Bab 16: Exams contd.
Handing in my paper I waited in the combat arena.
Waiting for the hour-long written exam to finish I watched those that came in. Though I got a few odd looks from those that caught me looking, nothing stood out about most of them, physically, only a few were abnormalities.
"Now that you have all completed the written exam, your other assessors will mark them before the end of the combat exam. You will be asked to fight with two of your peers, and before any of you attempt to select your opponents, this will be random, and any complaints can be kept to yourselves." Recollecting the group's attention with a whistle, the elderly assessor continued, "while some of you may be confident, I promise you that if you don't demonstrate your current ability and skill, you won't be selected, so show us your powers and fighting prowess. Be quick, be strong, and be brutal. Our expert healers can heal any living wound and can reattach dismembered limbs, so don't hold back." Finishing her speech she moved over to the arena to spectate with her fellow assessors, leaving us alone.
"Fionn!" Benji called, moving as if to slap my shoulder before pausing, and lowering his hand. "By the gods that test was hard, I only passed the military section due to my dad's lectures, but at least we can relieve some tension on our opponents." As I talk with Benji a wave of static rushes over me, causing the hairs on my body to raise. With the sound barrier over the arena to quieten the loud fighting, spells and screams, I had missed a small girl, with pale blonde hair and fair skin throwing lighting at her opponent, his metal plate armour only increasing the effectiveness of her attacks.
"Georgina Volta Wins!"
"Fionn Malkor & Rebecca Smyth"
Jumping up onto the elevated stage, I stand opposite a well-built young girl, a bow in hand and a dagger at her hip.
"Begin." we hear and instantly Rebecca leaps backwards creating distance as she draws and fires quite smoothly, the arrow blocked only by my hand, piercing through it but causing little damage.
*Ding! 14 HP lost*
*Barely a Scratch activated.*
Keeping my blade flat in front of me, my hands high and blade pointed down, the wide flat of the blade acting like a shield as I walk forward, deflecting the incoming arrows up and over my head and allowing me to parry and swing quickly. While Rebecca rolled and sidestepped, I cut off her movements, trapping her in the corner, flipping my sword and bashing her skull with the flat side of the blade, stunning her before I push her off the platform with my left hand, showing the crowd my healed hand.
"Winner Fionn Malkor."
Barely 10 minutes later I was called again, this time against a tank of a man, armoured in ornate full plate and carrying a tower shield big enough for an average-sized person to use as a bed, and a mace, the blades jutting out of the sphere. I had seen him fight before, his aggressive push towards a dextrous knife wielder, that while quick for a Level 5, couldn't deal any wounds to him due to his equipment.
"Hey bro, I'm a level 6 tank, you're not going to be able to cut me through my enchanted armour." His confidence pissing me off slightly I readied myself to pounce as soon as the match began. Unlike in his previous round, however, the boy was on the defensive, hidden behind his shield. Sprinting at the metal man, he sinks into his stance, lowering his centre of gravity and thus making it harder to be flipped or knocked over, leaning forward to receive my charge. Noticing this I continue charging, and just before reaching the striking range I stop, throwing him off balance and sidestep him swinging my blade into the inside of the elbow joint, taking his arm clean off. 'That's the problem with plate, while its defence is high, not only does it restrict you, limiting your vision and movement, but the joints are extremely fragile, as the joints are designed to allow movement.' Throwing my sword behind me I grab the top of his shield, tearing it from his grasp before kicking him onto his back, and bashing his shield into his chest plate, caving in the steel until the assessor called for an end to the fight, and the pathetic screams of the boy as I sat on top of him beating him with his own shield.
"Winner, Fionn Malkor."
A few minutes of rest gave me the opportunity to rest before, "Mattius Megnar" was called summoning him to the arena. He was facing an assassin-type fighter, however, he looked confident, even smirking lightly as he faced them off. Seeing his magic in action was interesting, it looked somewhat like the runes of the Norse, but with iconography. While I couldn't understand what he had written, the lean lion appearing from thin air and attacking the assassin gave me an idea. Summoning a javelin, Mattius waited as the assassin fended off the feline, throwing the spear into his chest as the lion pounced, ripping him to shreds.
"Winner, Mattius Megnar."
Rounds continued on while I waited, even those of the Elementalist Melani, who's expert use of earthen spears through the floor won the battle while her wind blades put them on the defensive. The magus, Hugo had reached level 8, the same as Milani, and had made a scene with his anger at having failed to surpass her. While he was a mockery of a person, his ability to cast touch-range elemental spells through his warhammer was devastating, with flames, and lightning sparking on the face of his weapon, exploding in fury as he made contact with his opponent. The rest of the duels took around an hour, so I found some wall space with Benji and Mattius and sat down.
"Hey guys," I begin, curling up more, "wake me up if you see someone wielding a spear and using rune magic. It will look like Mattius but it's not limited to objects."
*Assessors POV*
*sigh* "I never get to watch the combat assessments, but at least this year I'll be given my pick of the 1st year classes." Reading through hours of written exams and open-ended responses I stopped, taking in the answer in front of me. The exam itself was average at best, with disordered handwriting and minimal understanding of military maneuvers and hunting formations.
"Why do we kill monsters?
While true that humans kill monsters because they are both a resource and a threat, Tianmar has placed emphasis on the importance of monster hunting in order to create peace. To establish a goal, one enemy, in order to unite all of the nobles and cities that would otherwise be tearing at each other's throats. The reason we hunt and oppose the monsters, even the intelligent ones, is to establish and maintain peace."
Twirling his moustache the assessor leaned back in his chair. "Hmm...snarky, condescending but well thought out and a solid argument. Fionn Malkor was it? I want him."
Status Power Mingguan
-- Peringkat
Power 
-- Power
stone