Mystery Tales Under the Moonlight

Chapter 32: Category Determination Exams at the Academy (9).

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Everyone dealt with the test in their own way.

20 minutes.

The weak or foolish have been eliminated.

Only those who can use their brains remain here.

"uraa uraa!! You won't defeat me!!"

"Dream on! Victory is mine, Raaaah!!!"

After observing the loud battle between Leon and the boy who seemed to be a noble.

Many others did the same and entered into a struggle of will.

Each person had their correct answer in mind, but this is the best answer.

A one-on-one battle between you and your opponent, how intense is that?

Leon used special methods to lower the rank of his talent.

Not to mention, the internal injuries he inflicted on himself had not healed yet.

The limits of his talent were now clear.

He had indeed reduced it to the maximum he could.

He was now fighting only with the strength of his will.

He was not the only one; even Dio entered a three-way battle with Chai Nayun and Fernando.

His opponent in front of him was stubborn, of course, he wouldn't give up either!

"Hahaha! Just give up, you noble scoundrel! I can see you trembling already!"

"Hmph! Say that after wiping the flood of sweat off your clothes first, you clumsy commoner!"

"Why don't you use your magical energy? Do it before it's too late!"

"I won't do it until you do!"

"Hehehe! You're mistaken! You will lose if you don't!"

"In your wildest dreams!"

The eyes of both were sharp as they looked at each other.

Leon, who might get swept away in his competition.

The strange boy who wouldn't back down.

Neither of them even used a shred of magical energy!

Only the strength of will determines victory!

"Damn it, I won't lose, my dear!"

"Sorry, dear! But I only intend to achieve victory!"

"That's what I love about you, my dear!"

"Kyaa~ Why do you have to say it out loud? I love you too!"

Among many competitors... there was a couple flirting with each other.

Feelings of competition and affection, not to mention supporting each other.

In a way, that was also an answer... a correct one.

"Teacher... I think I'm about to faint."

"... Me too."

"Resist more, second after second, talent doesn't matter, but will!"

The three were resisting together.

Fernando felt his limits; the time he took the first time was 19 minutes.

He had indeed surpassed what he could do.

What kept him until now was nothing but pure will.

Resisting for another second was as hard as climbing a mountain in winter, while your arms are bare and unprotected.

A simple neglect was the reason for falling.

This is the same situation.

He had no intention of giving up yet!

The boy pressed his body and resisted the fall, his eyes rolled back until they turned white, and he bit his lips hard.

His mouth bled, but he did not give up!

With an unwavering will to break mountains, resist and do not give up!

Resist!!

Chai Nayun felt the same emotions.

She felt an unyielding desire to sleep, to give up and leave it all immediately.

But she gritted her teeth and resisted.

Not yet! Not yet!

She had to resist more!

More than this!

To break one's limits! Only like this, must you resist!

Every second felt eternal, but neither of them gave up.

Their clothes were soaked with sweat, and their bodies trembled without restraint.

23 minutes.

A mechanical sound was heard.

All who remained are now of rank (C).

As if the body was waiting for the moment, Fernando and Chai Nayun lost strength in their bodies.

Rank (C)! Rank (C)!.

Fernando had actually surpassed his limits!

He really didn't expect that!

How is this? Wasn't he a talent of rank (D)? Why is he higher now?

What was the difference?

He didn't know how; questions flashed in his mind for a while.

Nevertheless, that no longer mattered now.

A wave of sudden happiness turned into relief... and he lost consciousness with a smile on his face.

The joy of his advanced rank was minimal; what truly made him happy was surpassing his maximum limits and resisting until the end.

Chai Nayun felt an unprecedented sense of achievement.

The girl had always lived monotonously, so she didn't know the feeling of achievement that comes from breaking limits.

She didn't hate the feeling.

The two lost consciousness, and they left no regrets behind.

Student Chai Nayun: 23 minutes and two seconds.

Student Fernando Nicola: 23 minutes and two seconds.

Dio had resisted a little before closing his eyes and sleeping.

He had done what he was supposed to do.

His work ended here.

The bodies of the three disappeared in the form of black mist.

Student Dio Antarius: 23 minutes and 4 seconds.

A familiar mechanical sound was heard as the three exited.

Many sighed in relief.

Many people were emotional.

Is there anyone who hasn't gone through hardships in the world?

Those who have resisted until now felt that their efforts were not in vain.

They had barely crossed the threshold of the bottom.

Only a little more than half of the students remained.

