Alex retrieved the short staff from his back once he got close enough to be noticed by the students. He activated its long staff mode and leapt across the river, quickly making it to the other side. His actions caught the attention of the students fighting amongst themselves. Find adventures at empire
"Someone's approaching, and fast!" One student exclaimed once he saw Alex leap over the river. While the river's width was not very wide, it wasn't short either. It was 112 metres across, and Alex made that jump with no problem. He made no effort to hide his presence either, catching the attention of everyone.
His speed was more than anyone there could bargain for, and due to his constant shifting around, it was difficult to spot the individual. As if by agreement, they stopped fighting among themselves and prepared to face the new intruder, who seemed to be faster and stronger than they were.
Alex saw their preparations against him and flashed a small grin, 'Let's quickly clean up and move on to the next.' He did not put the actions of these students in his eyes. As far as he was concerned, no one was a match for him. Unless they took him by surprise, like how he was nearly taken out earlier, they almost had no hope of eliminating him.
The archers among the fighters drew their bows and took aim. Once he was in range, they let loose. However, it wasn't going to be that easy, and they knew that. What they wanted to achieve was to slow him down, long enough to see who it was and follow up with the release of their abilities.
The arrows, in the tens, zoomed in, aiming at various points on his body. Alex swung his staff in a simple but swift manner and deflected all the incoming arrows, neither of them being able to touch him.
"What?!" The archers bellowed in surprise. Even if he was able to deflect their arrows, at least, one or two should have connected. But today was not their day as they had been put in the same cage with an apex predator.
One student was able to catch a glimpse of the fast-moving student and exclaimed, fear already engraving on his face, "It's Alexander Gray!"
His imposing form, coupled with the smoke and dust that slightly obscured his form made him appear like some kind of grim reaper out to harvest their life force. A moment of silence washed over the valley. They all understood that they stood no chance against him, especially with his speed they couldn't even follow.
Alex stretched his right hand in their direction, and they instantly shrank back, thinking he was about to unleash his abilities on them. Instead, they caught a glimpse of something that moved past them and landed in his hand; his spear had returned to him, and he placed it on his shoulders, smiling broadly.
Not even a minute had passed and already 9 students were eliminated by him. It was not an exaggeration that they were frozen in place, unsure of what to do. Some even gritted their teeth in anger, but they also knew they were no match for him. The bitterness they felt about his presence here penetrated deep into their body and soul.
They had so many complaints that the instructors would be having a hard time quelling their anger.
Alex had intentionally stopped moving. He wanted to see if they'd take the opportunity to attack him, but it seemed his display of strength kept them from moving. They knew who the top dog was and had already given up. Seeing this, Alex shook his head in disappointment.
'No wonder we're not all given the same opportunities.' If it only took a brief display of strength to render them useless in a fight, no one would want to spend resources on them. Yes, the empire needed the hunters, but nothing came for free. It seemed their low stats after awakening had dulled their desire to become strong.
Couple that with the resources they had, it was no surprise their will to continue had degraded.
'Let's clean up and move on,' he thought and was about to make his move when he suddenly shifted his body to the left.