Chapter 108: Trait Assessment
The entire Class A was utterly silent, with no one saying a word. The silence was so deep that people could even hear the breathing of the person sitting next to them.
Some people wanted to speak, but the instant they opened their mouths, they closed them again because they were afraid of breaking the silence.
They felt that if they spoke right now, they would immediately become the center of everyone’s attention.
Amid the silence, everyone couldn’t help but occasionally glance toward the front bench in the left corner, where two people were sitting.
One of them looked extremely tense, as if he were sitting on pins and needles, while the other had a relaxed look on his face, as if he were sitting comfortably inside his own home.
’Damn, someone please say something...’
Liam was crying inwardly because he could feel countless gazes occasionally sweeping over him again and again.
He knew sitting with William in the front seat wouldn’t be easy, but he hadn’t expected things to turn out like this.
Even though no one had said anything to him and William had handled everything, he still felt nervous because of what had happened earlier.
’I hope we won’t get ganged up on later after leaving the class and beaten to death.’
He sighed inwardly, and just as the deafening silence was beginning to gnaw at him, the sound of footsteps coming from outside finally broke the silence.
Everyone immediately shifted their attention toward the classroom entrance and saw a middle-aged man with grey hair.
The man was nearly two meters tall and had a lean build. There were a few wrinkles on his forehead, and a cold aura emanated from him, keeping everyone at a distance.
The man walked toward the podium at the front of the classroom and finally shifted his attention toward the silent students.
Even when he saw William and Liam sitting at the front, his expression remained completely unchanged, and he spoke in a flat voice.
"My name is Norman Blackhart. I will be your homeroom professor for the time being. If you have any questions, keep them to yourself and don’t bother me."
The students, who had been listening carefully almost choked on their breath when they heard Professor Norman’s final words and looked at him speechlessly.
Although William was already aware of Norman’s personality, his eyes still couldn’t help but twitch.
’Well, no one will feel good if they have to teach a bunch of brats even after their retirement.’
He thought to himself and glanced at Noah and the others.
As he looked at them, he saw that their expressions were quite normal after hearing Norman’s words because they were all aware of his identity.
"First, there will be a basic foundation class teaching you about Aether Energy and other important things every Monday and Wednesday. It’s a compulsory class, and all of you have to attend it. If any of you miss the class without a good reason, then there is no need for you to come here again," Norman said as his cold gaze swept over everyone.
"Universal Language class will be held every Tuesday and Thursday. This is also compulsory classes. If you miss it, then you can forget about getting priority for tasks related to Astral Rifts that are connected to different realms."
"A combat class will be held every Friday. The rest of the time, you are free to do whatever you want. Whether you waste that time sleeping around, attend other classes or practice hard to improve yourself, it’s none of my business."
As he spoke, Norman held up a badge that was somewhat similar to a student badge, but looked slightly different.
Suddenly, all the students felt their student badges vibrate slightly.
"I have sent everything you need to know to your student badges. Take a look at them after the class ends, and you will understand everything."
William didn’t pay much attention to the information that was transferred to his student badge, as he knew it was mostly information about classes, regulations, the various things they could do in the academy, the Heavenly Ranking, and many other things.
Instead, he continued looking at Norman because he knew the main purpose of the first class was about to begin.
"Today is Sunday, so there are no classes for you. I mainly called all of you here so that I can test all of your traits. Let me remind you all just in case, if any of you have lied about having a trait or about its grade, you should speak now. If I find out later that you have given false information, it won’t be as simple as being transferred to a different class."
None of the students reacted to Norman’s words, as no one was stupid enough to lie about their traits. They knew that any lie would be exposed sooner or later.
Seeing that no one said anything, Norman nodded and took out a crystal orb from his storage ring.
He placed the orb on the podium and looked at Edrin, who was sitting on the first seat at the right corner.
"You with the crooked smile, let’s start with you."
The smile that always hung on Edrin’s face stiffened upon hearing Norman’s words, and he spoke with a twitching mouth.
"My name is Edrin, Professor."
"Whatever."
Norman waved his hand as if he didn’t give a damn about his name and urged him to come forward quickly.
A few veins bulged on Edrin’s forehead, but he walked toward the podium with a stiff expression.
"Place your hand on the orb and don’t resist."
Edrin did as Norman said, and as soon as his hand touched the crystal orb, he felt a force trying to drill into his Sea of Consciousness.
Edrin knew about the process of testing a trait, so he didn’t resist the force and allowed it to enter his Sea of Consciousness.
As soon as the force successfully entered his Sea of Consciousness, the crystal orb began to glow.
At first, the orb showed a red color.
Then it turned orange.
From orange, it changed to yellow.
And finally, it turned green.
"You said your name was Edrin, right?"
Norman checked the information Edrin had registered and saw that during registration, he had claimed to possess an Epic Grade Trait.
Just like the treasure orbs found in the Astral Rifts, the color displayed by the crystal orb determined the grade of the trait.
Red represented Common Grade.
Orange represented Uncommon Grade.
Yellow represented Rare Grade.
Green represented Epic Grade.
Blue represented Legendary Grade.
Indigo represented Mythical Grade.
And Violet represented Primordial Grade.
Seeing that the crystal orb displayed a green color, Norman confirmed that Edrin really did possess an Epic Grade Trait.
As his trait was tested, the students in the class couldn’t help but burst into discussion, as most of them had Common or Uncommon Grade Traits, with only a few possessing Rare Grade Traits.
So, seeing Edrin possess an Epic Grade Trait really made many people jealous.
"Alright, you can go back to your seat."
After confirming Edrin’s result and showing no particular surprise, Norman told him to return to his seat.
Next was Maya, and similar to Edrin, she also possessed an Epic Grade Trait.
After Maya, it was Noah’s turn, but Norman didn’t call him to the podium to test his trait.
"That old man already vouched for your trait, so you don’t have to test."
Most of the students already knew Noah was Duke Charles’ grandson, so no one was surprised by Norman’s words.
Bypassing Noah, it was William’s turn next.
"You, come up," Norman said.
As William walked toward the podium, Norman asked for his name.
"My name is William, Professor."
Professor Norman looked for his name in the registration log and soon found his details.
Upon reading his information, his gaze couldn’t help but pause for a moment before he nodded.
"Alright, place your hand on the orb."
William looked at the crystal orb and slowly placed his hand on it.
’Let’s hope this guy can sense it.’