Draconic King of Shadows

Empty shells fell to the ground as the bullets rocketed from the weapon's muzzles, crossing to the other side of the hall and striking the targets, creating large see through holes.

Damion covered his ears with his palms, the cacophony of noises being too much to bear. The other students were saved from the loud noises in their Mechs, while Raymond was seemingly unaffected by it.

Damion was paid no attention, left to suffer alone as he sat on the ground. He didn't know if this was a ploy by Raymond, or he was just unlucky, either way, he sat there and watched.

Nicole's Mech was engraved with the number 3, while Gertrude had the Number 1 on it. They both had good control of the Mech's weapons, and their aim was steady. However, they seemed oblivious to what Raymond was plotting.

"Time to crank things up," Damion faintly heard Raymond say over the sound of gunfire.

"Charge left," Raymond barked into the communicator attached to his shoulder.

Immediately, the walls to the left slid apart, revealing large fans embedded within. The soft wiring and humming sounds of their activation caught Nicole and Gertrude's attention, and they looked over at them.

"Damn it!" they cursed in unison and tried to perfect their aim, already knowing what was coming next.

The fan blades sped up quickly, and strong gusts of wind began to blow, causing the bullets to swerve of course.

Gertrude, quick and smart, adjusted his aim, yet still missed the target completely.

Nicole on the other hand found himself shooting totally off course, destroying a part of the ceiling with his hail of bullets. His face paled when this happened and he seized fire, glancing at Raymond in fear.

"Keep shooting and stop staring at me!" Raymond bellowed.

Nicole hurriedly looked back and aimed again, resuming fire in a few seconds.

"Lower the output of the left fan and turn on the right one," Raymond instructed through his communicator.

The personnel controlling the fans swiftly went to work and did as Raymond ordered.

Gertrude who seemed to have finally perfected his aim, after the first fan turned on, found himself firing at the wall and destroying it too. But unlike Nicole who panicked and stopped, he persisted, controlling his gun and aiming again.

Raymond nodded his head, satisfied.

Very soon though, they were out of bullets, and at Raymond's order they moved back.

There wasn't any time for rest as they were asked to perform the next task immediately.

The toll of using the Mechs had made them a bit sloppy, causing them to perform badly in the next task. They fell over multiple times, destroying more crates than they transported, and failing woefully.

Despite this, Raymond remained silent, calling in the next set of students and barking out orders at random intervals.

Mechs were destroyed in the next rounds as students ended up shooting at themselves after aiming wrongly, or getting their bullets redirected at wrong areas, ricocheting off metals and bouncing back towards them.

Their morale looked to take a downward dip as more students were called. Luckily, it wasn't bloody and no one was hurt. Damion, who was the most unprotected of them all, was somehow safe from the bullets, a forcefield which he hadn't noticed earlier blocking the bullets.

"Lyra and Gordon, you're up!" Raymond said for the umpteenth time in just an hour.

Lyra moved smoothly to the stage, and so did Gordon. They were the best students of the class, and they were left as last for that reason.

Their Weapons moved in sync, unlocking from their Mechs' backs and attaching to their arms fluidly. They raised and aimed, and a split second later, they were firing away at their targets.

The sounds were once again too loud, and Damion had to cover his ears. This Time though, there was a cadence to it that made it not as painful and disturbing as before.

Slowly Damion lowered his hands, his eyes glazing over as he comprehended something.

Their movement looked so smooth that it was almost unnatural. Lyra's shots were more focused than Gordon's, and even when the fans were turned on, she still didn't miss her target, only seizing fire for a split second before resuming.

Somehow, Damion understood that it wasn't her Ability, but the perfect execution of a technique. She pulled trigger only when needed, and not firing continuously without stop.

Gordon tried to match her finesse, but he fell short, though he performed the best out of everyone here, excluding Lyra.

He did well, using short but powerful bust of bullets to deliver perfect shots.

After a while, the echoing sounds came to a stop, the lasts of the bullets shells falling to the ground.

Moving on to the next task, they were able to transport the crates quickly and efficiently without damaging any. In this task, however, Gordon did better than Lyra. He seemed more adept at footwork that she was, so he was able to move faster.

That task also ended, and everyone settled down after they were done, waiting for the third round to commence.

Silence ensued as everyone's eyes fell on Damion. He just sat there, indifferent about the numerous stares he was given.

"Get up and choose a Mech," Raymond ordered.

Damion shot him a glance, then stood to his feets and walked across the hall, stopping before Lyra's Mech.

"He thinks it's about the quality of the Mech," someone from the crowd of students said mockingly.

"Exactly, he thinks because she performed well, her Mech is the reason,'' another chimed in, laughing after saying those words.

Others found their courage grow, and they began to throw ridiculing remarks at him.

Damion hopped into the cockpit, sitting on the warm sit without care for their words. He had been through worse, and a few words weren't going to make him falter.

As soon as he sat down, a panel popped up, and smirk spread across his face.

[Mech 329, Model 6.7.0 Detected]

[Would host like to pilot it?]

"You don't need to ask," came Damion's reply, and right after, the Mech whirred to life and began to walk to its position, its gun unlocking from behind and clicking with his arm.