The headmistress stood on the white platform once again and looked at the rankings.
"This batch was almost more disappointing than I thought, who
would've thought that only 8 percent of you lot would make it onwards. But thankfully a group of 4 has carried all the slack, good job. Now I will explain the next stage. " She spread her arms out wide.
The space around us shifted and now we were all floating above a gigantic square platform. On this platform were four distinct sections each with a different terrain. One resembling the fiery landscape of a volcano, a lush green forest, a dry desert, and lastly a deserted foggy tundra. However in the center of the platform was a circle where there was no terrain; it was simply a plain white patch.
"The next round will be a survival of the fittest round, you'll be pulled out in an hour. Within the hour you must kill at least 5 beasts of equal rank. Or for those of higher rank 10 kills of the lower rank count as one of the same rank. I will warn you fools though the monsters in this stage are real and not simulations. Of course any injuries sustained will be healed but we can't say the same about any mental trauma. Any questions?"
I raised my hand.
"What about battles between participants?"
"Oh? True to the bloody reputation Ruena. It is not against the rules. In fact it is encouraged because we will only accept the 200 highest scorers. Meaning if you only kill 5 but everybody else kills at least 6 you'll fail. Also, you can take half of the eliminations of those you eliminate. But if you kill somebody without any eliminations they'll be counted as a 1st rune. Though it would help your rankings to engage in battle, the final ranking will also be determined by how long you survive and the judgements of the instructors watching. So, with all that information now do you intend on starting any battles young one?"
I smiled and shrugged my shoulders.
"Who knows?"
Before somebody else would have asked this question but all they got was a simple answer.
Seems the headmistress seemed to find me amusing in a sense.
I could hear the hushed panic around me as many wondered and asked if I was serious.
"An entertaining answer indeed, as expected of a Ruena. In that case I should tell you, your father has the record for the most eliminations in the history of the entrance exams. He eliminated a total of 300 students all by himself. It ended up being our smallest class because of that."
"Oh?"
"But enough of the past, I assume as that was the only question you lot are ready for the exams. And just so you know these ones are being broadcasted live so…do your best to get your heads out your asses."
Before anybody could object she waved her hand and we were all absorbed into separate streams of light being shot towards different parts of the platform.
I opened my eyes and felt a soft sensation under my foot.
"Guess I got the forest..sick"
Looking around I saw some fearful students and walked past them looking for beasts.
I met a few 1st rune beasts but I eliminated them without much difficulty.
"That makes 10 1st runes." I sighed as I pulled my sword out of the corpse of a giant crow.
Eventually after brushing through the trees I was met with a few students running towards me.
They all circled around me, some even stood on the tree branches with bows.
"It's nothing personal, we just think it's better to get rid of you now." A boy wearing a black cloak that covered his entire body besides his face stated.
His eyes were a deep shade of brown, and his face itself was covered in freckles.
"So you brought what looks like 20 people?"
"Your father took down much more."
"Speaking of, don't you care about what'll be caused by this? Your families could suffer."
"We know the Ruenas wouldn't try something like that. They believe in honor after all."
"It's good you know that much then." I held the hilt of my sword.
I wasn't annoyed at them targeting me, it was only natural after all. The other 3 are probably going through similar things.
A group of what was most likely commoners charged at me with
spears, swords, daggers, and even gauntlets.
While they charged at me the mages hiding behind them shot fireballs at me, some even tried to use tree roots to bind me.
I shot forward disappearing from my spot surprising the melee fighters who I had ignored.
As I appeared again half of the mages who had tried to attack me had been eliminated.
Amongst the remaining group of mages was the brown eyed boy who was likely the leader of this operation.
"You damn commoners! Hold him in place!"
He started chanting spells as I was bombarded by melee fighters rushing towards me.
I met some of them head on breaking their weapons in one hit.
Grabbing one by his hair I used him to block an incoming fireball.
'I don't wanna have to reveal that yet. Wouldn't be as exciting.'
I guess due to the chaos more people appeared joining the fight against me.
But because they weren't a part of the group the coordination only turned worse, the trees were being torn apart, the different elements being used at once caused strong dissonance in the air.
It was total chaos.
However, eventually under the lead of a single individual, the boy in the cloak, they eventually arrived at a flow where they were in sync.
"Do you have a trait?" I asked while fending off my attackers.
The person who my question was directed at looked shocked at my question while the others just looked confused.
It's important to know that despite essentially every named character having a trait, only one out of every few million awakens one. It's just that at a certain point without a trait it's impossible to exceed a certain rune. Otherwise, the amount of effort needed would be insane.
"Oh?"
