Chapter 5— | Noble and Commoners.
Chapter 5—Nobles and Commoners.
They restarted the system, and he placed his hands. The system displayed, "Level anomaly system locked." Everyone was astonished to see this, as it was the first time it had ever happened.
The screen was turned off by the director because the system was no longer responding.
They brought him to another room where there was a large blue crystal. He was asked to place his hand on the crystal. He said to himself internally:
"I’m not going to use much mana here. Just a small test; I hope I don’t draw attention to myself."
He placed his hand on the blue crystal. A light burst from his hands, the ground began to shake, and the crystal shattered into a thousand pieces. The people around couldn’t believe their eyes. It was an absolute first.
The events completely overwhelmed the director. He decided to send him to the super guild academy to take tests there because they had super gadgets.
Regardless, he would leave that place with an S-Rank hunter card. Incredible, everyone was truly surprised! But to finalize his meteoric rise to S-rank, he will have to pass the test inside the Academy. Lyra had also been recommended by the director to take the test.
They all stepped out of the guild, all eyes fixed upon them. A moment of exploit for the second time. They took their horses and went back downtown to celebrate Kaelan’s new rank. The whole town already knew that something extraordinary had happened during a test.
Arriving at the tavern, they walked in, and everyone started shouting:
"Hoooooo Congratulations, welcome among us!"
Everyone was delighted to welcome someone of this caliber into their ranks. They sat at a table, and the waitress brought mugs of beer and food. They were about to start eating their food; joy was at its peak. It was while they were eating that a group of individuals approached them.
"Hey. I heard about you; my name is Takumi. My group and I just passed the test. And we are invited for the final test at the Academy."
"That’s great. But we are eating right now, and I think we’ll see each other there," Lyra replied.
"What’s your problem? Your champion doesn’t speak, and you’re the one speaking on his behalf? I can’t wait to see what he’s worth during the test at the academy," Takumi-kun threw out.
Lyra stood up, wanting to draw her sword, but Kaelen stopped her.
"Stop, he isn’t worth it. Leave him be; we will see each other at the academy, and he will get exactly what he deserves," Kaelen said.
Lyra sat back down.
"Finally our champion speaks!" Takumi-kun mocked.
The tavern master approached him:
"Please, sir, leave Mr. Kaelen and Ms. Lyra alone. And get out of my tavern."
"Alright, sir, but don’t touch me. See you again soon. See you later," Takumi-kun said.
They left. Everything went back to how it was before, and the lively atmosphere returned to the room.
They had celebrated well; now, each went to their room for the night, because tomorrow, a long day awaited them. Lyra went to her room, and Kaelen to his, immediately after.
The next morning, Kaelen was already awake. He was training in an enclosure, checking his new powers and adjusting his tactical movements. Meanwhile, Lyra had barely just woken up with a hangover face. She rinsed her face.
Having finished her shower, she was just stepping out when an Academy squire approached her.
"Good morning, Ms. Lyra. I am Akari-kun from the capital’s Academy. You are invited for the annual selection of new mages, swordsmen, and necromancers. Here are two invitations."
"Two invitations?" Lyra asked.
"Yes, sorry, there is one for Mr. Kaelen. I knocked on his door, but nobody answered. Since you are close to him, I thought you could hand it to him."
"Yes, surely, he went out to take a walk outside. I will pass on the message to him," Lyra said.
"Thank you very much, ma’am. Good luck, because you will need it, and see you soon."
He left, and immediately Lyra began searching for Kaelen.
"Kaelen, Kaelen, Kaelen, where are you?"
She looked out the window and saw Kaelen training. She went down the steps and opened the back door.
"[Kaelen, hello We finally received the invitation to go to the Academy. I had barely just retrieved them. You are training?" she said.
"Yes, yes, just some light training. Let me see the letter," Kaelen requested.
She handed the letter to Kaelen, and they opened it at the same time, together:
"{HELLO DEAR ADVENTURERS, THANKS TO YOUR EFFORTS, YOU ARE SELECTED BY THE KING TO PARTICIPATE IN THE ELITE TRIALS OF THE ACADEMY OF HIGH MAGES AND SWORDSMEN. Your recent exploits have attracted the attention of the crown. THIS INVITATION ACTS AS AN IMMEDIATE ROYAL ORDER.}"
"Awesome, I think we’re going to have some fun," Lyra said.
