"#777!"Lars stepped forward leisurely, not even looking left or right at the hundreds if not thousands of gazes that were locked onto him.
He did notice that so far, the trap hadn"t appeared again. In fact, she was missing from the crowd.
But no matter, it was better if he/ she didn"t bother him anymore... But he really needed to get to the bottom of his/ her gender...
He walked with a lanky, nerdy gait, appearing like a cross between a country b.u.mpkin and a bookwork, causing many of the contestants to sn.i.g.g.e.r when they saw him!
After walking so slowly that he wasted 15 seconds of his precious time, he stopped in front of the machine - then stretched his arms over his head and yawned.
If that were not enough, he rubbed his nose then sneezed - then lifted up his right pinky finger...
And stuck it into his nose in public! OMG!
"F*** that"s disgusting! Yuck!"
"Doesn"t he have any sense of shame? Maybe he"s a village idiot!"
"What"s wrong with this guy? Is he a bogan?"
"Bogan? What language is that? I think he"s a simpleton - look at how he walks! Just like a 5-year old!"
"A joke! What a joke! How can someone like this compete with the mighty descendant of Sarouneh?! Hah!"
"Pui! How boring! I"m not watching anymore! He"ll just embarra.s.s himself!"
"Yeah! And here I was expecting the rise of a new star."
At the sight of this, even Natalie was shocked. Was this supposed to be the great contestant that Charley was entrusting his future to...? Wasn"t this guy just too unreliable, too weak... Too useless? Even she felt disgusted and embarra.s.sed just looking at him! But she kept quiet for now as she also felt a sense of uneasiness.
Nevertheless, the stream of insults was endless, rising up into a clamorous roar all around the testing grounds. But the boy continued to be oblivious to the caustic remarks as he stood before the machine calmly.
Then he continued stretching!
"LARS!!! What the f*** are you doing?!? Are you betraying me on purpose??! No... No please don"t!!! I"m counting on youuuuuu boo hoo..." Charley fell to his knees and couldn"t bear to watch anymore, he had believed in the boy"s silver badge at such a young age. His confidence was bolstered further when he heard that the tall and mature looking boy was someone daring enough to go against the Trenel family!
But now it seemed he had chosen the wrong bet.
Even Natalie was looking at him with eyes not of disdain or hate, but eyes of pity! Even his sworn enemy was pitying him!
"Hahahaha!!! The joke of the century, the joke of the century!"
"Well done Charley! You are truly the best! The best joker that is!"
"Wow this comedy show is really worth the money!"
"You chose the wrong horse to bet on, kiddo! You chose a crazy horse!"
And those words stung his heart greatly, causing him to break out in s.h.i.+vers and tears as he felt as if the world were cras.h.i.+ng down around him.
He felt like he was suffocating as he gasped for air without any way out!
While his buddy was going through a bout of drama, Lars finished his warm-up.
"Hmm... 8 seconds left huh... Alright, it"s about time."
Then he sauntered up, continuing his bow-legged way of walking that made him look like a r.e.t.a.r.d and winded up a comical looking windmill punch.
By this time, even the other 34 contestants in his batch were finished, satisfied with their scores. They too could not bear the absurd display shown them by Lars, and were standing by relaxedly as they waited for his next wacky move.
Lars winded up his blow again and again. Then after swinging his arm round 5 times, he pulled his right arm all the way back, then spun around 360 degrees to swing a mighty blow at the machine!
And he missed the drum, tumbling to the ground!
Peals of ecstatic laughter exploded as he showed them an even bigger joke with his move, the crowd couldn"t control themselves anymore!
Even those who were supportive of him for standing up to the tyrants of House Trenel could only cover her mouths and hold in their laughter - it was too embarra.s.sing! Too shameful! How could such a b.u.mbling fool ever have challenged that great house?!
Natalie, the innocent girl despite her pa.s.sionate and fiery att.i.tude, couldn"t bear the humiliation of looking at him anymore. She covered her face and shouted, "Can"t you even do something that simple properly!??"
