Chapter 13: Kulantin's Admission Test - Martial Examination

The martial examination was still held in the large square. All the tables and chairs had disappeared, replaced by a thousand 50-meter square arenas.

The test was simple: the examinees would face a thousand instructors in the center of the square. The total examination time was about nine hours, with each person having five minutes. During these five minutes, the examinees could use any method to attack the instructors. The instructors mainly focused on defense but would also counterattack appropriately.

The evaluation was conducted by five examiners outside the arena, assessing the examinees' reaction speed, judgment, evasion effectiveness, attack methods, and strength. Each criterion was scored out of 100 points, and the instructors in the center would give a comprehensive evaluation, which would be the 500+ points for the martial examination.

The method was simple, but the test was difficult. Some were eager and ready to go, while others were already trembling with nervousness. Outside the arena, Vain was bouncing around, warming up, and said, "Finally, it's time. I'm going to show them my best and most impressive side."

"Sure, you will," Irina mocked, "with your rough and careless ways, you'll leave a very bad impression on the examiners. Don't be like that time at Silverleaf, where you used too much force and tore your pants, hehe..."

"You... you... you're lying! That was... that was... it was the pants' fault, I... You're so mean, I told you not to mention that again."

Kornelia also laughed, "Irina, stop teasing him. Vain, you need to do your best. During your time at Silverleaf Academy, you were the best at fighting. Show them everything you've got, impress the examiners, and get a high score to make up for what you lost in the written test."

Vain grinned, "Kornelia, you always say the nicest things. Your words are so much better than someone else's. No wonder one is the mayor's daughter and the other is the mayor's secretary's daughter. Don't worry, I've been waiting for this, and I'm ready to give it my all."

Irina was so angry she could barely speak, but she didn't want to say anything to discourage him, so she just held back.

By now, it was almost dusk, but the square was still brightly lit by luminous crystals. People who had eaten and rested were returning, and some current students were also there to watch the excitement and see which of the new students would be the strongest.

The heavy clock tower rang the 6 o'clock bell again, and the first round of the martial examination began. About a thousand examinees entered the arenas, using all the techniques they had learned since childhood.

"Go, go, hit that side, quickly dodge... Oh!" Vain was excitedly watching from outside, seemingly more nervous than the examinees: "This guy is no good. If it were me, I wouldn't have been hit by the examiner just now."

Irina shook her head, "He's a martial fanatic, no, he's a fool."

"Don't say that," Kornelia laughed, "It's because he loves fighting so much that no one in the academy can match him."

Irina kept shaking her head, "Yeah! That's because there are too few people studying martial arts there, giving him room to show off. He hasn't met his match. I still think being a mage is better. Wearing a beautiful magic robe, a delicate hat, and a pair of glasses, I would be the super cute mage scholar Irina, yeah!"

Kornelia giggled, "You're a mage scholar, and a cute girl, how unashamed. Your eyes aren't even nearsighted, why do you need glasses?"

Irina struck a charming pose, "You don't understand. Wearing a mage scholar's robe, a pair of gold-rimmed glasses, and holding a thick black-covered magic book, that's deep and knowledgeable, absolutely dazzling and charming, enough to make a bunch of boys fall in love."

"Oh, you're a love-struck Irina. So, you insisted on becoming a mage for this reason?" Kornelia said, "I thought you gave up your archery skills because you liked magic."

"I like it, who said I don't like it?" Irina said, "And I haven't given up archery, I just want to use magic to decorate myself."

Kornelia teased, "Pretend, pretend, you're just pretending. Who knows which wild man will marry you in the end."

"Disgusting!" Irina waved her fist, "You're the one who will marry a wild man. I will marry a gentleman with perfect manners, definitely not someone rough and uncultured!"

Kornelia laughed, "You mean the rough and uncultured one isn't Vain?"

"Who else?"

Kornelia said, "I think you and he would make a good match."

"Ugh, who would match with him. I hate seeing him the most, no manners, no refinement. I want to marry someone like... like Kristin Bimoye."

