A huge uproar filled the area. What did he mean by kill each other, and how could they fight without weapons? Artifacts he understood, since they had already been made to surrender them on the first day, but how would they fight at all without weapons? The man put his finger to his lips, and the crowd instantly froze. He continued, "You will find weapons there, and since the space is under my domain, you will be brought back to life in this world after you die there. Also, the space will keep on shrinking."
How could that be possible? How could the man bring people back from the dead?
Alex had so many questions, but no answers. "I hope you have no questions," the man said. "Also, if I find that any of you have smuggled artifacts into the academy, despite being explicitly told on the first day that no artifacts are allowed into the academy, I will instantly fail you and remove you from my domain. Understood?"
Alex turned around and saw that some examinees had indeed smuggled in artifacts. Some were wearing them despite the clear warning, or perhaps they had put them back on after the first day and forgotten to remove them. He could not say for sure. They all hurried to place their artifacts back into their dimensional spaces.
"My, my. Some of you are quite bold to wear artifacts inside the academy. Also, you cannot keep your artifacts in your dimensional space. Bring them out. I will keep them for you, and once the test is finished or you are eliminated, you will get your artifacts back," the man said, a wide smile plastered on his lips.
Immediately, all of them, with so much reluctance, produced their artifacts, potions, and weapons from their dimensional spaces. Even those who had not been wearing them but had hidden them away now brought them out as well.
"Oh my, some of you tried to hide your artifacts in your dimensional space," the man said, placing his index finger on his chin. "You have my respect for your intelligence. At least you hid them in your dimensional space, instead of wearing them blatantly like the others." His voice dripped with contempt and mockery as he gave a slight bow to those who had kept their artifacts concealed.
Alex silently thanked his mother for taking his artifacts from him earlier. He realized he would have received only mocking looks from the others, since those who had followed the rules were clearly mocking anyone who had brought in artifacts, whether hidden in a dimensional space or worn discreetly.
"Now, extend your artifacts in your hands toward me," the man commanded. The examinees looked at each other and, with resignation, brought their artifacts and other things forward and raised their hands toward the sky.
The man flicked his fingers, and all the artifacts vanished. "I assure you that you will receive them back. My memory is strong enough that I will not forget which artifact belongs to whom." The man smiled and tilted his head slightly.
The man seemed to thoroughly enjoy making fun of the others.
"Oh my, I almost forgot my name. I am Toren Velkar, and by the way, I am the principal of Silverine Academy." The man dropped this revelation playfully, and Alex found himself frozen in place. The man who looked to be in his late twenties was, in fact, Toren Velkar, the principal of the strongest academy on the continent. How could that be possible? He looked so young.
Alex turned to the others; most wore the same shocked expression, their jaws hanging open, except for a few who were smirking and mocking the rest. So, the man was telling the truth, and some of them had known his identity from the start.
"Now, that is much better. The shock on your faces brings me such joy." Toren put his hands in his pockets, his smile stretching so wide it seemed to go beyond his face.
"Since you have all been so obedient, listening to my nonsense for so long, here is a parting gift. Bring your hands forward quickly, or you might miss out on my blessing," Toren said quietly, as if he were offering them a secret gift not found in this world.
Toren lifted his hand out of his pocket and flicked his right hand. "Check the back of your hand—you will see a small white wing tattoo. It will keep track of your kills, since I cannot possibly count them all myself, right?" Toren rested his right hand against his cheek.
Toren's playful smile faded, and he seemed to become bored. His eyes, which had sparkled with childlike joy, now grew dull. He bent his legs and sat down in midair, his right elbow resting on his knee and his chin on his right palm.
"It does not feel nice—I promised you a gift, and all you got was a tattoo that tracks your kills," Toren said, his voice dull and oddly sad.
"Haha, you all fell for my prank. This time, I promise to give you something—something special. Open your hands again, wide this time, and put both hands together with your palms facing the sky. Something will fall into your hands, and if you drop it, you will not get another." Toren began to laugh. "Promise me that you will not drop it."
Alex found himself nodding at the man's words. He glanced around and saw that the others had already thrust their hands forward, nodding like a flock of pecking chickens.
Alex immediately extended his hands and opened his palms wide, ready to receive whatever Toren was promising.
Toren flicked his finger yet again, and immediately something hard fell into Alex's hands. He looked down to see that a glass vial had materialized out of thin air—a vial filled with green liquid, bubbling furiously. It was likely a healing potion. He immediately stored it inside his dimensional space.
"Oops, did any of you drop it?" Toren swept his gaze across the crowd, and his smile faded into a pout. "It looks like nobody dropped it. Things will not be interesting like this. I am getting bored."
Toren stood up—or rather, stretched out his legs and rose, standing straight in the air. He opened his arms wide in both directions, his face turning serious for the first time. "Now, the game begins, kids. Make sure to last long and kill as many as you can."
Soon, Alex realized he was disappearing, just as all the examinees around him also dissolved into white particles. He turned toward Princess Eva. She gave him a thumbs up and nodded. She opened her lips to say something—he could not hear her from so far away, but it looked like two words. He mimicked her lips and realized she had said, "Good luck."
At the last moment, before his entire body vanished, he smiled back at Princess Eva, and then his vision faded to darkness.
***
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