With a click, Kyle's silver blade came out from the scabbard.
The shield around him was cracking because he stopped supplying mana stones. He gazed at the wolves gathered around him and stepped out from the almost broken defensive Array.
The many blood-red eyes of the wolves followed his movement and the moment he stepped out they pounced at him with their claws and teeth, trying to tear his flesh away.
Kyle's sword moved swiftly and he sidestepped to attack the nearest wolf with a normal slash. His hand moved nimbly and without any resistance, the (F)-Rank wolf head was severed from its body.
His eyes swept through the remaining wolves before gazing at the fog around the stage with a raised brow. It had been a minute but no new monster emerged from the fog after the twentieth (F)-Rank wolf.
The pattern of the dungeon was broken because when he arrived inside the dungeon every minute two (F)-Rank wolves, would come out from the fog.
Kyle retracted his eyes and easily stopped some more wolves pouching at him with their ferocious teeth. His feet moved with a rhythm as he moved among the wolves without using any kind of skill and cut another two wolves without much effort.
It was too easy as the wolves were too weak in front of him. In the end, he only used his sword to kill the monster surrounding him.
After one more minute when Kyle stopped, the dead bodies of the wolves piled around him. He stood with his sword drenched with a murky green liquid while looking at the mess he created. Under his gaze, two more monsters finally came out from the fog, and to his surprise, the previous dead bodies turned into dust that scattered and left the stage with a strong gust of wind.
The new monsters were different from the previous wolves as their bodies were slightly taller and more robust. Two sharp long canines could be seen extended out from their mouth as they jumped forward to attack Kyle with the similar vigour as the previous wolves.
"The rank increased now it's (F+)-Rank."
Kyle mumbled under his breath. His breath was even and not even a drop of sweat could be seen on his forehead, making the previous fight look like it was just an illusion.
At the start, his sword pattern was very easy but it changed many times within a few seconds and the two new monsters were dead under his normal swings.
He waited for a minute and another two (F+)-Rank monsters came out from the fog. In his mind, the dungeon pattern was finally complete. With every minute two monsters would come out from the fog but after the twentieth monster, their rank would increase. He wasn't sure but after ten more minutes, he would know it anyway.
His sword slashed at the monsters and just like before it passed through their bodies as easily as a knife cutting through butter.
As Kyle continued to fight, his name which was nowhere to be seen a few minutes ago appeared on the ranking projection at the 200th spot but under the serious gaze of the Principal and the other old men it soared within a minute and jumped unward carzily.
Principal Ratric clicked his tongue when he saw Elder Han's smug expression.
Even George was wearing an astonished expression when he saw Kyle fight.
'Tsk, whenever I saw him he was lazing around but now looking at his fighting style I can't spot hesitation that one would see in an immature warrior. He is agile and knows how to handle a lot of enemies together.'
'It seemed he learned a lot inside the Tower or was he always working hard and I didn't notice?'
He thought inwardly with a sigh before looking at the Principal.
"He is the one who absorbed the Ice Dragon's skill in the Academy entrance test."
Ratric replied with a nod.
"The one with the (B)-Rank talent?"
George glanced at Elder Han from the corner of his eyes he could see the latter body become stiff when the Principal mentioned Kyle's talent.
"Yes, Kyle has the potential to reach (B)-Rank in the future. After he left the Tower I wasn't able to sense his rank as he seemed to be wearing some kind of powerful Artifact to mask his rank but now seeing him fight I think his combat power is just slightly lower than Alec."
A chuckle escaped from Ratric lips. His sharp eyes observed Kyle and Alec's movements even though both of them were killing the monsters very easily he could see some difference.
He tapped at his sword.
"I think just like Kyle, Alec's sword rhythm is following a pattern but if someone who is experienced with a sword looked at their fight he would tell in a single glance Kyle is better."
A surprised expression appeared on George's face. Elder Han also gazed at the Principal with a raised brow. Everyone inside the room could see in the projections that even though they compared both Alec and Kyle, the one dominating the exam was Alec because he was faster and more precise.
Bia also perked up her ears when everyone suddenly started talking about Kyle.
Ratric gaze lingered on Bia but he looked away at the projections.
"It's simple Alec's sword pattern is hard but predictable because he is using the same rhythm. On the contrary, Kyle looked like he was using a rhythm but a sharp gaze can see he would change his style completely within a few swings. It's like his mind is working faster than his sword or maybe he has observed a lot of people fighting with the sword because even though his sword is wild it looks like it's following a pattern."
Everyone was quiet but then Ratric tapped the table.
