When Vinay was doing the ritual the whole week, Rishi had also not sat idly; he practiced all his skills and even entered dungeons with his contract beast.
He and his contract beast have all reached Advanced Stage level 10; they have even awakened powerful skills at the max level. Sheru has awakened a very powerful defense skill known as the 'Shield of Emperor,' which blocked any attack launched at him for five seconds.
Vakar had also awakened an ultimate skill known as 'High Tide' while used, it attacked opponents with a huge wave that dealt massive damage and pushed them back while also decreasing the magic defense and movement speed of the opponents hit by it.
Rishi wanted to challenge his trial 2 and level up to the Elite stage before the start of the exam, but he was late; his exam was starting today, which gave him no time to advance.
He was a little disappointed, but he encouraged himself by saying what fun it would be to bully others. This would make the exam more exciting and competitive.
The half-yearly exam was divided into four parts Written Exam, Physical Test, Beast Battle, and Duel, with all having 25% weightage each.
He entered the room assigned for his written exam and sat on the first bench; he was at the exact time most of the students were already present. Many students noticed Rishi but decided to discuss about the exam for now.
The professor also came and started distributing answer sheets to all the students to fill in the basic details like Name, ID, Date, and Student Signature. Rishi took out his fountain pen and filled in all the details one by one.
After some time, the ball rang, and the professors started distributing the question papers to all the students. The question paper was in three sets A, B, and C, making it very hard for students to cheat.
Rishi checked his question paper and saw B written on top of it; he quickly went through all the questions before answering them individually.
The questions were not very hard. The questions were related to basic information about Magic Beasts, Mana, and History; for Rishi, who had gotten full marks on the Beast Cultivation exam answering these questions was a piece of cake.
He started answering them all and completed his exam in half an hour; he stood up from his seat and approachedessor to submit his answer sheet.
Many students saw Rishi submitting his answer sheet this early instead of mocking him or making fun of him they praised him, as expected of the Topper! This 360-degree change in attitude was a result of Rishi's recent performances.
He was now famous as a complete Genius in both fighting and Studies; only two people were given this title: Kajal and Rishab.
Rishi submitted his answer sheet to the professor and exited the class without looking back.
The professor checked his answer sheet to see what he had written and was surprised that he had attempted all the questions and the answer he read were also correct.
He smiled and stored Rishi's answer sheet in the folder before returning to his position and keeping an eye on the students trying to cheat.
Rishi didn't waste a second and started moving toward the ground where his physical exam was to be conducted.
The physical exam was the easiest of them all; you need to complete the tasks given to you according to your job class to get full marks.
The tasks had Sprinting, Jumping, Push-ups, sit-ups, and crunches. He was full of sweat after giving the physical exam, so he decided to eat his lunch before going to his room to take a shower.
In the mess, he met his other friends, who were also happy due to their performance; they even asked Rishi how the exam was. Rishi replied it was too easy. The others had no words; they barely completed the exam and struggled to get even 80%, but it was too easy for a freak like Rishi.
He went to his room and took a shower before deciding to take a power nap; he woke up in the evening dressed up and went to the Battle Arena.
The stadium was full of students from Rishi's batch, seniors, and professors; these types of exams were a good entertainment and talent-hunting place for seniors and professors.
Rishi took a seat and started looking around; the Battle Arena was at the the center of the stadium; closer to it were the seats for the commentator. It was surrounded by seats forming a circle around it.
"Good evening, everyone, I am your host, Savan. Today I will be joining you all to enjoy the Beast Battle competition for the new students I will first explain the rules."
"Look in the screen above; two random names would be selected; the students whose names are announced would enter the Battle Arena and fight with their contract beasts."
"The rules are simple you can't interfere between the fights of the contract beasts; you can only command your partner. The fight will be of five minutes. If the result is not decided then the Judges will make the decision."
"I would also like to welcome the person who will join me today as a guest; she is none other than the previous year's champion Anita."
"Anita, what do you think of today's battle? Who do you think could be the winner of this year's Beast Battle competition" said the commentator.
"First of all, I would like to thank the organizers for giving me this lovely opportunity to witness the competition from this seat. As for your question Savan, I think the talent this year is very high; it's tough to judge. I am not able to choose a person that I am hundred percent sure will win the tournament," said Anjali.
"I think Kajal, Aditya, Rajan, and Rishab all have an equal chance to win the tournament," she added with a smile.
"I agree with your statement Anjali; I also think the talent pool of this year's batch is the best in previous years. It has already given so many stars at the beginning of this year."
"Everyone, I hope you have chosen one of the categories to enter this competition; there are four categories Low, mid, high, and expert. It is done so the result can be announced fast; remember, you can only enter one category, and if you didn't choose any category, your name will, by default, be added to the low category."
"The competition would start with Hard and Expert categories, guys. Are you ready for the first battle?" asked the commentator; the crowd cheered and whistled in response.
On-screen, two boxes became visible; there was Vs written in between them, and the images of different students started appearing in both boxes; it was selecting the two competitors.
The name and picture of two students became visible on the screen; both entered the Battle Arena.
The referee asked them to take out their 'Book of Contracts.' Both followed his command, after which the referee asked them to summon their Contract beasts.
The boy with a spike cut set his hair with one hand and summoned his contract beast; a card emerged from his book and transformed into light before taking the shape of an orange-colored Lizard-like creature with many quills on its back.
It stood proudly on its two thick legs hissing at the opponent in order to intimidate him; the girl with two braids hairstyle summoned her Contract beast.
A multiple-legged creature became visible; It had an exoskeleton that looked like armor on its body and made a 'shriek' sound that sent chills everywhere.
"What an interesting battle at the start of the competition Ice Vs Fire, Spiky Salamandar vs Frost Spider," said the commentator.
The referee asked both participants if they were ready before starting the battle; the boy had no patience it commanded, "Spiky Salamander use 'fireball' "
The Contract beast followed the command of its master and used 'fireball'; the attack approached the opponent.
The master of Frost Spider commanded, "Frost Spider, use 'Ice Spear' to neutralize it."
The frost Spider used his 'Ice Spear' to attack the incoming fireball.
Both spells collided, and a small explosion was created, this time girl decided to attack; she commanded her Contract beast to use 'Sticky Web.' The frost Spider launched the 'Sticky web' skill towards its opponent.
The boy commanded, "Buddy, use 'ember' and destroy it."
Spiky Lizard used the 'ember' skill to burn the web before glaring at the opponent and hissing.
The battle continued for two minutes, but no winner could be decided; the battle was very close, and they both attacked and countered their opponent.
"What an exciting match, a perfect start for the competition, but the time is also passing. I believe both the students would be under pressure as the battle progresses and would try to end the battle fast by using their trump cards."