HP: The Arcane Thief
chapter-169

The first stage was over. The students were completely won over by Axel, who had cleared it in style.

Cheers were ringing incessantly, and more and more people were coming to spectate the match. In those people, there were many with even one and two star authority.

Standing in the crowd, Sylthia could no longer stay indifferent. Looking at Axel's performance, she had to admit that he was definitely capable, at least in terms of Physique. But, she was furious with the situation.

Everyone was cheering for Axel like he was a new hero, and she absolutely couldn't stand it. If he was an Atlantian, she wouldn't have cared, but the fact is, he is not!

"Who is he?" The students asked her for the umpteenth time. Since the atmosphere was so rowdy, they had even forgotten the absolute difference in class when addressing her.

'An outsider!' She wanted to say. But she still remained silent instead, focusing on the screen.

At this moment, a commotion ensued when Axel skipped the break time and directly entered the next stage.

Usually, the Trainees are allowed a brief break after the first round so that they can perform optimally in the second stage. So the onlookers were a bit disappointed. They couldn't wait to see how Axel will perform in the next stage. But, when they saw him skipping the break, it caused an uproar.

"Does he not need rest?"

"Even after that run? I don't believe it!"

"How old is he?"

"He doesn't look older than 15 or 16. But he must be at least 20."

Whatever Axel's Magical and Combat abilities might be, just considering his pure physical capabilities, it was too abnormal for him to be so powerful, even by Atlantian standards.

Since Atlantis also puts emphasis on Physical development along with magic, It's not that there aren't people who can match his physique. It can be achieved through training and enhancement. But everyone else with such Physique is far older. Besides, his other aspects like maneuverability, balance, reaction etc. can only be achieved after incessant training.

"What will be the next stage?"

"Shoot and Rider assessment."

The next stage would be a test for Shooter and Rider. No matter what path you choose, or how many you choose, the Trial only has three stages. Since Axel had chosen all the basic paths, the difficulty is going to be much higher since more things will have to be tested with fewer stages.

The distribution is something like this:

1st stage: Physical Assessment

2nd stage: Shooter+Rider

3rd stage: Warrior+Spellcaster

Usually, all three stages test just one Path. But here, three stages have to test for 5 paths, so each stage's difficulty is increased several times.

"Bets for the next round?" Someone asked.

There was a pause, before bets began pouring in again. Like always, the bets were automatically registered into the system through their wrist devices, with the said amount being deducted from their account. If they win, the amount will be returned, along with their winnings.

Unlike the other time, the odds were in favor of Axel performing well in the next trial, which was a surprise.

It's natural that the chances Axel might perform poorly were higher. But the people had already lost a lot of times betting against him, so many knew better by now.

Inside the Trial Ground, Axel walked through the doorway that had appeared in front of him and emerged on the other side. The scene around him got recreated again.

This time, he was on the edge of a cliff. A number of bows and gun-like devices manifested around him. And then, a long hover contraption appeared in front of him.

"Hm?" Axel examined it. It looked a bit like the muggle motorcycles he had seen, except, comparing this glamourous vehicle to a muggle bike seemed like an insult to this beauty. The body was extremely light and sleek, and it glowed with blue light, seemingly powered by magic.

Axel strapped all the guns to his body and mounted the bike. As soon as he did so, words appeared in front of him.

{Stage 2: While riding the Aquanite, safely reach the other side while shooting down as many hostile units as possible. Accidentally shooting friendly units will bring negative points.}

{3}

"Wait!" Axel suddenly realized a problem.

{2}

He had no idea how to use these things!

{1}

"How do I use it?" He muttered. Fortunately, a box called instructions popped up in front of him when he uttered those words.

{Go!}

{Accelerate by turning the handles inward, brake using the livers. Fire the Blasters using the red switches, deloy the shield using blue switch. The Shield's life will be displayed on the interface.

"""Go!""" The Crowd cheered while watching Axel.

But…

"....."

They were once again met with the site of Axel not moving at all. Last time, he was at least warming up. But this time, he just sat there on the Aquanite, completely Frozen.

Then, someone saw the letters that had appeared in front of him.

"Is he… Is he reading the instructions?"

