Chapter 616: A Play - 616
Skymender made his way to the arena and grabbed one of the wooden swords. There were multiple types of wooden swords, as well as different lengths.
Skymender had always used the classic longsword, and he knew his ideal length.
He grabbed it without hesitation and stepped into the arena.
His opponent looked at him seriously from the other side.
Sword Master Deyr watched from the side and spoke. "Let the first battle commence."
Many in the room recognized the boy, as well as Skymender. Murmuring sounded out, speaking of what had happened. The few that had been unaware now learned of Skymender's violence against the noble boy.
The boy ran up to Skymender, nearly twice his age. He swung his sword down, while Skymender leisurely raised his up.
The tip of his sword cleanly brushed against the edge of his, and Skymender moved his wrist, flinging the sword down to the side, completely missing Skymender.
The boy still held the sword, but it was unnecessary to disarm him. Dragging his sword upward, the boy was uppercut by the sword, unable to defend.
He was lifted almost half a foot into the air before falling down, knocked out. Skymender did not show off, but ended the battle quickly.
Many were astonished, but even more found it natural. His sister was a potential Sword Master after all.
Skymender turned around, planning to leave, until he heard a voice. "I challenge Skymender."
Skymender turned around again, and saw a boy no older than twelve coming towards the arena.
Looking around, he saw many other children with bright eyes, looking directly at him. It seemed they had taken him as a target.
The other noble boy was awoken and taken off of the stage, while a new one climbed up.
As the battle began, he charged towards Skymender, letting out a horizontal slash.
Skymender let his sword hang vertically, blocking the attack, then in a similar motion to before, uppercut the boy, knocking him out.
Before he could hit the ground, multiple children spoke at the same time. "I challenge Skymender."
Another one, deemed to have been the first to speak, was sent up.
He slashed horizontally, and Skymender blocked it the same way. He sent an uppercutting attack, but the boy jumped back before he had even swung.
The boy then instantly leaped forward with his sword in a piercing position. Skymender took a step to the side and the boy, who had put too much forward thrust, was unable to smoothly stop himself.
Skymender kicked his leg, causing him to fall over, and pointed the sword at the back of his neck.
Once again, multiple voices sounded out at once.
A horizontal slash, a block, a leap back, a piercing attack, but more controlled. Skymender stepped to the side, but the sword stopped and turned, slashing at him from the side again.
Skymender's sword moved quickly, hitting the opponent's sword hard.
Slightly turning, he adjusted his body and swung his sword at his legs.
The opponent fell to the ground, and Skymender pointed the sword at his back.
Another multitude of voices.
Horizontal slash, block, quick retreat, pierce, dodge, side slash, quick hit away, turning and attacking the leg, blocked by the opponent.
Skymender swung up and uppercutted his opponent with the wooden sword.
Once again, and again, and again.
Nobles watched as their children memorized attack patterns and walked up to the arena.
Finally, after so many battles, only one remained that shouted out.
Horizontal slash, block, quick retreat, pierce, dodge, side slash, quick hit, leg attack, blocked, uppercut attack, dodge, side slash, blocked, neck attack, ducked, leg attack, jumped, slash down, rolled over…
It was as if a play was taking place. Skymender could have switched up his attacks long ago, but he wanted to see how far this farce would go.
After around two minutes of attacking, the boy was knocked out.
Skymender had been challenged by nearly a hundred children older or as old as him.
Some had failed to follow the guidance of those before them, while some had done so and provided a path forward. Slowly, they managed to produce someone who could fight against him for almost two minutes.
Skymender felt as if he was looking at the human will directly in the face, saying that it would never give up.
It was admirable.
Those who had been defeated, instead of being upset, looked happy, as if they had contributed to something greater than themselves.
Most of the people in the room were smiling, even the Emperor had a less stern expression on his face.
Nobody else challenged him, and Skymender stepped down. A few people entered the arena and challenged others.
However, nothing as shocking as Skymender's performance took place.
Some people went up that even Skymender would have struggled to fight against, but they had no interest in what had been happening before.
The next few fights were between rivals or people who hated each other. He even saw some people from the same family fighting with great hatred.
The 1st event soon ended. Another hour long period of freedom began. Once again, a large number of nobles either congregated near the emperor and the kings, or went and spoke to them.
Meanwhile, Skymender was surrounded by children, ages ranging from 7 to 17, who were clearly admiring him. These people were not at the top of intelligence, skill, or strength within their families, but they were all nobles. It was surprising to see the looks of admiration.
From that point on, regardless of what he wanted, a group formed around Skymender.
When he went to eat, the tables were swept. When he sat down, many tables went without chairs, taken by the children.
They asked him questions, and he answered them. He told them about his sister, as well as about some of his other family, such as his eldest brother.
Everything he said seemed to have value in their eyes.
This continued on, nobody else even being able to get close, for an hour, until the second event started.
