Chapter 9: Mini-Test
"Keon, I am not as smart as you but if there is one thing that I know, that is humans don't need a mystic that will sacrifice their comrades for their own safety. If you won't help me, I'll tell Bran of what you did "
Keon stared at his roommate for seconds and he can see that Kenneth was not joking. He was really serious!
Still, Keon needs to deny this accusation that is actually true. He can't admit his wrongdoings ever
"I don't really get what you are saying but even if that is true, would people even believe you?" Keon asked while letting out a long sigh
Keon didn't spend years to have a good reputation for nothing! Just who is more believable, Kenneth that is like a 'normal' person, or Keon that is a recognized kind-hearted genius among the orphans?
"I don't care if people will believe me but if a time comes that a similar thing like what happened today will happen again, I think people would be more on guard against you. If that happens, you won't be able to move freely than before. There are still a lot of time before the final test, I will wait for your answer" after saying this, Kenneth turned his back and starts walking away leaving Keon alone again
"This bastard" Keon cursed as his expression turned dark while staring at the back of his roommate. "I need to do something about you soon..."
Keon isn't like his violent and bloodthirsty other personality but if things grew too big.....he needs to ready himself to kill a human.
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March 31, Year 1,000 of the Mystic Calendar
Two more weeks have passed since a weak point in the barrier appeared above the orphanage. In these two weeks, a lot of things have changed
After seeing how cruel the monsters can be, the orphans were broken. They lose the desire to become a powerful mystic and they slack off in their cultivation. They are now only waiting for the test that they will fail and after that, they would be sent to do manual labor
The only one different from the orphans was Keon. What happened weeks ago just made him more determined to gain strength and he became even more hard-working than before
Currently, all the orphans were in an open space where they performed sparring with each other. There is a lot of space to move here and it is a place fitting to fight monsters
Every end of the month, there would be a mini-test exercise for the orphans. Depending on their results, they can gain some cultivation resources
The orphans weren't given any resources before as chances are, they might fail the test months from now and they won't become professional mystics. However, if one of them showed enough talent to pass the test then there is some chance that they will be given some cultivation resources
The resources cannot be wasted on people that will just be sent to do manual labor. However, the government also cannot waste people's talents by not giving them any kind of resources for months.
That is why the last day of every month is used to test the orphans if they are talented enough.
Among the seven remaining orphans, only Keon was excited. The others are already set on not wanting to become a professional mystic,
Keon doesn't care about them though, all he cared about was the resources! He needs to do his best to gain them!
After minutes of waiting, Soldier Bran finally arrives and he was not alone. A woman with long hair and big dark circles under her eyes was walking next to him.
The woman looks as if she will fall asleep any time from now but since she is with Bran, she should not be an ordinary person. It was not good to judge someone by their appearance as you don't know if they are strong enough to kill you after a single move.
"Everyone, this is Soldier Guine, she will be the one to conduct this month's test. Well, looking at how pathetic you all look, this test doesn't seem important to you at all" Bran announced while sneering at the orphans that can only lower their heads in shame.
They were excited to become mystics just a month ago but after they faced monsters, they tuck their tails between their legs. They are really pathetic beings
"Since this is just for formalities, start now." Bran said and Guine steps forward.
"You will fight monsters today. Just say you forfeit after you want to stop" Guine said and the orphans nodded their heads while the memories of the past played inside their heads.
In Guine's hand, a black staff with a black stone on top appeared and the orphans look at it with curiosity. Mystic forms really come in different shapes, staffs are one of them
Guine pointed her wand in the ground and seven black mysterious circles suddenly appeared. The orphans were so shocked they were forced to take a step back before their jaws dropped to the ground
From the black circles, skeletons holding swords emerges. The skeletons have burning fires inside their eyesockets and they were staring at the orphans making them fearful and uncomfortable
Although the orphans already know that everything is possible using mystic power, this is still their first time seeing a summoning-type skill. They were amazed but also fearful of the skeletons
"Fight them now" Guine said while his eyes focus on Keon. From Bran's report, he states that only Keon wants to become a professional mystic among these orphans. He is the only one they need to watch as the others would surely forfeit without even doing their best
The orphans were free to choose a weapon if they want. After all, there are mystic forms that required them to imbue weapons with their powers
Keon also took a normal sword. Better safe than sorry, he has his cards but what would he do if the enemy got too close to him?
With a sword in his hand, Keon faces the skeleton that was also holding a sword. He doesn't know how powerful his opponent is but since all the orphans became mystics barely a month ago, this one shouldn't be a very strong one
The skeleton must be a Level 1, Basic Grade creature. The weakest of all creatures, Keon will make sure to defeat this one!
