The morning sunlight radiated down on the impenetrable academy. Tall spires and buildings cast large shadows over the thousands of prospect cadets standing by a massive dome of silver and red.
"Ugh, finally… They're gone." Miyaura breathed a sigh of relief as my sister and fiancee said their goodbyes, leaving us. There was nothing he hated more than social interaction after all.
Actually… maybe kill-stealers. Definitely a good contender.
"You didn't tell me they were coming," he grumbled as we made our way to the main body from the restricted area where only the family of current cadets could enter.
Entering, the reaction wasn't immediate, but it rippled quickly as the raucous noise softened, all eyes turning to us—no, to me. They were obviously all looking at me, not this absolute nobody.
Not yet.
"N-n-no way… Is it him?!"
"H-he's really here… in the flesh…"
"Haha, thank god. I swear I'll be the one to pummel him into the ground. He's nothing without his tricks and schemes."
"That fucking bastard! I'll make sure to teach him a lesson for stealing Lady Evelyn's heart!"
"Hmm... wait. Who's that guy beside him?"
Murmurs spread through the crowd. Some were in a stir at my presence, some were confused of the boy beside me, and many were bitter at my noble pedigree and relationship with Evelyn.
After all, they believed I was a waste, squandering my family's resources doing nothing while they scraped by on effort alone. My victory over Quinn hadn't been earned, only stolen through dirty deception, and my reveal as a middle stage Awakened wasn't something worth praise, it was the bare minimum to be expected from a ducal heir.
And then there was Evelyn, who I apparently only scored because of my pretty face, shattering the dreams of every guy who thought hard work might earn them a chance.
I didn't give any of their comments a care as I coldly made my way through, Miyaura following by my side with a detached air to him. This type of social situation didn't bother him.
Despite their resentful remarks, the masses still parted to make way for me, allowing us to effortlessly cut the line with sheer aura.
Some indignant folks looked like they wanted to approach me, but turned stiff when I drew near, casting a gaze of utter indifference towards them. It made them awkwardly stick out like a sore thumb in the passage created for me.
Eventually though, a brave soul stood his ground before me. A beastkin. That made sense, their kind was fierce by nature, less inclined to yield to intimidation.
"Well well well, pretty boy. We'll see soon how well you can really fight. Your tricks and deception won't work against me on the battlefield," the wolf-man declared, looking straight into my eyes.
I looked back and we had a short staring contest before he abruptly lunged to the side.
I had launched a punch at his face with my Abyssal Hand still in its phantom form. As it neared him, I willed it to turn physical, though I had no real intention to actually punch him.
The purpose was to flare his beastkin's enhanced instincts, causing him to scramble out of the way from something that was never going to touch him and no one could even see, making him look like a fool in front of everybody.
Haha, you flinched!
I smirked internally, but outwardly, I was indifferently, continuing forward as the wolf-man's confusion flashed to rage, glaring daggers at my back.
The silence the crowd was holding dissipated as they made jeering remarks at the beast-kin's actions after his provocative spiel.
"Hahaha, what the hell was that?"
"Lol, did he get scared and chickened out after looking into his eyes?"
"Couldn't even last five seconds lmao."
Following that, there were no more incidents; we made it to the front where many confident fellows stood—high nobles, very talented commoners, scions of high ranking guilds, the whole shabang.
A few gazed upon me with curious expressions, the vast majority were disdainful and filled with scorn, but they didn't say anything.
With the exam looming so close, there was no need for words. Whatever they wanted to prove, they planned to do it there, on the battlefield.
And maybe… it's because they're afraid of my tongue's immense prowess.
Then, the majestic entrance of the dome opened, allowing us into its vast expanse.
Looking inside, the silver framework was etched with glowing runes that caught and reflected the light, gradually increasing in illumination towards the center.
Rows of red seats cascaded in sweeping tiers, numbering over a dozen thousand, all angled toward the central arena.
Me and Miyaura made our way down the red carpet, but when the noble scions and talented commoners began splitting off and ascending the stairs, we continued forward.
This was because given the sheer number of participants—over 6,000 in total—the contestants needed to be divided into groups and tested at different times for the first stage of the exam, and the talented loved fighting in the final batch, where the contrast with the pathetic earlier groups would glaringly highlight their overwhelming superiority.
For me and Miyaura, we had a different way of thinking.
Miyaura wanted to just get the test over with and go home because for the vast majority of it, he'll likely just be fighting weak nobodies, making it a waste of his oh so precious time.
I, on the other hand, just picked it because they wanted to go last. As they also wanted to fight me, they'd have to pick between the two.
While we continued forward, the prestigious scions and commoners were in a dilemma, quickly trying to make up their mind for what they want more.
One boy's decision was immediate, with his grey hair, gaunt figure, and 'above average' face, he followed my lead, vengeance burning in his mind.
Surprise surprise, it was Quinn Steelsoul.
Shockingly, he hadn't made a huge scene or even made his presence known yet. It seems he's keeping his distance and working on staying calm as his humiliating loss before was due to his raging emotions.
Arriving in the Simulation Atrium, exactly two thousand high-tech magic pods were laid out, evenly spaced.
That's right, the first stage of the exam would take place in VR, running on the Harmony engine with an even more realistic recreation of cultivator combat than Path to Sagehood Online.
This removes the hassle of injuries, cleaning up after a match, and allows advanced tracking of every battle, saving a lot of man-power because AI can analyze and evaluate everything.
As a result, it is able to determine which contestant has the rudimentary skills to pass the first stage.
Taking out three relics—a spear, ring, and necklace—I made myself comfortable in preparation of the impending test.
A/N: Okay I lied, the entrance exam still hasn't technically began yet.