23 Chapter 23

Hearing his words, the girl charged at him as fast as she could. It was as if she was waiting for him to say the magic words so she could go into fight mode.

'Quite fast, but not too hard to dodge.' Acht was impressed by her speed but that was it, he was still capable of beating her when it comes to agility.

The girl closed the distance in a second and sent a jab to his face. The attack was strong and swift which showed that she was a skilled fighter through and through.

Acht didn't waste any time and tilted his head to the side. Her fist passed beside his face and even touched his slightly long hair.

The girl wasn't over yet, the moment her punch missed she sent another punch from her left arm. The same thing happened again as Acht barely evaded the punch

The barrage of attacks kept on going and Acht only kept on dodging left and right without going on offense. For audiences, it appeared like a blur.

'I want to end this in one single moment. I have to wait for the time when she loses her momentum.' He thought while moving left and right. He was sure that she would get exhausted at some point and make a mistake so he waited patiently.

As for the blonde girl, she kept on sending punches and kicks at him tirelessly. She looked like a robot that didn't feel anything or even got tired.

As Acht grew tired of moving constantly and precisely so he could dodge every attack, the girl also started slowing down considerably. She was also getting tired.

Then, for just one fraction of a second, the girl lost her footing and wasn't able to attack properly. It was a small mistake that could've gone unnoticed by most of the people.

Acht saw that opportunity and quickly moved to take it. He bent down and made a slide kick with his right leg to her left foot.

Being in a very awkward pose, she couldn't evade his kick and fell roughly to the ground.

Then Acht with a swift move put his knee on her stomach and his hand on her throat. He won the fight that simply.

"If this was a real fight, you would've been dead." He said with a cold and domineering tone.

The girl who lost showed emotion for the first time since they met...what she showed though was not something Acht expected.

She showed a smile on her face, it was a very cute smile that could make anyone's heart flutter. It was as if she found a toy or a fun game to play. Acht didn't expect this reaction and felt quite weirded out by the mysterious girl.

'Does she have some screws loose?' He thought with a confused look in his eyes.

"Anyway, the fight is over and you should keep your end of the bargain. Don't talk to me again."

He then stood up and walked away with complicated thoughts.

'She's talented and strong, but she lacks the experience to use that strength.'

Then, for the next 50 minutes, Acht didn't face anyone who wanted to fight him. All the candidates fought against each other relentlessly except for him since everyone kept avoiding him.

Then, the holographic clock ended the one hour and the sound of a bell rang through the plains indicating the end of the first test.

A bloody battle ensued and so the previously beautiful plain had been tarnished with blood making it lose its charm that captivated Acht.

The ones who were able to get their bracelets smiled happily while those who failed felt frustration and sadness. The only thing that made them liven up their sour mood is the fact that this isn't the hunter exam so they still have a chance to become hunters albeit with no privileges as previously mentioned.

Thyrus appeared again in front of the masses with his same lazy demeanor. He didn't seem bothered by the blood around him as he leisurely stood in his place.

"The first test...is over...Umm, I think you should move to the next place now...But I need to see your bracelets first."

The winners stood up with their injured bodies and walked to Thyrus. As for the others, they stayed in their places not knowing what to do.

"Ok....pass."

Each one of them had to show his bracelet to Thyrus before passing him and walking to the end of the plains where a door was waiting for them.

When it was Acht's turn, he approached Thyrus calmly and showed him the bracelet. What happened, however, wasn't expected.

Thyrus didn't look at the bracelet but rather took a long glance at Acht's face as if he was trying to see through him and find out all of his secrets. It was a very uncomfortable gaze considering that it came from arguably the strongest human in the lower world. But, Acht didn't feel that Intimidated by it and neither Thyrus intended to pressure him with his aura.

Then, Thyrus shifted his eyes from the boy's face and spoke as if nothing happened.

"You can pass." He seemed more energetic when he said that for some reason.

'What's wrong with him?' Acht couldn't get why Thyrus was looking at him like that. He did end up showing some amazing prowess, but it was still within the realm of possibility. He only used some physical enhancement and some close-combat skills but that was it. There are probably many kids out there who were capable of that level of strength somewhere, right?

Acht then walked away to the door. He didn't want to bother with the matter too much since he didn't know what kind of man Thyrus is or what he thought. He could've only been looking at him with a light interest that didn't have any ill intentions.

Anyway, the door that he reaches linked this artificial plain with a huge hall that resembles a coliseum or an arena for fighting.

There were stands for people to sit surrounding a field made out of the dirt.

'They really put their effort into this test.' he thought silently. It was indeed impressive that they built this roman-like coliseum in such a closed space.

After everyone went inside, Thyrus followed them at the end and stood in front of the smaller group of people. There were around 300 people when the test started and now there are less than 140 candidates (Some bracelets were broken.).

"Is everyone here?....ok...Now, I can see that many of you are injured...so...the second test won't be held today...It will be in 5 days."

Some of the candidates exhaled a sigh of relief after hearing his words since their bodies were Abdul injured from the rough fights they went through and they weren't at their peak for the second test.

"The second test...will be a fight...Not between you though..." he then scratched his head as if he was troubled with something and then continued.

"You will be fighting me..."

A bombshell was dropped just like that, no one could believe that they had to fight Thyrus.

He was the strongest hunter alive, a genius that made going to Ecrasia like a walk in the park. What makes him even more unbelievable is that no one has ever seen his gift. It was a mystery to everyone, so they could only speculate about it. Yet, these candidates had to fight him head-on. That is simply outrageous!

Grasps of shock could be heard everywhere as all the young men and women were shocked beyond words.

"Mm, could you please erase that shock on your faces...I'm not a monster...or something." He said with a slightly troubled look.

'Yes, you are!' everyone thought in their minds.

"It won't be...as impossible as you assume...You only have to fight me for 3 minutes....Your goal is to impress me...that's the only thing you need to do." He explained to the scared masses.

'Even with that, he expects these weaklings to do something?' Acht thought as he shook his head silently.

Throughout the first exam, he watched most of the candidates' fights and he had a rough idea about the general level of these people. They do appear strong in the eyes of normal people if you take their age into consideration, but for Acht, they were nothing but a bunch of cocky insects who think they own the world.

Except for a few of them who were an exception, there was not even one single person who made Acht look at him for more than a few seconds.

"Now...you are dismissed...You could stay in the hotel..umm...they will provide you with...Uhh..all that you need." Then, without looking again, Thyrus disappeared from where he was standing in a flash. It appeared as if he teleported rather than moved.

Acht had nothing else to do, so he left the place back to the hotel. He was excited about his fight with Thyrus. He wanted to see what the peak of this world looked like so that his goal could be more clear. He may feel frustrated or even helpless in front of a monster like Thyrus but he didn't care. A strong opponent is a strong opponent and Acht was more than happy to fight him.

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