Chapter 62 Skills Assessment [ 2 ]

—Asher Frostblade's point of view.

What the hell was that? The voice of the woman from that day came to my ears again. It was in an instant, but that woman's voice whispered right next to me as if she was there. However, when I turned to look, there was no one there.

Could it be some kind of teleportation ability or is she moving at a great speed that I am not able to see?

More to the point, why doesn't he show himself in front of me, I have no idea who he is.

"Asher."

At that moment, Luna's voice reached my ears. Looking up, Gloriana and Luna stared at me.

"Ah... yes, I follow them already."

Looking once more, there was no one there, only the first year cadets who were coming out of the meeting section.

"He must be expecting something from you."

Finally, Encrid spoke after two days of silence.

"Why do you say a word to me until today?"

Asking, Encrid's voice echoed in my head.

"Uh, well, I thought she was a familiar and you hadn't seen her for a long time. That's why I kept quiet."

"..."

This fucking asshole....

The truth is, I'd like to punch Encrid.

Wait a minute, now I remembered something I hadn't done for a long time.

Bringing my hand to the moon-shaped tattoo, which is basically Encrid in his tattoo form to be with me.

At that moment, I pinched the tattoo.

"N-no, don't wait.... Shit, that hurts, you know?".

"Hehehehe." A giggle came out of my mouth.

That scream of pain in Encrid felt like music to my ears.

***

—Scene change.

Walking through the halls of Laosa academy, a young man with jet black hair and purple eyes, wearing the black Laosa academy outfit, the same outfit as the teachers, nothing but the cadets' outfit is black, a simple change of color.

Currently, the cadets are looking around the surroundings of the Laosa academy, and of course, a member of the Big Ten families is also doing so right at this moment.

Where is he headed? Of course, to the combat section, where the senior year cadets have a little friendly combat, of that all the cadets already know about.

"Mmm, when will the others arrive?".

The young man thought to himself as he walked silently and with his hands inside his pockets.

His hair was tousled, but his appearance as a handsome and beautiful young man doesn't change despite his tousled hair. After all, Grey Elaris of the Elaris family loves tousled hair.

One of the ten great families, the Elaris family, and Grey is a member of that family as the son of the patriarch. His elemental affinities as a mage of the first circle are earth, but strangely Grey was born with two affinities: earth and water, a matched set.

Sighing, Grey continued walking without looking ahead, his gaze was set on the ground as his footsteps echoed with each step he took.

Looking up, Grey glanced at a door that bore the inscription of:

[Combat Section].

Of course, in order for the cadets not to get lost in the huge academy, each section has an inscription to know exactly where they are, and this is the section where Grey was currently headed.

Paying no attention to his surroundings, Grey passed through the door.

A large and narrow area, the roof was made of glass to let the sunlight in, while benches were around the large combat arena. Basically, the combat section was almost identical to a soccer stadium, with only a few small changes. Of course, its size was also like that of a soccer stadium.

"Mmm, so you're here, huh?".

Looking at a familiar figure, Grey walked towards that figure.

Sitting down, Grey looked at who it was.

"When did you get here, Emilia?".

"Uh, ah, hi Grey, I didn't see you in the meeting section."

Her strong purple eyes, as well as her purple hair, matched Grey's eyes. If he had purple hair, to the naked eye he would look like Emilia's brother.

Worst case scenario for Grey, is Emilia saying "hey bro," would be a resounding chill for him.

"Well, I was in the back rows."

"I see."

"So what are you doing here?" She asked.

"I came to watch the senior year cadets sparring." Grey replied as he looked at the combat arena, where two cadets were about to fight.

Sitting down next to Emilia, Grey stared at the two cadets in the combat arena.

The combat section is supervised by a teacher. Should the cadets attempt to have a fight that could result in excessive bloodshed, the teacher would have to intervene.

Safety at Laosa Academy is the teachers' top priority. After all, the cadets will be great figures in the future, and the deaths of these would be a great blow to the kingdom.

"Are you already in the first circle?" Grey asked.

"Uh, yeah, well, I made it to the first circle three weeks ago."

"I got to the first circle three weeks ago anyway."

At that moment, Grey opened his eyes wide, his purple eyes reflected and then he looked at the two cadets' sparring.

They appeared to be sophomores in stature, especially since the two cadets had more developed bodies.

At that moment, Grey looked at the two cadets in the arena, the first cadet with golden hair and yellow pupils, the second cadet with dark hair and green pupils. The two had a distance of ten meters, staring at each other until a voice echoed throughout the section.

"Begin."

It was a high-pitched, gravelly voice of an adult. Grey, of course, knew it was the voice of the teacher in charge of this section.

Just then, both cadets looked at each other one after the other.

"Crunch."

Blue sparks filled the entire arena as both cadets began to move at high speed.

The golden-haired cadet reached the other cadet squarely in front of him, sparks flew from his hands and he clenched his fist. Just then, the other cadet covered himself with both arms.

Grey, at that moment, looked at the dark-haired cadet. Yellow rays shot out of his palms. Quickly moving his hands, the rays fell everywhere. The golden-haired cadet ran in a zigzag pattern as he dodged each attack. Lightning flitted all over the arena and sparks flew everywhere.

