rule, boy.
Dean turned around elated by what the presenter said, who smiled at him with some arrogance, not because he had it, he simply wanted to see how far the boy would go, who did not say a word, it was enough to return the same arrogant smile, but full of determination to respond to the presenter, who was excited to see the results of these tests.
Instructor: - Well, after this short presentation, I begin the opening of the tests. This is the beginning, on the first day we will see the participants win the victory or maybe they will all be eliminated to return again when they are strong.
Those words made the soul of the participants burn, who were eager to know who would be the first to pass and how the groups would be formed, but they were surprised to see a large screen appear floating above the stage of the great colosseum. This was lit up showing three different paths that represented the three days that the event would last, this is how the presenter gave the announcement that everyone was waiting for: the groups would be selected right now by on the screen randomly. If they were lucky, they would start today, but if not, they would have to wait for the next day.
Presenter: - Here they will be chosen randomly. This machine works thanks to my useless skill "Reverse Selector", which is made for creating combat formations, although it's not really much use in combat, but for these events it's perfect, so let the selection begin.
The presenter threw the microphone to the sky in a colorful way, turning gracefully to point his hand at where all the participants were, making hundreds of lines appear on the participants' bodies, as if the codes that make up a program were, thus starting to appear the groups on the screen, while a letter symbolizing the group to which they would belong appeared on the palm of each participant, so Dean looked at the screen to see which day he could participate, being in group G, which would participate on the first day of the event, taking a step forward while the others left to take a seat in the colosseum, so that they could carefully see the tests of each participant and form their own strategies.
Dean: -Although this is somewhat disadvantageous, since I won't be able to prepare, at least I'll be first...
This was said with determination and confidence, but he could not help the trembling of his hands. He was nervous, he didn't know what would happen, he didn't know what he would have to defeat to pass, he just knew that he had to enter the highest difficulty to stand up as the strongest human among the participants and thus prove to himself that he could be strong, so with this determination he clenched his fists and smiled waiting to see what he would face once he chose his difficulty.
It was at that moment that the presenter, once he saw who all the participants would be and divided them each into their respective groups, finally spoke, hitting the ground firmly, raising four dimensional portals with their difficulty level imposed on top of these.
Presenter: -In front of you are the difficulty portals. Although we have divided them into groups, there are only three groups right now and each one will choose a modality. You can go individually to a different dimension to show your value or you can do it individually and face a single being in the arena.
With these words, everyone became tense. Many wanted to prove their worth individually, so they would have more chances to attract attention, but others, who thought the same, also considered the fact that they had no idea what is on the other side, so doubt and uncertainty were in their souls.
Presenter— - You have five minutes from now. You can talk about it with your group. Once you decide, either after completing the time or before, you must tell me to give you the corresponding instructions, so start.
As soon as he gave the order, everyone started talking to each other. Each group had its differences in terms of thoughts and wills, although there was one that stood out for having a person with great leadership. The Elvish Prince Vaelthar, which means "Guardian of Destiny" in Elvish, was the one who took the floor in Group A from the very beginning. He explained to his comrades that although an individual combat would show their combat strength, it would not make them highlight all their capabilities as a team nor their combat skills, so he asked them to take him as their leader, promising to lead them to victory in the most impressive way possible, full of determination and courage, raising his hand as the leader of a great revolution. He was fit to be a leader not only because of his great lip and the way he inspires his teammates, but because although his hand trembles and he is afraid, he does not waver at the possibility of losing and disappointing those around him. This was seen by Dean, who thought that maybe he would have found a possible friend in the future.
On the other hand, we had Group F. This group was more chaotic, the discussions were loud and heated, everyone had different opinions and proclaimed themselves as the strongest among the participants. They simply had a very high ego, since this group was made up especially of dragons in human form, lizardmans, some fairies, and someone who was just watching and away from his own group. It was difficult to distinguish their race, but it was once Dean looked at the stands to observe the races that were watching the show, he noticed a peculiar race watching, a race that was difficult to persuade with words, since they are not pacifists, but their queen is smarter and kinder. This was the demon race, so the only one who could be there was a demon, but although Dean didn't know it, he wasn't just any demon, he was a pure-blooded demon, a born son of the queen, the demonic princess Lady Deus.
This lady, once she got tired of listening to so much discussion and fights, decided to act, fed up with the arrogance of the dragons and the lizardman, took the strongest of both races by the head and with a brutality worthy of the demonic race, stamped them violently against the floor, squeezing their heads, thus making them understand who was the most powerful race among them, so both, once they were released, stood up accepting that the demon was their leader, the dragon and the lizardman shaking hands while smiling forcefully and clenching their hands angrily when pretending to be friendly with each other, a funny scene for Dean, who thought that this woman would be difficult to become a friend, but who knows, maybe he's thinking ahead of time.
