Cain, watching from the side, was dumbfounded, and the assistant director asked whether the boy had really predicted the slime's movement. Indeed, his perception was excellent, and could rival a warrior's.
Cain thought that he was practising special combat techniques, and that it was obvious he needed to team up with him.
Louis noticed another slime coming at him and realised he was about to receive another five points. Swordsmanship, thrust.
At that moment Cain stepped in and impaled the slime on his own weapon.
"Stealing my points?" Louis asked.
Cain smiled and replied that it was something like that — except that he was not stealing them from him. He cut the slime in two and tossed it aside, and said that he had stolen it from them. His name was Cain. He wanted to steal points together.
Louis frowned and said nothing.
Cain tried to clarify. He simply wanted to rise in the rankings, so he suggested that they see which of them could earn the most points. Let him show him his true strength.
Louis replied that he seemed confident. All right — if he insisted on it, he would show him what he was capable of. The loser would do whatever the winner said.
They stood back to back, and Cain said that he was the first person who had ever dared to put forward conditions to him, and that this made him interested. So he was in.
The two of them teamed up and began to fight together.
The students who noticed this wondered whether he had really joined with Louis. Would they be able to carry out the lord's order in such chaos? They should finish him off right here. Max grinned and said yes. And when a slime flew toward him he pulled out his bow and swung it, hitting the slime squarely.
Meanwhile Louis and Cain went on fighting together. Then Louis saw two arrows coming from Max. A moment later there were several bright flashes.
Max shouted that he had hit, and Louis grinned and said nothing.
"What?" the boy exclaimed.
Louis had caught the arrows with his fingers, and everyone was astonished that he had caught them with his bare hands. What was wrong with his reactions?
Cain turned to him and asked how he was. These bastards were playing dirty.
Louis replied that it was nothing, and Max shouted, "Who's he calling scum? Aim at Cain now." At that his entire body glowed with dark magical power. They had decided to destroy Louis, who threw the arrows back and destroyed the next ones with his sword, shouting that this was the level they were at.
But suddenly a new arrow appeared right beside his face.
A moment later blood spilled. Louis had caught the arrow with his bare hand, and it had torn his arm open. Cain was very surprised that he had saved him, and shouted about his arm.
Louis replied that they were aiming at him.
The director's assistants discussed the fact that this attack clearly carried malicious intent. Perhaps he should disqualify them.
Aronian said no. They would lose anyway. Let him prepare healing potions instead. They would discuss the question of responsibility after the exam.
Louis went over to Cain and asked his name again, and then asked whether he had ever heard of baseball. The slimes were aimed at them again, but Louis brushed the question aside and, smiling, struck the slime with incredible force, so hard that the slime shed tears. By the time the slime reached the group across the arena, they were stunned by what they saw, and attacked.
Max, hit in the stomach, fell to the ground and screamed loudly in pain and horror.
"Number 01438, disqualified."
He lay on the ground, and Cain asked whether this was a commoner's game. That sounded pretty interesting.
Louis noted it. Minus one.
One of the others yelled at him, "Brother!" — and the boy with the ponytail grew angry and blamed him. How dare he do such a thing? But then he saw the delight in Louis's eye and screamed, "Where did he go?"
Louis had decided to attack him from above. A moment later, using his strength, he struck another slime and threw it toward them. The slime hit the ponytailed boy square in the face, and he began screaming in pain and terror. A moment later he too was disqualified, and the last of them became frightened and started shouting that this could not be right.
Louis appeared behind him and whispered that he was the only one left.
The boy began shouting in a trembling voice that some commoner was going further than they were, and that someone older would not let this go so easily. At that moment Cain tripped him, and the boy fell off the stage.
Cain told him to be more careful next time, and thanked Louis for his help. Was his sleeve all right?
Louis bandaged his arm and replied that everything was fine, and that he was not bad, for a nobleman.
Cain asked him not to compare him with the others. Had he ever heard of the great families? He was from one of them. The great families were the clans that had produced many grandmasters and sages, and their influence was extremely great. It could even rival that of the imperial family, the nobility and the Arcanist Association.
Louis chuckled. Great families. Aristocrats came in all shapes and sizes.
While they went on fighting the slimes, the other students realised that the commoner had got himself involved. They would not let him take any more points, and they became angry about it. Louis and Cain turned sharply, realising that they were in danger.
The students began shouting that the commoners should simply get out of the way. They even had their sights set on Lord Cain, so they offered to help him. They needed to beat these lesser nobles down.
Louis shouted that everything had turned into chaos and he would have to be more careful. And Cain replied that he would not let his guard down any longer.
At that moment a girl from another great family said that this was getting more interesting. She asked her friend to make the nobles who looked down on her regret it.
The girl charged, and Louis realised that too many people were targeting him. If he took any more points it would be a problem. Then he realised that the slimes had changed their trajectory, and he saw Milana strike one of the boys. The red-haired girl also attacked one of his opponents, which surprised him.
The stadium gradually began to collapse, and one of the boys laughed loudly and shouted that this was simply wonderful.
Hitting people was much more fun than fighting slimes. This caused an uproar among the students and everyone started fighting among themselves, until someone suddenly shouted for them to get out of the way. The boy went on trailing bright swirls of magical power and approached his target. He climbed onto the stage and looked around. There were many broken students lying there.
The director's subordinate asked whether they should not intervene.
He replied that everything was fine. The young were full of energy.
The teacher suggested that if all the nobles were expelled, would they not run into trouble?
Aronian replied that this place had its own rules, and that he should not worry about public opinion.
A moment later a bright beam of light struck the centre of the arena, revealing the director, who announced that the second examination was now complete.
They would announce the results and the rankings later, and the students were taken by surprise. Had the effect of the earth magic worn off? Some of them were unable to rise, or still lay exhausted where they had fallen. Any wounded candidate could drink a healing potion.
Louis wondered whether this magic potion had some extraordinary power — but even a simple magic potion cost three silver coins, which was far too much for him.
Cain came up, touched his shoulder and asked what was wrong. If he won, he would not be bullied, so let him relax.
"Oh, my god," Louis said.