Chapter 7— | Immeasurable power.
Chapter 7—Immeasurable power.
His eyes planted directly into kaelen’s. The sovereign had visibly heard about the incident of the shattered crystal at the Guild and the appearance of a new S rank.
The king let out an indecipherable smile look before raising his right hand. At this signal, the trumpets stopped immediately. For a second time, the silence becomes even totally suffocating. The exam was about to begin.
According to our laws, I officially launch the running of the first phase of the exam. The king The crowd shouted with joy, a blushing of hundreds of thousands of voices that made the walls of the Colosseum vibrate. But the shouts stopped dead when the king began to slowly descend the steps of the Imperial tribune accompanied by his guards.
The general director of the Academy took the floor again; his magical voice resonated in every corner.
"For this first trial, no need for weapons or spells. His Majesty the King is going herself to test your worth. Those who can stay standing facing the royal presence will be qualified for the continuation of the events. On this! Let the selection begin."
Suddenly the king approached again to the center of the platform and stopped abruptly. Without making a single gesture, he released a tiny fraction of his energy. It was not a magical attack, but a pure mental and spiritual pressure so heavy that it seemed to weigh thousands of tons.
"Boom!"
The effect of the pressure was instant. All around Kaelen, knees began to clatter on the ground. Dozens of commoners collapsed all at once, their pale faces unable to move even as we breathe under this strong pressure.
Likewise, among the nobles, panic was installed immediately; the expressions on their faces changed; they understood nothing.
As for Alistair de Valois, who was already weakened by kaelen’s pressure earlier, he clenched his teeth, legs trembling, fighting with all his strength to not suffer the same humiliation as in the beginning.
Kaelen, as for him, stayed straight, like a spike. Thanks to his strength and the protections of his system, this legendary aura did practically nothing to him, just like a light current of air.
But Kaelen, casting a glance beside him, saw Lyra, who was fighting to stay standing; at the furthest kaelen noticed that the system’s plan was not mistaken. Because at the other end of the courtyard, the young hooded man did not move an inch either, arms crossed.
Further, the mysterious boy with red eyes displayed an even bigger smile, visibly excited by the power of the king.
In this time, Takumi-kun was also standing, fighting fiercely; one noticed the expression on his face. But some of his companions were already under the pressure.
After a few minutes, out of the 820 candidates from the start, nearly half were already lying on the ground, unconscious, eliminated by this simple presence of the sovereign.
The sorting had just begun, and the game became, at the end, serious.
"Thank you, dear candidates. For those who didn’t pass this test, you are requested to leave the arena, and we will see each other next year. The director"
The whispers were installed immediately
"We have left; far it is in just..."
Kaelen was there; he observed, disappointed to see so many eliminated all at once, but he said to himself.
" Let’s focus on the other trial because they will reform and come next year." Said Kaelen to Lyra." You are right. We must give everything to succeed in this mission because I have my sister to cure. She said"
The commoners, certain children of dukes and nobles who had not passed the first phase, came out of the Colosseum roof downcast.
Only half remained. The Director announced the withdrawal of the other candidates into the enclosure of the Academy.
" Thank you for staying so strong. Now for the continuation of the trials, you will go to the Academy dormitory, eat, and rest because tomorrow is a new day. Director."
The king rose, and he left with his escort.
The remaining candidates are conducted into a large castle of the Academy; there were guards outside.
They entered into the castle; servants were waiting for them.(Welcome among us. Here is the key to your respective rooms and the Academy uniform. After having finished, you meet us in the great hall for dinner.)
Kaelen and Lyra took the keys and the uniform.
Lyra is all smiles. See you in the great hall. She said
"Yes we do it like that. Kaelen"
Kaelen entered into his room, took a shower quickly, and put on the black gold uniform of the Academy, which fit him perfectly to perfection. When he joined the great hall, Lyra was waiting for him.
"Finally you are here. The uniform fits you well, she said."
