CHAPTER 10-ACADEMY ENTRANCE EXAM

The Next Day.

Brik vs Thane. X could see that the crowd was ecstatic. Most of them were people who failed the examination, but there were also quite a few knights in the audience. After all, who would not want to see the future students of this prestigious Academy and future knights who would make a name for themselves immediately after graduating? 

In the middle of the arena, stood a raised podium, a few feet off the floor, with steps on both sides for the contestants to enter. It was 10 meters long, and 5 meters wide, a rectangle of stone, big enough for the contestants to show off their skills. Then a loud booming sound was heard right above the audience, and when X looked up, an old man with a long beard stood in the air, a dark-blue wizard hat over his head, dressed in a long black robe. Dusan Sinclair Rubeus spoke with an air of command, his voice booming through the coliseum

'Welcome, to this year's exam. This is the first match of the contest, which will last for two more days. Ladies and Gentlemen, citizens and knights, give a round of applause for Brik, and Thane.'

There was a round of claps, and when it all ended, two men walked towards the raised arena. On one side, was a kid with cropped brown hair, a long robe, and a wooden staff. He walked in with flair, spreading his hands and raising his staff, but X could see that this guy was shivering. Thane. He had spread rumors and managed to make every other knight stop Brik from killing demons, stopping him from getting in with direct promotion.

Brik walked in on the other side, and when X saw him, he could not believe he was the same person he had known a few months ago. His muscles were large and muscular, rippling when he moved. He was at least a few inches taller than before, and his face was more chiseled and muscular. Just like X, Brik had let his hair grow, and now it partially covered his eyes. He entered without any show-off. And when he set his eyes on his opponent, X could see the anger in his eye. Brik was short-tempered before, but now it was so bad. He wanted to murder this guy for stopping him from getting directly selected, although he knew that he would get selected anyway. X was scared of how angry Brik would be when he saw him.

'The rules are simple. No actual weapons are allowed, only the person's own powers and wooden weapons. I will cast my exclusive ability, life shield on them. This allows them to fight like normally since my shield will have exactly half of the contestant's own health. If their shield is broken, or they are knocked out of the stadium, they lose.'

The crowd cheered loudly, as Dusan Sinclair Rubeus clapped loudly. First clap, Second clap, Third clap.

'Start'

The crowd cheered loudly, and as they did, Thane raised his staff. From the tip of his staff, golden light was sent towards Brik, hitting him square in the chest and pushing him back. Thane laughed loudly. This was perfect. Perfect. His attacks were the fastest, and in this small arena, his beams would be enough to push Brik out. The crowd went wild. They were chanting Thane's name since he was pushing back the second ranker without any resistance. Then Brik let his claws out. And everyone went silent. X knew that Thane was doomed.

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This pest. First, he stopped him from directly passing into the Academy. Spreading rumors in the middle of the first part of the contest, saying that he was harming other contestants. And now, he was using his light magic, laughing like a maniac, and thinking that he would win. No way Brik would let that happen. He raised his right hand, his bone claws extended from his knuckles. The light hit the bone. Brik jumped to his right, and the light failed to keep up. Light was faster than he could ever be, but if the person who was wielding it was slow, there was no use of its speed.

Thane moved his staff, and his light beam moved along with it, but Brik was not moving in a straight line. It would be hard for him to match his irregular movement, especially since Thane was bad at wielding his powers. He jumped up, and the beam went under his legs. He stepped to his left, turning his body, and the beam moved away. This continued, as Brik kept stepping away and dodging the attacks, inching closer to the mage. Thane started to sweat. His body shivered in fear, and all of his instincts told him to run away. His hands were shaking in exhaustion. He was about to run out of energy. There was no way for him to fight. The staff dropped from his hand, and he dropped to his knees.

'I give up'

He yelled. The audience roared in disbelief. A few moments ago, they were rooting for him, since he seemed to be winning. And now, he had surrendered. But Brik did not care. His blood was still boiling with wrath. Seeing Thane on his knees, having quit due to fear was not enough for Brik.

' I decline'

He yelled, and the audience went silent, trying to process what just happened. This guy won, but then he declined his victory, which meant

'The match will continue till the given criteria are achieved since the victor has not agreed to his opponent's forfeit.'

Brik smiled at Thane. This sly, backstabbing, traitorous guy, who had ruined the first Round for Brik. He raised his right arm, and swung it down, right on top of his head. Brik's claw hit him, it hit him with a lot of force, but no blood came out. Brik felt like he had hit a shield, and heavily damaged the shield, but had not reached the person behind the shield. He looked up at Dusan Sinclair Rubeus, who smiled at him. This was his life shield.

Thane cried out in pain. He had not expected any of this. He had not expected to be in the top eight, or even the top ten. He knew Brik would be a threat, so he told his friends to stay wary of him in the first round. After all, in that same round, he went berserk. Who knew that some other people would hear his warning, and spread it to everyone, putting himself at blame? 

Thane felt pain, a lot of it, but no blood came down his forehead. He thought he had been saved by the Headmaster. Then Brick held the collar of his robe and pulled him up so that they would be seeing eye-to-eye. Thane closed his eyes. Brik looked at him, his face morphed with rage, before throwing him in the air. Thane went up a couple of meters, and when he was falling back down, something struck him in the gut. Something sharp, with three points. He opened his eyes in pain and saw that Brik had punched him, with his claws still extended. If not for the shield, he would have died. 

Thane did not recognize the fact that he had been punched with a lot of force until he crashed into the wall right of the coliseum. Blood leaked out of his stomach, which had been grazed by Briks claws. He had broken the shield, which meant that those two attacks dealt enough damage to almost kill him since the shield had half the durability as Thane's body. He had also been sent back, flying for nearly 40 meters by that one punch. Thane spat out blood, and fainted, as medics rushed to take him inside to heal him.

'Should have punched him with even less force'

Brik muttered, obviously dismayed by the fact that even though he was holding back, this guy only lasted two attacks. It was not enough to get his anger out. He then glanced at the audience, looking in the direction where he had seen his old friend before. X was not to be seen there. Well, he had his match next. But when they met, Brik would pay him back for Uncle Ken.

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X had stepped out of the coliseum the moment Brik revealed his claws. X knew what would happen next. He went to the armory. Swords, spears, shields, bows and arrows, countless other weapons he did not know the name. Even wooden axes and hatchets, probably made for him. But he could not use them at least, not without burning them up. So, he waited without weapons, his body heating up in the anxiety. He did not want to fight in front of so many people. X could just Fire Escape and finish it. That would be faster. And hopefully, he does not fight Brik. 

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ps. Thank you for reading up to ten chapters. I know that you do not read the author's thoughts, but I would sincerely like to thank you for reading up to here.