36. I will do it.
After weeks of rigorous training, a month went by in the twinkle of an eye. It was finally the first day of the first semester examinations at Red Falcons Academy. All the elders of the academy were present in the hall.
Mr Coniel Adams, Elder Moa, Elder Suni, Derrick, and Ember were present. The atmosphere was clouded with all shades of anxiety.
Despite everything, Christopher and his friends were still smiling. They had spent the past month taking lessons from the immortal brothers; Tain and Jangwu. With everything they had learned so far, they were confident that they would scale through.
According to the code of conduct, at every red Falcons exam, the disciples were required to wear one of the colors of the academy and for that reason, they were all dressed in shades of red, gold, and white robes.
The disciples were all seated in a circle formation, while the Elders and Mr. Coniel Adams sat in the center. In front of the elders was a ring made for the students' activities which was where the exam would take place. With one nod from Elder Suni, Ember got up to address the disciples.
“Welcome to the first semester examinations for first-year students.”
“Some of you might have received information from your seniors about what the first semester examinations are like and what you are to expect.”
“Well as you might already know, you would be given a task for each day and you would only be told what it entails on the day of the exam.”
“So this time around…..” Ember continued.
Just then Mr Coniel Adams gave her a signal and whispered something into her ear. She simply nodded and sat down while he continued.
“I know you all have spent the past month preparing for this examination and alas it's finally here.”
“Your first exam would be on swordsmanship.”
Their mouths all dropped as they wondered what was going on, Elder Suni looked at Ember in an attempt to probe her. After all, no one knew what he whispered to her.
Elder Suni cautiously went towards Mr. Coniel Adams.
“Is something wrong?”
“The swordsmanship exam usually comes last.”
“So why are you making it the first?”
“I know what I'm doing,” he answered briefly and faced the disciples.
"This is the first time it's happening this way, but of what use is something if it's not prone to change?”
He smiled and they managed to return his smile. Most of them were already confused.
“Compared to every other time, I'm testing your perseverance.”
“The reason why the swordsmanship exam came last is that you are most likely to get injured in it, so it only makes sense to make it the last so you can get enough time to recover.”
“However, if you are not able to persevere in the real world, How will you survive?”
The other elders kept quiet because they couldn't go against him. More like a cat got their tongue.
“I believe Derrick would like to explain the order of the examination.”
With that being said, Mr Coniel took his seat.
“Well, for the swordsmanship exams, it is required for everyone to participate and you would all have to fight in pairs until we have the last man standing. It's a simple order.”
He took a remote from the table and pointed it at a big flat screen adjacent to them.
“These are your opponents.”
There were 50 disciples taking part in the examination and they had all been grouped in pairs of two on the screen. It was just as the immortal brothers had told Christopher and his friends before.
“Let the exam begin.”
They took deep breaths in as their faces were plastered by uncertainty. The first disciple according to the order on the screen came forward followed by his opponent.
They bowed slightly and moved away from each other wielding their swords. Their eyes were fixed on each other before they started attacking.
The opponent was rather fierce in his attacks but the former was able to defend himself properly. He rarely attacked him, he only focused on defending. This made his opponent have the upper hand and everyone thought he was going to win. This fierceness of his had some similitude to recklessness as he only focused on attacking without ensuring to protect himself.
A few minutes into the fight, the former launched a fresh wound on his opponent's shoulder now causing him to wince in pain. He steadied himself while they continued fighting. The former had already received three strikes due to his opponent's uncalculated attacks. One strike left and he would be out.
As soon as he noticed him trying to launch another attack at him, he braced himself and focused carefully. Now seeing that his opponent had created a loophole for him to win, he was ready to take him on. While his opponent was mere inches away from letting the blade wound him, he went forward with his sword and blocked his attack. His opponent had not anticipated this, so with enough pressure from the swords clashing, he lost his balance and the sword fell from his hand.
Everyone jumped up and shouted. The former had won.
They were both taken out of the ring to get their wounds treated and now the exam was beginning to get interesting.
The next set of disciples went and continued fighting. This went on for a couple of minutes until it was her seventeenth round.
