"They were never going to win,"
Melvin turned to Nolan. "What did you say?"
"They never had a shot at winning to even begin with," Nolan replied.
"That's normal. They aren't meant to win. They just have to prove themselves," Melvin commented, returning his eyes to the fight.
"I think you misunderstand me, Elite Melvin," Nolan added, his eyes narrowing.
"You little…" Weasley spat blood as he lunged at Liana, bringing his sword from the side.
Liana parried the attack and went for a stab, which he easily got out of the way. She pulled back and bent down, dodging the strike that came for her head and spinning low to cut his chest.
Weasley groaned as he held his chest, his rage boiling.
The look in his face made Liana second guess her next move as the fear of him actually hurting her badly returned.
Thankfully, the adrenaline surge was still there and she managed to block off half the attacks, earning small gashes on her legs and shoulders.
… …
Cedric on the other hand was finally now taking the offensive, his strikes coming in with more force, making Buck continuously step back.
Though Buck easily blocked Cedric's attacks, he couldn't find an opening anymore. Whenever he managed to spot one, Cedric would launch an attack that made it hard to react.
Eventually, Buck decided to get serious and went in from the side. As Cedric turned with a strike, he ducked and used his heel to hit Cedric's weapon out of his hand.
He quickly spun to slash, but Cedric had already made space as if expecting it all along. With a hard kick to his side, Cedric held Buck's armed hand, twisted it and yanked him forward.
The sword clanged as it hit the ground.
Cedric spun Buck around and locked his arms around Buck's torso, lifting him off the ground and throwing him back.
Buck quickly put his hand on the ground and flipped himself to safety. As his eyes landed on the sword, Cedric picked it up and pointed it at him.
Buck turned to his side where Cedric's axe laid. He wasn't good with any weapon other than a sword, but he had no choice right now so he took it.
Cedric charged, dodging Buck's strike and blitzing past him.
"Gahh!" Buck groaned, holding his side that was now bleeding.
Melvin leaned forward. 'They aren't really holding back that much any longer, but nothing seems to change.' he thought. "He's good with both the axe and the sword?" he commented on Cedric's switch, clearly speaking to Nolan.
"I don't even know him." Nolan shrugged. "All I know is he's been a farmer?"
Buck gritted his teeth and started swinging the axe at Cedric.
Cedric kept stepping back until Buck eventually wore himself out. The vey moment Buck swung and a space opened, leaving his front completely clear, Cedric lowered his body.
"And here it comes," Nolan muttered with a smile. "Plus five."
Cedric charged in, delivering an elbow to the face, that sent Buck flying.
Liana stayed in close to Weasley, not giving him a chance for his long range slashes.
Fed up, he went for a stab—exactly what she was waiting for. At the very moment, she twisted her body to an insane angle, utilizing her flexibility and as he went past, she stomped the back of his knees, making him kneel.
Before he could do anything further, he felt her grip on his hair from behind and her sword was just an inch away from his throat.
In front of him, Buck landed, his eyes rolled back from Cedric's knockout blow.
Melvin's grip on both sides of the bench tightened as he watched in surprise—two Sentinel-ranks completely beaten by new recruits. "You were talking about Buck and Weasley earlier, weren't you?" he muttered.
"Correct," Nolan snapped his fingers as he finally sat on the bench.
"That's enough." Melvin clapped as he stood up, walking over to them. His eyes specifically on Liana who was glaring at Weasley like she would slit his throat any moment now.
Liana released him and stood up.
"I'm not lying when I say, you two have impressed me beyond the farthest of my expectations," Melvin admitted, then he turned to Weasley. "I don't even know what to say about you two. Take your second and head to the infirmary."
Weasley nodded quickly and walked over to Buck, slapping him awake.
"Are we in?" Liana's cheerful energy returned.
"What are your names?" Melvin asked.
"Liana Damon."
"Cedric Ford."
Melvin gave a curt nod and said, "That's Sentinel Liana and Sentinel Cedric from now on. You haven't just proved you both are worth recruiting, but you've shown you're above the Novice-rank."
Cedric smiled with his eyes closed, then he suddenly felt a body bump into him.
Liana hugged him. "Yes! Yes! We did it! We—" her senses returned and her eyes snapped. She quickly pushed off him and cleared her throat, trying to sound tough. "Sorry. I meant, we're ready for action, sir."
Her ears turned red out of embarrassment.
Melvin blinked at them. "Either ways, your strength might be at Sentinel-rank, but your minds are still in Novice at best. So, you'll still train with Novice-ranks for their first three missions to build a firm mindset and understand what your purpose is. The moment you have this done, you will join the other Sentinels"
"What about him?" Liana pointed at Nolan who was still sitting in the bench, picking his nose. The moment their eyes met he took out the hand and waved, receiving a disgusted glare from her.
"He'll go for the ability testing," Melvin said, turning back to Nolan.
"Ahem, what do we call you?" Cedric cleared his throat before asking. It was something that they had to know.
"Sir Melvin or Elite Melvin. Whichever you prefer."
Cedric nodded. "Sir Melvin it is."
"I'd rather call him Elite Melvin," Liana expressed.
"You," Melvin turned to Nolan as he, Cedric and Liana started making for the exit. "Let's go."
"It's Nolan, not 'you' please," Nolan yawned as he walked over to them.
They had passed their tests in an outstanding performance and now he was the one left to make his own first impression.
How would he do it?