Although there was nothing concrete, Master Aronian could a smell friction between Kane and Sage Arrancar.
"Well, it's none of my business."
Another applicant he was interested in was Fae Dullahan, yet another descendent of a Sage.
('Two of them in a single year is quite rare.')
She also was worthy of her status in his eyes. She consistently dominated the rankings with ease. What particularly impressed Master Aronian was the fact that she managed to learn how to use Outer Convergence. Although he could tell she hadn't mastered yet, the fact that she managed to use a high-end Apprentice level technique was rather impressive. He couldn't wait to see where her Martial Journey would take her.
"Then, of course, is him..." Master Aronian said, looking at a sheer with a picture of a fifteen-year-old boy on it. The boy had long, messy white hair and unnervingly wide blood-red eyes, with a wild grin on his face.
"Rank number one... Nel."
He wasn't even a commoner; he was below that. From what the admissions department of the Martial Academy had learnt about him from their background check was that he was a child who was raised by animals till the age of three, when he was discovered and rescued by humans. Although he eventually adjusted to living like a human by the age of fifteen, he still retained the savagery and ferocity he had obtained living with beasts. He was territorial, cruel to the weak and seemed to have obtained a strong urge for physical conflict. Master Aronian even suspected he got off of it, considering he actually killed several applicants in the Entrance Exam with expressions of unadulterated, almost innocent joy and pleasure.
He hadn't studied Martial Arts even a little bit, but he signed up for the Martial Academy anyway.
And he was monstrously strong. In the second-round, he was the one and contestant who didn't get hit by a slime at all; he successfully dodged or destroyed every slime. Fae had challenged him towards the end of the third round, but unfortunately for Master Aronian, the round ended before the fight could reach a conclusion.
"I regret making the third round so short." He sighed. He wasn't entirely sure which one would have definitely won, had the fight continued. But he knew it would be extremely close, the two contestants were nigh equal.
What particular impressed Master Aronian about Nel was his ferocity and tenacity. Nel grew up in the lowest strata of society in the poorest and most dangerous of districts, he had a lifetime of experience of not just sparring or training, but fighting for his life, every day. He had a shockingly unpredictable, unconventional fighting style stacked atop a body blessed with high physical attributes, and powerful senses and instincts. He was an outlier, a beast. Using his unparalleled senses and reflexes, he was able to dodge or destroy all slimes from all angles. This was something Fae, despite her age and pedigree could not replicate.
"And finally... there is him." Master Aronian glanced at Rui's profile.
Rui was much of a deviant as Nel was, in Master Aronian's eyes.
"Thirteen-years-old. No formal Martial Arts training, well above average physical attributes as a result of training, considering his age, but not too much of note by itself, average physical performative attributes too, slightly above average skill, but again, nothing special. Though the fact that an untalented child like him fact that he reached this level without formal training speaks of great determination and hard work.
Still, this was not the most shocking part about Rui. What is truly impressive was his mind.
"He's an unparalleled genius."
He did not make that statement lightly, no Martial Master would.
"Despite possessing unremarkable physical and physical performative attributes at the age of thirteen. He managed to score above 700 in the second round and secured rank number nine. Furthermore, he did this purely tactically with absolutely no other attribute contributing majorly. He observed the slimes, drew hypotheses and conclusions regarding the slimes and the exam itself, tested the hypotheses to confirm or deny them before devising a set of tactics aimed at fulfilling the objective to the highest degree possible, centered around predicting the trajectory of the slimes rather than reacting to them."
This was an instance of analytical and tactical ingenuity as well as sheer processing capacity absolutely unheard of in an applicant, let alone one as young as Rui, according to the Martial Exam library. Usually only highly experienced Martial Artists who were also inherently intelligent could accomplish such feats.
"Unfortunately, he lost his badge to Fae, but he still held out longer and acted better than likely anybody else would have with what he had. Not even Nel pushed Fae far enough to hastily use her One-Inch Palm against her will."
Master Aronian thought quite highly of Rui, on par with the aforementioned geniuses even though Rui would have undoubtedly lost to them in a fight. None of the other applicants had held Master Aronian's interests. Although they were all mildly different and some even unusual, it was nothing that Master Aronian, an experienced invigilator and teacher, had not seen many times.
He set aside the profiles in his hand and had begun stamping on the letters of acceptance and rejection with the official Kandrian Martial Academy's stamp. The seal pattern on the stamp was extremely intricate and even the materials it was crafted from were from high-grade esoteric bestial matter obtain from powerful beasts, forging a counterfeit was actually extremely difficult. Furthermore, the ink itself was a compound derived from esoteric flora, it absorbed light of all colours and thus was an absolute pitch black that did not shine or reflect any light. These were means by which credibility and reliability were ensured.
Just then, he came across Rui's letter.
"Hmm…"
The decision of course had already been made, it could not be changed now. He just wondered if it was too hasty.
"Well, what's done is done. I'm interested to see what you do from here, Rui Quarrier."
