The Thunder Horned Wolf was still in the prime of its life and didn't have the intention of using its ultimate move. Even if it survived its suicidal attack, it would be greatly weakened and would become the prey of the other strong Beasts on the Island of Antilia.
It would not allow itself to become the prey of others, so it decided to retreat instead of continuing a losing battle against the Half-Elf, whose evil smile made it clench its chrysanthemum subconsciously.
After the battle ended, everyone tended to their injuries.
Elliot was holding a rejuvenating balm in his hand, and busied himself in administering first aid to the ladies. Instead of asking for gold coins, he only asked for kisses, which made the boys draw deep breaths in jealousy.
A few minutes later, Jophiel re-appeared and clapped his hands to give applause to the survivors. There had been no casualties, due to everyone's efforts and this was enough to gain his approval.
"With the power vested upon me by the academy, I hereby declare that all of you who stayed to fight, passed the first stage of the exam," Jophiel said. He then used a magic spell to magnify the power of voice and shouted to those that had chosen to escape and save their own lives during the battle.
"Those who rqn away will be disqualified from taking the exam. The academy has no need for people who would abandon others in the face of danger. Teaching them would just be a waste of time and resources."
When the deserters heard this, they immediately regretted their decision. They then returned to the group and argued with Jophiel that they had no obligation to fight a losing battle. Also, they pointed out that they didn't have strong ties with the others who were also participating in the exam.
Since they were strangers, they had no reason to endanger their lives for the sake of others.
"All of your reasons are justified," Jophiel replied to the group of deserters. "But, since I am the Chief Examiner, my words are law. If I say you failed then you failed. Of course, if you feel that I am in the wrong, feel free to fight me. Those who win will no longer have to participate in the next set of exams, and will be directly enrolled in the academy."
Jophiel crossed his arms. "I am giving you deserters a one-way ticket into the academy. All you need to do is beat me. So, who wants to try first? No scratch that. All of you come to fight me at the same time. If I can't even win against a bunch of cowards, I will immediately resign from my position."
"You are abusing your authority! Don't think that we are afraid to fight you!" one of the deserters said in anger.
"That's right! If you want to fight then let's fight! We're not afraid of you!"
"Who's scared of who? Just don't whine that we bullied you, Mr. Examiner."
"Everyone let us all fight together! We are being treated unfairly. Let us prove that we are not cowards!"
More than seventy people encircled Jophiel and summoned their weapons. They believed that with their numbers, they would be able to defeat a single individual. Jophiel was not a Saint. Although he was strong, the group of deserters believed that they had a chance of winning against him.
Jophiel just smiled and made the "Come and get me" gesture to the aggrieved examinees. William's earlier battle made his blood boil, and this was the perfect opportunity to vent out his pent up adrenaline.
The Examiner had long accepted that he couldn't do anything about the rich and influential people from using the backdoor by buying their way into the academy. This was why he had high standards for people that were trying to enroll normally.
What he hated the most were cowards, so he would not bat an eye when it came to disqualifying those whom he deemed unworthy to enter the academy gates.
Fifteen minutes later, all the deserters were lying on the ground and groaning in pain.
"Send the rescue team," Jophiel said through a communication crystal. "The first stage is over. Out of almost three thousand examinees, only one-hundred-twenty-three remain."
"Understood," a woman's voice replied. "Where will you take those who passed the first test?"
Jophiel didn't reply right away and seemed to be making a big decision on the spot. A minute later, he opened his mouth and told his superior about his decision.
"I intend to divide them into two groups," Jophiel reported. "The power levels of the one named William and his group, far exceed those of his peers. It would be unfair to bring them onto the same stage, so I decided to ask my subordinate to watch over the first group, while I personally monitor William's group."
The tapping sound of a finger hitting a table could be heard on the other end of the communication crystal. Clearly, Jophiel's superior was weighing the pros and cons of this sudden change of plans.
"Very well, I approve of your decision," the woman said. "Report to me if anything out of the ordinary happens. Celeste is already aware that William is taking the entrance exam. She is now heading towards your location. At most, it will take her a day or two to arrive."
"Understood. Thank you for the clearance."
"You're welcome. I look forward to your next report."
Jophiel closed the connection and wrote something in the small notebook in his hand.
"Excels in hand to hand combat," Jophiel said softly as he wrote in his notebook. "Able to easily fight against a Thunder Horned Wolf without using any magic power. Based on the technique he used, he is either a brawler, a monk or, a martial artist that had designed his own fighting style.
"He has two familiars. One specializes in pure offense, and wields the power of lighting. The other familiar, on the other hand, specializes in defense, but is also able to use offensive attacks using shields. Although the offensive damage of these attacks isn't lethal, it is strong enough to deal medium damage to Rank C Beasts and below."
After writing his initial thoughts about William and his two familiars, Jophiel returned the small notebook inside his storage ring. He then crossed his arms to wait for the support team to arrive. It is part of their procedure to pick up the stragglers, and take those that had been disqualified back to their main camp, before proceeding to the next stage of the Entrance Exam.
The Entrance Exam only had two stages. The first one was the trial of endurance, and the next one is the trial of strength.
William had already shown Jophiel that he was able to contend against Millennial Beasts, so he had prepared a special test just for him and his group.
The island next to the Antilia Island was home to a troublesome race that was starting to pose a serious threat to the local population.. Jophiel was planning to send William and his group to this location and order them to help the locals deal with the threat that was looming over their heads.
