Trial (2)

Minutes earlier…

The butler watched Arthur and Claire rush forward right after the countdown ended. He couldn't help but get disappointed by their jagged posture as they were too focused on making it to the end line. 

'No sign of elegance', he thought in dissatisfaction

Remembering the other candidate, he looked towards Edward who was removing his hands from being clasped, then slid his arm towards his white alb, lifting it upwards. 

'What is he planning?' 

Having lifted the alb in a way that he could move with much ease, Edward deliberately lowered his body and then kneeled…

'What is he thinking? Kneeling in the middle of the race?', similar to the other spectators, the butler was confused about Edward's action.

'Wait… he isn't planning to pray now, is he?'

The butler was about to heave a sigh seeing that Edward seemed to have no intention of praying as he just looked upward. However, fresh air was yet to reach his stomach when Edward moved his hands upfront then with a *clap*, his hands now became tied once more. 

'He is praying!' 

Edward closed his eyes then a moment later, bright golden light seemed to surround his body. 

Everyone was amazed by this child's tenacity and faith that even amidst competition, he didn't let the conflict kill his fate. 

'Elegance! That's pure elegance!', screamed the butler inwardly as his hips twisted from unheld-back amazement. 

-----

Meanwhile, as others were astonished by his action, Edward on the other hand was busy preparing his skill for the incoming animals. 

Earlier, he had seen the house that held animals as they went on their way here earlier. From that, he deduced the possibility of using these animals for this trial. 

It was a big gamble he took as there was still a chance of that not occurring at all. That would result in him losing this trial. Of course, he had plan B which was to use the skill on these competitors themselves instead. 

*tick tock*

Time ticked as Edward played the act of faithful him. He was certain that everyone would buy this act thanks to the reputation that this previous owner of the body had built throughout the years. 

'Hmm, there it is!'

At this moment, his awaited bunch of animals finally showed themselves. There were about 100 of them with 50 on each side. 

Edward watched Claire and Arthur fighting the animals. It was also his first time witnessing the Holy Shield skill by Arthur. 

'So Arthur specializes in defense holy magic, huh', he thought. 

Similar to him, Claire learned the Holy Light too which was a rather purification skill bound for the undead. 

'She is using with the right timing, but panic got her good this time', thought Edward as he saw an elephant bypassing Claire's carpet and was on its way towards his. 

This time, he had no time to spare enjoying the insightful scene of Claire, he focused his entire attention on his skill that had long been prepared. 

Without further ado, Edward cast his skill 'Celestial Hand (EX)'

'Dizziness!' 

Currently, he had three abnormal states on his list which were dizziness, stomachache, and confusion. Assessing the situation, he figured that using dizziness would be more efficient as he didn't want to enrage nor make this elephant do any more irregular movements that could trample on his carpet. 

Seconds later, the elephant experienced its head turning heavier and heavier as if it had drunk a gallon of liquor. With its sight turning blurry, it faced Claire and then stomped on her carpet, then after that, it passed out of extreme dizziness. 

The skill was an F-rank and could affect these mutated animals greatly.

'One down', Edward thought whilst preparing for the pack of incoming animals. 

----

Witnessing the scene of animals passing out one by one and failure to cause even a stain of dirt on Edward's carpet, the spectators were all dumbfounded. 

"T--- this, isn't this the same as when the Headmaster attended his first trial?" 

"You're right! But during that time, the animals just retreated on their own, t---this, isn't this more amazing!" 

Lucina stood on her seat and boasted about her son's feat, aiming to seduce the butler to give high grades to her son. However, as she looked at him, she saw the butler's jaw dropping to the ground with marks of saliva escaping his widely-opened mouth.

"I---It's the miracle of god! God is with us!", the butler shouted, not minding his dropping saliva. 

The first trial ended like that, with Arthur walking gracefully toward the end of the line, passing through the stunned Arthur and Claire. 

*silence* 

A deep silence ensued in the area as everyone watched Edward walking like a god on the still purely clean carpet. The horde of passed-out elephants seemingly formed a path made out of their bodies, giving a dramatic path for the walking young man.

Minutes later, he reached the end of the line, and that marked the end of the first trial.

----

"Based on the elegance you've shown, you will be graded accordingly.  Let god be the witness that I considered nothing but fairness in this grading. Now, I shall give your marks for the first trial…" 

Everyone was yet to move on to the majestic scene of Edward walking along the paved path but with his professionalism, the butler immediately assessed their performances and computed their grades. 

He now stood tall upfront the group of people whose eyes were still pinned on Edward. 

*gulp*

'Sh*t, was that really a miracle of god?!', Claire thought as she couldn't think of any denial to what transpired since she herself was a witness. She could only ponder on the prophecy lingering on the Hean Family that a chosen one will be born for every generation, and it seemed that Edward had already claimed that spot. 

'Sh*t! That got to be me!', 

On the other hand, Arthur's eyes were radiating a light brighter than the starry sky. 

"Brother, don't you think he is cool?"

"Miracle, I want to have a miracle too, brother!", said his little sisters as they looked at Edward with similar eyes that twinkled each time. 

'Like brother like sister they said', thought Edward as he ignored their gazes that were way too obvious. Giving his attention to the butler, he finally heard the score of each of them. 

"For Arthur Hean, with your might, that managed to overthrow an animal larger than you, you will receive a grade of C+", said the butler whilst looking at petite Arthur. 

"Yay! C+ grade, you're so cool, brother!", 

"Thanks, Grace", replied Arthur to his little sister. However, his hand tightened the moment he heard his grade. 

'Not enough, I need to get a higher grade!', he thought 

*clap*

Everyone clapped their hands timidly then the butler spoke right after…

"Claire Hean, though your posture and unholy act had damaged your overall performance, still, you managed to show the elegance in using your skill 'Holy Light' with accuracy. Our god has been delighted by your act. With that, you will be given a rating of B- grade", said the butler 

Claire's mother had expected her daughter to throw a tantrum for this low grade; however, seconds passed with Claire uttering nothing. 'Ehh???', she thought dumbfounded. 

She knew her daughter well and how she worked hard for this trial. Thus, she assumed that a grade below an A grade wouldn't be tolerable for her. 

"I'm fine, Mom, don't worry", mumbled Claire as she felt her mother's hand caressing her back. This made Don, Claire's mother, finally become at ease. 'Maybe she is now maturing?', she thought

Later on, silence once more roamed in the area as they all waited for Edward's grade. 

'It could only be A-grade, if not, I would make sure to protest!', thought Lucina

"Now… for Edward's grade. You've shown us unwavering faith and loyalty to our god. To the point that he had shown us a once-a-decade miracle through you. We could not thank you enough for that. And now for your grade…"

*gulp*

Lucina gulped her saliva from her deepest throat as she couldn't contain her nervousness. Similarly, Claire and Arthur were breathing uneasily. 

"For your grade, Edward Hean, with my power as this Event's administrator, I will be giving you an unheard-of rating… S-grade"