Chapter 617: Intelligence Test- 617
The group following Skymender was reluctant to part, wanting to stay by his side, but Skymender shooed them away.
He experienced the first moment of peace and quiet since before the first event.
He sat with his aunt's family, who looked at him sympathetically. They no longer viewed him as some country bumpkin with no manners, but as a respectable noble.
As the time for the second event came, the room fell into silence. A hundred servants came and disassembled most of the arena, creating a new platform.
Loud footsteps sounded out, breaking the silence. The doors opened and a man wielding a greatsword strapped on his back came through.
He stood at least eight feet tall, and weighed at least 400 pounds. He was a monster in every way.
Although he weighed 400 pounds, it was 400 pounds of pure muscle. This was one of the largest men in the Empire's history, a Sword Master, and a disciple of Sword Master Shang, simply referred to as Sword Master Gargantuan.
Veins bulged all over his body, and it seemed as if every step he took could cause an earthquake.
He eventually reached the now platform and spoke, his words ringing out greatly.
"I know none of you nobles truly workout to achieve the pinnacle of human strength, but we'll see who among you are the best."
Sword Master Gargantuan's words sounded rude, but they were completely true. Nobles needed to uphold a dignified image, and it would be impossible to do so looking like Sword Master Gargantuan. Therefore, he spent most of his time among physically talented commoners.
A few people, larger than others, all walked over to the platform. This competition was actually for all ages. Skymender did not participate. He had never physically trained. He may be stronger than other nine year olds, but even an average 17 year old would be far stronger than him.
The competition did go on for about thirty minutes. Unlike in the last event, there were a few winners, one for each age group.
Finally, the second event ended, and Sword Master Gargantuan left the noble gathering.
Skymender's peace was once again taken away as children surrounded him. He was quite popular, and he made good use of this opportunity to make himself seem better in their heads. In the future, perhaps he could use such a thing.
However, he was also honing his mind. The third event was one of intelligence, one where he would shine.
There was a reward for the winner of the third competition every year. It was greater than the rewards of the winners of the second event.
After all, it was rare that there was a truly exceptional individual worthy of a great reward in the second event.
It was like comparing a chicken to a dog when there were plenty of lions among the commoners.
Soon, the third event rolled around. The platform was extended and desks were brought in. The Imperial Scholar walked out, with multiple servants carrying large amounts of paper and writing utensils.
"The third event is one of intelligence. Anyone who wishes to participate, below the age of 18, come now."
The third event, like the first, was restricted to those under 18. The second event was the only exception to the rule.
Skymender stood up, as well as most of those under 18 in the room.
The girls attending, few of whom had participated in the first event and none in the second event, finally got their time to shine.
They stood up and moved to the extended platform. It would not hurt to participate in this test, even if one didn't want to lose face. Only the top 10 would be revealed in the end, though only first place got a reward.
As everyone got seated, tests were handed out.
The rules were quite simple. No speaking, no hidden gestures, and absolutely no cheating. it would not go uncaught, and the person who cheated would be completely humiliated.
Skymender looked over the test questions. Some were basic knowledge about language or science. Skymender had always felt that he had great talent for science, but he wasn't sure why.
Talent was unexplainable, he couldn't understand even if he wanted to.
He flew through the first few sections of the test.
Naturally, he was at quite the disadvantage. There were plenty of people participating that attended the Imperial School.
However, the points on the test were adjusted for age. Scoring would be completely different for Skymender and someone 17 years old.
In addition to this, the standard test questions were not the only ones on the test. There were also logical questions, and some that Skymender had to think about, but did not necessarily require prerequisite knowledge.
Some simple questions were worded difficultly and Skymender had to unravel them.
He had an itching feeling that something unknown was among the test, but he still tried his hardest.
After an hour, a sound rang out.
"Writing utensils down. Close your papers." The Imperial Scholar said.
Everyone did so immediately.
Servants came in and collected them, before leaving the room. The Imperial Scholar left as well.
"At the end of the noble gathering, the results will be released."
Naturally, it was harder for these tests to be scored compared to the other two competitions.
The noble gathering continued on.
People went around talking and showing things. The next time Skymender looked at the clock, it was 6 pm. The noble gathering would end at 10 pm.
He found a seat and sat down. His group had mostly dispersed. He was tired after so much.
As he sat alone and rested, a surprising visitor sat next to him.
Skymender opened his eyes and looked over.
His green eyes met with a pair of normally colored, yet unspeakably arrogant eyes.
"Hello, Skymender."
Skymender moved to get up, but the person spoke. "No need for all of that. Let's talk."
Skymender stopped moving and moved back to his previous position.
However, he did not lose his seriousness at all. That was because the person sitting next to him was the Crown Prince of the Ergen Kingdom.
Weekly Power Status
200+ Power
Ranking 
121 Power
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