“That is the Royal Academy?”
After crushing Sidi’s projection, Watson thought that he had nothing to do for the time being. It would be better to pass the Royal Academy’s assessment first. Thus, he rode his unicorn to the Royal Academy entrance.
Due to the absence of Sidi’s influence, the unicorn had recovered its health. Its five-meter-long body had fur brighter than the moonlight, and its body was softer than cotton. Sitting on the unicorn’s body, Watson felt as if he was sitting on a soft cloud; it was very comfortable.
At that moment, Watson looked up—he saw a gorgeous academy. Tall white spires could be seen everywhere. Everyone was exuding an extraordinary aura.
It was spring. There were tall trees with light pink flowers on both sides of the academy’s streets. With the wind blowing, the fragrance of the blossoms filled the air.
Under the trees, two male students, who looked to be around 16 or 17 years old, were sitting at a wooden table. In front of them was a long line of hundreds of people signing up to join the academy.
“Those who want to join the academy, line up please, one by one. Please give us a detailed report based on your age, strength, and information! We will not recruit anyone over the age of 18 who is not even silver-tier. If you have a recommendation letter, you can get an exception. Do not try to hide your information. We have mastered the gold-tier Magic Insight Eye—we can easily see through you.”
The two male students who spoke had obvious pride on their faces. It was no wonder that they had become members of the Royal Academy at such a young age. It was enough to prove that their talents were extraordinary. Furthermore, they had been arranged to recruit new students. It was clear that the teachers trusted them.
The hundreds of people in line looked nervous. They were afraid that they would not be able to satisfy the two male students and be eliminated later.
Under such circumstances, Watson’s participation quickly attracted the attention of hundreds of students.
“Look at that person; he actually rode a unicorn to come here.”
“He came to register for the Royal Academy and is still so ostentatious. It will be interesting if that person is not strong enough and would get eliminated.”
Some envied Watson because he had a unicorn, while some ridiculed it.
Those who could participate in the Royal College’s interview were either very confident in their own talent or from a wealthy family. They also did not flaunt their wealth like Watson because true noblemen would not flaunt their wealth like those country bumpkins or nouveau riche.
The students noticed Watson, and the two male students in charge of the assessment also saw Watson’s appearance. They frowned. When Watson reached the front of the line, they took out a quill pen and the registration list.
“Name?”
“Watson.”
‘Watson? Why is that name so familiar? I seem to have heard it somewhere before.’
The two male students in charge of the assessment muttered in their hearts. They did not pay much attention to it and continued to ask, “What tier is your strength?”
Since it looked like Watson was 12 or 13 years old, they did not ask about his age. They only asked about his strength. If he were not even silver-tier, they would reject him immediately. He should not have acted so arrogantly; he even rode a unicorn to the event.
“Strength? I would say platinum-tier.”
“What do you mean you would say? Kid, you’re here to cause trouble on purpose, aren’t you?”
It was what it was. If he had not reached it, then he was not that. What did he mean? Furthermore, that kid said that he was platinum-tier. How old was he? He must be joking if he thought that they would believe he had reached platinum-tier at that age. The two students had already determined that Watson was there to cause trouble. However, they still activated their gold-tier Magic Insight Eye and swept it over Watson’s body due to their professionalism.
Watson’s information immediately appeared before them.
[Name: Watson
[Gender: Male]
[Age: 13]
[Strength: Platinum-tier]
“He’s really at platinum-tier? How is that possible? Did we see it wrongly?”
The two students in charge of the test suddenly stood up. Their eyes were filled with disbelief as they looked at Watson. At the same time, there was a commotion among the people queuing behind Watson because someone had said something.
“Watson? I remember where I heard that name before. Isn’t that the name of Master Antonio’s disciple from the border? ”
“I remember it too. Just now, I was at the to welcome Master Antonio. I saw Master Antonio’s carriage enter the palace with my own eyes. During that time, I heard the people around me talking. They said that Master Antonio’s disciple, Watson, was fortunate enough to be invited to the palace by His Majesty. Why would he appear here?” The other people in the registration team also recalled Watson’s name.
If that youth were Master Antonio’s disciple, then it would make sense. Watson was only 13 years old and was already a platinum-tier elite. He even had a unicorn. Even if he rode a dragon, no one would say anything.
“Are you Master Antonio’s disciple?”
“That’s right, I am.”
Watson openly admitted it.
“I’m sorry, I didn’t know who you were. Since you’re Master Antonio’s disciple, then we can omit the need for the information. You can go and get your strength tested! The test might be difficult for others, but it should be very easy for a genius like you.”
One of the two examiners stood up and smiled politely at Watson. “Let me introduce myself. My name is Newman. I’m a fourth-year student here. If you don’t mind, you can call me Senior Brother.”
“Hello, Senior Brother.”
Watson nodded in agreement and followed Newman into the academy. A group of people were behind him in a queue; they looked at him with envy. They also wanted to skip the line and directly enter the academy to participate in the test. However, they did not have Watson’s strength and background.
