by Nikostar A
"Are you Alexander Vagras?" asked a student. Alexander turned toward the source of the voice. It was a tall woman with long blonde hair. She was rather pretty but her deep blue eyes were staring at Alexander with a sinister glint.
"Maybe?" Alexander instantly went on his guard; he slowly disappeared from the students' mind, allowing others to take the limelight. For that woman to recognize him, she either had a very good memory or had something against him. Judging from her looks of contempt, it was not hard to guess that it was the latter.
"I am sure it's you. Why are you not leaving the safe zone?" asked the woman while trying to hide a sneer.
"What does that woman want?" said Alexander to himself. He completely ignored the woman and started walking toward the stage.
The woman was instantly angered by Alexander's actions. "You... You dare ignore me? Because you randomly decided to stay here, I can't go collect any badges."
"Huh? How am I preventing you from leaving? Just go if you want," nonchalantly said Alexander. He did not even bother to look at the annoying woman.
"You... Since you are so disrespectful toward your seniors, let me teach you a lesson! It's true that spells are not allowed in the safe zone, but that does not mean we cannot attack! Jeremy, go break his talisman. I am tired of waiting here," angrily shouted the woman.
"Yes, June."
Alexander did not think much of the woman but when he heard her shouts, he became serious. It was an obvious threat and Alexander could not sit down and wait. He already knew what the woman was thinking. The rules forbid the use of magic in the safe zone but that did not stop them from using physical attacks. As long as he was beaten badly enough, his talisman of protection would trigger to save his life. What bothered Alexander was the reasons behind the woman's actions. He never met her before so why was she acting against him?
Answering her shouts, a tall burly man threateningly stepped in front of Alexander. He smiled wildly while cracking his joints. Compared to the other mages, Jeremy had a large burly physique. Before joining the academy, Jeremy Spiridon trained like a madman to join the Marines. It has always been his dream to join one of the strongest soldier groups.
However, to his surprise, his application at the Earth Academy was accepted. He initially thought of declining the offer but then, an organization reached out to him and invited him to join them. They revealed the truth behind the mages. All graduates of the Earth Academy would have to join the army and fight for the whole of humanity.
Jeremy hesitated for a while but eventually, he accepted the offer. In the end, becoming a mage would not differ much from his initial dream. Instead of fighting for his country, he would fight for the whole world.
And so, he joined the organization but he was not alone. Another person was joining the organization at the same time; her name was June. The two spent a lot of time together and joined the academy at the same time. Slowly, Jeremy developed some feelings for her but for fear of being rejected, he hid these feelings deep inside his heart.
Now that the woman he was secretly in love was asking for his help, Jeremy did not hesitate to step forward. He already knew what to do. He looked at the man in front of him and laughed. 'I thought he would be an impressive opponent but it turned out to be a weakling?'
Without warning, Jeremy wildly punched forward. His massive fist flew directly toward Alexander's face.
The latter quickly reacted. He would be lying if he said he was not intimidated. Jeremy had an impressive physique and was at two heads taller than him. Alexander adopted Arado's posture. It was the first constellation, the one he was the most familiar with.
Alexander jumped backward, easily dodging the fierce punch. "D*mn. There are too many eyes on me. If only I practiced the Psychic, dealing with that tower of muscles would be so much easier."
Jeremy was surprised by Alexander's reaction speed and even more by his speed. He would have never guessed that the seemingly weak-looking youth would have so much strength concealed in his body. Jeremy continued to press forward, punching again with his other hand. He knew he was being watched but so what? He was not breaking any rules and would not go for Alexander's life.
The spectators looked at Alexander with pity. It looked like the promising young man would be out of the competition before it even started. Although it only represented 10% of the final marks, it would still reduce the exposure he could have. Nevertheless, the lecturers were fair. They knew he was being oppressed by an organization and as a result, for the next rounds, the lecturers would be more generous in their markings to make up for it.
However, no one could have predicted what happened next. Instead of watching Alexander being beaten down badly, it was instead the burly Jeremy who found himself rolling on the ground in tears.
Jeremy was a well-trained fighter. In high school, he learned both Judo and Boxing giving him skills similar to MMA fighters. Although he was not the best in these sports, he was still very skilled and with his tough body, he was a force to be reckoned with.
It was precisely those sports that caused his doom. Boxing and Judo matches were always played under the supervision of a referee with a series of strict rules. Jeremy never fought outside of the ring and never had to worry about sneak attacks. Unfortunately for him, Alexander was not a kind person.
When Alexander saw that he was facing such a monster, he had no qualms on his next course of actions. Using his strengthened body, he stepped to the side, avoiding Jeremy's next punch. Then, instead of continuing to dodge, Alexander stepped forward and attacked!
