Chapter 294: King’s Dominion
Just as Kyle stepped forward to take part in the exercise, the same instructor who had praised Charles frowned and said, "Isn’t it a little too soon to send him out? He may be older than the others, but today is still his first day."
Her concern was perfectly reasonable. Kyle had barely set foot inside the academy, yet he was already being thrown into one of the harshest trials it had to offer.
"Hmph. The boy was eager enough to volunteer himself," the scar-faced instructor replied with a dismissive snort. The satisfaction in his voice was unmistakable, as was his irritation at the objection.
Godwin turned towards the headmaster, unable to hide the concern in his eyes.
"Is this really alright, Headmaster?"
Christopher let out a slow breath before answering, "I’ve seen him face monsters powerful enough to annihilate an entire group of students, and he never showed the slightest hint of panic. Compared to that, a situation like this shouldn’t trouble him in the least."
Godwin remained unconvinced.
Facing a single monster and navigating a situation like this were two entirely different challenges.
Raw strength alone would not be enough. This trial demanded patience, composure, sound judgment, and the awareness to read a battlefield where circumstances could shift in an instant.
Still, the decision had already been made.
With no room left for debate, every gaze settled on the scene unfolding below.
...
Kyle stepped into the training grounds and pulled up the map on his phone. Within moments, he located the sector that had yet to receive any assistance.
It was impressive how quickly the academy had updated him with the latest information.
"Alright... eight survivors, and the search area is enormous."
Nearly a quarter of the entire arena had been assigned to him. There was far too much ground for a single person to cover.
...
"That’s far too much for one person," one of the instructors muttered as he watched Kyle standing motionless, his eyes fixed on the screen of his phone.
"Finding every survivor across an area that large won’t be easy," another added.
"He’d be better off rescuing as many as he can instead of trying to reach everyone," a third instructor remarked.
The atmosphere around the observation platform grew increasingly pessimistic.
Most of them had already accepted that, in the midst of such overwhelming chaos, Kyle would struggle to save even a single survivor.
However, "Huh?" An unexpected turn unfolded within the arena.
...
The moment Kyle activated King’s Dominion, something about him changed.
The chaos, the desperate cries for help, the blazing inferno consuming the surroundings, and even the crushing weight of the mission all faded into the background.
His mind became utterly still.
He slipped his phone into his pocket and silently activated God’s Eye.
The next instant, he bent his knees and launched himself upward with explosive force.
He landed atop the roof of a burning house without the slightest hesitation, then kicked off once more, soaring even higher into the air.
As he ascended, brilliant golden radiance began to bloom around both of his arms.
...
"Is that his...?" someone in the observation area blurted out in disbelief.
"It is," Christopher answered with a nod.
"That’s his Armament."
...
The world seemed to slow for Kyle.
Through God’s Eye, every survivor under his jurisdiction appeared within his awareness as though the battlefield had been laid bare before him. He no longer needed to turn his head or search with his own eyes. Every movement, every threat, every flicker of danger was crystal clear.
He drew his bow.
One arrow.
Then another.
A third.
The string continued to sing as golden arrows streaked across the battlefield in rapid succession until the seventh shot left his fingertips.
Only then did he stop.
Thud.
Kyle landed lightly on the ground.
...
"What the hell?!" the scar-faced instructor shouted, his voice filled with disbelief. "He killed every monster in the area?! How is that even possible?"
He wasn’t the only one left speechless.
Every instructor in the observation room, including the headmaster himself, stared at the battlefield with widened eyes.
Every single monster had fallen.
Those charging toward the survivors...
Those lurking within the sea of flames...
Not one had escaped.
He didn’t even shift his stance to kill some of them. The arrows just changed direction on their own
Each had been struck down by a golden arrow that pierced cleanly through its skull with flawless precision, snuffing out its life before it ever had the chance to react.
"Just what in the world..."
...
Kyle landed lightly and released Aquilla from his grasp.
Her role was over for now.
Without wasting a second, he located the nearest survivor through God’s Eye and burst into a sprint.