The golden-haired cadet pounced, leaping upward. He clasped both hands together and yellow lightning bolts shot out of them. A pillar-shaped beam fell to the ground as the dark-haired cadet stepped back a few feet. A shield made of pure electricity covered him. Of course, the dark-haired cadet did not stay on the offensive.

Blue sparks shot out from both feet of the dark-haired cadet. Quickly reaching the other cadet, his eyes glowed bright blue as he glared at the golden-haired cadet. His fist landed on the golden-haired cadet's cheek, grazing it in the process. The golden-haired cadet's lightning bolts shot out of his hands.

Both cadets began to exchange blows.

In one of those seconds, the dark-haired cadet stepped back and, raising his left hand, sparks flew out and suddenly crackling lightning arrows began to streak through the air.

"Xu," "Xu," "Xu."

Several arrows began to close in on the golden-haired cadet. In an attempt to protect himself, oversized spheres appeared making a wall with them. Then, the arrows hit the wall made of spheres.

The area echoed with a wave of electricity that surrounded the combat arena. In one of those seconds, the dark-haired cadet took the initiative. Sparks flew from his legs, making him move faster, arriving in a second right behind the golden-haired cadet. The cadet was unable to react and was hit with a direct blow to his backside.

"Starburst."

Hitting the ground, the golden-haired cadet was knocked to the ground.

"It's over," Emilia spoke at that moment.

Grey, on the other hand, kept his gaze on the combat without blinking.

"No, it's not over yet," Grey said as the golden-haired cadet's hand rose and then lowered.

"Shriek."

Several blue spheres of electricity surrounded the dark-haired cadet. Without a way out, the cadet covered himself with both arms as the spheres fell all over his body.

There was silence as the sparks exploded into the air.

After a few seconds, the sparks dissipated and then the winner was clear.

While on the ground, the dark-haired cadet was knocked unconscious. On the other hand, the golden-haired cadet was left on the ground, looking up while his arms were stretched out on the ground.

"They're amazing, they're that strong being sophomores."

"But, they both look like third years."

Emilia expressed her doubts as she saw that the two cadets were much stronger than normal.

Of course, Grey had that thought, but the two cadets are clearly sophomores, that means....

"The two cadets have failed the year."

That had to be it. After all, both cadets were stronger than normal and, looking at the level of the fight, they seemed to be second or third circle mages.

Grey wasn't so sure, but he could get a vague idea of how strong the two cadets were.

"Ah, it looks like there will be more fighting," Emilia spoke as two more cadets came out into the fighting arena.

"It looks like it. For some reason, it's called a combat section, isn't it?".

"..."

Grey looked at Emilia as if she was really dumb.

"Hey, that's...".

Emilia didn't say anything else as she looked at three figures entering the front door of the combat section.

Two with silver hair and red eyes, one female and the other male, and one more female with snow white hair and ash colored eyes.

The three entered and then Emilia spoke to them.

"Hey, here, come sit down."

The three looked at Emilia and then quickly started walking towards her.

"Hi, Emilia, I haven't seen you for a while."

"Hehe, well, that's because I've been training. I'm almost a second circle now, Luna."

"Ha, we'll see about that."

At that moment, Grey kept his eyes on the two until he saw someone.

Rising, he bowed with his hand on his chest in greeting.

"Greetings, Princess Gloriana."

"No need for formal greetings, Grey."

Gloriana replied.

"Uh, if you say so, then I'll call you Gloriana."

"Thank you."

Turning his head, Grey looked at a young man who looked similar to Gloriana.

"Hi."

"Hi."

The two simply greeted each other with nothing more to say. The two sat down.

"What was that?" Luna spoke at that moment, looking at Grey and Asher.

Grey turned his head and met Luna's gaze, who was looking at him in confusion.

"What was what?"

"A simple hello. I expected it from Asher, but not from you."

"..."

Grey didn't say a word and looked at Luna without any trace of emotion on his face.

On the other hand, Asher looked at Luna confused, thinking about those last words.

"I expected that from Asher...", he muttered silently.

"Well, whatever," Luna said and then sat down next to Emilia.

Gloriana, looking at which side to sit on, Asher's side or Luna's, at that moment decided on Asher's side.

"I guess I'll sit here," she spoke while flashing a smile as she pushed a lock of hair behind her ear.

Watching, Asher didn't say a word. At that moment, he looked at the combat arena.

Grey, who kept his gaze fixed on the combat arena, paid no attention to the others on either side of him.

"Begin."

The teacher's voice echoed throughout the section and then the two cadets began to fight.

Grey watched every movement of their hands, as well as their movements on their feet and in the eyes of both cadets.

"It will end quickly."

"It will end quickly."

"..."

"..."

Grey and Asher looked at each other at the same time as they spoke simultaneously. Without saying a single word, the two of them looked at the combat arena again.

Rumbles and more bangs echoed with each movement of the two cadets.

Grey did not look away, knowing that the fight was between two second-year cadets.

This time it was not very impressive, as those two cadets were younger than the first two cadets from before.

They knew who would win quickly. The fight ended with the victory of the cadet who was left standing while the other cadet fell backwards, raising a small curtain of dust in the process.

It really was boring for Grey; he wasn't very good compared to the two cadets earlier.

"Boring."

"Boring."

"..."

"..."

Looking at the silver-haired, red-eyed cadet sitting next to him, they both looked at each other for a few seconds until they looked again at the combat arena, where after a few minutes, two other cadets were entering....