As Rud was recovering from his mini freakout session, Water Guy had moved off to the side and gave Lightning Guy a high five. Lightning Guy then took Water Guy’s place on the stage, standing in the exact same spot. If it weren’t for Water Guy’s broken arm, Slick genuinely would have been unable to tell the difference between them without using mana.


    “4th realm meridian expansion, 3rd stage.”


    “Bloody hell, even your voice is dull and forgettable. Are you hoping you can make enemies and then bore them to death by blending in with the crowd until they lose interest?” Word for word, Slick repeated the same thing he said to Water Guy. They gave off the same vibe, looked the same, had the same cultivation, spoke the same, acted the god-damn same and so he figured, why not insult them the same way?


    Lightning Guy sighed plainly. “Rude.”


    “I’m being fucked with, right?” Slick couldn’t help but turn and ask Rud. “There’re recording devices in here somewhere and you’re just making a fool out of me because I broke that stupid wall. This is a really childish prank, Rud.”


    “I mean, there are recording devices in here, but believe me when I say I’m just as baffled by this as you are.” Rud just shrugged his shoulders. He decided to just stop caring and accept that this world was simply far vaster and weirder than he knew.


    “Your trial will start in three, two, one, BEGIN!” Teng made the decision to just pretend none of this was actually happening and start the trial.


    Lightning Guy jumped back and formed a bow and arrow made of lightning.


    “I swear to god!” Slick was furious.


    “Coiling Draco!”


    Thank fuck, Slick thought. If Lightning Guy shouted ‘Vortex!’ just now, Slick would have flown into a rage, used mana, and slapped the shit out of him.


    Another unique art! How very unique! Or not! It was getting hard to tell with these two…


    Coiling Draco was an art of the ‘Current Modification aspect’, which came under the lightning pillar. The aspects under the lightning pillar, funnily enough, were actually nearly identical to the water pillar. ‘Flow’ and ‘Current Modification’ focused on shaping magic. ‘Surge’ and ‘Amp’ revolved around large quantities of magic, and ‘Ice’ and ‘Thunder’ were alternate aspect options that were slower counterparts that hit harder.


    The arrowhead sparked and mutated into a dragon; its tail wrapped around Lightning Guy’s arm as the head raced forward. The arrow was fired and some differences between it and Water Guy’s became immediately apparent. Lightning Guy’s arrow was not going to hit as hard, but it was so much faster that Slick didn’t even have time to raise his guard. The dragon opened its jaw far wider than it looked like it would ever reasonably be able to, and chomped on Slick’s head.


    Inside the dragon, Slick saw a strange light getting closer and closer.


    Thud


    Slick’s head was smacked backward by a punch from Lightning Guy who had travelled through the tail of the dragon, along the body, and finally through the mouth. The impact of Water Guy’s arrow was far more devastating, but ‘Coiling Draco’ allowed Lightning Guy to quickly follow up on the original attack using the element of surprise. Naturally, the punch he had thrown wasn’t simple either as it was wrapped in thunder aspect magic. Actually, if it weren’t for the worm bolt Water Guy had added to his arrow, the overall damage of Vortex would be pretty much identical to Lightning Guy’s Coiling Draco. Lightning Guy quickly hopped back in the dragon and returned to his original position through the tail. The dragon hung around Slick though, cautiously floating around him.


    If Slick ignored it and let it follow him, Lightning Guy could jump out of it at any moment, either to ambush him or to escape from an attack. If Slick went after it, it would no doubt run away and be a real pain in the ass to catch, wasting his time. There was no real correct answer here so, in the end, he decided to ignore it. Now that he knew it could act as a portal, he just needed to keep an eye on it. If anything, he wanted Lightning Guy to use it. Slick closed in Lightning Guy.


    The dragon opened its maw and moved closer.


    Slick prepared for Lightning Guy to jump out from within.


    Lightning Guy simply ran away.


    The dragon also backed away when Slick showed hesitation. No-one ever said Lightning Guy had to jump through it.


    Slick decided to throw caution to the wind and just charge blindly at Lightning Guy. What was there to be scared of really? Even if Lightning guy jumped through the portal when he wasn’t looking, he could just try a bit harder than he had been up until now and punch him real good! Slick ran at Lightning Guy again but didn’t stop for the dragon this time. He threw a punch using the hand on the opposite side of the dragon to keep an option available just in case.


    The dragon gave up on attacking and veered around the back of Slick to his other side.


