The morning sun pierced through the gaps in the curtains, its warm light awakening Hastora who was fast asleep.
"Good morning," Zarafel said, a little hesitantly, words he had never said before.
"Morning," Hastor replied, briefly.
Hastora rubbed his eyes, he was still a little sleepy. However, he forced himself to wake up.
He got out of bed, grabbed a towel, and walked to the bathroom.
When he got there, he immediately took off his clothes and soaked in the warm water.
"Not bad," Hastora said, enjoying the sensation a little.
"Hastora, aren't you going to the academy today?" Zarafel asked.
Hastora was a little surprised to hear that, he responded. "What? How did you know that?" he asked.
Zarafel replied, "last night," "you registered last night."
"..."
Hastora decided to finish his bath, dried his body, and returned to the room.
When he got there, he opened his closet, choosing clothes that were suitable for him to wear.
"Black is good."
Hastora took his chosen clothes out of the closet and immediately put them on.
He immediately looked for a mirror to see his appearance.
Cool.
His appearance was amazing, he ruffled his hair a little, making his bangs touch his forehead.
Perfect.
Hastora immediately left his room, going down the stairs one by one to the lower floor.
Downstairs, his mother, Elara, was standing in front of the mansion door. She seemed to be wearing a long white dress with red high heels.
"She's waiting for you," Zarafel said.
Hastora immediately walked towards Elara who was waiting for him.
"I'm ready," Hastora said, his voice calm.
"Let's go," Elara called.
Elara walked out of the mansion and moved towards the horse-drawn carriage, followed by Hastora from behind.
The carriage was very luxurious, there were several blue mana crystals that adorned the back. The horse was not just any horse, it was a top-class horse.
"Let's get in," Elara invited, getting into the carriage, followed by Hastora from behind.
"We're leaving," shouted the carriage driver.
Moving. The carriage moved quite fast, leaving the mansion and moving towards the academy.
"You'll be staying at the academy," Elara said, looking out the window.
Hastora asked, "what about my things?" he asked. "I forgot to pack a suitcase."
Elara turned slightly towards Hastora, then she took a suitcase from the storage space under the carriage seat.
"Here," she said. "I bought you some clothes."
Hastora took the suitcase, "when did you buy it?" he asked. "Last night, I went out for a while to buy you clothes."
Hearing that, Hastora thought that his mother was not as bad as he thought. All this time he thought that his mother, Elara, was a mother who didn't care about her child. However, he was wrong, his mother was a mother who cared about her child, it's just that she was shy.
After a few minutes of travel, a large building could be seen not too far away, only a few meters away.
"I think that's the academy," Zarafel said.
The carriage stopped.
They arrived at the academy, Hastora immediately got out of the luxurious carriage. He took his suitcase and was about to leave.
"You should say something to your mother," Zarafel said, giving a little advice.
Hastora sighed, "I'm leaving," he said, leaving the carriage.
Hearing that, Elara smiled slightly, she pointed her hand towards Hastora. "Take care of yourself," she said, the carriage immediately left the place.
"Alright, a new life has just begun."
Hastora stepped into the academy. The building there was very large and classic. Even its yard was already very spacious, there was a flower garden in its yard with a fountain dancing there.
"Not bad," he said, he immediately stepped further inside.
As he was about to step further inside, suddenly, everyone seemed to be gathered in the yard. They were the first-year students who had just registered, just like him.
Hastora was a little curious about what they were looking at, Hastora decided to stand for a while in his previous spot while waiting.
It could be seen, a luxurious horse-drawn carriage stood in front of the gate. The carriage was blue with a little white.
Someone stepped out of the carriage with a dignified movement—with long white hair that looked neat, and beautiful blue eyes.
Without saying a word, he walked past the first-year students who were gathered. Leaving behind heavy, yet elegant, footsteps.
With every step, he left behind a fragrant scent from the perfume he was wearing. His face was very beautiful, like an ice princess. So beautiful, it could make anyone who saw him lose focus for a moment.
Hastora, who saw that, immediately knew the identity of the woman. She...
Valeska.
Hastora, who wasn't interested, immediately left his previous spot and walked towards another place.
But, it seemed that Hastora's presence was known by Valeska. She winked, looking at Hastora with a wink like a monster ready to pounce on its prey.
Not long after, someone could be heard calling the first-year students. His voice sounded loud and firm.
"To all first-year students, please gather at the field," a woman's voice could be heard calling from the direction of the field.
Hearing that voice, Hastora walked towards the field, leaving the other students behind.
When he got there, a woman with blonde hair, about 32 years old, could be seen standing in the middle of the field holding a megaphone.
