"Unbelievable," an old man with long white hair, mustache, and beard, sitting on a grand chair in front of a massive audience said as he read the contents of the scroll in front of him. Astonishment and delight were painted all over his face after reading the scroll.
"What happened, Patriarch?" an elder standing before him asked.
"A miracle happened! The World Force finally approved the motion for individuals outside of their circle to enter Paragon University!" the patriarch said.
Shock filled the minds of everyone present in the area. The World Force is a coalition formed by the peak existences of the entire world of Archea. They practically control the lives of everyone in the world. They possessed total autonomy over all of the decisions that would affect the world.
However, suppression would always cause discontent among the subjects. As time passed by, powerful figures outside of their circle started to appear one by one, forming The Sound of the Weak, a group specially made to voice out the people. In theory, The World Force could easily annihilate all of their known bases, but the influence of The Sound of the Weak already reached the point that a blatant move against them would spark an uprising that would cost much more for The World Force than they are willing to spend.
The Sound of the Weak appeals to The World Force about the concerns of those outside the latter's circle. The proposition to allow "peasants" to enter Paragon University was first motioned about a hundred thousand years ago. It took that much time to create enough support and wear down The World Force enough to let them allow "peasants" to enter the university.
"Gather our best talents under the age of 20 immediately! We shall head to the ground of the Paragon University as soon as possible!" the patriarch ordered.
The joyous occasion was not only shared by those in the sect but by the entire world as well. Whether they lived in the highest parts of the skies, deepest parts of the seas, or most secluded areas of the continents, they received the news. The biggest sects, academies, houses, and other institutions gathered the best talents they could find for this momentous event. Consequently, rogue adventurers also flocked to the grounds of the university in hopes of entry.
Just three days after the announcement which is 27 days before the actual exams, more than three million adventurers had already gathered outside of Paragon University. The university was a floating island with astounding scenery. From outside, though, all that could be seen was the massive obsidian wall that protected the university. The large population demanded a response from the university; otherwise, by the time the day of the exam arrived, there would be too many adventurers for the academy to accommodate.
"Ding!" a loud clear sound that came from the Paragon University resounded outside its gates which caught the attention of those who were waiting. A beautiful voice of a female then followed through with an announcement, "Good morning, everyone. On behalf of Paragon University, I will make the following announcements. First, the university requires everyone above the age of 19 to get out of the Rune Sphere that would surround the academy after my announcement. Anyone who violates this would be deemed a cheater and would be sentenced to death by the campus. Second, a gravitational push would be emitted by the university to push everyone outside of the Sphere and would have a range that would be limited inside of the Rune Sphere. Each individual can only enter the sphere once and only those who will manage to be inside the sphere at the beginning of the exams would qualify. Lastly, we reserve the right to determine the difficulty of the examination."
The announcement struck the nerves of those waiting, especially the last part. They realized that the university would just make the exam unfathomably difficult so that no one would get in.
"Don't worry, master. No matter what, I will pass this exam," a hopeful by said to the old lady beside him. He was a 17-year-old kid with short dark brown hair. His eyes were filled with confidence as he assured his master of his success.
"I'm not worried about you, Helio. I know that you will crush your competition," his master said with a wide smile.
A mixture of worry and confidence filled the hearts of the hopeful challengers. They do not know what to expect; however, they were certain that even without the assumed difficulty that the academy would deliberately add to reduce the number of "peasants" passing the exams, it would still be incredibly difficult.
After a few moments, a sphere made of violet Runes surrounded the entire university. It was followed by a strong gravitational force that pushed everyone away from the university.
"It seems like few people would be able to last," Helio whispered to himself. He was standing there with an innocent and hopeful look on his face, completely unaffected by the force.
Meanwhile, his fellow hopeful individuals were struggling to remain floating in the air. A lot of them were quickly expelled from the sphere, causing extreme embarrassment.
Helio continued to look around him until he saw a nearby girl of his age who was sitting on a white feather that was floating in the air. Her silky long white hair was quietly laying on her shoulders, unmoved by the gravitational force. As Helio came over to talk to her, he saw her beautiful blue eyes which complemented the blue and white dress that covered her from neck to toe.
"Hello! My name is Helio, it's nice meeting you!" he energetically greeted.
The girl calmly observed him before briefly answering in a gentle manner, "Hi."
"What's your name?"
"Phyrine."
"Hello, Phyrine! Where are you from?" Helio's enthusiasm did not lessen by a single bit despite her answers.
'This would probably be the longest 27 days of my life,' Phyrine thought as she looked at Helio with fascination.
Just some notes:
1. "Words between quotation marks are spoken."
2. 'Words between single quotation marks are thought.'
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