He raised his hand, attempting to punch Jeremy back. The latter reacted and locked Alexander's fist with his big hands. "I got you!" Jeremy laughed. With his strong grip, he knew Alexander would not be able to escape. However, Alexander remained calm and laughed back.
"I am the one who got you."
And without hesitation, Alexander mercilessly kicked Jeremy right between his legs.
Jeremy's reaction was instantaneous. His face paled as his entire body trembled. With a deafening roar, the tall Jeremy fell on the ground. His hands instinctively moved toward the remains of his private parts.
Even when seeing his opponent on the ground, crying in pain, Alexander did not stop. It was Jeremy that started the conflict. His opponent was completely defenseless but Alexander quickly attempted to kick the same area a second time.
Fortunately, before Alexander's kick could land, the talisman of protection was triggered, blocking the attack.
"What a pity." If anyone wanted to harm him in any way, Alexander did not mind using these vicious methods. Then he recalled that the instigator of the conflict was still there.
Alexander turned toward June, the tall blonde. Her hands were covering her mouth as she was looking at the defeated Jeremy. "You... What have you done?"
"No... Stay away from me!" shouted June when she noticed Alexander's glare. She took a step back but this was immediately answered by Alexander's step forward.
She was scared. That man was not even bothered by the fact that she was a woman. If he went as far as destroying Jeremy's manhood, what would he do to her?
Instinctively, June's spirit circuits were activated. A giant waterball appeared in front of her but before she could use it in any way, a voice sounded. "Halt! You are using magic inside the safe zone! You are immediately disqualified!"
A bright light flashed and immediately, the waterball became unstable. June lost control of the waterball, causing it to fall on the ground.
All the staff members were still astonished by the outcome of Alexander's fight but fortunately, one instructor was able to react in time. Instructor Keno had already approached Alexander and June, making sure that the conflict would not blow out of proportion. Alexander was indeed allowed to attack June but now that she was disqualified, he couldn't. It was illegal to attack a defeated examinee.
At the same time, two other instructors quickly reacted and went to look at Jeremy.
The hea
d of the discipline department shuddered. He shouted loud enough for the entire field to hear, "How vicious! I say we need to disqualify this candidate! He even dares to attack his fellow students like that! Look at..."
"Silence!" The head of the discipline department was immediately cut short by an old man. "You think we are blind? Those two are recruits of the Flemming Organization. We clearly saw them make a move first. Had the student been disqualified by them, would you have said anything?"
The head of the discipline department lowered his head. He did not dare to look straight at the old man. He was the director of studies. Although his post was not as important as Carmen's, he still held more power than the discipline department.
"Sir, if that really happened, I would have punished them after the competition so as to not disturb the other students. Furthermore, Jeremy and June did not break any rules. While Alexander not only viciously went for a man's private part, he also tried to strike a second time when his opponent was down. How can we allow such a student to graduate from the academy? The outsiders would think that we are just a bunch of savage people," said the head of the discipline department.
The director of studies lightly laughed. "You think I am stupid? You can say that now that everything is over. I have witnessed the events and using your own words, Alexander did not break any rules and is therefore innocent. The talisman of protection did not trigger yet; he was allowed to attack again. I recently came back from Loha and I don't know what enmity there is between this student and the Flemming Organization. But let me remind you! No matter how strong your organization is, it has no say in the academy's decision. You are just making a fool out of yourselves. It is true that you are adhering by the rules but we are not blind. If this continues, maybe we'll only accept the sponsorship of the five other organizations."
The head of the discipline department shuddered. It was a blatant threat and he knew he could not retaliate. All the organizations were rich and could easily fill in the Flemming Organization's portion. The Organization would be able to spare some money but at the same time, it would lose all the slots it had to send their recruits here to study!
If that really happened, then in just a few years, the Flemming Organization would lose its standing due to the lack of new blood. They would no longer be able to groom their future leaders at an early age.
"Instead of wasting time here, go look at your juniors. His life is not in danger but who knows if he can still be called a man after this. That kick was quite strong."
***
Alexander stared wordlessly at Instructor Keno. He stood motionless and allowed instructor Keno to escort the two students. Instructor Keno whispered a few words to the students who quickly left the area. He stood still with his usually stern face but compared to before, a trace of astonishment was still displayed on his face.
Alexander did not move. He slowly calmed down as he felt the star energy leaving his body. "So they are from the Flemming Organization. Looks like they are holding a grudge. Is it because I caused Aila's pursuer to be punished? Nevermind, they cannot do anything in the academy. Their petty tricks won't cause much harm."
