THE LAST KEEPER

The exam day finally came, and team 25 was still ignoring sagiri. He could not say that he had come to get used to it, but he had come into acceptance with it. Perhaps it was because everyone was still studying hard or practicing hard in teams that he had himself entered the tense mood of preparation after the midyear exam. They would do tests every other week to defend their spot on the chat, whether it was in textbook stuff or in combat.

Each cadet would have to defend their position every week, and the final exam would be the icing on the cake to defend the position they had managed to hold the whole year. Ties were allowed, but total failure was unacceptable.

The combat arena had been locked the previous day to allow for exam preparation, and the exam arena had been arranged so neatly that it instilled more fear. The compulsory subjects would take the first day, then the special units for a day, and then the combat test would start on the third day.

sagiri had been forced to start his exams three days earlier than the rest, according to the new exam schedule, to accommodate him giving the rest three more days to grind. It had been a tough three days sitting for sixteen hours to do exams for the first year. Then the second day, second year exams, and the third day, third year exams. It was not his brain that was tired, but his hands ached, and his back was beginning to complain from sitting for long hours. It was harder putting everything he was asked down on paper.

Since he did not have anyone close to him, he did not need to hold back anymore, and he did his absolute best without holding back to appear normal. Perhaps it was time to use what he had to his advantage. he would be ranked across all years both in written exams and combat.

It was finally the fourth day after a gruesome three days, and he was more than ready. He took a seat at the far back of the exam arena. Today he had to sit for yet another sixteen hours, but on the plus side, he was not going to do it alone, but with every fourth-year cadet. The exams started at five and went all the way to twelve o’clock, where they could break for lunch and then come back to continue with the written exam till nine at night. Then, only they were allowed to eat and sleep. The first day went by slowly and yet quickly at the same time. The second day was just the same way, and the only thing that was failing was Sagiri’s fingers. Who knew a pen would feel as heavy as a spear after using it for five days on end without stopping?

Galka War Academy taught perseverance in every way, and even the written exams were held to test them both mentally and physically. No one was allowed out of their seat, or stand, or even look at the person seated three feet from them until it was time to put the paper down. even writing when done so much it could feel tiresome.

The third was, however, welcomed with so much joy and smiles. sagiri must have been the only one who was not happy. The day kicked off with cadets being split into classes, and each class was afforded a different arena. They would start with weaponry, where each student was supposed to show prowess in each weapon.

Just his lack, they started with the bow and arrow. The targets were set halfway across the arena, and each student was supposed to shoot alone. Five arrows at least at the five targets across the room. It was as if someone had arranged the day just to ruin it for him. Kaka Asakana was first to go, and of course, he hit the five bullseyes in the dead centre and scored a total of ten points from all ten instructors who were now examiners, making a perfect hundred percent.

They held up the cards displaying points, and unlike the written exam, in which they had to wait three days to get the results, the weaponry exam awarded points on the spot. Kiuga was not far behind, and he scored a staggering 98 points. Everyone was either good or above average. When it was Sagiri’s turn, it was as if everyone was waiting for him to do well after the display on the game of tag in his second week in the academy.

He could hear their physical disappointment when he not only missed the targets by a mile, but the arrows never made it halfway across the distance between him and the target. He scored a solid 0 points for himself, and he walked back to his position. After a short break of thirty minutes.

Next, it was the spear test. With the spear, they needed to perform the third dance. The spear had an average of five dances, each one harder than the last. The examiners using the third were like choosing an average dance, either hard or easy. Again kaka scored a staggering hundred percent, so perfect it hurt. When it was his turn, he had barely mastered the first dance, let alone the second. He did not even know where to start the third with the heavy spear. He settled for the first dance, which earned him only one point across all instructions, which was a mark for trying, but he missed out on the nine for failing to follow instructions and do the third. At least he now had a point, and he had moved from last place to solid last place.

At this point, he had become a laughing stock, and his classmates were having a field day watching him fail.

Next it was sword handling and dance. And as if the instructors hated him their requirement was the fourth dance, which they had begun to learn after they became fourth year cadets. It was supposed to be beautiful to watch, and Kaka scored another solid hundred percent. It was as if the instructors did not need to look at him to know he had aced the dances. If Sagiri had not seen how hard the boy trained, he could have said he was lucky, but above his talent, genetics, and strength, he was still the hardest working person he had ever met, and he could only stand in awe.

