CHAPTER 73: The Final Exam Begins.
Aiden changed into his academy clothes as he washed up and went to the cafeteria all alone. His footsteps echoed quietly in the hallway, calm and steady, showing not even a hint of hurry.
When he entered the cafeteria, all the students instinctively glanced at him for a brief moment before quickly returning to their own meals.
Their reactions were subtle, but inside their hearts, every single one of them now knew who he was. Aiden walked forward without paying attention to any of them.
He took a tray and placed food on it one piece at a time, moving with his usual quiet discipline. Then he walked to a corner of the cafeteria and sat down alone. He began to slowly eat his food, not caring about anyone around him. His face was calm, his eyes steady, and his mind focused on his meal.
After a few moments, someone approached him with a tray in his hand. The footsteps stopped right in front of Aiden. Aiden lifted his gaze slightly.
It was Ian—the same Ian he had defeated so easily in the duel, the genius of the Pavlov family.
Ian sat beside Aiden and said, "Good morning."
Aiden looked at him and nodded once, then continued eating peacefully. Ian stared at him for a moment before asking, "How did you get this strong?"
Aiden didn't reply. He continued eating as calmly as before, not even slightly disturbed by the question.
Ian waited for a moment, then sighed lightly as he said, "So you don't want to tell me about it. But it doesn't matter. I will beat you one day, for sure."
Aiden still didn't reply. He simply continued eating his food. He was not interested in anything that Ian had to say. His main focus was to maintain his breathing technique while doing everything.
Ian stopped speaking as he had already said what he wanted to say. He then began to eat his food peacefully.
A few moments later, Aaron and Victoria arrived with trays in their hands. They saw Ian sitting beside Aiden, and both of them were surprised. They hadn't expected Ian to be here, much less sitting with Aiden.
Still, they didn't say anything as they quietly sat down and began to eat. They were both exhausted from the morning training, and right now they only wanted to fill their stomachs as quickly as possible.
A few minutes later, Olivia arrived with a tray in her hand. When she saw how the number of people sitting with Aiden had increased, she looked at him and commented, "Why do people seem to increase around you every day?"
Aiden didn't reply, but both Aaron and Victoria nodded in agreement as they continued eating.
All of them ate their food silently. Aiden was the first one to finish. He stood up without saying anything and left the cafeteria, heading straight toward the training ground. Today was the practical class of water mana.
It would be just like the fire mana practical class—the students would duel each other, and the professor would point out their strengths and weaknesses.
Aiden soon arrived at the middle of the training ground. Many students were already standing there, talking among themselves. Some were excited, some nervous, but all of them stood straight when they noticed Aiden walk in.
At that moment, Sophia suddenly appeared in the center. She was wearing a blue regal dress. She clapped her hands lightly to gather everyone's attention.
Her calm and confident voice echoed across the field as she said, "Today is the practical class of water mana. Every student will fight in a friendly duel with each other, and I will analyze your strengths and weaknesses. I will also tell you how to improve them."
Every student heard this and nodded seriously.
Then Sophia asked the same question that Logan had asked, "So who wants to go first?"
Suddenly, Ashley lifted her hand confidently and said, "Ma'am, I want to go first." Then she looked towards Aiden, pointed at him, and said, "And I want to fight Julian."
Everyone was stunned the moment they heard this. They all knew that Aiden had defeated Ian easily. They also knew Ashley was proud, but none expected her to take such a direct step.
But Sophia looked at her for a second, then she turned toward Aiden and asked, "Do you accept her challenge?"
Aiden nodded. He walked forward calmly. Ashley also stepped out, her eyes firm as she faced him. All the other students backed off to make space for the duel.
Ashley glared at Aiden and said, "You won't be so arrogant after this duel. Even though you are a commoner, you should still be humble towards others."
Aiden didn't reply. He simply looked straight into her eyes, his expression unchanged.
Sophia positioned herself to the side and said, "This is just a friendly duel, so try not to injure each other too severely."
Then she took a deep breath and shouted, "Begin!"
The moment she said this, Aiden conjured a water stream and launched it toward Ashley. Ashley was stunned.
Aiden's casting speed was far faster than hers. She quickly placed her hand on the ground, and a water wall rose in front of her. The attack struck the wall, splashing water everywhere, but before she could relax, a cold shiver suddenly ran down her spine.
She felt something cold coil around her neck.
It was a water whip—thin, flexible, and tightly wrapped around her throat. It had completely wrapped around her neck like a snake.
Ashley froze in complete shock. Fear instantly spread through her entire body.
Then she heard Aiden's cold voice, "If this were a real battle, you would have probably died by now."
These words were the same ones he had spoken to Victoria during their first duel. Hearing them herself, Ashley felt fear crawl deeper into her heart. Her eyes widened in helpless panic.
Suddenly, the whip vanished. Aiden walked past her and left the center calmly, not even glancing back. Ashley stood there in complete horror, her entire body trembling from fear.
Sophia suddenly appeared beside Ashley and asked, "Are you alright?"
Ashley didn't reply. She continued standing there, frozen and wide-eyed. Sophia gently placed a hand on her shoulder and guided her to the side, comforting her slowly.
But Ashley didn't reply as she only trembled violently. Even the thought of being close to death made her tremble even more.
After that, the other students began dueling each other one by one. Sophia observed them, pointing out mistakes and offering advice. The class continued for a long time until all the students had finished their duels.
When the class ended, Aiden went straight to his private training room. He began training his breathing technique while using spells, pushing himself harder with every passing moment.
Hours went by as he focused on perfecting his movements and controlling his mana flow without interruption.
After six long hours, he finally stepped out of the room. His breathing was steady, his expression unchanged. He looked at the guard who was once again standing outside the room and nodded towards him. He then walked back to the dorm calmly.
After a few minutes of walking, he arrived in his room. Aaron greeted him, and Aiden simply nodded before going to the washroom. He washed himself with cold water, feeling the heat of training fade away.
After that, both of them sat cross-legged on the bed and absorbed mana until they felt tired. Then they lay down and went to sleep.
Days continued to pass like this. Aiden and the others trained diligently without missing a single day. But many nobles who now knew that Aiden was a commoner began to cause problems for him, but every single one of them was beaten to a pulp by Aiden.
After a few months, all the nobles had begun to fear Aiden as they didn't provoke him any further. Even the professors who supported the Draconia family didn't mess with Aiden because he was now the adopted son of William.
Aiden and his friends all trained diligently and Olivia also joined Aiden, Victoria, and Aaron in their morning training. Aiden fought all three of them and beat them every single day.
All of them began to grow stronger. Aaron had now learned how to fight using his spells properly, while Victoria had improved drastically in both reaction time and spell control.
Olivia also learned new ways to use her parasites in battle as she had also gotten stronger.
A full year has passed now.
Now the final exam has arrived. It was a competition between all ten departments and their top students. There would be team matches as well as single duels. All academy students, their parents, professors, and families would be present to watch.
A huge stadium had been prepared. It was filled with thousands of people, all buzzing with excitement and curiosity. At the very top balcony, William arrived. His voice echoed loudly throughout the entire place as he said:
"Let the contest begin!"
Thus, the final exam of the first-year students began, and Aiden's strength—as well as the strength of his friends—remained a complete mystery.
No one knew how powerful they had become after training with him.
But they were about to find out soon.
Author's Note: The final exam of the first year begins. As every student has been training for a whole year, how strong will everyone be after their training? Find out in the next chapters.