Chapter 55 - 54:The academy trials begin

"Woah!!..

"Who’s that??

"So handsome.....

Today was the day everyone had been waiting for, the first day of

Aeternum’s

trials..

I was currently on my way to the designated test site and naturally I had become the center of attraction..

I hadn’t been stressing it much, with all the dungeon diving and dragon slaying that’s been going on, but I was quite the sight to behold...

7ft5. A physique carved to perfection, snow-white unblemished hair, a face beautiful enough to put 10 Adonis combined to shame.

Even putting on nothing but a plain black shirt and pants did nothing to undermine my beauty, it only emphasized it...

It’d have been odd instead if I wasn’t the center of attraction wherever I went..

I wasn’t being a narcissist, I swear..

If you could see me you’d understand that I was already being humble in my comparison...

Not one to be a snub, I threw a kiss or two here and there..

Probably shouldn’t have, what with all the girls that fainted and guys that suddenly became single..

"Oops..."

Scratching my head embarrassedly, I apologized inwardly for any harm done then bolted straight for the testing site...

***********

The city square was packed full of crowds..

Young hopefuls like myself were everywhere..

It was a literal sea of bodies.

"Aeternum’s reputation precedes it.. damn, just look at this number of bodies" I was honestly quite surprised..

I’d never seen such a crowd before in my previous life, so seeing one now and feeling the energy in the air, I couldn’t help but get excited a little..

Hummmmm!!!!!!!!!!

Suddenly, a crushing aura pressed in from all around..

The air turned heavy, breathing became difficult...

"This is a good time as any" excitement flashed briefly within my eyes.

The aura was something I couldn’t fight off, not normally at least..

Atmospheric Erasure..

I whispered underneath my breath..

The air shifted around me..

The pressure pressing down on me vanishing like smoke in the wind...

I stood up slowly, a satisfied grin on my face..

"

Welcome!!!"

A voice bellowed from above, I looked up.

There, floating in the skies were three figures.

One I recognized, not just me, but everyone in the city square did..

"We greet the city lord!" They greeted in unison..

"At ease" the city lord spoke amicably..

"There’s no time for chatter, we must get things moving" the man floating in the middle spoke with a stern voice..

"Yes, my lord" the city lord replied..

"Applicants!" The lady standing to the right of the man in the middle spoke up..

"Welcome to the preliminary stage of the academy trials"

A rush of excitement ran through the whole crowd...

She raised her hand and the voices fell..

"Now, we know all of you wish to attend the prestigious Aeternum academy, but unfortunately, that cannot be the case"

"The weak have no place on the playing field of true geniuses"

At this point, murmurs had already started going round, the clueless crowd wondering what’s going on..

Only those of somewhat high standing understood just what it meant to get into Aeternum..

This "preliminary stage" was nothing more than a curling...

After all, quotas for each city were limited..

And bright sun city, being a first rate city could only get a hundred spots..

So out of the thousands of participants here, only a hundred would be qualified to proceed into the next phase..

"So for the first test, your goal is simple, survive the pressure of my aura for 5 minutes" the woman continued, not caring for the confusion of the crowd..

"Your test begins....NOW!"

Hummmmmmmmmm!!!!!!!!!

At the sound of her voice, the crushing pressure that had relented earlier, came back in full force...

My knees bent violently, but before they could touch the floor...

Atmospheric Erasure...

I activated my ability once more..

And just like that, the crushing pressure vanished..

Erased completely...

"Ohh, I’m loving this talent already" it was merely one of many, and it’d already proven true against what most certainly was the pressure of an

SSS-rank

powerhouse...

I stood up, unfazed and unbothered, my eyes sweeping past the crowd..

Unlike my nonchalant self, all around me I could see bodies upon bodies..

Some had collapsed the moment the aura hit them, some lasted a few measly seconds before crumbling like cards..

More than 60% of the participants had already collapsed and it hadn’t even been 10 seconds yet..

"Brutal, they expect anyone to pass such a thing?" I couldn’t help muttering to myself...

Expecting newly awakened teenagers to withstand the full pressure of a

SSS-rank

powerhouse seemed woefully unfair to me. I know I wasn’t one to talk, considering I was currently shrugging off that pressure like it didn’t even exist..