"But I think if right now Alec and Kyle fought a 1vs1 battle Alec would win because even though Kyle's sword movement is better he lacks experience. He is fast and agile but it's like he just recently started learning the sword, unlike Alec who seemed a lot more experienced than Kyle."
Everyone observed the projections. George massaged his temples and looked at the Principal.
"Should we write his name for the...."
His sentence was cut short because the Principal shook his head.
"He will be among the top students from the first year. Let him enter the upcoming Academies tournament but don't write his name for that place. He is good enough to rival Alec but his talent isn't enough for him to qualify. If it was me I would have placed his name in the list but the final decision is already declared by the Central Continent. They don't want anyone lower than (S)-Rank."
George nodded and didn't place Kyle's name in the register.
Meanwhile, Elder Han sighed after listening to their conversation. He knew Kyle's actual talent but he wanted Kyle to be safe and stay out of this matter. Still, he would tell the latter about the situation. In the end, the final decision was on Kyle.
'He didn't tell me about his talent I just checked it secretly so I have to tell him about this in a roundabout way. If he wants to enter the 'Lumbra Realm' I won't stop him because even though it is dangerous enough to cost him his life the things present inside can make him strong.'
He gazed at Bia. Now a lot of eyes were on Kyle due to this little fella. He couldn't protect Kyle every time. That's why even though he was reluctant after careful consideration he was willing to permit him to enter the realm.
'It's going to be hard to tell the Principal about his actual talent.'
.....
On the other hand, Kyle's name was repeatedly jumping upward nonstop. Within ten minutes, his name arrived at the second spot only below Alec. Their points were similar but because Kyle started killing late he took the second spot.
After the twenty (F+)-Rank monsters. Two flying (E-)-Rank monsters came out from the fog.
Kyle narrowed his eyes and looked above.
"Bats?"
The flying 20-centimeter monsters had short snouts, large ears, and grey fur covering their whole bodies. Just like the wolves, their eyes were blood-red as they stared at Kyle.
Kyle was ready to attack but then the bats opened their mouth and a screech spread out. It was so loud that Kyle's head buzzed and he winced in pain.
"Ugh.."
"Damn it!"
The attack was unexpected but even though it was bearable Kyle didn't want to hear that unpleasant sound again.
He waved his hand and two thunder arrows struck the bats out of nowhere. The bats wanted to dodge but the arrows were too fast. With a painful screech, their lifeless bodies fell to the ground with a thud.
"It's better for my ears if I kill them the moment they arrive on the stage."
With a sigh, Kyle retracted back inside the Array and scattered some mana stones inside to activate it again. He wanted to test if the defensive Array could stop the sound attack.
After a minute, two more bats arrived on the stage. They screeched but it didn't affect Kyle at all because the Array blocked the sound waves completely. He waved his hand and two more thunder arrows struck down the bats and killed them instantly.
It continued until two snake-like (E)-Rank monsters crawled out from the fog. Their bodies were covered with pointy scales and they were too agile.
Kyle fought them but because they were too fast he had to activate his agility skill. After ten minutes, two new and stronger monsters emerged from the fog.
With every ten minutes, the monster's rank was increasing. When the (D-)-Rank monsters came out from the fog, Kyle finally started using his skills but because his mana was recovering slowly he mostly used the skills to repel the unexpected attacks.
"Now it's getting hard."
Kyle wiped the sweat from his forehead. After fighting the 20 (E+)-Rank monsters he was tired. That's why he wasn't able to kill the monsters as easily as before.
"So that's why Professor Aliza said no one can last until the end of this dungeon."
He chuckled slightly because to fight each new wave of powerful monsters he used his mana and stamina. Fighting without rest would undoubtedly strain his body.
With a sigh, he used his skill 'Ice Spear' to kill another lizard monster that pounced at him from behind. After he killed the twentieth (D-)-Rank monster, something unexpected happened.
Instead of two (D)-Rank monster. A single green monster holding an axe came out from the fog. The monster was standing on two feet just like humans. Its posture was stooped and it had wolf-like pointy ears. The green monster had well-developed muscle and was long-armed.
"An Orc and it's (-C)-Rank!"
Kyle exclaimed with a dazed expression. He was tired after fighting so many (D-)-Rank monsters.
"It's going to be a difficult battle and I don't think I can continue after fighting this large thing."
He gazed at the Orc with a dry laugh.
"I am not even sure if I can defeat it with my current condition."
Orc was a monster that unlike other monsters held a tiny bit of intelligence. They lived in groups and wouldn't be seen normally because they lived deep within the Dark forest.
