Vol.01: Ch.32: A Clash of Arrogance and Brilliance - Darell's Defiant Performance

Finally, it was Darell's turn.

This time, the reaction of the announcement was different.

There was nobody cheering, praising or even insulting him.

Instead, there was silence.

Complete silence all around the arena.

Everybody turned to look at Darell.

They saw Darell leaning back in his seat with his eyes closed.

They thought, 'Oooh! He's so relaxed! He must be confident of acing the test!'

However, what happened next shattered the silence in the arena.

Suddenly, Darell snored.

Everybody was shocked.

This piece of shit was fucking sleeping?!

Who the fuck does he think he is?!

The students immediately began shouting angrily.

They insulted him.

They cursed him.

The Instructors, on the other hand, coughed up blood.

They couldn't understand how he was so nonchalant about the test.

Emma quickly poked him which woke him up.

"Huh? Wha? Is.. Is the test over?", Darell mumbled as he opened his eyes.

"No, it's not! It's your turn. Hurry up and go to center!", Emma reprimanded him.

She noticed the drool on his face and gave him her handkerchief and said, "Also, wipe that drool off your face, you big baby!"

The students saw Emma giving Darell her handkerchief and they began shouting even more.

"Nooo!"

"Don't do it, Lady Emma!"

"My goddess!"

"I want to be her handkerchief so bad!"

Darell wiped the drool off his face with her handkerchief and returned it to her while saying, "Thanks!"

He stood up from his seat and adjusted his clothes and styled his hair.

After he felt that he looked good, then he sauntered into the arena with a smirk on his lips.

He could hear the students shouting at him.

"Fuck you!"

"Arrogant prick!"

"I want to knock his teeth out!"

"I want to wipe that annoying smirk off his face!"

But, he didn't care about them.

Instead, he taunted them as he looked at them and smirked even more.

He approached Walter and bowed respectfully when he reached the center of the arena.

The Dean leaned forward in his seat and looked intently at Darell while thinking, 'Come on Darell! Show me what's so special about you! Show me the Space ability!'

Walter cleared his throat and declared, "Ahem... since we don't have an instructor available to verify Darell's skills, we have decided to hold a special test for him."

The students quieted down after hearing Walter.

They wanted to see how Darell would fare in the test, with most secretly hoping for him to fail.

Walter, proceeded with the instructions, "We will engage in a light sparring session. Your task is to either evade my attacks or counter with a rank 01 or rank 02 skill. Successful execution will indicate your passing. Are you ready?"

The students whispered among each other.

"A sparring session?!"

"This is awesome!"

"Yeah! Instructor Walter, beat him!"

"Yeahhhh!"

Darell simply shrugged his shoulders, displaying an air of nonchalance.

"I'm ready," he declared.

Walter assumed a fighting stance, preparing to engage in the spar.

Walter stretched his arm outward and a second later, a rank 01 fireball materialized on his hand.

He aimed and hurled it at Darell.

Darell noticed the fireball coming at him and calmly closed his eyes.

The students sneered and mocked his arrogance.

However, what they didn't know was that Darell was playing mind games with them from the beginning.

He wasn't an idiot.

He could see what was happening around him.

His classmates were all silent, shy and seemingly innocent when they arrived in the academy.

However, all of it was fake.

Since, now, they were part of a group or a subordinate of a second-year or even a third-year, they were breaking out of their fake shell.

Their true personality and intentions were clear.

Like the constant abuses and insults that were being thrown at him.

If this test was conducted at the beginning of the year, none of them would have the courage to even glare at him.

But, now, it was different.

Darell knew what he had to do.

He had only a single thing to do to shut their mouths forever.

And that was to show them how powerful he truly was.

He wouldn't show them all of his skills.

He would only show some of them, in order to scare them.

Because if he didn't, they would become more daring and bold.

They could even harm him or his friends which he didn't want.

Darell allowed the fireball to arrive near him.

