The man identified as the Lord of Druti sat down after announcing the start of the exam.
Vale's fingers clenched into a fist as a certain excitement surged through his bones like adrenaline. This feeling didn't come from him, but rather, it came from the previous Vale. This much, he could infer.
There was chattering all around him, but he paid them no heed.
The first test was a well-known test, and Vale didn't think it would be a hassle for him. Just as he waited, a loud boom resounded in the arena as a young boy jumped off the spectator area.
Everyone turned towards the commotion to find out who could be stupid enough to do such a thing.
When the dust settled, however, there was silence.
What surprised Vale was how handsome the boy was. His hair shone with a glistening gold, and his eyes were a deep, entrancing blue. He was dressed in a loose robe, one that exuded a certain authority as if telling the common man, "Admire me, peasant."
Then an uproar started as everyone started cheering.
"It's Aster, Aster Evangion," the girls beside him said while jumping and screaming the boy's name.
They weren't the only ones, even boys and spectators looked at him with faces full of admiration. Vale frowned, having no idea who this Aster dude was.
"I didn't think he would be here," someone said behind him.
Vale whipped his head back but calmed down when he saw Jack behind him. They weren't friends, but it always felt good to see someone you know in a crowd of strangers.
They had exchanged a few words back at the Hunter's guild, but that wasn't enough to distinguish them from mere acquaintances.
"You know him?" Vale asked with a curious gaze.
Jack then peeled his eyes off the boy who was slowly walking towards the participants and looked at Vale strangely.
"You don't?" Jack replied.
"Why else would I be asking?"
"Oh sorry, I just thought he was that popular." Jack scratched his head sheepishly.
"Nope, never heard of him."
Jack quickly got over his surprise and continued, "He's the pride of Druti. After unlocking the legendary three-word class, he was taken in by a member of the royal family. Everyone expected him to take the exam in the capital. But surprisingly, he came back to his hometown."
As Jack spoke, Vale noticed that he didn't have the same look of admiration as everyone else.
"You don't seem so… impressed by him," he interjected.
Jack shrugged his shoulders. "Nothing so special about a three-word class."
It was Vale's turn to be surprised as he raised a brow: even in his past life, the appearance of a three-word class would be an unprecedented event of immense magnitude.
Before he could ask Jack any further questions, a loud voice reverberated throughout the entire arena.
"Silence."
Immediately, everyone reduced their voice, although a lot of people were still talking about the star boy's appearance.
Aster had already joined the other participants in the middle of the arena. Numerous boys and girls flocked around him, some even on their knees worshiping him.
"They say he is close to maxing out his common demon points. That alone will put him above many second years and even third years. I think we should avoid him," Jack said, staring intently at Aster.
Aster seemed to notice his gaze as he turned and looked at Jack. They maintained eye contact for a second before Jack turned his head to the side and snickered.
Vale saw a smile appear on the star boy's face as he continued attending to the people around him.
They probably know each other, Vale concluded in his mind.
The commotion soon died down as everyone, or at least almost everyone, had their attention back on the exam that was about to take place.
"Now that I have everyone's attention," the voice started. "I'll explain the rules of this first round even though a lot of you may already know them…"
The explanation dragged on, filled with unnecessary detail and nuances. At the end of it, Vale could summarise it rather simply: all one had to do was remain still, as a 'harmless' demon would be released and allowed to roam around the arena. Anyone who could bear the monster's aura without running, fainting, or crumbling to the floor would advance.
This round was used to remove the weeds from the flowers. The ones who really stood a chance would be able to pass without any difficulty.
With a loud creaking sound, the gates of the colosseum's tunnels were opened and the demon was let loose.
Vale had no idea what rank this beast was, but even with the distance between them he could tell it was stronger than the predator rank blood wolf. Much stronger.
It was a horse, or at least that was what it was supposed to be. It had no flesh and blood and was made of a thick black smoke, with crimson eyes.
Vale could immediately tell what it was: A beast soul. A shadow of a demon was bestowed upon its killer.
In his past life, he despised beast souls. The fact that a demon—such a despicable creature—was meant to act as his companion, no matter the form it took, always made his blood boil with hate.
He didn't have the same level of hatred as he did in his past life and the reason for that was unknown.
The tenebrous stallion walked towards them with a tentative speed, stopping at intervals to release dark fumes from its gaping nostrils.
Vale stood at the rear of the arena, so it would take some time for the stallion to get to him.
He could already feel the air growing heavier and heavier with each step the beast soul took. Someone at the spearhead, fell onto the floor with his head in his hands.
A voice rang out, "Ragon Velsha has been disqualified."
And after that, the voice didn't stop as numerous people either fell or ran away.
It didn't take long for the beast to get close to Vale. His legs buckled under the pressure of a superior creature, but his will kept him standing.
Then a terrible smell hit his nose. He looked beside him and to his surprise a girl who looked older than him had a trail of yellow flowing down her leg. Her face was covered in tears, but she didn't give up, even after wetting herself.
If not for the increasing pressure he would have admired her resilience. But as of now, the tenebrous stallion was just a few metres away.
It stopped and released black fumes once more. And although Vale's eyes were on the ground, he could feel the cold smoke hit his face. Beads of sweat ran across his chin and fell to the ground one after another, each drop slicing the silence like a sharp arrow.
After a moment Vale couldn't help but wonder if the beast was giving him special attention, because he could swear the thing had stayed for over a minute. But at this point, even his sense of time couldn't be trusted.
The beast took a step forward, closing the little distance between them.
Vale could hear his joints creaking, like the hinges of a door in need of lubrication.
The girl beside him couldn't handle it anymore; she plummeted to the floor with her palms pressing against her temples and screamed: "Make it go away. Make it go away."
But all that served to do was distract him.
He soon came to realise that willpower could only take you so far as his legs were finally about to bow under pressure.
But just then, a familiar red glint appeared in his eyes.