Then she and all the contestants were shocked as a tremendous boom resounded!
They looked around in shock, which contestant had caused that? Wasn"t everyone else done already?
Then someone said shakily, pointing with his finger as if though not believing what he had just seen himself.
"Erm... T-the... The boy... His leg hit the machine while he was falling down..."
This statement triggered even more laughter, ridiculing both the speaker and the hilarious idea that the boy"s fall could make such a powerful sound.
"Hahahahahahahaah!!!"
"Worth it, it"s worth! So worth it to be here!!! I won"t regret even if I get last place!!!"
But even as the amus.e.m.e.nt continued, one by one the mockers began to grow silent.
That was because they looked up and saw the ID number "#777" appear on the magic screen - and begin to skyrocket like a firework!
Stunned and abashed, the audience in the field could only stand with mouths wide open, gaping at the score as it kept rising higher and higher.
One contestant, lanky and tall tapped his friend on the shoulder and asked, "Hey, am I dreaming? Are you seeing what I"m seeing?"
His stout and short friend replied, "I don"t know... I wonder if I"m hallucinating too... Is this even real anymore?"
The most ashamed of all was Natalie, but she refused to show it, keeping up a domineering att.i.tude as she slandered him non-stop, "What is this farce! There must be something wrong with the score, don"t think you can get away with cheating! Anyway, even with all your cheating, there"s no way you"ll..." Her voice trailed off - ID #777 had risen to the top 50 and showed no signs of stopping!
"It... It can"t be... There"s no way... No, no, it"s impossible! How can I, the proud dragon-blooded Natalie Sarouneh lose? It"s, it cannot..." Her mind was thrown into a downward spiral of anxiety as she nervously watched Lars" ranking continue to rise.
By now, no-one was watching Lars himself. He got up and brushed off his clothes from his play-acting fall, and quickly withdrew his spells.
He could have scored highly with just his physical strength alone - his minotaur bloodline was doing wonders for his strength as he made sure to eat well.
However, he was smiling cunningly: where would be the fun in doing things the normal way...?
He sn.i.g.g.e.red, covering his mouth and continuing his goofy way of walking back to where Charley was still kneeling and crying.
He walked onwards and nonchalantly strolled past the disbelieving crowd as he slipped past them back to his companion.
"No... It"s over for me... Boo hoo... I should have just ran away from town while I still had the chance... It"s useless..." Charley was still mourning his fate. Lars, contestant ID #777, shook his head in pity at the boy who was still in his own world, then slapped him on the head.
"Hey, get up."
Charley"s face hit the floor when he was slapped on the head, eating some dirt.
He got up spluttering and wiping his mouth, trying to spit out the dirt that had entered his mouth. Then he faced Lars and shouted at him.
"Oi! Why"d you hit me on the head all of a sudden! Can"t you see I"m -- Huh?"
He stopped speaking.
Because it was completely quiet.
"What, what happened? What"s everyone looking at..." He looked up and saw a grinning Lars, with his badge that read "#777". Then his eyes darted left and right and saw the crowds" stunned gazes, then followed their line of sight, going higher and higher until his eyes landed on the scoreboard.
It read:
1. #882 - 2,747 points
2. #1010 - 2,742 points
3. #777- 2,741 points
4. #979 - 2,619 points
.
.
.
910. #1711 - 421 points
"...Just one point difference...? Just 1 point behind her score of 2,742... And 6 points behind #1 Reshmont...? How... How can this..." He was too shocked to continue, leaning on Lars for support. But Lars slipped past him and let Charley fall to the floor painfully.
It was not just Charley who was flabbergasted. Slowly the voices began to murmur, gossiping.
"It must be something wrong..."
"A bug... It must be a bug..."
Even the administrator in charge, the handsome and dignified man, looked confused and worried. Was there really a bug?
Natalie was the most anxious of them all. She quickly called out to the administrator, "H-hey... Hey! Mr White! Isn"t there... Doesn"t there look like there"s s-something wrong with the score...? It... Is it a bug...?"