He then remembered the reason he was walking toward the stage and turned to Instructor Keno. "Can I ask something?"
Hearing his question, everyone once again became the center of attention. "What is it?" asked Instructor Keno.
"You said all the badges inside the examination location would count toward our points. Does that include the one in your pocket?"
Silence...
'How bold!' thoughts the students that were standing on the side.
The staff members were also surprised by Alexander's statement. They had to admit that this student could think outside the box. They looked at Instructor Keno, waiting for his answer.
Even Instructor Keno was unable to hide his surprise this time. After a brief moment of silence, he answered, "You are right. According to the rules, this badge will give you ten points if you scan it..."
"Leave the safe zone and go look for the badges as intended." Instructor Keno tossed the gold badge and crossed his arms. His stance was clear.
Alexander grabbed the badge and smiled. He understood Instructor Keno's meaning, "In exchange for the badge, he should leave and not resort to the camping strategy."
As he never intended to do so, Alexander quietly scanned the badge and left the field in the direction of the jungle.
The other students still on the field looked at his departing silhouette in silence. Most of them were second-years and never considered him a threat. But after witnessing Alexander's actions, they all made a mental note to themselves to not intercept him when he would come back.
Chapter 25: End of the group stage
Alexander nonchalantly walked into the jungle. His sour mood due to the small conflict disappeared after he received the free points.
"I wonder if that burly guy is alright. It must have been painful but he was the one who wanted to attack first," said Alexander to himself. He had no qualms in hurting a fellow student; Alexander already knew his kick would connect with Jeremy's private parts and yet, he still did it.
The talismans of protection were useful items but they had loopholes that could be exploited. They would either trigger if the user was being targetted by a lethal attack or if the user was feeling an unbearable amount of pain. During the previous fight, although Alexander's kick was powerful, it was not a lethal attack. The talisman only triggered afterward due to the second condition.
***
Just after taking a few steps inside the jungle, Alexander met a group of students returning to the field.
When they saw him, the student raised their hands and shouted, "Don't attack. Don't attack! We have already been eliminated. We have lost our talisman."
"Ohh." Alexander nodded and continued to walk deeper into the jungle.
'Just a few minutes have passed and the students have already started to fight? They must have found the nearby badges and started fighting for it.'
He knew most of the nearby badges should have already been claimed. He was not naive to think that the students left the badges behind. They most likely pocketed the badges and prepared to trade them later on.
Alexander was careful. He used his hand seals to activate one of the constellations, [Jagur, the Observer]. It was a supportive constellation that did not provide any combat power; instead, it drastically improved Alexander's eyesight and his attention to detail. When used properly, Alexander might even be able to see through [Stealth].
He decided to use hand seals as they were more discrete than body postures. The jungle was currently filled with cameras. With his keen sense of observation, Alexander spotted a few hidden in the foliage of the trees.
By using the Observer, Alexander could easily determine the directions the students took. There were so many students in the forest at the moment that even without using Jagur, the Observer, Alexander would be able to tell where the students went. But with the help of the constellation, Alexander was able to determine the least popular path.
The Observer had a very powerful ability. One should not underestimate its power. Even in combat, it could be used to analyze his opponent's movements and weaknesses. Whenever he used this power, Alexander would feel like his mind was racing, being constantly fed with information. His vision would become clear and he would be able to pinpoint any detail.
Alexander walked in the least popular direction. With fewer people, there would be higher chances that a few badges went unnoticed. Alexander's goal was to avoid fighting as much as possible. He was strong but he could not use any combat-related skills of the stargazers.
When he was waiting in the open field, he saw the spell array used by the professors! Their spells would allow them to see the student's flow of mana in their spirit circuit but since he was using star energy, they would not detect anything. Even if he was not being watched right now, if he engaged in a fight, it was very likely that they wo
uld find something wrong.
That meant that during this stage, he would only be able to use spells but that meant considerably lowering his real strength. Compared to the other students who meditated during their free time, Alexander didn't. He focused on practicing the body postures and the hand seals of the constellations.
While the others could use at least twenty spells before running out of juice, Alexander could only use about fifteen. He had already nursed his mana reservoir back to its original state after obtaining his pocket dimension but he did not make a lot of progress beyond that. Meditation was not as easy as one would think, he needed to take his time if he wanted to slowly expand his mana reservoir without damaging. Sending in as much mana as possible was not necessarily the correct solution.
Alexander walked around the jungle while thinking about ways to avoid being watched by the spell. There was naturally a lot of methods to block this spell but it would require a lot of work and might raise suspicion. On Loha, the array was commonly used during wars for scouting but it was also used by schools to look after their students.
