Noon arrived faster than expected, and in the blink of an eye, the remaining candidates who managed to qualify for the second phase were all guided to a large room in the association.
It was known as the Combat Hall.
It was a wide, circular room with it's floors made of solid stone, marked with faint scratches from countless battles. This was where the captain level Soul-Hunters often trained against one another, testing their strength and sharpening their skills.
The high walls curved smoothly around the arena, making it feel enclosed yet grand, a place built for combat and nothing else.
The quality of the floors and walls were made to be durable enough to contain high levels of Soul-Techniques, and that made it the perfect place for the second phase.
The 5th's Vice captain took his position at the center of the room, there were seats positioned around the circular room where the second phase was held, and iron railings were put in place to separate the ring from the seats.
Amongst the audience were the vice captains, the 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th seats of various Soul-Squads. Their appearance in the second phase was for one purpose only, recruitment.
It wasn't certain that the participants would pass this phase, but it served as a chance for different Soul-Squads to evaluate their performance. This made it easier for them to decide which Soul-Hunter they'd want to recruit.
"Welcome back, without wasting any more time than we have to, the second stage of the exams commences now!" As he spoke, footsteps resounded across the room, and when they all turned their heads around, their eyes went wide.
"C—Captain Alaric!" It was the captain of the 4th Soul-Squad, and he walked down the path towards the front row seat. He had his suit on, and a large black coat with the number [4] sewn in the back of it.
It was the standard cloak all captains wore to uphold the honor of the 14th Soul-Squads.
"Alaric, I didn't know you were interested in stuffs like this." Hiro who also at the front row said, he also had his cloak on with the number [11] sewn at the back.
Alaric silently glanced at him for a while, he was against the idea of a commoner becoming a captain, but after five years of Hiro leading the 11th Soul-Squad, there was not much he could do about it.
Alaric ignored him, and sat at the seat farthest from him in the front row.
"Cold as usual, kekeke." Hiro chuckled. "It's rare to see a captain at this kind of events, but since you're here, I'm guessing it's because of Rai?"
It was rare for a captain to be seen at any stage of the selection, they were either too busy or uninterested in how it was, it was the jobs of their lieutenants and vice to scout and recruit who they considered the best.
"Speak for yourself commoner." Alaric turned his attention to Rai who sat opposite where they were. "Today, we'll discover what that boy truly is. Is he just another commoner who emerged as nothing more than a D-rank Soul-Hunter? Or is he the future of this association?"
To be honest, Alaric hoped on the first option. It was insulting to him that a commoner surpassed the abilities of the six great noble families.
"The second phase is a combat stage, in this phase you will demonstrate your strength of Soul-Techniques. In short, you'll be battling each other for the right to move on to the final selection." The 5th's Vice began.
"The rules and conditions for clearing this phase is simple, killing is prohibited and once committed will lead to a life sentence. Your victory is only assured once your opponent admits defeat or can no longer continue. Now that the rules has been laid out, let the second phase begin." With a loud declaration, the 5th's vice captain left the center of the sparring grounds.
"The first match of this phase, Adrian Vale Vs Silver Veylir."
Whispers spread across the hall like wildfire.
"Veylir?" Hiro raised a brow, he had heard that name before, but he couldn't recall where.
"Veylir, one of the six great noble families in the Kingdom." Alaric muttered under his breath, being part of the six great families in the kingdom, it was necessary to interact with the other families, especially the Veylirs.
After all, the captain of the 3rd Soul-Squad was the daughter of the Veylir family.
"However."
The two participants took their place on the sparring grounds.
"Begin!" The 5th's vice shouted, and the match began.
"Oh? Silver Veylir?" Adrian said, both boys were members of the noble families in the kingdom, so this battle was a battle of pride.
"I've heard of you, Silver of the Veylir. The Veylir's are renowned for their aptitude with Soul-Energy, you could almost say they were blessed abundantly with it, making them one of the strongest in the kingdom. However, years later an anomaly happened, and they gave birth to a child with low aptitude for Soul-Energy." Adrian began with a grin.
