The next morning came sooner than Kael thought it would.
Sunlight filled his room at Apex Academy. Kael did not really notice it. He had not slept much during the night because every time he closed his eyes he saw his mother standing in front of him protecting him from that scary god.
Kael clenched his fists tightly.
I will become strong enough to protect myself he thought to himself.
Then he heard a knock on the door.
"Come in " Kael said loudly.
The door. Professor Orion Hale walked into the room.
" Morning " Orion said with a smile. "I hope you are ready for today."
"For what?" Kael asked, even though he already knew what the answer would be.
"The entrance test at Apex Academy " Orion replied.
Kael got out of bed away.
Orion said, "Follow me " and Kael did.
A minutes later Kael arrived at a huge arena inside the academy.
The place was really big with thousands of seats around a battlefield made of black stone. Many students stood around the arena all looking different. Some were confident some were nervous and some were excited.
Some students were holding weapons and others had glowing energy around their bodies.
Kael felt a little surprised when he saw all of this.
"So these are the students at Apex Academy " he said to himself.
Orion corrected him "They are candidates and only a few will pass the test."
Kael looked around at the crowd.
Most of them looked very strong.
Then a boy with silver hair walked past him and smirked.
"So you are the guy everyone is talking about " the boy said.
Kael looked at him. Asked, "And you are?"
The boy crossed his arms confidently and said, "I am Rex Draven."
His eyes shone with arrogance as he said, "I heard you survived an attack from a god and I want to see if the rumors are true or if you are just lucky."
Kael did not respond to Rex.
He just looked away.
Rex scoffed, "Tch, acting cool already."
Then a loud voice echoed across the arena.
"All candidates gather in the center of the arena " the voice said.
A tall woman stood on a platform above the arena.
She wore a red combat uniform and a powerful aura surrounded her.
"I am Instructor Valeria " she announced.
"Welcome to the entrance examination of Apex Academy."
The crowd became silent instantly as Instructor Valeria continued, "Today's test is defeat the monster that we will release."
She raised her hand and the ground of the arena suddenly opened.
From the darkness a massive creature climbed out.
The students gasped as they saw the giant beast covered in scales with glowing red eyes and razor-sharp claws.
The creature roared loudly. The entire arena shook.
Instructor Valeria explained calmly "This creature is called a Shadow Beast and your task is to defeat it."
The students were shocked. Someone shouted, "W-What?! That thing is huge! Are you serious?!"
Instructor Valeria's expression remained cold as she said "If you cannot defeat a monster like this you have no place in Apex Academy."
The Shadow Beast suddenly. Charged toward the students.
Panic spread instantly as several students ran away and others tried to attack but were thrown aside easily.
Kael watched everything carefully. Thought to himself "This monster is strong but it is not impossible to defeat."
Then Rex jumped forward. Said, "Move aside!"
Blue lightning exploded around his body as he dashed toward the beast at speed.
He shouted, "Lightning Strike!". His punch slammed into the creature's body pushing it backward.
The students gasped in amazement. The Shadow Beast roared again and swung its claws violently.
Rex barely managed to dodge the attack. Said, "Damn it this creature is still standing."
Kael slowly stepped forward and everyone looked at him.
Someone shouted, "Hey what are you doing?!"
Kael ignored them and walked toward the monster calmly.
Rex frowned and said, "You think you can handle it?"
Kael did not answer,. Something strange happened.
A faint blue light began glowing around his body and the air around him started to tremble.
High, above the arena Professor Orion narrowed his eyes. Thought to himself "So it is already awakening…"
Kael looked directly at the Shadow Beast and his eyes glowed bright blue.
For the time the power of the God Slayer Bloodline began to awaken inside him.
The monster. Charged toward him but Kael did not move.
Instead he whispered quietly "Come,". The real test had finally begun. ⚡