7 The Path To Sucess (II)

Kailan and the other candidates were already far away from the Sterin when the black-haired boy dropped to a high wall inside the coliseum, a somewhat curved and extremely beautiful place. Kailan was panting from the exertion of walking without stopping for several minutes, he was being left behind by the rest of the group of candidates he was a part of.

He got up from the wall where he was leaning very still, still full of motivation to pass that entrance test, listening to the wild gallop of his heart beating nonstop. It had been about ten minutes since he'd been left alone on that wall, new emotions were taking over him: panic and anxiety.

Regardless of how he considered the level of power he was at, he had never found himself in a worse situation than the current one in his entire life. He could still see the group of candidates walking ahead of him, but he was alone in the background, left behind. He walked slowly like an ordinary snail, finding himself in an absolutely unpleasant physical situation.

It would be an embarrassment to Kailan if by chance he ended up being eliminated from the entrance exam for having passed out before he even reached his destination; not even having the chance to participate in the event that would change the course of his life.

After all, if he wanted to successfully fulfill all of his goals, particularly that of obtaining powerful contacts and allies to establish a kingdom in the not-too-distant future — it was extremely necessary for him to pass the admission test and meet with his former allies, taking the opportunity to forge friendly relations with other high-ranking nobles.

Kailan shivered a little and looked both ways at the huge hallway he was in, making his way toward Sergeant First Class Huroi and the rest of the exam candidates. The burly man didn't lie when he told Kailan he'd leave him behind without hesitation if he continued on that slow walk, and he blatantly followed his earlier line without a second thought.

Kailan was finally reaching the destination the Sergeant had in mind, several things filled his mind in the blink of an eye and it felt like the outside world had completely erased for the boy; he had ended up in his own world inside his head.

What was going to happen to him during that test? Would he end up dead or simply thrown into a military school of dubious reputation?

He thought of his friends, those who were his family in this world. Mildred, Martha, Sacrier, and the others appeared before his eyes, and his heart sank even more.

Kailan had the motivation but not the strength to overcome this test he would be subjected to. He was sure that, being against a person he didn't consider talented or not, there was still a high probability that he would lose the duel and end up being sent to some horrible place. Like his, now, former life in this world.

He was also sure that if any of his companions saw him in this situation, whether they knew him or not in this timeline, they would want to help him in some way. But they all had their memories reset with the time jump, and most of all, they had to focus on their test groups at the moment, so Kailan had no way of contacting any of his (old) friends, whether on purpose or not.

'Damn, why did I neglect to train for so long?'

He didn't even have the strength in his body to keep walking fast for more than two minutes, sweating buckets and completely soaked from head to toe. He would have to completely rely on his advanced technique and swordsmanship and especially on his incredible analytical ability developed over the years. Otherwise, he would never be able to successfully pass the test that awaited him.

He stopped behind the group that settled in a closed corridor, lit by some candles and technological lamps that did not match the aesthetics of the place. Inside the place, Sergeant Huroi spoke some names that would be the first to participate in the admission test. A line-up was formed, without the need for any military to intervene; and to the surprise of zero people, Kailan was last, his eyes twitching and his body drenched in sweat that dripped onto the floor.

He looked to the side, even tired, he wouldn't miss the opportunity to analyze the people who would be his potential adversaries or, who knows, his future allies. There were probably over a hundred people lined up in a straight line in front of him, it was a stupendous sight and people were so focused on themselves that no one seemed to pay any attention to him.

His gaze passed over countless people until it stopped on a girl with light brown hair tied in a topknot, carrying a wooden object that she held tightly in her left hand. She wore black flexible fabric shorts and a white shirt with a black leather vest covering her upper body. The girl was very gorgeous, and she was certainly one of the people that caught Kailan's attention the most; her way of positioning herself and observing the other people around her was not that of someone normal, she had undoubtedly had the training to deal with situations like this.

'I assume she is a novice mage, as she carries a wand' An accurate analysis of the girl was being done in real-time, inside the mind of the young man breathing heavily in the corner of the room.

He looked away from the girl's expressionless face and fixed his gaze on the wand she held tightly in one hand. From the texture of the object's wood that he could see, he guessed it must be a simple wand made of oak wood, with some runic writing in an ancient language scattered around the edges of it.

Kailan unlocked the locked memories of his mind again, bringing things from the deep end to his head as he looked for a way to beat this girl if he faced her in his current state of power — but before he could finish it, he straightened his body suddenly, and looked around once more, this time with a strange expression that took over his face.

A strange tingling at the back of his neck made him feel like he was being watched, his senses were screaming inside him and the hairs on his body were standing on end. However, the people in the place seemed to be concentrating on how they were going to pass that test, so there weren't many candidates in the room who showed enough interest to look at Kailan.