"Ah!" Kornelia's heart skipped a beat, and she slowly lowered her head.

"What's wrong? Why do you look unhappy?" Irina said, "Did I say something that upset you? Oh, I know you and Vain grew up together, and you're close, but I didn't say anything bad about him, I just don't like him."

Kornelia forced a smile, "No, let's watch the match."

Vain was enthusiastically watching the match, completely unaware of the conversation behind him. Kornelia watched the match for a moment, then lowered her head again, lost in thought.

Match after match passed, and the teachers outside recorded their scores. When someone left the arena, they either complained about their mistakes or remained gloomy and silent, or they felt they had done well and excitedly shared their experiences with their friends.

On the other side of the arena, the 25th match began. Bimoye slowly walked into the arena, immediately drawing cheers and screams from the crowd. Although most of the screams were from girls, many boys were also interested in this so-called first genius of the capital, eager to see how strong he was.

The examiners in the arena were also watching this candidate with special bloodlines. The name of the Kristin family was known throughout the capital.

A teacher in charge of scoring flipped the hourglass on the table, and the match began.

The examiner saw a figure flash 30 meters away, and before he could react, a pair of blood-red eyes were right in front of him. He felt a pain in his stomach and was immediately thrown out of the arena.

The people around were shocked, "No... no way, these examiners, although still training in Kulantin, are all intermediate warriors or green-robed mages. How could they be defeated so easily..."

The teachers outside were also startled. This had never happened in the annual exams. Although some students had defeated the examiners before, none had done so so quickly.

A student who seemed to know a bit more said to the people around him, "What do you know? Think about it, his grandfather is a duke and a former imperial marshal, and his father and uncles are all distinguished generals who can fight a thousand men. It's not surprising that he has such strength. It's said that his older brother had the strength of an intermediate mage and an intermediate warrior at the age of 8, and was also an excellent knight."

Someone asked, "He has an older brother? I've never heard of it."

The person replied, "Of course, most people don't know. His brother joined the army at 13, but later no one knows what happened. It's said he was burned to death by a dragon's breath from an enemy dragon knight during a battle with Saint Bicaya."

Everyone sighed, "How do you know this?"

The person smiled, "My father told me. My father is the deputy commander of the Red Maple Knights."

Someone was surprised, "The Red Maple Knights, one of the eight elite knight orders of the empire! That's amazing, they are always stationed on the front lines."

In the admiration of others, the person felt quite proud. No matter what, having such a father was something to be proud of.

The defeated examiner walked back to the arena, dusting off his clothes. Bimoye bowed to him and the scoring teacher, then left.

The teachers were stunned, unsure how to score this. After all, the battle had ended in an instant. The defeated examiner was still rubbing the spot where he was hit and said after a while, "To be honest, I don't even know how he hit me. I can only give him a perfect score."

The other teachers also sighed in relief, as if making a decision, and wrote down their scores. After scoring, one of the teachers looked at the roster and called out, "Next in Exam Room 316, Celeste Bingzhe."

"Um!" Bimoye, who had already walked about ten meters away, stopped at the sound of the name.

Bingzhe still wore his old gray magic hat as he entered the arena. The teacher in charge of timing flipped the hourglass again and announced the start of the exam.

The examiner saw the small mage 30 meters away take a stance, but before he could react, a figure flashed, and a pair of pitch-black eyes appeared before him. He felt a pain in his stomach and was thrown out of the arena in the same way.

The crowd was even more shocked, and the teachers stared wide-eyed at the small figure in the center. No one expected that after such an unprecedented situation, it would happen again so quickly. Even the examiner who had been thrown out was still staring in shock.

Bingzhe's lips curled into a faint smile, and he bowed to the examiner and the scoring teacher, leaving the exam site in almost the same way.

Everyone was stunned, not even catching their breath, and they all looked for Bimoye.

Bimoye stood there coldly. He didn't look back at the exam, but he had already guessed the result from the others' exclamations. Then he walked away from the place.

How to score the exam? In fact, there was no need to score it, as the previous match had already set the score for this one.