While Thane was touching his stomach again, hunger slowly creeping in, he was starting to get bored.

He looked around, hoping he would find a stall or anyone selling snacks, maybe, but his attempts were always failures.

Though only he had such concerns and felt boredom in this place, the spectators kept watching, unable to get enough... at least those who came for a good show.

One team after another entered the fighting circles, and one team after another departed.

Some left victorious, others departed with broken hopes and bruised pride.

The arena had become a sea of cheers, groans, and clashing wooden weapons.

And then a voice rang out. "Team 243!"

The referee’s call echoed across the battlefield.

Rimon stiffened immediately, Sky swallowed, and Thane looked up from watching another match.

"Finally!" The giant rose to his feet. "That’s us." Finally, time started moving again for him.

The three stepped into the fighting circle. The white boundary gleamed beneath the sunlight.

Within it waited their opponents, three youths. Two girls and one young man.

Unlike many candidates, they appeared disciplined and organized. The young man stood at the center.

One girl stood beside him, broad-shouldered and strong-looking. Her build suggested a front-line fighter. She carried a long wooden sword nearly as tall as herself.

The second girl was different. Slim and light-footed.

Her short wooden blade rested loosely in her hand. She looked quick, very quick. The sort of opponent difficult to pin down.

The referee finished confirming both teams and stepped back. The match was moments away.

Before the signal came, Thane turned toward his teammates.

Rimon and Sky took big, deep breaths.

The giant asked a question with complete seriousness. "Do you two want to fight?"

The pair stared at him. "What?"

Thane pointed toward the opposing team. "I can fight all three if you want." He offered confidently.

The silence that followed was profound. Even the opposing team seemed confused.

Sky rubbed her forehead. "Please do." She gave up trying to make sense of any of Thane’s actions anymore.

Thane nodded before looking at Rimon with a questioning gaze and tilted head.

The nervous youth hesitated. He looked at the opponents, then at Thane, and then at the opponents again. "...I think I should fight. It’s a team fight."

Thane smiled. "Good." He gave him a thumbs up with one hand while patting his shoulder with the other.

The giant pointed toward the enemy young man. "That one’s yours."

Rimon nearly choked, but the referee didn’t give him a moment to think or retort. He instantly lowered his hand and the match began.

Immediately the bulky girl charged forward. Her long sword cut through the air with surprising force.

At the same moment, the agile girl moved from the side, fast like a darting swallow.

Their coordination was impressive. One pressured from the front. The other searched for openings.

Thane watched carefully before stepping to the side, allowing the long wooden blade to miss him entirely.

The agile girl immediately attacked. Her short sword flashed toward his side, grazing him a bit but not enough for him to pay it any heed.

Then another strike came, and another. The crowd watched in surprise.

For someone of Thane’s size, his movements were remarkably natural.

He was not fast in the traditional sense. But not slow either. The only girl who could hit him was the agile one. He seemed to avoid the wide attacks of the big girl.

Like a great bear casually avoiding falling branches.

The bulky girl grew frustrated. With a shout she swung her sword again in a wider and more powerful strike, committed to hurting Thane.

Thane suddenly stepped forward. The distance vanished.

The girl barely had time to react.

Then the giant placed one hand against her shoulder and pushed.

That was all, a simple push.

Nothing flashy nor anything dramatic, yet the result was as astonishing as it could be.

The girl staggered backward. One step, then another, then another. Her movement kept accelerating backward, unable to regain her footing.

She desperately tried to regain balance but each time she failed miserably, and continued stumbling in an unstoppable momentum.

The crowd watched in disbelief. The girl crossed half the battlefield, then finally lost footing altogether.

She toppled backward and rolled beyond the white boundary.

The referee raised a hand. "Eliminated."

A roar erupted from the spectators.

Thane blinked in surprise. "Oh... she was not that heavy..." he said, against his expectations.

He hadn’t expected her to fly that far, but since the result was satisfactory, he didn’t give it much thought.