All who lost consciousness, for whatever reason, had their bodies disappear as if they were black mist.

"Damn! You clumsy commoner! It seems the battle is about to reach its peak now!"

"You are right, you noble scoundrel! Now only the strength of will has the right to speak!"

Feeling their own limits, the two took turns looking, as they gathered the remnants of their physical strength.

From the beginning to the end, they used only their bodies!

They had indeed agreed; whoever uses magical energy first is the loser.

They even went so far as to say that whoever uses their strength first will change their name to a pervert for life!

Everything was at stake!

One minute, ten seconds, one second, a fraction of a second!

Every slight difference is of utmost importance!

"Speaking of which..." Leon gasped heavily as he spoke: "Why did you come to fight me specifically? ... You noble scoundrel."

It was hard to extract words as the pressure increased.

With every threshold passed, the pressure increased forcefully!

Not to mention the injuries he had sustained.

"It was interesting to see you that day, you clumsy commoner!"

The boy said his words quickly so as not to waste his remaining energy easily.

He was remembering the day he saw Leon.

He wasn't among the pursuers, but he admired the confidence and tyranny he saw in the teacher's hall.

Not to mention what he did to those around him in the past two days!

The power to crush others and the unyielding attitude towards anyone, the cunning and manipulation he witnessed in the market yesterday!

He felt it immediately!

"You deserve to be my esteemed rival!"

"I am stronger than you, just so you know!"

"I know... but what of it?"

"You intrigue me..." Leon observed with curious eyes, and continued: "How will you compete with me when you aren't even worthy of fighting me?"

"Isn't that what I'm doing now? Maybe you have your reasons for lowering your talent... but it doesn't matter, you are just my opponent now!"

"Do you mean: since you are not my match, that makes it more interesting?"

Leon didn't even blink when the boy revealed his lowering of his talent.

He didn't do it to hide his strength in the first place.

His intentions lay elsewhere.

Nevertheless, the boy's words showed that he was neither stupid nor weak.

He had revealed Leon's methods; of course, Leon had briefly lightened his concealment methods to test him.

He made it so that only the boy would reveal them; there would be annoying repercussions if the judging committee noticed that.

Fortunately, the fireflies of twilight were doing their job, so they would erase any evidence.

The structure of the place was indeed unique.

The reason for the many fireflies was to consume the excess magical energy that comes from using techniques or lineage abilities.

So that the place does not become saturated with magic and distort.

Magical energy with enough quantity can cause some changes in the environment.

Heat causes environmental change, cold does too.

But what if there are many different energy pathways at once?

Naturally, chaos arises.

Thus, the presence of twilight fireflies was a deterrent to that, not just to help reveal talents.

Leon took advantage of that loophole to erase all the inferences that could reveal his methods.

There are some techniques that continuously consume magical energy to work, and there are those that require a certain price to keep working.

The technique Leon used was the latter, of course.

That fact did not help him to relax.

It didn't mean that there were no traces; there would be remnants of the little magical energy.

For example, even if the technique had been used before, there was a need to pay the little remaining price to activate it under certain conditions.

And in this case, the price, of course, is magical energy.

He could use ego stones as a substitute so that there would be no traces on the technique, but he would be questioned about why he brought the stone, which is not known whether it was cheating or not.

Inferring this and that would be easy.

He still hadn't become an official student yet; there was no need to risk being expelled just for this.

It would be simple evidence for the judging committee to uncover Leon's veil if they tried to investigate him.

After the traces mix with the surrounding energy and are consumed by the twilight fireflies, the fireflies would digest them and remove the last remnants of his aura.

Thus, the evidence would be erased.

So there was no problem in revealing his technique to the boy, and he could go so far as to reveal it to everyone here, but he wouldn't care.

Most likely, this was the fish that had been chasing him in the past two days, which he had been waiting for.

Everyone here could impose their suspicions and complain about Leon's falsification of his talent, and he wouldn't care a bit.

His technique has nothing to do with an individual's rank, but with mental strength.

In that regard, Leon had never met anyone in his life who possessed mental strength that could match his, let alone surpass him.

As long as there is no concrete evidence, what grounds do you accuse me on? Huh?

Hehehe.

"Impressive, really impressive!" Leon laughed hard as he praised.

This boy in front of him impressed him!

He couldn't help but have memories flash that he had buried deep in his mind.

Determined eyes and a confident attitude, not to mention the intelligence to know his limits and the unwavering will!

Leon remembered someone he had known a long time ago.

If we take his age in the real world, it was just a few years.

