Rubia's POV

The Gnosis-Academy was considered to be the best academy on this planet, in every field, thus it was named after Planet Gnosis itself. But its name was well deserved as more than ninety percent people attending this academy were 'Exceeds', the people who were able to use bloodline abilities and transcended humanity. But that wasn't the real reason for its prestige. The amount of resources required to make a large city were invested only in this Academy. Presently the Academy had the best training and study resources throughout the planet. The study fields ranged from medical science and technology management to combat training and specializing in different weaponry. The Academy also did not differentiate between students based on their social standings and even a lot of commoners were attending it. But there was no free lunch in the world. Although most people didn't know it but one of the main objectives of the Academy was to nurture Exceeds to counter external threats.

Gnosis was a Planet that was discovered only 300 years ago in 2700AG. It was discovered by Duke Gnosis of Planet Klanz. After discovering a new Planet he established his own Sovereignty. Many people from other planets migrated to Gnosis in search of new opportunities. But Gnosis was still a very small Planet compared to Klanz in both size and manpower. It would be normal if Klanz or other surrounding powers waged war to get a piece of this treasure trove. But the most unnatural thing was that Gnosis was never attacked in the last 300 years. Something was preventing the other powers from waging a war. Although its connections and interactions with outside were reduced, it never faced an armed conflict. But there was no saying when 'someone's greed will get the better of them' and a war will break out. Due to this learning fighting was mandatory for anyone who wanted to stay in the Gnosis-Academy, so that when the time came Gnosis would have enough strength to hold its ground.

Standing in front of a large door the only thought in Rubia's mind was 'I'm fucked'. Although all the cuts on her cheeks were gone the dark circles were still evident around her eyes. She was wearing a white long coat over her uniform which was a black pant and black shirt. The dressing code of Gnosis-Academy was very lenient but for certain occasions special uniforms provided by the academy were mandatory. And this was one such occasion, the final test of the first term students, the combat assessment.

After getting her Digi-watch scanned by a scanner beside the door, the large door opened. What appeared in front of Rubia was a large man with toned muscles, which were outlined by his shirt. He had shoulder length black hair and black pupils with a tint of green at the end. The black coat he was wearing, which represented teachers and instructors in the academy, also enhanced his features. He also had a handsome face but the smile which he gave Rubia sent a shudder down her spine.

"Sorry Farmount, I'm a little late," Rubia apologized in a timid manner.

"A little," a smile escaped Farmount's mouth. But it didn't seem friendly at all.

"Maybe, more than a little."

"Just more than a little."

"Maybe, totally late."

"Yes, you are as late as you can be". Farmount had an angry expression. He spoke something in his Digi-watch. Then he stared at Rubia for a few seconds before informing "It will take some time for the test to be arranged. Till then we have to wait here". Then he went and sat on an armchair in the centre of the room and started contemplating something.

With nothing to do, Rubia started to observe the room. It was completely white in color with no windows but its size was around a few yards. There were a few machines at the four corners of the room for ventilation and air conditioning. Being only a waiting room it still had several armchairs scattered throughout the room. This just went on to show how heavily loaded the Gnosis-Academy was.

"Come and sit here" Farmount pointed to the chair in front of him. The anger which he showed before had completely disappeared. After Rubia seated herself in front of Farmount he continued "As we have nothing else to do, lets go over the basics."

"Okay" Rubia knew what Farmount was going to ask and she could answer it even in her sleep.

Farmount started with his questions "Do you know what is there in the test"

"Yes, the candidate appearing will have to fight with a monster"

"What is difference between a normal animal and monsters."

"Well animals are the beasts which are present in their natural state without undergoing any mutation. On the other hand monsters undergo several mutations and become abnormally violent and their physical capabilities also exceed their limits. They also develop a variety of supernatural characteristics, from self regeneration to elemental control. A lot of different species of monsters are scattered throughout the universe. The ones present on Gnosis lean on the weaker side."

"How can we kill monsters"

"The skin of a monster is as hard as metals hence any weapons made from normal metals don't work on them. Then there is also the regenerative ability which most of the monsters have. Due to this, only weapons made from an alloy of a stronger metal and a metal with supernatural properties are relied upon to kill them. Although nano-bullets are also used but making them is very harder and consumes more materials compared to weapons."

"What will-"before Farmount could finish his next question the door to the room opened. A blonde young woman came inside. She was also wearing a black coat. After glancing at the papers in her hand she continued, "Rubia Lapis you will now be taking your combat test. Knight Farmount you will be presiding over it. Get ready to leave quickly."

"I don't have anything to prepare." Rubia said getting up from the armchair.

"I'm also ready" Farmount added.

" Follow me" the woman started to lead them out of the room.

Rubia and Red started following the woman. They were already inside the testing building, which was also the 'Training Arena' for specially privileged students. After walking for some time through a set of stairs Rubia complained, "Today you're being so cold, Sofia."

"Anyone will be angry if you make them work overtime. It is already midday and already two hours have passed since the last candidate took the test."

"I'm Sorry. I just overslept" Rubia again apologized.

'Even an idiot wont believe she just overslept' thought Sofia and shot Rubia a glare. 'Its true that I just overslept a little" thought Rubia 'But its just that I went to sleep at the break of dawn'.

