[CENTER][hr][hr][color=ed145b][b][h2]UPDATE[/h2][/b][/color][hr][hr][/CENTER]
[@January][@GreenGoat][@Riffus Maximus][@RoflsMazoy][@Ayemdar][@Mercurial][@Masaki Haruna][@KOgaming][@banjoanjo][@Nanashi Ninanai][@hagroden][@hagroden][@King Tai][@Letter Bee][@BassDropp][@Thecrash20]

Promptly responding to the challenge presented to them by their auburn-haired instructor, most turned frantic as they remained clueless on what they should do. With his arms were crossed against his chest and smile on his face, Varus watched his students panic and couldn’t help himself from feeling amused. They were all so inexperienced; it reminded him of a pair of two  worthless amateurs from long ago.

Varus’ moment of reminiscing was immediately interupted by a presence he had felt behind him. He turned his head backwards, trying to catch a glimpse of what was actually there. Apparently, a portal of some sort had appeared on his jacket.

[color=ed1c24] “Finally.”[/color] He thought to himself as a knife-wielding arm had emerged. To actually point a weapon at Varus could have been considered incredibly brave or extremely foolish. Either way, Varus appreciated the effort. Sadly, this wasn’t enough to impress him.

[color=ed1c24] “You have to do better than that!”[/color] Varus exclaimed as he reached for the arm, grabbing it by the wrist. He wasn’t sure who it belonged to, but that didn’t matter. A faint crimson aura had suddenly enveloped Varus’ hand before letting loose a miniature explosion. His hair was slighlty blown to the side, the knife was scorched, and the portal behind him was no more.

The force generated by Varus’ explosion pushed Alice backwards, causing her to lose balance and stumble to the ground. She was stunned at what had happened; what was meant to be a harmless act lead to dire consequences in an instant. However, anxiousness soon filled her mind as she turned to her damaged arm. Or at least, that’s what she was expecting. Upon seeing it, she was surprised to see that she was mistaken. Although a bit numb, her arm remained unscathed as a flickering translucent lining appeared to have protected her. 

[Hider=Alice][INDENT]Don’t worry, Alice is fine. And at least, even if she wasn’t successful in impressing Varus, she discovered a few things. A clue to what his ability is and the presence of some sort of protective spell around Alice. Time for round two?[/INDENT][/Hider]
As soon as the portal behind him had vanished, Varus was surprised to see someone actually approaching him this time.

[color=f7941d]“Oh oh, me first!”[/color] Akasha said excitedly.

Varus wasn’t sure whether it was absolute confidence in what she could do or merely simple naivity. The only thing he was certain was that he wanted to see what the tan-skinned amazon could do. Closing her eyes, she focused. It was surprising to see someone her age and skill practice the art of chanting; similar to naming, it was considered a variant of spell casting and was usually taught. What Varus wanted to find out was where she learned to do such a technique.

A booming roar suddenly echoed througout the area, redirecting Varus’ attention away from the idle questions that he was contemplating on. The degree of control over her transformation was notable, but what Varus found more intriguing was the brief moment where she was completely dominated by her primal instincts. Akasha was definetely a beast that had yet to discover the entirety of its ferocity. 

Also, although not that relevant, Varus adored anything related to felines. Despite his efforts to keep a straight face, he couldn’t help but blush upon seeing Akasha transforming into an actual panther. His fondness for cats was fucking obvious and a tad embarassing.

Akasha, however, was oblivious to Varus’ response. Instead of approaching their instructor, she quickly turned around to face the groups of students with a mischievous glint in her eyes. She spent no time in finding the target of her playfulness as she pounced on her unsuspecting prey.

With an extended arm, Varus stopped himself from going after the panther. As much as he wanted to play with it, he had to be professional and continue to facilitate the ongoing trial. Instead of appreciating the incoming clash between the Akasha and Nihiri, Varus just felt nothing but jealousy. Clearly frustrated by the fact that he wasn’t able to pet Akasha, he bit his buttom lip and grumbled what one could only assume to be incomprehensible words.

His envy had soon dissipated as a good amount of fog billowed into the area. Varus' eyes traced its source and caught a glimpse of Junko before she was completely swallowed by her own magic. As much as he wanted to observe even further, it appeared that he couldn't as the overall visibility of the area had eventually been reduced to nothing. 

A blanket of darkness had creepily enveloped everyone. Aside from the shining light from runes an sigils, their vision was completely obscured and most had lost sight of one another.

Junko had hoped to frustrate Varus by tossing a wrench into his plans, but this seemingly didn't annoy the auburn-haired man one bit. On the contrary, it had the opposite effect.

Varus broke out in laughter, as a few tears trickled down from his eyes. [color=ed1c24]"I don't know what your name is, but I like the way you think![/color] 

With one arm pressed against his chest and the other resting on his hip, he tried to contain himself before speaking once more. [color=ed1c24]Let's see you lot try and impress me in this fog! I guess there's gonna me more expulsions than I expected"[/color]

[hr]Like any other student, Tav was worried since he had no clue on how to take on the challenge given to them. It didn't help that they were suddenly swallowed by a thick cloud of black fog. Taking the initiative, Tav immediately moved and took to the skies. He couldn't think clearly due to all the commission that was taking place. Maybe the skies could calm his mind and give him a better view of what was actually happening.

Sadly, at the peak of his ascent, the most he could see was a dim glow within the fog. What this mean or who this was? He really couldn't tell.

[Hider=Tav]The idea was great, but unfortunately, the fog's just to thick. I remember you mentioning something about gliding downwards? I suppose Tav could attempt some crude alternative using his shirt. Based from his image, he has two layers of clothing. Perfect time to practice, right?[/Hider][hr]
While every other student had their own ways of attempting to impress Varus, there was a few that had gathered together; they planned to simply catch him off guard and give him a well-deserved punch. Impressive? Definitely, if they pulled it off. Dangerous? Sure, only if they caught. As most of them began to discuss strategies, impatience fueled by what I assume could only be sugar, had overcome one of them. Relying nothing but her speed and skill, Kyou zoomed through the fog and headed straight to Varus. With a combination of weaves and feints, she hoped to surprise their instructor and show off her supposed talents for close quarters combat. 

There would have been some merit to Kyou's action if she just knew where Varus actually was. It was a good thing that she was hidden in the fog; if not, most would see her fighting nothing but thin air. I mean, she could say that she was shadow boxing or something, but everyone would eventually figure out what was actually going on.

[Hider=OOC]Sorry, guys. Because of the fog, Varus wasn't able to see the others who were showing off. Specifically, Eran's display of power and the crash between Nihiri and Akasha. I guess what you can pick up from this post is that before doing anything, you have to make sure that you at least tried to get Varus' attention. With everyone simultaneously trying to show him what they've got, it wouldn't be unlikely that he'd miss a few people. Maybe doing something as a group was the better choice, right? [/Hider]