Claud has just turned twelve but he’s a little bit taller than an average lad of the same age. He has a well-defined body, not too muscular and not to thin. He’s the sort of oppa-like characters you’ll find in a k-pop groups but with rounded eyes. Gray-ash hair with crystal-blue eyes and white complexion, what can we say! Truly handsome but too bad because he’s always wearing a mouth mask like some sort of assassin or expert. Behind this honest yet gorgeous face is a bitter and well-hidden past. He’s been in that village for a decade but before that, nobody knows. It has been a mystery! Being left by his mother, running away without leaving a notice, he was taken care of the village chief. The chief may know something but he never said anything or mentioned something. All he keeps on saying is that, “You’ll know when the right time comes.” The only clue that was left is a crystal ring with an engraving word origin inside it. All he knows is that it is a soul ring, possession belonging to a knight mage. Due to its rareness, soul rings can become heirlooms of a family just like in the case of the Guardian Nobles and the Emperor’s lineage. It’s hard to produced one because it requires a bit of the owner’s soul and complementing magic arts to make so knight mages are extremely valued. Only one can be called a true knight mage once one has a soul ring. And soul rings are being condensed by an apprentice during their examination to rank up and become a junior class. But there are cases when one already has a soul ring. It might have been an inheritance or they have a powerful knight mage who help them condensed it at such a young age but the probability is so low that it could have been much more of the previous than of the latter.

“Hey, it’s Luke’s turn!”

“Aiii! My prince charming!”

“So dashing and handsome!”

Cheers from the crowd can be heard all around. So this Luke is somewhat famous especially with girls! Claud, still sighing, faced his opponent. If only they could how he really looks like. But alas! He’s not like those conceited guys who loves flaunting for everyone to see.

“Claud Ashwell vs. Luke Koster. Choose your weapons laying from the right side and then we’ll start the mock battle.”

Seeing Luke picking up a rapier, Claud also chose his weapons. He picked up a sword. Actually, Claud is proficient in all sorts of weapons, being trained at such a young age, but his specialty is in dual-wielding blades. For this kind of match, more or less a little bit of his prowess is enough. No need to show off that much to avoid too much attention.

“Hey, peasant! No crying after this match. Don’t tell everyone that I bullied you but rather feel it as an honor being beaten by me, haha!”

This guy is hopeless! Readying their weapons, and with a shout, the battle begun. The battle mechanics is simple. Who gets one clean hit will win the match. They’re using blunted weapons to avoid fatality, but still it will hurt once one’s hit. Luke, while pointing his nimble rapier, rushed up to Claud’s position, intending to finish the fight with one swift move. Oh! He’s got good foundation. But not enough though. Claud move a little bit to his left side, narrowly dodging Luke’s sword thrust. It might seem just a coincidence but the reality is that it’s well-calculated evasion.

The battle has been going for minutes now and Claud is just making evasive moves and counters, avoiding direct assaults. Getting impatient, Luke annoyingly keeps on taunting and ridiculing, affecting the crowds’ mood. Well, he’s good but Claud’s on a different level and can be seen just on his way of toying with him.

“Hey, fight like a man!”

“Looser! Being afraid is normal but to be this afraid? You got to be kidding me!”

“Such a coward!”

“Wanting to be an apprentice? With that skills? There’s no way you’ll become one!”

“Booooo! Just give up and let others have their turns! Such a waste of time.

The crowds’ getting restless. Got to wrap things up! Changing to his game face, Claud started to showcase his real strength. Parrying a blow, he softened his arms causing Luke’s rapier blade to slid down across his blade towards its tip while giving him a knee strike in the abdomen knocking him up in a beautiful arc then falling flat to the ground.

“Halt! Claud wins! Return your weapons and move on to the next examination area.”

An unsightly lost! Even a pin drop can be heard as Claud points the tip of his sword on Luke’s neck. A win just like that. Never in their wildest dreams will their idol be beaten so simply. Well, Luke’s popularity has its basis because he is considered one of the rare talents in the capital. Claud just made his lose so simple but in reality, Claud has far more experience than this typical noble has. His swordsmanship is good but they have been sheltered since young and never have experienced life and death battles. Also, these nobles have bloodlines passed down from their great predecessors granting good innate talents and better prospects than the rest.

Being verse in weapons and physical martial prowess makes up the combat test. One should be able to utilize every parts and limbs of the body and not solely rely on weapons so that being disarmed will not guarantee a tragic lose or death in real battles.

Some where speechless. A few jeers can be heard from different scattered positions. Some where giving a heavy sigh. And Luke? All he could do is to give Claud a hateful glare and refused being help to get up. His fans where just like him but could do nothing. Some comforted him and others where still at lost. Is he that famous? Well, seeing their model being destroyed in such a simple way, who can take that? It seems so unreal.

“Hmmmp! You just got lucky! Next time we meet, I’ll make sure to pay you a hundred times more.”

Claud just gave another sigh, place his weapon back to rack and walked out, making his way to the next examination area. Okay, here I come! That one might have been easy, but the next one is the magic affinity assessment. This will determine his future progress and achievements. All those years of preparation comes down to this. I will not fail!