Finally, there was his group. This one was still deciding whether to go solo or not, but Group G had the fewest members, there were only 30 people, while in group A there were a total of 80 people and in group D there were 50 people, which made Dean think that going in a group at this point was stupid. Although the Elven prince was right in his words, that is not the same for someone with great skill and experience in real combat like him, so it is absurd to go in a group, that would make his skills cannot be demonstrated 100% by having to protect his companions from danger, so then he decided to take the floor and talked to his companions.
Dean: -Guys, we are the group with the fewest members, so if we choose to go as a team, we would have a great disadvantage to be less. Also, here in this group we have five humans, 12 dwarves, six druids, two fairies, and four undead humanoids. We are at a huge disadvantage here.
Everyone thought about it and, despite feeling offended for belittling them, he was right. The dwarves were strong and could tank attacks like no other, as well as having the ability of forging and temporary creation, but even so, if they encountered a monster too fast, the dwarves would have no chance to defend being still rookies. In addition, druids have great abilities in elemental and natural magic, they can use their magic to transform into some being of nature or use their magic to provide support, but while they do this, they must be protected during those small moments where they invoke their magic, just like fairies who can heal and are fast in combat because some are small like dwarves, but strong like dragons, but their weakness is their strength, since these can go at high speed, but when they are young they do not have accelerated vision or superior reflexes, so they can harm themselves using this ability and the undead, although similar to humans, do not feel pain and are almost immortal, so if an enemy crosses them in a vital area, they will feel a discomfort, but they will not notice that they are seriously injured until they are almost on the verge of death, since being young their pain receptors are turned off and humans are unfortunately inexperienced humans too young, they by themselves could spoil the mission and get us into trouble constantly having to save them. Everyone knew this. They made a decision making Dean impressed by that decision, something unexpected, but that maybe is what he is looking for.
So, the three teams decided what they would do. The first one was Team A. This one decided to go in a group, they will all go together to pass the test, the fear in their hands being noticeable, being nervous, but trying not to let this be noticed by their classmates, what the presenter noticed, he simply slapped Vaelthar on the chest, with this he told him to calm down, everything would be fine.
Presenter: -Since you decided to go as a group, two minutes before the deadline ends, you must choose one of the four difficulties in front of you.
Vaelthar: - Wait a minute, four difficulties? Isn't that supposed to be just three difficulties?
This question of Vaelthar interested the other participants, since it had been explained to them that there were only three difficulties in the selection tests, so they wanted to know what the fourth difficulty was, to which the presenter smiled explaining to the young people what the fourth difficulty was about.
Presenter: -This option was presented to the participants once the city was completed and the alliances were finalized. This difficulty is a level beyond all logic, they will face continental-level beings like the one who once ruled the earth they are treading on, since this is something that those who live in the city know, but this colosseum is formed by the rubble of what was once the first continental-level monster, the first horseman of the apocalypse: Pestilence.
This surprised everyone, as they were stepping on a historical place. Even the other races were excited to know that they were in such an important place for the human race, this pleased them and made them feel honored, since sharing a historical place in the culture of the mythical races was a symbol of honor and trust on the part of the leader of the human race, while the participants were impressed by knowing the place that the stories of the city speak of, the castle of pestilence.
Presenter: -But don't get excited, that doesn't mean that you are going to face the lord of pestilence, since he died after being erased by the sword of the savior of the continent, but perhaps I should explain how they work and where these portals came from
Starting like this, to explain how they got the portals in front of them.
Presenter: -This is a dungeon reward, which was obtained by the 15 founders after an arduous battle against those who ruled the lands of the province. Since after defeating a dungeon boss, he gives you a reward, but besides that, he allows you to go to his dungeon automatically with a miniature teleporter in case you want to try again, so the difficulties are not chosen at random, these are difficulties that the founders themselves imposed on each teleporter and these take you to a real dungeon.
These words left all the participants frozen, because then, upon entering, everything they do inside could lead them to really die, they could die and never see their families again, they wanted to flee and return once they were stronger, without fear, but they could not move, their families, their race, watched them with hope, so none wavered and remained firmly in place, although with the fear of death, they were willing to do anything in order to honor their races. At that moment, the presenter laughed a lot, like most races who already knew this by coming so many times to see the participants, so it was funny to see their faces after telling them the terrifying part, which annoyed the participants a little who felt embarrassed by such a silly scene.
