L - 694

In order to not bother the Imperial Scholar, Skymender moved away, bringing the crowd with him. He sat at a table, and they surrounded him, asking a bunch of questions. It wasn't simply because of the last fight that they admired him, but also because of the events that took place a few years before.

They continued to crowd around him until the second event was announced. As before, Sword Master Gargantuan stepped out.

He explained the strength testing event, and described the age groups. One would be for those under eighteen, such as Skymender.

The second would be for those between the age of eighteen and forty. The final one would be for those older than forty. Usually, the second group had the best overall results.

Unlike the last time he attended the Noble Gathering, Skymender decided to participate in the strength event. With his stature, everyone seemed surprised when he walked up to the transformed stage.

Only the girl he had fought didn't seem to think he was overestimating himself. He had only used his full strength in that last strike, and she knew how strong he really was. Or at least she thought that he had been using his full strength.

Along with Skymender were a few bigger people, some fat, some tall, and some muscular.

Sword Master Gargantuan had servants lay out weights that got heavier and heavier. In the end, he himself had to pick up the last few weights and move them, as the combined strength of five servants was not enough.

"Whoever among you wants to go first, go ahead." Sword Master Gargantuan said, his body towering over everything on the stage.

A fat person went first, likely around seventeen years old. He picked up the first few weights without any difficulty, as even a normal person wouldn't struggle. 

There were twenty weights in total. As he got to the tenth weight, he struggled intensely.

Using every ounce of strength in his body, he succeeded in picking up the tenth weight. He stopped there, not needing to even test the eleventh weight.

Next, a tall muscular man went forward. He too seemed around seventeen. In fact, Skymender seemed to be the youngest person on the stage. The second youngest was fifteen years old.

He made it to the twelfth weight before giving up.

After a few more people, Skymender was the only person who hadn't stepped forward. 

There weren't many people on the stage, and not even thirty minutes had passed.

Sword Master Gargantuan looked at him. "Go ahead."

Skymender nodded and walked forward, analyzing Sword Master Gargantuan.

He was truly a monster among humans. Skymender estimated that the swipe of his hand would be enough to crush Skymender's body. If he was anything less than a rank one Sword Master, Skymender would be surprised.

Skymender made it to the first weight, and effortlessly picked it up. Nobody was surprised until he made it to the tenth weight and lifted it up effortlessly.

He wasn't the first person to do it with ease, but the stature of his body made his achievement shocking.

The highest so far was a muscular person who had lifted the sixteenth weight, and had nearly lifted the seventeenth.

Despite that, Sword Master Gargantuan had yet to seem impressed.

Skymender lifted up the eleventh and the twelfth, shocking everyone watching. Even Sword Master Gargantuan paid attention. After all, his stature was that of a scholar.

He lifted up the thirteenth, and had to put some effort in at the 14th.

The Imperial Scholar watched with a victorious look on his face. After all, it was he who had designed Skymender's chest, and that was the reason he was going so far.

Skymender lifted the fifteenth and the sixteenth, tying himself with first place. The entire room was silent as people watched with shock and surprise. Even the Imperial and Royal families were impressed by what they were seeing. Whether it was sword fighting or intelligence, neither was as shocking as seeing someone of a small stature pick up something so heavy that someone of a much bigger stature had failed to pick up.

And Skymender was that shocking person. 

One more, and he would be the victor.

Skymender stepped forward, and with a bit of effort, picked up the seventeenth weight. However, he did not stop there. He picked up the eighteenth weight and moved to the nineteenth.

Unfortunately, he failed there. The nineteenth weight was far too heavy for him to pick up.

However, not a single person in the room was unimpressed. In fact, only one person was not shocked, and that was the Imperial Scholar, who knew exactly what Skymender was capable of.

As he stood up and stepped away from the weight, clapping filled the room. It was rare for a round of applause to occur, but it did due to Skymender's actions.

Even Sword Master Gargantuan gave a nod of approval before speaking. 

"Incredible. For a noble to pick up the eighteenth weight, and with such a stature, is something I've never seen before. Throughout all of the Noble Gatherings in history, you are tied for first in the youth strength test."

Of course, this was only because Sword Master Gargantuan was not a noble and had never participated.

Skymender thanked him and stepped off of the stage. 

A few more rounds for different ages started, and quickly finished up.

With this, the second event was over. All that remained was the third event, the test of intelligence. So far, Skymender had won both the first and second event, something which very few had ever accomplished. He next aimed to win the third, which would be a first in the Empire's history.

After a brief intermission period, where Skymender had to deal with even more people that began to admire him, the third event began. The Imperial Scholar stepped forward and began to speak.

Meanwhile servants changed the stage and made it larger, bringing in papers, chairs, desks, and writing utensils.

"Next will be the intelligence test." The Imperial Scholar said. "All who wish to participate, come now."

Skymender stepped forward, along with a bunch of other people, including the twelve year old child prodigy. Surprisingly, even the Emperor's daughter stepped forward.