Second test

'I don't know what this kid started two years ago, but it has undoubtedly changed him completely, he has already surpassed all of his peers.' That was true, at the orphanage only Heimer could be counted in the sense of talent on par with Kayden.

The minutes passed quickly and soon everyone was sitting on the couches waiting for the program to start. Kayden had Heimer and Ryan glued to him.

"As? I close my eyes for 1 month and you pass rank?" Heimer voiced the two's doubt aloud. Kayden was prepared for that kind of question. Its advance was tremendously fast.

"It's a matter of talent, Heimer, you won't understand." This response resulted in Ryan hitting Kayden in the head.

"You only have a rank 1 innate talent, Kayden, what's the catch? We're friends, aren't we?" Ryan was impressed, but before Kayden could say anything, the screen flashed to Draven as the presenter again.

"Good morning ladies and gentlemen. I am happy to see everyone gathered together again to see this wonderful display of talent from our kingdom. So, without further ado, let's get to the test presentation."

A repeat of last year's explanation appeared, it was the same tests again. Innate talent, the ladder, and the final test. This should be a model that came from years of use.

"Wake me up when I get to the battle part." With that sentence, Kayden closed his eyes and shut out the world around him. He had no interest in watching people climb stairs, his time was limited, not really, but that part of the show was shit to watch.

"Lunatic," Heimer cursed under his breath and started watching the program. Unlike Kayden, the other kids see this moment as entertainment and not something to gain experience.

A few minutes later, the finalists on the ladder appeared. Like last time, there were few on high steps and the biggest was at a staggering 85, topping Beethoven by a full 5 steps.

It was a girl holding a forge hammer behind her back. Her hair was red, and her height of nearly six feet made her look like a Valkyrie straight out of the legends of Asgard. The small offending effect was that his hammer was at least 40 centimeters long and on his belt was another one of only 5 centimeters.

"Kayden, wake up your bum, No more sleeping there!" Heimer threw a glass of water at the boy. Locked in his mind, Kayden snapped back to reality. Glaring at the two beside him, Kayden was about to play the prank back.

Seeing this, Heimer pointed to the old man sitting next to them. Kayden didn't know what to do, on the one hand, it seemed unlikely, but it suited the man's personality. For that reason, the boy just sat comfortably and waited. The girl's information was not passed on and soon Draven appeared on the screen:

"Okay, let's start with our director's keynote speech, and then we'll move on to the third and final test." The image of the narrator was cut and Leonardo Sol appeared.

Unlike the other time, the man was riding a giant golden wolf. Matching the color of its fur, the beast's eyes were molten gold, magnificent to look at. Leonardo began his speech:

"Hi everyone, thank you for coming along for our test this year. Our goal remains the same." The wolf howled and caused a small flutter in everyone watching. Even behind the scenes, that animal was capable of causing fear in viewers.

"We want true geniuses, we want those capable of guiding the future of humanity." His voice rose in pitch and gained emotion. "We want people who can hold our entire country against the world if need be, and we will spare no effort to do so. Good luck to all competitors."

The man's speech was short but managed to convey all the feelings that should have been conveyed. It was clear what the academy was after. It wasn't just the best, it was the best of the best. The champions of champions.

After Leonardo's image left the screen, Draven appeared again. With his friendly smile, the man began to pass on the information about what would happen now. In the same model as last year, the best candidates could make a presentation on the platform.

The first candidate rose and, like last year, was the winner of the second challenge. The girl with the hammers took the stage. His walk was just a thrill. Trust. The purest confidence that only geniuses would have.

His presentation started on the screen. Her name was Honoka Hoshizaki, his name meant something similar to glowing flames. The girl was at the impressive peak of the ninth realm. The ninth realm was not rare in this competition, but those at the peak of it were an absolute minority among the competitors. His innate talent was incredibly high as well, he was ranked fifth.

When the girl reached the middle of the stage, a voice could be heard:

"What are you going to show us?" It was a voice without gender or any distinguishing characteristics. That was the voice of the competition judge. Honoka answered directly and confidently:

"Forge, I would like an elder to test the quality of my equipment." The request surprised the viewers, unlike the previous year there were no highlights in the secondary classes, but the combat ones always had a focus and were presented first.

"Very well, use this space to forge." Various instruments were presented on the stage, from different anvils to weapon molds. Some instruments had their obvious use, such as cooling barrels, but others were very different, anyone who was not used to the procedures of this branch of magic had no idea what they were used for.

Various materials were placed on a workbench, from ordinary materials to gigantic bones of magical beasts, it was truly a test worthy of the greatest academy in the realm. The judge continued:

"Take your time, the longer the forging time, the better your result should be. The test starts in 1 minute, Good luck." As soon as she heard the command, the girl started to go to the forge and choose the equipment she would use.

Her choice of material was a simple-looking ore, it didn't appear to have anything out of the ordinary. Then she took some pieces of noble wood and started to heat the furnace.

The process was done slowly and carefree. The girl put the metal on the fire and took a book out of her pocket... sitting on the bench, she began to read as if she were walking in a park on a sunny afternoon.

Her behavior was not befitting that of a candidate for the greatest university in the kingdom. Every few seconds, she would kick the metal or turn it over with her toe. Her behavior caused laughter in some and anger in others.

A few minutes later, she got up, the material was already red due to the high temperature, even so, it still had a hardened appearance, which proved that it was not a normal metallic alloy.

Taking her two hammers out of her pocket and using the big one with her two hands and the other with mana, the girl started hammering the material. Her beats seemed to be random, there wasn't a very regulated pattern

. While the big hammer hit a few times and very hard, the small one was rhythmic with weak and constant hits. A few minutes later, she placed the material on the fire and opened her book again.

At some point that few noticed, the girl put on a small earphone and started humming the most played songs of the moment. At the same time, he opened his book again.

This time, it was possible to see what the girl was reading. It was certainly something aimed at deepening knowledge about forging, a material worthy of a genius, viewers thought. The title of the great work was... An Erotic Romance Story for Single Adults. Well... it was a bit of an offbeat read, no doubt.