Eternal Freedom's Ascension

Chapter 180: Scoreboard

Many blinked once or twice, unable to believe what they were seeing.

Thyla had knocked another student into the wall with a single punch?

It was an unbelievable feat that stunned even Instructor Natalie.

Sitting behind Hazel, Ariel narrowed his eyes and spoke.

"I see. Her ability must be a mythic one."

Hazel turned to him, surprise flashing in her eyes. Since when had he been there?

It reminded her of when Kaiser had shown up during the fresher’s party, startling her and Mordica.

Erasing her surprise, she calmly asked. "Mythic-ranked ability? How so?"

Ariel’s green eyes remained fixed on Thyla.

"From what I can simulate, it is probably an ability that grants her immense stats when a specific condition is fulfilled. And judging from the dark circles under her eyes, it isn’t a comfortable condition."

Hazel turned back to the stage, observing the green-haired girl keenly.

’He’s right. She indeed looks very tired.’

Glancing at Kaiser, she asked. "Your view?"

The boy shook his head slightly. "Nothing relevant."

He had read deeper into the girl’s ability than Ariel had mentioned, but it was only slightly special. Nothing really intriguing about it.

"Alright."

Hazel nodded, then documented what Ariel had explained into her phone.

Some distance away, where Class-D students were gathered, Austin locked his fingers beneath his chin, his gaze focused.

"An ability like that... what rank could it be?"

Ava cast a worried gaze at Evelyn, realizing the girl had been knocked unconscious.

Thankfully, medical practitioners were already taking her away.

"So there are hidden gems with dangerous abilities like this, huh..."

She smiled thinly, scribbling something into her note.

’Apollo, Sebastian, Liam, and now Thyla? How much stronger would the Class-A and Class-B monsters be?’

In her gaze, there was a hint of expectation.

After declaring Thyla as the winner, Instructor Natalie called upon the next student.

"Jose Maverick from Class-E."

Instantly, a surprised voice rang out.

"Eh??? This early?!"

With a panicked and nervous expression, Jose walked down to meet Instructor Natalie.

He stood before the Class-E box, hesitating.

’If I pick someone as scary as that Thyla girl, I’m dead meat. Oh deities of the world, please help this poor me.’

"Will you pick your opponent or I should pick for you?"

Instructor Natalie asked with a smile that didn’t reach her eyes.

"W-wait!"

Stammering, Jose dipped his hand into the box, then brought out a card with his eyes closed.

Hesitantly opening one eye, he took a look at the name.

"Ava Wesley...?"

He had never heard that name before.

Turning around to look for her, he spotted a beautiful girl coming down from the Class-D side.

’Woah. Although she’s not as beautiful as Ysabella, she’s still a top beauty.’

He couldn’t help but feel a flicker of lust in his heart.

’Wait! At this moment, she’s my opponent.’ He reminded himself seriously.

’She doesn’t really look strong. So if I can win, maybe she’ll get to like and admire me for my strength?’

"What are you standing here like a fool for? Go meet your opponent~"

In a playful tone, Instructor Natalie stuck out her tongue and berated him.

His face immediately went red, and he hurriedly rushed to stand opposite Ava.

The girl summoned a double-edged sword and a chainmail armor, then turned to face him.

Jose also adopted a serious expression, raising his hand to dramatically summon his sword.

"I... am the steel of my sword."

The silver blade materialized into his hand, glinting under the sunlight.

On his body, a cheap silver armor materialized, covering his whole body including his face.

"Begin."

Ava dashed in immediately, and so did Jose. Remembering Master Grey’s teachings, he stopped some little distance from her raised his sword horizontally.

Ava’s blade landed straight on his, almost pushing him back.

’What? Damn, she’s strong.’

A surprised expression appeared on his face. Locking eyes with her, he pushed her sword aside and flipped in the air, his blade lashing out at her open shoulder.

The girl was surprised and immediately retreated. Still, the blade grazed her armor slightly.

Jose landed on the ground, delighted. He could finally see the importance of the assistant instructor’s teachings.

Before he could revel in his little victory, Ava came again.

Her sword snaked towards his head, making him startled.

’Does she want to kill me?’

Blocking immediately, he tried to kick her to create some distance.

However, his leg was grabbed and yanked forward, almost making him fall.

To avoid being taken advantage of in this position, he swung his sword wildly while he stabilized himself.

Ava was forced to back away, her gaze calculating.

