"Ahhh... I should have intervened and made this a regular trial, instead of allowing the use of the Gamma training center." Madelyn sighed, prompting Nancy to squeeze her shoulder. "That's okay. We didn't know Saintess Rhine will send her own disciples at such an off time."
Usually, most aristocratic families will converge at the Academy at the start of every new year. Only the slave recruitment tests keep happening every three to four months, mostly because the passing percentage was negligible.
"Hmm.. about Saintess Rhine... Do you think she is going to drop by?" Nancy had a hint of a smile on her face when Madelyn mentioned the name. "What do you think? She will not want her disciples to wait for the next year. In all possibilities, she would like us to accommodate them with the ongoing first years."
"I thought so." Madelyn bobbed her head, her thoughts aligning with Nancy. "Then about my earlier question.. should we run this runt through some tests?" The principal's gaze returned to the boy who slept on the grassy fields without any care in the world.
"That won't be necessary. There is no doubt about his race. He is a human." Nancy can tell where she was coming from. Apart from a few friendly races like elves, dwarves, and merfolk, humans had always found themselves at loggerheads with most other races.
It will be nothing less than a scandal if one of their most prestigious academies was training an individual of another race. "So be it.. but big sis.. you saw his explosive strength didn't you?"
Both the women knew each other for decades, and as such Madelyn didn't have to completely lay out her views. "I know... That bitch..!!" Nancy clenched her fingers, a slight fury making up to her face.
"She dares to not only invade our kingdom but actually try turning a human inside our territory." Lucy had not kept her identity hidden, rather she had proudly proclaimed her name and lineage to both Julia and Hans.
"Purebloods had always been lavish in their ways.. pui.." Madelyn remarked, her face morphing in disgust at the talk of a vampire. This race preyed on humans, turning them either into mindless thralls or their faithful servants.
Consequently, their hate for the species was at another level altogether. Nevertheless, the vampire clan was one of the most prominent races in this world. Humans simply cannot hope to contend against them.
Many believed that if not for their eternal rivalry against the werewolf clans, they might have single-handedly reigned supreme over other races. It's only thanks to the wolves that humankind could enjoy relative peace. Although the wolves too preyed on humans, their menace was nowhere near the vampires'.
"I think we should thank our stars that he didn't end up as a mindless blood-sucker. The consequences could have been dire." Nancy massaged her heavy chest. The consensus they had developed was that the vampire had probably intended to turn Aron, but because of timely intervention from Hans, she could not complete the process.
"The brat must have an exceedingly potent vitality to not only survive the incident but instead use it to improve his overall physical abilities. It's nothing short of commendable haha.." Madelyn's chest undulated as she chuckled with her hands on her lips. It presented a very enchanting scene, but sadly so high in the sky, no one can appreciate it.
"Anyhow, big sis.. this is giving me a headache. Please deal with him however you want. I got other matters to look into." Nancy didn't stop the lady, watching her fly through the sky, heading straight for the central tower.
A smile spread on her face as she brought out the recently 'confiscated' wine bottle and sipped a big mouthful from it. "Haaahh.. little Maddie.. don't you see how much you have changed over the years?"
Still gazing in the direction of the central tower, Nancy recalled her junior sister from the past. She was literally the personification of a demoness on the battlefield. If not for her prospects to cause large-scale destruction, the military would have sent her to every single battle.
Nancy had seen the matron get more and more obsessed with blood and chaos. The path she was leading had nothing but despair waiting for her at the end. She had ignored her life to such an extent that Nancy had to drag her over and forcibly install her as the principal of the prestigious Greenville Academy.
Over the years, Madelyn had always resisted taking to the office. Initially, she would refuse to work or take part in meetings, causing severe clashes with the kingdom authorities. Nevertheless, Nancy would intervene every time. And after so much effort, finally, she can see her attitude take a turn for the better.
With a fading smile, she looked down to find the kid still fast asleep on the ground. Gradually, her body descended right next to him. "What a sweetheart!" Nancy whispered before sweeping the boy up in her arms and carrying him over to a bench. She laid his head on her thigh, letting him rest for some time with her hands stroking his forehead.
***
"Do you think Aron will be able to get selected?" Sophie and Julia were traveling back from the Elements magic department. "Huh... Who knows..! Let's hope for the best." Julia replied casually, rolling her finger down her hair.