Now it was Evangeline's turn. Despite being the youngest in the academy, her skills are not to be underestimated, she walked into the ring with so much boldness that even her opponent felt intimidated.
Although she was much older than Evangeline they needed to wait and see. The exam started as everyone's eyes moved left, right, and center not wanting to lose any moment of their fight. Evangeline being the smart girl that she was used her little stature to her advantage.
Her opponent was also talented. Sounds of swords clashing filled the room while they all focused with immense concentration.
While it seemed as if the fight would not come to an end, their skills were top-notch. Evangeline made use of combo attacks while her opponent countered them.
In an attempt to lounge forward and attack her, Evangeline bent low and moved away causing her to fall face flat on the ground. Evangeline pinned her as she placed the edge of the sword close to her neck. With heavy pants, it was clear who won this round. A round of applause followed as Evangeline wowed everyone with her skills. She stretched her hand and her opponent took it. They bowed slightly and left there to meet the first aiders to treat their respective wounds although they were barely injured.
The eighteenth round began and it was Valerie’s turn. As usual, she won even though it was evident that she was very nervous. The exam went on and on until the final round.
However one thing was surprising, Christopher and Sarah's names were not on the screen and while Christopher had tried to bring the attention of the elders to it they had only responded saying Mr Coniel was in charge of this one.
Their eyes met and he smirked at Christopher. This was confusing, but Christopher had to wait and see what he had up his sleeves.
At the end of the final round, 24 disciples had been eliminated, the remaining 26, Christopher and Sarah, inclusive. The names were reordered and there were 13 rounds.
This time around Christopher could see his name alongside Sarah. They sighed in relief and the second stage began, it was quite tough compared to the first stage. The disciples fought tirelessly and refused to give up. Mr Coniel seemed to be enjoying the spectacle as he continued grinning from ear to ear.
Christopher was paired with someone he wasn't too familiar with and he finished the round in a matter of seconds. He made sure to avoid getting struck and the round ended without him having any strikes.
When it got to Sarah's turn, it was also a walkover for her. At the end of the round, they were all smiles seeing how they used their skills and finished the round unscathed. They did not have to get treated for wounds.
Now there were thirteen disciples left and the semi-final stage was declared. The other disciples were confused because even if they were paired in two they would still have three or four rounds left.
So what changed?
Mr Coniel announced that this time around there was a time limit. Each round had to end in 180 seconds and a single strike would mean that the disciple was out. If the round wouldn't end, it would be annulled causing both disciples to automatically lose that round.
“These rules are so …..?” Christopher muttered to himself, unable to find the right words to say.
The final round began and Evangeline was the first. Now conscious of the time, she made sure she sparred with all her might. She sent her opponent a mult hit attack that was well defended by a counterattack but just when it was least expected, she sent a single strike that made her opponent lose balance. She managed to finish the round in 120 seconds and she was well commended. If anything, Christopher was very proud of her.
Other rounds went on involving Valerie, Zinedine, Andrew, Christine, Spencer, Phil, and so on. Now they were six in number and they had to continue. It was the remaining Christopher, Sarah, Evangeline, Zane, Valerie and Andrew.
Christopher was paired with Zane and he could tell that he was excited about it. Knowing that Zane was mischievous, Christopher was not willing to take any chances.
Zane started very strong and he was no doubt very talented. However, he was mostly launching rushing and combo strikes. Christopher was however very calculated and with just a single power strike, he was able to defeat him. Zane was humiliated and no doubt fuming with anger. He walked out of the hall face down in shame and no one bothered to stop him.
Sarah took on Valerie and although it was a bit tough, Sarah won her fair and square. Evangeline took on Andrew which was rather surprising but she won him.
Now according to Mr Coniel's instructions, Christopher and Sarah had to fight. They were shocked but it seemed as though this was his plan all along. Sarah shook her head signifying that she wouldn't do it but Mr Coniel's voice thundered in the room.
“Do we take your refusal as a sign of defeat then?”
He stared at Mr Coniel and back at Christopher. He urged her to go ahead and she spoke.
“I will do it.”
They both took out their swords and he spoke again. One more thing, you have only three minutes. They nodded and began.