Chapter 153: Exam

Entering through the door on the right, Aiden found himself in a large training room. Aiden stopped at the door and slowly scanned through the building with his golden eyes

The height of the room was comparable to the height of the main building. There was even an upper floor where Aiden spotted a group of people dressed in similar black clothing as those two armored knights. The only interesting person was the smaller, fragile-looking one in the middle, that wore some sort of hooded robe, pulled down over its head, hiding its features. Yet, Aiden could feel the figure's gaze. Suddenly he felt that his presence seemed somewhat familiar, however, he couldn't put the feeling anywhere.

Leaving the group of spectators, Aiden's eyes glanced at the figure getting ready in the middle. He was tall, probably around the same height as Aiden with a lean physique. He had a cloth wrapped over the top of his head from which only small black tinges of hair peaked out. He wore simple linen clothing, a simple white shirt with short-sleeved light-brown pants. A pair of daggers could be seen hanging from both sides of his belt.

Noticing the boy's gaze, the man gave a friendly-looking smile and waved at the boy. His black eyes, that carried years of experience, however, had a glint of cruelty that did not escape Aiden's piercing gaze.

"Come here, boy! Aiden, right? Get yourself ready, the first round of the exam will start soon!" He greeted the boy.

Aiden silently nodded and walked opposite of the man who was still doing some basic warmups. As he was walking towards the predetermined starting spot, the group on the upper floor were in a deep discussion about him.

The man to the right of the clothed figure spoke up with an uncertain tone looking at the boy. He was the only one amongst them that had no visible weapons on him. He wore a painted black leather vest with painted black reinforced leather pants.

"Are you sure that this kid is a dangerous boss? He looks really… scrawny. I don't feel any power from him. Are you sure you are not mistaken?"

"How dare you question the leader, Garf?"

"Preposterous!"

"What gives you the right!"

Several yells came from the group at the same time in response to his question. Garf, the unarmed figure frowned at the sudden outcry, but before he could say anything, the clothed figure raised his right hand into the air, instantly silencing the group.

A calm, crispy soothing melody reached the group's ears as the figure spoke up. As the figure spoke, they felt as if some angelic being soothed their turbulent hearts. The tone carried a feminine charm to it, but at the same time, you couldn't be certain of the speaker's gender. It carried some elevated state as if the speaker was someone above humanity as a whole, as an angelic being.

"Just watch as the situation unfolds. You will understand soon enough."

As the figure's voice died down, the group also stopped discussing and watched the two below as they were getting ready.

The figure with the white headscarf looked at the boy in front of him. With the same friendly smile he had before, he spoke. However, both the glint of his eyes and his tone did not carry this friendliness but were intermixed with cruelty and mockery.

"Little friend, the goal of the first test is simple. We will duel. Your first round can be considered successful if you can hit me in the next 60 seconds. Simple right? You don't even need to defeat me, just land a successful hit?" 

Aiden did not respond, he kept his eyes on the robed figure. He was seemingly lost in thought.

Seeing how he was being ignored by a mere, unknown penniless brat, the headscarfed man's face quickly soured. In the next moment, however, he forced the same friendly smile on his face as he spoke out once again.

"Young man, are you ready? Don't worry, I will try not to hurt you too much…" 

Aiden still did not bother looking at him, he kept his eyes on the robed man. He could feel that it was also looking at him, he could feel its unnatural gaze. Aiden furrowed his brows as he felt a chill run through his spine.

Seeing how he was still being ignored, the headscarf-wearing man clicked his tongue in dissatisfaction. He slowly pulled his daggers from their sheaths and focused on the boy who was still calm and ignorant of the looming danger he represented.

At this moment, the boy raised his arm, but still did not look at him, it was as if he was addressing the robed figure.

"Wait. Are you sure, you want me to fight this one?"

The robed figure did not answer immediately but kept staring back at Aiden under the cover of the hood. After a few seconds, however, he lightly nodded his head in response.

Thinking that the kid might have noticed something, the man spoke up with a forced, friendly tone.

"Do not be afraid, I will try not to hurt you too much! This is just a test, to test your potential, after all!"

Aiden still did not bother looking at him, he was focused on the robed stranger. He spoke with a casual, calm voice.

"You misunderstood my intention. You are just too weak, and I do not want to be responsible for what happens next."

Angered by being humiliated and looked down upon by some kid, the friendly smile vanished from the headscarf-wearing man's face. He looked at the boy with a solemn expression as he coldly spoke.

"Brat, do not be so arrogant! You are just a little kid, what could you do? If you could touch me, much less hit me, I would be shocked!"

He licked his lips with expectation, he could already taste victory. This pathetic youngling barged in and even dared to be disrespectful towards him, a 2-star adventurer, and one of the fastest hands in the city.

"Don't say I never warned you, arrogant little shit…" He muttered. 

He was thinking of first severing his tendons, and then as the boy cried out in pain, his hands would 'accidentally' slip and cut his arteries as well. Then he would watch in joy as the kid would bleed to death in just a manner of moments. He might get a slight scolding, but his reputation would become even fiercer, and he could maybe reach higher and become an official examiner as well. That would be a huge boost to his social standing after all!

However, as he was about to jump into action. The kid finally turned and looked at him. He felt a sudden cold wash over him, his hands suddenly started shaking, and his teeth clattering. His heightened senses warned him of the sense of dread, an approaching danger.

The emotionless boy's figure flickered and vanished in the next instant, stunning both the headscarf-wearing man and everybody present, even on the upper floor.

In the next moment, the man felt a surge of pain spread through from his chest as something heavy crashed against him. He felt his ribs breaking under some incredible pressure. Before he realized, he was already flung back in the air. In the next moment, he felt blunt force hitting his back, crushing and injuring several of his organs. 

He was in utter shock and disbelief, as he fell down on the ground, as he coughed up a mouthful of blood. Before the light faded from his eyes and he lost consciousness, he realized the bitter truth; he violently crashed against the wall several meters behind him…

Aiden's figure reappeared at the same spot not a moment later. From beginning to end, not a single second seemed to pass, but his opponent was violently flung back and lost consciousness with critical damages. At the moment, it was hard to tell if he would make it or not.

Silence engulfed the room at this unexpected turn of events. Both the group watching at the upper floor and the two armored knights standing at the sight couldn't believe their own eyes. The shock and disbelief were visible in their expressions.

Aiden looked at the robed figure once again, and with a casual tone, he spoke to him.

"I remember you now! You were watching the poor merchant family being harassed earlier. Huh, so you noticed me there?"

The robed figure nodded its head. Once again, the angelic voice came from the covers of the dark hood as it spoke with a melodic tune.

"Yes, I did see you there."

Instead of surprise, only a frown was visible on Aiden's face in response.

"If you saw me, then why did you ask me to fight something this pointless?" He asked with frustration in his voice. He glanced at the two armored knights still standing at the side, as he continued with a grumbling, dissatisfied tone. 

He could already guess what the next part of this 'exam' would be.