SSS Talent: From Tra Chapter 515: What the Directors Saw

Chapter 515: Chapter 515: What the Directors Saw

High above the hunting grounds, the floating projections kept shifting one after another, each pane of light showing a different section of the test area. Forests, broken ridges, the lake, open stretches of dry land. Students were scattered across all of it, so fighting in groups, so dragging down prey they had chosen carefully, others learning in real ti that ambition and ability were not always the sa thing. Among all those images, one had just drawn the full attention of the four directors.

Bartholow stood over the corpse of the serpent, chest heaving, uniform torn, one hand still trembling from the force of the final strike. Beside him, Trafalgar remained off to the side, calm, untouched, never having intervened once.

Selara adjusted her glasses, a grin already pulling at her lips. "He killed it."

Kaelen gave a small nod, his posture unchanged, though the approval in his voice was unmistakable. "Yes. That was a very good performance. Better than anyone here expected."

The serpent Bartholow had just brought down was no ordinary target. It belonged to Pulse Rank, the sa rank as Bartholow himself, but it was close enough to Flow that most students at his level would have needed a group to bring it down safely. He had done it alone.

That was no small thing.

Eryndor let out a low hum, arms folded over his chest, his broad fra still carrying the sa weight it always did, even when he was doing nothing more than watching. "The timid one did better than most of them would."

Althea did not answer. Her attention had already drifted to another projection.

Selara noticed it imdiately and followed the line of her attention. Xavier was there, near the lake, spear in hand, moving with far more confidence than most first years could fake. Beside him fought an Echo modeled after his older brother, not as strong as the original of course, but close enough in shape and style that the resemblance was impossible to miss. The two were working the edge of the water together, not diving into the lake itself, but trying to draw sothing out of it. Xavier would strike the surface, reposition, bait movent, then retreat just enough to make the monster commit to leaving the water where he could kill it properly.

Selara’s smile softened into sothing more amused than teasing. "How is your son doing, Althea?"

Althea kept her gaze fixed on Xavier. Her answer ca in the sa cool tone as always. "Well enough. I suppose he also wants to leave a good impression after what Trafalgar is doing, he likes to compete with him."

Eryndor watched Xavier’s projection for another mont before speaking. "Hm. He is not bad. Your son is a capable fighter, Althea." A faint pause followed, the corner of his mouth moving in the slightest hint of a smirk. "Though honestly, he still has a long way to go before he reaches higher levels. Especially compared to..."

"Trafalgar?" Kaelen finished for him.

Eryndor turned his head lazily. "If you want."

Kaelen’s eyes rested on him with a coldness that made even Selara stop smiling for a mont. "I heard what you did, Eryndor. It could have been interpreted as an attempt to kill an heir from one of the Eight Great Families."

Eryndor scoffed, unbothered. "Oh, co on. Do you really think they would have done anything? The boy is intact. I did not even use a skill. It was pure strength, and he took it well." He shrugged one shoulder. "What happened to part of the Academy was collateral."

Althea looked at him in silence.

Kaelen did the sa.

Selara as well.

Eryndor clicked his tongue. "You three are dramatic."

Selara decided not to entertain that and lifted a hand toward another projection instead. "You are all staring at Trafalgar as if he is the only one who has exceeded expectations." Her voice carried its usual lightness, but there was sothing more deliberate underneath it now. "Do you really think he is the only first year who has grown that much?"

Eryndor followed the direction of her finger. "Who are you talking about?"

The image shifted to Alfons au Vaelion.

He stood alone in a ruined stretch of dry land, robes untouched, expression controlled to the point of arrogance. Around him, dozens of mana orbs had manifested in the air, each one dense, bright, and unnaturally stable for a seventeen year old. They hovered around him in perfect formation before raining down together in a devastating burst. The projectiles struck the monsters surrounding him from every direction, blowing apart bodies, rupturing the earth, and leaving the space around him completely cleared. Through all of it, Alfons barely seed to move.

Kaelen’s gaze sharpened slightly. "Alfons au Vaelion... yes. His magic is impressive for his age. His family is hiding his true talent."

Selara turned to him with open surprise. "Eh? What do you an, hiding it? Everyone knows he has good talent."

Kaelen shook his head once. "No. The Vaelion family is concealing the extent of it. The sa way the Morgains did with Trafalgar." He kept watching the projection. "The skill he is using now is not sothing a seventeen year old should be capable of deploying this early. Not unless there is more behind the curtain than they have shown."

Althea gave a faint nod. "That much is obvious."

Another projection shifted nearby, and Zafira appeared within it, alone in the desert. She stood before a creature that looked like an ugly union between a scorpion and several other monsters stitched together by bad taste and malice. Chitin, claws, too many limbs, and a tail that carried more weight than most first years could comfortably face. Yet Zafira remained as composed as if she were already bored with it.

Eryndor let out a short breath through his nose. "It seems the first years will be more contested than usual this year."

Selara’s eyes glead. "That makes it more fun."

Far below them, Bartholow knew nothing about any of that.

He had finally managed to calm down enough to breathe without sounding like he was dying. The serpent’s corpse lay behind him, huge and ugly even in death, its cracked stone armor sared with dirt, blood, and traces of broken mana. Trafalgar stood nearby, looking at the body once before shifting his attention back to Barth.

"I think that counts as your exam," Trafalgar said. "You’re done."

Bartholow nodded, though his expression still looked halfway trapped between disbelief and exhaustion. "Y-yes." He swallowed, then looked at Trafalgar properly. "Thank you, Trafalgar. Because of you, I was able to try going against that thing in the first place." His fingers tightened around the bow. "I should go..."

Trafalgar shrugged. "Oh, don’t worry. I won’t feel lonely. I’ll be fine." A faint smirk touched his mouth. "I still have to kill mine, so don’t worry about ."

That earned the smallest laugh out of Bartholow, weak but real. He adjusted his grip on the bow, glanced once more at the serpent as if making sure it truly was dead, then gave Trafalgar a final nod before turning away.

Trafalgar watched him go for a few seconds.

Barth’s steps were uneven at first, his body still hurting from the fight, but there was sothing different in the way he carried himself now.

Trafalgar turned and continued alone.

The forest started changing little by little the farther he moved. The air dried first. The sll of wet bark and thick earth thinned out, replaced by heat trapped in stone and the dusty taste of open ground. Trees began appearing with bare branches, their trunks pale and brittle, roots clutching at soil that no longer looked rich enough to sustain anything. Patches of sand pushed through the ground here and there, first in thin strips, then in broader spreads that broke the shape of the forest apart.

He kept walking without hesitation.

This was what he had wanted.

A transition zone like this ant fewer students and stronger prey. Most would stay deeper in the forest or near the lake where the terrain still offered familiarity. The desert would attract a different kind of person.

By the ti the last stretch of withered trees fell behind him, the land had opened completely.

The mini desert lay ahead.

Wind carried heat now instead of dampness. Sand moved in thin restless currents over the ground. Scattered rock formations rose from the open space like old bones left under the sun. It was smaller than a true desert, but it did not need to be larger to feel harsher than the forest he had left behind.

Trafalgar stopped at the edge of it and let his eyes travel across the terrain.

At last.

This was the place he had been looking for.