Although it didn't look that large from the outside, but the Training Arena was actually much larger than anyone could imagine. It was a combination of various lecture halls, weaponry training fields, virtual survival rooms, and also a few sparring fields. But even in Gnosis Academy such facilities cannot be given to everyone. Only individuals who showed high growth potential were given special access to use them.

After walking for nearly ten minutes through several stairways and corridors they finally arrived at their destination. They were standing in front of a small door which was embedded in the white walls. After approaching it, the door slid aside making way for them. The scene which entered her eyes made Rubia awestruck.

There was a very large arena which could seat several thousands of people. The ceiling was illuminated with mini lights in such a manner that it looked like a small artificial sun. The actual sparring field was covered by a dome shaped glass barrier to prevent any damage to the seated audience. There were several drone cameras floating around the arena ready to record any fight taking place. There were also large screens around the arena to show the fight from different angles. It was like an upgraded version of the sparring field she used last night.

Several people wearing black coats were standing at one side of the audience stand. Farmount was going to oversee the fight but these were the examiners who will grade Rubia's performance. Most of them were the teachers or instructors of second and above terms.

It took a lot of time to get the arena ready again because all the examiners thought that every candidate had appeared for the test. Just as they finished wrapping up and were ready to leave, they got a call notifying that Rubia, the latecomer, has appeared to take the test. Rubia was sure they would have cursed her a lot already. After greeting them briefly she went into the glass barrier and started to do warm up.

After a few minutes when Rubia felt that she was ready she nodded at Sofia's direction. Sofia nodded back and spoke with the examiners for a minute before making the announcement.

"Rubia Lapis, daughter of Count Argos Lapis, by the recommendation of Knight Kyle Farmount , is going to take the 'Special Combat  Assessment'. The test consists of a battle of survival against a monster selected by the examiners. The rules are as follows:

- You will pass if you survive for 10 minutes or more.

- You will pass if the monster is incapacitated or killed irrelevant of how much time it takes.

If you are on the verge of death or incapacitated, the Knight overseeing the battle will rescue you making the test count as a failure by default. The Knight overseeing this match is Knight Kyle Farmount. Use of your bloodline abilities is permitted. Any Questions?"

"None!"

"Let us begin the Special Combat Assessment"

Rubia rushed to the inner edge of the glass dome where weapons were placed. After a few seconds a gap developed in the floor at the centre of the sparring field and a wolf, which unexpectedly had two heads, leapt out.

The 'Twin-Headed Wolf' had shiny black fur and bloodshot red eyes. It stared at Rubia with his black pupils. Its black eyes were so menacing that even Rubia flinched unconsciously. Its height was around 5 foot and length around 7 foot which made it seem very large. There was a silver metallic collar around its neck which temporarily stopped it from attacking.

Rubia quickly recalled all the information she had regarding the Twin-headed wolf. Although it was not among the strongest monsters on Gnosis, it was among the most troublesome ones. It had high strength and swift speed which was unhindered by its size. The coordination between its two different heads was also impeccable. But the thing which made it truly threatening was its fast regenerative power. If its not killed instantly and the fight drags on, the difficulty of killing it increases several folds by every passing second. But there was still a way to kill it in a prolonged fight if its opponent had a lot of stamina.

She examined the weapons placed beside her. There were all types of weapons ranging from guns to swords. She noticed that they were all made from 1060 high carbon steel and their edges were coated with alloy of carbon-steel and Glenz. Although it was nothing much compared to Veril, Glenz was also a newly discovered element which affected monsters and was a lot more abundant than Veril. Even if these weapons appeared to be amazing they were the worst ones among everything present in Gnosis-Academy. 'Maybe they want me to suffer here. Well they are in for a treat then'.

She picked up a plain flexible spear and hung a sword and a handgun around her waist. The handgun only had five nano-bullets. It was the restriction placed so that nobody can exploit the long range of guns. She nodded at Farmount and the collar around the wolf's neck was released.

Rubia hurriedly took a defensive stance. After feeling its freedom the wolf charged towards Rubia. After it got close, Rubia thrust her spear towards the wolf with the spearhead pointed at the intersection of the two necks. The wolf dodged towards the side but a deep gash was left on the side of its right shoulder.

Seeing the window of opportunity when Rubia was off balance it jumped at her from her right side. She already anticipated this and quickly slashed at the wolf with her unsheathed sword. Despite the fact that Rubia showed inhuman reflexes, the wolf did not suffer much. It showed its monstrous instincts and dodged to the side with only a slight cut on its front legs.

It stared at Rubia from a distance. It had finally acknowledged her as a threat worthy of its full attention. The wounds on its body were starting to regenerate at a rate visible to the naked eye. After a minute into the fight they both were evenly matched.

Rubia felt an adrenaline rush. Her heart rate increased and senses were heightened. She began to breathe rapidly and felt the strength in her muscles increase. In this situation she decided to actively attack. Using the spear for attacking the wolf from distance and the sword to protect herself when it managed to come near her, she was able to drag on the fight.

Five minutes into the fight Rubia came across a vital problem. She was getting exhausted at a much faster rate than she had anticipated. Last night's fight had taken a much serious toll on her body. And to top it off the weapons available to her were the worst ones present in the Academy, which were hardly affecting the regeneration ability of the wolf. If she ever got a chance she was going to give these examiners a piece of her mind.

Eight minutes into the fight she knew that  she was going to be totally worn out so she decided to put all her remaining energy into a last do or die plan, even if it may leave her vulnerable.