The old man

As the elder of the dormitory charged towards him, Ares felt the pressure of someone who used Mana to reinforce their bodies.

'It is a very basic thing to do with mana... Even so, this pressure is something that I cannot take. That's just pathetic!' Ares thought, feeling furious about his own weaknesses.

'To hell with it! Even though he is so fast, my brain can still assimilate his movements. I can easily predict the way his hand will come. I just need to avoid the punch!'

Ares bent his body to the side just in time to dodge that attack. The boy's fist nearly scratched him on his cheek, but it didn't even touch.

'Good! That's the best dodging I could do! I was expecting it to scratch me, but that's a better outcome than I had predicted. Arwin is still taking his position to charge at me and try to reach me. The girl was quicker than I thought to regain her balance and is very near, but I have plenty of time to counterattack!'

Ares charged his left fist near his waist, closing it tightly not to harm his pulse in the collision. He shifted all his weight to the side and swung his arm.

It was going to be a clean attack. That elder wouldn't be capable to dodge it at all. His balance wasn't good at all. He bent his body way too much forward. He gave his all on that blow expecting Ares' reflexes to not be so exceptional.

Ares' fist pierced the air and made its way towards his face.

Meanwhile, the girl with the ponytail was going to attack him from behind again. Arwin was closer to Ares as well and seemed to be preparing something mana-based, maybe a Mystical Art.

However, before any of those actions concluded, a strong aura made everyone get paralyzed for a second.

Ares' fist stopped midway as if it reached an invisible wall, making him unable to move it forward at all.

'What's... What's happening here? That's strange...' Ares' eyes got attracted to the entrance of the cafeteria, where someone was standing with his arms crossed, a strong aura surrounding his body and spreading through that place.

Ares' knees bent slightly as if he had a ton on his shoulders. He was about to collapse but resisted with all his will. He seemed to be the person who was suffering the most with that strong pressure.

'These other bastards are using mana to fight back and not suffer so much, but I cannot do such a thing. I can only rely on my physical prowess...'

Ares tried to stay steady on his feet no matter what but needed to kneel immediately after his knees snapped and he lost completely the strength on his legs.

'That person... who is he?'

The man with the strong aura was still with his arms crossed and looked at each trainee as if he was about to kill each one of them, particularly the three little bastards who were fighting against each other.

His athletic physique reflected the hard work that he had been doing in the past years, also as his scars. He had a well-made beard and grizzly hair. Wrinkles were appearing in the corners of his eyes as he narrowed them and frowned hard, showing other expression wrinkles.

Despite his grizzly hair, what stood out to him were his dark-blue eyes. They were mesmerizing somehow. There was something present in those eyes that didn't seem human at all. Ares felt like he was gazing to the sea at night when looking straight at his pupils.

The man locked his eyes with Ares'. He made it seem like he was staring at an insect. Both his fists were closed so tightly that the veins on his forearm were clearly popping out.

He walked toward the place where Ares was kneeling, stopping just a few meters away from him.

"Get up, soldier," he uttered, his voice echoing on that place.

"I can't...", Ares said, gasping.

The old man ignored him. His eyes showed a mesmerizing dark-blue gleam as if they were ready to explode with energy.

Ares shivered all over when seeing that scene. He felt like he was two times weaker than before when it happened. The 'weight' on his shoulders was two times as heavier.

"I wasn't asking you anything nor pleading. It was an order, soldier," he stated in a strong tone that seemed to shake the cafeteria's floor.

Ares knew that he didn't have any other choice instead of trying hard at that moment. He gritted his teeth and began to exert as much strength as he could in both arms and legs. His joints and back snapped as he did so. His muscles were in pain and seemed about to tear apart.

After a lot of struggle, he was able to get on his feet. It lasted one minute for him to do it, but he could pull through.

'Good...', Ares thought, clenching his fists.

He raised his head and looked at that man directly in the eyes again, maintaining his posture.

The old man nodded his head in acknowledgment and satisfaction, blinking sometimes.

That aura that was filling the place vanished at once. That dark-blue color of the old man's eyes disappeared and was replaced by standard brown eyes.

The old man tapped Ares' right shoulder, and just that gesture was enough to make the boy fall on his knees again. He was panting hard and his shirt was covered in sweat.

That Guardian laughed in amusement when seeing that scene.

"I did that just to punish you, but it became an interesting challenge, boy...", the old man commented, smiling sarcastically. "I didn't think that someone that didn't Awake yet would be so impressive. You have a bit of my respect, though I am still quite disappointed because I was expecting more of someone who challenged our exam and trainees without even having the standard prerequisites."

As the man laughed and somewhat complimented Ares, he walked to the center of the cafeteria.

This time, his tone changed completely.

"Now, listen here you bunch of unfortunates!!"