Combat Exam Day (Serene’s POV)

I couldn’t sleep after coming back from the forest in the middle of the night. Ayrden was up and worried sick for me. I explained to her what happened and she became even more anxious. We talked for a while and then I requested her to get some rest.

I took off Zeph’s jacket, brushed it with my hands to remove any specks of dirt and hung it in my cupboard. I had never expected him to show me the love and care he did. He used to be always angry around me, I guess it was his way of hiding his shyness. With time he had come out of his shell and the way he kissed me tonight was totally unexpected and I could still feel the warmth of his lips on mine. That moment kept playing in my head making me smile.

What worried me was he had seen me at my vulnerable side twice yesterday. I didn’t want him to get the idea that I was some damsel in distress, who needed saving. I trusted him with all my heart but I didn’t want him to carry my burdens as well.

Finally, it was time to get ready and head down to the training ground for our third exam. I choose black leather pants and a tight black zipper top to give me free mobility for anticipated fights during the exam.

Sarim Sensei was standing in the middle of the ground with another man as all of us huddled up together at the edge of the ground. "Hey, Serene." Ralph greeted me with his usual grin. "Hey, Ralphy you good?" I greeted him back.

"Sorry, I disappeared last night. I hope he behaved." "He kinda did," I replied cheerfully to Ralph before turning toward my left to find Zeph standing there. "You alright?" He asked in a solemn voice. His eyes were red from lack of sleep, his always perfect hair a bit dishevelled, not that they made him look any less perfect.

"I am fine, are you?" as I eyed him. "I didn’t get much sleep last night." It was clear from his face but there was something more, he was avoiding eye contact with me. It felt like he was angry with me for some reason. I wanted to ask but we were interrupted by Sarim Sensei who began introducing the man beside him and what our exam will be about.

"Firstly, I would like to welcome our today’s guest who will be overseeing this exam with me. Rizar; current head of the Slayers." A murmur broke out among us. I had heard of the man but had never seen him before.

A man to be in this important position you would expect him to be huge and muscular. In contrast, he was an ordinary-looking man of average stature. There was nothing spectacular about him except a huge scar on his nose which reached down to his lips and chin. His beady eyes were expecting each one of us and the way they moved gave me a creepy vibe. He had short but strong hands and his arm muscles seemed to be bulging out of his grey sleeves armour. He was carrying a single sword which was attached to his sword belt. He had a sarcastic smile plastered over his face as he waved at us. 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝒆𝒘𝙚𝓫𝙣𝙤𝒗𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

"Welcome, Rizar." All of us shouted in unison. "Give me a good show today, or I will fail all you jerks." That horrible smile didn’t fade as he spoke.

"I don’t like him," Ralph whispered and I nodded.

Sarim Sensei continued: " Your exam will be held in two parts. The first part will test your archery skills, you will have to hit both stationary and movable targets. Everyone will participate individually in this task. Use of powers is strictly forbidden. I will explain the second part after we are done with the first. So, when your name is called, take a bow and quiver from that table and move to the designated area."

On the left side, there were tables set up which had bows and quivers filled with arrows lying on them. In front of us, straw figures were hoisted on wooden stands to be used for stationary target practice. I was delighted inside, finally something I could score decent marks in. For moving targets enchanted paper birds the size of a normal hand were being used. Hitting them was pretty hard, as they were tiny in size and their speed accelerated unexpectedly. We had to use a total of five arrows. Three to be hit in the head, eye and heart of the stick figure while two for birds. There was no room for error, if you miss there was no second chance.

All of Zeph’s arrows were on target, and so were Arlo’s. Ralph and Ayrden missed one each on their moving targets. Mikasim missed two while Tanzil missed three. Xin Li, Benton and Cainos were spot on as well with all their arrows.

Finally, my name was called. "Good luck," my friends cheered me on. I picked up a bow and quiver and hoisted it on my shoulder and moved in position in front of the straw figure. My heart was thudding in my chest and I could feel a rush of adrenaline. I aimed for the head first and the bull’s eye ’bam’, then the eye and I hit exactly in the middle part of the area marked X to represent the eye. The third one flew and went straight to where the heart was marked. "Yessss," I punched the air in triumph. "Go, Serene." I could hear Ralph in the background. My hands never trembled when it came to archery.

For the birds, I had figured that they always accelerated after a slight pause and only for about the distance of a few meters and then they slowed down again. I carefully manoeuvred their movements and aimed, simultaneously for two of them in a matter of seconds. Arrows pierced through their paper bodies as both of them thudded to the ground, one after the other. No one other than me had brought two down simultaneously so I heard "Woah" and "wow" from behind me. I glanced over to Sarim Sensei and Rizar. While Sarim Sensei was clapping lightly Rizar had those beady eyes fixed on me while that creepy smile was on the edge of his lips.

I averted my gaze and walked back to my friends, giving all of them high-fives. "I didn’t expect anything less from you." Ayrden hugged me with a broad smile. Zeph patted me on my shoulder while Ralph tried to crush me with a hug.

"Good try every, now let’s move on to the second part of the exam. The second part will be consisting of further two parts. Your sword skills will be tested in the first part while your martial arts skills will be evaluated in the second part. And, your opponent in both cases will be Rizar himself." Sarim Sensei announced with a hint of sarcasm in his voice.