CHAPTER 82: ASSESSMENT -1

Where were only a hundred students gathered at the training ground where the physical assessment was about to begin.

There had been more yesterday, but it seemed many didn’t score high enough to move on to the next round.

Poor them, Arthur thought. All they could do now was wait for another chance or try their luck at an easier academy.

The gymnasium was large and spacious, big enough to hold a thousand people.

There were ten sparring mats, stands that could seat hundreds of spectators, and a good ventilation system that kept the room from getting too hot.

Arthur, though, had help from water spirits to keep himself cool as he waited for the instructor.

In the stands, he spotted two familiar faces sitting together, both smiling.

One was his nemesis from his previous life, and the other might be his future sister-in-law.

He just finished his assessment... why is he still here? Arthur wondered, noticing the sweaty and clearly exhausted Eric sitting in the stands.

"Are you nervous?" the boy beside Arthur asked.

Arthur glanced at him. He was tall, with gray hair and broad shoulders. His arms were thick and tanned, and a thin scar ran down his chin. His posture was straight, like a soldier.

"Not really. What about you?" Arthur replied, deciding to keep the conversation going since there wasn’t much else to do.

"I am," the boy admitted. "The thing is, they don’t send us out into the wild to test us anymore. To me, that was the best way to see who’s got what it takes."

Arthur could tell, from the way the boy controlled his mana and the muscles he’d built in the wilderness, that he wasn’t just pretending to be brave.

"Students come here to train so they’ll be ready for the real world," Arthur said calmly. "Of course, they can’t throw us into a graduation-level challenge just yet."

"True... but think about it," the boy continued. "What if a student doesn’t get to show their best because the test just wasn’t right for them?"

"You don’t need to worry about that, participant Tony."

It wasn’t Arthur who answered—it was a woman who had just stepped inside.

Everyone turned to look at her. She had long green hair and moved with confidence and grace.

A slight smile lit up her eyes as she stood before the top hundred students who had made it through the first round.

Her gaze swept over them as she spoke. "We design these tests to push your limits and see what you’re truly capable of. Every challenge is meant to test your strength, reveal your weaknesses, and show whether you’re ready to become a warrior."

Her words reached every ear. The students stood straighter, their eyes blazing with determination. In their minds, they were already preparing themselves for the challenge that lay ahead.

"I am Luci, and I will be conducting your assessment today," she said, pausing to let her words sink in. "Before I explain the first test, let’s go over some basic rules."

She glanced around the room.

"First, remember this: you can quit at any time, but if you do, your journey this year ends. You either accept defeat or conquer the test—there is no middle ground. Do I make myself clear?"

The students all nodded.

Most of them had heard the rules before, so no one looked surprised.

Quitting wasn’t an option. It was either win or die trying.

Luci continued, "Second, there will be four rounds. Each round is worth two hundred points. How well you perform—and how long you last—will determine your score."

Again, there were no shocked gasps or signs of fear.

She went on, "However, remember this: you can only participate in the fourth round if you score at least five hundred and fifty points in the first three rounds."

That did cause some reactions—nervous shifting, raised eyebrows—even though the students already knew about the requirement.

Unlike the previous batch, where no one dared to ask why, the boy beside Arthur raised his hand and asked, "Why is that, ma’am? What’s in the fourth round that there’s a minimum requirement?"

Bold, Arthur thought. Maybe it was because the boy was so confident in his skills that he didn’t care if he got kicked out for interrupting the instructor. He could always join another academy—or try again next year—without any trouble.

Luci didn’t look offended in the slightest. Instead, she answered calmly, "The fourth round will be a spar... against me."

"...!"

A chorus of gasps filled the room, the students’ reactions proving just how shocking her words were.

Even Arthur was taken aback, his brows lifting in surprise.

Damn... he thought, a thin smirk forming on his lips. I can tell she’s at least an A-rank.

The strongest beast Arthur had fought was that ape when he went to save Elowen. At most, it had been Town-class—maybe leaning a bit toward Disaster-class.

An A-rank, though, could fight a fully grown Disaster-class on their own.

It would be a nice challenge, Arthur thought, feeling a sudden rush of motivation to ace all the tests so he could fight someone strong. He was itching to go all out and see what this generation had to offer.

"Alright, then. Let’s get to the first test," Luci said, stepping aside.

