Combat Trial

In the Trial Nexus's Trial Arena, all the 200 applicants have returned from the labyrinth and are all gathered in the arena.

"The third phase of the entrance exam is complete. The top ranking of the exam's second day are Kael Voss, Ada Heiliger, Eve Wilson, Elara Moore, and Eris Wagner, The rest you'll see in the board of the system," Xander dictated.

"That damn labyrinth, I restarted the level so many times. I wasn't even able to make it to the top 80," Ren said with his hands on his head, showing stress.

"Well, knowledge was not your forte. You had to bully Kael to give you answers so you could pass middle school," Eris said with her right hand on her hip.

"Hey Eris, do you want me to burn you to a crisp?" Ren threatened.

"You should already know how all this will end, Ren," Eris said while looking up straight into Ren's eyes.

Ren clenches his jaw and his fists and has an intense gaze with a wrinkled nose, showing suppressed anger.

"Now, to why the labyrinth doors led you back to the arena. We'll be commencing with the final phase, known as the Combat Trial. It's a showcase of combat proficiency in one-on-one duels. Each duel is monitored by the judges which are the staff and second-in-command to ensure fairness and safety. Combatants can use any magical abilities, weapons, or strategies to defeat their opponent. The rules are that the matches are not to the death, surrendering is allowed but points are reduced, and no outside interference is permitted. The Scoring Criteria are Proficiency in combat and magic, Strategic thinking and adaptability, and Bonus points are awarded for displaying exceptional skill, such as mastering high-tier spells or defeating opponents in unconventional ways," Xander dictated. He added, "We'll now proceed with the first match of the Combat Trial."

The mana stone near the stands displays the matches in a holographic and it shows...

<Eve Wilson Vs Kevin Moore>

"Looks like I'm first once again," Eve said with a finger on her lip standing with weight shifted to one leg.

"It's not a fight to death but hurt her to the point she can't use any of her muscles. Releasing that aura of a harlot. You know your assignment right?" Elara ordered.

"Yes Heiress," Kevin replied.

Both Eve and Kevin step to the center while the other students leave for the stands. Eve and Kevin have a face-off, Eve looks up smiling whilst Kevin glares down on her.

"No hard feelings, but our Lord does not need prostitutes," Kevin said while stretching his arms.

"How rude of you to call me a prostitute. Everyone just loves me," Eve said with her hands on her hips and feet-shoulder width apart.

"First match, Eve Wilson Vs Kevin Moore. Begin!"

Kevin swings at Eve causing a dent in the ground, but Eve manages to evade the attack by leaping back.

"You don't really have much physical strength or agility, do you? I'd say you're a Spellcaster. How unlucky for you to be a commoner and have such low stats," Kevin taunted

Kevin charges his fist with mana and comes charging in for Eve. Eve lets off a smile as her appearance keeps flickering. Kevin stops in his tracks as he sees Elara instead of Eve.

"My lady... why are you here? No... you're..."

As Kevin comes to realization, he finds himself dropping to his knees.

"You must really love your heiress. I thought that would work," Eve said with her eyes glowing pink.

"What... did you do?" Kevin questioned.

"The first technique I used on you was called Aura of desire. But I know you Moore with your high sense of duty, it wouldn't work on you, so I used another technique on you to prevent you from moving since I hate brash men. It's called Entrancing Venom." Eve said while sliding her fingers on the dagger she was wielding.

"You harlot..."

"You would've died on the spot, luckily it's not a fight to the death," Eve returns the dagger inventory.

"Winner of the first bout, Eve Wilson."

"What a terrifying ability. I underestimated her because she's a commoner but forgetting Blessed Warriors are different from ordinary awakened. Damn harlot," Elara said.

Eve walks up the stands, looks at Kael and a smile emerges on her face. More matches transpire and Arthur overwhelmed his opponent, Elara wins by mana poisoning, Ada's battle lasts a bit but she gains victory, so do her attendants, Eris too gains victory.

Ping!

<Kael Voss Vs Suzuki Ren>

A grin emerges on Ren's face and he says, "Finally it's here. And lucky me, to think that damn outcast would be my opponent. Now to destroy him for humiliating me in front of Eve."

Ren steps into the arena and the sun shines down on the whole. Kael comes walking down with his hands in his pockets and Arthur has subtle shudder and avoids gaze. Everyone is looking as Kael walks down the stairs and as he arrives in the arena, a sudden burst of mana and a massive aura of a large serpent with purple scales appears behind Kael.

"Is this way of trying to intimidate me?" Ren questioned as he pulls two daggers out of his inventory.

Kael is just standing with a focused gaze and his hands in his pockets, showing calm and confidence.

"Aren't you going to pull out that big scythe of yours?" Ren questioned.

"Heh, tell me since when has a man need a knife to kill one measly fly," Kael said with a silver glow coming from his eyes.

"You damn outcast!"

"Begin!"

Ren comes leaping in for Kael with a glare on his face. He yells, "I'll rip that cocky smile off your face!"

Kael knocks him to the side with a backhand. Ren gets up and keeps swinging at Kael but Kael evades every single swing.

(Thanks to the enhancement in the dodge rate, I'm able to evade every attack. And also, I have the ability to sense shadows.)

