They only had twenty minutes, and fortunately, the cafeteria made food fast.
"So what do you mean by making us stronger while eating?"
Zed swept his palm over the food like he was doing some magic and said with a smile, "I've enchanted this food. Once you finish eating, you will find out."
Lina rolled her eyes. "You're kidding."
"Yeah, you did nothing there." Katy was speechless.
"What I do cannot be seen by others. Now hurry, let's eat or we'll be late."
The trio began eating and left.
Five minutes remained until the headmaster returned.
After coming back to the classroom where others were, Zed told them to spar against each other again.
Katy and Lina soon began and were instantly shocked.
Swift punches, kicks, dodges, fast acrobatic moves, even their speed, body coordination, and everything increased.
The more they fought, the better they became, as the experience they were given by Zed was unearthing.
Even the surrounding students were surprised and started watching as they sparred against each other in pure martial arts.
"Let's bring out a bit more." Zed suddenly jumped between them, intercepting Katy's kick by rising his while swiftly blocking Lina's punch and switching his hand to grab it.
Before the two girls could respond, Zed pushed both of them away.
"Come on, let me have some warm-up before the round begins."
Lina and Katy grinned at each other, excited, and their blood rushing as they pounced on Zed.
They were also getting used to their increased parameters, but couldn't land a proper hit on Zed despite the 2 vs 1 spar.
"They are good." A slick, yellow-haired girl muttered, her blue eyes were clear like a pure pond atop a mountain as she watched the trio.
"I would say not bad, Risa. They might get chosen, but I doubt they have skills as good as ours." A blue-haired boy not too far from her spoke.
Risa observed Zed without blinking. "That guy is quite good, Nelis. He is fighting like my grandfather. Polished, refined, and smooth. I don't think anyone here can beat him in pure martial arts."
Nelis looked at Zed and muttered. "Martial arts is not everything."
"But it's a foundation."
Suddenly, a gong rang and attracted everyone's attention.
The headmaster had arrived as he floated with his hands behind his back.
"It is time to start round two."
Three other people arrived and stood behind him. They were instructors of the academy. One of them was Mr. Liu.
"The second round is simple. Instructor Daisy, Instructor Liu, and Instructor Garfield here will take you on. Each one of you will attack and fight with all you've got against them for one minute."
"And I will watch." Headmaster smiled. "Once all of you have finished your one-minute demonstration, I will choose the twenty of you, and my decision will be final."
"Now, line up in four rows with one meter between each of you. Step on the lift when the instructor calls out your names."
As he finished speaking, the headmaster snapped his finger, and like a river, a mystical earthen claw burst forth.
It formed pillars and created three 30-meter radius battlerings like an arena.
The instructors arrived and stood on the edges of the battlerings as they looked at the students from above.
Three aesthetic earthen disks formed before the rows of students, before the headmaster flew up and sat down in a chair above the stadiums for a view of all three battlerings.
"Wait, so we can watch each other fighting?"
"Guess so."
"Tsk."
"Who cares. We'll compete against each other in the Playground anyway."
A loud gong rang, and one by one, the instructors called out names.
The three of them confidently stepped out and stood on the stone disks, which quickly flew up and took them to the arenas.
The students began chatting.
"Those three are from outside, right?"
"Yeah. They are heirs of powerful player families."
"How many of them are here?"
"I am counting seven. I've seen the rest of the students from both general classes and elite classes, but those seven are new ones."
"So the competition for thirteen spots, not twenty. Those seven are guaranteed."
"I wish I could see them fighting."
Time passed, and every couple of minutes, three students performed their demonstrations and returned.
Lina and Katy were called out in the same batch, so both went on nervously.
"Relax. You both will definitly pass," Zed said as they walked towards the stone disks.
They returned soon.
"Zed Vaylith."
"Jason Fost."
"Berry Cyna."
Zed blinked and stepped out, passing by Lina and Katy.
"Why were you so sure they would win?" Jason asked.
Zed looked at Jason and smiled. "I can see the future."
"Will I pass?" Jason turned away and muttered as the stone disks flew up and led them differently.
Suddenly, Zed's voice rang in his hand.
'You will if you think your life depends on it.'
Jason looked at the middle battlering as they arrived at the top and saw Zed's back. 'How did he send his voice to my mind? Does he have talent in the Spirit path too?'
But he didn't have time to think about that as he faced Instructor Liu.
"I am not going to hit back. All you have to do is attack me with all your might and combat ability."
Jason nodded, his face somber.
On the other hand, Zed faced the burly, muscled instructor, Garfield.
"Boy, give me everything you got."
Zed smiled. 'If I do that, you'll disappear.'
"Sure, instructor."
Zed stood in a simple boxing stance with his fists raised. "Then I'll start."
In the next moment, Zed's figure blurred as he appeared next to Garfield to his left, his fist striking his arm as a booming sound rang loudly. Icy burst out as his icicle shard that tried to penetrate Instructor Garfield's skin shattered.
Not a single student had made a sound like this. The kids below were surprised.
'Fortification? How come he already knows this advanced Ki technique?' Garfield was surprised, and so was the headmaster.
Zed jumped back before he spun as Icicle Spears shot from his fist, each one breaking the sound barrier as he used the power of his body's flow, exerting his physical power to the max while unleashing them. The spears were spinning, and when they struck Garfield, they blasted into a spray of frost, creating frost on Garfield's body.
Garfield's eyes flickered with shock. 'This is not a D-rank Icicle Fist anymore. What the hell? Is he really a general student?'
He glanced at the headmaster above. 'Old man, who is this monster?'
The headmaster was smiling as he watched Zed.
After throwing five spears one by one, the Icicle Fist's glove burst forth with ice that formed into a giant five-meter-long and one-meter-thick hammer as Zed jumped and spun once, drawing momentum from the hammer's weight to dive down fast before smacking it on Garfield.
BOOOM!
"What the hell is going on above?"
"Who is making such noise?"
"It's coming from the middle stadium."
"I think that black-haired new guy from general class went there."
"Huh? Is he powerful?"
"His martial arts were pretty awesome, but I don't know about his skills."
Soon, one minute passed by, and Zed stopped, landing on the ground after his last attack right before the countdown hit zero in his mind.
"You're good." Garfield grinned. "Can't wait to see you grow."
Zed chuckled as he began walking towards the edge. "You won't have to wait much."
Garfield looked at the headmaster. 'Where did you find such a gem?'
'That's the thing. He landed on my lap like the world just said to me, surprise motherfucker.'
'Your mood is understandably good. Are you going to make him the ace? Others won't be convinced easily since he is still just a Novice.'
'Not my place to speak about this.' Garfield added quickly as he shook his head and called out the next student's name after Liu and Daisy called.
Soon, all fights were over.
"Well done, everyone. You all did your best."
The arena dissolved, and the headmaster faced everyone on the ground.
"But today, only twenty among you will get on the airship and go on a riveting adventure as players."
"Zed Vaylith."
"Risa Raven."
"Denji Kroma."
"Aaryn Ruthor."
"Nelis Falcon."
"Morav…."
The headmaster spoke twenty names.
Lisa and Katy included!
"And lastly…"
Jason clenched his fists. 'Please, say my name.'
"Zack Tivor."