"Alright, everyone!. I am the principal of Veridian Academy, Luna von Elstein."
Hearing the name Elstein, all the students there were immediately shocked.
"Elstein? Elstein is one of the highest nobles among the upper class nobles."
"You're right, it turns out one of them is the principal of Veridian Academy, I didn't know that."
"I have a bad feeling about this."
All the students looked excited, their whispers were heard by Hastora. However, he wasn't interested in the slightest. He just stood there, staring coldly at the principal, Luna.
"You will do before you actually enter the academy. The score from this entrance test will determine which class you will be in. This entrance test consists of three tests, first, EP measurement. Second, magic ability measurement. And third, the most important test, entering the 𝗴𝗮𝘁𝗲," said the principal, explaining about the entrance test.
The principal added, "you also have to survive inside the gate, you are not allowed to die."
All the students were shocked when they heard the word "gate." Most of them were scared, but there were a few who looked like they were used to entering the gate.
"Gate? We're going to enter the gate?"
"And, we're not allowed to die? Is the principal crazy?"
"We're all going to die."
They whispered, looking scared. They were sweating cold.
At the time when all the students were scared, there were only a few people who didn't seem scared at all, one of them was Hastora.
The principal, Luna, realized that there were a few students who looked normal. The principal smiled thinly, then she took out the EP measurement crystal.
Energy Point (EP) is a common representation for the entire process calculated from several things, namely magic energy, physical ability, the strength of equipment/weapons, and also someone's magic ability is not counted. EP is not related to fighting power at all, but EP is only a reference for knowing someone's class or level. As for the EP class levels, they are:
- Class E: 1000
- Class D: 1000-2000
- Class C: 2000-4.000
- Class B: 4.000-6000
- Class A: 10.000
- Special Class A: 15.000
- Class S: 20.000
- Disaster Class: 25.000
- Super Awakened Class: 100.000+ (over millions)
The principal called the students forward according to their serial number to measure their EP.
Starting from number 1, his EP amounted to 1.500. Then it continued with student number 2, he got 1.800. Then, it continued with the following numbers, until finally only 2 people were left.
"Alright, next, number 199, come forward," said the principal, sounding firm.
All eyes were drawn to student number 199, the student was...
Valeska.
Valeska stepped forward, she placed her palm on the EP measurement crystal. Then, the crystal emitted light, and displayed the number 3.846.
That was the highest number at the moment.
All the students present were shocked, and didn't believe what they saw. Even some of them rubbed their eyes to make sure.
"Perfect," Valeska said.
The girl stepped back, her eyes shocked, satisfied with the results. Then, she turned slightly towards Hastora, intending to get his attention.
However, Hastora didn't turn towards her at all, and just waited for the next number.
"Last, number 200, come forward," said the principal.
Hastora immediately stepped forward. He placed his palm on the EP measurement crystal. The crystal glowed, and displayed the number 5.000.
Record breaker.
At that moment, all the students' eyes widened, including Valeska. Their mouths gaped, they all stood frozen. The atmosphere became silent...
Zarafel chuckled, "you're in first place."
Hastora stepped back, and silently waited for the next test.
Everyone was still surprised, but the principal clapped her hands twice to make them all aware.
Then, all the students were taken to the training ground, to do the next test. The principal led the way followed by the other students from behind.
They all arrived at the training ground.
It could be seen, there were several weapons neatly arranged in their places. The area was also quite spacious, enough to do a large-scale team fight.
"Everyone, please fire any magic at any of the large iron that's there," said the principal, pointing towards the iron that was mentioned earlier.
All the students immediately chose which iron they wanted to attack using magic. There were several instructors who would assess it.
"I'll choose this one," Hastora said, he chose the iron at the very end. "Instructor, I choose the iron over there, please assess me," Hastora said.
"Alright," the instructor replied.
Hastora walked towards the iron at the very end, followed by the instructor from behind. The instructor had pink hair with emerald green eyes. The instructor was a woman who looked about 24 years old, she had a beautiful face.
"Your magic shot," said the instructor.
The instructor took out a note that was used to assess students, and also a pen.
"Do I have to use destructive magic?" Hastora asked Zarafel.
"Eh? Can your body handle more magic energy?" Zarafel asked. "Destructive magic requires a lot of magic energy to activate it."
"You're right, I forgot," Hastora replied. "I'll just use a dark orb."
Hastora aimed his palm at the iron, a dark energy spun rapidly in his arm until finally a dark orb formed.
The dark orb was fired towards the large iron that stood upright in front of him.
"Boommm"
The dark orb hit the large iron, but the large iron wasn't scratched at all. Zarafel became curious.
