Chapter 62 - Most Promising Trainee

As the duels continued, the other members of their group soon stepped out to fight.

Caroline was matched against someone with the same assessment as her. Although she had a short stature, the girl was nimble at her movements causing frustration to her stalwart opponent.

Instead of using her chosen Concept that could let her materialize a mirror-like shield as a 'shield' to block, Caroline used it to push her opponent to the edge. She's wielding it more like a weapon than defensive equipment.

However, her shield was somewhat brittle which became the reason for her loss. It broke down in the middle of her push resulting in her opponent throwing her out of the ring.

Seeing her gloomily return to their side, Irina beamed a smile towards her, cheering her up as she pushed Clark away to get Caroline to sit beside her.

Fortunately for him, it's his turn to take the stage so instead of grumbling at a corner, he confidently walked to the middle, hoping Irina would cheer for him as well.

As for Aldrin and Frederic, who recovered and returned to their side, they also put in some words for her.

Furthermore, Aldrin even gave her advice with what he observed from Tank. That Dimensional clone of his also liked charging forward with its shield. Their difference was that Tank's shield was more durable.

"Don't worry too much. You heard the instructors. This duel is just their way to assess our current attainment. It doesn't mean you'll stay like this after we finish our training. There's plenty of time for improvement." Aldrin finished it with a smile, showing off like a big brother to the girl.

And upon hearing that, Caroline recovered the shine in her eyes as her confidence got renewed.

It's a little setback, even Frederic who got beaten up by Aldrin remained the battle maniac he presented himself to be.

With that out of the way, they finally turned their focus back on the current match.

Although he's kind of an idiot when it comes to Irina, Clark truly possessed the skill to become one of those who remained standing against extreme pressure.

Before their eyes, he used his Concept, materializing an energy spear with his refined energy.

Naturally, like the others, his spear felt like it would flicker into nothingness at any moment. He's a Defense-type like Caroline but the Concept he picked was like that. Either he hates the assessment result or he's just treading his own path.

Even though his spear would wisp out of nothingness after a while due to it being unstable, it's enough for him to keep his opponent at bay.

It's a lot better than Irina's opponent who could shoot out projectiles, Clark only needed to keep his distance, creating a zone around him that could neutralize his opponent had he stepped inside it.

And because of that, he won that match easily.

As soon as the referee announced it, Clark's fiery eyes glanced at Irina with the same proud smile on his lips.

However, Irina silently clicked her tongue in annoyance before showing a smile as she congratulated him for his win.

"I know it's not my place to ask but are you that annoyed with him?" Aldrin couldn't help but ask upon seeing that.

"Rather than annoyed, I'd say I'm tired of seeing him swoon over me every passing day. I don't hate him. But you can see that he's obviously not my type. I already rejected him many times... but he's still there. I still treat him as my friend, of course." Irina answered before Clark returned.

Upon hearing that, Aldrin somehow felt a bit of pity for the guy. Being rejected many times but he's still hoping.

"I see. You still cared for him as a friend. But won't it be bad if one day, you find a guy of your type? Just like how he glared at me before, he'll surely try to pick a fight with him."

"If that day comes, then I will be the one to put him in place. Honestly, I once considered accepting him but before that happened, I backed out. I feel like I shouldn't give him false hope. And now that we all awakened as an Energy Refiner, even more so. I don't want him to become a stupid guy who will try to heroically save me in case we got put in danger."

"Hmm... I understand your sentiment. Well, we're going to be a team and being the oldest one, I guess I can give him some advice to pull him back on the right path." Aldrin said before standing up.

His name was already called by the referee. It's his turn to take the stage again.

Although what he just offered was somewhat unnecessary, he couldn't help it upon hearing that. Besides, it's a chance to strengthen his connection with the other Energy Refiners. Starting from those in his group, he planned to gradually mix in with these young men and women of Energy Refiner lineages.

-

-

With the intention of the duel being the showcasing of Aldrin's attainment with his Concept, the following matches after his fight against Frederic gathered disinterest from the spectating instructors.

Still, most of them evaluated their trainees, formulating new methods to hone their talents and skills in this training camp.

When the second round began and with Aldrin being the first to step out, their enthusiasm to watch returned.

Unfortunately, unlike Frederic who had a strong resilience to take hits from Aldrin, his opponent admitted defeat after finding out that he couldn't catch up with his movements. Besides, Aldrin stopped being too passive, dominating that match as soon as he got the chance.

"Most of these kids are like us except that guy. In just three days, his Concept was already perfectly attuned to him. No leaks whatsoever." One of them said, still amazed by what he showed.

"I can understand why Janet picked him. If I'm also in the same organization as that one, I will surely pick him as my trainee." And another female instructor like Janet declared.

"Haven't you seen the way he fought? He completely read his opponent and even matched his strength."

"Now that you mention it… He'll be someone worth noting for. I bet he'll do great against the newbies from the other cities. He's the most promising among this batch from Lonewind City." The female instructor smiled as she thought about the possibilities of Aldrin shocking those from the other cities.

They're not the only ones doing the Joint Training Camp. There were two more training camps with new Energy Refiners from the neighboring Secondary Cities.

Although the organizations were mostly the same, it became a tradition for these instructors to make it some kind of competition on who would come out as the best rookie Energy Refiner.

After the third round, the Camp Leader put a halt on the duels reasoning that they'd already seen everything. Furthermore, apart from Aldrin who looked like he didn't even sweat from his three matches, the remaining Energy Refiners who won their third match were already exhausted even if they used an elixir to recover.

Although they didn't promise a reward when they announced the duels, the Camp Leader and the other instructors pooled their Credits, sending the eight remaining Energy Refiner to a restaurant inside the Fortress that's offering dishes cooked using ingredients that they could find inside a Dimensional Rift.

It's to encourage the others to do better the next time they assess their current attainment. Hopeful that they'd be more eager to better themselves.

Tomorrow, the Metadome Lessons will begin.