The first "survivor" was a young boy trapped beneath a collapsed wooden beam, his body wracked with violent coughs as thick smoke swallowed the air.
Kyle tore the beam away as though it weighed nothing and reached for the boy.
The instant his fingers wrapped around the child’s arm, the figure shimmered before dissolving into golden particles, revealing nothing more than a training dummy dressed in scorched clothing.
Kyle’s expression never changed.
He carefully carried the dummy to the designated extraction point and laid it down with the same care he would have shown a real person.
Then he turned and ran towards the next survivor without a moment’s hesitation.
...
"He handled that remarkably well," one of the instructors remarked. "Most people hesitate when the illusion breaks, but he didn’t even flinch."
Christopher kept his eyes fixed on Kyle as the young man moved seamlessly from one rescue to the next.
"I have to admit," he murmured, almost to himself, "he’s far too composed for someone who’s never taken part in a rescue operation before."
...
The second and third survivors appeared moments later.
Two young girls were huddled together behind an overturned cart, trembling as the flames crept ever closer.
Kyle approached without slowing.
"Stay behind me. Don’t panic. We’re moving."
His voice was calm, concise, and reassuring, exactly as it would have been if they were real.
He escorted them towards the extraction point, but halfway there, both figures shimmered before dissolving into golden particles. Two training dolls tumbled from the fading projections.
Kyle caught them before they could strike the ground.
Without sparing the transformation a second glance, he secured the dolls and continued forward, weaving effortlessly through collapsing debris and walls of fire without once breaking his stride.
...
"He’s not cutting corners just because they’re fake," Godwin observed, his expression softening as he watched.
"He’s treating every rescue as though a real life is on the line."
A female instructor kept her gaze fixed on the projection.
"That’s exactly what I’d be worried about if he wasn’t doing."
...
The sixth survivor was an elderly man trapped beneath a shattered support beam, his crushed leg pinning him in place.
Kyle dropped to one knee.
"It’s alright," he said quietly. "I’ve got you."
With a single motion, he lifted the beam away before the illusion had even finished its scripted cries of panic.
The old man dissolved instantly into golden particles, leaving only another training doll behind.
Kyle let out a slow breath through his nose.
It was the first genuine breath he had taken since stepping into the arena.
....
"He never dropped that tone," the scar-faced instructor said quietly. "Not once. Even though he knew."
"Perhaps because he knew," Godwin replied, his eyes never leaving the screen. "Anyone can do the right thing when they believe it’s real. If you know it’s fake and still treat it with the same care, that’s no longer instinct."
"It’s discipline."
...
Only two dolls remained, both positioned at the far end of the arena.
Before anyone in the observation room could even process what they had witnessed, Kyle was already sprinting towards them.
He paid no attention to the students racing in his direction. They had likely realised an entire section of the arena had been left unattended, but it no longer mattered.
Kyle leapt high into the air.
A flash of golden light gathered beside him as Aquilla materialised once more.
Without taking the time to aim, he released a single arrow.
The golden projectile struck the weakened support of a burning house with pinpoint precision.
The structure gave way instantly.
Its collapse smothered the surrounding flames beneath a storm of debris.
...
"Careful!" a female instructor cried out, instinctively rising from her seat as the survivors stood dangerously close to the collapsing building.
Yet her fears proved unnecessary.
Not a single fragment of debris came anywhere near the two dolls.
Every piece crashed harmlessly around them, as though the collapse itself had been calculated down to the last stone.
Silence swept through the observation room.
Dozens of stunned eyes watched as Kyle calmly retrieved the final two dolls and carried them to the extraction point.
The exercise ended.
Total time...
One minute.
A new record had been born.
Christopher knew, with absolute certainty, that no student in the next thousand years would ever surpass what they had just witnessed.
Truly a prodigy.
If only I could have him under my wing...
°°°°°°
A/N:- I haven’t tried writing like this before with so many scene breaks and I don’t believe I would in the future. Well, leave your impression in the comments.