Sagiri had never picked a sword in his life, so he just forfeited, earning him another perfect 0 to his roster and holding onto his last position.

Next it was the dagger test. Straw men were brought in by junior instructors. Every student was supposed to hit all the vital organs in under ten seconds, and they were supposed to do it accurately while still maintaining proper stance and execution. This must have been yet the most difficult test, and Sagiri could almost hear kiuga’s excitement across the room. The boy was a master of hitting vital points, and Kaka was no better than him in that area. Sagiri wanted so much to see who was the best in small-blade-handling between the two.

Every student was given six daggers in total, one for the two spots behind the back where the kidneys should be. another for the heart, another in between the eyes, and another on the other side of the torso where the liver was situated, another for the spot between the eyed and the last to the small depression on the neck.

Kaka, being the top student in combat and weaponry, was, of course, the first one to take the centre position in front of the instructors and stood in front of his straw man with the vital points drawn into it. He showed neither fear nor hesitation. Just readiness.

When the command to start went off Kaka took a second to pause, took a deep breath before he moved. His hands moved to retrieve the blades, holding two in each hand and securing them tightly between his fingers. First, he slid with one foot forward towards the dummy and released all four at the same time, his head almost touching the ground. Before the daggers could reach the first target, he had already moved.

He used one leg as momentum and the other as a pivot. He rolled on the ground as if avoiding an attack, which put him at the back of the straw man. Here, he released the two remaining daggers with so much precision. The former blades and the latter almost landed at the same time. Even with the small width of a small moment between them before he executed the second attack.

He was already back on his feet in a second. The boy had the potential to be the next Salka if he kept getting better. Sagiri was convinced that if he sparred with Salka, Salka might have to use one of his hands to defend and not just both of them behind his back as he did to Salka.

Even with the perfect execution sagiri received a perfect ninety-nine. His lip twitched from seeing the nine from the master of blades, Bekuro Dalimba. From the reaction of other students, however, it seemed like it was hard to even get a six from the man, let alone a nine. sagiri had trained with him, and he knew better than anyone that the man might have been made of small blades because of how fast and smoothly he moved with the blade.

Kiuga was next, and he was all smiles as if he had been waiting for this moment his whole life. When the start command came, sagiri barely saw his leg move, applying as much force to the ground, he left a skid mark. He spun around with one eye closed and released the first two daggers. Another turn, and he released the following two, but not before opening the closed eye this time and closing the one that was previously open. He didn’t stop even when the four blades landed on the front vital points.

Instead of using the momentum from the two turns that were so quick, sagiri marveled that he jumped back on his arms. barely landing before he threw himself back this time, twisting mid-air. His fit landed on the head of the straw man. just barely a whisper of a touch. It was enough, however, and he used the moment to jump even higher mid-air, the wide grin never leaving his face once. He floated in the air, his hands open wide with the two remaining blades on end.

His head was facing downward and back facing the two targets this time, both his eyes open. Only when his body arched so much that his head touched his fist did he release the two blades so easily and with precision. With how much everyone was looking at him. It seemed he was the best in that art. He did not miss to yell.

”Back stabber!” as he twisted his body to acquire the perfect landing.

He landed gracefully on a crouch before saluting, turning around. It was a perfect ten from everyone, even Bekuro. A perfect hundred percent. sagiri could not find fault with Kaka’s execution, and he could only think that the man loved to see style and not just brutal force. Either way, anyone standing against the two in battle was in trouble. kiuga was agile and swift, and Kaka was fast and brutal.

Next, it was the class president for class E, Asari. And he was not bad himself. He actually had a perfect ninety-nine percent with Kaka, and the others ranged from eighties to nineties. kiuga kaka and asari, however, maintained the lead, but with what sagiri could see. It seemed that the small blades had great competition. He now understood why Kaka never held back, even though he was the best. The competition was tough. Everyone was either good or excellent, and only a few were still above average. He was the only one way below average.

If he failed all in all the weapons, his fate must have been unclear since Senraki told him he needed to defend his results to the council of the ten schools. He did not know what could happen if he failed in every weapon, but he knew it would not be good. At least for the bow and arrow and sword, he had never had any training in them, but he had completely failed in the spear, and his only hope was passing the dagger test.

His feet felt a bit weak, and his hands clammy. Since his birthday, he had also been able to understand his own emotions to some level, unlike before, as if before the archive and the power inside him had made him not grow those now. However, if he could say he actually felt what he had felt ooze out of other people.

Nervousness.