This was precisely the scenario Aziel wanted to avoid. He knew that some people were going to form groups and ambush others. It was a good strategy, but it didn't work for Aziel, who needed at least forty flags.
"Get him," the orange-haired boy ordered, gesturing to attack.
Aziel cursed, swinging at the two candidates who were the quickest to get to him.
The spear kept the two candidates at bay; however, the other three reached Aziel from behind.
Aziel twisted fast on his feet, attacking the other three, but at the same time, the two, who were now behind him, struck again.
Excruciating pain pierced him as a punch landed on his back. The enormous force made Aziel stumble and fall. The attackers spared no time and trapped Aziel in a small circle.
Then the orange-haired boy joined and started ruthlessly kicking Aziel right into his head. Blood splattered all over, dying the grass red.
Aziel began to lose his vision when he heard a voice inside his head.
Try to relax as much as possible, and I'll take care of it.
Seeing that Aziel relaxed his muscles, the group got scared.
"Don't tell me he died," one of the guys said with concern.
The group exchanged worried glances, and even the orange-haired guy stopped kicking.
He looked at the others and snorted.
"What is there to fear? Sure, killing someone is against the rules, but this guy was a commoner - nobody will care."
He bent down to grab Aziel's flag.
Aziel's leg snapped upward, heel slamming into his skull. The force was so great that the orange-haired boy fainted on the spot.
Before others could react, Aziel's leg swept the ground, knocking all five candidates to the ground.
Great! Aziel thought. Now I can escape.
But his body didn't follow his thoughts. It moved forward, stripping two guys of their flags, their bodies vanishing on the spot. The situation had turned around completely; it was now only two against one.
The remaining two guys briskly stood up and launched a simultaneous attack.
Swish, the first fist only hit empty air as Aziel dodged. When the arm was completely extended, Aziel grabbed it and pulled the first attacker into the fist of the second.
Aziel grabbed the opportunity when the fist struck the first attacker to secure the flag.
When the second attacker realized that only he was left, he turned around and started running in the other direction.
Aziel scoffed, picked up his improvised spear off the ground, and launched it towards the fleeing candidate. The spear flew fast and struck the candidate in his leg. Injured, he couldn't flee fast enough and was soon caught up to by Aziel, who knocked him out before taking the flag.
Returning to the battlefield, Aziel picked the last flag off the orange-haired boy. Soon after, Aziel obtained control of his body back.
He stared at the six red flags in his hand, his mind replaying past events. The voice made defeating six opponents in such a desperate situation seem as easy as breathing. Once again, Aziel realized how weak he truly was. And he hated himself for it. To make it to the academy was just the first of his many goals, yet he couldn't even achieve this. He was most evidently lacking in both magic and combat prowess.
Kid, just a reminder that you still have to get more than thirty flags, so you'd better get going, and self-reflect later, when all of this is over.
Right… Aziel abandoned his negative thoughts and focused on the task at hand.
He spent the next hour searching for loners and taking their flags. Overall, he only found three, but combined, they had ten flags. All three were already injured, so two of them gave in when Aziel threatened with his spear, while the last one put up a last stance, but was in the end still defeated by Aziel.
When Aziel looked at his gains, he quickly understood that he couldn't continue like this. In one hour out of five, he had only gained seventeen flags. While this would work in theory, it was most likely to fail in reality.
First of all, the voice greatly contributed this time, so the actual number of obtained flags would have been lower.
Second of all, this method heavily relied on luck since one had to find opponents in a short amount of time, and they also had to be alone. If he wasn't careful and stumbled onto a group, Aziel risked getting chased and injured.
Lastly, the number of loners was bound to decrease as the exam progressed because the weaker and unlucky ones would get defeated by larger groups. This would make it harder to find them and, consequently, also harder to obtain flags.
Weighing his options, Aziel suddenly got enlightened.
***
Gabriel was stealthily making his way through the forest. The sun had already set, which made differentiating between shapes way harder. The whole forest was draped in black which only accentuated its eeriness. Still, Gabriel moved with determination, never letting his target out of sight while reducing the distance bit by bit.
When the target decided to take a rest, Gabriel pounced from behind. He put one arm on the girl's neck, immobilizing her, and another across her mouth to prevent her from screaming. The girl started swinging her arms and legs, but Gabriel's strength was simply too dominant. Eventually, the girl gave up and willingly surrendered.
This is the twenty-third flag already. My spot in the academy is guaranteed, but why wouldn't I go hunt some more interesting people? Gabriel thought, heading in a random direction.
Since the Magic Barrier was progressively getting smaller, it was more likely for people to encounter one another. At this stage, where only half an hour remained, the remaining people were all very skilled.
Gabriel continued walking until he heard the sound of leaves rustling behind him. When he turned around, three dark figures surged towards him, one leading and two flanking.