"""????"""

That observation caused mass confusion in the crowd. It was too absurd to be true. But when they saw Axel fiddling with the Aquanite's controls like a noob while checking the instruction, there was no denying it.

Though instruction Manuals are provided to supplement knowledge on how to use Equipment, it's rarely needed, especially in the very first trial that determines a person's qualifications. The students only choose the path they are most proficient in. If someone has chosen the Rider path, it's a given that they're skilled in riding a Aquanite, which is a very difficult to control vehicle.

In such a case, reading instructions on the first trial, the one that is supposed to determine your future is a bit…

Not a bit, it's completely nuts.

Bruh, why did you choose the path if you don't even know how to ride an Aquanite?

While they were waiting for him to finish up reading the instructions on how to use the Aquanite, they saw another wall of text appear in front of him as he began fiddling with the Guns and Bows he had strapped to himself and the bike.

"Is he for real?"

So, not only was he not a rider, he was not even he was not even a shooter.

"Remind me to punch him when he comes out."

"What kind of fish is he? Did no one tell him about the disadvantages of choosing multiple classes?"

"What a waste of time. Did you call me here to show me this?!'

The anger was reaching boiling point. Axel seems to have no idea about even the basics of the two paths. There's no way Axel can do much at this point. The disappointment of the crowd was immense, especially considering the fact that they had already placed bets by now.

Unaware of the negative attention he was attracting, Axel thoroughly read the instructions while also listening to the system's information.

The Magic Guns and Bows in this place are well developed. So much so that there is an entire path related to it.

These guns and bows are magical conduits that can help you compress your magical power and fire it with much more force than normal spells. There's also the concept of ready made magic bullets and arrows, but those aren't usually as effective since most can't pierce the Atlantians' Armor. Also, they're expensive.

After going through the information, Axel tried firing according to the instructions. He cocked the gun in front. "Àsmus," he muttered. Instantly, his magic was channeled into the gun, causing its sides to glow as it got compressed.

When he pulled the trigger, with a 'bang', a compressed and destructive magic was released, causing a slight recoil. Though, it dissipated after covering some distance, quite weak.

Axel could vividly feel that he could compress it further, as was written in the instructions, but it was not easy. Shooting seems much more difficult compared to firing spells with a wand. Even though the power and speed can be increased, it must take a lot of training to master it.

A slight smile played on Axel's lips. "Interesting," he muttered, as if he had found a new toy.

Meanwhile, jeering and booing sounds were spreading outside when people saw Axel's bullet.

"He really is a beginner."

"He's dead. A hundred times."

"My Atlans..."

They had given up hope by now. The bullet Axel fired was quite weak. It takes years of training to master firing bullets, not to mention the difficulty of aiming. If he's a beginner, there's no way he'd pass the stage.

With it being such a difficult stage, chances are, he'll keep dying, meaning and it was meaningless to watch further.

*Bang*

Just then, Axel fired a second time. This time, the bullet he fired was much faster, and covered more distance. It was almost approaching the student level, which takes years of training to reach.

Not even letting anyone comprehend what was happening, Axel fired three more shots, with the last one coming at expert level.

[Congratulations, You have acquired the Skill <>]

[Due to overlap with [Aiming], [Throwing] and [Wand Shooting], [Zen Focus], etc. current Progress: 40%]

"!!!!????!!!!"

The spectators were left staring at this unbelievable sight.

"Did he.... just learn to shoot in 10 seconds?"

"What about the 10 years I spent?!"

"He... He made it look so easy..."

"I don't believe it. He's clearly dogfishing us!"

"Yeah, there was no recoil. If it was really his first time, the gun would have flown right out of his hand!"

"Wait, what is he doing now?"

"Readymade bullets? What's the point? The ones provided in the trial are useless!"

In the Trial room, Axel was now trying out the readymade bullets. Though the power and speed was not up to par, but since Axel still hasn't fully recovered his magical limit, he would prefer using this.

Since the readymade bullets are just simulations in this trial, he can use an infinite amount. On the other hand, the magic used for firing magic bullets is real, and he'd rather not waste his precious magic if he can help it.