I considered my options. I had already passed the threshold for passing this exam since my current eliminations probably exceeded the 40 first runes I needed.
Counting the bodies wouldn't be possible because they're instantly teleported away after being eliminated.
"If you don't mind, I intend on finishing this up now."
I sheathed my blade and jumped onto the side of a tree.
All of my opponents were in front of me standing and waiting for me to make a move.
The moment I unsheathed my sword I disappeared from my spot as a red light flashed from my scabbard.
The very next instant over 50 people were eliminated and the only ones remaining were the ones that stayed on the tree branches.
"I'll leave the rest of you so just stay out of my hair for the rest of the exam."
They all nodded, giving me the peace of mind I needed to leave.
'System show me my energy reserves.'
[Energy: 2884/2900]
Using sword qi barely doesn't even require a full point for second now so my energy reserves should be enough for the rest of the exam.
Because I had already passed the threshold needed for the exam I just jumped from tree to tree trying to find a way to exit the forest.
I looked at a giant holographic display above the platform checking the exam's progress.
[47:31. 596/800]
Not bad for this point of the exam.
Leisurely I continued wandering, sometimes killing people or
Monsters that decided to challenge me.
After around 20 minutes an audible announcement played throughout the map.
"Congratulations! You've entered the top 200 survivors. From now on it will get much harder, so good luck!"
And in that same instant the ground started shaking prompting me to turn my head back.
I could hear the screams as a giant monster wave appeared chasing and eliminating people in masses.
Standing on a tree I looked at the fearsome wave.
"..There are at least 100 1st rune monsters."
Since the wave was pretty far from me I just sat on one of the branches looking behind me and checking the amount of people left.
Eventually the remaining count got low enough for me to be surprised.
[96/800]
I should mention there was no such monster wave in any of the runs I played as Aureus.
Meaning this was probably a ploy by the headmistress since there were over 2 people in their 2nd rune.
Letting out a sigh I accepted my responsibility.
The monster wave got horrifyingly close with nearly 100 monsters approaching me at bullet speed.
At this point the remaining count had got to 50 so I didn't have much reason to hide many of my cards.
I grabbed my sword holding it like a javelin.
"Crimson bolt."
I threw my sword forward causing it to leave behind a crimson streak of light and a loud boom as it tore through the air.
Solely the reverb caused by such raw movements tore apart a large amount of the forestry around it making it look like a giant bullet shot through.
In an instant tens of monsters died, but since it moved in a straight line a lot of monsters still remained.
However, I waved my fingers and my sword started dancing in the air swinging around and killing the remaining monsters in high speeds.
Eventually it returned to my hand and all of the monster byproducts stained the forest.
Since there were no 2nd rune monsters the problem was quite easy to handle despite the sheer numbers.
"Congratulations, the remaining participants are all in the top 10! From now on no more monsters will spawn so this will be the final rankings…unless it doesn't have to be."
You could hear the mischievous tone in whoever was doing these announcements as they were clearly tempting us to start attacking each other.
And it clearly worked as loud explosions and borderline flashbang like attacks filled the map.
I ignored it all and continued my progress towards the center of the platform.
However, right as I was about to reach the edge of the forest I saw a golden streak of light aimed right towards my face at dangerous speeds.
I immediately side stepped but was still grazed leaving a small cut on my cheek.
"Still dodged that huh?"
In front of me stood a woman with short golden blonde hair, and matching eyes. Her skin resembled that of melted copper and her outfit was a simple set made up of a black sleeveless shirt and military like plant pants.
To her hand there were gauntlets that were made of pure gold matching the boots she was wearing.
"Gotta be a little bit faster."
"Challenge accepted." She smirked and disappeared from her spot.
I used my sword to parry the punch that was aimed right at my face.
"Stop aiming for my money-maker" I said as I pushed her fist away.
"You're right, can't have you lose the ability to stand in front of your fiance."
Swinging my sword towards her neck I raised a brow.
"What the hell? Since when was I engaged?"
"Oh you didn't know?" She had a condescending smile as he narrowly dodged my blade.
A kick was sent towards my chest which despite being blocked still sent me towards a tree.
I bounced off the tree using the force to add to my crimson draw.
The moment the glowing red blade met her gauntlets she was sent rolling on the ground which she barely recovered by digging her fingers into the ground.
"What the hell was that?"
"Just a trick I've been working on." a grin formed on my face. "Now are you gonna answer my question?"
"Why don't you find out yourself?" She stepped off the ground sending a kick towards my calf.
The force of the kick caused me to lost balance which she took advantage of throwing me over her shoulder to the nearest tree.
I let go of my sword as I flew towards it.
