Mark had tempered his body and spirit day after day, relentlessly honing the art of fencing handed down to him by his grandfather. Even after his passing, he had never stopped: he had continued to fight in the shadows of memories, pushing himself beyond all limits. On his own, he had managed to almost reach the level needed to increase his sword technique by one rank.

  Mark positioned himself in front of the Golem, clutching the sword hilt in his hand full of calluses and scars.

  Professor Draker gave the go-ahead.

  The stone creature immediately moved, raising a fist the size of a boulder.

  Mark, however, did not attack: he merely deflected, dodging.

  With quick, measured steps, he slipped just out of the path of the blows, like a leaf blown by the wind.

  Every dodge was perfect, calculated to the millimeter.

  He wasted no movement, wasted no energy.

  The audience began to whisper:

  "He's not even trying to hit!"

  "He just wants to endure the five minutes..."

  And Mark felt it, every fiber in his body strained to the limit.

  Three minutes.

  Four minutes.

  When the fifth minute struck, Mark felt the announcement from the voice over the speakers:

  "Exam passed."

  He was about to breathe a sigh of relief when the Golem roared, making a dull, distorted sound.

  Its cracks glowed with an ominous light.

  The giant, instead of stopping, accelerated, attacking with blind fury.

  Mark's eyes went wide.

  "He's losing control!" shouted Professor Draker all ready to intervene but Dean Magnus, with a nod, stopped them

  "Let the boy have the freedom to fight him," said the Rector in a calm voice.

  "The boy may die!" retorted Draker, but immediately stopped, understanding the Rector's wish.

  The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement.

  The Golem brought down punches and kicks, splintering the ground.

  Mark still dodged, but he felt he would not last long.

  One mistake, one hesitation, and it would be over.

  Then, suddenly, a system window opened in front of him:

  [WARNING. Exam integrity is compromised.]

  [Special permission granted.]

  [Skill activated: "Consciousness," "Thick skin," "Ultra focus," "Perfect balance."]

  Mark had no time to reason.

  His footsteps splintered the ground under the weight of the blows.

  The longer the fight went on, the more the Ultra Focus skill increased his reaction speed.

  Step by step, the blows that he could only dodge before he could now anticipate.

  He began to see blue lines pulsing along the Golem's joints: his weak points.

  He tightened his grip on the sword and snapped.

  With three dry, precise blows, he incised the joints of the creature's knees and elbows.

  The Golem staggered, trying to move -- but its joints snapped like dry branches.

  With one last, powerful lunge to the center of its back-where the remaining energy converged-the creature finally froze.

  Light vanished from the cracks.

  The stone giant slumped to the ground with a thud that made the entire camp vibrate.

  Absolute silence.

  Then, slowly, the participants erupted in applause and shouts of amazement.

  Aaron, from the edge of the field, laughed out loud.

  "You are a monster!"

  Professor Draker watched Mark with his mouth wide open and a shocked look on his face.

  "He must have used his uniqueness," he muttered.

  "We'll see tomorrow with the last test," replied the Dean, his glowing eyes fixed on Mark.

  Mark, still panting, felt his legs shaking, and fell to the ground exhausted.

  He had won.

  [Notice. Exam passed with flying colors.]

  [Notice. Subject level increased: Lv 1 → Lv 3.]

  [Notice. Some skills improved:]

  - Basic Sword Technique Lv 8 → Increased rank --> agile lv 1

  - Conscience Base Lv 2 → Lv 4

  - Thick Skin Base Lv 5 → Lv 7

  - Perfect balance Base Lv 3 → Lv 5

  - Ultra focus Base Lv 4 → Lv 8

  [Notice. You have 10 characteristic points to spend.]

  Characteristic points: 10+

  - Strength: 10

  - Dexterity: 12

  - Senses: 8

  - Stamina: 15

  - Intelligence: 5

  'Great! my sword technique has advanced in rank!" he thought as he ran out of the field.

  "Hey Mark, you made a killer fight!" yelled Aaron as he ran in his direction.

  "I actually thought I was going to die!" laughed Mark.

  "Tomorrow will be the last test. My father got me a room in the dormitory, where do you sleep?" asked Aaron.

  "I was actually thinking of sleeping on this lawn," replied Mark with no doubt in his voice.

  "Serious?! My room is very big, if you want you can stay at my place."

  "Are you sure I can?"

  "Are you kidding? Of course! But first, I'd say let's go there and have a nice meal. We've been rehearsing for almost a full day!"

  "I'm in!" replied Mark with a smile.

  The sun set, and after a nice meal, they went to bed, ready to face the last and most important test.

  [System:

  Name Mark lv 3 Apprentice

  Life: 150 hp

  mana: none

  Fatigue: none

  Uniqueness: none

  Skill

  - Agile Sword Technique lv 1 (His sword skill)

  - Consciousness Base lv 4 (Thinks logically, ignores emotions, passive)

  - Thick Skin base lv 7 (Reduces damage and pain received)

  - Perfect balance base lv 5 (Increases the subject's balance)

  - Ultra focus base lv 8 (Increases concentration, speed and thinking and accuracy)

  Character points: 10+

  - Strength: 10

  - Dexterity: 12

  - Senses: 8

  - Stamina: 15

  - Intelligence: 5

  Missions

  None