Mr White, the well-mannered administrator, hesitantly nodded, then he caught himself. He realised that he, as a representative of the Stadium administration the Five Great powers of the Four Houses and Dukedom could not allow any smears on their reputation.
So he coughed and shook his head in denial instead even as a crew member ran over to him hurriedly and whispered something in his ear.
As he listened to the words, the whole audience was whispering softly.
"Is it real? How could this be true...?"
"H-How could a b.u.mbling buffoon"s accidental kick be as powerful as Natalie Sarouneh"s dragon-aura infused blow?"
"This... This is too much to accept! It must be a bug!"
"Yeah, it must be a bug!"
"Administrator, we seek justice!"
"He cheated!"
"Cheaters must be punished!"
Then they began to quieten down as the administrator"s face changed into one of abject horror and shock, but only for an instant. He controlled his expression and recovered his pose before holding one hand high to call for silence.
When the rowdy contestants settled down, he cleared his throat and made the announcement.
"There is no bug!"
The crowd exploded with protest, shouting and disputing his statement.
He watched patiently for awhile, but as the noise and commotion only got louder instead of settling down, he lost his temper and released a mighty aura of a Grandmaster pract.i.tioner and shouted.
"SILENCE!!!!!!!!"
A great gust of wind accompanied his roar, sending some of the weaker or unprepared contestants tumbling, especially those who had opposed him the most vehemently!
Some who had been instigating their neighbours to denounce his claim of there being no bug were targeted specifically by his outburst of aura, even coughing up blood from internal injuries!
For those who fell in that way, their contest run was essentially over; they would not be able to compete in that state!
Of course, in the course of this, the aura he sent over at Natalie Sarouneh was but a summer breeze, he made sure not to hara.s.s such a troublesome persona!
Then the powerful pract.i.tioner released a loud harumph and flicked his sleeves in indignance.
"How dare you doubt the honour and dignity of the Four Great Houses and the de Caldis Dukedom! To insult the test results is to question the integrity of all the great inst.i.tutions of this city!"
He cast his gaze all around him, causing all of the contestants to look away - except for Lars.
His eyebrows rose in interest as he saw the boy"s precocious look, but he continued with his speech.
"Now if anyone still has problems with the results, you can come and see me personally! If there"s nothing else, we"ll continue with the strength test and continue one for the other a.s.sessments! Just let me remind you." His voice grew low and sounded threatening as he continued.
"Whoever dares to infringe the rules of the Gorun Stadium will be dealt with severely... Along with you families. So go ahead! Protest! Use violence on other contestants! And you"ll see just what happens to law-breakers in here..."
With that, he flicked his sleeves once more and stormed off the stage.
Natalie wanted to call out to him, but when she felt his aggressive aura, she held herself back. Angry and unwilling, she could only bite her lip in frustration and ignore Charley and Lars as she stormed off as well to hide her frustration and shame.
"How could an idiot like that almost match me...? It"s... It"s impossible... It"s not fair..." Her eyes began to grow wet from anger and shame as she ran off to the resting areas to wait until the next a.s.sessment started.
Lars smiled at Charley who was still too stunned to react. The boy finally shook his head then slapped his cheeks to check if he was dreaming. Then when he realised it wasn"t a dream, he smiled confusedly at Lars and said, "T-thanks bro...?"
Lars smiled and gave him a thumbs up.
"My pleasure..."
Face-smacking the proud was his favourite past-time.
* * * * *
As Mr White was walking, he recalled the sharp gaze Lars had laid on him. It was the gaze of an expert fisherman casting his bait, just waiting for his opponent to bite so he could reel them in.
Mr White s.h.i.+vered in excitement but also felt it was odd. It was not a look that should appear in the eyes of a 15-year-old boy.
"Hmm... What an intriguing boy... Let"s see just how far you"ll go..."
He smiled and felt a foreboding sense that a great upheaval and shaking was coming...
He wondered if he could make it through this round of trouble.