The agile girl froze briefly, her eyes widened.

The gap between them suddenly felt much larger, though she had not the slightest intention of surrendering to the situation she found herself in.

To her credit, she attacked immediately. Her movements became even faster, her short blade flashing repeatedly.

Left, right, high and low.

She moved like a gust of wind. The audience cheered. Several judges nodded approvingly.

Her agility was impressive enough for Thane to fail repeatedly trying to catch her.

Whenever he reached, she slipped away.

Whenever he stepped forward, she retreated.

The battle became strangely comical.

A giant attempting to catch an exceptionally energetic rabbit.

The crowd laughed, even some instructors smiled.

Meanwhile, elsewhere in the circle, a different battle unfolded.

Rimon and Sky against the remaining young man.

Sky, even though she said she wouldn’t be joining the fight, still stepped in when it was fighting time.

But that wasn’t everything.

To everyone’s surprise, they fought remarkably well together.

Sky, with her sword, pressured aggressively and Rimon supported it carefully.

Neither possessed overwhelming strength, none of them possessed extraordinary talent, but they cooperated.

The young man gradually found himself overwhelmed.

One mistake was all they needed, and finally, Sky knocked his weapon aside.

Rimon’s sword found its way into his chest cleanly, forcing his opponent down.

The referee immediately intervened. "Eliminated."

The battle ended. The crowd cheered.

The young man bowed respectfully before leaving the circle.

At that exact moment, Thane was still attempting to catch the agile girl.

The spectators laughed louder, the girl dashed away once more. It was more of a kids’ show at this point.

Thane sighed. "You’re fast."

The girl puffed her chest for a moment, looking oddly proud of that.

Yet, to her surprise, the referee’s voice interrupted. "Match concluded," he announced.

The girl froze, as well as Thane, who looked around in confusion.

The crowd cheered.

Because with her teammate eliminated and the bulky swordswoman already outside the ring, the outcome had already been decided.

The final member was automatically defeated.

The referee raised his hand. "Victory. Team 243."

The cheers were mixed with the disappointment of a few who wanted to watch the game a little longer, with Thane trying to catch the smaller girl.

Rimon stared at the referee and then looked at Sky.

Sky did the same... Slight disbelief was written on their faces for a long moment.

For that very moment, neither spoke, before suddenly erupting into laughter.

"We won!"

"We actually won!"

The two celebrated like children. Thane watched them. Then a broad grin spread across his face.

The giant raised both thumbs proudly. "Hell yeah."

The crowd laughed.

"Very nice, guys." Thane encouraged.

"You did a good freaking job," he said, making them feel more like a team, an actually operating team that had members watching out for one another.

Rimon and Sky stared at the giant, then laughed in joy again.

For the first time since entering the examination, they felt like they were united as a group.

High above, among the watching judges, Athenok smiled faintly.

The old principal had noticed something interesting.

Thane was strong, that much everyone knew. What interested Athenok was something else.

The giant could have ended the match alone. Everyone felt it.

Yet he had allowed his weaker companions to fight, to grow, to win, and when victory came, he celebrated them before himself.

The old principal stroked his beard thoughtfully.

"Foul tongue, sweet soul."

At that moment, somewhere else another old principal stood, watching Thane with eyes holding a hint of regret that was slowly shifting into disappointment.

An old man with a bald front and thick patch of white hair at the back, his sideburns connected with his dense beard.

He had five lines on his face. He was none other than Zoases, the principal of Golden Crown Academy.

"Principal, he is currently the top Bentrami aspirant. We should do our best to get him," an elder sitting beside him mumbled in Zoases’ ear.

The old man shook his head. "No, we won’t make sure, we will get other good aspirants."

The elder looked at the principal with widened eyes. He wanted to ask why but dared not.

Far below, unaware of the attention he continued attracting, Thane was already looking around the arena.

Searching for the next interesting fight, while continuing his unceasing search for a stall or anything that would help him fill his stomach.