Chương 109: Goodbye For Now
Finishing our dinner, we finally ordered the cheque which Jack insisted on buying himself, probably due to him having a lot more money than us, and also the fact that we had ordered one of the most expensive wines in the world.
I might have not been able to feel any of the alcohol side-effects, but I could still taste it, making it so that I would drink almost half the bottle by myself. I was like a jobless middle-aged man drinking my a*s off, fused with a man trying to get past a breakup and his parent's simultaneous death. Of course, when you take all the depressing stuff away, all you are left with is a chronic alcoholic, which in my case, can't even get drunk.
Anyway, we did not waste another second before leaving and going back to the VIP lounge to watch all the kids with B's and under fight go through many other tests that would either increase or decrease their rating. I could see that Zack was trying his a*s off to get into the A ratings so he wouldn't be left behind by his twin brother, that he for some reason felt like he was older than.
Putting that aside though, minus the one or two people who are clearly way into their head about even getting into the academy. And, even though I was feeling many emotions while I sipped my wine while looking at them from high up-top at the VIP lounge, the most prominent feeling was not pity, anger, or a sense of pride that I am so much better than them, but rather, I was feeling amusement. I am not sure why, but this new body of mine simply did not gain the same pleasures from things that I loved back in my world.
An example of this would be, I did not like action or thrill, I simply trained because I did not want to be weak anymore, but for some reason in this world, I turned into a workaholic who goes to the likes of Juilam that would beat me to the brink of death to train me. When I killed my parents and sister, I didn't feel the kind of ecstasy that I feel when I kill people now. I felt empty and without purpose. And now I am feeling amusement from watching people who more or less represent what I was like back on earth. I was a weak, pathetic, ugly, anti-social, criminal who would do nothing but stay in his room all day, play video games, jack off and try to kill himself due to the post-nut clarity.
However, apparently, I wasn't the only one who felt amazing while looking down on all these idiots doing their thing. Everyone around me seemed to think this was a comedy show and due to most of the crowd leaving after the rating test, we could even hear the wails and complaints of the E ranks trying to get through all the obstacles.
But, it seemed like someone noticed my degrading smirk.
"It's not funny. These people are trying their best at every single obstacle. Most of them are minor nobles like yourself, or even merchants that might have had to spend a large sum of money to even get here. They are trying their best so stop degrading them like they are nothing just because you have been blessed with a better talent" A boy, 14 years old with jat-black hair that was jelled back yelled in his pre-puberty voice.
Without looking at him, I simply chuckled and continued looking at them with a string form of amusement filling me from deep within.
"HEY! I am speaking to you" The boy, Jack's son, Paul, shoved me to no avail.
'I guess this is expected from a 12-year-old huh... Must be a prodigy to get in with the 14-year-olds this year, and still be categorized as an S rank. The only S rank in his year apparently too.' I mused to myself before finally turning my head and looking into his eyes with my Divine Eyes.
'But you are a fraud...' I squinted my eyes, making a shiver go down his spine while I scrutinized his even organ, muscle, tissue, and cell. At the same time, I was keeping an eye on the reactions of the Major General who had been looking at me for the last 8 minutes and 56 seconds, apparently also scrutinizing my every move while holding my father and Olivia back from doing anything.
I stared deep into the eyes of the young boy in front of me, while the nobles all around us ended their conversation to see what kind of new drama had occurred in the VIP lounge.
Due to him being the same height as me, I was able to lean forward and put my mouth close enough to his ear that he would hear what I say no matter what. I could have used wind magic, but my control isn't strong enough to make sure that no one around us could hear, while also covering my mouth so no one can lip-read me.
"You sure do speak big for someone who had been pampered since the day of his awakening... Don't act as you care for them when you, yourself are the problem. You and your little family using all your secret techniques makes it so people who actually work hard are left behind in the C rank. No shut the f*ck up and let me watch without having a self-righteous idiot trying to tell me what is right and wrong." I whispered in the ears of Paul who could not move a single muscle the moment my face had gotten close to his.
He had been trying his hardest for the last 16 seconds to move, but it was for naught. He felt like every single muscle in his body had stopped listening to him, while at the same time, his body and soul flame felt a threat, that if they did move, they would cease o exist any longer.
