"I know but despite having a god's divine blood..."

ERIS

Master Hawk continued to speak. "To make this individual evaluation fair, you will be up against someone from your own division—to showcase your abilities effectively. So everyone can assess if they need your abilities in the team. Give all you've got in this individual evaluation. Every fight will last for ten minutes so treasure every second. And there will be a pointing system for every hit if your opponents don't surrender. Let's start with the Warlock Division."

Mistress Raesha waved her hand in the air and names appeared, written in blazing flames. The first to demonstrate their skills were Shad Rhodes and Kaegan Orcon. Some girls gasped from excitement and anticipation upon reading their names. Even the warlocks seemed excited with this pair.

"The pairing depends on the current capability of the individuals assessed by my magic. To be fair to you all," paliwanag ni Mistress Raesha. Napakunot-noo ako. Kung sina Shad ang magsisimula, ibig sabihin, magsisimula sila sa pinakamalakas hanggang sa pinakamahina. Shad was the strongest among these Warlocks, right?

She called them up on the stage and in the blink of an eye, the stage transformed into a huge ring for combat fights, protected by an invisible defensive barrier. Both students had a cool demeanor as they walked towards the stage. Even the Sorcieres couldn't help but shamelessly cheer for the two.

These two were absolutely popular. Pero hindi ko alam kung bakit hindi ko sila masyadong napapansin dati. Siguro dahil sa dami ng problema ko, wala na akong oras para sa ibang tao. And yes, I was not really bothering with the Warlock division.

They both wore black robes and I could tell they were both confident with their skills. Shad stood at the corner while waiting for Master Hawk's signal. Kaegan, with his striking midnight blue hair and sharp blue eyes, stood at another corner quietly but his determination to defeat Shad was there. Maybe he was Shad's rival for two years now and he wanted to prove himself through this individual evaluation. On the other hand, Shad looked like he didn't care about the result of this evaluation at all.

The Sorcieres cheered for them both. Well, they were both good-looking and powerful so I couldn't blame them. Right now, I was just curious about their skills. Itinaas ni Master Hawk ang kanyang isang kamay sa hangin, hudyat na malapit nang magsimula ang kanilang laban.

"Ready...start!" he said when he dropped his one hand, signaling the start. With swift movements, both left their corners and dashed to meet at the middle part of the ring. They exchanged punches and kicks at first but physically they were both equal in strength. They couldn't land a hit on each other because both were good at dodging and covering.

They pulled back from each other as they wrote runes in the air. Even though Shad didn't need to prove anything, he didn't let this be an easy fight for Kaegan. Napansin ko na mabibilis ang mga kamay nila sa paggawa ng runes, mas mabilis kaysa sa kaya kong gawin sa ngayon. They were on another level and I itched to close the gap between our abilities. I was itching to practice more and be better than them. They lit the fire inside me to surpass them.

This evaluation seemed like they must use whatever skills they mastered to prove themselves within ten minutes. Not really a win or lose match.

Shadow blades flew to their directions but they were swift on their feet to avoid each other's attacks, ready to release new dark spells to showcase their abilities. It was like Shad was just playing around, practicing what he learned so far. And Kaegan noticed that Shad wasn't serious about this match at all.

I noticed his quiet sigh, accepting the fact that this match wasn't an official duel. He decided to match Shad's pace and release whatever spells he learned so far as well. Though they didn't reveal their trump cards. They couldn't reveal all the spells they knew because these might be used against them. Most of the spells they released were basic and intermediate spells. I only noticed a few advanced spells.

All students were in awe of how powerful and capable these two Warlocks were. I also noticed that everyone's tension eased because these two didn't display any competitive attitude to defeat their opponent. The students just needed to display their skills and that was it. Nothing to fear about. Mabuti na lang sila ang naunang naglaban.

Ten minutes passed and Master Hawk signaled them to stop. No one won in this match but we witnessed their abilities.

"Alright. Next match," agaw ni Mistress Raesha sa atensyon namin nang bumaba sina Shad at Kaegan sa ring.

"Cape and Nexus..."

"Ascian and Hanzen..."

"Rick and Dystian..."

"Blaine and Casimir..."

"Yevhen and Rin..."

"Nhil and Clev..."

The fight of the warlocks went on until the last pair. And it was interesting to watch their fighting skills and techniques. Surprisingly, I learned from them as well.

"Now it's the Sorciere division's turn," saad ni Mistress Raesha. Mira would definitely fight first on this evaluation. I was just glad I would face a weaker opponent because I couldn't use magic. That was what everyone knew so I didn't have to worry about this individual evaluation. I could still win if my opponent was not agile enough. I could take her down through my enchanted weapon without using magic at all.