But for him, who had a somewhat unique life, the time had indeed been long.

"What is your name, you noble scoundrel?"

"Logan! I am the one and only, Logan Hermes! Do not dare forget the name of this esteemed one, for it will spread across the entire world!"

"Logan..." Leon engraved the boy's name in his mind, as he said: "Leon, I call myself Leon Evenius, but just call me Leon."

"Hahaha! A- apparently, y- you are an orphan?" Logan mocked while gasping heavily.

"Hmph, say your words well before that!" Leon snorted in response.

"Unfortunately, you have a penalty, or it would have been a fierce battle!"

"Hehehe, what is this talk of penalty? Defeat me first before you say that!"

The two laughed as they resisted each other.

A fleeting idea crossed both their minds, and without hesitation, they executed it.

They didn't care even a little about the test; winning against each other was more important!

Swish~!

The two lunged at each other, striving to knock each other down.

"Fall, fall you scoundrel!"

"In your dreams!"

Lilith watched the scene with curious and astonished eyes.

She was panting herself, but still far from losing.

As she watched Leon and the boy he was grappling with, as if both were trying to knock each other down, she fell into contemplation.

She didn't expect that.

She thought Leon would achieve victory in the first test, given the ferocity he had shown.

But now... he was sweating profusely, while struggling hard with his opponent in a tough battle.

Pushing, punching, kicking, and even spitting, an ugly battle without rules!

That boy was supposed to be a noble, but he showed no mercy in the brawl and used all means!

Both even used others and the environment shamelessly!

No room for dignity or pride, madness and the desire to win flashed in both their eyes!

Some tried to intervene in their fight, but as if the pathetic performance of the two was not present, they eliminated the enemies and threw them at each other before disappearing into the black mist!

The fight of will belonged only to them, no place for others between them!

If Lilith hadn't eavesdropped on their conversation, she might have been even more confused than she already was.

She only knew that Leon had lowered his talent for some reasons, and that the boy Logan had revealed him, but Leon did not seem flustered.

Very strange... she didn't understand his intentions.

She didn't even pay attention to the fact that she was eavesdropping on Leon.

The princess had similar reactions, although she could only admire the boy Logan.

Despite knowing the difference between them, he boldly challenged Leon to a duel.

She had the eye of insight, so she sensed his emotions; there was no resentment, just an overwhelming desire to compete, not even feeling jealousy or inferiority complex!

They were knocking each other down and exhausting their endurance quickly!

"Are you really a noble...? Why are you without honor...?"

"Hmph...! Honor my ass...! Victory won't come with natural means...!"

"Hah... hah... you noble scoundrel... give up."

"I... won't... you... first."

Their bodies were completely exhausted.

"I have an idea... do you... agree?" Logan's eyes sparkled with madness as he spoke with difficulty.

"Whatever it is... I accept... tell me."

Logan raised his hand towards the air, as he stiffened it hard.

He didn't even use magical energy, but his hand felt as if it were a sharp sword.

The hand that was white turned black.

A power that a person can gain upon reaching a certain level of strength in physical ability, and does not require magical energy to activate.

What this ability consumed was endurance.

This ability is what is called: solid black metal.

"Let's do this... what... do you think?" He brought his hand closer to his abdomen.

Leon understood his idea immediately and smiled fiercely.

Yes, yes! Everything must be sacrificed in battles!

Leon did the same as Logan did, and directed his hand towards his abdomen as well.

The black hand was resting on the abdomen.

Leon learned some information about Logan from this; it meant that his combat path was somewhat directed towards physical ability and not magical.

"On my signal... one."

"Two..."

The eyes of both sparkled coldly, and there was no hesitation!

"Three!!"

Cloggh!!

The sound of flesh piercing, as if metal was cutting through the body.

Blood flowed onto the ground.

"Kyaa!!"

"Oh my God!!"

"This... this!"

The crowd screamed in fear as they stared at what their eyes beheld.

"Is this real...?" Lilith stared in awe.

For a moment, she thought what she saw was an illusion caused by pressure hallucinations, but she didn't feel tired to that extent.

This... is this real? Lilith's eyes widened!

A hand could be seen piercing a person's abdomen... no, they were two people.

Leon, with his hand resting inside his abdomen, did not change his cold expression, while blood flowed through his body and mouth.

Logan was relentless, his blood flowed onto the ground, but he didn't even glance at it.

The two fell to the ground, their hands resting on their abdomens.

They would lose more blood if they pulled their hands out.