THE TRIALS I

"Then I am sorry but I can't register you as a participant in the trials."

Kairos immediately choked at this as he stared at the man with shock, mustering his remnant energy at the moment to mutter:

"What?"

The turnout of events had immediately caused Nathan to move closer as his expression although had shown brief signs of shock too quickly regained composure.

"I believe there isn't any law that states a Vulgar can't perform in the trials…if I can remember clearly then the only three things that can disqualify a candidate from the trials, is if he or she is from a hostile faction or region…if he has a questionable background or if the candidate doesn't reach the age requirement." Nathan quickly defended but the middle aged man seemed to disagree as he replied with his gaze intensely focused on Nathan.

"There isn't any rule against Vulgars participating in the trials, because no one thought anyone from that category would be so overconfident and stupid to actually register for the trials."

"...Listen kid, my advice to you if you want to stay any longer in this world then avoid this sort of things, there are still other numerous jobs and ambitions that don't require your life…don't get deceived, you won't last a second with your current self in this sort of field…not like you've got that much time to live" The man continued, this time with his gaze focused on Kairos.

Nathan who seemed to be getting agitated by the middle aged man quickly interrupted in a loud tone:

"Oh…I get it now, the problem is not that he is not eligible but your twisted and inferior idea about Vulgar…tell me what makes a Vulgar any less human than you."

Slightly shaking his head, the middle-aged man simply sighed with indifference

"You don't seem to understand what happens in the trials."

"What!" Nathan lashed out angrily "how else do you think I got to where I am?...by attending some sort of writing academy?" He continued shouting but then suddenly calmed down to the shock of Kairos who had been watching the bickerings between the two.

"...well what can you know when all you do is write down names of real men who are willing to sacrifice their life and comfort for this great faction and it's region…as far as i'm concerned, this boy here is many more of a man than you can ever be." Nathan said in a more calm tone than before, clearly enraging the middle aged man as he quickly threw down the book that had been in his hand and attempted grabbing Nathan who quickly evaded his grip.

"Why don't we find out which is a real man between the both of us eh…why don't we." The man who seemed to be indifferent ever since suddenly burst in rage which quickly caused the attention of the people around.

Immediately the military officials came over as they suspected the possibility of a fight but that didn't seem to extinguish the middle-aged man's rage but then the aura around seemed to have gotten heavier an aura that was similar to when one faced a mana beast of high grade.

The sudden change in aura had immediately caused a halt in the Nathan and the middle aged man bickerings as some who couldn't bear the intensity continually coughed and choked, Kairos the middle-aged man and Nathan included, in fact not many of the military men around could bear it.

"I believe you all have had enough." A sudden voice was heard not too far away immediately gathering the attention of everyone around to where it came from. A lady who seemed to be in her late twenties at most stood not too far away with a stoic expression also cladded in a armor with the Verdant emblem, her red dark unkempt hair and her cold gaze gave her off as some crazed blood lusted person and yet at same time also gave off a quirky type of attractiveness.

Karios who had only just recovered from the intensity of the aura around could easily make out the lady who stood few steps away was very powerful and also held a high rank in the Verdant Military considering she was able incapacitate almost everyone with just her aura alone and then the sudden change of behavior of everyone around after her arrival.

Immediately the other military men had noticed her, they slowly slipped away back to their previous posts leaving just the Middle aged man and Nathan who could be seen visibly trepidated by her presence.

"What's all the bickering about?" She asked, but this time with displeasure visible in her tone.

"Oh it's nothing Captain Blair, just some little misunderstanding." The middle-aged man quickly replied in a calm and collected tone which was a complete contrast of himself a few moments ago.

"Wait…Captain?" Kairos repeated under his breath a little surprised as the lady standing before them seemed too young to be a Captain. 'Well that explains the sudden change in character of all the military personnels around.'

"Captain Blair…I am trooper Nathan Colton under the banner of the green spike." Nathan immediately cut in with a respective tone, jolting Kairos from his thoughts.

"Oh the one led by Liam…what business do you have here." Blair asked her tone a little less displeased and seeming more intrigued.

"I am on orders from Captain Liam Orc to ensure the boy here, Kairos Leander the son of Leander Eros commonly known as the Blue Fire Lord, makes it to the Military Training Center for the trials…but the admin here refuses to register him as a participant basically because he is a Vulgar."

Blair after listening to Nathan's explanation slowly nodded her head, before staring at Kairos for the first time since her sudden appearance sending brief shivers down his spine.

"There really isn't any sign of mana coming off the boy's body."

'Boy?' Karios immediately muttered in his head as he seemed slightly offended by her description of him, not like there wasn't that much of an age gap between them considering she didn't look that old, maybe twenty four or five but then who was he to complain about a Captain of the squad."

"...It means he is either a Vulgar or a Veteran Manipulator with a strong ability or mana tool to hid his ability and from the look of things it seems it's the first option in this case, well there isn't really any rule that stops Vulgars from participating in the trials, as long as he is not being forced into it…besides he has the blood of a strong warrior running in his veins, if he is capable of performing even half of what his father is then he shouldn't have any trouble passing the trials."

Immediately Kairos heard Blair's deduction on the matter he couldn't help but flinch slightly as one single thought ran through his mind

'I should really have asked about the story of the old man's feats before.'

"Is there any other issue?" Blair asked unconcerned by the downcast expression the middle-aged man currently had.

"Yes Captain, please I would like to request that Kairos here is allowed to use his daggers during the trials to give him at least some sort of convenience during the trials."

Blair immediately stretched out her hand after hearing Nathan's suggestion prompting him to quickly hand over the daggers he had taken from Kairos to her. She quickly scanned it thoroughly with her eyes before handing it over back to Nathan.

"The daggers aren't mixed with mana stones so I guess it can also be allowed. I suppose that should be all the trouble."

"...with that being said, the next time any of you as much as even think of displaying this same act next time, you might not be as lucky as to even have the capacity to explain yourselves." Blair said in a cold and collected tone with caused a brief but visible trembling from both Nathan and the Middle-aged man who quickly nodded their heads in understanding, this caused Kairos to wonder:

'How strong could this lady really be?'

Immediately after Blair left, the middle-aged man quickly picked up the book he had thrown, completely filling in Kairos as a participant and then directed him to a crowd that seemed to be the other participants for the trials gathered behind the admins and surrounded by some military officials.

"I guess this belongs to you." Nathan said with a smile as he handed over the daggers to Kairos who equally received it with a smile.

"...I hope next time we see there will be a trooper added to your name." He added.

"And I hope next time we see there will be a captain of the squad added to yours." Kairos replied back before walking towards the group of other contestants.