Merlin

"This should be the center," Olivier said calmly as they walked past a few bushes to see a huge arena in the middle of the forest. they headed towards it and a teacher quickly came up to them to see if they had the crystals needed for their teams.

Jiku entered this forest on his own, so he just needed 1 crystal, meanwhile, Sora and the others only needed 4.

after seeing they had enough, they entered and were given time to rest until the next stage of the exam began, they could use this time to do almost anything they wanted

a few weeks quickly went by and the one month for the exam passed, many students had of course died. there were 1,000 students yet that number dropped to 100. of course, not all of them died the main reason for this was there more not that many crystals, so many people couldn't find a crystal and were not strong enough to defeat those with crystals.

those remaining were the best of the best, the strongest amount of those remaining. Merlin stood before those remaining with a smile, those who died knew what they were heading into no one was to blame but themselves

"Now, it's time to speak about the next exam. it's going to be a race." Merlin said as the ground shook as pieces of the ground floated into the air. everyone looked into the sky and saw the ground, which was floating from a battle friend, each battlefield getting smaller and smaller as one got up until they reached the peak where there floated 12 seats

"Only 12 can pass this exam. those who can seat upon the throne will be considered the winner of this exam... you may all begin whenever you wish." He said with a smile, everyone looked at each other before they shot towards a floating island.

Sora calmly jumped onto an island, Elize was on his back as he needed her to win this event to spread her name. He honestly could care less about winning or losing, Elize win was want mattered. if she won, things would be so much easier for her.

attacks rained upon Sora, but Sora turned, kicking these attacks back at those who sent them. Sora frowned as he noticed the gravity getting heavier, looking down he looked at Merlin who was looking at him with a smile

'What type of magic is this? I don't remember seeing him even casting a spell.' Sora thought as he closely looked at the floating islands, and instantly noticed some strange runes on them.

'it's a type of magic that gives word power. I expected his power to have something to do with knowledge, so is this called rune magic or something.' Sora thought as he calmly sent a wind blade at a rune.

His wind blade which could easily cut through a whole forest barely left a mark on the floating rock. but this was all that Sora needed to instantly understand this magic

Rune Magic utilizes the runes drowned by the user, with the effect varying depending on what's drowned, or how it's manipulated. In addition to their hand, users can utilize other objects to draw runes. The runes can be drowned on different surfaces or in the air.

Sora's eyes exploded with knowledge of rune magic, knowledge of the world and the universe. letting out a deep breath, Sora smiled slightly. Rune magic was truly powerful, Sora instantly mastered this magic-making him have unmatched power. this was hands down the strongest magic he has ever come across,

Sora flashed as he appeared at the top and gave Elize a sit, while he sat down and calmly looked down at everyone heading this way. His eyes landed on Elize and realized she had copied Rune magic, but unlike her, she had a huge headache from the knowledge she just got.

'i should have reached mid-S rank now.' Sora thought as he looked at Toku who was jumping around like a fox, creating illusions to confuse others and leading them to fall off the island and start all over. Jiku on the other head hasn't started yet as he was just calmly watching everyone study their abilities.

Due to Sora, there was no other world like this. So, he could no longer look into other words to search for words similar to this one. So, he had to start studying and be more careful.

'what's this?' Sora thought as he noticed a blue-haired kid transforming into a bird and shooting tight up, before turning into a fly to dodge attacks. the next moment he turned into a dragon which breathed flames down on those who attacked it before flying up.

'he can transform at well, and what he transforms into is real. again the ability of whatever he turns into, such a nice ability to was born with.' Sora thought as he watched him transform into a copy of Sora and skillfully jumped around dodging everything. he smiled as he through a look at him, before transforming once more into a fly and arriving before a throne

'he can only keep a from for 1 minute, his mind also remains the same even though he does copy the physical abilities almost perfectly. I will have him join me as well,' Spra thought as he looked at another guy who was eating the air, and even the ground to restore his energy

'gods have a huge resistance towards magic, similar to dragons. only other gods could harm them, if I could make magic which could devour a god attack turning their attacks pointless and strengthening the user, I will have magic which perfectly counters gods.' Sora thought as he also slowly looked at everyone. the eyes were the only way to see into a person's soul, the way they talk, acted, fought, moved, or even here footsteps were enough for Sora to read a person's personality

there were other people with unique abilities, from a gut who could control water to the point he could even control the blood in others, and so many others.

