Principal Murkel would not usually take notice of Raze, a student from the Blue headband group, but he had noticed that his grandson was looking at him in a strange way.
If it was a student from any of the other groups, he would have perhaps ignored it, but from the lowest headband users? Although sometimes there were those that would rise from Yellow to Red, and on occasion from Blue to Yellow, it was a rare occurrence.
What had never happened was a Blue headband rising all the way up to Red. Even if they were to achieve a Yellow headband, that would be their limit. Which was why it was quite interesting to Murkel.
'He wasn't even taking part in the assessment. He wasn't one of the chosen twenty, and now Teacher Lee decides to put him in the roster of fighters? This is quite confusing,' Murkel thought and decided to turn to his most trusted aide by his side.
"Amir, what Clan is that white-haired child from?" Murkel asked.
"The white-haired boy." Amir saw that Raze had made it through the crowd of students, and he also recognized the expression on the faces of those that he had gone past. They had smiles and were pumping their fists.
It was an odd action because they would do it only when he passed, as if they didn't want him to see that they were cheering for him.
"He is a no-name." Amir answered. "He resided in a town that belonged to the Red Brigade Clan, a third-rate clan at best."
Murkel didn't say anything yet, nor did he react; instead, he just went to stroke the back of his hair that he wrapped around the front. Amir could tell though, he was thinking; anyone would find this odd.
"A no-name is actually getting selected to take part?" Samantha held up her fan covering her mouth, making it hard for anyone close to read her expression. "No wonder he wasn't part of the original line-up. I guess we should just wait and see the Yellow headband matches after this." She sighed, and the rest of the leaders felt the same way.
They were tired of seeing one-sided matches one after the other because now there was no more excitement for them to witness. They could already predict the results of how the rest of the matches would go.
Over to the left side of the Principal, Charlotte was giggling away as she stomped her foot relatively fast on the ground.
"Hey, we're going to see him fight!" Charlotte said, giggling to herself. "I'm so excited."
"Are you bi-polar or something?" Himmy asked. "You never seem to act this way when we're on the job, or watching another agent."
"Hey!" Charlotte replied. "You know he's special, right? He's not only from Alterian, but he's also able to use Qi as well. Aren't you curious how skilled he is as a warrior?"
Charlotte was actually curious about Raze in more ways than one. She had constantly thought back to that day. Raze somehow knew how to make combination spells perfectly. He also had created a powerful potion as well. This she had kept a secret to herself. But knowing this, she naturally wanted to stay close to him and try to find out what else he knew and gain his knowledge.
"Alright, fine." Himmy said, fiddling with his fingers even though there was nothing in his hand. "But try not to make it obvious that we actually know him."
Charlotte stopped tapping her feet away, but there was still a large smile on her face.
On the Red headband side, Raze had become quite the talk as well. "It looks like you got your wish." Ossep said, his arms folded straight. He was one of the five main disciples, from the Moon Shield Clan, with a shiny bald head. "The kid is taking part after all, so who do you think he's going to go after?"
"Haha, well now we get to humiliate him in person." Sherry chuckled, covering her mouth slightly. "It's quite obvious that he's either going to choose Mada or Ricktor. He seems to have a grudge against those two the most."
"You're right, are you ready to give us a show Mada?" Lisa asked as she turned to him. When she did she was a bit taken back by what she could see.
Mada had both of his hands together; he was kneeling over slightly, and his skin looked a little pale.
"Are you not feeling well?" Lisa asked.
"I am fine." Mada replied, even though he himself knew he was certainly not fine. The moment he saw Raze, pictures flashed in his head of what had happened that night. The chill he felt all over his body returned.
'Am I scared? But it's not of Raze, it's of whatever that monster was that was protecting him. If he picks me… then what do I do? What is going to happen to me if I fight him properly?'
Mada was panicking slightly because he knew he was the most likely to be picked as well, and finally, it was time.
After getting to his seat, Raze was asked to stand. "Please, select your opponent." Lee asked.
'I hope you aren't silly and pick someone from the Red headbands. There is no need, as long as the remaining students win their fights, it will show that I am somewhat capable.' Lee thought.
Looking at the students, Raze was thinking quite hard; he didn't give an immediate answer.
'I wonder what he's thinking.' Dame thought. 'I thought I had gotten to know the Dark Magus quite well, but during the time at the academy, he has shown some interesting sides.'
Dame thought back, there were times where it looked like Raze wasn't paying attention to the students around him that were training, but he did. Even when running, he would carefully not get in the way of others.
At times, he would even move the other training equipment back in place, even if it was something he never used.
On the outside, Raze appeared dark and non-caring. Dame had seen this when the students had attacked him and the death at the inn back in the Demonic Faction. It was almost as if this type of act was second nature to him.
Yet it was clear he also had a caring side to him. It was almost as if something had happened that had turned him this way. To have a hard darker outer shell, but it's hard to hide one's true self.
'You heard the other's frustration; you feel the same pain as them as well, don't you.' Dame smiled to himself. 'So knowing you, you will try and find a way to deal with all five of the disciples right here.'
"I choose him!" Raze shouted as he pointed at a Yellow headband owner in the crowd.
There was a sigh of relief from Lee, but it wasn't over yet.
"Go on Raze, go show them what we can do!" The students behind shouted. n.(-(-(e((...-1./n
"Kick his arse!"
Liam didn't say anything because he was quite surprised by his choice. 'Crap, so after all I did to help him get up there, he's not even going to take on a Red headband owner? I thought for sure he would have gone for one of those main disciple snobs.'
The Yellow headband owner had descended onto the platform and stood a few meters away from Raze.
"It comes as no surprise that trash will support trash." The Yellow headband student said. "Somehow a no-name has managed to get the support of his entire group, how sweet."
"That's right." Raze said, smiling to himself, as he put the sword away by his side rather than drawing it out. "I am from no Clan; I was one that was born with no name, so I am a person that is deserving of no position in this world."
Raze stretched out his hands wide at that point.
Charlotte recognized this, and her eyes were bulging because she had seen a pose like this before.
'No, it can't be; is he about to cast a spell, right in front of all of these people? He would be crazy to do that?' Her heart was racing as she was wondering whether to inform Himmy or not. Here there were far too many witnesses, which would make it a huge problem for them to clear up.
'I remember those words.' Raze thought. 'Those same words were said to me when I was a mage, that I wasn't able to rise… yet I had done so back then… and now I just need to do the same again.'
The Yellow headband user charged in with his sword. He was crouching down slightly like a tiger.
"Oh, the tiger's strike! Well, he's starting off with full force from the get-go." Ossep commented. "I guess that means this match is over."
The student pounced forward with his Qi and force, aiming straight for Raze. Immediately moving his feet, he had timed it perfectly, performing the two-step shift to the side, avoiding the thrust.
"Grit your teeth!" Raze said, and he performed the two-step shift again, throwing out his fist. He didn't hold back with his Qi, using his Second Stage powers, with his full might, he landed a blow square on the student's face.
His face squashed inward, the sound of his nose cracking was felt, and his body went flying with a stream of blood coming out from his nose and mouth as he fell on the floor. His body bounced off the ground, and he lay there still, unmoving and unconscious.
Blood dripped from Raze's fist as he looked up and stared directly into the eyes of the five disciples.
