Aur walked out of the snowy wilderness with cold determination, his steps firm and an icy expression etched on his face.
"The exams should be complete by now—"
Gong!
Just then, a bell rang from the village, signifying the end of the competition.
"I have hunted twenty ice boars; these should be plenty," Aur declared, his eyes narrowing as he walked out.
There were other students, like him, making their way back to the village.
However, these students moved in a group, their expressions grim, and their bodies soaked in blood—whether their own or that of their companions was unknown.
Almost all of them bore expressions of sombre acceptance, heads bowed as if they had finally acknowledged their harsh reality.
One such individual was Ewan, of average stature and a slim build. His left hand was mutilated as he walked with his two remaining companions.
Ewan surveyed the sorry state of his mutilated arms, glancing at the other companions who also bore varying injuries, though his own wounds were the most severe.
His eyes flared with indignation as a curse escaped his lips, "Why didn't the instructor save us?"
The other two companions raised their heads at the question, their eyes reflecting a shared sense of injustice, yet soon, a sombre realisation washed over them, and they shook their heads.
Ewan's eyes turned red with rage, his entire body trembling with a visceral roar that echoed the depths of his fury.
Their once robust party of twenty had been reduced to a pitiful trio, and Ewan, being part of it, couldn't contain the boiling resentnt within him.
Hailing from a wealthy background, Ewan's father was a peak tier one wizard. Of course he wasn't qualified to beco an instructor at the academy; he was rely a prosperous businessman with minimal combat abilities.
Ewan had managed to secure insider information about the exam through substantial bribes from his fathers help.
The intel hinted at the presence of protectors who would safeguard the examinees from the shadows. Yet, reality had proven harsh and unforgiving.
This revelation brought him a semblance of relief, yet it also unveiled the true nature of these instructors—they were cruel and seed to value life insignificantly.
The brutality unfolded when seventeen students fell victim one after another. Only then did the instructor make a seemingly effortless move, restraining the ice boars and casting a spell that efficiently dispatched the boar.
The instructors' power was undeniably terrifying, but what terrified Ewan even more was their nonchalant deanour. They casually claid to be passing through, as if the lives of the students were equal to grass.
Ewan vividly recalled the cold, indifferent gaze of the instructor when he dared to voice his complaint with a tone of justice.
While the other two companions seed to have reigned in their anger, Ewan couldn't contain his seething rage.
"We are just students, destined to beco the supporting pillars of the village. How could they treat us this way?" he muttered, the flas of anger intensifying within him.
Suddenly, murmurs reached his ears from behind, prompting him to shift his gaze in that direction.
There, he spotted Aur, who was silently walking. Unlike the others, Aur moved with an eerie silence, his body untouched by even a single drop of blood. His crimson eyes seed to flicker with an indescribable light, and his bulky build exuded an intimidating presence.
However, Ewan was in no mood to pay attention to him. Although Aur was a new rising star, limited by his talent, even reaching tier two would be the peak of his progression.
Breaking through to tier two would still pose a significant challenge for him. With his insatiable mood, Ewan couldn't care less about the others.
As they eventually reached the familiar village, Ewan's heart turned cold. This once-familiar village now seed distant to him.
Upon entering, countless commoners were drawn to them.
Eyes filled with curiosity followed their group, but admiration and reverence were evident in the gaze of these onlookers as they observed the younger generation of the academy.
However, Ewan remained silent like his two friends as they reached the huge wall of the academy.
Upon seeing the gates of the academy, a deep rage welled up within him. He realized one thing from his experience – he couldn't rely on anybody to help him. Nothing was free in this village, and he had to depend on himself if he truly wanted to survive.
They all converged into crowds, gathering in their previous location.
"Hey, how did I rank here?"
"Looks like there's so sort of scoreboard there," one person pointed out, capturing Ewan's attention.
His eyes imdiately widened.
Aur held the first-place position by a large margin, his points an astounding eighty. In second place was William with barely nine points.
"This… how is this possible!?" Ewan exclaid with shock, montarily forgetting about his fallen companion as he stared at Aur's incredible points.