"Take your time, it's not like you have a time limit to finish your mission," Elize said softly, Sora smiled slightly as he looked at her.

"you should be the one to play the chess board, my lady, after this I will leave everything in your hands. I will just do as you ask of me." Sora said calmly, Elize shrugged slightly.

a flash of light everyone in the path of this light was sent fly, Sora looked down and saw a blonde-haired kid stepping on a light. with crossed arms, he arrogantly made his way up, stairs made out of light formed before him as he calmly walked up the stairs.

"I have heard of this magic, it's called holy magic, only one person such a magic... he should be the holy Son of the church," Elize said softly, Sora nodded slightly as he looked at this guy. he was stronger then Jiku.

just when the blonde-haired kid was about to walk past Olivier, the light disappeared, and he instantly fell to the ground. Olivier snorted slightly, that attack he lunched almost hit her.

with a snort, She shot up turning into a ray of light that quickly reached a throne.

"using that magic turns you into light, and don't go around causing trouble with the church," Sora said calmly, the more powerful magic was the more likely it would have a side effect. these magic usually are known as forbidden spells which are to be studied and find a way to remove such side effects.

all magic has some kind of side effect, mastering magic does not mean that side effects are gone. some powerful magic could even kill a person, while others can turn one into something thats not human.

"I have a wide arrange of magic, it's not like it would even turn me into light right away. and I don't fear the church." Elize said with a shrug,

the church was an organization that worships the god race, they had the right to do this. there was a god who was known as the god of life and death, he had the power to bring the dead to life. no other magic can do this, not even Sora could think of a way to do such a thing. the gods seemed all-powerful, and not all humans believed that they would try to take down the god race

the blonde-haired man on the other hand was looking at Elize with a deep frown before his eyes landed on Sora. Sora calmly ignored him as he closed his eyes

time went by and soon all the seats were filled, a total of 12 people made it. Yuko barely made it, but Jiku helped her out to get the last remaining 2 seats. with every seat taken, Merlin when on to announce the next stage of the exam

"tomorrow, this arena will be filled with people from all over to watch the battle. when 5 moons turn red it will be when the final exam starts a torment of 1v1, everyone will fight until 3 remain, at which point it will become a 3v1. go rest and train. you are all more talented than the last generation, this generation will be the one which stands at the peak of this world." Merlin said with a smile as he looked at everyone with a smile.

everyone nodded as they paid their respect as the thrones landed on the ground. everyone left, while Merlin watched them leave... all but Sora who remained.

"so, what is a god doing amongst humans?" Sora asked calmly, Merlin instantly froze hearing Sora's words. Sora only realized this upon gaining rune magic, the knowledge he gained was enough for his already sharp senses to see through Merlin

"you more like a half-human and half-god," Sora said calmly, Merlin frowned as he looked at Sora with narrowed eyes. time suddenly froze, and the world lost its color as the pressure slowly spread from him, but it was meant with Sora's pressure.

the world seemed to shake as the two faced each other. Merlin stepped forward, the whole arena shook as it began falling around. Sora took a step backward but quickly regained his footing as his pressure suddenly change.

a pressure of the ultimate knight suddenly shot out, leading the Merlin being sent tumbling backward slightly

"I ask thee a question. what is thee here?" Sora asked as his golden spear appeared in his hands. Merlin was stunned before he smiled slightly

"I didn't expect you to be hiding so much power. I knew you were special from the moment I met you." He said with a twisted smile as if looking at some kind of treasure.

"that's not the answer I sought," Sora said softly, the spear stabbed forward and although they were some distance away, the spear pierced through space and time, crossing that distance in a blink of an eye. Merlin's eyes shrank as she held her hand's frown.

the rune appeared, blocking the spear but he stumbled backward slightly. His eyes shrank slightly, nothing should be able to kill a god. only another god could kill a god, although he was just half-blood, he took was almost immune to almost everything. but this spear, he knew it would have killed him

"Stop playing around with me, show me your true form, or else I shall kill you before you have the chance," Sora said calmly, Merlin's eyes turned sharper than knives as he knew Sora had the ability to do as he says.