As my eyes kept moving through the crowds, I saw a familiar face..

Micheal Solaris..

He stood straight, unbothered.

It was almost as if the pressure had no effect on him.

I could see waves flowing out of his body, yet before I could bother thinking further..

[Chaotic comprehension activating....

My ability activated...

[Ding]

[You have gained insight into the [Active/Passive]<Heat Wave(SS)>.....

[You have gained insight into the [Active/Passive]<Heat Wave(SS)>.....

[You have gained insight into the [Active/Passive]<Heat Wave(SS)>.....

........

[Ding!]

[You have comprehended the [Active/Passive]<Heat Wave(SS)>....]

With that came a rush of knowledge about the ability...

Turns out it was one of the abilities from his talent..

"Interesting.. this must’ve been what made it difficult for me the last time we met" I couldn’t help musing..

Though that thought led to another, "but why can I comprehend it now when I couldn’t do so back then?" Was it a conditional something? It couldn’t be, I’d learned that demon’s regeneration without any hitch, so what happened back then? Maybe because I wasn’t paying attention to what he was doing?

I couldn’t figure it out, but it didn’t matter, all that mattered was that now, I’ve gotten something from him, "I wonder what your reaction will be when I use your own ability against you" I couldn’t help the wicked thought that came to me...

Whilst I was busy internalizing, it seemed Micheal had felt my gaze, his eyes turned towards me and our gazes met..

I could feel literal sparks light up between us...

I smiled, a sharp predatory grin...

’You’re dead..’

I made sure to enunciate it properly so he could read my lips..

The effect was immediate, his face turned ugly, yet before he could make any moves....

"Times up!" The lady’s voice shut him down...

I laughed..

He raged!!

A snap of the finger resounded as all the collapsed participants were teleported out of the city square..

The place suddenly feeling hollow with only a few hundred people left..

Out of tens of thousands, we were left with only a few hundred..

"Hissssss..." I sucked in a mouthful of cold air..

The elimination rate was absolutely scary. Effective. But scary...

"Now then, unto the next.." at the sound of her voice, a crystal orb appeared at the center of the square. We all recognized what it was..

"A talent evaluation crystal, yes you’re seeing correctly. Now everyone, line up and place your palms on the orb one after the other.."

I could see the nerves on people’s faces as they lined up..

"If your talent’s rank is below the

A-rank,

You automatically forfeit"..

"What!!!" A collective shout rang out..

"That’s not fair!!!"

I could understand their frustration,

A-rank

talents were considered cream of the crop in this city, so expecting them to have

A-rank

talents was just asking them to give up their hopes...

I didn’t care though, with what I was packing, I had this in the bag...

.....

"Next" the woman’s cold voice resounded within the increasingly empty square..

Of the few hundred participants, less than 150 were now left, the others having been disqualified due to their lacking talents.

I was the last one up..

I moved towards the podium with confident strides, a provoking gaze shot towards Micheal as I arrived at the crystal..

I placed my palm on it, feeling the familiar cooling sensation of mana traveling through my body, assessing it..

Not long after, the orb shone a bright golden light, only to glitch moments later into a dull brown light..

I didn’t see it, my eyes were already closed, arms spread, waiting for the shock and awe of my peers..

.....

.....

The silence that greeted me was deafening...

"Impossible...

’Yes.. finally, let’s awe their socks off’

"Pfftt.....

"What kind of joke is that...

The sound of laughter made my brows furrow..

"How can someone be so lucky and unlucky at the same time?"

Unlucky? Me? Fuck is this bastard talking about?

"Heh, I always knew you were trash, but to think you could be trash

fourfold?

You truly amaze me". Micheal’s mocking voice was the last straw, I opened my eyes furiously, ready to release hell upon these blind fools when my eyes caught sight of what the orb was displaying..

My jaw dropped...

"What... what the fucking hell was this??"

[Talent Evaluation complete]

[Talents: <Regeneration(E)> <Air manipulation(C)> <Earth manipulation(C)> <Rage(C)>....

*************

A/N: and the academy trials finally begin...

Let’s hope I don’t mess this up..

******

Thanks for reading...