The skeleton charges at Keon with its sword but Keon naturally won't let it defeat him. On top of Keon's left hand, two blank cards appeared before one of them turned white in color while the other turned red
Soon, waves of winds and crimson fire came out from the cards before the two different elements combined. The wind was used as a 'supplement' by the fire and the fire turned stronger than before
The fire causes the surrounding temperature to rise and it reaches the skeleton's position
The skeleton isn't a pushover too and it coated its sword with black energy that it uses to slash on Keon's attack
The power behind the skeleton's sword isn't that bad but Keon's attack wasn't focused on a single point. It was impossible for the skeleton to destroy such a wide attack with just a single sword slash
Thus, the smell of burnt bones spread in the surroundings as Keon's fire landed on the skeleton's body
Some scorched marks appeared in the skeleton but it was still not dead nor defeated
Keon's actions angered the skeleton and the sound of bones clicking with each other entered his ears
Without a warning, the skeleton slashes its sword in an empty air before an arc of black energy was fired into Keon
That was something that Keon didn't expect and he quickly placed his sword in front of him to block that attack. The impact behind that sword slash numbed Keon's hand a bit
Keon was lacking too much when it comes to experience. Aside from the wasps weeks ago, he really hadn't really fought any monsters before. This was like the first time he faces a monster by himself
Training with the other orphans is still different from fighting with a real monster. The orphans are humans while monsters are not and they have different attack patterns
Fortunately, low-level monsters such as this skeleton have too low of an intelligence. They are not that smart and it was easy for humans to trick them
Monsters have the advantage in raw power while humans have the advantage when it comes to intellect!
Another card appeared in Keon's hand and winds came out from the card. This time, the winds have a specific target. It was the skeleton's legs!
The winds hit the skeleton's legs, the power it has was not enough to destroy bones but it certainly made the skeleton lose its balance
Seeing that, Keon didn't waste any more time and he charges at the skeleton with the sword in his hand
Weng Weng
The sound of metal hitting bones rang in the surrounding. Keon wants to behead the skeleton but it was harder than he thought. His raw physical strength that wasn't boosted by any mystic power was not enough for him to do what he wants and the skeleton was already starting to regain its balance
Keon saw that and as a result, he uses his foot to kick the skeleton's hand and its sword fell down in the ground. Without the skeleton's sword, Keon's opponent is not that threatening anymore
Keon didn't stop at that and he uses his foot again to kick the skeleton's bones. His kick was not powerful enough to crush bones but it was enough to make his enemy lose its balance for the second time
The skeleton heavily fell to the ground before two more cards appeared in Keon's hand
Both of the cards turned blue in color just with different shades. One of the cards shot a ball of water to the skeleton in the ground that soaks its body while the other card releases electricity that causes the skeleton's body to spasm
The smell of burnt bones once again wafted in the air as the result of Keon's dual attacks. His cards are really versatile! As long as he puts a sample of the element inside his card, he can then release them whenever he wants
With his cards, he has access to all elemental attacks. Of course, the raw power of his cards is quite lacking, it wasn't special at all. However, he can compensate that by mixing different elements to make their power stronger
With the combination of water and electricity, the skeleton was finally defeated and its body starts to dissolve into specks of light before vanishing completely
When Keon looks at the other orphans, he saw that they were just watching him. He was too focused in the fight to pay attention to what they were doing but from the looks of it, they must have really forfeited
Keon doesn't believe that these orphans with broken will defeated the skeletons faster than he does. That shouldn't be the case and he was right as he heard Bran speaks again
"Congratulations Keon, you are the only one that defeated the skeleton but your strength is still too lacking for you to be given any cultivation resources. The only thing we can do to help is to let you fight more skeletons to increase your fighting experience"
Not enough .... reality is really harsh. Keon used all of his time in the past month in cultivation but it was still not enough. Just how high are these people's standards?
Well, thinking of how he fought earlier, Keon realizes that his power is really lacking. He isn't blessed by having huge amounts of mystic energy like Shinta that came from such a huge family. He also doesn't have much prior fighting experience to use his strength well. This shouldn't even be a surprise
"Thank you, teacher, I wish to fight more skeletons" Keon replied with a humble bow.
Guine waved her staff and this time, three skeletons appeared. They are all Keon's opponents.
Keon spent hours fighting skeletons to hone his fighting skills and the more he fought, the stronger he becomes.
It wasn't enough to simply have raw power, one must learn how to use them well too!