"... no need to fight, I'm no member of the god race or humans. I was rejected by both and wondered the world only seeking primordial magic, the true magic." He said calmly as runes appeared all over his body before they shattered revealing her true form

Sora was stunned seeing he was actually a she. she had long black hair, cherry red lips, and a perfect figure. with Sora's abilities, he was stunned by her charm for a second.

"My mother was human; my father was a god. my father was known for playing around with female humans too much. upon my birth, he was punished, and I should have been put to death along with my mother. but I was saved and raised among beasts." She said softly, as she closely looked at Sora

"I had no purpose in life, so I put it all into magic. my studies lead me to believe there was magic which is the original source of all forms of Magic, I could not discover it on my own, but I found that the humans were the key for me to unlock such magic. so, I can here and founded the academy and began helping humans grow." She said calmly, she was not afraid of Sora or anything like that. she just didn't want to hurt such a talent,

"Next time start with that, but now I want you to join me. I believe I can find you this magic you seek, but I need you to help me with a small task." Sora said with a smile, Merlin's eye raised slightly as he asked what the task was

"Simple, slaughter every god that walks this earth, I understand you might not understand my power. I'm willing to show you my might if you so wish." Sora said as he pointed the spear at her

"don't get too cocky." She said with a frown, she had already taken a step backward yet Sora didn't, Sora was seeking a beat.

the two flashed as they shot into the sky, far from the ground where they could fight without causing damage to the ground. floating there, they two looked at each other before Sora shot towards her

Sora's armor and shield flashed on his body, and his power increased greatly, while he also used these other abilities to boost his power.

Merlin held her palm forward as a huge rune appeared, the rune shot forward as it tried to bind Sora, and Sora's spear transformed into a sword as he cut through the rune with ease stunning Merlin.

Merlin held her hands out as Rune appeared, a huge blast in the shape of the rune shot towards Sora, but Sora used the sword to counter the attack and reflected it back at her. Sora could any physique thing with his normal counter capability, stuff like soul, meant attacks, and other stuff had to be countered with absolute counter

Merlin instantly flashed to the side dodging the counter, she looked at Sora in shock.

"Even if one is stronger than I, I can still easily overwhelm them. you are only a med S rank, just admit defeat." Sora said calmly, Merlin's face twisted slightly she waved her hands as runes filled the world.

"Out of all enemies I can face... mages such as yourself are the easiest," Sora said calmly, after the runes launched attacks at Sora. Sora ignored every attack as she swung before the sword

"This is the peak of swordplay, my swords cut all. logic, reality, dreams, and so on. if it stands before I, it shall be destroyed." Sora said calmly, Merlin eyes suddenly shrank as the countless runes were destroyed with one sword's wings. they all surrounded Sora, yet Sora swung forward and they were destroyed

"How did you do that? that was not even magic," She said seeing how she couldn't copy this move of Sora.

"This is not magic, just pure skills. I simply destroyed the fact they were real, turning your little runes into nothing more than illusions." Sora said calmly. he could cut reality itself, doing something like cutting a fact and turning it into an illusion was simple for him. he could even destroy the fact someone is injured, or the fact someone is dead.

It's like making an illusion and casting it upon reality, but in Sora's case, he could only cut and destroy. Sora, of course, could not do this freely, if he could he would have just destroyed the fact the gods existed. but he was too weak to do such a thing,

I study magic only to give me a wider arrange of capabilities. I don't really need magic, my skills alone are enough... I will hate to lay my hands on a lady, as a knight you must know that." Sora said calmly, Merlin frowned as she closely looked at Sora before sighing

"you can counterattack, cut anything, and i'm sure there is more you are hiding. first, tell me why I should join you." She said calmly, she was not afraid, sure Sora was strong. but who said she went all out? She caught her interest, so she didn't mind as this could help her get her hands on that magic she seek so badly.