As Raven and Ruth Sato continue to fight, an all-out brawl ensues. Ayuma teams up with Bertram, and together they take out a good chunk of students purely with physical attacks.
Eventually, Bertram encounters a student named Andrade Diaz. Andrade walks up to Bertram, and Bertram calls out to Ayuma, "Hey—we've got five minutes left, and it looks like I'm going to be busy with this one here."
Ayuma nods. "I can take care of myself, ya big brute."
Bertram unsheathes his sword. "So… you know how to handle a blade?"
Andrade nods and unsheathes his own. It hums with a silver aura so potent you can almost feel the sharpness radiating off it.
They dash toward each other, clashing sword auras and sending out a massive shockwave that knocks out thirty students in the midst of the battle.
Andrade begins walking toward Bertram, but Bertram narrows his eyes and says, "You're using Sword Illusion Arts too, aren't you?"
A flicker of shock crosses Andrade's face—then multiple physical afterimages of him appear, all using the same technique simultaneously.
Bertram swings his greatsword around, spinning faster and faster—a Circle of Tranquility. In this circular formation he's creating with his blade, anything that enters the radius—no matter how fast you are—is cut over a million times within a nanosecond.
Intriguing. He's not just brute force after all. But something is off in the timing of his slashes and cuts. There's only one way to find out: keep clashing steel for steel.
Andrade grins. "Only way to find out is to continue clashing steel for steel," he says.
Ayuma, alone, continues to fight off a plethora of students using fighting styles like Muay Thai, Wing Chun, hapkido, and wrestling. Then, from afar, he hears a voice:
"How have none of you losers beaten this powerless rookie anyway?"
Ayuma turns—and comes face-to-face with a hooded figure that seems to appear out of nowhere.
Ayuma gets stabbed in the torso from behind by an icicle.
"Wha—dammit! I couldn't see it coming!" Ayuma says, staggering.
He begins to feel his body temperature drop drastically.
How's it feel to freeze to death?
As Ayuma struggles to keep his consciousness—deep within the depths of his very essence, mind, and soul—a sealed gate stands in a barren field. It starts to crack slightly.
A flash of bright light erupts, blinding everyone.
Ayuma suddenly feels fine, as if his body warmed instantly.
The hooded figure is knocked out—slammed into a wall.
The timer begins to count down.
3… 2… 1…
The second exam is over.
The top ten are:
Kira
Ruth Sato tied with Raven
Bertram
Ayuma
Andrade Diaz
Sevi rivers
Daphne
Zaria
Bojin Red
Krystal rivers