Within a spacious room, a few people gathered around the table.
These people seem to be enjoying a fairly relaxing ti but in truth, they're actually working right now, it just doesn't look like it.
"...another year, another batch of prospective students." One of them sighed as she stared at the system prompts in front of her. "Based on the list we received, it seems that we shouldn't expect much this ti either."
"Don't be so pessimistic, Amala." One of her colleagues chided, "Who knows, maybe this batch will surprise us?"
"You say that every year, Selene." Amala grunted. "The last ti that we had actual talents was around three years ago, and that batch wasn't even all that impressive to be honest. They're barely scraping by as we speak."
"Well, that's on them. We already provided them everything they need, if they couldn't even reach our standards, then they know what their ending will be." One of their male colleagues chid in.
"What, still bitter about your disciple's piss-poor performance last ti, Ignatius?" Selene teased, causing the man's expression to twist.
"Gah! Don't even remind of that fool!" Ignatius snarled. "I'm this close to disowning him! How can soone be so foolish!"
"Hey, quit that. You've nearly set the table on fire." Another one of their colleagues scolded.
"Oops, my bad." Ignatius quickly reeled in his temper.
It was embarrassing for soone like him to lose control over his powers like this but he couldn't help it, his youngest disciple just irked him to the bone.
"How about you, Orion? What do you think of this batch?" Amala asked their stone-faced colleague.
"Well..." Orion cleared his throat, "I can't conclude anything right now. We'll have to see it ourselves during the test but...there's soone worth noting amongst this batch."
Now that...that got his colleagues curious. For soone like Orion, also known as the Academy's most ruthless instructor, to be interested in soone, wasn't an everyday occurrence.
"Oh? Tell us, quickly! I don't mind being spoiled." Selene giggled in excitent as she leaned forward.
"This guy..." Orion displayed the profile of the person he was referring to for them to see.
"...he doesn't look impressive." Ignatius comnted on the side.
"Yeah, he doesn't." Orion agreed, "The thing is though...I'm pretty sure that his profile was forged by Acala herself."
"Eh!?" All of his colleagues were shocked.
"Really? Then wouldn't that an that this child is unique then?" Selene browsed through the information available to them.
She read them all in re seconds and concluded: "Yeah, his Profile does hide a lot of things. There's at least a 90% chance that this is forged."
"I also saw the child up close." Orion admitted, "I happened to be passing by when it happened. I'm pretty sure that he's a descendant of 'that' clan."
"Which one?" Ignatius scratched his head in confusion.
"You know...that one reclusive clan? The one that's incredibly heartless towards their descendants?" Selene supplied for Orion's sake.
"Ah! That clan!" Ignatius finally figured out who they were talking about, yet at the sa ti, his face soured at the mory. "Now that you say that...I can see it, especially with those infamous wine-red eyes. But hold on! If that's the case, what's this guy doing here? Shouldn't he...I don't know, have better options?
That clan hates us, if I rember it correctly."
"You're not wrong." Amala interjected, "In fact, I dare say that they abhor us, even. But...maybe this child grew up outside of the clan? That's the only logical guess I could co up with right now."
"Right, that's very likely. After all, the very first thing that clans pass down to their descendants is their generational hate towards the Headmaster. In terms of holding a grudge, nobody could compete with them." Selene snorted as she stated this.
"...or, he could've been raised as a spy," Ignatius added on the side. "I wouldn't put that past them."
"You probably should." Orion replied, "I know that clan very well. That kind of act is completely below them. Even if they were to et their end tomorrow, there's no way they would do sothing so low. They might not treat their descendants well, but they still have 'standards' at the very least."
"Anyway, this is just a speculation. Unless we see this child in action, we don't have any way of confirming if he really is from that clan or not. And even if he is from that clan, this isn't our problem. The Headmaster will deal with it. Our job is to make sure that no funny business occurs during the exam." Orion continued.
"Right, the exam date is already released. We're almost done with the preparations. We might as well finish everything today so that we can have a few days worth of rest."
When Selene suggested this, nobody disagreed. All of them know how hectic their schedules are. It's already rare for them to be in the sa room together so they should take advantage of this chance while it's still there.
And just like that, the staff of the Starlight Royal Academy went back to work, hoping that they could finish all of the remaining tasks that day.
****
The staff aren't the only ones who were busy with the entrance exam. In fact, the entrance exam is much more of a big deal for the students compared to the instructors.
When the exam date was released, all applicants were thrilled and nervous. It was finally happening next week. The sheer fact that it's this close made them feel anxious.
Most of them already made their preparations, but due to their anxiety, they were now douting if that was enough.
All of them knew that the Starlight Royal Academy was where the cream of the crop would gather. Only the best will be accepted. Each applicants have their pride as geniuses, they wouldn't be bestowed with a token if they weren't qualified after all.
That said, with all of the young geniuses gathering at one spot, of course, differences will beco quite obvious. With how intense the competition would be, it's normal for them to doubt their abilities.
Though, a small number of participants didn't feel the sa way as the others...
These people didn't feel any ounce of burden or nervousness at all. So of them believed that this era belongs to them or they just don't have the ti to feel jittery right now. If this was due to sheer confidence or arrogance, only ti could tell.
What matters is that everybody is bracing themselves right now. They worked hard to get to this point and an opportunity presents itself to them. If they could grasp it, their future would be bright. If they couldn't, then they could only wallow in misery and regret, living the rest of their lives in diocrity.
The ti to prepare already passed long ago. With this entrance exam occurring re days later, what the participants should do is consolidate everything they achieved so far and prepare to head towards the Royal Capital, after all, if they don't show up, they couldn't participate.
Speaking of the Royal Capital, Florence is now bustling with activity. Many people were arriving in droves. Their objectives varied but the majority of them were here to experience the Starlight Royal Academy's Entrance Exam.
So who arrived were participants, others were just here to watch or broaden their horizons. Of course, there are also people who are trying to take advantage of the event...
There were so who set up stalls, so started poaching people to join their schools instead, and so on. It's all of this that caused the Royal Capital to be extrely active.
Amongst this sea of people was Cedric, accompanied by Chrissy and Erica. He already squeezed out as much progress as he could have at his current form. Throwing himself to harsh training until the very last minute wouldn't do him any good. The opposite might happen, even. So, he decided to co a few days early and find a place to stay temporarily. Chrissy and Erica were there to help him out.
The two didn't tell Cedric anything about the Entrance Exam despite their closeness mainly because they're forbidden to do so since that would be unfair to the rest.
Besides, even if they could, Cedric wouldn't hear it. He already said that he wants to experience it himself and the girls could respect that. After all, they too were like this back then.
"...it's good to relax. The exam can be nerve-wracking but losing sleep over it will not help at all." Chrissy casually pointed out.
"Right. Besides, it's best if you are at your peak state when you participate in the exam. God knows how much you'd regret that if you fail. I've seen it happen way too many tis already." Erica comnted as well.
Cedric didn't say anything, he just chilled on the bed while the girls linked their limbs all over him, sothing that didn't bother him at all, of course.
'I'm ready as I'd ever be. I'd also have to thank them for helping release all the tension I've accumulated so far, but that has to wait until the exams are over.'
Cedric and the girls spent the passing days just like this and before they knew it, the day of the exam already arrived...
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