I raised my spear and let out a slow, controlled breath. I shifted into a natural stance, shifting closer and closer with minimal footwork while I watched Aluis's feet.
'Kai was fast. But Aluis still managed to dodge everything.' My thoughts raced. This meant that Aluis was far faster than I was.
'I can't win in a contest of speed.' I slid forward until the tip of my spear lay just in front of his figure, close enough to be threatening, far enough to be safe.
'What I need is the element of surprise.'
I held that distance like it was a wall.
Then I started to circle.
Slow at first. Like a shark in deep waters.
Each step I took narrowed the circle, not by rushing him, but by forcing the centre to shift. I kept him on the edge of my reach, kept myself one breath away from striking.
Aluis didn't move an inch. He simply turned to face me. Watching and waiting.
'Now!'
I darted in.
A sharp dash, spear snapping up in a straight thrust at his head.
Aluis rolled under it like it was a lazy jab. I followed with a horizontal swipe to catch him rising.
He ducked.
I thrust again, a quick stab at the ribs, but he spun out of it.
I reset my range, circled again, then struck with a feint into a low jab, trying to bait a predictable slip.
He stepped aside.
'Feels like I am fighting smoke.' My grip tightened.
Aluis's head tilted just a fraction. It wasn't that my technique or moves pressured him. I wasn't even close to that level yet.
No rather.
'He's curious'
I took in a sharp breath and made my decision.
I stepped in hard, one move after another, unleashing an overwhelming number of strikes, waiting for just the right moment.
Aluis flickered with each thrust, weaving through the attacks, always a hair's breadth away.
'Just one chance.' I grit my teeth and kept attacking with everything I had. 'Just one goddamn opening. Anything.'
I stomped and did a strong swipe of my spear, forcing Aluis to jump back. But for just a second, both his feet were off the ground. He was immobile.
'Now!' This was my only chance, the only opportunity that I had somehow created.
The next instant, with a sharp flick, I pushed forward.
[Basic Footwork]
Putting everything I had into my legs, I tore the gap between us by rushing in.
A fraction of a second later, Aluis's eyes widened, but I was already in position.
My stance dropped, the spear angled, and I fired.
Seven strikes, light and fast, not heavy enough to slow me down, not deep enough to overcommit. I snapped the spearhead like a needle towards his chest.
One. Two. Three. Four. Five. Six. Seven.
[SKILL: SEVENFOLD THRUST]
The crowd's murmurs surged; I could hear them all behind me.
And yet in front of me, Aluis was already gone. He'd whipped his head back, creating just the imbalance he needed to land mere inches away from my attacks.
I swore under my breath and kept moving. Circle, strike, circle, strike. Different angles. Different speeds. Sometimes a sharp lunge. Sometimes, a slow probing tip, like I was testing glass.
Having lost my surprise, I had decided to weave in [Sevenfold Strike] with every move. But no matter what I did, Aluis avoided all of it.
A minute passed. Maybe more. My arms started to burn properly now. My breath roughened. My legs began to complain in small, treacherous ways.
Aluis spoke while I moved.
"Very interesting. You have handled a spear before," he said, a slight smile crept on his lips.
"Quite unusual at your age," he continued. "Most avoid spears for their difficulty. But I see that you're not bad for your age."
I thrust again, a clean line at his chest, then snapped into a sweep.
He slid back, still untouched.
Then he added, calm as winter.
"Your body, however, is behind your technique."
I smiled wryly, my breath hitched as I moved, still trying my hardest to attack him. "I already know that much."
His words stung because they were true.
I could feel it in the way my lungs scraped. In how my grip wanted to fail. In the tiny lag between thought and motion, the fraction of slowness that turned intent into effort.
Aluis stepped back for the first time, not because he had to, but because he was ending it.
"Enough. This test is over."
I froze mid-step, spear held out, chest heaving.
Silence gathered on the ring.
Aluis studied me for a moment.
Then he nodded once.
"Noah Reed. You do not pass the third phase," he said, voice flat.
My stomach dropped.
Then he continued.
"But you will receive bonus points. Your weapon control is good. Your footwork is better than it should be. You have initiative."
I exhaled so hard my ribs stung.
"Sit," Aluis said, and with another stomp, more chairs rose near the edge where Kai was already seated.