After nodding to himself, Axel twirled the gun and strapped it to the holster on the Aquanite.

He then hit the start button and the Aquanite hummed to life. Now, all that's left is to try this beauty out.

*Whirl*

Gripping the handles, Axel gave a raise, causing slight vibration.

"Let's go."

Axel switched gear and the Aquanite flew off with an amazing burst of speed.

"Whoa!" Axel laughed out loud. This thing had much better acceleration than a broom. Axel quickly began familiarizing himself with the controls. Handling was a bit more difficult compared to a broom since the sensitivity was quite high. Just a slight tilt of the hand can change the course completely.

Soon, the barren region below was gone, replaced by an endless cityscape. It was similar to the city he had seen when he had stepped through the portal. Only, this city was in chaos.

Some buildings had turned into rubble while Smoke was rising from others. Axel knew who he had to eliminate when he saw red marks over the enemy units.

Meanwhile, the spectators outside, who were on the verge of leaving due to frustration, stopped when they saw Axel smoothly handling the Aquanite.

The bets were still changing, and now those in favor of him not doing well had increased.

It was because…

"He got this one, huh?"

"It's been a while since I saw this."

"Doesn't even know the proper way to deploy the shield. It'll run out before he reaches the end."

"He's going to die, isn't he?"

It's because the scenario he got was like that. Axel has to shoot the hostiles which are quite a distance away, while flying at that speed. Meanwhile, he also has to keep himself safe from the attacks he's going to face from the enemy.

"Here it comes!"

"100 Atlans says he'll miss the first shot!"

The first of the enemies had come. It was another rider riding an Aquanite, coming towards Axel from his flank while firing the front blasters.

Then, it started.

Axel did not even look in the direction of the attack. Casually pointing his gun at the incoming enemy with just one hand, he fired two shots before getting back to handling the Aquanite.

The shots which were from the ready-made bullets, accurately hit the target in the neck, avoiding all Armor. One seemed enough to take him down the Aquanite, but the second one hit the same spot, piercing the armor and killing the target on the spot.

"What—?!"

"Fuck!"

Suddenly, cheers erupted again.

"That was a readymade bullet!"

"That insane aim… it has to be a fluke, right?"

It might seem easy, but what Axel did was extremely difficult. Readymade bullets are slow, so when firing at such a speed, you have to fire while keeping the deviation in mind. Meaning you have to aim not where the target is, but where the target will be when the bullet reaches it.

But, since they were shocked by just this, the people had no idea what they were in for.

More Riders with red dots came towards Axel, firing at him with the blasters in their Aquanite. Axel swerved in a circle, easily dodging the shots while firing at them with his gun.

2 shots per kill, the triad was eliminated.

Finding the next group of enemies, he drove low, firing at the hostiles who were firing at him from the ground and other buildings.

The spectators couldn't even cheer. This kind of deadly accuracy was frightening. The civilians were quite close to the enemies he shot just now. And yet, each shot found it's mark at the red target. And even then, two bullets still hit the same spot in order to make up for the lack of firepower.

"How...?"

No one could understand how he could reach such level shooting and flying skills.

"It's really a pity he doesn't know about the shields." Some people lamented.

With this much, Axel had already shown that he was a much better rider and shooter than almost all the students here. He really does have the right to choose both of these paths. But, it's a pity that he got this particular scenario, or he would have cleared the stage.

In this scenario, defense also plays an important role. There are some attacks that cannot be dodged. The Shields have to be deployed at the right times, or you won't know what hit you. Since it's his first time, Axel has no idea about this.

"Here it comes," said someone.

Up ahead, there were enemy aircraft, which could fly faster than him. Reloading at a record speed, Axel fired again. Unfortunately this time, the gun couldn't do shit.

"Shit."

"He's in trouble."

"Deploy the Shield!"

At this moment, the enemy aircraft fired a compressed laser beam that was much much faster than any other attacks so far. It headed straight towards Axel, who was moving at a speed that would make it impossible to even react, let alone dodge.

In the last moment, Axel's head tilted to one side as the laser missed him by a hair's breadth.

In the trials, Axel only had one thought about this: Nerio was at least 10 times faster.