Chapter 164 Trust Begins To Fall Apart

'When creating something, anything, a smith must always have a free heart, a calm heart. Then, and only then, can he control his creation and mold it to his will.'

Lyrian recited these words, the words of his teacher, Brokkr, in his head, as he swung his sword in a manner which justified his teacher's craftsmanship. 

His goal was to create the most perfect, precise, and powerful attack on this elephant Magma Dweller. Enough though his sword and body were both slightly unbalanced, Lyrian having never mastered his fundamentals, he still tried his best to maintain a state of flow to attack.

As the dweller in front of him clenched both fists together and threw them down toward the small boy below, Lyrian took in a deep breath. For the first time ever, it felt as though he could see things a tiny bit clearer. Everything was slightly slower, only by a sliver. This alone, however, was an indicator of Lyrian's growth in the art of smithing.

With a light smile on his face, he dashed forward, slicing clean through half of the dweller's large body and appearing on the other side before it could reach him with its clenched fist hammer. Without hesitation, Lyrian did the same thing from the other side, finally making one large, clean cut through the entire abdomen of the beast, causing its torso to simply slip off of its legs.

It was a gruesome sight, but then again, all it looked like was a pile of magma and rocks. How these creatures existed and lived still confused Lyrian.

He then changed his attention to Nelmis and Syanr's fight but was surprised to see Nelmis gone from the scene, and Spade's hand bloody, with Syanr with his hands on his knees behind him.

After breathing for a bit longer, Syanr stood up straight, turning his back toward Spade, as the two of them smiled, looking at the examinees all around them.

The examinees were frightened, to say the least. It was a scary thought... two of the faction leaders, powerful figures, being taken out like this. What did it mean for their fate?

As everyone's attention was slightly drawn to Spade, most still fighting their Magma Dweller foes, he looked at Kedward and Linc before letting out a chuckle.

"Everyone!"

He looked at the bird.

"Kill everyone without any hesitation, go ham! It's time to get that golden-tiered core!" 

His eyes widened as his grin stretched across his face. His words sent shivers of horror down the backs of many kids, who were extremely scared by those words. sᴇaʀᴄh thᴇ n0vᴇl(ꜰ)ire.ɴet website on Gøøglᴇ to access chapters of nøvels early and in the highest quality.

Suddenly, everyone looked at the deck group members in fear, as they quickly began to group together.

"Damn it! This was their plan all along! They are going to kill all of us!"

One of the kids, a Dark Horse member, suddenly yelled.

"Screw this, I don't need that damn core! All I need is a hundred more points to pass this damn exam!"

He said, looking over his shoulder towards his only other Dark Horse group member who he had his back to. After glancing at him for only a second, he could tell that his teammate was too fraught to speak. 

"Jano... I'm sorry, but Uis is already eliminated. I have to do this for my family."

As he said this, his friend turned around, still shocked by what Spade declared, having barely heard what was told to him by his teammate.

"What?"

He managed to let out, as a sword pierced through his stomach and out the other end. His face was full of shock and confusion, but before he could say anything, the boy was eliminated. 

His teammate, grabbing a pouch of cores, stormed off the edge of the tower. Everyone looked at him as he did so, tears flowing down his face.

Those tears... they weren't because he just betrayed his friend. No... it was because...

'This is suicide... I don't even have a skill that will help me survive this fall. But If I stayed there, I wouldn't have even a single chance to pass this exam. My only hope is to land into a pile of snow.'

However, deep down, he knew there were no snow piles near the tower. This was nothing but a desperate leap of delusion. The boy fell to his elimination shortly after...

Seeing a kid betray his own teammate behind the back, literally! Everyone quickly glanced at their own teammates and made space between each other. 

Tensions rose as no one had any trust in themselves, and this made fighting the Magma Dwellers even harder. However, people like Glis and Leon were making their way through the horde of dwellers, swiftly dispatching them as they moved.

Now, there were only 10 of the beasts so to speak of. Leon streaked through the tower like a white lightning bolt, his eyes burning in a fiery white light that was thick and passionate.

Glis on the other hand skated through the tower top, freezing the Magma Dwellers before breaking them into pieces with swift kicks. Although the dwellers were being dealt with, the was of course a new problem that had arisen by now.

Not recognizing that, however, Lyrian charged straight for the two old bags. Attacking the one closest to him first, he ran straight past Spade, as though he wasn't even there.

'Spade isn't a threat or problem to be dealt with right now. First, I'll get rid of these dwellers who are the ones to stand in my path to Yang.' 

Lyrian thought to himself, as he neared the old bag and thrust his sword toward it. 

'Tsk... I'll deal with him later.' 

Spade also thought in the same line of mind.

Lyrian expected a clean kill, but the old bag suddenly put its hand on top of Lyrian's blade, pushing it into the ground as it had done with Uis' wand moments prior.

Lyrian nearly lost his balance as well but made up for it by forcing his sword back up, overpowering the damn old bag. He laughed at the old bag's display but was surprised when he noticed the creature taking out a dagger from its waist.

"What the? Even you are a fighter?"

He said as he stepped back, slightly confused.

"Boy... we two are the teachers of the king when it comes to fighting. Do not underestimate us, and think we are as weak as those new council members!"