In the plaza, beside a lake that was located on the Eastern Side of the capital, a crowd of young boys and girls could be seen. They were the aspiring students of the Royal Academy and they were patiently waiting for the registration process to begin.
William, literally stood out from the crowd because he was riding on top of a meter-and-a-half-tall Angorian Goat. Almost everyone near him was looking at him with various expressions.
Although William was wearing simple clothes, his bearing, and good looks, made him an eyesore to the boys and eye candy for the girls.
William was someone who enjoyed attention, so he made sure to get the most out of it. He waved, smiled, and winked at the pretty girls who were looking at him with starry eyes. As for the boys? He ignored them completely which made the pitiful guys curse him inside their hearts.
“Hah~ what a show off,” Ian sneered from where he stood.
“I thought that William would feel out of place, but it seems like he is enjoying the attention of the pretty girls,” Isaac smirked.
“He should try to be lowkey for a change,” Est grumbled as he narrowed his eyes. “If this goes on, he will really be alienated if he gets accepted at the academy.”
The three children were watching William from the carriage that was parked not far away from the plaza. The three of them had already enrolled at the royal academy. Due to Est’s special circumstances, he and his two companions were allowed to bypass the tests for the new students and were allowed to enroll directly.
Every year, thousands of children and teenagers would gather in this very plaza to take part in the Royal Academy’s selection process. Only those that had certain qualifications would be admitted into the Royal Academy of the Hellan Kingdom.
When the sun was about to reach its zenith, a middle-aged man wearing a purple robe flew above the crowd and made an announcement.
“Everyone, thank you for coming. The first test of the Royal Academy is about to begin.” the middle-aged man announced. “The first test is simple. All you need to do is cross the bridge of Iron Will and you will be allowed to take the next test. Those who fail will automatically be disqualified from enrolling in the academy this school year.”
As if waiting for him to finish his announcement, a majestic bridge started to magically appear from the other side of the lake. Its end curved upwards and extended towards the plaza. When the bridge had fully formed the middle-aged man raised his hand and announced the start of the first test.
Everyone who planned to enroll at the academy rushed towards the bridge. William gazed at the crowd, but he didn’t seem to be in a hurry to participate. He was planning to do some observation first to see what kind of challenge the bridge imposed to those who dared to challenge it.
The first batch of children managed to travel up a fourth of the bridge, before they started to slow down. It was as if a strong pressure was pressing on their shoulders that every step seemed to be a gargantuan task.
Of course, there were others who shrugged this pressure off and walked with even steps. After waiting for five minutes, more than half of the challengers were unable to move forward. Some of them were sweating buckets, while others were gritting their teeth.
All of them were doing their best to endure, but some of them had already reached their limit.
The children who had already lost their strength and resolve, were automatically teleported back to the plaza. William watched as some of them knelt down on the ground, panting for breath. A few others started to cry, and it made the atmosphere very depressing.
William sighed and caressed his Mama Ella’s neck.
“Mama, let’s go.”
“Meeeeh.”
Ella walked up to the bridge with even steps. The middle-aged-man, who was the current examiner, looked at William with an amused expression. It was not the first time he had seen someone use a spirit beast to challenge the first trial, but it was his first time seeing a domestic Angorian Goat take the challenge with its master.
There were no rules that said that Spirit Beasts, or any other form of beast, were not allowed to participate in the trial.
Ella stepped onto the bridge with confidence. Each step was at an even pace. William and her were not in a hurry. Both of them were observing the children who were ahead of them.
The number of potential students who had managed to reach the halfway mark had dwindled once again. This time, less than a hundred were able to move forward. Soon, William and Ella passed the halfway mark of the trial.
William was starting to feel a certain amount of pressure pressing down on him, but it was not a big deal. It was nothing compared to the torture that he had undergone under his Master, Celine’s, hand in order to increase his resistance against curses and poison.
The struggling children raised their heads to look at William who was having it easy. Some of them felt envious, while others thought that it was unfair.
What they didn’t know was that William and Ella were enduring twice the amount of pressure that these children were experiencing. The reason? The effect of the trial stacked if someone were to use a mount to help them clear it.
This was a secret that only the examiners of the Royal Academy were aware of. The middle-aged man nodded his head in appreciation as his eyes observed William.
‘Looks like we got a few rough gems this year,’ the examiner thought. ‘I pray that they all make it through the last trial.’
When Ella finally stepped onto the other side of the lake, the trial ended as well. William was the last to take part in the trial, so naturally, the moment he cleared it marked the end of the trial.
“First of all, let me congratulate all of you,” the middle-aged man said with a smile. “Out of the thousands who came this year, only fifty managed to clear the first trial. However, let me remind all of you that this is just the beginning. You still have four more trials to complete before you are eligible to enroll at the Royal Academy.”
The middle-aged man waved his hand and all the students floated in the air. “I will now take all of you to the place of the second trial.”
The examiner didn’t say anything else and flew Eastward. The students flew behind him and each of them had determined expressions on their faces. Soon, they flew over a forest that was located outside the city.
After five more minutes of flying, the middle-aged man landed in a small clearing near the center of the forest. When everyone’s feet were securely planted on the ground, the middle-aged man pointed at a flag fluttering in the distance.
“Your next test is to reach that flag within four hours,” the examiner explained. “Know that this forest is inhabited by Spirit Beasts and they will attack you if you encounter them. The second trial is about having the ability to reach the goal despite the adversities.”
The middle-aged-man handed a purple crystal to the children who were taking the trial.
“If you wish to give up, just crush the crystal in your hand. The staff of the school will immediately come to your rescue,” the examiner stated. “You only have one life, so make sure that you treasure it well. Let’s meet again at the finish line.”
With that, the examiner left the children to fend for themselves. One particular young boy snorted and walked in the direction of the flag with confidence. From his body language alone, one could tell that he was not afraid of the Spirit Beasts that were lurking in the forest.
William, on the other hand, narrowed his gaze. As someone who had faced off against Centennial and Millennial Beasts, he was quite sensitive when it came to strong presences.
There was a creature in the forest that was looking at them from a distance. William couldn’t see it, but he could tell that it was very strong. What perplexed the red-headed boy was that the Beast was purposely making its presence known, instead of hiding it.
However, only those with very keen senses, or those who had experienced life and death battles would be able to perceive it.
“Mama Ella, we should stay away from it,” William said in a voice that only Ella could hear.
“Meeeeh.” Ella nodded her head in agreement.
The Angorian Goat walked to the other side of the forest. The route William chose was not the route that would take them directly to the flag. Instead, he intended to take a detour to avoid the strong presence that was waiting along the shortest route towards their destination.
