The night was young.
The sky was ashen. Suddenly, a shadow draped over a certain Kingdom, obstructing any light from reaching its doorsteps. The ground shook violently, and the temperature of the area fluctuated rapidly.
A crimson tint appeared in the eyes of the spectators, marking the arrival of the Heaven's Challengers.
From the horizon emerged an enormous beings cloaked in shadows. The world shook, as if terrified by their mere presence. Nature bent to accommodate them, and their allies kneeled, as if paying their respects.
At the apex of the Heaven's Challengers was the legendary man, Lord of Sins.
However, from the opposite side, lightning bolts fell to the ground. The ground shook even more violently, and the drastic changes in the weather were vivid. Lightning, Ocean, and Death… they had gathered.
The Three Divine Rankers of Olympus.
They approached the Heaven's Challengers, encompassed in their domains of Sky, Ocean, and Underworld respectively. They had come only to meet a single man, a human from an unknown planet.
"Lord of Sins."
The man's crimson eyes never once faltered.
"Why have you come, Olympus?"
Lightning crackled, embracing Zeus's body as if it were a warm blanket. The Divine Ranker of Lightning walked forward, arrogance oozing from his gaze and confidence vivid in every step he took.
His steps halted when he was within arm's length with the Lord of Sins.
"To wipe a stain from this land."
It was only a downhill spiral from there.
*
Arthur shot up from his bed, his eyes wide. Clutching his temples, he massaged them to alleviate the searing pain that assaulted them. Clenching his teeth, he attempted to adjust his eyes to the darkness within his dorm.
It was almost dawn.
Today was the day the final exams would be conducted, and tomorrow, the banquet would be held. After that, for two weeks, the classes would not affect one's grade. They were simply optional classes.
During the two week period, the students who were entering Heaven's Spire were recommended to reunite with their family. It would be the last time they would meet their family until retirement or… death.
These two days were the most important for Arthur. But he couldn't get a certain dream out of his mind.
In the dream, he faced Olympus. The standoff served as a prelude to his downfall. Zeus's sneer, Poseidon's smirk, and the faint smile on Hades's usually expressionless face. They all haunted the man who formerly stood above them all.
As a moment that could cause the same, catastrophic result neared, a certain sense of anxiety rose in Arthur's chest.
He was unfamiliar with these emotions. A sense of anxiety… the Lord of Sins would have laughed at those words, treating them as nothing but a joke. He would have sneered at the current Arthur Solace.
'I can't allow that to happen,' thought the crimson-eyed man, circulating mana across his body in a rhythmic motion. His body cooled, and the eternal darkness of sleep that pulled one away from reality called out his name.
But he didn't answer.
Arthur stood up from his bed and got himself a drink. Then, he entered the bathroom with his clothes and a towel, reciting the answers to the written exam in his mind. Learning from his past failure, he hoped to score in the top ten this time.
The practical exam would be quite simple to pass, considering his ever-growing strength ever since he'd begun training with Gregorio.
For the past month and a half, he'd been put through torture in the name of training. But the crimson-eyed man couldn't deny it caused his stagnant power to propel. He'd grown incomparably.
Before entering the shower, he admired himself in the mirror.
Unlike when he'd first regressed, Arthur's body was now lean. His chest had expanded, while veins bulged from his forearms whenever he exerted them. Unlike his former, lanky body, he now had the body of a warrior.
Quickly, he entered the shower.
When Arthur exited the shower, he heard rustling noises from his dorm. It seemed the others had awoken. Arthur quickly wiped his body with a towel before putting on a tunic, as he needed appropriate clothing for the practical exam.
As he exited the bathroom, he saw Gary massaging his hair using oil.
"You oil your hair?" Arthur asked, grabbing his gym-bag as he prepared to head out for a morning run and then a training session.
"You've never seen me oiling my hair?" Gary replied with an inquiry, raising an eyebrow as he ran a brush through his hair. Unlike what it seemed, his hair was quite long when straightened. Suddenly, Arthur's gaze fell upon an object beside Gary.
As he was about to point it out, Gary quickly pushed it aside, obstructing Arthur's view of the object.
"I'll be heading out," said Arthur suspiciously, refraining from mentioning the object.
*
Eventually, the time came for the written exam to begin.
As Arthur sat in the classroom, writing away on a fragile piece of paper, he realized something. He didn't need to memorize knowledge.
The questions on the test were quite similar to the ones he'd learned in Flecker's class. In fact, a lot of them were referring to theories he personally crafted alongside Mr. Slovenio. The months of arriving early had paid off.
An example was the question based on the density of mana. It asked the particular density needed for mana to evolve from a rejuvenating force to one that causes destruction. Since Arthur and Flecker worked for hours to find the answer, it wasn't too difficult.
Once all the questions had been answered, Arthur took his paper and approached Flecker, who seemed to be working on his new idea.
Something about whether mana can change its state of matter.
"I'm done," said the crimson-eyed man, placing the paper on his desk. "Can I leave?"
"Oh, Arthur," greeted Flecker, turning around. "It'll be a pain researching once you depart for Heaven's Spire. Why don't you postpone your entrance?"
"It sounds like you'll miss me."
"No one'll miss you, little brat."
Arthur left the classroom, chuckling to himself. It was one the last times he would ever view the annoyance on Flecker's face.
Since he would be departing soon.
But before that…
