The adults, oblivious to what was happening outside, were talking in an office about the slaves that Victor and Alaric had brought with them.
"Did you see them, Ophelia? Those children's bodies are as well trained as the disciples of a sect," said Victor, looking at the woman in front of him.
"Even if that's true, Accepting slaves into our sect will make us look like we accept anyone," replied the woman, knowing that if they did that, the value of the sect would be affected.
"The fact that they are slaves brings problems, but if we cultivate them well, they can be better than the rest," added Alaric.
Hearing the man's words, the woman looked at him, one eyebrow raised. "Are you saying that our disciples are not good just because we consider them to be 'the rest'?"
"I didn't mean that. We're just saying that if someone else sees them, they will take them away from us."
Ophelia, who was about to dismiss the concerns of both men, was interrupted by loud noises coming from outside.
"Are they taking training seriously today, or why are they making so much noise?" she thought, focusing her attention back on the men.
Victor and Alaric decided to continue, pressuring Ophelia to accept the slaves who were fighting outside.
"We are sure that those children encountered the Silvark and survived. Even great talents die when they encounter it, and these children escaped from it," Victor said, slamming both palms on the table.
"And can any of you verify that? No, right?" Ophelia replied. "Although you are both trustworthy, I find it very difficult to even imagine that scenario."
Following her words, loud applause and the sound of wood clapping echoed from outside, interrupting the discussion again.
"What the hell is going on? Why is there so much noise outside?" Ophelia asked, looking toward the door.
"They're just motivated. Seeing them made them want to show off," Alaric said, his tone making his disinterest clear.
"Yes, they don't matter. We have to focus on this," Victor said, tapping the table with his finger.
"You know, I don't want to waste any more time. If you're so interested in those kids, I'll give them a test, and based on that, we'll decide if we'll keep them," Ophelia said in an annoyed tone as she stood up and walked to the door.
Upon hearing the woman's words, both men celebrated internally before asking what the test would be, to which Ophelia replied,
"Fighting our disciples. If they win, we'll keep them," she said, shrugging at the obviousness of the question.
Reaching an agreement, the men smiled at each other before following Ophelia out the door. As soon as they passed through the door, they saw one of their disciples flying toward them, crashing into the stone wall before passing out.
Surprised by the impact, they decided to look ahead, surprised to see several of their disciples on the ground and the rest surrounding a specific point in the center of the room.
"...What the hell is going on?" Ophelia asked in a low voice as she looked at the scene.
<<<<>>>>
We stood in front of the boys my age, protecting them as they were weaker than the rest.
The boys behind the fat boy rushed towards us, so we did the same, and the two groups collided.
When we started fighting, I realized that their blows were more elaborate and always aimed at our weak points, which made us retreat instantly.
Ghislaine, on the other hand, didn't seem to be having as much trouble as we were, as she had already knocked two boys to the ground.
"Don't let them surround you, there are more of them than us!" she shouted at us, before receiving a kick in the stomach.
"Ghislaine!" Oswin shouted, using his mana to lift parts of the ground beneath the cultists, hitting them in the groin or stomach.
It seemed that seeing a mage surprised them, as they paused for a moment before lunging at us again.
"Where the hell are you looking?" one of the guys asked me angrily, punching me in the face, which took me by surprise.
"They hit hard," I thought, straightening up and then taking a long stride and kicking him straight in the chest, leaving him on the ground. "The good thing is, so do I," I said mockingly.
Without even having time to get my bearings, a girl with a wooden sword lunged at my face with a powerful thrust. Although I managed to escape at the last second, the graze left a mark on my cheek. When I looked at her, I saw that her hair shone with an intense green color, lighter than Della's.
The same girl made a series of lunges that I barely managed to escape, receiving glancing blows that tore my already torn clothes.
The pain of the blows made me groan, which caused me to lower my guard and receive a surprise kick to my side. The kick sent me crashing to the ground, but I reacted quickly, moving out of the way before the girl's sword could strike where my head had been.
"Down, Conan!" someone said from behind me, so I ducked and saw a rock flying straight at the face of the guy who had kicked me.
Looking back, I saw the children we had placed behind us throwing stones at the others, causing them to lower their guard and receive several blows.
I myself saw how the girl with the wooden sword defended herself from the stones that were coming at her. So I took advantage of the situation and jumped at her, hitting her with both legs in the chest, sending her flying.
From behind, I could feel someone attacking me. Dodging him, I saw that it was the same guy who kicked me, so I went all out and gave him a strong headbutt, knocking him out instantly.
"Conan, are you okay?" Anna asked, holding me from behind before I fell.
"Y-yes," I replied, a little dizzy. "I don't have to do that again," I thought, holding my head.
Standing up, I could see Jumyeong being pushed back by a blow from the fat man. Seeing this, Thomas picked up a piece of ground that hit him in the stomach and brought him to his knees.
Jumyeong, who had already gotten to his feet, ran toward the fat guy, kicking him hard and sending him crashing into a wall.
"Looks like that kick made him angry," Anna said, with a smile on her face.
"I think so too," I replied, reacting in time to stop a kick that was aimed at Anna's face.
However, the girl who threw the kick was stronger than me and ended up throwing me away while I was holding her leg. I got down on my knees as quickly as I could to block another kick, which, even though I blocked it, hit me in the face and knocked me to the floor.
Before Anna could intervene, we were all surrounded by a strong pressure that made us stop. I looked at where it was coming from and saw Victor and Alaric next to the woman, who was staring at us.
"You're right, these kids aren't so bad," said the woman, with a smile that reminded me of the face of the woman at the slave farm.