A dog-like beast the size of a horse stood in front of Astra. The beast had two horns and hooves instead of paws. Its mouth was open, and a drool of saliva was flowing down from it. It looked at Astra for a second, then barked out loudly before charging at him.
A woman in a white lab coat and circular glasses ran to a blonde-haired man while holding a notepad with one of her hands."Sir Richard! We got bad news."
The man looked at her with an indifferent look."What happened, Claire?"
She took a minute to catch her breath and spoke."There's a lone dog-steed loose in the forest."
He spoke instantly."Tell me the location of the beast right now, and after I take care of it, tell me how it reached the arena."
Claire nodded her head and ran to the camera staff of the examination.
Astra pushed himself away from the beast, making it charge directly into a tree, knocking it over.
Astra got up and took out his sword. He also threw the sheath away from him.'I've got three broken ribs and maybe a crack on my skull at the back of my head.'He was going to fall.
Guddug-guddug guddug-guddug.The beast charged at Astra again as fast as it could, and at the last possible second, he got his grip and twisted his body, narrowly avoiding the blow.
"I'm not going to fall so easily."He rushed towards the beast and struck it with his sword.
Clang,The sword bounced back.'I can't pierce it?!'
The beast kept charging at him, and he kept parrying it."How do I kill it? No—I can't kill it. I have to run away."He waited for the next attack, and as soon as he blocked it, he started running away.
"Son."A man in his thirties with stark white hair placed a firm hand on Astra's shoulder. His voice was low but steady, carved from years of pain and defiance."There will be times when people ignore you. Mock you. Treat you like you're nothing."His eyes began to glow, a fierce light burning from within."When that happens, don't you dare run. Don't you dare cower."His grip tightened."You rise. You stare them down—and you crush every last doubt they ever had about you."
He stood up and turned around."This is the way of a true Vontrea. We warriors never give up in battle. It's either victory or death and nothing else. This is the pride of the Vontrea Kingdom."He left the room, leaving Astra alone.
"What am I doing?"Astra stopped his movement and clenched his sword tighter.'I'm running away again?'He gritted his teeth."What happened to me? I promised I would become stronger and stronger—stronger than anyone else!! And avenge her."He looked up."I can't believe I became a coward."
Guddug-guddug guddug-guddug.Those vivid footsteps he heard twice before played from behind him. He looked straight."Thanks, Dad. You made me remember something important."
His golden eyes shone, the grip on his sword became better. He twisted his body as fast as he could and blocked the charging beast in an instant.
"I won't run away ever again."He changed the direction of his sword and struck the beast again, and before it could get its grip back, he struck it again and again, pushing it back with just his pure strength.
'I will cut off one limb of yours, mark my words.'His eyes glowed, and he increased the speed of his strikes. His sword started cracking from the impact of each strike.
Two mages were flying in the sky.
"Sir Richard, we should reach the location in 2 minutes!" Claire spoke while looking around.
"Okay, let me know when we reach the area," Richard spoke, his voice calm.
"Sir, it looks like it's fighting a student," Claire said while looking at a tablet in her hand.
"What? Who is it?"His voice became a bit shaky, but his face was still unwavering.
"It's a male with white hair, and he is also a swordsman. But I guess he got lucky because dog-steeds are stronger in a group, but this one seems to be alone."
Richard coughed."Lucky? He was the only one in the whole test to run into a real beast."
"Well, if you put it like that, his luck is bad."
Astra kept striking the beast.'I can't believe I didn't find this out sooner.'He found a weakness.
When the beast landed on all its hooves and got its grip, without letting another second pass, Astra held his sword with both his hands and shhk—his sword pierced the beast's eyes. He then took his sword out and jumped back. The beast barked out loud in pain.
Blood ran down the beast's face. Astra sliced his sword as fast as he could, removing all the blood from his blade.'Finally, I did some damage.'
The beast blew some air out. Its eyes had fire burning in them. It ran towards Astra and tried to bite him. Astra, caught off by the sudden speed, twisted his body a bit late, making his whole left arm get scratched by the beast's sharp teeth. He kicked the beast's head and jumped away from it.
"AAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!!!"Astra screamed in pain. His whole arm was covered with blood.
Astra was still able to move his hand as the cut was shallow.
"I won't lose—not until I avenge her or become the King of the Vontrea Kingdom."
The two mages reached the area where the fight was taking place.
"Sir, there they are, let's go."She went to the fight, but a hand was placed on her shoulder, making her stop. She looked back."Sir? Is something wrong?"
Richard looked at her."Don't interfere. That kid is going to bloom."
"What do you mean bloom? Sir, if we don't interfere right now, he might die."
He nodded his head."Don't worry. He won't die."
"But sir—"
"I said not yet!"
Astra calmed down his breathing. His golden eyes shone brightly, making the beast a little wary of him.
A weird energy flowed through Astra's body, covering him with a dark red glow. He then moved his sword next to his face.
The whole red aura moved to his sword, leaving nothing on his body.
Richard smiled."There it is. He has awakened."
The beast ran with speed and jumped to attack Astra.
Astra muttered, his voice low and steady.
"Aura."
He bent down to dodge the beast. Slice, He sliced both the right limbs of the beast. He stood still for a second, then fell.
The beast kept barking in pain. It was losing too much blood and had no energy to fight, and not enough limbs to get back up.
"Water needle."
A voice echoed from the forest, and a needle made of water flew through the trees from the direction of the voice. The needle pierced the beast's skull, ending its suffering.
A tall man with sharp blue eyes walked towards Astra. He smirked while looking down at him."Looks like I'm not the only one who awakened in our batch."He bent down and carried the unconscious warrior from the ground.
"Hito, what are you doing here?"A mage with blonde hair and a beard flew toward him.
"Oh, Sir Richard."He looked up at him.
"Hey, take that kid to the priests."He turned to Hito."And you—go back to the test. You have an hour left before it ends."
"I don't need to. I've already won with the number of points I have, and besides, I'm more interested in him."
Richard sighed."Just go back and do the exam."
"Ehh, fine," he said, as if being defeated. He threw something toward Richard."Take these, or else I'll defeat second place by a lot."
Richard caught the object and looked at him calmly."Fine."He then flew away, leaving Hito alone.
Hito was a genius from the day he was born. He never felt something like defeat or anything close to it. Even at a young age, he defeated many adults with ease. But when he saw Astra awakening, he felt that Astra could be a potential rival—someone as strong as him.
After waiting for a bit, he turned around and went to hunt more beasts.
Richard clenched his hand as he flew away."That kid is too full of himself."He opened his hand, revealing two magical orbs lying on his palm.