“As expected of Master Antonio’s disciple. It was really stylish of him to ride a unicorn here.”
“Only a noble person can tame a unicorn. That young man must be powerful and kind.”
The people who had just ridiculed Watson for showing off his wealth changed their tone at that moment. They did not feel that Watson was showing off his wealth, but they also thought it was low-key, luxurious, and profound. If they were Antonio’s disciples, they would definitely arrange for eight people to carry the carriage and send them there. It would be best if they could install two large loudspeakers on both sides of the carriage and play it on a loop to let everyone know that they were Antonio’s disciples.
“What are you looking at? If you have time to look at others, why don’t you think about how you are going to pass the first round of the assessment?”
The remaining assessment staff berated the youths there; that broke their reverie. Some could not help but look back with a somewhat envious expression. They were not jealous of Watson but of his companion named Newman because he could accompany Watson in the assessment.
While everyone was discussing it outside, Newman had already led Watson to the assessment site in the academy. It was a vast, hemisphere-shaped building, similar to the Colosseum in ancient Rome. However, the place was not filled with wild beasts. Instead, there were fortresses made of high-quality ores. Inside the fortresses were mannequins that were also made of ores. What was surprising was that those mannequins were engraved with magic circles. They could move at a breakneck speed without a human’s control. They were no less than ordinary gold-tier warriors.
In front of those fortresses stood many noble children dressed in luxurious clothes. There were mages, warriors, and even archers and priests. Those people were doing their best to break the mannequins that were moving in those fortresses. Every time a mannequin was broken, a teacher would use a quill to record the person’s score on a piece of parchment.
“Lily of the Campbell family has passed the test. She broke eight puppets in one minute and scored 80 points. She can be assigned to the Magic Court’s Class A.”
At that moment, the voice of a teacher caught Watson’s attention.
A girl in a mage robe was wiping the sweat off her head. She walked out of the training ground. Her fiery red hair was tied into a ponytail, and her exquisite face was filled with joy. “Charo, I scored 80 points. Even though there is a gap between you and my 90 points, we will be assigned to the same class.”
“Congratulations, Lily.” The woman named Charo had light purple hair, and her face was equally beautiful. There was a black mole at the right corner of her eye, which added to her charm.
Similar to Lily, the two girls looked to be around 13 or 14 years old.
As if sensing Watson’s gaze, the two girls exchanged a few words and turned their heads at the same time, meeting Watson’s gaze in mid-air.
“Charo, look at that youth staring at me. Does my beauty attract him?” Lily whispered into Charo’s ear, and her friend laughed. “Silly Lily, you really know how to flatter yourself. I don’t think he’s attracted to you, but he’s surprised by your score! After all, only 40 percent of the people who passed the first round could enter this place, not to mention the 10 percent of the people who could get a high score of 80. That young man looks like a stranger. It should be his first time coming to the Royal Academy to take the test.”
The Royal Academy’s test was different every year. That was to prevent someone from cheating. That year’s test was to shoot targets. Those targets were all made by famous artisans in the royal city. They had mobility comparable to gold-tier warriors. In other words, that year’s test was to see how many of those gold-tier mannequins those new students could kill in a minute.
Even though those targets would not fight back, it was not that easy to kill them. Those who could kill ten or eight targets in a minute could already be called top geniuses.
Of course, the Royal Academy’s tests were different each year, but there was no limit to the number of times the applicants could participate in the trial. As long as they could pass the first round of selection, the students could try their luck before the school started, leaving the best results for themselves to ensure the rational allocation of classes.
The students in the Royal Academy did not attend classes together. Instead, they were divided into four groups—magicians, warriors, priests, and archers, according to their different cultivation professions. Each department was then divided into four classes—A, B, C, and D. The four faculties of the Academy held a competition called the Academy Cup every year, and it was the same between the classes. The intense competition made every student who walked out of the academy a warrior who had experienced hundreds of battles.
“Before participating in the assessment, you must first choose which faculty you want to join and what profession you want to become in the future?
“Watson, since you are Master Antonio’s disciple, you will definitely choose to join the mage department, right?”
Newman led Watson to the assessment venue and introduced him at the same time. He did not deliberately lower his voice, causing the conversation between him and Watson to spread throughout the assessment venue quickly. Many people who had already completed the assessment or had yet to enter the arena raised their heads. Their eyes flickered.
“Master Antonio’s disciple is here?”
“He is also participating in the Royal Academy’s assessment. I wonder what kind of results he will obtain?”
Everyone did not doubt Watson’s choice. He was definitely from the mage faculty. With Watson joining the mage faculty, he would definitely suppress the other faculties. Many people from the mage faculty were happy about Watson’s arrival. The people from the other faculties appeared disappointed.
However, what surprised them was that Watson looked around the four areas of the assessment venue. His gaze passed through the mage faculty assessment area and finally settled on the warrior faculty assessment area.
