"Clash of Titans"

The final round of the exam was underway and the arena buzzed with excitement as the strongest contenders faced off. Theo had declined Casper's challenge, making him choose Aiden as his new opponent. Aiden had already established his dominance in the competition thus far and was now armored with gauntlets.

Casper, on the other hand, entered the ring unarmed. The two contenders sized each other up, ready to engage in a fierce battle.

Aiden launched his attack, his fist clenched tightly and protected by his gauntlets. Casper deftly evaded the first blow by sidestepping and swiftly grabbed Aiden's wrist, flipping him using the force of the attack. Aiden let out a pained grunt as he struggled to regain his balance. In retaliation, he aimed a powerful strike at Casper's abdomen, forcing him to step back.

Casper responded with lightning-fast reflexes, delivering a swift attack aimed at Aiden's midsection. The unexpected blow caught Aiden off guard and sent him stumbling back, gasping for air. However, he quickly regained his composure and launched a counter-attack, using a series of jabs and uppercuts to force Casper on the defensive. Despite his efforts to block the blows, Aiden struggled to keep up with Casper's agility, leaving him feeling off-balance.

Determined to regain control of the match, Aiden fought back with a forceful knee strike, creating some distance between himself and Casper.

This elicited a grin from Casper.

"You are good. Show me your best attack," Casper chose to take a defensive posture, a gesture for Aiden to take the lead.

Aiden charged with a strike, a powerful punch aimed at his opponent's face. But Casper was ready, effortlessly sidestepping and countering with a sharp uppercut that caught Aiden off-guard. Despite momentarily losing his footing, Aiden quickly regained his composure and launched a barrage of punches. However, Casper skillfully dodged and blocked each one with ease.

Casper attacked with a swift roundhouse kick aimed at Aiden's torso. He stumbled to his feet, trying to catch his breath. Casper, still calm and collected, approached Aiden with quick jabs. Aiden tried to block, but Casper's strikes were too fast and precise.

Casper saw an opening and feigned a high kick, then switched to a sweeping low kick, knocking Aiden's legs out from under him. Instead of attacking his grounded opponent, Casper allowed Aiden to regain his footing.

"Do you have anything else to show me?" Casper taunted his opponent while dodging. It was evident that he wasn't even going all out right now. He was simply toying with him.

Aiden fought with all his might but to no avail. Casper's amused expression disappeared as he realized Aiden had nothing else to offer. "This is getting boring. I forfeit," Casper said, signaling the end of the match.

As Casper turned to leave, Aiden, unwilling to accept defeat, leaped towards him recklessly and shouted, "Don't you dare turn your back on me!" He lunged forward to attack in desperation.

"It seems I have been taking it a bit too lightly, huh?" The air around Casper grew heavy.

The referee sensing the danger tried to intervene quickly, but he has too slow. With incredible speed, Casper delivered a swift punch to Aiden's stomach, sending him hurtling off the platform. Aiden struck the wall with a resounding thud and lost consciousness, falling motionless to the ground.

"God damn! Wasn't that way too one-sided?" one of the boys sitting beside Theo exclaimed in surprise.

"It sure was," another replied with a short answer.

Aiden was carried out on a stretcher to the doctor. All the other fights had come to an end and the first exam was finally over. After a grueling examination, the students were granted a short respite of half an hour.

The results of the first exam were then announced, with the rankings displayed on a large screen on the right side of the stadium. The ranking was based on the combined scores of both the physical and combat test. Those that choose the academic test were also ranked with their results displayed in a separate panel.

Out of the approximately 2000 students present, the bottom half of the ranking was disqualified. They were relegated to fulfill their mandatory service in alternative departments, rather than the military. The female students were assigned to work as nurses or in fields, providing care to patients and growing crops for three years, while the male students were sent to work in the mines for two years.

Although this was a challenging obligation, it was considered a standard requirement in the Freylyn Empire, and every citizen was expected to serve in some capacity.

"What rank did you get?" Jack approached Theo.

"I ranked 376. " Theo was content with his results.

"Well, I barely made it past elimination," Jack said, wiping his forehead dramatically.

Theo thought it was an exaggeration, but upon checking the rankings, he saw that Jack was ranked 992.

"That could have gone wrong quickly," he thought to himself.

The rest period ended and it was time for the second exam. Unlike the first, this one was designed to test their intelligence, rather than physical abilities.

Each student was taken to a separate room and given three questions to answer. This wasn't just a quick and simple test, but rather a comprehensive assessment of each student's analytical, listening, and cognitive abilities.

Theo entered a room where an officer sat on a chair with a tablet in hand. The first question was posed to Theo.

Theo answered two of the four questions correctly while intentionally giving the wrong answer to the others. The test was completed within a few minutes.

As the day drew to a close, the sun cast its fiery red glow through the clear windows of the stadium.

It had been a draining day for all of the students, but they were now one step closer to the finish line, with only one final exam remaining before they could finally breathe a sigh of relief.