A system message then displayed for Kaelen:
"[System: Congratulations on this invitation. This is a great opportunity for you to increase your power, to fight opponents from all over the world, to gain strength, and to make a name for yourself. You are approaching your goal; keep it up."They went to Sypher’s place to tell him the good news, as all of this was thanks to his recommendations.
"Congratulations, I am sure you are going to do great over there. For your departure, we had planned something for you: a silver armor for you, Mr. Kaelen, and an armor for you too, Ms. Lyra, not forgetting a sword forged by our best blacksmiths," Sypher said.
"Thank you so much, Mr. Director," she said.
"Thank you very much, Mr. Director. Now, let’s not keep the king waiting; tomorrow around dawn we will hit the road. Thank you very much."
"Good luck to you," Sypher concluded.
They returned to the tavern with smiles on their faces, fully confident. They ate and rested.
Very early the next morning, at dawn, Kaelen was already awake. He went to wake Lyra.
"Is it already dawn?" Lyra asked.
"Yes, and we have a long way to go to the great capital," Kaelen said.
"Give me a moment," Lyra replied.
Kaelen was still standing in front of her door.
"These are girl things; leave me alone," Lyra added, smiling.
He shut the door.
He went down the steps with his bags and left the house. The two horses were already ready. He began loading his bags onto his horse. Barely a few minutes later, Lyra came down too, wearing her armor that shone with a thousand lights. She approached Kaelen.
"Wow, you look pretty in your armor," Kaelen said.
"Thank you," Lyra replied. Her face flushed, and she smiled.
In turn, she put her things down, and they began to move forward. They rode across the plains; the scenery was beautiful, and the air was pure. While they were admiring the landscape, a message appeared to Kaelen.
"Gling!" A system message suddenly displayed before his eyes:
[Main Quest Activated: Integrate the Academy of High Mages and Swordsmen. OBJECTIVE: Pass the entrance exam and reach the top 10 of the newcomers. REWARDS: +5000 XP, hidden passive skill unlocked, and a major clue about your return to Earth.Kaelen smiled internally. The journey was just beginning, but the system was already reminding him why he had to become stronger.
"Tell me, Lyra, the great capital over there, what is it like?" Kaelen asked, adjusting the reins of his horse.
Lyra turned her head toward him, her armor gleaming under the sun’s rays.
"It’s truly gigantic, Kaelen. But it’s also dangerous. At the Academy, strength isn’t everything. Most of the students are sons of dukes or great nobles. They hate guild adventurers like us and think everything is owed to them. We’re going to have to stick together more than ever if we want to survive," Lyra explained.
"Alright, you’re right, and I promise to look out for you," Kaelen said.
"I don’t need your protection," Lyra shot back, smiling.
They laughed together and advanced bit by bit.
While they were riding through the green plains, enjoying the morning breeze, a heavy and rapid noise suddenly shattered the mood. Frantic hoofbeats and the creaking of iron wheels echoed behind them. Kaelen and Lyra turned around and saw a luxurious black and gold carriage, pulled by four powerful black horses, charging in their direction.
It was escorted by two knights in gleaming armor. As it passed them, the carriage did not slow down, splashing them with a cloud of dust.
"(Watch where you’re going!)" Lyra shouted, annoyed, holding back her horse.
Against all odds, the carriage stopped a few meters away. A tinted window rolled down slowly, revealing a young man with golden hair, dressed in silk clothes of priceless value.
He wore a haughty smile. His disdainful gaze landed first on Kaelen and Lyra’s travel horses, then on the silver medal Kaelen wore proudly.
"(Well, well... Country adventurers," the young man said in an arrogant voice. "I see the guild is handing out silver medals to just anyone these days. I assume you are heading toward the Academy of High Mages as well?" "How does that concern you?" Kaelen replied coldly.
The noble let out a mocking laugh, clearly amused by Kaelen’s retort.
"Such insolence. Remember my name well, you piece of shit commoner: I am Alistair de Valois, son of the Duke of the Northern region. At the Academy, people like you just serve as doormats for elites like me. If I were you, I’d turn back before the entrance trials break you into a thousand pieces."
With those words, the noble rolled up his window in a single gesture. The carriage took off immediately. Lyra gritted her teeth, mad with rage.
"What an arrogant prick that man is! Who does he think he is, Kaelen? Why didn’t you pin him to the ground with your gravitational spell?" Lyra asked.
Kaelen watched the carriage pull away in the distance on the road to the capital.
"He isn’t worth wasting our mana on out here," Kaelen said.
Lyra, surprised by his maturity, quickly caught his meaning.
"You’re right, I can’t wait to see his face when he discovers your true power...