"Letting go of your sword? Isn't that a swordsman's greatest shame?"
I gained my footing smiling still.
"You've got something wrong Azure, my sword never leaves my grip."
"Huh?" Cutting her confusion short was the chill of my sword's blade against her throat.
Since it was at a distance she couldn't dodge she had no other choice but to give up.
"I concede."
As she faded away she shot me a glare.
"Be true to your word and show your true strength against that guy, Aureus. I wanna see just how far the distance between us is."
"How do you know it's him?"
"Cause, just like you he has that air around him, one that separates him from the rest. It commands respect and awe, almost like a hero."
I chuckled and responded to her only after she faded away.
"You don't have to ask me to try my best, I'll have no other choice against that monster."
[3/800]
I have to get there before her if I want my chance of fighting him.
Stepping off the ground I moved at an unreasonable speed arriving at the center circle in a few seconds.
When I arrived I was met with the appearance of a man that had captured the definition of heroism in his very gaze.
His white hair that resembled the purest of clouds and his eyes that radiated the same warmth as the most comforting of suns.
He was wearing a white cloak that had golden embroidery on its sleeves.
The hood was down so I could see his entire face as he looked in my direction.
"So you're my opponent?"
"Guess so." I shrugged with a smile.
{Don't hold back,} I told him just in case he had any thoughts.
{I wouldn't even if you paid me you monstrous bastard.}
{Says you.}
I held back the urge to roll my eyes as my fingers wrapped out my sword's hilt.
He slowly floated above ground to the sky increasing our distance.
"Running away already?"
"I know better than to fight a swordsman in close range."
I chuckled and got ready to unsheathe my sword.
"Well you've made one mistake already. Assuming I'm just another swordsman."
Suddenly tens of fireballs filled the sky making it impossible to see anything else.
"Well then show me your uniqueness." He smirked.
They all came flying towards me, and as I dodged one another would appear.
"Is that the best you got?" I said as I narrowly dodged each one leaving burn marks on my clothes.
"Not even close.''
With a wave of his hand spheres another element appeared all around me.
He merged the wind and fire to create literal fire tornados that blocked both my vision and my movement as I was forced to move around them.
And then he used the earth element to shake the ground beneath my feet and used water to get rid of any remaining friction on the ground.
I was slipping all around barely able to gain footing.
Suddenly all routes of escape were closed off as the tornadoes of fire blocked me while approaching.
I sighed.
"You're a real bastard you know."
My sword slipped out of its scabbard covered in its crystalline red covering.
The blade tore through the fire tornadoes causing them to disappear.
"You've reached the 3rd stage of sword aura?! At 15?" He asked me not as Aureus Vaunt, but as the man who had survived till the end of the world multiple times.
"What can I say, I'm not a normal swordsman."
"Damn right.." His grin grew wider and mana gathered around his hands.
He slowly approached the ground after getting rid of all of the water.
"I wouldn't wanna waste this chance."
His feet were covered in wind mana and his knuckles were strengthened by pieces of earth he conjured up.
As he appeared in front of me his fist connected to my sword.
And in that same instant an explosion occurred as a result of him conjuring up a fireball from his fist the moment before impact.
Me and him were both sent flying but we didn't stop there.
He threw javelins made up of water and wind at me of which I could only nullify a few. The rest I had to narrowly dodge leaving cuts all over me.
I stepped in front of him sending my sword towards his chest.
He blocked it using wind and utilized the remaining force to jump away from me.
But as he did my sword left my hand flying towards him.
He tried to dodge my stepping away to the left but my sword followed him.
Realizing he couldn't dodge he used his forearm to parry it and send it flying back towards me.
But despite it being successful he still had a cut on his forearm as a result of the force.
We both smiled and took heavy quick breaths.
"Is that all you got?"
"You out of cards already?"
We both asked similar questions prompting a chuckle from both sides.
"Not even close." We both responded.
His eyes radiated an unnatural light and my eyes got dimmer.
Thanks to my father I now had contacts that could hide the changing of my pupils when I used dragon eyes but instead my eyes got darker.
The aura around my sword got tighter and more compressed.
As Aureus took a step forward I saw countless possibilities for movements, even more than when I sparred my father.
I chose the most rapid one and prepared to move as needed.
We both disappeared from our spots meeting in the center, his fists covered in wind, fire, and earth, and my sword was covered in what looked like blood that dripped down from the tip of my blade to the base of it.
We were both sent back but still jumped towards each other.
Each of our steps caused the sound of a large explosion in the air, and at points in time the person who had the advantage shifted.
So we had sent each other flying everywhere, at this point we had already left the center circle appearing in each of the four different terrains and destroyed them.
