A group of nobles was angry for having lost to mere commoners in the competition. One of them shouted that they were a complete disgrace to the entire nobility of the empire.
The instructor informed the director that it was the first time commoners from an orphanage had placed at the top. With a serious look, the director asked whether he knew why the association took care of orphans. It was then made plain that true strength had nothing to do with someone's social status.
The director then told everyone who had passed the second exam to proceed to the next location. Cain commented that Louis had come close to first place, and the boy just replied that he did not know.
Arriving in a forest, the candidates discovered that the third and final exam would be held there. The director appeared, floating, and announced that the final test was a battle royale of emblems. He explained that he would distribute emblems and that the upperclassmen would hide them throughout the forest. With that, the objective for everyone was to collect as many emblems as possible, using any method at all. Whoever lost their emblem would be disqualified, and only the top ten would be admitted.
Cain said that they would split up, and warned Louis that the highest ranks would be the targets. Louis understood then that the rankings had been announced precisely to create this situation. With a smile, the director told them to demonstrate their skills and survive until the end. The boy was determined to win no matter what; his admission was very close to happening.
Suddenly someone approached from behind and called him a commoner in a very provocative way. It was one of the nobles he had defeated before, who said he had found him at last, to get revenge for the humiliation. But Louis just stared at the noble with a cold look, completely unfazed. The noble said that Cain was not there to protect him, and that nobody would help him this time.
At this the young man noticed something strange and turned his head with a very alert expression. He saw that he was surrounded by several other nobles, ready to begin the attack. The boy understood that the examiners must have purposely leaked his location to the others.
The noble got tired of talking and lunged at Louis with his large axe. He shouted for the commoner to receive his blow, as Louis prepared to fight back. Another noble shouted that he would not escape, and attacked him with a spear to start the fight. Suddenly two more nobles joined the attack and threw their spears with all their might in his direction. The boy fell to the ground, but managed to recover, and sensed a new danger coming his way.
With a quick spin in the air, the young man used his sword to create an energy slash and defend himself. Louis then landed and wondered what that had been, because he had felt a different energy in the attack. The group's leader shouted for him to simply give up, and said that the young man would meet his end right there.
Even at a disadvantage, Louis dodged all the blows with impressive agility. His sword glowed with a green energy as he continued to defend against the enemy attacks. He realised that the attacks were coming again, and prepared for the next wave of strikes. His sword filled with power and the boy concentrated for the battle, which was becoming increasingly intense.
One of the nobles shouted for him to receive his attack, and advanced with a powerful strike from his weapon. The weapon transformed into a wind arrow, and the noble wondered how a commoner would deal with magic. But Louis dodged once again, and the noble grew angry that he kept escaping the attacks.
The boy realised then that he could not calculate magical trajectories the way he did with normal attacks. With a determined look, he decided that if that was the case, he would need to change his strategy. He would use Sen no Sen, a technique to counterattack before the enemy hit him. With his eyes glowing, the young man decided to use his enemies' power against them in the fight.
Seeing the hesitation, the group's leader shouted for everyone to stop wasting time and attack at once. With that, all the nobles advanced together with their weapons drawn, charging at him.
But Louis just gave a confident smile, because he already had a plan to defeat them all. With that smile, the young man said the timing was perfect to start his counterattack.
The noble with the axe celebrated, thinking that he had managed to corner Louis in the fight. He brought his axe down with full force. But the boy dodged the blow with a quick and precise movement. Using his sword, the young man blocked the axe and prepared to use the enemy's force to his advantage. The noble was shocked to feel his weapon being thrown aside with impressive force. With that, the axe hit another noble who was attacking from behind Louis in the battle. At this, one of them screamed in pain as he was hit in the eyes by one of the spears that had flown loose during the confusion.
From a treetop another noble launched a powerful green energy attack in his direction. But in the blink of an eye Louis appeared right behind him, to the attacker's surprise. The boy then used him as a shield, and the magic arrow hit him head on, causing great damage.
The noble fell to the ground, defeated and furious, while the young man picked up his spear to continue the fight. With a new weapon in hand, Louis prepared to show off his skills with the spear. He threw the weapon with absurd force towards another enemy. The attack hit a tree head on, and the explosion sent the noble who was standing there flying far away.
The boy then started moving at high speed and defeated the remaining nobles with ease. After he had defeated them all, the nobles' emblems flew into the sky as a reward for the victory. With a quick movement, Louis caught the emblems in the air and held them firmly. He turned to the defeated and said that he would take their emblems as a prize for the fight.
Suddenly a stronger noble appeared and shouted for them not to think too much, and to attack with full magic. But to everyone's surprise, Cain appeared there and asked whether the noble had been talking to him by any chance, which left Louis surprised by the scene. Cain then said it was a shame, but the noble would not be able to use magic any more in that exam.
Shocked, the man asked why Cain was there, since his friends were supposed to be holding him back. The blond said that he had made them tell him the whole plan, and that they had underestimated the Aurank family. Full of rage, the noble shouted that he did not care and that he would finish both of them anyway.
But before he could do anything, a crossbow bolt hit him right in the chest.