Sooner than expected

It was Monday, and the students once again gathered in the training grounds after their theoretical class. Draco, as always, stood in the back and just waited for Angelica's arrival.

Honestly, it felt weird. Just a few days ago, he was fighting against thousands of troops with his life on the line and now he was here, standing between arrogant students who didn't know what was better for them.

Truth to be told, Draco would rather be on the battlefield than here, but he couldn't leave this school just yet. At least until he could earn his way into that place. Moreover, Draco wouldn't oppose the idea of getting some pointers from Angelica.

Talking about her, Draco saw the door opening as Angelica stepped inside the room, her face solemn. Something serious was about to happen, everyone could tell. Paul, who followed her from behind, just confirmed everyone's apprehension.

'No way.' Draco glanced at the date as he sighed heavily. 'I have been so engrossed in getting stronger that I completely forgot that the date was nearing.'

"As you all already know, the Martial Tournament is coming up, and we have to choose five people to represent our school." Angelica started to speak, looking over everyone. "For the past month, I have been evaluating your talent, so if you have been slacking off, it's your fault."

"Everyone whose name is stated, please make your way into the arena." Paul continued, correcting his glasses. "Everyone else, make your way out of the training grounds. There will be no training with Miss Angelica today."

Everyone held their breaths as they listened.

The Martial Tournament.

There was probably no one in the human domain who didn't know about this event since they broadcast it throughout all the cities. It was a tournament in which five first-year students from all major cities competed against each other in a battle royale, and the winning team had the leisure of going into that place.

The cave of trials.

Draco wasn't any different as he also needed to get into that place. It could boost his power by a huge margin depending on his performance. However, the problem was that the tournament was extremely competitive.

'It seems that I will have to reveal all my cards.' Draco sighed. He showed just enough potential to catch Angelica's attention, but to get into the top five, he needed to be more than that. 'That's going to be quite hard. I am still just [G+] rank, which was nothing compared to Sarah's [E-].'

"Let's get started." Paul took out a paper from his folder as sweat dripped from everyone's foreheads. "Sarah Dumelo. Please walk into the arena."

He then called other students by their names as everyone made their way into the training grounds. Sarah, Xander, Cassie, and Jaime were obviously the ones who were standing out the most among the twelve students.

"Draco. You are the last one." Paul stated as the remaining students looked down. Some clearly wanted to protest against their decision, but feeling Angelica's murderous eyes on them, their mouths couldn't open.

While Draco hopped into the arena, all the other students made their way out of the training grounds. Some of them even had tears forming in the corner of their eyes, to Draco's amusement. Sometimes, he forgot that he was in the body of a teenager.

Clap!

Angelica clapped with her hands, attracting everyone's attention.

"You are all the students that I am interested in, but, unfortunately, only five of you can be chosen," Angelica explained as Draco felt like she was staring right at him, and he wasn't wrong. "In Martial Tournament, all that matters is your strength and intelligence. Thus, the only thing that I want to know is whether you have the capability to defeat your enemies."

Angelica paused for a second, a satisfied smile forming on her face.

"That's why... I decided to let you all fight it out." Angelica continued. "Fight as if your life depends on it. Show me everything that you can do and I will be the judge of your performance."

Everyone looked to their left and right, scanning their future opponents. Despite how it looked, the students weren't really on friendly terms as they formed their own groups at the beginning of the semester. Some, of course, tried to approach the four monsters, but they failed miserably.

"You can choose your weapon in the arena's corner." Paul pointed into the distance. "Be quick. We will start in 5 minutes."

As all the students rushed to get their hands on the weapon, Angelica glanced at Draco with a curious gaze. 'Now, stop hiding your true worth and show me what you have got.'

Draco grabbed a simple sword as he scrutinized it. It was made of a special wood that was resistant to magic. It also couldn't break that easily, hence letting the students go all out without seriously injuring anyone.

Draco looked around, seeing that everything was going as predicted. Some students started forming into groups to probably try and take down the four monsters. However, Draco didn't care about them. He glanced at Sarah who was holding a bow and then at Xander who took a huge wooden shield the size of his body.

However, Draco was the wariest of Cassie and Jaime, who formed a group. One by one, they wouldn't be the scariest opponents, but together they were extremely frightening because of their martial technique. They both held two short swords in their hands.

"Alright." Angelica clapped her hand, everyone turning silent. "Since all of you seem to be ready, let's begin on the count of three."

"One!"

Everyone gripped their weapon more tightly.

"Two!"

Some started to surge mana within their bodies, glancing in the direction of their targets like hungry predators.

"Three!"

As Angelica finished counting, some students exploded from their spots and rushed at their targets. Draco, on the other hand, stood still in the same spot as a smile formed on his face. He saw three students running his way like some wild beasts.

They probably thought of him as an easy target and wanted to earn Angelica's recognition by being the first ones to knock out an enemy.

However, little did they know that Draco decided to go all out today.

He had to get into the top five.

'Since I haven't tried using it yet... why not do it now?' Draco's smile grew even brighter as he muttered. "General's Ambiance."