After a week of travel, three flying carriages arrived at the island of Antilia.
Lilith had a carriage all for herself, while Kenneth and Pearl shared another.
As for William, he shared his flying carriage with his lovers, alongside his sixth Master Chloe. Zhu and Sha, who had stayed inside the Thousand Beast Domain, were being given VIP treatment by Charmaine, and the rest of the Elves in William's Villa.
The two Demons had been very curious about the Dungeon of Atlantis, so they decided to explore it together.
Chloee had told William everything she knew about the administrator of the island, Jophiel. As for the Entrance Exams, Chloee didn't know much about them because all of them were random.
"Although he doesn't get along with the majority of the Professors in the academy, he is still the ideal person to manage the entrance exam because he is the fairest of all," Chloee said. "He will not fail anyone as long as he sees their potential. This is also why he is called the Gatekeeper of Hestia Academy. It is not bad to form a good relationship with him."
William nodded his head in understanding. "Don't worry, Sixth Master, this exam is a walk in the park for me."
"That's the spirit!" Chloee placed her hands on her waist and eyed William with appreciation.
Elliot and Conan were relaxing on the couch. They, too, thought that the exam would not pose any problems for them. After all that they had been through in the Dungeon of Atlantis, the two familiars had already perfected their teamwork with William. They were more than ready to face any kind of difficulty that the examiner would throw at them.
"For some reason, this exam takes me back to when I first enrolled at Hellan Royal Academy," William said softly as he patted Chiffon's head. "It has been many years since then, and to this day, I still haven't experienced the happy academy life I envisioned."
"Kekeke, indeed, you still haven't experienced a fulfilling academy life," Conan agreed. "So many things have happened, and your youth passed by so quickly."
The corner of William's lips twitched as he eyed the devil familiar who was eating some butter cookies. His words implied that William was no longer young, but in reality he was only eighteen years old. The years he had lived on Earth didn't count!
"Well, we should do our best to enjoy this opportunity," Elliot said as he lazily leaned on the cushy pillow like a king. "After all, this is the last academy arc of this series."
Before William could ask Elliot what he meant that this was going to be their last academy arc, a knock was heard on the door of the carriage.
"Will, the administrator is starting to gather the examinees. We should head over as well."
Kenneth's voice was not too loud, but it was more than enough for William to hear his voice. After telling Kenneth that he would be there shortly, the Half-Elf talked to Zhu and Sha via telepathy, and told them that it was now time to leave the Thousand Beast Domain.
Five minutes later, William, Zhu, Sha, and Kenneth, walked towards the open area where the introduction would be held.
Only the examinees were allowed to enter the area, so Princess Sidonie, Ian, Chiffon, and Chloee could only wish him luck on the exam. The little fairy also told William that they would be waiting on the final island, where those who passed the exam would appear.
Soon, a middle-aged man with short blonde hair and blue eyes stepped on a raised platform to address everyone that had come to take the Hestia Academy Entrance Exam.
"Good day to all of you. My name is Jophiel, and I will be your supervisor in the upcoming exam," Jophiel announced. "There are more than two thousand of you gathered here today, but only a few will be able to enter the academy grounds.
"Those who want to back out now, can still back out. After you sign the death waiver, there is no turning back. You only have one life. Do not throw it away just because you've dreamed about entering Hestia Academy."
Jophiel scanned the surroundings, but all he saw were determined faces. The people that had gathered at Antilia Island knew that there was a chance of death during the trials.
Although the Academy had stepped up to prevent any casualties, there were still many young men and women who had died taking the exam, which had raised Jophiel's notoriety among the populace of the Central Continent.
"It's your funeral," Jophiel stated. However, he didn't try to dissuade them again. All he did was ask everyone to sign the Death Waiver before the start of the exam.
"Conan, you don't have to sign that Death Waiver," Elliot said as he scratched his head. "As long as we don't use 100% of our power, we won't die even if we are killed."
"Kekeke, you don't understand Elliot," Conan replied as he signed a Death Waiver. "Although we can't die, that doesn't mean that we can't follow the standard operating procedure of mortals. Isn't it more fun this way? Um? The words of this dotted line are suspicious… it said that all items that we possess would be confiscated by the academy on the condition that we die during the trial."
"Really?" Elliot read the spot where Conan was pointing at and chuckled. "Doesn't this mean that we can also confiscate the items of those who died?"
