The Test of Combat

Ryuma wondered what would happen if he didn't get a pairing. Would they give him an instructor instead, or would he be disqualified from that? In this case, he couldn't afford another sharp decrease in his score like that. He didn't even know if he could qualify for a pass as he was now.

Diaga got up over the provocation. "Toga. You think just because you got a nice score, you're worth anything? Don't get so full of yourself Dawnheart. I'll take you up on it." Diaga said, getting in his face.

"Believe me, you're not the only one. I've been wanting to kick your ass since the moment I laid eyes on you. This will be our last time here, and I want to go out with no regrets." Toga said.

He almost forgot himself for a second. He was just worried about points and passing. What he should do, is leave no room for doubt that he belongs in the order.

He took a deep breath and marched his way up on the elevated stone tiles.

"Ryuma, where are you going?" Nuna asked.

Ryuma ignored her and marched towards the center. His expression unmoving. He finally turned around. "LISTEN UP ASSHOLES, BECAUSE I'M ONLY GOING TO SAY THIS ONCE! MY SCORE RIGHT NOW IS SHIT! LOSING TO ME GEURUNTEES THAT YOU WON'T BE PASSING. THAT'S WHY, I'LL ONLY FIGHT THE BEST IN HERE! I'LL FIGHT HIM, AND CRUSH HIM WITHIN A MINUTE OF THE MATCH!" Ryuma's speech ended on that note.

Ryuma understood now why Toga immediately went to Diaga. It was a one in a lifetime opportunity to shut Diaga up with no repercussions. If so, then this was the right course of action.

The whole class went silent. Much as they looked down on him, none would dare want to challenge him. His reputation for combat was unmatched whenever he got serious. Ryuma thought cornering them would work, but still, nobody was going to be the first to take the bait.

Amongst the silence, there was a lone person slowly clapping. Ryuma looked in the direction the sound was coming from and followed it all the way to where High Edict Gen was sitting.

"Well, well. I have to say. Here I thought this exam was just going to be a bore like all the others." Gen said.

He started walking down the stairs where the audience seats would be. His bond guard Eroll following his every move.

He leaned on the railing. "Would it not be a shame if nobody answered this young man's challenge? One measly minute hardly seems like it'd last very long." Gen said. The way his mouth curled upwards, and his eyes were closed, Ryuma glared with apprehension.

Sure, having the High Edict on his side would help immensely… but even so, something just didn't seem right about this man. He wasn't doing it to help him specifically, that much Ryuma deduced. What he was after is the real mystery.

The High Edicts made decisions in ways most of the people in the Skylands didn't get, and the Ichizo family, were extreme oddballs even by their standards.

Despite his smiling and every bit of his demeanor, the students he was talking to all froze. They all started looking at each other, wondering if anybody was going to be that one to step up.

"Wow, that's amazing. Not a single one has stepped up to the plate." Gen said, smiling that creepy smile. In a rare moment, he opened his eyes. "It's almost as if… they're more scared of you, than they are of me."

{That was a major threat.}

Like everybody else in the vicinity, he was able to read between the lines, but what Ryuma didn't know was who that threat was aimed at. In the surface, it looked to be aimed at the students. Underneath it all, it seemed like he was informing Ryuma that he saw him as someone challenging his authority.

"SIR!" Wen Shiang ran up to him and kneeled. "It would be my honor to be the one to fight Ryuma. I'm the best up there. It should be fitting he loses to me."

Gen closed his eyes again. "Now there's some enthusiasm I want to see. State your name."

"My name is Wen Shiang. It's an honor to meet your acquaintance sir. If my lord desires, I'll be the one to dispatch this embarrassment from the academy." Wen said.

"Ahhh… now there goes a loyal dog. If I didn't see the clothes, I wouldn't have thought you were even a Dragon." Gen teased.

Although Ryuma couldn't see his face, he could tell there was an air of shame following that comment. This was what the High Edict was all about. Always talking down on the members of the order.

"Alas… call it a whim of sorts, but I have a change of heart." Gen said.

Ryuma and all the students looked at him puzzled. Change of heart about what exactly?

"I've decided with this group of graduates, only two possible outcomes will happen. Either all of you pass and Ryuma fails, or Ryuma passes and all of you fail."

Everybody stood and let what he said sink in.

"I think you have a good idea what you should be doing by now. But I prefer you do it in fives, less we make it too unfair." Gen smiled as he said this.

Though everyone was still connecting the dots, Ryuma already knew what was about to happen. There were thirty students in his class. If they wanted to pass and become members of the order, they were going to have to take him out and fail him here. If he wanted to pass, he was going to have to beat twenty-nine other people, five at a time.

Looking around, it was clear that the smarter one's caught on almost as early as he did.

"EVERYONE WITH THE FIVE LOWEST SCORES, GET IN THE ARENA RIGHT NOW!" Wen yelled.

That one order was like a trigger of sorts to finally get everyone on the same page. All the students got the gist of what's going on now.

Without question, the five with the lowest scores overall, hopped into the arena and materialized their weapons. There was two of them with a sword, a spear, a bow, and a duel axe surrounding him on all sides.

Ryuma quickly materialized his black and white duel katana's.

It was a quick, makeshift plan Wen came up with on the fly, so it was easy for Ryuma to figure out. He was trying to win by tiring him out with all the fodder before it got to the final four. If he were any ordinary battle priest, this would actually be a good plan.

But this was better than the alternative that he had in mind. If Wen were a better strategist than that, it would have been much more of a problem if the guy had put one of the tops in different teams. That way, at least the top could co-ordinate with their lesser, in order to last longer in battle and ultimately become more effective.

He sidestepped the one coming at him with a sword and knocked him down with little problem. He spun around another, pushing him away and blocked the guy with the duel axe. He pushed off him and flipped away when an arrow came whizzing past his face.

There was a small cut, leaving a red mark against his cheek. That archer would be a problem if she were any skilled.

The one with the spear thrusted at him. He dodged and knocked it out of the away, spinning in the process of doing so.

"WIND ARTES: DUEL CYCLONE!"

A small whirlwind formed around him, knocking each of the contestants off the arena. If they got knocked out, shouldn't that mean they were out permanently? Ryuma looked up at the High Edict. Gen nodded his head once and smiled.

"NEXT FIVE, GET UP THERE!" Wen ordered.

Ryuma took a deep breath. Looks like Wen wasn't going to change his plan. He pulled both the arms he was holding his katanas with. "Five down, only twenty-four more to go.