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Chapter 10 - The Blood Rose
🕑 Added 2024-10-12 22:00:04 +0000 UTCOliver was still leaving the arena, unaware of the impact his battle had on the other competitors. At that moment, everyone else thought, "I can use all my abilities in this fight. There are no rules that will disqualify me."
Although, like in the second challenge, using powers had been allowed, suspecting it was different from having it confirmed.
As Oliver stepped down from the arena, he was no longer as concerned with the upcoming fights but rather with his performance. The display floating in front of him presented his performance level, "Pawn."
'Hmm. Could I have done better?' he wondered, trying to pinpoint something he could have done differently. But the more he thought about it, the more he noticed just how injured he was, especially his ribs.
The next recruit to enter the arena was the girl with golden hair. From her posture and facial expression, she seemed pretty confident. 'Or is she always like this?' Oliver wondered. On the other side of the arena was Santiago, who didn't seem affected, although he had taken some hits.
[Test will begin in …]
[3… 2… 1…]
[Test initiated]
Oliver moved closer to the arena wall to get a better view of the match. One thing he immediately noticed was the girl's armor. The armor on other fighters seemed to focus on enhancing their strengths, and hers wasn’t different in this aspect.
'The armor looks lighter,' he thought. He could see gaps with no armor plates, just a light fabric, allowing for more speed and flexibility in her movements.
'But it also seems like her armor has way more intricate details than the others,' Oliver observed.
Santiago again waited for the opponent to make the first move. She wasn’t going to miss the opportunity, quickly invoking her Ranger Weapon. To Oliver’s surprise, it wasn’t a pistol. In the girl’s hand was a short sword that looked light and agile, with metal protection around the hand.
The girl wasted no time and went on the offensive, thrusting the sword at Santiago’s arm. But the anticipated cut didn’t happen; Santiago raised his gauntlet just in time to block the blow. However, the girl didn’t give him any space to counterattack, continuing with a barrage of attacks.
Santiago waited for a brief pause between attacks to advance, but the girl was prepared and stepped back to maintain her distance. She tried to take advantage of Santiago’s advance to strike at his legs, but again, the Ranger dodged.
The girl took a few steps back. Her expression seemed deep in thought, trying to decide on her next move. She appeared to be struggling with a decision until, finally, her expression returned to the calm demeanor she had at the beginning.
Santiago wasn’t sure what the girl was planning, but so far, this was the best fight he’d had. He was eager to understand what else she had up her sleeve.
“[Blood Rose],” the girl shouted.
Some recruits’ faces grew more serious. Oliver noticed the change in seriousness but didn’t understand what was happening. However, as soon as the girl finished speaking, a red liquid began to seep from where there were no armor plates in her arms. Slowly, it enveloped her hands and flowed onto her sword, turning the blade a deep crimson.
Santiago’s gauntlet again deflected the next attack, but from the sword’s tip shot a red spike that finally hit the opponent. Santiago seized the moment to grab the red spike attached to the sword, but as soon as he captured it, the spike turned into liquid and slipped through his fingers, falling to the ground.
The Ranger's expression showed his surprise. "Interesting. But it's time to end this," he commented.
He no longer kept his arms in a guard position in his next advance. Instead, he used his full speed to dodge all the girl's attacks and the red spikes she launched.
Eventually, he managed to close the distance. In a desperate attempt to push him back again, the girl tried to thrust her sword. However, her legs were swept off the ground before she could extend her arms.
Santiago executed a low kick on one of her legs, knocking her off balance. Before she could regain her footing, he was already upon her. That was her sentence: a quick punch to the ribs followed by two to the helmet, and the girl was unconscious.
[Test completed]
[Evaluated status: Strength]
[Grade: Pawn]
'What was that?' Oliver was still trying to make sense of the fight.
During the Agility Test, he could at least follow along and learn a bit more. But this time, he was left with more questions than answers.
'How was she using a sword? Did I have that option?' He tried to recall the interface of the Ranger Armor. 'And what were those Red Spikes? Was that something from the armor, or did she create them herself?' He remembered there was a Skills option, but there hadn’t been anything like that in his own armor.
'Aaaah! It's too much information for someone who just used the armor for the first time only two days ago,' the boy screamed in his mind.
After this fight, each subsequent one was more confusing than the last, leaving Oliver puzzled about what was happening.
'I should have explored the interface!' Oliver cursed himself with every new battle, seeing things that seemed impossible to explain.
As they reached the final two participants in the test, Alan and Isabela, Oliver was trying to imagine how Alan would fight. He seemed weak compared to the others during the previous tests. But after witnessing the powers his fellow recruits had displayed, Oliver no longer knew what to expect.
When Alan's fight began, no Ranger Weapon was invoked. Instead, the boy quickly activated some unknown ability.
"God's Weight!" Alan shouted.
The moment Santiago advanced, something pulled him down, forcing him to his knees.
"Interesting. Rare, very rare," Santiago muttered, struggling to breathe.
Although the Ranger was slow down, the fight didn't last long. After a few exchanges, Santiago ended it, striking the recruit with a series of punches that brought him to the ground.
Alan quickly exited the arena, clutching his ribs where he'd been hit, but still happy to have passed the evaluation.
[Test completed]
[Evaluated status: Strength]
[Grade: Pawn]
However, the fight that surprised everyone the most was Isabela's.
The girl was incredibly excited to meet a Ranger. With a wide smile, she cheerfully walked into the arena. Her eyes sparkled as she tried to take in every detail about Santiago.
Contrary to expectations, the Ranger remained impassive in the arena. Despite the numerous fights, he showed no signs of injury or fatigue and simply focused on his next battle.
[Test will begin in …]
[3… 2… 1…]
[Test initiated]
As soon as the match started, Isabela quickly summoned her Ranger Weapon. This time, a pair of gloves materialized around her hands. But she didn't stop there. Before Santiago could approach, she shouted, "Spring's Air!"
The moment she finished casting her ability, Isabela was propelled forward, her feet launching her toward her opponent.
She was right in front of Santiago in the blink of an eye. Without giving him a chance to defend, she used all her strength to deliver a solid punch directly to his face. For the first time, he had no time to raise his guard, and a punch struck the Ranger directly.
The surprise move excited all the recruits. Maybe someone would finally offer some resistance to Santiago? Well, although the start was thrilling, it didn’t last long.
The Ranger recovered from the blow, and to make things worse, Isabela was still right before him. This allowed Santiago to exchange strikes with her. As with other matches, he began with a punch to the ribs, which Isabela managed to anticipate and block. However, the force was enough to send her flying. Followed by a few more strikes to her helmet.
Isabela didn’t have another chance to hit the Ranger, falling to the ground already unconscious.
[Test completed]
[Evaluated status: Strength]
[Grade: Knight]
----
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As soon as Isabela exited the arena, it was official; the tests had concluded.
“Nicely done to all who completed their evaluations.” The officer gave a few quick claps to the group before continuing with his explanation. ”We will return to where the other groups are. Each of you will have your name called and, finally, your battalion assigned.”
The group was exhausted, many with sore parts from the fight against Santiago, and others drained from using energy. But slowly, they continued walking until they arrived at a large hall. There, there was a bleacher where other groups were already seated.
The newcomers took seats at the end of the bleacher and waited for another 30 minutes until the hall was finally complete. Oliver didn’t know the exact number of students initially, but it was clear that less than 30% of all recruits remained.
In the center of the hall, Major Five began walking to the center of the stage. “Welcome, everyone.”
“From this moment on, you cease to be recruits and become official cadets of the New Earth Army!”