Whoever was doing this was definitely being careful not to reveal themselves.

He tilted his gaze to the side once more, straightening the position he was in and standing straight, his hand fully clasped in a clenched fist if necessary. He hadn't heard anything, he just felt something: someone or something was looking at him, and the feeling he felt wasn't a good one.

The whistles of his senses grew even louder and his body trembled slightly.

Kailan rubbed his eyes and then squinted to get a better look at the room he was in. If only the person watching him gave any indication, moving or making a sound, then he would know who the individual was…or the thing.

"Inspection", a girl with short black hair muttered in the corner of the room, her hands clasped in a bizarre way.

As soon as those words left her mouth, a faint light appeared in the iris of her right eye, almost as if she had suddenly turned on a dim flashlight. She moved her neck slightly and lifted her head, her eyes clearly focused in Kailan's direction, seeming to pierce him like a drill.

Several messages took over Kailan's vision, who had already noticed the girl watching him.

[The use of an external skill has been detected]

[Ability effect has been rejected]

[Your resistance has increased]

[Your resistance to external skills has increased]

''...''

The girl had heterochromia, and one of her eyes discreetly glowed a whitish color, slightly lighting up her delicate cheek. Her face expressed bewilderment, she was extremely confused; almost as if something that shouldn't have happened, has suddenly occurred against all odds.

''What the fuck?'', she said softly to herself.

She glanced at Kailan's slender, drenched figure, who looked disoriented as he read the system messages that popped up before his eyes. In the background, Sergeant Huroi's screams could be heard calling the names of the candidates who would be tested, people became increasingly nervous as the line thinned and approached Kailan and the girl.

''Group 44, the following candidates are part of this test group...''

"What the fuck does that mean?", he said, frowning and looking straight into the girl's eyes.

And she wasted no time, doing the same as Kailan and trying to activate her ability once more.

[The use of an external skill has been detected]

[Ability effect has been rejected]

[Your resistance to external skills has increased]

Once again, notification messages appeared before his eyes, floating around and informing him about the use of unknown abilities; the system was clearly warning that the girl was trying to use some kind of weird ability on him, whatever it was.

Kailan had no idea, so they both had curious looks plastered on their faces. The girl, because her little 'trick' didn't work, and Kailan who was trying to figure out what she was trying to do.

''What the fuck does that mean?'' (x2)

The two repeated the exact same words, and the girl's puzzled expression remained on her face. She was confused and also relatively scared; her eyes fluttered as they met Kailan's.

She was afraid of Kailan, the only person who was able to nullify and realize the use of her ability, which not even the Sergeant Huroi had done.

Kailan started to walk towards her, the girl walked away. Her legs bumped into another candidate's legs and she stumbled, landing with a thud on the floor. The wand that was in her pocket flew out of there as she opened her arms to break her fall, and she landed hard on the cold floor of the coliseum.

As soon as she dropped to the ground, she saw Kailan coming towards her without hesitation and quickly raised her hands to shield her face as if that would somehow hide her. The boy stopped midway, a scream sounding steadily behind him.

''Group 45 is next, come forward the following candidates! Karina Falastrat, Erick Zarem, Lydia Latryn, Kailan Rhaast, Jonas Gabiru, and Roland Shurin. Your test will start in a moment!''

Several footsteps were heard as four people passed Kailan. They didn't even care about the girl on the floor or the boy's ragged appearance, just walking forward without blinking.

The girl took her hand away from her face and saw that Kailan had stopped abruptly. He was there in the middle of the hallway, looking at her, who was still sitting on the floor, making no move to get up. The girl tried to retrieve her wand quickly and fell once more as she tried to get up.

'So you're a novice mage, huh?' Kailan thought.

"What were you doing?" Kailan asked, not caring how his voice and tone sounded now.

"I fell", the girl replied.

"And why the hell did you fall?" Kailan was mocking the girl, but there was a hint of curiosity in his tone.

"It's none of your business", the girl responded firmly, clearly annoyed by Kailan's presence.

For a split second, Kailan looked at the woman and wondered if the fall had made her stupid. She awkwardly rose from the floor, quickly reaching for her wand and giving a few dry coughs as she advanced towards the sergeant.

Her body was facing forward, but her eyes were clearly on Kailan as she passed him.

"Candidate Kailan Rhaast, will you come or will you choose to miss the chance to change your life?!" Sergeant Huroi yelled, his uniform now covered in by a purple army vest.

Kailan walked towards the other five candidates, including that weird girl who tried to use an ability on him and the other girl with brown hair, all looking at him with contempt or disinterest.

''So now that you've come, let's start the exam!''