Thank you to you too; they have already started, it looks like. Let’s go. Kaelen
Hundreds of students in uniform were already eating, but the groups were clear to the naked eye, the nobles on one side proud and noisy. Alistair de Valois was sitting at the center table, throwing glances in his direction. Further, the hooded man ate alone in his dark corner, while the man with red eyes drank his glass of water with a mysterious smile.
Kaelen settled with Lyra, savoring this moment of calm before the storm.
They had finished eating; now the curfew is installed, and they were all in their dormitory sleeping.
The next morning, the Academy bell rang the beginning of the second phase. All the qualified candidates were gathered in the large evaluation hall, all in uniform.
In the center of the room stood an immense sky blue crystal pillar.
The director of the academy took the floor from the top of his floating platform. ’For this trial, you will pass one by one; you must place your hand on this crystal and inject your energy into it. The pillar will measure the quantity and purity of your mana.’
The passages followed one after another; most of the candidates displayed classic Bronze or Silver rank scores.
When Alistair de Valois stepped forward, he placed his hand with arrogance. The crystal illuminated with a strong golden color, indicating an excellent level. He turned toward Kaelen with a provocative smile, persuaded to have crushed everyone.
Meanwhile, Lyra passed in her turn, placed her hand, and the crystal indicated the Silver Rank. She was so proud of herself.
The hooded man was called in his turn. As soon as his hand touched the stone, a purple and icy smoke enveloped the pillar, making the temperature of the room drop. The magical screen displayed:[ Rank S— Icy Mana.] The crowd held its breath.
Right after him, the man with red eyes passed in his turn. By placing his palm, a blood-red discharge pulsed in the hall, slightly cracking the surface of the sky-blue crystal.
The screen displayed: [ Rank S—Destructive Potential.] Whispers of terror spread. The trainers were surprised.
"Looks like this year the gods did not forget us. Said one of the trainers"
Finally, the turn, kaelen’s name resonated in the loudspeakers.
He stepped forward calmly under the curious eyes of the crowd. As soon as he brought his hand close to the sky-blue crystal, his system activated instantly in his vision.
[Alert: External magical scan attempt detected.You Do you want to hide your true divine power or release your S-Rank Mana?]
Kaelen smirkingly sidestepped and mentally chose to release his power.
At the precise moment where his fingers touched the sky-blue crystal, a pure and crushing mana impulse traversed the pillar. The detector began to tremble violently.
The blue glow became so intense that it blinded the whole room before a sound of broken glass rang out.
[Crack!]
The sky blue crystal pillar had just exploded into a thousand pieces under the pressure.
Above the glass debris, the magical screen flashed in giant letters:
[ RANK S—INCONMONSURABLE POWER. ]
The silence became total, deathly. Alistair de Valois dropped his dagger in surprise, while the director and the professors stood up abruptly, their faces decomposed by fear. Kaelen quietly withdrew his hand, crossing the now serious look of the man with red eyes and the hooded boy.
Lyra displayed a joyful smile.
’Well done.’ She said!
The professors consulted with the director; he decided that the students all return to their quarters.
" For technical reasons, I request you to join your respective quarters. And don’t forget to have breakfast. We will see each other soon. "
They began by moving; the look was thrown on kaelen.
Kaelen was taking the posture of someone who was leaving and one stops.
"One instant, young man, the king wants to meet you alone." Said the director.
He turned around, staring at the director.
The director signaled Kaelen to follow him through a long, deserted, dark corridor, leaving Lyra and the other candidates behind.
At the end of the corridor stood a huge solid wood door adorned with gilded engravings.
The royal guards opened the door in silence.
Inside the room, the king was seated in a large leather armchair, his golden cape draped over his shoulder. There was no one else there.
The director bowed low and immediately withdrew from the apartment, closing the door behind him, leaving Kaelen alone to face the ruler of this world.
The king stared at Kaelen for a long moment, a heavy silence settling in the room. Then, he spoke in a calm but powerful voice.
"A commoner from the countryside capable of shattering a sky-blue crystal pillar of the Academy...! That’s unheard of. Tell me, young man, where do you come from..."