But, before it could hit him, his figure blurred and vanished from the spot.

The students shouted.

"What the fuck?!"

"Where is he?!"

"Where did he go?!"

One student pointed and yelled, "There! He is there!"

All of them turned and saw Darell standing a few meters away with a calm expression on his face.

The fireball, on the other hand, collided with the wall, resulting in a small explosion.

* BOOM *

There was silence.

Complete silence.

Every onlooker, both students and instructors alike, stood up from their seats in disbelief.

The magnitude of Darell's display had left them speechless.

Instructors nodded approvingly, witnessing his mastery of one of the most challenging spells.

The Dean smiled, a hint of madness in his eyes as he looked at Darell and thought, 'Yes! This!... This is... um... Teleport! Yes! This is the legendary Teleport!'

Walter was impressed by Darell and he praised him, "Well done, Darell!"

Darell nodded at Walter and replied, "Thank you, Instructor Walter!"

Walter ordered him, "Now, get ready for the next part of the test!"

Walter, again, stretched his arm and a rank 02 Fire Spear materialized on his hand.

Darell narrowed his eyes when he saw the fire spear.

He could see it was different from those created by the students.

It was twice the normal length.

It had a menacing aura around it.

And, it was shaped perfectly.

Walter had mastered rank 08 Fire ability spells.

This meant that he had reached a realm beyond perfection for a simple spell like the rank 02 Fire spear.

Darell clenched his fists and thought, 'I also want to reach a realm where my spells have reached beyond perfection.'

He set a new goal for himself.

Walter threw the spear toward Darell.

The students gulped nervously when they saw a trail of fire on the ground as it travelled toward Darell.

This time too, Darell didn't move.

This puzzled the Instructors.

But, as the spear came dangerously close to him, their uneasiness grew.

They thought that it would collide with Darell.

But, what happened next surprised them.

Darell, simply, raised his fist in the air and rotated it.

Suddenly, the surrounding space distorted.

This distortion was easily felt by the Instructors and the Dean.

For the students, Darell vanished and reappeared at the same spot in a split second.

The once-menacing fire spear materialized behind him, hurtling towards the wall and erupting in an explosion that jolted the arena.

* BOOOM *

Darell arrogantly smirked at the shocked students and lowered his hand.

Silence enveloped the arena.

No one understood what just happened.

They had expected the spear to strike Darell, yet in a fraction of a second, he stood unscathed while the spear collided with the wall.

Suddenly, the silence was broken by someone's applause.

They turned and saw the Dean clapping enthusiastically as he rose from his seat.

He laughed while thinking, 'Perfect! This is just perfect!'

Darell ignored him since he thought that the old coot had ulterior motives.

Following suit, the instructors joined in the applause.

They enthusiastically discussed the events that occurred among themselves.

The students, utterly shocked, instinctively followed suit and clapped along.

In the midst of the commotion, Eric, Lilith, Ariel, and Emma remained as usual, having witnessed Darell's remarkable skill before.

Nonetheless, they couldn't help but feel a sense of pride as they observed him receiving such well-deserved applause.

However, in the middle of all this, one individual wasn't happy.

And, that was none other than Abel.

He had infiltrated the arena and recorded all the skills displayed by Darell and his friends using an artifact.

He was ordered by the 'boss' to do so or else he would be punished severely.

Darell bowed to the instructors and the Dean.

He activated Teleport and vanished from the arena.

He reappeared, sitting in his seat, calmly.

The test was, thus, concluded and the results were announced.

Most students passed while a few unfortunate ones failed.

Then, the Instructors led the students out of the arena.

Since it was night, most of them made their way to the dining hall to satiate their hunger.

Meanwhile,

Within the Royal Court of the Kingdom Of Gavaria,

The Dean reported Darell's exceptional skill and progress to the King.

A slight smile appeared on the King's face when he listened.

But, he suddenly, remembered something and a sigh escaped his lips.

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