"The disparity between the two is so large," Ewan exclaid as his eyes drifted off in search of Aur.
Aur, with such a bulky build compared to others, was instantly spotted by many gazes drawn to him.
However, he remained calm and collected despite the several gazes being drawn to him. But these gazes didn't linger on him for long as an old woman ca to the stage.
Her face, filled with wrinkles, looked coldly at everyone.
"The competition has ended," she declared; however, this announcent was rely a formality, considering the bell had already signified its conclusion.
"Aur has achieved the first place and is rewarded a precious opportunity to choose any spell he wants from the sect treasury and resources like…" the seventh elder narrated the entire rewards thodically.
Aur was quite bored hearing this, and he couldn't help but rub his ears.
After a long ti, the seventh elder finished and looked at everyone with her cold gaze again.
The students, previously showing laziness in their body language, suddenly straightened up with attentive expressions apparent on their faces.
The seventh elder nodded her head as she called out, "Aur, co receive your reward."
Imdiately, Aur erged from the crowd, bowing towards her to show proper respect to an elder.
A hint of warmth emanated from her cold eyes as the seventh elder spoke in a warr tone, "Here is the token for you to enter the treasury, but rember you can only take one set of magic from it."
"Yes, elder," Aur respectfully replied with an impassive expression, his emotions concealed.
He accepted the storage bag that was handed to him and silently left.
However, as he was returning, so people couldn't help but murmur to themselves.
"Where is the village leader? Shouldn't he be present?"
"Yeah, I noticed he should always be present for the award ceremony and could even take the first as a winner if he liked their temperant, although it is unlikely…"
"Did sothing happen? I think I was just inford by my mother that an explosive sound had co from the academy."
"Wait, where is William?"
"Despite being the second, he hasn't arrived yet."
"I wonder what happened." The atmosphere buzzed with speculation as everyone quickly ford their own conclusions about the recent events.
The seventh elder's gaze turned cold again as she reprimanded the people present, "Silence."
Imdiately, everyone shut up, and an eerie hush settled over the crowd. No one dared to speak a single word, fearing the elder's disapproval.
The elder nodded her head, and the awarding ceremony continued. However, she intentionally omitted ntioning William's na, leaving many students even more confused and anxious. Whispers circulated among them, but they dared not voice their questions.
Aur silently made his way back to the dorm, attracting the attention of many students who ca to greet him. He responded with politeness, exchanging smiles and pleasantries.
Observing the amicable interactions around Aur, other students were drawn to him, eager to make friends with the renowned first-place winner.
Amidst the crowd of students, one woman stood apart, watching with a dark expression. Anne, her long blue hair fluttering in the wind, bore eyes clouded with a complex mix of emotions.
Anne gazed on her ntal space, where only a small portion was covered by colourless mana, roughly around ten percent. Unlike Aur, she lacked the vast cultivation resources and the profound comprehension to swiftly imprint her first vital spell into her ntal space.
"Sigh, Aur has reached this height but..." she muttered, gritting her teeth. Through her investigation, Anne had already discerned that Leo had been playing with her, and despite her awareness, she fell right into his trap.
"What were you thinking, Anne? True love is just a myth," she uttered with a self-deprecating laugh. The bitterness of her situation lingered, but a sense of grim satisfaction washed over her as she considered Leo's miserable condition.
His family had already been slaughtered by that young master, and if he ever walked out of the academy, the consequences awaiting him were nothing short of death.
The powerful had nurous thods to end a life, and no rule could truly bind them. After all, regardless of the rules, there were many loopholes that could be exploited.
Shaking her head, Anne reflected on her circumstances and the choices she had made.
In fact, most of the students from common origins found themselves in a similar plight, helplessly watching as others overtook them. With each passing mont, the number of students from common backgrounds dwindled further, leaving only a handful.
Surviving in the competition, while influenced by luck, still heavily depended on one's strength. So students resorted to cruel tactics, using others as shields, yet the instructors turned a blind eye to such behaviour.
The world is cruel and unfair; those who failed to advance were left behind in the dust.
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