"Oh… when you put it that way, it is indeed possible."
"Great. Let's keep a lookout on the people who are going to die. Let's split the items fifty-fifty."
"Kekeke. Sounds like a plan. Let's do it!"
Conan flapped its wings and waved the waver in his hand. He then raised his voice so that he would be heard by everyone who were currently signing their Death Waivers.
"Everyone. Do not worry. I, Conan, hereby swear that I will take responsibility for your possessions when you die," Conan declared. "I won't allow the academy to profit from your deaths. So, please, rest in peace!"
Elliot smacked his forehead when he heard his twin's declaration. "My Goodness, you shouldn't tell this to them face to face. Can't we just quietly steal– I mean, safeguard their possessions once they kick the bucket? Um… you sir over there, I just saw how you will die. Do you mind if I accompany you later during the trial?"
Everyone drew in deep breaths as they stared hatefully at the two Familiars who were already eyeing their possessions even when they were still alive. The man that Elliot had called out earlier, immediately tore his Death Waiver and left the premises.
For some reason, he felt that the Angelic Familiar's cryptic announcement had unnerved him, so he decided to try again next year!
William, Kenneth, Zhu, and Sha, walked away and pretended that they didn't know the two suicidal familiars who had earned the ire of everyone. Although William was confident in his strength, he didn't want to antagonize thousands of people.
"Miss beautiful, it would be best if you don't take the exam," Elliot said as he flew over a pretty lady who seemed to be in her late teens. "The thought of a monster eating you whole breaks my heart."
"Will I really die?" the pretty girl asked with an anxious expression on his face.
Elliot nodded. "Yes, but if you want to survive, I am selling lucky charms. They can help you survive this calamity. They are very cheap, just one gold and a kiss on the lips, and your chances of dying will decrease drastically. Take note that the only refund I will give back is the kiss, the gold coin is non refundable."
Elliot's sweet talking and suaveness was quite effective and the pretty lady bought one lucky charm and gave him a gold coin, and a kiss on the lips.
After getting the lucky charm, the lady went away with a sense of security. Some of the participants felt that the familiar was just scamming them, but the thought of dying was something that they couldn't push away in their mind.
A gold coin and a kiss was cheap compared to their lives, so more and more people were starting to get tempted by Elliot's proposal.
"Give me one Lucky Charm," a teenage boy who had freckles on his face approached Elliot.
Elliot looked at him with a serious expression and shook his head. "I only sell my lucky charm to girls. All of you guys can just roll over and die for all I care. Ah! Miss beautiful with the pink dress, can I interest you in some lucky charms?"
Elliot flew in the direction of the girl wearing a pink dress and left the boy with an awkward look on his face.
The young men who saw this scene cursed Elliot in their hearts, and vowed to target him during the exam.
The angelic familiar didn't give a hoot about what they thought. He was not easy to kill, and even if they succeeded in doing so, William could summon him again after twenty four hours.
"… Your familiar sure is something," Kenneth said with a complicated expression. "According to Lady Celeste, Familiars were born with traits belonging to their master. So, you have this kind of side to you that I didn't know about."
"You might have misheard her," William replied with a face filled with righteousness. "Do I look like a womanizing skirt chaser to you? I am like Conan. Straightforward and honest. I don't have a hobby of picking up girls and asking for a kiss. Isn't that right, Conan?"
"Yes. William isn't like that," Conan patted his chest like a trustworthy person. "He just kisses women in his dreams, and makes love to them every night. He had been doing it for yea– mpph!"
William hurriedly grabbed the whistle blower and covered the devil's mouth tight. Conan kept on struggling in his grip, but William held him in a vice-grip, preventing him from spilling his secrets.
Kenneth looked at him weirdly, but didn't comment more about the matter. He just closed his eyes and waited for Jophiel to start the entrance exam. What William did with his lovers was of his business.
Half an hour later, all the waivers had been gathered. Jophiel gave William a long, hard, stare after he received the Half-Elf's waiver and seeing the red-headed teenager's name on it. A minute later, he turned around and made an announcement.
"Everyone, follow me. We are going to the exam's location," Jophiel declared. No one could see his face, but a glint of something ominous passed his eyes for a brief moment. 'Looks like this year's exam is going to be interesting.. I look forward to your performance, William Von Ainsworth.'