"Silver Veylir, you are that anomaly. While others immediately became high ranked Soul-Hunters, due to your poor aptitude, you couldn't take the exams, but yet here you are. Well whatever, against a defect like you, this will be more of an insult than a battle."
Silence.
Silver didn't speak, he didn't even flinch, and he maintained a neutral expression.
Then.
SWOOSH!
He released a torrent of Soul-Energy from his body, and it scattered around the room.
"Was that supposed to scare me?" Adrian scoffed, taking his efforts as nothing more than a passing breeze. "Well then, since you so eagerly greeted me with that cool breeze, I'll return the favor!"
He dashed forward with a burst of speed, and Silver's eyes went wide immediately.
"Take this!" Adrian imbued his fists with Soul-Energy, and threw a fast punch at his chest.
"He's fast!" He moved quickly, faster than his eyes could keep up with. At the last moment, he stepped aside and barely dodged the punch, but Adrian spun and landed a hard kick that sent him flying, rolling across the ground.
"Man... He's got him on the ropes." One of the participants whispered, acting like some sort of commentator, but at the same time, evaluated his opponents.
"He's incredibly fast." Another one said.
"I don't even need my Soul-Techniques to defeat you." Adrian said smugly, thinking it was all over. Then Silver stood slowly to his feet like nothing ever happened.
"Tsk, did I hold back? In that case..." The surge of Soul-Energy in his hands increased rapidly, and it wrapped around his fist like a violent torrent of energy.
He cloaked his foot with his Soul-Energy, and with an explosive burst of speed, he charged forward at Silver even faster than before.
BOOM!
He drove his fist into Silver's face with a loud thud, and Silver was sent crashing through the ground at the other end of the sparring ground.
"Shit..." The power behind Adrian's fist was unbelievable, and it shocked the contestants. Most of them began losing hope, they knew too well that their current capabilities weren't up to this, and Adrian hasn't even used his Soul-Technique.
"Damn... There's no way he's getting up after that."
Adrian turned around and cancelled the Soul-Energy that wrapped around his hands, to him, the battle was already over.
But after waiting a while, nothing was announced.
"Excuse me vice captain?" He called out to the 5th's vice captain.
"What is it?"
"Why hasn't my victory been announced?" He asked.
"You are yet to win the battle."
"Huh?" He raised a brow. "What do you mean I'm yet to win the battl-" He glanced over his shoulder, and saw Silver standing tall.
"W—What..." Adrian's eyes wavered with disbelief. "I hit him with all my strength... I'm sure of it... How the hell is he standing?"
"He... Stood up..." One of participants.
"Just give up man... It's not worth dying for."
"Tsk." Adrian's Soul-Energy burst out of his body like an erupting volcano, the air shook around him, and the participants could feel the malice within his energy.
He was pissed.
"It's not possible that you're still standing after taking that blow head on. This time... I'll hit you with an attack that you won't be able to get up from!" He charged forward, and the ground shattered under his feet as he took off.
Just as he closed the distance between the and aimed to end it all, Silver's voice broke through the rush of wind, cold and sharp.
"It's not possible that I stood up from that? In what world did I decide that?"
Almost immediately, Adrian's eyes flew open, and a sudden force struck him in midair, hurling him all the way to the other side of the room.
"What!?" All the participants rushed up to their feet, they couldn't believe it.
Silver made no contact, he didn't even move a limb.
So what happened?
"What the hell happened!?"
"Did he hit him!? When!?"
No one could explain what happened, no one but the captains, and Rai.
"That's strange isn't it..." Rai muttered under his breath. He knew what happened, he knew what ability it was. He knew the story after all.
The participants Soul-Cores were underdeveloped, so they couldn't see right through it. But thanks to the system errors, Rai levelled up to a level where his Soul-Cores were partially developed, so he saw it all.
"He hit himself."