A month had passed since Aeren's last meeting with Renn, and the day of registration for the Academy of Genius finally arrived.
Aeren walked through the grand gates with several slum children, all of them fifteen years old, each hoping to test their luck and earn a place in the prestigious academy. The sight before them was overwhelming — banners fluttered in the breeze, voices rose in a constant hum, and long lines snaked across the courtyard.
They joined one of the queues, waiting patiently under the midday sun. After hours of standing, they finally reached a registration table where a stern-looking woman sat behind a desk.
"For identification," she requested.
Aeren silently handed over his noble identification card. Her eyes flickered for a moment at the name before writing it down.
"Aeren Drevin," she confirmed, then slid a parchment toward him. "Registration fee."
Without hesitation, Aeren placed ten gold coins on the desk. The woman's pen scratched across the paper as she wrote out his academy ID: 2A-3342.
He took the card and stepped forward without looking back, already heading for the second floor where the A-Class rooms were located.
One of the slum children shouted after him, "What about us?!"
Aeren didn't even turn his head. He simply walked on, found his assigned seat, and waited.
---
Hours later, a professor entered the classroom and handed each student a sheet for the written exam. Pens scratched and paper rustled as the room fell into silence. Aeren moved quickly, his hand flowing across the page with steady precision.
Within an hour, he was finished. He stood, walked to the front, and handed in his sheet. The professor blinked at him in surprise — but said nothing and accepted it.
When the results were posted five hours later, a crowd surged toward the board. Aeren made his way through and saw his name at the very top. But he wasn't alone — ten others had tied for first place.
Out of the ten slum children, only two had passed: one gloomy-looking boy and one determined-looking girl.
---
The successful candidates were soon gathered in an empty classroom. A professor stepped forward and handed each of them a small, black orb that floated beside their heads once received.
"This," he announced, "is called a System. Our academy's founder created it. The system will inform you of important events and give you quests. These quests come directly from the academy."
A curious student asked, "How does it work?"
The professor smiled faintly. "Simple. You speak to it — but first, you must infuse it with your mana. All your personal information is already stored inside. Once activated, the system will either call you by your name or refer to you as 'host.' Your choice."
Whispers spread through the room until the professor snapped, "Quiet! I'm not finished."
The murmurs died down.
"You cannot input mana yet. Permission will only be granted after the next round of examinations. Fail, and you must return the system."
A confident-looking student raised his hand. "What if we manage to input mana now?"
The professor's smile turned sharper. "Then you will be considered a top student instantly — exempt from future exams."
The entire room shifted with excitement. Many students immediately tried pouring mana into the orb. Moments later, one of them received a message from the system announcing their second-round exam.
The professor waited for a few minutes, then left the room. Students broke into hushed conversations about talents and skills. Aeren, uninterested, slipped away quietly.
---
When he returned to his café, his expression darkened.
The building lay in ruins — broken furniture, shattered glass, and blackened walls. Behind him, two children shouted in fury.
"Those bastards attacked our main branch! They couldn't destroy the other branches, so they came here!"
The boy clenched his fists. "I'll kill them. Just wait."
Aeren said nothing. That night, he ordered construction materials. Working through the darkness, he rebuilt the café — better than before. Five days later, it stood restored, stronger and more refined.
---
Two days later, the black orb beside Aeren's head pulsed faintly.
[System Message: Your next exam is scheduled in two days at 7 a.m.]
Aeren read the message, his expression calm. He returned to work at the café, the scent of freshly brewed coffee mingling with the quiet hum of preparation for what lay ahead.
Two days had passed since the System's message, and the day of the second exam had arrived. Aeren, clad in simple but clean clothes, began his walk to the Academy. The city air, once bustling with daily life, felt charged with anticipation.
When he stepped through the grand academy gates, a new message from his System appeared: "Proceed to ground floor, room 2D-209."
He followed the directions without hesitation, his steps echoing down long, empty corridors. He pushed open the designated door and found himself at the edge of a massive, open-air field—a training ground the size of a small city in Veryadias. Four instructors stood at the center, their backs to him, while nearly a hundred students were already gathered, separated into neat queues of ten.
Aeren's presence went unnoticed by the students, and the instructors gave him only a passing glance before returning to their huddle. He quietly joined one of the lines, his face impassive.
After a few minutes of waiting, the door creaked open again, and all eyes turned toward a young woman who had just entered. She was beautiful, her dark hair pulled back from a confident face, but her clothes were disheveled and stained with what looked like fresh dirt.
One of the instructors—a tall, stern-looking woman—glanced at her clipboard. "Lyra Vex," she stated flatly, "you are late."
Lyra's smile was unapologetic. "I'm sorry, Instructor Valerica. I just got into a small scuffle with some local scum. It delayed me."
Instructor Valerica's gaze lingered on her for a moment before she sighed. "Alright, get in line. I was just about to explain the rules."
She turned to face the entire group, her voice sharp and commanding. "Listen well, as I will not repeat myself. My name is Instructor Valerica, and I will be judging this exam."
She paused for a beat, letting her words sink in. "The exam is simple: you must travel from this position to the opposite end of the field—a distance of fifty kilometers. You must work in a team of ten, and you have exactly four hours to complete the task."
"And your objective," she continued, "is to retrieve a red core. The team that retrieves the core and finishes within the time limit will pass. You have three and a half hours remaining."
The moment she finished speaking, the hall erupted. Students began scrambling, shouting names and forming teams of ten. Aeren watched the chaos with detached interest, waiting for the dust to settle.