I stepped off the centre and walked toward them, spear held low, careful not to let my legs shake too visibly.
Kai watched me as I approached, eyes too bright, too curious.
I sat two chairs away and finally let my body sag back.
Stone pressed into my spine. Cold crept through the fabric of my coat.
I should have felt relief.
Instead, I felt that strange, tight awareness that came after pushing too hard. Like my body was a machine and I'd just heard a gear grind.
I closed my eyes.
Around me, the next spars began.
Footsteps. Grunts. The whisper of movement. Aluis's calm voice judged the candidates like he was turning pages in a book. Sometimes Pasadin's voice joined in, softer, different, but still carrying that same authority.
I tried to listen.
I tried to learn.
But exhaustion was a weight on my mind, and it was sinking into me.
At some point, my head tipped slightly. My hands loosened. The ring noises blurred into a distant rush.
And I slept.
-
[An hour later]
A sharp clap cracked through the air, echoing gently against my ears.
I jolted awake like I'd been struck, heart, kicking hard against my ribs.
Aluis stood in front of the platform again. The ring was quiet now. The candidates had reorganised, faces drawn, eyes wide with that particular kind of fear that only comes when you know you are about to be judged.
Pasadin floated down beside him, wind settling around his boots like a cloak.
Aluis didn't speak. He simply watched.
Pasadin did the talking.
"This batch," he said, voice carrying across the field, "was better than most."
A few people swallowed audibly.
"Out of those who reached the third phase," Pasadin continued, "Kai Ashcroft was the only candidate to pass outright through the spar."
My eyes flicked to Kai. He looked startled again, like the word pass still didn't feel real.
"Fifteen candidates," Pasadin said, "passed the written examination directly."
A rustle. A breath held.
"And five more," he added, "passed through the third phase bonus evaluation."
That number made the air shift.
Because everyone understood what it meant.
You could be smart and still fail.
You could endure and still fail.
You needed something else.
Pasadin raised a sheet of paper. It hovered in front of him without shaking, like the wind itself was holding it steady.
He began reading names.
Each name hit like a hammer. Some people flinched when it wasn't theirs. Some straightened when it was.
My palms were damp. My mouth was dry.
Then I heard it.
"Noah Reed."
For a second, my brain didn't process it. Like the sound had bounced off my skull.
Then my band lit up, warm against my wrist.
A soft glow.
A real glow.
Strange warmth flowed through my chest, as if I was finally reassured. Before I knew it, I was led along with the group that had passed.
Everything going forward was a bit fast-paced. As if they were keen on rushing us out.
Candidates with glowing bands were directed forward, separated from the ones whose wrists stayed dark. The ones who failed stood in a silent line behind Aluis. A few looked like they wanted to argue. None of them did.
Not with him watching.
Our group was led into a small room off the side of the field, walls plain, floor clean, the air warmer than outside. Cabinets lined one wall, shut tight.
Pasadin faced us.
"Congratulations," he said, and for the first time, his expression softened by a fraction. "As stated, you have been accepted."
"The Academy begins in two weeks," Pasadin continued. "Till then, that is your time. Speak to your families. Settle your affairs. Prepare yourselves."
'Family.'
The word slid past me without catching.
Pasadin lifted a hand.
The cabinets snapped open all at once.
Inside were uniforms. Black fabric, clean seams, dark blue lining along the edges that marked us as new intake.
Pasadin gestured.
"On the day you are summoned, you will wear this."
A small stack of scrolls sat on a table beside the cabinets.
"In two weeks," he said, "We will provide you a teleport scroll. It will take you directly to the Academy. Do not be late. Do not lose it. Do not attempt to sell it. That is your last and only warning."
A couple of candidates nodded too quickly.
Pasadin's gaze swept over us.
"The circle outside will return you to your origin point," he finished. "Go."
We filed out.
One by one, people stepped onto the magic circle. Light swallowed them. Then they were gone.
When it was my turn, I stepped forward.
As I did, I caught Kai looking at me again.
Just… focused. Like he was trying to make sense of me.
'Did I do something wrong?' I thought to myself, but I couldn't quite put a finger on it. Regardless, I knew I'd see him in the academy, and I'd probably talk to him then.
I stepped forward, then the circle flared.
Light rose.
And the testing grounds vanished beneath my feet.