Bab 37: Second First
Kai felt goosebumps all over his body as the man's eyes travelled all over, making him feel less like a human and more like a subject ready to be dissected.
"That's enough!" the Commander said, giving the green-robed man a sharp glare."Now to explain what the ranks mean" the Commander stood, back straight with both her arms behind her back as she presented a chart in the form of a transparent screen.
"As I've mentioned before, the one who obtains the rank of number one in this exercise get privileges only the strong can get in the Academy," The screen behind her changed to a list; on that list were four lines of privileges that had the whole room gasping, especially the last item on the list. A sleepy Lee narrowed her eyes at one of the items in that list, but it wasn't what everyone focused on; instead, they looked at another thing.
Kai read the list inside his head as his large eyes grew even larger:
The receiver of this title will gain a personal room on the journey to the following exam site and the academy if they manage to take the top spot and the next challenge.
Two, the receiver of this title will gain an advantage in the following challenge( consult your examiner for more details).
Three, the receiver of this title will automatically be entered in the Academy Battle.
Four, the receiver of this title will gain a magical item. And right beside the fourth line was the name of the magic item, The King's ring. She had read a book from her father's library on magical items, and this ring had been the one that had caught Lee's eyes.
The King's ring was a storage item with an infinite amount of space. Still, unlike any other storage ring, this one came from the Void. It was a rare thing; to use it, you would have to exchange it with soul energy. The amount of energy you have is the amount of space you get. This was a surprise to Lee because humans didn't have that much soul energy to begin with, so they could not use it; what was the point in putting it as a prize?
"The Academy battle, and the King's Ring!" a boy said to no one in particular.
"Isn't the Academy battle only supposed to be for the top senior students? Why would they let a first-year participate?"
"I know right, no matter if they are in the top for the tests, the exam is nothing compared to battling against the other races!" another replied
"And the King's ring as well, no one here will be able to use it, but selling it will make you as rich as a noble, wouldn't it? Why are they giving it out as if it's just an ordinary piece of jewelry?"
Murmurs of confusion filled the arena, but everyone quieted as the Commander began speaking again, "Let's not waste any more time and proceed; no need for taking turns. Everyone goes all at once."
The rest of the remaining participants looked at each other hesitantly. "But-" the soldier who was trying to talk was interrupted by the booming voice of the Commander, "Since your not moving, I'm assuming that you're giving up? "This got some to start, and in no time, others followed suit. In a second, a piercing light suddenly emitted from the tree. Almost half of the participants, even the ones who had barely taken a step forward, had collapsed. The captain sneered. "Pathetic," she said as she watched her soldiers carry the unconscious out of the arena.
Lee hadn't been paying attention to what was happening around her. Instead, she had been conversing with the man inside her head," The ring can be useful if you're able to obtain it."
"The problem is to get it; I have to get to the top of the leaderboard, thus drawing attention to myself. Isn't that what we're trying to avoid?"
The man was quiet for a moment before he said, "It's not that difficult of an item to make; the problem is the materials needed to craft the item." Did he say make? Lee repeated her thought, and the man smiled smugly and puffed out his chest "of course, after all, I was the one who created it"
Thinking that his master would have an awed expression, he looked at her excitedly only to find a look of disbelief. "If you're going to continue joking around, then get out of my head."
With that, Lee blocked his cries and focused back on the real world, only to find that there were fewer people than before, significantly less.
Ria Montenegro watched the small girl from before when the Commander had told them to all go at once. It seemed like she didn't expect anyone else to pass, which had infuriated her, as she was from one of the prominent families yet was treated like a weak commoner. Seeing the girl that had stolen her stoplight a while back, frozen in fear and unable to move, brought her spirits back up.
There was still time to show the Commander that she was different from these weaklings; stepping forward, she walked calmly, avoiding the fallen bodies around her. As of right now, at least 200 participants were left, and most of them had yet to move to see the other lost participants.
Lee analyzed the situation and also started walking forward. All she had to do was make it to the modified line.
She would be able to pass without drawing much attention to herself. In the last three years, Lee had gotten quite good at acting; with the book's help from her previous life titled " Facial Expressions for Artists," she was a master at faking human facial expression.
Even when trying to be inconspicuous, no one could totally ignore the tiny girl's beauty. Eyes just seemed to gravitate towards her naturally.
The Commander's indifferent eyes perked up as she noticed the girl from before, as did the long-haired man, who watched with narrowed eyes "who is that?" He asked
It wasn't the Commander who replied but a nearby soldier "That's the daughter of the Duke "
"Last I heard, she was missing, no?"
"Three years ago, in a mission to capture that infamous pirate, she was discovered below deck as one of the slaves that had been trafficked." The Commander remembered meeting the child's eyes in the square, had someone investigate the strange girl; she couldn't put her finger on it. Still, after years in battle, she had learned to recognize a threat when she saw one. That little lady wasn't as innocent as it seemed. The Commander looked towards her seating mate and smirked.
It looked like she wasn't the only one who noticed.
Aware that two pairs of eyes fixated on her, Lee continued to walk ahead while ignoring the insistent man-child whining inside her head. While another pair of eyes looked at her with hostility not too far from where she was standing, it was the proud noble Ria, as you might have guessed.
She had hoped that all eyes would be on her once she stepped up, but once again, everyone seemed to be focused on the other girl.
And this stupid test wasn't as dumb as she had thought either. Her whole body felt like a giant hand was squeezing her heart with each step, yet the girl continued to walk with only a few drops of sweat falling down her pretty face.
"Master, please, believe me, I made that ring for you as a present, but then you said that it was too ugly, so I had no choice but to throw it away!"
"I said stop with your stupid jokes."
"But it's true!" Theo continued in a high-pitched voice; if Lee could see him right now, she guessed he would be stomping his feet with fisted hands.
This banter continued, each going back and forth as people watched with awe as a girl who looked like a single blow of the wind could topple her down pass the first line with ease.
Ria tried to follow, barely conscious, but no matter what she did, the frilly dress in her line of sight got farther and farther away.
"Once you get your memories back, you'll see that I'm telling the truth; it was a day to celebrate-" his voice grew distant as a familiar cloud formed itself, covering her vision until a memory appeared.
In this memory, a woman whose back was facing her stood at the end of a cliff, her bright red hair blowing in the wind and falling entirely back into place.
"Master!" a young voice called, and beside the woman, a teenage boy appeared his features disoriented; Lee knew who that was
Theo then kneeled beside the woman and took out a brown box with gold roses. " This is a custom I read about in the books ********* got me, apparently if you give a ring to someone and they wear it means that they get to live together forever!"
A name, he definitely said a word, yet it was like it was being blocked from her ears.
"So master, with my heart and soul I ask you will you-" he stopped, "what do you mean it's ugly. I worked all night on it for you!" The woman then proceeded to disappear into thin air, leaving the alone boy with a broken heart, who then threw the box down the cliff; that's where the memory ended.
Lee came back to her senses, a bright light had surrounded her, and a screen had popped up above her "
The first Stage Passed.
Congratulations Participant
Your rank is now First.
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