Presenter: -Oh, guys, you don't have to get so nervous, don't be ashamed of being afraid, it's because of that fear that you are here to become stronger. These portals have a mechanism created by the smith of the founders, which upon feeling that the vital energy of a participant drops by more than 90%, will be teleported to the stage where the participants who can heal them will help them and if there are none, I will heal them, so don't worry, you won't die, since I won't allow it.
This relieved the participants, who were embarrassed by the practical joke they had been played, but it was also their fault for not listening to everything until the end, so let's say they brought it up themselves, to which the presenter would explain what the fourth difficulty is.
Presenter: -This final difficulty is called Purgatory, because for the 15 founders it was a total hell to defeat these beings who do not come from a dungeon, but this is the surprise we had for the races, because here behind are the four kings of the most powerful races waiting for a warrior to challenge them: the Elven, demonic, draconian and finally the fallen angels race, a race that has not been presented yet because the king still does not understand how technology is used.
Everyone was shocked and tense at the words of the presenter. Vaelthar trembled, because if he entered the last difficulty, he should face his father, but being a random test, perhaps he would face one of the other three kings and could not ensure victory, this left him thoughtful and tense before deciding what to do in this situation. On the other hand, Miss Deus could not be more excited together with her whole group to face the last difficulty, although this one deep down she was afraid of facing her mother and being humiliated by her, since this would be seen by the whole public, so she found herself with the same dilemma as Vaelthar.
Presenter: -Tell me, Vaelthar, what difficulty will your group choose?
Vaelthar faced with this decision simply sighed and confidently simply chose his fate.
Vaelthar: - I choose the normal difficulty.
This impressed the whole audience, especially the elves who jumped out of surprise at such a decision and did not understand why this was, while in the Elven kingdom, Vaelthar's father together with the elven queen watched the colosseum broadcast smiling at his son's decision, knowing that it was something typical of him that he thought more about others than himself, that's why they were proud of him. Once the difficulty was decided, the participants stood in front of the portal and took Vaelthar's shoulder thanking him for his choice, to which he simply entered with a smile along with the others who followed him full of confidence in their leader, thus starting the A-team test.
Their test was simple, they had to face a being that had tormented the neighborhood where the founders Alucard and his army of insectoid monsters lived and the system gave them two ways to complete the tests that are imposed on this difficulty.
First test: They must manage to protect the most survivors in a demolished building while being attacked by hordes of monsters.They can only hold the set time or eliminate all the monsters.
Second test: They must defeat the first boss of the intermediate zone or manage to resist until the time runs out.
Third test: Save the group of warriors in the central area of the neighborhood before they are eliminated.You can just take them away from the place or eliminate the monsters.
Final test: Defeat the high neighborhood level boss of the area to pass the academy test.
With the tests already given, Vaelthar devised a plan for each test, which consisted of putting the lizardman at the front next to the dwarves in the first test to prevent the monsters from passing, forming an attack barrier while those who are behind the barrier eliminate those who manage to pass it, winning the first test after defeating all the monsters.
Once the second test started, he asked the five dragons of his team to fight with all their might against the boss, which was a giant spider with a half-human half-spider body, so the dragons attacked with all their might while the druids of his team immobilized the legs of the spider using the magic of earth and wood, in turn that the fairies formed in a straight line to charge their maximum speed and go to hit his vital points, crossing his body at high speed with all his strength, thus eliminating the monster spider queen, passing the second test.
Then in the third test, he asked the druids to transform into wolves using the natural magic of transmutation, being very large and fast wolves, riding on them those who could not fly or were not fast enough to run, arriving as quickly as possible to meet the warriors, thus launching the attack the fairies eliminating as many enemies as possible, arriving the battalion of dwarves jumping from the wolves to attack with all their might while the druids in their wolf form destroyed the monsters in an incredible, passing the third test, thus entering the final phase of this difficulty, the final test against the neighborhood boss alto Alucard, who observed everything from the top of a building, coming down from it quickly.
Alucard: - How much longer are you going to hide behind your companions, young elf prince?
Vaelthar heard these words and decided that it was time for himself, so he took his sword and stood in front of Alucard while he moved his hand giving the signal to move back, watching as Vaelthar and Alucard prepared to fight, starting to give off this an imposing golden aura, which lifted rocks and made the ground shake, just as Alucard gave off a crimson aura, which began to clash with Vaelthar's, making an impression on the elves who were watching the colosseum, just like all the elves, while his father was watching from the Elven kingdom and his mother was worried, calming her down, he was trusting that his son would manage to emerge victorious, thus initiating the combat, both taking a leap forward, giving a first punch in the face of each, generating an expansive wave that came out of the portal, making most of the participants in the colosseum retreat.