When I walked through the spatial tear, I felt a rush of Mana surge into me, and I instinctively relaxed. Being inside the Mana-desolate Mindstream had been close to torture, and after coming out was only the slightest improvement. After all, the Mindstream was only used for Rankers who could use 'Soul Travel', while the Death Plains only had high Mana concentration in three places; monster dens, capital cities, and Temples.
I casually walked around, while keeping part of his attention on the spatial tear where students would be entering from. After a few people trickled in, Augustus walked in. Meeting my eyes, he shuddered and ran past me as quickly, but tripped over the leg of an armor stand and knocked a bunch of equipment over. He quickly recollected himself while grabbing a set of light white armor, a slightly glowing dagger, and a knapsack before rushing into the spatial tear on the other end of the hall.
I slightly chuckled and moved on. 'It seems I made a little bit larger of an impression on him than I thought I would.'
I headed towards the left and noticed something odd. There was an aisle in front of me which looked a little hazy. Not only that, but this aisle had equipment strewn all over the floor. Besides the items that Augustus had bumped into while he was getting equipment for the Entrance Exam, everything else was picture-perfect and neat. So why was it that this aisle was messy? The moment I stepped into the aisle, it was like I had passed through a thick wall of slime. Nothing was on him, but it felt weird.
A loud clanging sound was heard from the end of the aisle, and a black helmet rolled to his feet, and Alex let out a sound of surprise.
'This is a Rank 67 Demon Baron's Helmet. When a helmet is here, that means . . .' I stealthily crept along the aisle when he heard a masculine voice. He quickly stopped while hiding behind one of the gaps in the aisle.
"Argh, that Helmet keeps on ROLLING AWAY!!!" The masculine voice yelled, annoyed. Alex heard a "boom" sound and suddenly, a man appeared right next to the helmet, his back facing Alex's face. Alex paled.
'If he sees me, I'm going to have to explain what I'm doing here, how I got into here, and then I'm dead. Wait . . . that outfit . . . only he would wear that '
"Hey, Mister," I said boldly.
"Hmm?" The man murmured. Suddenly, he turned around. "Hold up, what are you doing in one of the Restricted Aisles?!" He paced around. "New students shouldn't be able to get into here," he said, half to himself. He suddenly realized that I was still there. "All right kid, you've had your fun, now scram. I have better things to do with my time. I still have to organize this entire aisle. This is your one pass, you won't get another one." He started to walk off when he noticed that I wasn't walking away. He opened his mouth before I interrupted him.
"Administrator Bakdan, let me help you with the organization of Restricted Aisle 14-B," I said. "In return, bring me to the Soul Auction going on currently."
He yelped. "How do you know about that, and my name, kid? Unless you're a . . . Soul Ranker?"
I put a finger to my lips as a signal to be quiet, while Bakdan couldn't help but hyperventilate. I sighed internally, and said, "Administrator Bakdan, you are a Soul Ranker, so tone it down a little. And if you're surprised that I'm a Soul Ranker at such a young age, maybe consider the fact that I could have been reborn in my younger body?"
The Administrator looked embarrassed and his cheeks were flushed red.
"Administrator Bakdan, show me your real form," I said. "There is no way that you are an adult Administrator if you do not know basic information such as this. So it must mean that you are a Trainee Administrator." Then, I grinned. "You asked me this question, so, this is the only question that I will answer. During my last life, I made you the Master Manager of the Soul Division, Auction Hoster of the Star Auction, and the ■■■."
"What did you say?" Bakdan asked, with a confused expression on his face. "I didn't hear coherent words, could you repeat that, Soul Ranker?"
"Ah, it seems that I can't talk about that yet," I said as I shook my head. "What a shame, that title had a mass of power to it as well. Well, I will help you become one of the strongest figures in the world, in exchange for my rise to being one of the strongest figures as well."
[Not just in Luminara and this pitiful planet though, the entire galaxy. I will be the one that holds this world in the palm of my hand.], I thought. [Then, and only then will I be able to beat those bastard Deities.]
"Bakdan, wait for me to finish the Entrance Exam. After that, I'll be able to go to the End Phase of the Soul Auction." I threw the Rank 67 Demon Baron's Helmet back to him and grinned. I exited out of the Restricted Aisle while chanting a short verse. Suddenly, a black rectangle appeared in front of him.
At this point, all of the students from the Academy Hall were inside the Spatial Armory and the appearance of the Personal Armory was a shock to them. A 3-ft long black saber flew out of the armory and into my hand, while a vial full of black liquid uncorked itself and covered me in a membrane. To them, however, the only thing that changed about me was a black saber; the membrane was inside my body.
I stopped chanting, and the armory disappeared. All of a sudden, a gigantic pressure bore down on the room and the children of both families collapsed to their knees. "Just so you know," I began. They all stared at me, with varied feelings; some with fear, curiosity, and most of all, rage. "I have the prospects of starting a Household."
Their eyes bulged. I alleviated my aura and allowed them to get back up. "If you are within the first 500 people to pass the Entrance Exam, I will allow you to take the Household Test." I declared. Then, I became a blur and entered into the spatial tear; it was time that I began the Entrance Exam.
During the travel, inwardly, I was grinning.
[I wonder, who during this run will be qualified to join my House? My beloved Family, I've returned.]