Candidates for First Place I — Virion

Clang—!

"How?!" I exclaimed in shock.

This was the fifth time my attack connected and uncaringly bounced off with not a single dent inflicted. My battleaxe could barely even scratch the golem, and I could not believe what was happening before my eyes.

What I was experiencing was drastically different from what I expected. That person from before—Caelum, was it? He slashed through the golem as if it was not made of solid stone. All of his attacks were meaningful.

My strikes, on the other hand, were filled with futility.

Clang—!

I struck again after narrowly avoiding a flailing stone limb. My axe bounced off once again, but this time I had struck a weak point.

I could feel the sheer impact of my strike deal damage to the insides of the golem. The mana had to adapt to the shaking stone. Thus, unhesitatingly, I struck the same place with even greater force.

My muscles tensed as I smashed the hammer-like part of my axe into one of its joints.

Blam—!

My arms shook with the impact, but I watched as the golem's entire arm fell off. It turned into sand and gravel as it fell.

"Yes!" I roared.

Now that I grasped the technique, I could see the end to this ridiculous farce. I struck again and again, using my axe as a hammer.

Boom— Boom— Boom—!

I struck portions of the golem that seemed weak, slowly dismantling it until I crushed its head into pieces.

When I was done, I caught my breath. A curse left my lips as I put a hand on my ribs.

"Tsss!" I inhaled a sharp breath.

Stinging pain coursed through me as I realised my injury. That golem had landed a good hit on me. I was almost thrown out of bounds because of it.

Thankfully, I was able to dig my axe into a rather wide crack in the ground. I escaped the fate of failing due to my own carelessness.

I looked around me. There, I saw many other students struggling to defeat their stone foes. They were like me—deceived by the first fight of the exam.

"Caelum Phricius," I muttered under my breath.

He made it look so easy. So simple. His moves were sloppy beyond imagination. It looked as if he had just started learning how to use a weapon.

He was a total beginner.

But, for some reason, he defeated his golem without sustaining a single injury. He continuously slashed through the stone skin of the golem as if it was nothing.

It was absolutely baffling.

Even High Professor Deuzetai seemed to have questioned his victory for a moment.

I needed to ask him how he did what he did.

For now, I had to focus on the exam. I threw these thoughts and analysed the fights of those around me.

The ring of steel hitting nothing but stone rang in my ears. The occasional fireball zoomed through the air. A variety of unpolished fighting styles displayed themselves before my eyes.

It was a chaotic stage. It was amazing how the High Professor was keeping track of everything.

Several pens were scribbling on a single document that floated in the air. I wondered what spell he used to execute such a task.

Crack—!

A golem collapsed just a few metres away from me. Several more followed after.

One by one, each examinee either lost their battle or defeated their opponent. The fights were ending, forcing the pens near Professor Deuzetai to furiously speed up their writing.

Soon, the sound of battle was replaced by the sound of scribbling.

It echoed throughout the silent coliseum as the examinees cowered. They were unnerved by the realisation that they were being graded in real time.

It took about three minutes for Professor Deuzetai to finish his notes as he kept his eyes trained on us. He stood perfectly still, like a painting of yore. Any person who did not see him talking just a few minutes before would think that he was a sculpture.

One that was crafted by a famous artist.

"Batch number one, you may now return to your places or leave the coliseum. Batch number two, please head down to the stage." Professor Deuzetai tapped his ring.

Exactly a hundred other rings vibrated in the next moment, notifying the examinees of their turn.

I then returned to my seat, eyeing a certain cloaked figure among the examinees. Caelum was sitting without moving a single inch. He was like Professor Deuzetai, but he didn't seem to be doing anything else.

I turned my gaze away and directed it at the stage. I wanted to see if there was anyone else who could defeat their enemy golem with the same ease as him.

The results so far showed that there were none.

No one could read the golem's moves and strike at its stone skin like it was nothing. With every hundred that went up on stage, I grew ever more baffled.

And so did High Professor Deuzetai together with everyone else. The number of people who stole glances at the motionless cloaked figure grew. They were all looking at him, with wonder and curiosity.

No one was as efficient as he was when he defeated the golem.

It was so until finally, a girl with long black hair took the stage. The eyes of the entire coliseum fell onto her slender figure. They were then mesmerised by the performance she showed.

Instantly, I knew that there was something special about her.

"A [ Specialisation ]," I muttered.

Sylfie tilted her head from where she sat beside me, "A specialisation?"

"Yes, my dear friend. She has an ability that is perfectly suited for her. Something that is more or less unique to her physique and general build."

"Ah, right," Sylfie nodded slowly. She was barely able to defeat her enemy golem. Several bruises had appeared on her skin, and a few of her joints were bleeding.

"Do you have a specialisation, young master Virion?" She leaned closer to me, her eyes gleaming with intrigue.

I chuckled dryly,

"Unfortunately, I do not."

There was nothing that I practised so dearly that I could call it unique to me. I had yet to discover a technique that was most suitable for my body and abilities.

"Awwww, so you're not special then, oh great young master?" A smug look suddenly enveloped Sylfie's expression.

My lips twitched.

"I will, eventually, okay? I'm looking for one that would be good."