Draconic King of Shadows-Chapter 56: The Test Begins

"Idiots," a voice sounded from above, and everyone’s attention was drawn to it instantly.

Alexia Volt stood on a platform of Lightning close to the ceiling of the hall. She stared down at the students with contempt, as if she was looking at ants.

The few students with less than five tickets, who had the thought of following the others, stopped in their tracks and humbly left. They didn’t wish to end up like their fellow first-years.

"With that out of the way, the rest of you, follow me," Alexia ordered.

"Alexia Volt," Matilda said, looking up as Alexia turned around and walked away, platforms of lightning forming beneath her feets as she moved.

"Who’s she?" Damion asked.

Matilda looked at him for a second, before clicking her tongue and replying, "Kaiden Volt’s elder sister."

"Did someone say my name?" A familiar voice thundered beside Damion, and the team of four turned to see who it was.

Their faces comically turned sour at the same time immediately they sighted Kaiden, and Damion’s Dragon’s Authority rolled out, pressing down on Kaiden.

Kaiden faced Damion, but unlike before, though he was able to shatter the aura of Dragon’s Authority around him, it wasn’t as fast and easy.

This new effect didn’t go unnoticed by Damion, and a knowing smirk spread across his face. ’I haven’t reached his level yet, but I’ve gotten stronger,’ he thought.

"Well isn’t it Damon," Kaiden exclaimed. "You remember me?"

Matilda opened her mouth to speak, but Damion beat her to it. "The name’s Damion, you stupid shit," Damion replied coolly. "Or has your Lightning fried the few brain cells you were saving?"

Silence descended in the hall like a phantom, and the students close by looked in Damion’s direction, their mouths agape.

Kaiden’s eyes twitched, but he kept his cool, leaning forward to place a hand on Damion’s shoulder. "Just hope we don’t cross paths in there."

Damion shoved the arm away roughly, watching as Kaiden walked away with a bright smile on his face, as if nothing had happened, and winking at Matilda in the process.

Kenzo’s frown deepened, and he shifted his gaze to Matilda.

Damion on the other hand turned to Lyra and said, "Let’s go."

Kenzo followed, with Matilda in tow.

They waded through the hundreds of students, walking faster than anyone else to get to the front.

Kenzo and Damion had been given advice on what to do when they got to the hall, and they were following it to the last letter.

Hakuro told them to try as much as possible to be at the front, regardless of what they felt or saw. They didn’t know why, but they followed his advice nonetheless.

Lyra didn’t know about this, but she just followed Damion, trusting him on this.

Soon, they were at the forefront, just a few steps away from being right under Alexia, who kept walking on her platforms of Lightning high up.

Close to them were Kaiden, Noriko, Jordan, Emily, Melruen, Aspasia, and a few other students, who were coincidentally there at that point in time. Some students weren’t focused on where they stepped, but were instead gawking at the strongest student’s direction.

"I can’t believe I’m so close to them right now," a female whispered to her friend, sending flirtatious glances at Noriko.

"Right, they’re so hot!" The two girls giggled to themselves, right before the ground opened up, and they fell through it.

There were gasps of shock that reverberated through the hall, and everyone began to panic.

It turned out it wasn’t only those two girls who were caught off guard, but a few more in random places.

Damion didn’t let this get to him, but instead spread Dragon’s Authority as far as he could, replacing it with his senses to monitor any foreign movements.

Lyra shifted closer to Damion, and he understood what she wanted. He pulled a suitcase out of his storage, and handed it over to her.

This momentarily grabbed the attention of others, but they soon refocused when the ground opened up before them. They used their Abilities to get away, with some unlucky few falling to their failure.

They understood that the test to cull the weak and unprepared for the Training Program had begun, so they upped their game and spread out their perception.

Lyra received the suitcase from Damion, and she immediately pressed a button on its surface. It opened up, unfolding and reconfiguring itself into several humanoid parts. 𝒇𝓻𝓮𝓮𝙬𝙚𝒃𝒏𝓸𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝓬𝓸𝒎

They floated in the air for a second, before shooting towards Lyra and attaching themselves to her form. They fit her body perfectly, closing on her limbs tightly but comfortably, and soon, she was covered in an Exoskeleton Armor from head to toe.

She gave a command, and the helmet retracted slightly, letting her hair fall out and her face to show.

Damion stared at the armor, complementing its sleek design and strong defense in his mind. A certain someone mistook him to be checking Lyra out, and she frowned.

That short distraction was used against her, and the ground opened up before her.

However, before anyone could inwardly jubilate about one less participant, Matilda’s hand transformed. Her nails elongated, turning into sharp black claws as tiny black scales erupted over her hands and wrists.

She latched onto the edge of the hole, piercing her sharp nails into it, and with inhuman strength she pulled, shooting out of the hole and landing on her feet.

Her transformation reversed, and she continued walking forward nonchalantly.

"Beautiful," Kaiden commented loudly, garnering Damion and Kenzo’s attention.

The ground opened before him, just like everyone expected, but he just zipped out of the way, his gaze still on Matilda.

Kenzo changed direction, moving closer to Matilda and blocking Kaiden’s view.

The two boys locked eyes for a split second, before they were both forced to turn when a loud sound of explosion tore through the air.

Everyone looked back just to find the hall collapsing from behind towards their direction.

The unlucky students behind stumbled and fell, and without warning, the ground opened up, swallowing them whole.

Damion and Kenzo looked at each other, remembering the words Hakuro had said to them.

The collapse was closing in real fast, but Alexia didn’t speed up, only continuing at that same pace. They looked ahead, and for some reason, they couldn’t see the other side of the hall.

’It wasn’t this large the last time,’ Damion thought.

The hall narrowed the further they went, and everyone unwantedly huddled together.

Alexia suddenly stopped and announced, "I can’t believe I forgot," She began with a sly smile, staring at each and everyone of them. "Get to the end of the hall, or be swallowed by the collapse."