EndGame: The Successor's Legacy-Chapter 41: The Entrance Exam-5.

One hour had passed since the exam began.

The forest was no longer quiet. Branches were broken here and there. While the ground was scarred with burn marks, frozen patches, and deep cuts left behind by spells and blades.

The air itself felt heavy, saturated with lingering mana and tension.

Calix stood still for a moment, breathing steadily.

His blade was lowered, faint traces of mana still clinging to its edge. In front of him, the defeated student’s body dissolved into light, scattering like glowing dust before vanishing completely teleported out of the exam area.

The badge on his chest flickered sharply.

023

A low whistle escaped Calix’s lips.

"Not bad," he muttered to himself.

Around him, several bodies already turned into light marked where earlier fights had ended. Some battles had been quick. Others had been messy. A few had almost pushed him to his limits.

Almost.

He rolled his shoulder once, loosening it, and wiped a smear of sweat from his brow. His eyes were calm, focused, carrying the confidence of someone who knew exactly how strong he was compared to the rest.

"Two more hour," he said quietly.

******

Vian moved through the forest like a streak of golden light. The moment his foot touched the ground, fire flared beneath him and he vanished from sight.

Leaves rustled a heartbeat later...too late as the student in front of him only had time to blink before hot searing flames flashed before his eyes.

Slash.

Vian’s blade came down cleanly. The candidate froze, his eyes widening, before his body shattered into light and vanished.

032

The badge on Vian’s chest flickered once.

"Just five more to go," Vian muttered, already turning and looking at his front.

He had already sensed them earlier as five candidates moving together, thinking numbers would protect them.

A good strategy...it would have surely worked of only their opponent wasn’t Vian Brightsun.

The Protagonist.

A fireball screamed toward him from the left. Vian didn’t even look at it. He twisted his wrist, his sword drawing a shallow arc through the air. Flames wrapped around the blade, compressing instantly.

Boom.

The fireball split in half and detonated harmlessly behind him. The caster panicked, as Vian was already there in front of him.

Vian’s elbow slammed into the student’s chest, knocking the breath out of him. Before the body could even fall, Vian spun and drove his sword’s towards the side of the student’s neck.

The body dissolved into light mid-air.

033

"Spread out!" one of the remaining candidates shouted desperately. However it was too late. Stepping forward, Vian stomped the ground.

Fire erupted from beneath.

A ring of flames burst outward, forcing two of them to leap back in opposite directions. One barely managing to raise a mana barrier.

Vian chose him.

Golden light flared as he closed the distance instantly. His sword ignited fully now, flames roaring along the edge as he slashed once.

The barrier shattered like glass, as the student vanished into light.

034

The last two clearly hesitated, fear creeping into their eyes.

One tried to run only for Vian to casually flick his fingers. A thin spear of fire shot forward, piercing straight through the fleeing candidate’s back.

035

The final student screamed and rushed him, desperation overpowering reason. Wind wrapped around their weapon as they swung wildly.

Vian sighed.

He stepped inside the swing and drove his knee upward. The impact folded the student instantly.

Before the body hit the ground, h attacked.

Slash.

Light scattered.

036

The forest fell silent. Vian stood alone, flames fading from his sword as he exhaled slowly. Not a single scratch marked his body.

He glanced at the glowing number on his badge, a faint smile forming on his lips.

"...Too easy, i wonder the other’s are faring."

Golden light flickered beneath his feet as he vanished once more, already hunting his next target.

*****

Meanwhile, deep within the forest, another figure moved, silent and swift.

His hair was pitch black, falling loosely around his face like shadows given form. It wasn’t messy, nor was it carefully styled...they simply were framing his sharp features naturally.

When light passed through the canopy and touched him, his hair swallowed it rather than reflected it.

His eyes were also black.

They were a deep shade of utter black, as darkness swirled into them calmly. His face was sharp with features no less than the protagonist.

He was the youngest heir of the Duskfall Dukedom.

And the protagonist’s sole rival.

Adrian Duskfall. 𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝙬𝙚𝓫𝒏𝓸𝓿𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝙤𝓶

Three candidates surrounded him.

Adrian moved.

There were no wasted motion, no excess flair as he stepped forward, his body blurring as darkness rippled beneath his feet like liquid shadow.

In an instant, he was in front of the spellcaster. The boy’s eyes widened.

Adrian’s blade flashed once—fast, precise, merciless. The candidate didn’t even feel pain before his body dissolved into light.

029

The badge on Adrian’s chest flickered briefly. The remaining two reacted immediately.

One reinforced himself with earth, stone crawling over his arms as he charged. While the other leapt back, chanting hurriedly as mana gathered into a sharp, condensed spell.

Adrian exhaled softly.

"Too predictable."

He raised his free hand as darkness condensed into it.

The charging student felt his body suddenly grow heavy, legs sinking into the ground as if the earth itself had betrayed him. His movement slowed to a crawl.

Adrian stepped in, and made single thrust. The blade pierced cleanly through the opening in the stone armor.

030

The last candidate screamed and released his spell. A crescent of compressed mana shot forward.

Adrian tilted his head slightly.

The attack grazed his shoulder, tearing cloth and skin—but he didn’t stop. Pain meant nothing, as he vanished again.

The final student felt a chill at his back. Adrian appeared behind him, eyes calm, expression unreadable.

"..."

The back of Adrian’s blade struck the base of the student’s neck. The body collapsed and dissolved into light before hitting the ground.

031

The forest returned to silence.

Adrian stood still for a moment, blood slowly seeping from his shoulder before he casually wiped it away. His breathing remained steady, eyes already scanning the surroundings.

******