chapter 53

Few days passed by.

The day of the monthly exam arrived. The entire star group was taken to a training facility. Professor Corwin was talking with the authorities, to ensure that everything would be okay.

Lukas stood yawning at the edge of the crowd and waited for the boring exams to begin. There was a rock golem in front of them, moderately sized with red eyes, and covered in green moss. It was both amusing and intimidating. Its derp face was only funny; its huge stone claws and big round feet were scary.

The exam was simple. Destroy thirty points of durability on the golem, using three spells or strikes. The golem wouldn't attack; it would only defend.

This sounded boring to Lukas. It was clearly a waste of time for him. Even a fight between classmates would have been cool, despite the fact that he was much faster and stronger than them. Of course, there were some exceptions.

Lukas glanced at one of his classmates, named Alex or something. He didn't remember his family name as it was something weird. Alex had an athletic build, with dark brown hair that fell in messy curls around his face and piercing blue eyes. His tanned skin made him appear intimidating.

Lukas watched as Alex beat the crap out of his opponent, who was also a swordsman, with his two-handed sword. Of course, Alex had many openings, but his raw strength allowed him to surpass his opponent.

On the other hand, there was Mia, a girl with glasses and yellow hair. By some stroke of luck, Lukas faced her on his own. She had already combined her arrows with magic, and he couldn't even get close to her, no matter how hard he tried. That's how fast her arrows were.

Well, that was to be expected. Mia had already reached the second circle, unlike Lukas, who had tried his best day and night, using mana pills, and had only reached 47% at best.

Finally, the preparations were done, and Professor Corwin was about to begin the test. Lukas looked at the professor and then looked behind at the golem, which was looking at him for some reason, and stood motionless.

Yes, the golem had already been imbued with emotions. It could act on its own.

Lukas pondered what to use, his saber or the practice wand.

"Okay, everyone, no need to be afraid. This golem is friendly," Professor Corwin spoke, tapping on the golem. The golem finally took its gaze off Lukas and looked at Professor Corwin, nodding its head multiple times.

"Don't worry about getting hurt or hurting this friendly golem. Just go all out. Remember, you only have three shots, including strikes, spells, and projectiles."

"Your goal is to drop its score to thirty. The higher your score, the higher your ranking. Okay, now, first, William Kurt, come forward. You will be the first to demonstrate."As William Kurt stepped forward, Lukas prepared himself for the exam. He knew that this was an opportunity to prove his worth and improve his ranking. He watched as William began his attack on the golem, curious to see how others would approach this task.

With a deep breath, Lukas steeled his resolve and focused on the task at hand. He knew that he couldn't afford to be distracted by his classmates or the golem's intimidating appearance. He had to stay focused and give it his all if he wanted to succeed. Of course, he wouldn't go all out. He would at least get some good results to get some of their attention.

As Professor Corwin continued to call out students' names, Lukas waited for his turn. He watched the various strategies and techniques used by his classmates, taking mental notes and learning from their experiences.

When it was finally Lukas' turn, he stepped forward with determination. He knew that this was his chance to show Professor Corwin and his classmates what he was truly capable of. With the rock golem staring at him, Lukas took a deep breath and prepared to face the challenge head-on, saber in hand.

The golem stared at him, waiting for him to move. Without further delay, Lukas rushed forward. He didn't go all out, but his speed was enough to shock some of the people.

The others from the Owsdin family who were present in the star group looked at him with their mouths open, seeing that fast speed.

In a mere three seconds, Lukas arrived right in front of the golem and slashed down at its giant hand.

The golem, caught off guard by Lukas' sudden burst of speed, tried to react but was a fraction too slow. Lukas's saber struck true, leaving a deep gash in the golem's stone hand.

The number above the golem's head screen started changing and from zero, it changed to 87!

This time, almost everyone was shocked. But Lukas wasn't done yet. He struck down its hand two more times swiftly before retreating with a swift jump and looked at the blue screen that hung above the giant.

A staggering number shined,

[371!]

Corwin nodded in satisfaction. "It was really true," he muttered, looking at the staggering number. Unknown to Lukas, Professor Corwin was contacted by an upper year student who informed him about a prodigy that can withstand the first level in the first week.

After some brief investigation and realizing who it was, he felt happy. He had a genius in his class after all, making a total of five people, all good at their own fields.

[To be continued...]