    As Slick’s punch was about to hit Lightning Guy, he disappeared into the dragon tail wrapped around his arm. Although Slick tried to avoid this exact scenario, Lightning Guy had appeared on the same side as the fist he had just used. Not that Slick cared, he’d already decided he was going to be a bit less lenient this time so this didn’t concern him at all.


    Before Lightning Guy could even think about raising his arm to attack, Slick’s outstretched arm vanished. Suddenly Lightning Guy’s entire world went completely black thanks to the cold, metal hand grabbing his face.


    Slick could have just as easily grabbed the token, but he knew it would be unfair to try that hard and expect anybody to still pull off a win. Plus, Teng and Rud would for sure get really mad at him for using that much force. Still though, he was going to make sure this guy was hurt at least a little before letting him go.


    Smack


    Slick gave a single, forceful palm to Lightning Guy’s stomach who couldn’t even make any sound other than violent coughing in return. Slick made sure not to hit him hard enough to break anything like he did accidentally with Water Guy, but how could he let him get off this much easier than his brother from another mother? Slick raised Lightning Guy, who was still rather rudely coughing into Slick’s hand, and slammed down toward the platform.


    Bang


    Slick’s open, completely empty hand touched the bottom of the platform surrounded by a torrent of electrically charged water.


    While Lightning Guy was being slammed downward, he gave up on trying to remove the hand attached to his face and instead took out a miniature, translucent pearl. When the pearl was crushed, it let out a pocket tsunami that flooded the immediate area. Slick was too sturdy to attack with the tsunami directly, and the water wasn’t going to soften the impact of the slam much, but it did allow Lightning Guy to turn into lightning and flow through the water to avoid being slammed altogether.


    Slick was currently standing underwater with his palm on his face. Stupid! How could you forget that he would have tools from the Water Guy? But Slick wasn’t going to give up that easily. He promised violence, and he was going to deliver! He firmly planted the tips of his toes on one foot on the floor and mentally prepared himself to get really dizzy.


    Whirrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrllllllllllllllllllllllllll


    Slick started spinning like a top in order to create a vacuum of water with him at the centre. Gradually, all the water that Lightning Guy let out had formed a whirlpool around Slick.


    Unfortunately for Lightning Guy, he was still in the whirlpool. The rapid spinning combined with the stomach blow he took earlier made him throw up a little in his mouth. Thankfully, he was still in his lightning form and no one saw it so, although he felt truly miserable, he wasn’t embarrassed at least.


    Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.


    Slick’s spinning came to an abrupt halt and bits of water burst outward like tiny bullets. Lightning Guy was also sent flying straight into the floor, smacking his back into the platform and causing immense pain in his spine. He let out a quick shriek of pain and writhed around a bit. There were only five seconds left, but he couldn’t move anymore as Slick had seriously overdone it. Who knows how many bones were broken?


    Slick felt really guilty but, if he was going to be reprimanded for it, he might as well take the token and then let Rud and Teng decide what to do with Lightning Guy after. They’d probably still let him in as the force used by Slick was definitely overkill and a clear violation of what was acceptable. The test was supposed to be hard, and Slick never showed any leniency, but he had definitely been a bit too extreme this time. Slick took a step next to Lightning Guy and bent over to take the token.


    Wow, Slick muttered in his mind in disbelief. Has he seriously not given up? Out of the corner of his eye, Slick saw Lightning Guy pointing a little object at him. It was a small scale, intricately detailed ice pyramid, the tip of which was pointed in his direction. Slick could tell at a glance this thing was going to encase him in ice if he didn’t dodge it. Unfortunately for Lightning Guy, Slick had more than enough time to move out of the way and come back for the token. Even if it did hit him, it wouldn’t stop him for long enough anyway. Slick was mid jump when a small smile crept up on his face involuntarily. For two no-names, they sure are unbelievable. This sect is lucky to have them, he praised inwardly.


    Lightning Guy didn’t detonate the pyramid immediately. Instead, he flipped it around and pointed it at himself. He wasn’t going to lock Slick in ice at all, he was going to use it on himself to buy time. This was incredible determination. To Slick, that magic really wasn’t anything special but, to Lightning Guy, it was a pre-prepared attack at the same cultivation level as him, hitting him at point blank range. That, of course, isn’t even taking into account his previous injuries. If he stayed frozen for too long, he’d probably end up killing himself with this stunt of his. Luckily, he wasn’t in such a sorry state that he would die in just five seconds, so Slick let him do it.


