The Greatest Summoner (Densetsu no Sekai: I)

Part 5: Difference in Power

Everyone here seemed extremely strong; even the teacher standing here appeared way stronger than the others I've seen. He was a buff, muscular man with white hair, a scruffy beard, and an eyepatch. Dressed in a velvet buttoned shirt paired with black pants, he exuded authority. It wasn't long until he started talking and introduced himself.

"My name is Barbatos. If you're here, it means you've exceeded our expectations. Successfully complete the remaining tests, and you'll be assigned to either Alpha or Beta class. Those who fail will likely end up in Charlie, but dropping to Delta or Echo at this stage is nearly impossible. Congratulations. I will pair you up with someone directly opposing the elements you dominate."

The teacher began pairing up students, and then it was my turn. I got paired up with another summoner. Summoning magic doesn't have an actual opposite, except other summoners. Nervous and feeling guilty about using the bracelet, I took it off, deciding to engage in a fair duel.

"My name is Cain. I heard that you're an Akamatsu. I'll make sure to beat you and send you back home to that poor mongrel village."

His words angered me, and without hesitation, I put the bracelet back on while preventing anyone from noticing. The teacher instructed us to get into position and prepare. I assumed a defensive stance since it was his turn to attack. For this test, we didn't need to use a summon; a basic projectile would work fine.

Cain launched his attack, opting for a dangerous artifact summon instead of a basic magic attack. I managed to block it without much hassle. He grinded his teeth and started to get mad. As I prepared to attack, I noticed something; the bracelet Hiro gave me broke.

I started to get nervous. If I failed this test and the final one, everything would be over. Not only that, but I couldn't reach my brother at this moment, and any suspicious movement could reveal the bracelet. It seems that I have to do this fair and square. As I prepared my attack, I started gathering all the energy I could, having not used much during the first test. Maybe I'll have more than enough to at least get into Charlie class. When I launched my attack, nothing worse could've happened; I missed my attack at point-blank, and all the students began laughing.

"That's enough, everyone. Get back to your tests. Akamatsu, mind explaining what just happened?"

"I- couldn't aim properly. I was nervous."

"How is it possible that you couldn't aim at such a close distance? All this test does is verify your attack and defense potential. You've proven your defense, but not only did you miss the attack, it was so feeble it didn't even make a dent on the wall." Barbatos looked at his assistant. "Take this kid and make him repeat the first test again!"

The teacher was furious, and I was promptly escorted to the past testing ground. When I arrived, Dahlia was already doing her final test, showcasing her unique earth-type magic. She created a tree and a wall of thorns in seconds. Once the teacher calculated her magic level, she was assigned to Beta class.

The teacher stared at me and asked what I was doing back here again. The assistant answered for me, and the students who remained in this room began laughing, all except Dahlia. I was asked to hold the orb once more; my brother was nowhere to be seen. Even if he was here, he wouldn't be able to help. I grabbed the orb and channeled as much energy as I could. It barely started glowing blue, so faint that you could barely notice it. Dahlia looked at me with a worried face.

There was nothing that I could do. I gave back the orb and prepared for the worst. The teacher said that I would have a second chance for the second test, but that there was no one else they could pair me with, so they assigned Dahlia to help. We both took our positions, and I attacked first. My attack was so weak that Dahlia's shield barely reacted. Then it was my turn to defend. When she attacked, I couldn't hold my shield up, and her attack hit me. Dahlia rushed towards me, worried that she hurt me. I fell to my knees; her attack didn't hurt, but it took all my breath away. This wasn't looking good for me; I had failed twice.