Mistress Raesha waved her hand in the air and fiery names were displayed. Dread flooded my face and confusion overtook because my name and Mira's name had been matched.

What? Damn! Did Mistress Raesha detect my magic?

Napansin ko ang pagkunot-noo ni Mistress Raesha at maging ang mga estudyante mula sa Sorciere division ay nagtaka. Why is the weakest among us being paired with Mira? This was probably their thoughts. I kept calm and pretended confused as well.

"It seems there's a mismatch. Let me try again," saad ni Mistress Raesha at muling ikinumpas ang kamay sa hangin pero parehong resulta lang ang nakuha niya. Well, it was not really a mismatch if I could show off my abilities, but I couldn't. I would certainly lose bigtime against Mira.

"Why?" kunot-noong tanong ni Master Hawk.

"Well, Eris can't use magic. You know that," sagot ni Mistress Raesha.

"Oh. That Eris. Let me try to make the match up," saad naman ni Master Hawk. Ikinumpas din ni Master Hawk ang kanyang kamay sa hangin pero muling lumabas ang pangalan ko. They could detect I was stronger than before but fortunately, they couldn't detect any magic from me. I shouldn't fear anything. They would absolutely think this was just a mismatch.

"Well, it seems it's not working for me as well. Why not let them duel?" kibit-balikat na suhestiyon ni Master Hawk.

"Hmm...should we? It will be unfair for Eris," nag-aalangang saad ni Mistress Raesha.

Mira suddenly stepped forward. "I don't want to fight Eris. It's a disadvantage for her. I can't fight someone who can't use magic. It will be unfair."

I hoped I could just blast her pretty face right away. She was trying to be righteous but I could sense her arrogance. Parang pasimpleng ipinapahiya niya na rin ako sa lahat.

Even the Sorcieres from our division secretly snickered in approval at her remarks. They were all mocking me. I also noticed the confusion from the Warlock division. Didn't the news of me not having magic reach them? Maybe they were so busy that they didn't have time to gossip?

"She really can't use magic?" tanong ng ilang Warlocks sa mga kasama nila na nagkibit-balikat lang. Ang iba naman ay napailing.

"I think you should ask Eris' opinion since she's the one at a disadvantage. If she accepts then let it be. And we aren't sure if she can't really use magic. It was assessed that she's stronger than other students," Shad suddenly interrupted. Everyone turned to him.

Damn! Did I just get busted? Well, maybe he also wondered why I was assessed as Mira's match. I would just pretend that I didn't know anything. I was not sure if he was helping me, but I actually didn't appreciate his help. I was suddenly in a tight position because of him. Why would a prince speak in my stead? Now everyone eyed me with hostility.

"She can't be stronger than me, right? She can't use magic. It must be a mismatch," sabi ng isang Sorciere sa katabi niya na hindi nakalampas sa pandinig ko.

I had no choice but to speak. I also didn't want to back down like a coward so I wanted to accept this challenge. And it was also a good way to annoy the hell out of Mira. "I'm alright with this match-up. I think Mira will be kind and will not use her full potential to defeat me—someone who can't even wield a single magic spell. I hope my weakness won't upset you, Mira." I smirked.

Mira maintained her calm face and smiled kindly which I secretly laughed at—probably annoyed but she couldn't just show it. "If you say so, then it's alright. I'll fight you. I hope your arrogance won't kill you someday."

Yeah. Same to you.

"Sigurado ka ba, Eris?" nag-aalalang tanong ni Faena.

"She won't kill me now. It would be a shame if she gets serious against me, right?" nakangiting saad ko.

Napailing si Gianna. "Hindi ka nga papatayin ngayon. Pero pagkatapos kaya nito?"

"She can try," nakangising saad ko. Naglakad na ako patungo sa ring. Nasulyapan ko pa si Shad nang madaanan ko siya. He seemed thrilled by my peculiar decision but didn't say anything when I passed by him. I also didn't need to thank him because I didn't think he helped me. Or did he actually expect me to accept the challenge? That was why he pushed me in a tight spot? I couldn't tell. I couldn't prove and understand his intentions. What a mysterious guy.

I stood on the ring's corner. I didn't have to worry. Certainly, Mira won't use magic against me. She was too high to lower herself to the likes of me. Inilabas ko ang silver dagger ko. I laced it with poison that could paralyze its prey. Well, the paralysis would only last for thirty seconds so it was not deadly.

