The girl looked at him with a confused expression as if she didn't register what he said at first. Then, she stopped her attempt to run and squinted her eyes.
"Why?" She asked coldly. Her glare was as strong as ever. But, Talon didn't feel threatened as he shrugged.
"You looked like you needed and we are the only two that got this many tags on us. I wouldn't want you to lose for such a stupid reason." He said.
"..." The girl was completely speechless. "Are you mocking me?"
"No, of course not. Listen, I think we could help each other out. Consider this a favor you would return in the future once I need it." He replied.
His words changed the girl's expression visibly as she seemed to think about it for a moment. What she assumed was just mockery at first started making sense. But, there was still a problem.
'Can I trust him?' That was the obvious question to ask. Talon was a stranger to her and he could have malicious intent just like everyone else chasing her at that moment. But, then again, she had already noticed that he was quite powerful, and had gathered a lot of tags.
'If he wanted to do something... He would've sneak attacked instead.' She mused as she eyed him silently.
"So? We don't have the entire day. They're gonna find us quickly." He said.
"... Fine, it's a deal." She said.
"That's what I wanna hear." With a grin, Talon started rolling his sleeves. "All we have to do is just wait till the clock hits two hours. Well, that's straightforward enough."
With that, he stepped forward, from behind the pillar. The girl looked at him with confusion.
"Do you want to have some fun?" He asked as he looked over his shoulder.
"She's there!! I saw her!"
"Get her!"
The other contestants noticed their presence and they immediately rushed toward them. "Oh, well, time to let loose a little."
With a slow gesture, Talon took a fighting stance as he channeled his Aetheris. Everyone rushed toward the two of them with clear urgency. The time was already nearing the end and they still didn't have their tags.
With that, Talon waited for them to get close enough before he dashed forward as he pierced through the massive group of students. Using his ridiculous speed, he threw everyone into a frenzy.
"Wha- AGH!!"
He knew that Winsdoor was strong, but even then, experiencing his aura firsthand was still quite the thing.
"If I see anyone moving, I am going to personally take care of them. The test is done."
With that, he lifted his hand and said. "Everyone without a tag, step forward. Also, those who only retained their tags and couldn't acquire any other, step forward."
At first, nobody moved as they felt the inevitable approaching. But, they couldn't ignore the man's order for long as slowly, contestants started stepping forward with downcast expressions.
Some were even crying from sheer frustration. This test was their dream, and now they had failed again. Their numbers were surprisingly in the hundreds and quickly reached the thousands.
Winsdoor looked at them coldly before he said. "All of you... Failed."
Those few words were akin to a guillotine that fell on their heads and sealed their fate. Many simply broke down from the sheer pressure.
"We wish you good luck in the next opportunity. Do not lose hope as failure is but a stop, only the fools remain there and never try again. Even if you keep failing, never give up. That is the true way of a Sky Seeker and the first thing they must have. This job is tough and requires determination and will of steel."
Talon exhaled a long breath as he saw that. He felt a little bitter seeing this many people lose and he was one of the main reasons why. Even though he didn't hesitate, he wasn't a complete scum not to feel bad for what he did.
'It's necessary, my apologies.' He said in his head as he turned to look at the girl. She still had a casual look on her face that didn't show her emotions. However, he could notice that she was still focused on the group of contestants walking out of the hall.
Some gave her a spiteful glare while others simply left as quickly as possible. They didn't want to remain there.
"Now, for the ones who did get tags. Please step forward."
After thousands left, the ones left are a few hundred lucky ones. Most of them were quite strong, and the rest were simply able to steal a tag and hide for the rest of the test. It was a strategy like everyone's other one, albeit a little more cowardly. But, nobody specified how this test should be passed so they did everything they could to pass it.
"We shall be ranking you all based on the number of tags you have collected and how you treated the test," Winsdoor explained as he gave some particular contestants a glare. Those were the ones who stole and hid without showing much of their fighting abilities.
With that, Winsdoor took the list and started calling names. Each one would step forward and hand the tags they collected. Then, the two other supervisors would note it down. It took a while to go through many of the contestants. Enjoy new stories from m-v l'e-NovelFire
Most of them had a tag, two, or three in some cases. But, rarely did anyone have more than that and those who did were the strongest out of the entire batch.
Eventually, Talon heard a name.
"Leen Revian. Step forward."
At that moment, he saw the girl he had helped walk to the front.
'So her name was Leen, huh?'