Astra did not get injured badly; his body was strong enough to handle the blow.
"Why is a dark hound here in this exam? It's a B-rank monster."

The hound jumped to attack Astra, but he got out his sword fast enough to block it and replied with a slice. Clang! The monster was too strong to get cut.

"What? I can't cut it?.. How will I kill this thing?"

The hound kept on attacking Astra, and he kept blocking it. "How do I cut him?"

He knew he couldn't do anything, so he started running away, but he was too slow compared to the hound, and it caught up to him with speed. When it got close enough, Astra used his sword and hit it. Clang! It did nothing, and the shock made Astra's body shake, but he did not stop. He kept on hitting, hoping something else would happen. The hound got past the hits and slashed Astra's hand a little.

"If this keeps on going, I will die."

At that moment, Astra was going to leave, but then a memory of his mom dying by someone with a mask right in front of him surfaced. He looked at the kid. "Your mom had to die kid." came to his mind. He stopped moving, releasing immense pressure, and turned around, pointing his sword at the hound.

"I, Astra Van Vontrea, swear that I will cut one of your limbs even if it kills me!" He got serious and blew some air out of his mouth. "I might not have a good invisible power, but in pure strength, I am one of the strongest in school—or maybe the strongest."

Astra ran to the hound and hit it as hard as he could. Clang! It did not pierce, but it pushed it back. Before the hound could get back on its feet, Astra kept hitting, pushing it further and further back.

"AHHHHHHHHHHH!" Astra kept screaming as he struck the hound with his sword. "Die! Die! Die! Die! Die! Die! Diiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiieeeeeeee, you stupid beast!"

"Sir Richard, it is somewhere nearby here!" The assistant looked around.

"Find it fast."

"Sir, I found it! And it's fighting a student."

"What? Who is it?" Richard saw Astra overpowering the monster. "That's Astra, and he is knocking it back."

"Sir, he is lucky. Dark hounds move in groups and are weaker when alone. It looks like it's not an adult yet."

He flew to go save Astra, but Richard pulled him back. "Sir Richard?"

"That kid... he is a flower that is going to bloom. Let's make it bloom and don't stop it."

"But sir, he's a new student. He will die."

"If it gets serious, we will stop it. But until then, let's just watch him bloom."

Astra kept hitting the hound and screaming. Then the hound's front feet went high up in the sky. Astra realized a weak point.

"Your fur may be tough, but your eyes will still remain weak even if you're an S-rank."

He used his sword. Shik! It pierced the hound's eye. The hound roared in pain. Astra took out his sword and stepped back, but he was still in range of the hound, and it sliced his chest. However, it was a shallow cut.

Astra screamed in pain, then, "I won't lose." His eyes widened. "I will not lose until I avenge my mom and become the king of the Vontrea Kingdom." He took a deep breath, his mouth open.

"Sir, if we don't go, he will die."

"No, not yet."

"But sir—"

"I said not yet!"

Astra kept breathing heavily, his chest bleeding. He kept slowly walking toward the hound. The hound ran toward Astra, its eye bleeding. A small energy flowed through his sword.

Richard smiled. "There it is. That boy has awakened."

The magic ball did not show Astra's magic power, not because he had no power, but because his Aura was not concentrated. Rather, it flowed around him like Mana, and the ball was testing his Aura concentration, but his was not concentrated at all.

The hound jumped to strike.

"Aura."

Astra's sword glowed loosely with his aura. He bent down and cut off one of the hound's legs before falling unconscious.

"Water needle!" A force of water pierced the hound, killing it.

"Heh, looks like I'm not the only one in this school who can use invisible power."

"Hito, what are you doing here?"

"Oh, Sir Richard." He looked up at him.

"Hey, take that kid to the priests." He turned to Hito. "And you... go back and do the test. You have a lot of time left."

"I don't need to. I have already won with the number of points I have, and besides, I'm more interested in him."

"Just continue the exam. I'm leaving." He turned to leave.

"Sir, take this." He threw him two magic balls. "I don't need those points."

Hito was a genius from the day he was born. He never felt defeat or met anyone his age as strong as him. But when he saw Astra's Aura, he felt someone as strong as him for the first time. He found a potential rival, and this made him very excited.

Narrator: What will happen next?