’This guy... is he seriously this simple?’

She had been initially testing him, wanting to see if he had something special about him. However, she hadn’t expected that he would be so... ordinary.

"Can you please use your ability?"

She asked politely, her tone sincere.

"Eh?" Jose blinked, suddenly feeling uneasy.

’What does she mean? I... should use my ability?’

Before he could think further, a fierce wind erupted around Ava’s blade, making him squint.

’Damn it.’

Realizing he could no longer afford to hold back, he unleashed everything he had.

"Sharpen!"

His blade glinted at the edge, an eye-catching silver glow enveloping it.

"Don’t blame me for this!"

He shouted, then charged at her.

Ava took a stance with her legs spread apart, then raised her wind suffused sword up.

A sharp glint passed through her eyes.

Her hands moved, and the blade fell.

Whoosh-!

A sharp gale sliced towards Jose, tearing apart anything before it. The ground was torn and sand was blown apart as it shot towards the boy.

"Eh?"

Startled, Jose panicked and swung his sword too. The silver-coated blade met with the almost solid gale of wind.

There was no loud sound, and there was no metallic ring.

Jose’s blade sliced through the wind, surprising and exciting him.

However, his smile immediately disappeared.

Although the sword cut through, the remnants of the gale didn’t disperse.

They struck him violently, cutting at every exposed part of his skin and leaving deep scratches on his armor.

Unable to withstand the assault, he was sent flying pathetically.

.........

After Ava was declared the winner, a few uninteresting duels took place. Hours passed by, and time stretched into the afternoon.

A thirty minutes break was given, and the students were allowed to go for lunch then return for the continuation of the event.

From Class-E, Hazel, Liam, Ysabella, Astron, and Kiera sat together in the arena while Ariel volunteered to go get canned food for them all

"Where is Kaiser?" Ysabella asked, pure curiosity written on her face.

Hazel’s gaze remained on her phone as she answered.

"He disappeared as soon as the instructor announced the break. Didn’t even notice his departure."

"Eh?" The blonde girl touched her lips playfully. "Kaiser is such a mysterious person."

"Forget him for now."

Hazel shook her head, then turned to Liam.

"The probability of you having to fight again is quite high. Though I’m not so sure, you should ensure you’re perfectly fine."

The boy nodded, a small smile on his lips.

"I was seriously enlightened in the duel this morning. Although beasts and monsters are mainly about brute strength and speed, the abilities of an Awakened are something to watch out for."

Hazel agreed with him.

"It’s part of what Master Grey’s teachings meant. Nirad Creatures aren’t your only enemies."

Tilting her head, Kiera leaned on Liam.

"The scores are looking good at the moment, aren’t they?"

At the mention of this, everyone’s gaze involuntarily darted towards the large scoreboard hung midair.

Class-A: 5pts

Class-B: 5pts

Class-C: 7pts

Class-D: 5pts

Class-E: 6pts

Currently, Class-E had a decent score, which made them feel a bit delighted. However, deep down, they knew this wasn’t going to last.

"We can’t maintain second place for long. However, that was never our goal."

Hazel stated, her face calm but determined.

"Then what is it?" Astron asked curiously.

Still staring at the scoreboard, Hazel’s eyes sharpened.

"Mitigating our losses and gaining every possible draw."

Ysabella’s eyes widened. "That’s... that’s a brilliant idea!"

Her green eyes sparkled with amazement.

"If we’re able to get more draws than losses, then we can surely get higher than the classes with both wins and losses.

"Indeed," Hazel nodded. "This is a good plan. However, that is if we can execute it."

The atmosphere turned slightly serious.

"Can our fighters make a losing duel into a duel without a winner? At any cost?"

There was a heavy silence as everyone considered this point.

"I’m here."

Accompanied with the sound of bags shuffling, Ariel returned with the canned foods, looking completely expressionless.

"Thanks, man."

Astron smiled and patted him on his arm, then took his own portion from the nylon.

Ariel passed the rest onto the others, then took a seat beside Ysabella.

"Thank you, Ariel. You’re such a sweetie."

Nudging him with a finger to his side, the blonde girl said with a sweet smile. She seriously hoped to see his expression change when she spoke to him.

However, Ariel just nodded flatly and opened his own food.

With everyone settled, Hazel prepared to continue the discussion.

"Ara~ am I interrupting a class gathering?"

A soft, silky voice cut through, making them all grow alert immediately.