It was time. Rui had gotten a good eight hours of sleep, instead of using a potion. Across the entire month, all of the Martial Apprentice participants would be given enough time to get a good organic sleep every night. So that they could be at their absolute best the next and also so that the students that did decide to use potions regardless didn't have to worry about the days their sleep overlapped with any scheduled fight of their own.
He had already donned his Martial uniform and was about ready to gather at the Apprentice sparring center.
"You ready?" Kane asked. "Let's go."
Rui nodded. As they headed to the Apprentice sparring center, neither of them exchanged a word. Kane merely had his hand behind his head, walking with an aura of lethargy and displeasure. Rui, on the other hand, was barely able to contain his excitement
They had already said everything that needed to be said. A tacit understanding already existed between them.
And soon, they reached, walking over to the group of Fae, Milliana and Dalen.
"You're here." Fae said, with an air of focused composure. "Ready?"
Fae sighed, not saying more. Kane's dislike of the Martial Contest was well-known, she didn't want to distract herself with it at this important point in time. Soon, all the Martial Apprentices had gathered.
There was an air of tension among all of them, all of them knew they would have to fight each other, and that only one of them would be chosen as the representatives. What would normally have been a light atmosphere with plenty of banter going around was dead quiet and frozen.
Suddenly, a heavy presence weighed on all of their minds. They saw Headmaster Aronian enter the facility with his Martial Squire bodyguards. These bodyguards merely existed to ensure that the Headmaster never had to waste energy dealing with fools who tried to get too close to him, they couldn't truly protect his life given his Martial Prowess existed two Realms above theirs.
"My students." He addressed. "Martial Artists of the Martial Academy. All of you have gathered here for a reason. A reason that drives you. A reason that drives you down your Martial Path. Perhaps it is glory, or perhaps it is wealth. Perhaps it is prestige, or perhaps it is power. Regardless of what it is, it drives you. And here you are. Standing before me. Standing before each other on this special day. Today is no ordinary day. Today is the day you aim to prove yourself. Today is the day you aim to foge yourselves. Today is the day you aim to soar high into the sky. Today is the day you will reap the fruits of your perseverance. Today is a day you confront not just your opponents, but yourselves. Some of you will win, and some of you will lose. Some of you will retain the hope of being the chosen one, while some of you will won't. Each of the seventy-nine of you that have gathered before me today, will face the remaining seventy-eight of your peers, and when every last battle to be fought has been fought and the winner has won and the losers have lost. We will choose one of you to carry the burden of all those you defeated."
He stroked his long flowing beard. "The only question is... Which one of you will it be?"
He eyed all of the Martial Apprentices gathered before him, feeling their growing determination with a glint of satisfaction. It seems he was able to draw out their will adequately. Good.
"Only time will tell. And that time will soon come." He said. "I hereby declare the commencement of the twenty-seventh preliminary contest of the Hajin branch of the Martial Academies!"
He roared, shaking the earth with his powerful voice, along with the hearts of those who heard him.
"I will return when the verdict has been made, until then; good luck and farewell."
He bade with a tone of finality, before leaving with his bodyguards.
('He's one hell of an orator.') Rui grinned, clenching his quivering fists in excitement. How on Gaea could Rui possible remain composed after hearing that?
He couldn't wait to start, he had been itching for this for many months now!
"Still." He said with a frown. "Seventy-nine huh? Last I checked we had seventy-eight." He'd fought most of the Martial Apprentices in the Academy and had always known the student count was at seventy-eight even a few months ago.
"You get too immersed into training." Kane said.
Rui smiled wryly. In the past two months, he had trained almost exclusively with the Apprentice-instructors, and hadn't interacted with anybody all that much. He was sure to have missed it if one of the Explorer students had broken through.
Kane gestured to one of the Martial Apprentices in the crowd, directing his attention to him.
"He-!" Rui's eyes flew wide open as he instantly recognized the boy. Messy silver hair. Startling red eyes. A demeanor that oozed arrogance and a battle-lust that surpassed even Rui's.
"Nel...!" Rui was shocked. It had been nearly two years since their batch had entered the Academy, and Nel had finally become a Martial Apprentice!
Rui had once wondered how absurdly strong the boy would become once he discovered his Martial Path.
"Well, I guess we'll find out how much he's improved." Rui murmured.
"He's only been a Martial Apprentice for two months, not enough time have mastered any Apprentice-level techniques." Fae said. "That's a disadvantage that will drag him down."
Rui wasn't sure about that. Nel had defeated a Martial Apprentice nearly two years ago, even if that Martial Apprentice was extremely low-grade at the time.
However, since then Nel had undergone the Foundational Stages and the Exploration Stage, and had also discovered his Martil Path, and had naturally grown stronger as a result of age.
This meant that Nel with without a doubt incomparably stronger to his previous self that was already capable of beating Martial Apprentices with ease.
"He just might be the strongest of us all." Rui realized.
The difficulty of being chosen as the representative of the Academy had risen tremendously!