Return of the Legendary Runesmith-Chapter 59 - 58- Failed at the last stage

The tests concluded exactly in one hour.

The students pulled away from the armaments they were working on, a few of them leaving it tuned halfway since they were not mindful of the time.

That wasn’t the case with Hayden and Thalia since they were reminded by Sylvie in the last three minutes that they needed to hurry up and finish whatever they were doing.

Adrian has been closely monitoring the two since the beginning, having his seat in the front.

And from what he has seen, except for the last armament where they had no option but to push themselves, the other ones were all great.

He could tell that his students had chosen nearly perfect dialects to inscribe the runes on the armament to make it efficient and high-quality tools.

However, once his eyes went to the other side...he knew they were lost

While Hayden and Thalia created fourteen armaments in one hour, the other party nearly created thirty—more than double.

Now, the only hope Adrian and Ariana had was that the quality could create enough difference that the judges had to declare them as the winners.

Thalia felt her heart turning heavy seeing the numbers they have, compared to what they made.

From behind, she heard Aries saying, "You two did great so stand proudly."

Thalia heaved a sigh while Hayden just smiled.

The green-haired young Runesmith turned towards the Professor who gave her the chance to perform in the contest ...and looking at the warm smile he wore, some weight was lifted off her chest.

The announcer returned to the stage and began, "Very well done, students. Regardless of who wins today, remember that you all are special children who have gained a spot to be here. So don’t let yourself feel any less than others because of your results today."

The announcer was clearly trying to uplift the spirit of those students who have already gotten disqualified.

However, neither the two disqualified academies nor Thalia and Hayden felt any good to be on the losing side.

Everyone wants to win in the end after all the hard work they have poured into this.

"Please come on the stage and start the demonstration." As the man asked, Allen and Michael stepped on the stage before holding the swords they got from the two runesmiths.

The first one to go was Allen.

Every eye was intently focused on him.

The news of a student who goes by the name Allen from the Runebound academy, having dual affinity, has reached all over the four academies and nations by now.

Dual affinity is rare in itself, and here, the second element of the boy was none other than Light—the element of divinity.

That explains why everyone became so eager to watch the demonstration.

’Ha~sorry to disappoint you all.’ Allen, who perfectly understood the meaning behind everyone’s attentive gaze, smirked inwardly before swinging his blade and allowing flames to wrap around his armament. frёeωebɳovel.com

It was a Tier 2 spell that allowed Allen to strengthen his weapon using flames. Not only does the attack range increase but also the damage amplifies threefold.

However, such precise control over his mana was not enough to impress the audience as their expression turned bitter.

"Wasn’t he the one?"

"Yes. The one with the Light attribute."

"Was it a false rumor?"

"He is hiding it. Must be the Headmistress’ orders."

People were bluntly commenting whatever was coming to their minds but Allen showed no intention of explaining anything to them.

The fact is, he can barely use the other attributes as of now. He just knows that it exists, and when Professor Adrian built that armament for him, Allen realized that he actually has the affinity.

However, without that weapon, Allen couldn’t use his second affinity.

Soon Michael also showed the use of his armament by throwing a few wind blades on the target set up at the corner of the stage.

The other side also performed their tasks and seamlessly demonstrated how well their classmates augmented the weapons.

Once the demonstration was done the students were told to go and sit with their teachers.

The assessment would be done before them all and the winner of the contest would be announced within an hour.

Snacks and drinks were being served to everyone so they could relax and pass their time.

On the stage, ten officials were gathered, taking armaments and assessing them before giving them marks on a sheet.

Thalia and Hayden could barely sit down whenever their armaments were picked.

Their demeanor signified how nervous they were. After all, until now, most of the work was done by Elana, Aries, and Sylvie. And they brought their team to the final round. So failing here would mean they have failed the other three as well.

"Don’t keep your expectations high, you two," Adrian spoke, making Thalia and Hayden turn toward him.

Elana and Aries were sitting on either of his sides and Sylvie was beside Aries so they all could hear his words.

"If you hope to get the first rank, then you will get disappointed since the other team has the numbers, and they are not here to play games. They also must be good in this subject to reach here. So rather than hoping to score the best, you should hope that all the armaments you have tuned get the best scores. That will be your victory as runesmiths."

Hayden felt sad and happy at the same time. He knew that he wouldn’t be able to push his team to the first rank...but seeing that their Professor was not displeased about the result but rather appreciating them... helped him feel relieved.

Aries further added, "We have seen you give your best. So regardless of the result, my Thalia is the winner!" She hugged the green-haired, much to her annoyance but she didn’t push her away.

"We have calculated the points." The announcer approached the front of the stage, gathering everyone’s attention.

After a brief pause, he stated, "I must say that the children today have shown great talent and have given us hope that we will gain several talented Runesmiths in the future. So I would like to applaud your hard work first."

*Clap* *Clap*

Following the announcer, the others started clapping too, filling the hall with a round of applause.

Once silence returned, the man continued, "After evaluating the scores based on the quality of the armaments, we have come to the conclusion that Runebound Academy has gathered a total of 80 points."

"Twelve of the fourteen armaments are well-tuned and something we may bring to practical use."

Thalia and Hayden couldn’t stop smiling at the last remark. They scored better than they expected.

A good armament gets five points but they have gained more than that

The announcer further added, "However, because of the difference in numbers, the Runebound Academy has landed on the second position with a difference of forty points from the Aegis Academy."

The final result made them feel sad but not as much as they expected.

The students of Aegis Academy just smiled as if they knew they would be victorious.

Aries snarled, "Inches away they were from losing to two people despite having a five-man team."

"Forty points are a lot, though ..." Allen tried to argue, only to be glared at by Sylvie, Aries, and even Adrian slightly shook his head.

Adrian got up and was about to congratulate his students, when suddenly,

"Now, we move to the next stage. A contest between the Professors. A friendly battle to discern who is the best Runesmith among the four."

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A/N:- Thanks for reading.