I used crimson draw so much that all the trees had already been cut down as a result, and Aureus utilized his fire element to the point the previously sandy dessert had hints of glass and char.
Javelins of all the four elements were sent my way causing different injuries some which I wasn't able to heal from because he subtly added the corrosion effect.
He had tried to hide his usage of his special elements by implementing them in his attacks.
By adding corrosion to his spells he was able to prevent me from healing, and by using magnetism on my sword he was able to force me to go towards him from time to time.
"10 minutes remaining!"
I jumped off of the air towards Aureus who was sending attacks my way from the skies again.
During the battle I had revealed another one of my hidden cards which was a footwork technique I had seen in the library,
'Sky Step'
It allowed me to use qi to walk on the air, which should only be possible after the foundation establishment stage. But since I had the qi reserves above my stage and the energy control of dragons and spirits I was able to utilize its very basic aspect; to essentially allow me to take a single step in the air.
Using that I narrowed our gap whenever he tried to attack me from the air.
He also found a way to nerf my nullification effect by using earth as the base for his attacks.
Aureus flicked his wrist sending balls of earth covered in fire in my direction.
I snapped my sword out of its scabbard cutting through it but the impact of the rock meeting my sword sent me flying.
Digging my sword into the ground I stopped myself from sliding any further.
I was now on the ground clinging to every bit of air I could while looking up at Aureus who looked down on me like a being out of heaven.
But despite that difference I could see that he was in no better condition to me.
Looking around I saw that the platform prepared by the headmistress had been completely torn through. All over was what looked like craters caused by the impact of either of us falling, along with torn and burned trees. There were also cuts on anything solid as a result of Aureus dodging my swings or redirecting them.
I sheathed my sword and he raised his hand into the air.
We both closed our eyes for a moment reaching a mutual understanding
'This would be the last attack.'
My sword prepared to leave its scabbard covered in an aura so compressed it looked closer to black than its usual crimson. But it still had some of the red glow.
And floating above his hand was a giant stone javelin that was covered in its own aura made up of different elements.
On the base it was covered in wind to make it move faster
through the air no doubt. And on what would be the tip of the javelin was fire just to add insult to injury. But worst of all was that I could guess inside of the javelin was water that was so compressed that it could tear through a modern submarine with pressure alone.
This would add a weight that would be impossible with just earth making it harder to simply deflect.
My entire body was now covered in aura unlike usual as I prepared to slash.
So in the same instant both of us released our attacks, him with his flying javelin and me with my sword swing.
'Sword technique; Crimson Radiation'
It was named this because despite being a sword swing it had the effect of carrying an aura in its impact causing it to have an area of effect.
This would mean I could redirect the impact that the earth element would put on me even if barely.
So, my sword met his attack and I was sent flying despite breaking through it because of the sheer impact of the connecting hit. There were now shards of earth embedded into my skin that were also burning like lava stones.
But looking at Aureus who wasn't in much better condition as a large slash mark appeared on his chest causing blood to leak like a faucet.
Using the last remaining mana in his body no doubt he floated down so he wouldn't fall.
I sheathed my sword and walked towards him as he did the same.
We both knew that the injuries sustained would be enough to prompt an elimination for both of us.
"So it's a draw?" I asked.
"This time." He rolled his eyes.
I smiled as I held my hand out.
"You haven't forgotten already have you?"
"Of course not." He said with a slight smile.
Our hands grasped each other as we both reached the same conclusion again.
"It was a good fight." We both stated.
We nodded while our bodies began fading.
And in that same moment both of our heads turned to the sound of footsteps.
I glanced at Aureus whose face had a slight blush and uncharacteristically widened eyes.
Meeting both of our gazes was a girl who had a slightly horrified look in her sky blue eyes.
Her golden hair flowed in the hot wind that filled our current terrain.
'Anais.'
"Beautiful.." I heard Aureus mumble as he faded away.
We both finally faded away as I rolled my eyes.
After I opened my eyes again I was now in what looked like a personal changing room.
I looked at where my wounds were and they were all healed.
"I guess the corrosion wore off after his mana was depleted."
I changed into a different set of clothes, a black dress shirt and pants.
Pushing open the door of the changing room I stepped out. I stepped into a large hallway with a bright light at the end of one side.
While walking towards the light I analyzed my current state.
"Did the headmistress replenish my energy?"
What I learned while practicing with qi is that methods use to replenish mana also work with qi since they're both energies.
As I got closer to the light I could hear the sounds of voices and a large amount.
Eventually I met with Aureus who stepped out of his room also healed.
"Sounds like a crowd out there." I said.
"Guess this would be the stadium where the spectators watched us from?"
