Chapter 20: Humiliation

Chapter 20: Humiliation

The young man bent down and placed one knee on the ground, like a puppet whose strings had been cut. His long gray hair seemed to be passed through by a calm current of air and his hands relaxed.

He slowly got up, under the eyes of a predator whose irises had shrunk, and looked at his hands.

"...Huh? Where...Ah! Yeah, the test. Let's do our best!"

He clenched his fists in front of his face as if to motivate himself and moved towards the end of the tunnel, when he passed Hope, looking devastated.

"Hey bro, are you okay? Why do you look so depressed? You were amazing there."

"Amazing? Don't try to cheer me up... That idiot Barron took all the praise. How is this guy an E-rank?

"Hm, well, yes he's very strong, but that doesn't mean you should feel down, you're amazing in your own way."

He placed a hand on his friend's shoulder to cheer him up.

"If it's praise you need, you still get mine, so don't let that bother you, okay?"

"...Bro... *sniffles* You're right, Barron may have won this battle, but I'm going to train more and more, and I'm going to surpass him soon. Thanks."

"That's the spirit, wish me luck, I'll do my best too."

They cheered happily and the boy headed towards the battlefield. Midgard whispered, not missing a second of this interaction.

"You can't shake meat in front of me and expect me not to take a bite, little toy."

He rushed out the door and passed Barron on his way.

"Good job! My turn now."

"...? Break a leg."

And so, the young boy entered the arena, the floor had not been rearranged by the examiner's magic. Murmurs rose as soon as he entered.

Unlike Hope and Barron, Anesidora was unknown to everyone. Here only 3 people knew more about him than his Avatar's status, Iris, Dean Candace, and even a man in the audience, a man who saw him fight Barron and almost defeat him, a man who trembled during Hope's fight: Albert.

"You better use something new, I didn't come here just to see another flower power!"

Each of them looked attentively at the one designed by the strongest as the future strongest. In her office, the Dean watched through a magic ball.

"Fufu, show me what thou got."

In the audience, Iris was getting impatient.

"Look carefully this time, Sunnah, this one might be like Cid."

"Oh... Then... I won't see anything at all!"

The murmurs rose, and the boy finally arrived in front of the examiner.

"Candidate number 3, Name, Class and rank."

"Yes sir, Anesidora Charper, Avatar, E-rank."

"I know you're an Avatar, what I'm asking for is your specific branches."

"I don't know yet, it will depend on what they gave me."

"... Huh? For god's sake, I'm not paid enough for this. Put your hand on this."

He put one hand on the magic device, and a faint glow appeared, everyone was still in shock at Barron's performance so they watched with high expectations of what was going to happen.

The crystal ball rose and then approached the ground, raising a cloud of dust that swirled around before focusing on the object. The cloud swirled faster, Anesidora stood ready for his fight, and everyone else held their breath.

It was then that, from this cloud, a new form of golem appeared. The impatient faces in the crowd gave way to expressions of astonishment.

The formed golem was around Anesidora's size. Its body structure was also very puny, in fact, it looked more like an oversized goblin.

"What... Is... That?"

No one understood what they were seeing, the whispers increased in volume and soon voices were rising.

"What the Hell is that? Is this supposed to be a golem?"

"Hey, man, this thing looks sick!"

They started laughing and soon a thunder of laughter and insult fell on the poor young man.

"Um... Iris, is that normal?"

"... Maybe... Maybe it's just the shape? Maybe it's in fact really strong!"

In the locker room, Hop, Barron, and Thomas were intrigued.

"Thomas, is this normal? It doesn't really look dangerous."

"... Your friend, is he a powerful Avatar? Does he train regularly?"

"Yeah, well, not as much as me, but He... He has power... Could this be because his power is strange?"

"Strange like how? This device doesn't take into consideration the type of power you have, only the level of your minimal emissary potential."

"Then... Maybe his minimum is really low? And its maximum is high?"

The examiner looked at the golem with equal astonishment.

(Even an average finger could summon something with the shape of a human...) "Begin!"

Anesidora closed her eyes and clenched her fists, a slight glow of energy formed, silence returned to the arena. Had we judged the level of the golem too quickly? Suddenly, the boy opened his eyes in panic.

"What?! So little??? WHY?!"

The golem rushed at him with a pathetic run, startled, Anesidora tried to punch him in the head, but the shock barely chipped the golem.

"!!!"

The golem jumped on him and pinned him to the ground, before administering blows to his head.

"Ouch!... Argh!... Eno- Ouch!..."

He tried as best he could to break free, but the golem seemed too heavy to move. Silence reigned in the public, whose mockery gradually gave way to anger.

"What the heck? This guy isn't an emissary, why is he enlisted?"

"This is the prestigious Royal Academy, how come such a fraud is one of us?"

"Go back to your farm, beggar!"

Several people booed him and gave him minor insults. Hope, in disbelief, shook his head and even Barron couldn't believe his eyes.

"What... Are you doing?"

"Is this some kind of prank?"

Iris, for her part, had become silent. Her gaze faded little by little as the disappointment increased. Sunnah trembled before the insults from the public.

Albert was shaking in his seat and groaning.

"This...Bastard..."

The show continued for a good minute, the examiner, stunned, decided to stop the fight when the young boy stopped struggling and vaporized the golem. The audience exploded into a huge roar of reaction.

"Hey, are you alright? Hey... Damn, is he really unconscious?"

"...H...Ah...?"

"Ah, you're... You're alive. Let's move for now."

He carried him outside under the insults of the public, the most ridiculous spectacle in the history of this academy had just ended. As they moved through the tunnel, he came face to face with Midgard.

"You? Here? Wh-"

"I'll take him from here, He may have an internal injury, He needs a doctor."

"... Fine, do what you want."

Midgard picked up the young man and supported him, side by side towards the locker room, but as they were walking, she slowed down and looked behind her to confirm that the examiner left.

"How awful, it wouldn't have happened if you followed my advice."

"...What...What...Advice?...Ouch..."

"...You don't remember huh? Tell me, is there someone in your head?"

"My... Head?... You mean... Ach... My family?" nove-Lb(1n

She suddenly stopped walking, they were right in front of the door when she let go of him and stood right in front of the locker room.

"No, I mean the system, is there someone in your system?"

The young man's eyes widened, those of Midgard seemed to shine in the darkness. In a single breath, he whispered.

"How... Do you know?"