136 Contracts
author's note: we won't have chapters on the 24th and 25th, for obvious reasons, but if we hit 50 stones I'll post (capitalist author)
This was truly a once-in-a-lifetime chance and should not be wasted. She could never audition for this academy again and it weighed heavily on her mind.
"My name is Agatha Kler", the girl made to bow as noble etiquette recommended in a presentation.
"I understand. Let's go." His presentation was met by a cold and unfeeling voice. Without even waiting for her response, the guy turned around and continued walking.
The masked man continued with his strategy of looking for other people, but this time he didn't run due to his new ally's injuries. Even so, they still found plenty of people on their way.
Most were destroyed with just one move and a few others lasted a few rounds, but in the end, no one could prevail over the guy. This began to create a wave of questions about who he was.
Two hours later, the pair encountered their first big challenge. In front of him was a group of almost 40 people. It seemed that the strategy used by certain people a few years ago had become common practice in testing.
"Surrender and we will accept you into our group," their leader was a noble, and his tone brimmed with confidence.
"Wait here." The masked man didn't even stop in his movement as he ran into the mass of people. This time, his speed was at the same level as when he faced the archer.
"He won't hold back", the girl was attentive to try to discover the teenager's true level.
"Hey! Stop!" The nobleman became visibly nervous. "Attack with full force!" With his order, dozens of spells began to be cast one after another, but none of them even came close to the masked man.
His katana came down like a torpedo on the first mage he encountered. His opponent couldn't even dodge. The difference in speed was simply too great.
Before anyone could reason what happened, the next mage was knocked down almost instantly after the other. When everyone realized what was happening, a chaos of spells broke out against the masked man.
The man seemed to be dancing as he dodged each spell and counterattacked. Each spell seemed to pass within an inch of his body, but none of them managed to even burn his clothes.
For every second of fighting, the number of people rapidly decreased. Either by the masked man's katana or by friendly fire from the wizards. Some knights even tried to get closer and fight face-to-face, but they were just plain ugly.
Another thing that became clear was the difference in experience between the group and the masked person. Even though he had superior speed to everyone there, the man did not use brute strength at any time.
"Back off!" The same wizard from before gave the command which was received with hesitation by the group. Most there couldn't understand how they were being scared away by just one person.
"The first one to run, I'll follow," along with the nobleman's order, the teenager covered in black clothes gave an ultimatum. His sentence was met with mockery by one of the knights who immediately began to run.
Or so he tried. The masked man showed much greater speed than he was using before and eliminated his opponent with a well-aimed blow to the back of the head. At this moment, a dead silence appeared in the group.
"He was playing with us", was the phrase that appeared in everyone's head when they saw the teenager crossing a reasonable distance almost instantly. Most there could not even follow his movement.
"Whoever is noble or the son of an influential family, raise your hand." His sentence caught everyone off guard and only half a dozen raised their hands. The masked man did not doubt that people were hiding their origins there, as the fear he imposed was clear in the eyes of the people in the group.
"I will take you to the end of the test and you owe me a favor." Along with his sentence, six contracts were thrown to the group. The girl who was already accompanying him was stunned. What kind of person brought so many contracts to such an important test? Was that your goal from the beginning?
"What if we refuse?" A mage raised this question that crossed everyone's minds and quickly any hope was taken away from them.
"I eliminate you" a dry and harsh sentence ended any chance of negotiation. After that, the six quickly signed the contract, what pressured them was the fear of their families, this was in their heads, preventing them from giving up or denying the agreement.
"What about the rest of my group?" the same nobleman from before asked. There were still fifteen people left who didn't sign the contract and were just commoners.
"Get lost before I remove you from the competition", the masked man didn't even wait for the group's reaction before turning around and starting to walk. The six new members of the group joined Agatha. Most people there recognized her and tried to start a conversation, but they were received coldly by the girl.
A few more hours passed and they reached the halfway point of the competition. The masked man continued to recruit people through his contracts. Their group grew to 20 people and was only made up of nobles and people from wealthy families.
"One more group, Locke", a voice came from behind a tree and revealed two people: a large knight and a smaller boy with blond hair and delicate features. Practically everyone there recognized the prince and his faithful squire.
"Just eliminate them all, Luan," the prince ordered. The group automatically became tense, but when they remembered the masked man's abilities they calmed down. The blue-haired knight ran with a speed that didn't match his size.
The masked man hit head-on with his attack and... was pushed back slightly. This surprised Luan and Locke. The two knew that the knight was at the peak of the ninth realm and specialized in strength.
Luan didn't have time to think about it, as another katana strike came toward her. Even though he was defending the attack, the knight felt his hands shaking. Another blow came towards him, leaving no room for him to breathe.
Each defense was made at the last moment, but the knight was still able to make some attacks. His fighting style typically saw his opponents retreat from his attacks.
There were few times in his life that he faced someone with the ability to go head to head with his strength. Even so, the boy proved to be a genius, managing to adapt to the masked man's strength.
Each blow exchanged between them caused a loud sound of metal clashing. Even though no blood had yet been spilled, it was clear that the fight was unbalanced. The knight seemed to be giving it his all and yet he was barely able to hold on.
After a few more minutes, Luan realized this and walked away.
"Why are you doing this?" His tone showed irritation, as he understood that his opponent was not taking him seriously.