"Guess so."
We both eventually walked out being met with the cheers of hundreds of thousands of people.
"GOODJOB YOUNG LORD!" I could hear a few members of the duchy screaming.
I chuckled as I waved my hand towards the crowd. The stadium looked like a gladiator arena except the crowd seats reached the skies essentially.
Speaking of the sky, it was clear and bright with not a single hint of bad weather.
'That's a good sign.'
We both eventually arrived at the center stage which was just a stone platform, where there were 7 other people, one of which was Azure.
Judging by the order they were lined up it looked like it went from lowest ranked on the left and highest on the right. But if that were the case then the numbers were off since including Estelle that would make 11 people. But this was only meant to show the top 10.
I looked at the headmistress who also stood at the center stage in front of everybody.
She winked at me and then looked at the other person who walked out of the hallway.
Anais made her way to the center standing next to Aureus.
For reference I was standing next to Azure who should be ranked fifth since she was a 2nd rune. Me,Azure,Aureus, and Anais were gonna be in the top 5 no matter what since we did the 2nd rune beast subjugation exam.
The structure of the entrance exam was basically that the 2nd stage was the main exam while based on what you did in the 1st stage you would essentially get bonus points. So imagine it's on a 100 scale, surviving to the end of the 2nd stage would get you 100. Then getting the max amount of bonus points for a 1st rune subjugation exam would get you 3 bonus points. Meanwhile, the 2nd rune subjugation would get you 6 bonus points. Defeating the beast in under 5 minutes gets you 6 points and after that every minute is minus 1.
So Azure should've gotten like 4 bonus points while me and Aureus got 6.
I should also say that unless you survive till the end the max points you can get for the second exam is a 90. So me and Aureus are capped at 96 meaning there is no way for either of us to score ahead of Anais.
That is why she's ranked 2nd right under Estelle, but I still don't get why there are 10 people here instead of the supposed to be 9. Since Estelle didn't bother showing up to the exams since she was guaranteed 1st rank as the only 3rd rune.
I was waiting for the headmistress to explain but it was still silent as if we were waiting for somebody else.
"Don't tell me…" I mumbled under my breath
The only one who heard me was Azure since Aureus was currently having an anxiety attack being next to Anais. I mean that quite literally by the way I can hear his heartbeat it's beating at like 100 beats a second.
To my surprise another woman walked out of the hallway. Her black hair cascaded down her back as usual but she had a braid wrapped around the top of her head. She was wearing a black dress shirt with a red tie loosely wrapped under the collar, her pants were a tighter version of my trousers but it had a belt on it with a silver buckle. The sleeves of her dress shirt was cuffed right under her elbows. And with each step she took you could hear the sound of her heel against the ground. She was wearing black sunglasses with a silver frame but as she stepped onto the platform she turned her head my way.
She raised her sunglasses resting them on the top of her head and winked in my direction.
If I wasn't standing in front of a crowd my jaw might've hit the floor out of shock at her bold demeanor.
I hadn't seen the princess since her party but I heard about how she was doing since my parents visited the palace a few weeks ago to talk to the king about something important.
Something important…
"Don't tell me…" I looked at Azure.
She held back a laugh and simply nodded her head.
Then to confirm it even further I could hear the murmurs in the crowd.
"Look at how bold the princess is."
"Well you would be too if your fiance was right in front of you."
"Wait, they're engaged?"
"Aww they look so good together."
"Did you see the recording of them dancing at the masquerade party?"
"I heard they wandered off on their own."
"I wonder if…"
This time Aureus who despite having ears not as strong as mine was able to pay attention to the murmurs.
He raised his brow in my direction and then looked back forward at the princess who walked by me very slowly and then walked past him.
I looked at Aureus who looked like he saw a ghost.
{You're engaged to somebody that dangerous?}
{I'm as shocked as you are loverboy. }
He wasn't able to reply to my remark because the headmistress started talking.
"Ladies and gentlemen throughout the continent I am proud to say these are our top 10 students of this academic year. Some of them are especially precious as you have seen. But as you can also see there are 11 people up here with me not 10. And that is because for the first time in the academy's history the instructors could not decide. Students Rohan Ruena and Aureus Vaunt appeared to be equal all throughout their fight and they both had the same amount of 1st rune hunts. And they even got eliminated at the same time! We were going to use their monster subjugation as the decider but we decided against that since that would go against the way the academy has done its scoring for centuries. So, instead of that we've decided to give them both the rank of 3rd for now."
"What?" Me and Aureus both asked dumbfounded.
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AN: Time for the main story to start. I'm gonna post more chapters in a few days most likely but don't expect too many.