However, not a moment after I moved my face away from his did he finally relax, resulting in him falling backward into a barrel roll while trying his hardest to scurry backward without the threat of dying almost immediately. Unknown to him, even though I could still see him, I wasn't directly looking at him nor was I focusing on him, but rather I kept splitting my focus between his father and the children trying their best down there, pushing hard against the walls that they must get past to stand out.
At the same time, Paul's father, Jack, looked at me with his expression not faltering for a single second, the only change being his eyes squinting a little when he saw me lean into his son and whisper to him, but the rest was the same.
After watching the entrance exam for a little more, it finally ended with more than 60% of the E ranks being moved down to the F rank and failing, while 25% stayed in the same bracket, meaning 15% went up. Only 3 people were able to up to A rank, one of them being my brother Zack, and another being one of the people who were originally in C rank, but was able to move up 2 ranks through what seemed like sheer hard work and tactical thinking rather than being blessed with unequaled talent or political power.
'Now, that is hard hard work and dedication, not those pathetic excuses' I said through the mind link, just to gain a nod in return from Olivia.
"Alright, let's go down and meet those two idiots before going back home" I declared to my father while looking him straight in the eye, but this time, he did not flinch for a moment which left a wry smile on my face.
'I might not be able to tell what Rank you are, but I can guess you are at least at the Imperial Knight rank' I mused while still staring at my father's eyes.
"Of course! I am sure your brothers are just as excited as you are to meet them again after all the rigorous effort they had put in today" The Major general answered when he found my father not replying.
"Only one of them worked hard today and that was Zack. However, Zarchon, even though just a little stronger than Zack, still works just as hard, if not harder than his brother does. If they stopped messing around all day maybe they would have been in the Wizard rank by now though" I chuckled while walking towards the door, away from my non-moving father.
"Good idea! PAUL! WE ARE GOING! COME HERE RIGHT NOW, AND STOP TRYING TO FLIRT WITH WOMEN MUCH OLDER THAN YOU FRO THEIR DAUGHTERS!" Jack's voice thundered through the room, making the women chuckle and him blush immensely.
"Don't worry, I'd give my daughter to you in a heartbeat if you were to ask" A woman whispered to Paul, making her breath tickle the back of his ear, both increasing the redness of his skin while also creating a bulge in his pants.
'...'
'And this is why I hate nobles' Olivia finally spoke.
A few minutes later, we found ourselves walking to the hall, ready to say our final goodbye's to our family members. While I took the lead because I could pick up on Zack and Zarch's mana signatures easily with my eyes, my father and Olivia walked at the back, one with a much more somber mood than the other, that had a much more neutral stand and posture. However, Olivia did not question my father's somber mood, but rather stayed completely quiet while taking a few glances at him every now and then.
"You know this place quite well" Jack commented.
"I know right" I replied, making him freeze up for a second before chuckling and increasing his speed a little."
There were people constantly bowing at him while we walked, and now that I looked like the person leading them while also looking too young to be working here, everyone bowed to me while taking notice of my face and looks, all shivering a little when reaching they eyes.
"We are here" I muttered loud enough for Jack and his son to hear while opening the door
The moment we walked in, I spread my aura of killing intent, making them all turn pale for a second before I retracted it and walked amongst the children towards my brothers. Everyone gave me the way as if they knew that it was me who released all that killing intent, but I tried to make it as discreet as possible so my father does not realize it.
Finally reaching in front of them, I was Zarch put on a warm smile when seeing me and my father before turning into jealousy when seeing the boy with the Major General. On the other hand, Zack had a much more smug smile on his face when he saw all of us while turning slightly hostile when seeing me and the Major General's son, yet I did not pay any attention.
Without a moment of thought, I gave a warm smile, as warm as the smile my mother used to give me when I was a baby while wrapping my arms around the head of both my brothers and pulling them down to my height.
"I am proud of both of you, okay? You both did well, especially you Zarch" I whispered to both of them.
Unbeknownst to me, due to my Jack and my father's great hearing after many years of training and aura control, they were able to hear the whole thing as if I was whispering in their ears. In that moment, I saw my father crack a small smile, whole the Major General give his huge signature smile while looking at the three siblings in front of him bonding.
At the same time, while Zarch did not try to struggle at all when I just treated them like children even though they are 8 years older than me, Zack on the other hand tried to struggle, but when he heard my voice and what I had said, he stopped and simply took the hug without complaining.
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