Kael swings an undercut and connects to the guts, causing Ren to choke and cough. Kael then follows it with a left hook sending Ren tumbling. Ren gets to his knees, looks at the stands and sees Eve watching the match with her arms folded. He then looks at Kael and sees Kael looking down on him with a silver glow coming from his eyes. Ren clenches his jaw and charges in for Kael.

He thrusts at Kael but Kael moves to the side and connects a hook to the guts. Kael then follows it with continuos rights and left hooks.

"I'm not a man of revenge but this is for burning the right side of my face."

Kael punches Ren down with a heavy hook. He looks Ren down and is about to step on him but Ren moves out of the way. He starts panting while on one knee with blood dripping from his nose.

"This jokes. Weren't you boasting about being the strongest in the whole city of Everglade? You're just a pathetic man," Kael taunted.

"Shut up, if possible I'd have killed you," Ren said.

"Then do it. No one cares if I die anyways," Kael said with his head tilted with a knowing smile.

Ren has his jaw clenched with narrowed eyes and he comes charging in for Kael and swings again but Kael resumes to dodging it all. Kael dodges the last swing and connects an elbow to the ribs, kick to the knee cap, dropping him to one knee, and a knee to the face. Ren tightens his grip on the dagger and swings back but Kael manages to evade it. A small cut with a burn appears on Kael's under-eye. Kael looks and sees Ren on one knee with both daggers cloaked in orange flames.

"Suprised? This a magical school after all," Ren taunted.

Kael keeps silent for a second and a grin later emerges on his face. He slightly crouches with a silver glow coming from his eyes and in a flash, he appears before Ren and connects a hook sending Ren flying back.

'Fast!'

Kael appears above Ren with his arm extended back and sends out a wave fist, punching Ren down. He lands before Ren and Ren starts swinging the flame daggers at him but Kael dodges and connects body shots on him.

'How is he this strong? What happened to him during the three months... No, what could've happened to him in Lunaris,' Ren thought to himself as Kael with his eyes glowing silver kept swinging at him.

Ren reaches back and he tries to stab him with both daggers but Kael grabs the daggers and extinguishes the flames.

'He cancelled out the flames. But there's no such--'

Kael connects a knee to the guts and Ren's eyes are widened.

'This is not the beatdown for victory. He's paying me back for all the years I maltreated him.'

Kael unleashes a fury of right and left hooks on Ren. He leaves Ren staggering and connects a backhand, sending Ren flying. Ren is down on his butt with his face bruised. The applicants begin to murmur...

"Woah, that white-haired commoner is getting his ass beat."

"Serves him right for being so cocky."

"But that would be like we're cheering for the outcast."

The Second-in-commands also speak amongst themselves...

"That outcast is badass. I can tell that white-haired is strong for a commoner, but the outcast isn't giving him a chance,"

"I don't know if we should still call him outcast because he outclasses him," Eira said.

'Damn! Once again I'm getting humiliated in front of Eve. If that's the case...'

An explosion occurs and large dust comes rushing towards the whole arena.

"That fool!" Xander yelled.

[When one is awakened, they are designated abilities close to their society rank or slightly higher. Once awakened, they cannot raise their ranks. However there are special cases of those who've awakened high-tier abilities surpassing their ranks. Like the Zenith Sovereign, the top 5 Starlight Wardens, Six Heralds of Divine, and Eve Wilson. Though Gods fear the humans reaching their level so limits were placed on their abilities, to ensure balance. So no matter how hard one trains, once an E Tier, always an E Tier. But there is a technique that allows you to remove all limits placed on your body. Though that technique...]

Ren comes walking out of the dust like a human torch with his eyes glowing red.

[... Is a suicide technique only used as the last resort in battle.]

"Just what the hell is he thinking!?"

"At this rate, the cursed child will be killed. Why isn't he running away?"

(That's some dangerous amount of mana.)

Ren raises his hand and creates a large flame blast. He launches it at Kael but Kael swarts it to the side.

(Looks like playtime is over. He has lost all his senses.)

Ren appears before Kael and throws a hook but Kael blocks it with his forearm. Kael's cloth on his forearm burns away and Kael cloaks his left fist in dark energy and punches Ren back.

(At this rate, basic Dispel won't work on him. His whole body is a flame torch. Since this is the final phase, I can do it.)

Kael has both arms raised outward and slightly bent at the elbows, extending to the sides in a wide, commanding gesture. The torso is leaning forward for emphasis. The chest is often pushed out, signifying confidence and dominance. The head is tilted slightly forward, giving a sense of control paired with a smirk. His feet are width apart as he is taking steps forward. The posture exudes power, confidence, and often theatrical energy—ideal for a moment of pure intimidation. He says, "Void Annihilation."

A shadow aura emerges from him and fills the entire area, canceling all magic within the domain. Ren's flames are snuffed out and he's returned to normal. In a flash, Kael appears before him, and a silver glow comes from his eyes. He connects a hook to the face, sending Ren flying through the barrier and into the stands. The aura is taken down, dust is cleared, and Ren is seated on the spectator's seat knocked out.

"Be thankful you can still have a Blessing, idiot," Kael said while swinging his wrist.

"Winner, Kael Voss."