Since Mira didn't have any weapons with her, she created a dagger made of darkness. I guessed that was fair enough. She was calm and unbothered by my presence. As if I was not really an opponent to waste her time with.

But I'm looking forward to actually waste her time.

I was kind of confident with my physical combat skills because that was how I survived these past two years.

Master Hawk raised his right hand as a signal to prepare ourselves. "Ready...start!" he said as he dropped his right hand to start the match. I swiftly but carefully dashed to the middle part of the ring where I met Mira with a darkness dagger on her right hand.

She swayed her dagger at me but I parried it with my silver dagger. But to my surprise, her darkness dagger passed through it and aimed straight at my chest. I never knew she had such tricks in her sleeves but I managed to move away from her and avoid it. Nahagip lang nito ang manggas ng silver robe ko. A small smirk formed on Mira's pretty lips.

I was just caught off-guard. I never knew her darkness dagger wasn't solid enough. This time, she wouldn't be able to catch me. She rushed to my side and thrusted her dagger, aiming at me without mercy. But I was quick to avoid her every thrust and strike and this, somehow, annoyed the hell out of her. I was swift and flexible with my movements. Since this was just a physical combat, I wouldn't lose to her. She couldn't even land a single blow on me.

I rushed and jumped to her back when she seemed unfocused and annoyed as I somersaulted in the air and attempted to give her a roundhouse kick on the nape but she faced me and parried my kick with her left arm and even managed to retreat backwards. I landed softly on the floor and smirked at her.

She was not that bad at physical combat. We seemed equal in this aspect. But I sensed she didn't want to accept it. I rushed to her and confused her by the continuous swinging of my silver dagger. She helplessly retreated and parried my swift attacks with her darkness dagger that she solidified. Unfortunately, she only revealed the peculiarity of her darkness dagger to me.

I sped up to test how long she could keep up with my pace. I thrusted to her right side, left side and even her chest with an amazing speed. I even used my feet to kick her stomach and beads of sweat formed on her forehead.

She could no longer keep up with her being on a defensive stance. I pushed her to the corner of the ring and even cut a part of her sleeves. I was about to succeed on thrusting the silver dagger against her chest when she suddenly chanted a spell. Dark magic formed in between us but I was swift to cover myself with crossed arms and secretly protected myself with little magic. But still, I was blasted away by a strong force. Damn! I let my guard down.

Tumilapon ako at bumagsak sa gitnang bahagi ng ring. The sleeves of my silver robe were tattered by her spell while covered with some deep wounds on my arms.

"Time's up!" Master Hawk declared.

Of course, Mira won this match. But I managed to provoke her. She used her magic so I didn't really think I lost this fight. Mira seemed disappointed—maybe with herself. I decided not to dwell on her feelings too much. It was actually none of my business. This was just an evaluation, and the result was inevitable. I would stay weak in their eyes because of my lack of magic. I stood up and walked down the ring despite my pitiful state.

"Are you okay?" nag-aalangang tanong ni Mistress Raesha. "Here's a healing potion," she even offered kindly.

I gladly accepted it even though I had a lot of healing potion in my storage. "Thank you, Mistress Raesha."

"No problem. By the way, good job," she praised with a soft smile.

I smiled and nodded. Good thing the Mistresses of this academy were just too kind.

Bumalik na ako pero nang mapadaan ako sa pwesto ni Shad, muli kong narinig ang tinig niya sa hangin kahit hindi niya ibinubuka ang bibig.

"Not bad," he whispered.

Bahagya ko siyang nilingon at tinaasan ng kilay. I was unsure how he was doing that. Maybe it was a spell. I should learn that too. But I suddenly realized that I couldn't use it to talk to him because he would discover I could use magic. Inirapan ko na lang siya dahil isa siya sa dahilan kung bakit ako napilitang lumaban kay Mira. But it seemed he was unbothered by my rudeness at all. I ignored him until I reached Gianna and Faena's location.

"Good job, Eris," nakangising saad nina Gianna at Faena. Tumango ako sa kanila at ngumiti.

"Ainee versus Xerys..."

I drank the healing potion and my wounds immediately healed though my silver robe was still stained with blood.

"Curtlae versus Tharah..."

"Shasha versus Xanthia..."

"Lyrica versus Gianna..."

"Ailish versus Faena..."

After the individual evaluation, everyone chose their group mates and as expected, I ended up with the weakest team while the strongest students teamed up. Mira and Shad were even in the same team.

Well, I don't mind at all. My goal is to pass every exam. That's all.

***