    The mini pyramid shone brilliantly for a quick moment before trapping Lightning Guy in a larger version of the pyramid at its core. Slick wouldn’t be able to break in before time ran out. If he’d been hit with it, then breaking it from the inside would have been far harder but taken far less time as he could shatter it all at once from the core. From the outside, it was certainly easier, but it would take much longer to chip his way to the centre bit by bit. He couldn’t get the token even if he wanted to, but that didn’t stop him from punching the pyramid to start breaking it. He still needed to get that brave idiot out after all.


    Time ran out and Teng wasn’t entirely sure what to do. “Um, congratulati…”


    “Wait until he’s out, you muppet,” Rud interrupted.


    Slick finally broke through the pyramid and carefully picked Lightning Guy up using mana to avoid making his spinal injury any worse. He put him down in a safe position and fed him a healing pill that Teng threw over. Lightning Guy was still shivering and that was causing him even more pain as he was unable to keep his back still. Slick reached over and put his hand on his forehead. A hole in Slick’s palm opened up and a small finger poked through, touching Lightning Guy’s head. The finger was using mana to spread heat magic through Lightning Guy to stop him from shivering.


    Ares made note of this. There was a chance it might end up being relevant during his fight depending on how it went. Just from this little interaction, Ares figured out what Slick’s summon most likely was and could do. Most robo summons worked individually from their creator, but it seemed that Slick’s summon synergized with him quite nicely. Then again, while Ares was sure he could make Slick use mana, he wasn’t sure he was at the point where he could make him use his summon just yet. Still though, it was good to be cautious and prepared.


    “Congratulations on becoming a sect disciple after a hard-fought battle. Your determination is truly commendable,” Teng gave sincere praise. Although Water Guy had technically done better, it was still less impressive than what Lightning Guy had pulled off. Funnily enough, If it weren’t for Teng forgetting Water Guy’s name, he probably wouldn’t have praised him at all. But hey, fate works in strange ways; it seemed like if one was destined to be praised so too was the other. What an interesting duo. He may not remember their names, or even their faces, but he definitely respected them!


    Aejaz was nervously staring at Appa who was currently having the time of its life being petted. He was truly hoping Appa would go next, but it looked like it had no intention of moving and interrupting this joyful occasion whatsoever. He already knew Ares would want to go last, not because he was egotistical and had a ‘save the best for last approach’, but for a different reason entirely. If Ares said he was confident enough to force Slick to use mana, then Aejaz didn’t doubt for a second that Slick was going to use mana, or at least suffer heavy consequences for his stubbornness if he didn’t. Aejaz was a smart individual who could easily follow a train of thought, especially Ares’.


    If Slick was forced to use mana, it was most likely because he would receive serious injuries if he didn’t.


    If he remained stubborn and chose not to use mana, then he would sustain an injury.


    If he sustained an injury, the test would have to temporarily end and the people after Ares would have to wait.


    That wasn’t a concern if Ares went last.


    Aejaz sighed before walking up to the platform. At least he had a somewhat feasible plan in his mind, but he still felt anxious.


    He wasn’t as good at fighting as Ares.


    He was nowhere near as brave as Lightning Guy.


    He wasn’t as defensively solid as Li Li.


    He couldn''t hide like Dirk.


    He couldn’t run like Onno.


    He didn’t even have any combat suitable arts just yet as the ones he wanted to make were mental attacks and he wasn’t in mental accumulation.


    “4th realm meridian expansion, 8th stage,” Aejaz spoke whilst clearly distracted by the looming beatdown headed his way. He knew he really couldn’t avoid it and, for the sake of his plan, he didn’t have to. It was actually probably better if he just let it happen, but it still wasn’t going to be pleasant.


    “Rud, how old is he?” Slick was curious.


    “17,” Rud had a smile on his face as he spoke.


    “A 17-year-old 4th realm, 8th stage? What on earth is Red Sun feeding these kids?” Slick was amazed. “Anyway, you look scared shitless. Aren’t you supposed to be famous or something? On the way over, I heard the name bandit ‘brothers’ being thrown around. Honestly though, after looking at you, I can’t help but feel like he’s the one that carries all the weight.” Slick pointed at Ares who was still contently stroking Appa’s head. Slick wasn’t entirely sure if what he said was true but, just judging by their completely different attitudes, he could tell that those particular words might potentially strike a chord. Ares definitely seemed like the leader of the two; he was fearless in comparison and seemed less phased by just about everything with his blasé vibe. Ares wasn’t nervous at all, and it wasn’t just because his mind was distracted by an unusually cute piece of floating cloth.