Two council officers came forward carrying trays. On them were bracelets and anklets.

Arthur could already guess what was about to happen.

The students around him were surprised to see that this test was different from the first shift.

"First ten students, step forward and put them on," Luci instructed, gesturing toward Arthur’s side.

Arthur glanced to his right and saw that the tenth student was the same boy who had asked the question earlier.

They stepped forward and quickly put on the bracelets and anklets.

Luci gave a nod to one of the council officers. He nodded back and knelt on the ground.

Two lines of light appeared on his face, and the ground began to tremble slightly—clearly a sign of magic at work.

Arthur’s brows lifted as a twelve-meter-long sand field formed in front of them, surrounded by a low, two-foot-high barrier to keep the sand in place.

Another officer stepped forward and touched the sand. A single line of blessing appeared on his face. There were no obvious changes, but Arthur could tell that the sand had been enchanted.

Once they were all lined up at the starting line, Luci spoke. "The weight will increase at every checkpoint, and a new challenge will be presented before you. Remember—quitting means you’ll waste an entire year." She reminded them sternly, making the nervous-looking students take deep breaths to steady themselves.

Among the ten students, Tony stood out as the tallest and strongest.

Most were focused on him.

"Remember," Luci continued, "you can use magic—but you’re not allowed to interfere with others. Doing so will get you instantly disqualified. Any questions?"

No one raised a hand.

Then, the artifactd activated.

The students felt the sudden weight on their wrists and ankles, pressing down harder than they expected.

Luci picked up a whistle and—

PHEEEEWW!

The whistle’s sharp sound pierced the air.

The students dashed forward—and immediately hit the sand, crying out in pain.

"Ahh!"

"Fuck, it’s so hot!"

"Guh! Shit!"

Some of them jumped out of the sand, but Luci didn’t disqualify them right away since this was the first round and they hadn’t been warned about the heat.

However, she quickly barked, "Get back in within ten seconds or you’re out!"

The four who had jumped out looked frustrated but stepped back in, even though the burning sand hurt like hell.

Even Tony wasn’t immune. He used his magic to surround his shoes with rocks, trying to shield them from the heat, and began moving forward.

Others did the same in their own ways: one student conjured water to cool the sand, another used wind magic to keep the sand off their feet, and others used different methods to fight the heat and keep going.

The first one to reach the second checkpoint was, unsurprisingly, Tony.

*GUOOH*

Suddenly, a flaming monster appeared before him.

The boy flinched but responded immediately—strengthening his arms. Three glaring marks appeared on his face, making people gasp, as he surrounded his arms with stones and met the punch of the flaming arm.

**BOOOOM**

Dust and embers flew across but the winner of the clash was clearly the human.

Tony didn’t stop there and punched a hole in the monster’s gut right away—erasing the obstacle of the second checkpoint.

For some, the flaming monster might have not appeared strong, but when they saw the other participants struggling and one of them even getting seriously injured, they knew they couldn’t take anything casually in the assessment.

Tomy reached the third checkpoint and instantly, his eyes widened as his feet started to sunk in

"What the..?!"

"Is there any space beneath that sand?!"

"Woah, he is in deep shit. The rocks on his feet is making him heavier and so is the artifact."

Students gasped while Tony continued to walk, trying to overcome the sinkhole.

However, it wasn’t working.

Gritting his teeth, he decided to rely on his magic,

"Appear!" He roared before a huge golem lifted Tony from the ground.

The golem began to sink in faster, because of the heavy weight but Tony was prepared.

He barely raised his arm because of the anklet and soon several golems started to appear.

He had enough strength in his legs, despite the anklets, to jump from one golem to another.

The last one was barley visible—its body almost devoured by the sand.

Tony gritted his teeth and with all the strength he had, he jumped on top of its head, making the Golem disappear completely, and Tony leaped to the next stage.

He slowly got up with a smile of victory on his face.

Everyone cheered for him, believing he would somehow cross the last round as well, and get the best score.

But then, a certain blond boy appeared before the sand field.

Arthur narrowed his eyes as he saw his brother standing there with an indifferent look—a few dark lines appeared on his face and soon—

*Dhak*

Tony fell to the ground. Eyes widened and body paralyzed.

Everyone turned silent.

What...just happened?

******

A/N:- Thanks for reading.