章 15: Lion or Sheep (II)
The space inside the gymnasium was so vast that it could accommodate 60 arenas, with each arena having an area of 1,000 square feet in an octagonal shape.
It was quite crowded, with hardly any empty arenas, and there were even several awakeners waiting in line to take turns using it. Despite the closed and crowded room, the air in the venue remained cool.
The staff had provided a special arena for the awakeners certification test takers. Klaus headed to the west side of the venue where the test was taking place.
The test arena was packed with people watching the participants take the combat test. A dark-skinned man with a wooden staff was fighting against an oriental man with a bamboo sword. The assessor stood on the outskirts of the arena while a referee supervised the fight inside the arena.
They seemed to be fighting fiercely, only with their combat skills and weapons in hands without utilizing elemental manipulation. This was not because the rules prohibited it, but because they were fighters.
The third test was to determine what role an awakener would get.
Each awakener had their own pros and cons. Some awakeners had unique talents and strong physical strength, but had weak elemental affinity. Others had strong affinity and great mana capacity, but had mediocre talents.
These statistical differences led the Awakener Association to categorize them into six roles; Tank, Fighter, Caster, Support, Assassin, and All-Rounder.
Each of them had their own good aspects, with only the All-Rounder being balanced in any aspect. However, that didn't necessarily mean that this role was the best one.
"This test is likely to be the most fun test," he muttered.
While Klaus was enjoying watching the battle of two awakeners, he heard excitement coming from the south side of the venue.
A pink-haired man was being mobbed by young women, shouting and adoring him. Rather than being called handsome, the pink-haired man looked beautiful. He had gaunt cheeks, a pointed chin, skin white as milk, and beautiful big blue eyes. If he didn't wear men's clothes, people would probably mistake him for a woman.
Some of the female awakeners who had been busy practicing, they hurriedly grabbed their smartphones and took pictures of the pink-haired man, while the male awakeners only gave him a cursory glance and then ignored him.
Everyone recognized that beautiful man, but Klaus didn't. He rarely opened the internet; he only used it when he wanted to buy things from online shops or download exclusive ebooks. He didn't even have social media.
"Tch, the chicks are going crazy."
"I don't understand what they see in that feminine dude."
"Just focus on yourself, man."
Jeers and envious whispers echoed in Klaus' ears. Some of the people around him didn't like the look of that person. Klaus immediately knew that the pink-haired man was a celebrity.
"Only celebrities have so many fans and haters at the same time," he muttered.
The celebrity drew close to the arena, where Klaus was taking the test. As the celebrity arrived, some people stepped aside to give him room because hordes of fangirls followed him. There were even some men who asked for a photo with that person.
The atmosphere around Klaus was quite rowdy for a while. The fangirls couldn't keep quiet, buzzing around like flies. They kept saying, "Justin, cheer up!", "Justin, you are so cute!", or "Justin Law! I love you!"
For some reason, Klaus was amused by this. Those fangirls were the same age as his little sister, and he wondered if Joanna would be like them when she saw the man named Justin Law.
"The longer I live in this world, the stranger it seems," Klaus thought.
There was one thing Klaus had avoided all his life, and that was being the center of attention.
At first glance, being the center of attention was very desirable. People were drawn to him like a magnet and the world seemed to revolve around him. However, Klaus didn't see it that way.
Being the center of attention meant letting himself be an object. People tended to notice him, comment on him, and even judge his every action.
Klaus could not live like that. He loved freedom - to live freely without any things restricting him, though such a thing never really existed.
As Klaus waited for his turn to enter the test, another commotion sounded from the south side of the venue.
There was a group of men in black suits escorting a beautiful woman dressed in glamorous clothes. Her golden hair fluttered in the air as she walked gracefully. She was like a magnet, attracting the attention of all the men in this venue.
The male awakeners couldn't even blink at the sight of her. Some of the men looked like they wanted to whistle, but they decided against it because of her bodyguards. The female awakeners seemed to be focused on their training, even though they had sour faces.
Klaus recognized who they were at a glance. Especially the glamorous woman, he knew her very well.
"What the heck are you doing here, Mom?" he muttered.
Klaus didn't tell his mother about this test, because he knew she would be against it.
Anna along with her entourage of personal bodyguards seemed to be traveling around the venue looking for Klaus. Suddenly, their eyes met from a distance. Anna naturally smiled widely.
Waving her hand, the blonde woman called out to him in a loud voice.
"Klaus!"
Instantly, all eyes were on him. Whispers echoed around Klaus like flies as Anna and the bodyguards drew closer.
"Who is this guy? Damn, he is so lucky."
"Ayo, his woman is so hot."
"That can't be his woman. She's much older, maybe she's his older sister."
Klaus could hear people talking about his mother but he could only silent. His nightmare had finally come true.
"Klaus, are you okay? You're not hurt, right?"
Anna immediately checked his body the moment she came face to face with him. The people around didn't seem to care, but they were actually eavesdropping.
Luis and the bodyguards cordoned off the area so that no one could take photos or videos though they had attracted attention.
"I'm okay. My turn hasn't come yet. Anyway, why are you here?" Klaus asked without preamble.
"Why'd you say that to your mother? Of course, I'm here to support you."
"No, I mean... Wait, what? I thought you didn't like awakeners."
Anna hissed after hearing his words. The woman then began to rant, whining about how selfish Steve was, venting out her frustration and anger. She didn't seem to care about the people around her.
When his mother got angry, no one could stop her until she calmed down. Klaus could only remain silent and keep his ears open.
"Huft, your father is really selfish. Look, he even gave you nothing for this test. How can there be such a person, geez. You don't have to worry, Klaus, I brought you something."
"Wait, mom. You—"
"Bring it here, Luis!"
"Yes, ma'am!"
Luis brought a large bag to Klaus. There was a crashing sound as the bag hit the floor, a sign that the contents of the bag were very heavy. Klaus didn't know what was inside of it and could only furrow his brow.
"Open it," Anna ordered.
As Luis unzipped it, a shiny light came out of the bag. Klaus opened his eyes wide. Short swords, daggers, katanas, necklaces, rings, earrings; dozens of arcanas mixed together in a bag.
Of course, the pile of arcanas attracted the attention of the people around. They were awakeners after all.
Those items were treasures. A Common-Class arcana was worth at least 200,000 USD, and there were dozens of it in the bag.
"Damn, no way! That is the Blade of Earth!"
"Is that ring Brokenmyth? Yesterday I saw it on the auction list for 300,000 dollars."
"That's crazy, how many millions did she spend to buy all that?"
Instantly, commotion reverberated around him. People stopped watching the test, the sound of fangirls cheering disappeared, and even the staff became curious because of the crowd. The bodyguards got busy as people came out of curiosity.
Anna smiled and patted his shoulder. "Don't worry, your mom will always support you."
The only person who didn't look happy was Klaus. He didn't know how to tell his mother that the test rules prohibited the use of arcana.
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