"Welcome to the Sentient Academy!" the guards standing outside the massive gate immediately greeted respectfully the moment their gazes landed on Arthur and Gabriella.
Gabriella nodded, then casually pointed at Arthur. "He is here for the entrance examination."
Arthur nodded at the guard who turned to look at him with an inviting smile on his battle hardened face.
His mind was also filled with curiosity, after all he noticed the guards were being more respectful than normal toward Gabriella.
Does she have a special identity? Arthur thought with an internal frown.
He didn't voice out his question however, and just stared at the scene.
"Lead him to the registration hall for the entrance examination."
"Yes ma'am!" the first guard bowed slightly, then turned toward Arthur.
"This way, young sir…" the guard treated Arthur respectfully.
He had never seen Gabriella bring someone directly to the academy and couldn't help being curious about what strength or talent the young man possessed for Gabriella to take him so seriously.
Arthur was stunned for a moment, then his eyes shifted to Gabriella for a few seconds.
Should he say something?
Were they even close enough? Maybe he should give her a hug to bid her farewell for now…
As he thought about all these things, Arthur in the end didn't do any of them and just followed behind the guard as he led the way.
Sensing Arthur depart, Gabriella waited until he was out of sight before glancing in the direction he had left.
Something imperceptible flickered in her eyes as she then turned back to the guard who was sweating profusely just standing before her.
"The room is set, Principal!" he bowed deeply in greeting.
"Lead the way." Gabriella said with a neutral expression.
…
Unaware of what had transpired, Arthur walked under the lead of the guard to a particularly spacious arena with a ball like marble embedded at its center.
Even from afar as he approached, Arthur could already hear voices drifting into his ears.
When he finally entered the colosseum, he noticed countless people who looked to be his age gathered around.
Arthur was momentarily stunned by the sight as the group of students numbered in the hundreds.
Everyone was seated in neat rows and Arthur noticed that according to one's number, they were being called up to the stage to place their hands on the marble.
Arthur recognized the marble.
It was an awakening stone, similar to the one he had used back at home during his awakening ceremony.
"The numbers are being called at random. Since you are the last person to arrive, your number will be added. Just wait patiently for your turn and you'll soon be called up."
"The entrance examination has two phases, the awakening phase and the dungeon clearing phase. The overall winner for each round will automatically be able to enter the Sentient Academy. Nevertheless, it's better to get as many points as you can in both examinations despite it being fixed."
Arthur listened to the explanation from the guard and asked in puzzlement.
"What's the first entrance examination about?"
"I mentioned the results being fixed because the first entrance examination is basically one's classes being displayed. Those with weaker classes will be given fewer points, and only the person with the highest level class as ordained by the system will emerge as the winner."
Arthur nodded internally.
In that case, his Calamity Summoner class which was a variant would most likely be high rated.
Maybe I might even emerge as the winner of this round… Arthur thought with a smile internally.
Finished with the explanation, the guard added, "You will be briefed on the information about the second entrance test. I'll be taking my leave now."
"Okay. Thank you for the information." Arthur thanked him, then shifted his attention back to the center stage.
There, another youth had been called.
It was a kid with brown eyes and dark green hair, with a slightly composed demeanor.
He approached the location of the marble and placed his hand on it, causing it to emit a sizzling glow.
"Warrior class– spear wielder."
"55 points!"
A line of words materialized in mid air, displaying the boy's points to everyone.
"Damn! He really got that high? That's like among the highest points given so far… how lucky!"
"Hopefully my class will be deemed worthy of receiving such high appraisal," another youth with blue hair and eyes commented nervously.
There were also voices of jealousy from those envious of the boy, however he remained unfazed, clutching his fist tightly.
Now he just needed to pass the entrance test and he would be able to enter the most prestigious academy.
Confidently he walked back to his seat under the watchful gazes of the crowd.
A few more people were called, and Arthur noticed a variety of classes.
Including warrior which was the most prominent, together with mages.
There were also priests and tankers present.
To his surprise, Arthur hadn't noticed any summoners since he came here.
Although he was curious, he didn't think too much about it.
Perhaps summoners were just that rare.
"Entrant, 1080." the middle aged man in charge finally called out.
Everyone scanned the surroundings before the gazes of the crowd ultimately fell on Arthur.
Guess it's my turn huh? Arthur chuckled internally, then casually approached the stage with a confident smirk.
As he walked, the eyes of the crowd followed him down the path.
"Who's this guy? I've never seen him before…"
Some of the entrants had arrived a few weeks prior just for the entrance examination, so seeing Arthur who was a seemingly new face, they were filled with curiosity.
"With his manner of walking, he is probably a mage or a warrior. Or perhaps a variant class…" different guesses spread through the crowd in murmurs.
Arthur didn't pay attention to any of them and finally reached the stage.
Slowly he placed his hand on the glowing white marble.
"Class – Calamity Summoner."
"One point."
Seeing his score, Arthur rubbed his eyes in disbelief as though he was seeing things.
What the hell? Why was he given just one point?
"A summoner?"
"What the hell is a summoner, someone with no fighting capabilities, doing here?" another voice cut through the air.
Arthur could sense the disbelief rippling through the crowd as his class was displayed to the public.
So summoners are outcasts huh?
Arthur finally understood the reason he didn't see any summoners here.
Shrugging, he let out a curse under his breath.
"What a fucking dumb device." After speaking, he casually strode back to his seat.
The crowd was silenced.
Arthur had basically just directly insulted the academy's device without much regard.
It wasn't against any rules but still.
A few instructors couldn't help but cast dangerous glares at Arthur who remained unfazed.
Unable to do anything to him, the entrance examination could only continue.
Nevertheless, there was a subtle shift in the air after Arthur's display of disregard toward the academy.
…
Time passed and soon they were done with the first entrance examination.
It was time for the second one.
A full display of strength.