“If I can only choose one faculty to join, I choose the warrior faculty.”
What?
Newman, who was closest to Watson, did not seem to hear Watson’s words. He rubbed his ears and said, “Watson, you said you wanted to join the warrior faculty. Are you sure you’ve made the right choice? ”
“I made the right choice. I’m sure that I want to join the warrior faculty,” Watson replied firmly.
He already had Antonio as his teacher in the field of magic. Furthermore, he had already mastered thousands of platinum-tier spells with all the attributes. On the contrary, he did not have much knowledge about fighting techniques. One of the purposes for him entering the royal city was to find a sword saint to be his teacher and obtain a promotion in the warrior class. Since that was the case, he might as well join the warrior department and learn some basic knowledge about warriors.
“Watson should not think that he is Master Antonio’s disciple. Otherwise, there would be nothing to learn in the Royal Academy’s mage department, right?”
If that was the case, then he was too arrogant. The teachers in the Royal Academy might not be as strong as Master Antonio, but they were all professional scholars and had made outstanding contributions in their respective fields. They might not necessarily be inferior to Master Antonio.
Some people could guess Watson’s thoughts, and their faces turned ugly, especially those from the mage department. Watson’s move to switch from the mage department to the warrior department was undoubtedly a sign of contempt for them. Many of them began to sneer in their hearts. If Watson went to the warrior department to participate in the assessment later, it would be a joke if he failed.
“Young Master Watson, are you sure you want to participate in the Warrior Department Assessment? There is no limit to the number of times you can take the assessment at the Royal Academy. If you can’t pass the Warrior Assessment, you can also change to another class assessment, such as the magic class.”
After Watson made his declaration, a teacher in charge of the assessment quickly came before him. That teacher had a burly build and a full beard. He was like a walking giant bear. The hint in his words was very obvious. Obviously, he did not think much of Watson, who wanted to join the warrior department.
“Rest assured, Teacher. If I could not pass the assessment, I would then consider other classes. What should I do if I participate in the assessment now?”
“What you need to do is very simple. You need to stand outside the assessment field and only use combat aura to smash the moving targets in the field! The time limit is one minute. During that time, the more targets you smash, the better your results will be. However, you can not use the abilities of other occupations. Otherwise, it will be a violation. Do you understand?”
“Yes, Teacher. I understand,” Watson replied and walked to the area where the warrior assessment was taking place. The people there retreated a distance to give him some space.
In the distance, Lily and Charo were watching that scene and discussing it in low voices.
“What a pity, Lily. It seems that Master Antonio’s disciple doesn’t seem to be interested in our Royal Academy’s mage department. You are not fated to be with him—”
“What do you mean I have no fate with him? Charo, don’t you also want to be in the same class as Master Antonio’s disciple?” Lily pouted and looked in Watson’s direction. “But that person is really overestimating himself. As a mage, it’s good that he came to the mage department, but he insisted on going to the warrior department. Does he intend to become a powerful warrior while practicing magic? That’s too unrealistic. The warrior department lacks large-scale attacks, so the assessment is even harder than the magic department. Anyway, he will give up after hitting a wall.”
Many people had similar thoughts to Lily and Charlotte. Under the watchful eyes of the crowd, Watson moved his body a few times to signal to the teacher that it was okay. When the assessment teacher said, “The trial begins.” Then, he stomped his foot gently. A light-elemental law domain immediately appeared beneath his feet. Countless light weapons flew out and instantly pierced through all the artificial forms on the field.
There were more than 500 artificial bodies in the fortress on the field. At that moment, cracks appeared from all directions. They fell to the ground and broke into two pieces.
Green smoke rose from the hundreds of broken puppets in the assessment field. The entire hall was silent.
Others could kill ten or eight puppets in a minute, but Watson had killed all of them in one strike. What kind of strength was that?
After a long while, the teacher in charge of the assessment broke the silence. “Watson, I just said that you are only allowed to use combat aura and not magic. Otherwise, you would lose the qualification to take the assessment. Do you hear me? ”
To be honest, he did not even see what Watson had done. He only saw a flash of light under Watson’s feet and countless rays of light rising into the sky. That scene was very similar to magic, so he judged that Watson had cheated.
“Teacher, I did not use magic.”
“What do you mean you did not use magic? Combat skills can’t be used in such a large-scale attack or be that fast.” The teacher was confident about that.
Watson did not speak. He only repeated what he had just done. A huge law domain appeared beneath his feet, where many glowing weapons were floating. However, at that time, he did not use light weapons to attack quickly. Instead, he allowed them to fly out at a speed that everyone there could see clearly. They crushed the gold-tier puppets that had already shattered on the assessment grounds once again.
“Teacher, do you believe that I’m not using magic now?”
The assessment teacher opened his mouth wide, unable to speak for a long time. After a long while, the teacher picked up a quill and wrote a few words on the parchment.
[Watson for the warrior department; assessment result—full score!”