"Why didn't the iron break?" he asked. "Usually your small attack is enough to be fatal."
Hastora sighed, "this test only assesses the accuracy of the students' attacks, not their strength. I only used a little magic energy to launch the attack earlier, if I used too much magic energy, the iron could break and that would be a hassle for me."
The instructor who saw it immediately assessed, starting from the type of magic used, the speed of the attack, the strength of the attack, and the accuracy of the attack.
"Is this finished?" Hastora asked the instructor.
The instructor nodded, "yes," she replied. "Next, all of you will enter the gate, so don't leave yet."
"Alright," Hastora replied.
He immediately left and left the instructor alone. He turned slightly towards Valeska who had just chosen the iron she wanted to attack, a brown-haired, yellow-eyed instructor stood beside her to assess the results.
"I'm starting," Valeska said.
She froze the air in front of her and formed a very sharp ice spear. The spear was large, about the size of a horse.
The ice spear was fired towards the iron in front of her.
"Crack"
The iron was immediately destroyed, pierced by the ice spear.
"Easy," she said.
The instructor was a little surprised, but returned to focus and immediately assessed the results.
"Zarafel, try to see what the score is," Hastora ordered.
"Alright," Zarafel replied. "$##£, finished. The girl got a score of 80."
"What was my score earlier?" Hastora asked.
"You got a perfect score," Zarafel replied.
Hastora closed his eyes, feeling satisfied with the results.
"Everyone gather!" shouted the principal, calling all the students to gather.
Hearing that, Hastora immediately went to gather following the other students.
"Listen everyone!, this is the final test. You will all enter the gate, your score will be calculated from how many monsters you kill inside it. Each group must have a minimum of 5 members!" shouted the principal, she looked very serious.
Hearing that, all the students started looking for members to form a group. They formed groups with people they knew, there were also a few people who greeted others first to form a group.
At the time when everyone was busy looking for members to form a group, Hastora just stood there and didn't care about the principal's words earlier.
"You're not forming a group?" Zarafel asked. "Even though you attracted everyone's attention earlier, forming a group would be easy for you."
"I want to be alone," Hastora replied. "Forming a group will be a hassle."
"Eh?, why?" Zarafel asked.
"I want to act more freely when I enter the gate later," he replied. "If I form a group, they will make it very difficult for me to move more freely."
"I understand."
Hastora folded both arms across his chest, waiting for everyone to finish forming groups.
However, not long after, suddenly a pink-haired woman greeted him.
"Hi!" she greeted. "My name is Gisella Xaverius, what's your name?"
"Hastora Vallois," he replied.
Then, it seemed that several other people were walking towards Gisella, they were all women.
"What are you doing Gisella?" asked the green-haired girl.
"Of course looking for members," she replied.
Their eyes all gathered on Hastora, it made him feel at risk. However, he didn't leave, he just showed a flat and cold expression as usual.
"What are you doing, joining us?" Gisella invited.
Hastora sighed, "no... I want to be alone," he replied.
"But, the principal won't allow students to enter the gate alone," Gisella said.
Hastora looked at all the members of Gisella's group, there were 3 there plus Gisella, bringing their number to 4.
However, there was one girl he had found there, the girl was... Valeska.
Hastora turned slightly towards Valeska then turned back towards Gisella.
Valeska, who saw Hastora's silent attitude, immediately gripped her pants tightly, she felt like she was being ignored.
"I'm going to enter the gate alone, this is just a test, besides, it seems like the principal doesn't really care about it," Hastora said, his expression flat and cold.
Gisella didn't seem to give up, she immediately called the principal who was standing with the instructors there.
"Principal!" Gisella called.
"What's wrong," the principal replied.
"May a student enter the gate alone without forming a team?" Gisella asked.
"No!" the principal replied firmly. "No one is allowed to enter the gate alone, if someone is found to be entering a gate alone, they will be disqualified."
"See?, not allowed," Gisella said, smiling towards Hastora.
Hastora sighed, he had no choice but to accept Gisella's offer.
"Alright," he said. "What else can I do?"
Hastora immediately walked while closing his eyes, following the girls from behind.
"Everyone, gather, time's up!" shouted the principal.
All the students gathered. The principal's hand was enveloped in purple light, then a gate appeared in front of him. The gate emitted an ordinary aura. Hastora concluded that the gate was a D-rank gate.
"Enter!" shouted the principal.
All the students who already had their respective groups immediately entered the gate.
"Come on everyone," Gisella said.
"Alright, let's go," replied the other 3 girls.
The five of them entered the gate together. And...
---To be continued in the next chapter---