Outside the hotel.
Luna happily danced in the street. Her mood was excellent.
Earlier, Derrick apologized to her for being rude. Her mischievous side took over and hesitantly accepted his apology and made amends, even though she didn't resent him one bit.
The other two were behind Luna, slowly walking as they viewed the surrounding buildings.
What made the city pleasing to look at is the buildings having order and variety. The height and width of the building were the same, but each building has its structure and form, especially their rooftops.
The streets were spacious as well. The road is wide enough to fit two carriages.
This kind of beauty is one of the reason what makes Viridian City a great attraction of tourists.
Derrick was confused about why Oriel brought them outside without saying the reason. His thoughts run wild as he excitedly thought about the reason.
'Are we going to visit some secret area or Uncle will surprise us with delicacies?'
He turned his head to his uncle with expectations. Oriel noticed the gaze as he chuckled.
"We are almost there, kid."
Although he didn't get a definite answer from his uncle, he had a hint of expectations to see what was near him and viewed what was in front of him.
There were enormous towers situated at the corners and a grandiose castle-like school. There were high walls around the school, preventing unwanted people from sneaking inside the place.
He also found an unusually long line of people. Most of them are kids accompanied by adults.
Derrick thought for a moment and whispered to Oriel's ear. "Are those people falling in line to buy toast bread?"
Oriel loudly laughed when he heard Derrick's thoughts, which got the attention of some people. He didn't mind them though and lightly smacked the back of Derrick.
"No, kid. They are people who are going to enroll in the academy. This is our first stop for today."
Luna listened to their conversation and chimed in. "What is the name of this school, papa?"
"The name of our school is Ashburn Academy of Magic."
A feminine and sweet voice sounded near Luna. The trio looked at the additional person. It was a fairly petite lady with glasses, possibly a student from the school.
"I apologize for suddenly interrupting your discussion. My name is Angelica Cynthia, a student of Ashburn Academy, and I am pleased to meet you."
Oriel nodded at her and calmly said. "Thank you for coming with us, Ms. Cynthia."
"Let's sit on a nearby table and have a cup of tea." He continued.
The four of them moved over to the nearest tea shop and sat on the table. Only after some small talks did Angelica move on to the key topic.
She sized up the kids carefully. After deducing some of their common traits, she asked.
"Do you wish to enroll inside Ashburn Academy, little ones?"
Both of the kids nodded instantly, and Derrick took his time to ask another question. "What do we do inside Ashburn Academy, big sis?"
She gently laughed on the cute honorific given by Derrick and replied. "The teachers will help you learn magic easily, you will be one of the top players inside the city after you graduate there."
"Woahh." The eyes of the kids lit up in joy. It thrilled them thinking of the fact that they can become experts in magic just by graduating there in the academy.
"Yes, but the requirements for enrolling inside the academy are harsh, do you want to hear it?" The look of Angelica's face looks stern as if delivering unpleasant news to them.
The duo affirmed and imagined what the requirements would be.
"The most important requirement is the physical potential of your body must rank as an 'A'."
"After passing the first requirements, we will make a full background check on you and your family."
"The teachers will also access if you are passionate about learning magic or not."
Luna thought for a moment and recapped. "If we passed these requirements, we will become the official students of the academy, right?"
"Yes, you are right, sweetie. May I know your name?" Angelica confirmed her thoughts and asked for her name.
"My name is Luna!"
Derrick found the big sis turning her gaze to him and followed. "My name is Derrick!"
"Okay, Luna and Derrick, I have a question for you two, is that okay?" Angelica's glasses suddenly shined. Oriel knew she would test the kids and evaluate their potential.
The two kids confirmed and listened carefully to what her question would be.
"If you are the most powerful player on the continent, what are you going to do with your powers?"
Luna didn't take too long to answer and directly replied. "I will use my powers to help those who need it the most!"
Angelica nodded and accepted her innocent answer. She turned around to Derrick and waited for his response.
Derrick's mind was full of mess. He doesn't know what to do, even if he became the strongest player. He had no goals to begin with. He desperately tried to look for one, but he had a mental block.
He hesitated for dozens of seconds before he weakly replied. "I don't know..."
Unconsciously, his lips trembled, his eyes burned as he was tearing up.
He felt like he broke their high expectations of him. He felt like it would disappoint them to see himself not looking up to their standards...
His body shook in dismay. He bowed his head out of sorrow as tears fell on the table and tried to wipe it in a hurry.
The crowd nearby gathered from the scene slowly, curious while being sympathetic to Derrick. No one tried to interrupt them.
Angelica stood up from her chair and hugged Derrick without a second thought.
She fondled his hair and consoled him.
"It's fine, Derrick... do not force yourself. You will find your goal soon enough."
Luna and Oriel felt worried about Derrick's condition. Luna didn't understand why Derrick suddenly cried when the big sis is asking her.
Oriel was not anxious that Derrick would fail on their evaluation, but he is more than concerned for his wellbeing.