    Of course, Slick wasn’t aware of Ares'' or Aejaz’ thoughts on the matter, but he was still right, even if for the wrong reason. Ares truly was the de-facto leader of their little two-man group and he really did do the heavy lifting. Yes, Aejaz made their lives easier by stealing, but Ares could do that just as easily. Aejaz on the other hand, would definitely struggle to deal with criminals as easily as Ares had done. Ares was stronger despite the cultivation deficit. Despite this, Aejaz had his own things going for him and his training was going a lot better than he himself thought it was. Deep down though, Aejaz still felt like he wasn’t doing enough. “Yeah, you’re right actually,” Aejaz tried to make it sound like he didn’t care, but he couldn’t fool Ares even if he could fool everyone else.


    “Uh, ok then. No-one’s ever agreed with me before.” Slick didn’t know where to go from here as this was a truly unexpected development.


    “Alright, ready yourselves. The trial will start in three...”


    Thump Thump


    Aejaz could feel his own heartbeat.


    “... Two…”


    Thump Thump


    Was Ares really going to kick him until stardust came out?


    “... One…”


    Thump Thump


    Bop


    “Huh?” Teng halted his countdown as a golden bead, about twice the size of an adult’s thumb, went flying over to Aejaz and hit him directly on the head.


    Aejaz caught the bead in a panic, thinking he missed the countdown and was already under attack. When he looked down, he realised Ares had passed him a ‘Shock Bead’. Although it wasn’t the first art Ares had created for the destruction pillar, it was the first one he ended up being capable of using in a fight. Aejaz could still remember the joy on Ares'' face when he used an art of the destruction pillar for the first time. He also vividly remembered his own face twisting into one of pure, ironic, shock when it went off.


    This thing is dangerous!


    Ares had never given him one before. Aejaz only had himself to blame for that though really. When he first asked for one, he’d asked if he could ‘play with it’ and Ares had never let him come even remotely near one since. Aejaz had watched him slowly refine the art for years as it progressively grew stronger and became quicker to create while, throughout all those years, resisting the near-unstoppable urge to steal one.


    The Shock Bead was perfectly clear on the outside to the point it looked as though it were made of extremely thin and delicate glass. Inside, it was filled to the brim with a viscous, dark-gold liquid. That liquid was annihilation magic and would cause immense chaos when set off. Even from where Rud, Teng, and Slick were standing, all three of them could feel an aura of pure carnage emanating from that thing. Despite its incredible power, it only took Ares a small amount of mana to create and he could do so in about a second flat. Of the two annihilation arts he currently knew, it was the lesser art in terms of raw power, but far superior in terms of flexibility and mana cost. These things could be carried around and used at will by absolutely anyone which was another major plus.


    “I don’t know why you agreed with that idiot.” Ares pointed at Slick. “But I’m not going to say anything or do anything about it. You can fix your own issues yourself. If you want to fail like an imbecile, then go ahead, you can do whatever you want,” said Ares as he went back to petting Appa. “Well, I say that, but I should warn you that if you either fail or accidentally aim that Shock Bead over here, I’ll fucking kick the crap out of you. Or could it be that you think a walking scrapheap that’s sorely lacking a mute button is somehow scarier than I am?”


    Aejaz stood up straight and visibly shivered. Screw that! He would much rather throw the Bead at Slick. Suddenly, Slick looked a whole lot less monstrous than previously; at least in comparison to Ares anyway.


    “About that bead…” Rud purposefully trailed off at the end of his sentence to allow Ares to explain.


    “I made it, he’s using it. If those two can do it, then so can he,” Ares spoke as if he were declaring rules that he himself made while pointing at the Lightning and Water Duo.


    Everyone’s mind was blown at this unprecedented level of bluntness but, then again, he was technically right. Rud was a little annoyed, but only because what he actually meant by his question was ‘what the hell is that thing!?’


    “It’s fine, he can use it.” Surprisingly, it was Slick that gave the green light, but that only further vexed Rud as he was just about to clarify his question; and he had no qualms with him using it to begin with!


    Everyone present was incredibly curious about the bead as there was no way of telling how powerful it was or what exactly it did. Just because it had a domineering aura, it didn’t mean it was guaranteed to be equally strong. Everyone was also curious as to what kind of magic that thing was made of as no one recognised it. Even if it were a unique aspect, someone should have realised which pillar it was under at the very least. Not even the Elders had seen it before. Ares was the only person to have not used mana up until now and this bead only made everyone more curious. Was it a unique art or another unique aspect like Aejaz’s?


    “Well alright then, guess I’ll try this again. Your trial will start in three, two, one, BEGIN!”