章節 2: Royal Academy Entrance Test I
Next day, early morning, inside a hall filled with old antiques and paintings.
"Hurry up, we're gonna be late!"
Neon's loud voice echoed through the hall. He wore a dark blue jacket with matching pants, and his black hair added to his handsome appearance.
Last night, he was assigned the task of accompanying Kyle to the testing Arena since both Baron Ohan and Ray were busy with work-related stuff.
As Neon impatiently waited, a reluctant voice replied from upstairs.
"Coming."
After a minute, Neon heard footsteps on the stairs. He looked up, only to get angry because Kyle was strolling leisurely with a nonchalant expression.
"Why do you look like you're out for a walk? Hurry up!"
Neon shouted in frustration, and within seconds, Kyle stood next to him. Unlike Ray, Neon had a short temper and enjoyed giving Kyle a hard time whenever he was being lazy.
Being a (D)-Rank warrior, Neon had the upper hand against Kyle, who hadn't even advanced a single sub-rank after awakening his talent. Kyle always ended up with purple eyes from all the beatings.
'Tsk, he's always bullying a weak (F-)-Rank like me.'
Kyle thought inwardly, gazing at Neon with hidden resentment.
'One day in the future, I'll get my revenge!'
Neon glanced at Kyle, who was sporting a purple long-sleeved shirt and black pants. Together, they stepped out of the house.
As usual, the city was bustling with activity. The narrow roads were lined with brick buildings, and shopkeepers were busy selling their wares to eager customers.
While walking, Kyle found himself staring at an empty house in the distance without even realizing it.
'I wonder what he's been up to since leaving the Kingdom.'
A hint of coldness flashed in his eyes before it vanished in an instant.
Taking in the surroundings, he noticed a large crowd heading towards the city's only Teleportation Array.
'Well, today is the entrance test for the most prestigious Academy in the kingdom. Even if they can't participate, they can still watch others perform in the testing Arena.'
Kyle mused with a bitter expression.
'Unlike them, I'm going there to break my body parts.'
After an hour, Kyle and Neon arrived at the western part of the city where the Teleportation Array was located. It was drawn like a circle on a platform, with various kinds of runes engraved on it. This Array allowed people to instantly travel long distances from one place to another.
A big crowd was gathered in two long lines in front of the Array, so it took some time before it was Kyle and Neon's turn. Then, a muscular old man with black hair, dressed in formal attire, approached the duo.
"Where do you want to go?"
Neon recognized the old man, as he had seen him a few times before whenever he left the city.
"The Capital City."
He hurriedly stated their destination, and then took out a pouch of mana stones from the storage ring on his finger and handed it to the old man.
'Mana stones' are the second currency used in every Kingdom, after gold coins. They're stones filled with pure mana that's naturally trapped inside. They can also be used to enhance weapons, create artifacts, and activate all kinds of Arrays.
On the other hand, storage rings are magical accessories that allow you to store a lot of non-living things in a separate space, without increasing the weight of the ring itself.
The old man took the pouch, quickly counted the mana stones using his heightened senses, and gestured for Kyle and Neon to stand on the platform.
"Alright, go and stand with that group of people."
Neon nodded, and with Kyle, he hurriedly stepped onto the Teleportation Array that was already filled with people.
The old man approached a stand that was only a few meters away from the Array and placed a few mana stones on top of it.
Within a second, the Array started shining, and Kyle felt like someone was shaking his internal organs before he disappeared along with everyone else present beside him. The next moment, they arrived at another place filled with people.
Since Kyle rarely left the house, it was his first time using a Teleportation Array. At the moment, he felt like throwing up all the breakfast, but Neon seemed to be fine because he was already used to the sensation.
Neon looked at Kyle's face, which seemed to be losing color, and his lips trickled upward into a barely visible smirk.
"Just remember, it's your first time using a Teleportation device, but you seem to be handling it better than me. At least you're not throwing up."
Kyle glared at him with a furious expression.
'In the first place, you're the one who suggested coming here. Now you're mocking me?'
He so badly wanted to throw some punches at Neon's face, but he knew he stood no chance against him.
'Instead of getting beaten up, it's better for me to swallow my anger and keep quiet.'
Noticing Kyle's furious gaze, Neon's smile widened, and he swiftly grasped Kyle's shoulder.
"You've got something wicked on your mind, don't you?"
"N..o, definitely not."
With a scoff, Neon started walking along the busy streets. He quickly glanced at Kyle and increased his speed intentionally.
"Whatever, I wanted to give you some time to rest, but now I don't want to. Anyway, we're getting late. So let's go."
Kyle cursed inwardly but followed behind him. After a while, both of them arrived at an open area where the registration for the entry test was held.
Various tables and chairs were arranged in a straight line, with many young males and females wearing Royal Academy blue uniforms sitting on top of them, indicating their identity as students.
Due to the large number of young people coming to try their luck at the entrance test, the Royal Academy assigned the students with different tasks to lower the burden on teachers.
After standing in line for almost twenty minutes, it was finally Kyle's turn.
He looked at the azure-haired youth sitting behind the table with curious eyes. The man was wearing a blue long-sleeve uniform, which was simple but had three straight white lines on his chest.
"Hello, I am here for registration."
The young man gazed at Kyle but quickly lost interest.
"What's your name and exact age?"
"My name is Kyle and I am 16 years old."
The young man quickly took out a shiny crystal and asked him to put his hand on it. Kyle placed his hand on the crystal with a serious look, and the result confirmed his age.
With a nod, the man handed him a token with the number 1055.
"You're in the second batch. Here's your token."
Kyle took the token and left with Neon. They made their way to the big Arena behind the registration area. As they entered the huge Arena, Kyle was startled to see the seats filled to the brim with thousands of people.
The crowd was buzzing with excitement, wondering what kind of test the Royal Academy would conduct this time. After all, the Academy changed its test pattern every year.
Neon hurriedly found an empty seat in the crowd and gestured to Kyle to head towards the big stage, where thousands of participants were standing.
Kyle stepped onto the stage and looked at the countless participants with a rather nervous expression. It was his first time seeing such a large crowd.
'If, like last year, the Royal Academy held a 1v1 battle to select the top participants. Just how many times do I need to get beaten up?'
Kyle shivered and hurriedly shook his head.
'If it's 1v1 battles, I will instantly admit defeat. There's no point in preserving my dignity if I break my arms and legs!'
After a while, an old man named George from the Royal Academy opened the event with a boring speech. He was wearing a white shirt, black pants, and had black hair with deep grey eyes. George was the Vice Principal of the famous Royal Academy.
The speech was so boring that Kyle almost forgot about his previous remarks and had to stop himself from yawning. While Kyle struggled to stay awake, everyone else was excited. It's not every day that they get to meet someone who holds the title of (SS)-Rank warrior, let alone the 4th strongest human in the East Continent, Vice Principal George!
"...In this 57th Entrance test of the Royal Academy, I am fortunate to witness the talent of our future generation. I sincerely hope that the participants won't disappoint me."
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