Endless Horde: Through the Eyes of a Godking

Chapter 97: Entrance Exam: Florence the Capital City and Written Exam

Florence - the Royal Capital...

It is a metropolis that stands proudly amongst others, others call it the home of Heroes for many legendary characters were born and raised here. It is also a place where the real powers governing the Eastern Continent could be found.

One of them was, of course, the Starlight Royal Academy. Though it bears the 'Royal' in its name, the academy isn't under the control of the Royal Family at all. Previous generations of the Royal Family tried to get this piece of pie but none has succeeded so far. In fact, they were even met with a ruthless blow to their status because of their transgressions.

The academy is neutral. Its alignment is towards itself and its purpose is for the benefit of Humanity as a whole. This alignment is extended towards their students so long as they remain inside their walls. Once they graduate though, or are expelled, it's fair game for everybody outside.

Today, the gates of the fabled academy open for the participants of the entrance exam. Said participants were already waiting outside even before the sun was up.

There was tension in the air, which was understandable given how huge this event was for all of them. The gates opened precisely at 8 am, the guards allowed the entry of the participants as well as their families, unrelated people weren't allowed inside though.

Seeing this, Cedric made his way inside along with his competitors. He already parted ways with Erica and Chrissy, he guessed that they were already inside the academy doing their thing.

He was being careful this time. He didn't dare to unfold the full extent of his sensory field. He was afraid that he might offend someone by doing this so he limited it to its minimum which is 500 meters around him.

They were instructed to gather at the gymnasium, a humble description of what looks to be a coliseum instead.

Being sensitive to his surroundings, of course Cedric could tell the difference as soon as he entered the Academy.

The energy fluctuations here were surely richer and more active compared to outside. These energy fluctuations eased his mind and allowed him to think more clearly...not that he needed it in the first place, but he could very well see how this could help others in terms of learning new things.

This was an effect of the academy's formation. Something that he already sensed even before entering this place. Additionally, the academy was beautiful. For some reason, the colors here are more vibrant and the view seems fantastical.

He also saw towering buildings everywhere. For now, he has no idea what those buildings are for but from their structure, he could guess that each one has an important purpose.

Once they arrived at the testing grounds, Cedric saw four people who were wearing glittering badges. The sight was unmistakable since it's extremely difficult for those to be fake, and those badges are only handed to the instructors of the academy.

A bald man stepped forward. From a single glance, Cedric could feel an overwhelming momentum from him. He's like a slumbering disaster. This person was at least several notches stronger than the City Lord of the Black Thread City.

"Greetings, Younglings." The bald man greeted them with his deep voice that rumbled everywhere. "My name is Orion Stoneshield. I'm an Instructor at this academy. I'm also joined by my colleagues today and together, we will be facilitating this year's entrance exams."

Nobody said a word, everyone listened with rapt attention. Some didn't even dare to breathe in fear of missing something.

"Our academy's Entrance Exam is divided into two main categories: Written and Practical. Here, we believe that knowledge and skill go hand in hand. The combined result of both categories will determine if you will have a spot on this year's batch of new students." He continued.

He then stomped his foot and all of a sudden, the surroundings changed. The majority of the students were alarmed by the sudden change. Others, like Cedric, remained calm despite the changes, something that the instructors didn't miss.

Once the changes were done, the participants were surprised to discover that somehow, they were transported into a large classroom filled with rows upon rows of seats.

"In order to ensure fairness, your access to the Acala System is prohibited during the exam period. If you don't agree with this setup, take your leave now. I'll give you three minutes to do so."

"..."

From his sensory feedback, Cedric saw some of the participants' faces dropping. He quickly guessed that they might've been thinking or relying on the System to pass their exams. He inwardly shook his head and decided to ignore them.

Despite reacting in various ways, none of the participants left. Once the three-minute grace period was up, Orion once again spoke:

"Since all of you are determined, you may now take your seat. We will distribute the questionnaire soon. As soon as you receive yours, you may start answering them. We will give you three hours to answer as much as you can. If you finish ahead of time or once the time is up, submit your papers to me."

Upon hearing those instructions, the participants began choosing their seats. Cedric went to the closest one to him and made himself comfortable. Shortly after, he received his papers so he began reading their contents.

...and just to make sure that he wouldn't be accused of cheating, he completely suppressed his field of senses to the level of a normal person. Whether the Instructors noticed this or not, he wouldn't know. If they did, then they didn't show any reaction to it.

Surprisingly, the contents of the written exam start easily. The questions are fairly common. For some reason, he thought that he would be forced to solve complicated problems and puzzles.

This is more like taking the Final Exams at a University...at least in the first half. The second half deals with the Superhuman side of things. Cedric could easily tell that the second half would stump other participants, especially those who did not receive any Superhuman-related Education.

Fortunately, this isn't anything difficult for the current Cedric. Especially not when his ?Education? skill surpassed Level 100.

Thanks to this, he finished the 10-page long, back-to-back, written exam within the first hour. And this was him being generous with his time already. However, since he still had time, he decided to double-check his answers.

By the second hour into the written exams, he already confirmed that he answered everything to the best of his abilities so he stood up to submit his papers.

Orion received his papers without saying a word. He was then instructed to wait outside of the room until everybody was done.

Surprisingly, Cedric wasn't the first one to finish. He saw five people already outside, meaning that they finished earlier than he did. It was no big deal to him though.

He found a spot to sit down for now. He tried summoning the System's Interface but it didn't appear. This was a sign that their access to it was indeed prohibited while the exams were still underway.

Since he had no access to entertainment for now, he decided to use his time meditating instead. He got rid of any distracting thoughts and fell into a deep meditative state in less than a minute.

Unbeknownst to him, his behavior has been noted by the other five who came before him as well as the instructors inside the room.

Someone from the five who finished early was debating whether to start making friends or not, but when he saw the handsome guy not even bothering to waste a glance at them, he felt disheartened for some reason. The others seem to follow his lead too.

As for the instructors, they just took note of Cedric's relaxed behavior. They didn't dare to speculate anything yet since it's still way too early for that.

Time passed and soon, the three-hour time limit was up. Orion didn't even bother telling the participants to stop, he just mysteriously snatched their papers before they could even react and told them to step outside since their time was up.

Cedric already ended his meditation at this point. He stood up and blended with the crowd, waiting for the next instructions.

"Your Written Exams are being graded as we speak. I advise you to not think about it too much though. After all, your tests aren't done just yet and you should focus because the Practical Exam is the part that you absolutely should not fail." He stated.

'Judging from those words, it seems that the impact of the Practical Exams weighs more than the Written Exams. A bit biased but that's to be expected. After all, strength has always been valued more than knowledge in this era.' Cedric mused to himself.

"We will now be starting the Practical Exams!" Orion exclaimed to get everybody's attention.

He then stomped his foot to reveal a platform to which a lotus blossomed. Cedric watched as layers upon layers of barrier covered the lotus. That's when Orion spoke:

"This...will be the first part of your Practical Exam!"