Zane was drenched in sweat.
Once again, his eyes drifted toward the man sitting atop the stage.
He quickly looked away.
"Why are we still standing here?" he asked.
Shelby glanced at his watch and replied, "It’ll be ti soon."
Zane could still feel spiteful eyes drilling into him from the crowd.
This ti, he turned his attention toward the other Freshers.
Only now did he begin to realize the sheer number of students from the other towers far outnumbered those from his Eastern Tower.
He scanned through them, noting many had already broken through to the One-Star Mana Core level, so even at the early stages of advancent.
What caught his attention even more were the students whose attribute points had crossed 5,000 in all three major stats.
"They’re strong..." he muttered, his expression turning serious.
As he continued his scan, his gaze fell upon Shawn Bracewell, who glared back at him, eyes filled with poison.
"This guy... I really want to flick his forehead," Zane grumbled.
But he didn’t dwell on it for long. His eyes road further—until he stopped.
There stood the strangest one of all.
Barely five feet tall, wearing a hooded shirt, the boy didn’t look threatening. But sothing about him was... off.
Zane t his eyes and froze.
The boy didn’t look angry.
He was smiling.
A wide, eerie smile stretched across his face as he mouthed sothing.
"Hello, Zane. Want to make friends with ?"
Zane’s skin crawled. The words weren’t even spoken aloud, but he felt them all the sa.
No doubt about it—this was Henry Bloodgale, the kid with the disturbing obsession with making friends.
He was also the first person who tried to make a direct approach toward Zane. But from far.
"What’s his deal?" Zane muttered, feeling a chill trickle down his spine.
Then the System displayed the boy’s stats:
[Age: 13 years]
[Mana Core Rating: One-Star]
[Strength: 1000]
[Agility: 1000]
[Intelligence: 1000]
[Health: 36,700 / 36,700]
[Mana: 43,200 / 43,200]
"Wait... what’s going on?" Zane whispered. "All his attributes are exactly a thousand... but those health and mana bars? They’re off the charts. This kid... he’s sothing else."
Shelby, standing beside him, overheard and nodded. "Yeah. Be careful around that kid. I get a bad vibe from him too."
Zane was surprised. Even Shelby agreed with his instinct.
As he continued scanning through the masses, Zane noticed sothing else — bone age.
f.(r)eew ebnov\ll
At first, he had assud he’d be the oldest competitor. But to his surprise, many students had bone ages over 20 — so even above 30.
He turned to Shelby and asked, "There are so many Freshers above 30. Are they late bloors like us? If they are, they must be monsters."
Shelby scoffed. "Nah. Most of them awakened before they were sixteen. They just didn’t join the Academy imdiately. So wanted to form their mana cores first, or wait until they were more confident. Trust , you can count the number of true late bloors in this batch on one hand."
Just then, a group of seniors walked up onto the stage, drawing everyone’s attention.
Zane recognized many familiar faces from the Faction Selection Committee. Among them, a third-year student stepped forward. He stood straight with unwavering posture, and there was only confidence in his voice.
"Attention, please. First of all, I pay my respects to our esteed Director, the Higher Order Committee, Deans, Union of Academic Elders, and last but not least, my revered masters who’ve guided us all along. I pray to the gods for your health and good fortune—assuming the gods even exist."
His last line, spoken with a slight smirk, drew laughter from both the stage and the audience.
The freshers joined in, their nerves easing thanks to the cheerful atmosphere.
He turned back to the students below and continued, "My dear senior brothers and sisters, you’ve done a hell of a job recruiting the new faces. I believe in you and respect you all equally."
There was sothing about his voice—smooth, charming, soothing. Even Zane felt its calming effect in his ears, mind, and heart. Despite finding the joke dry, he almost wanted to laugh along with everyone else.
He leaned toward Shelby and whispered, "Shel, why is everyone laughing at those la jokes? Even the teachers?"
"Boy, that’s his Law," Shelby replied, unmoved. "Don’t be blind and get fooled by silver-tongued types like him. They smile at you friendly-like in the front, but once you turn your back, they’ll stab you clean through."
Zane sensed a personal grudge. "Is there so history between you two?"
"Oh, plenty," Shelby muttered. "David ScotchFrei might look friendly, but he’s a master manipulator. Set up once—laid out a trap using so arrogant seniors."
"What happened?"
"I beat them down," Shelby said flatly. "Six-Star rated awakeners, no less. And once I figured out who was pulling the strings, I went straight to his dorm and slapped the hell out of him. One slap—he couldn’t even take it. Weakling. These kinds of guys are best at politics and scheming, not a real fight."
Zane looked up at the senior still speaking flamboyantly on stage—handso, confident, charismatic. Just then, David ScotchFrei’s eyes t theirs. The mont he saw Shelby, his gaze shifted instantly, as if startled.
Zane burst into laughter.
"I told you not to laugh at his la jokes," Shelby said, looking at him sideways. "His Law is a trap—don’t let it draw you in."
Zane shook his head. "I’m not laughing at his joke. I’m laughing at him. The mont he spotted you, he looked like a frightened puppy, tail tucked between his legs."
Shelby smirked and nodded. "Yeah, since that day, he’s been walking the other way when he sees . I taught him a lesson he won’t forget."
anwhile, David continued his welco speech, tossing in a few more jokes. The crowd remained responsive.
Then another senior stepped forward, giving David a look that clearly said: Your ti’s up.
It was Frankie Grenora.
David wasn’t pleased. But one serious glance from Frankie was enough to make him reconsider. He quietly stepped aside.
There was so muttering from the audience—many wanted him to continue.
Zane recognized Frankie. He was the main speaker during the Faction Selection back at the Eastern Tower.
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