"Hmm... I think the tests might be over by now. Want to drop by and check on him?" Sophie offered without thinking too much about it. While she can't call him a friend, he was more than an acquaintance with their group. It's common courtesy to at least keep a watch over the boy.
That was Sophie's thought though, Julia can't be any more restless than she already was. She pretended to keep a detached stance from the outside while being extremely anxious about Aron, throughout her day.
If not for her shallow pride and slight mortification, she might have actually taken a day off from her class just to accompany the boy. "Ahem... Hmm.. okay. Let's check on him then. With his clumsiness, it will be an achievement if he could complete the tests without any hiccups." She humped, making Sophie scratch her head at the exaggerated reaction.
Julia was lying. Even if Sophie had not brought the matter up for discussion, she had every intention to rush straight to the slave dormitories. That's the extent of her curiosity about his results.
Sophie agreed and the girls had taken a single step when they recognized a familiar figure rushing in their direction. With a great rugged physique and short hair, Ava came to a stop right ahead of them. "Bad news... Aron.. he.. got injured."
Ava was breathing raggedly, causing her to be unable to utter the words coherently. Julia almost felt her heartbeats come to a halt when she heard the name. "What happened.. to him?" Realizing she was too loud, she suppressed her voice.
Among Julia's friends, Ava was the only one who had figured out the blonde's relative fondness for the slave boy. Immediately she stood back up from her hunched back position, laughing uproariously. "Hahaha... I was just joking... Gehehe.."
Julia felt like choking the girl right then and there. Her earlier reaction had certainly led to Sophie directing an inquisitive glance toward her. "Ahem.. cough.. cough.." Julia stretched the folds of her dress, trying her best to hide the emerging embarrassment.
"Nice one.. now can you tell us why you had to run all the way here? It can't simply be to prank us?" Julia crossed her arms around her chest, glaring back at the girl. "Hahaha.. of course not. From your faces, it seems the news has not reached other departments yet."
Sophie and Julia looked at the blank expression on each other's faces. "What news?" Sophie quizzed the athletic girl. Ava kept laughing for another minute until the pestering from her friends put an end to her amusement.
"That bastard.. everyone is talking about him." Julia was still left confused. "Why would everyone talk about him?" Suddenly she had enlightenment. "The screening test? Did something happen in the tests?"
Ava acknowledged her conjecture, asking them to accompany her while she explained the matter further. "He performed extraordinarily in the tests. You won't believe me.. he aced four stages of the Gamma trial with a score never seen before."
Sophie and Julia almost came to a halt when the Gamma trial was mentioned. "Four stages of Gamma trial?" It was simply incredulous for Sophie to believe that a slave boy can pass four stages of the trial when she herself was still stuck at the fourth stage.
"Incredible isn't it? I too could not believe it when I heard. But I checked with some other students. Everyone seems to know about it." Ava repeatedly nodded her head, as if she was the one who cleared the stages. Obviously, the fact that she had been the one to train the boy for his tests, filled her with an immense sense of pride.
Between a bubbly Ava and a stupefied Sophie, Julia was simply too stunned to react for some time. Eventually, her brain registered the words and she turned to face the short-haired girl. "When you are telling us he passed four stages, doesn't that mean he challenged the fifth stage?"
Only the best among the first-year students can ever hope to challenge the fifth stage. If Ava was telling the truth, doesn't that mean he stood side by side with her now? "I know how implausible it sounds, but as I told you, it's only a matter of time before the news spreads to the entire academy." Ava stated matter-of-factly.
"This is not even the best part.. hahah..!!" There was no end to Ava's jubilation. Both Julia and Sophie seem to have lost their appetite for asking questions to the girl. As such, she continued on her own. "Why don't you guess his final score?"
Sophie finally calmed her mind and thought of it. "Except Hera, Julia is the one with the highest score until the fifth stage. Since she had achieved 230, his must be around 200." Ava grinned, showing the entire two rows of her teeth, her actions giving a hint of a bad premonition.
"310." Ava was good a letting the moment build itself up. "Mr. Slave boy managed to fool the system itself. His scores in every stage were way higher than 50, scoring anywhere around 70 to 80 in every stage."
Sophie felt her knees go weak. Julia had come to a halt as well. Ava took the opportunity to laugh even harder. There was a single name that flashed in each of their heads.
'Sister..' Julia would have never anticipated this turn of events. Her sister had been the last student from the academy to exceed the limit of 50 points. Now Aron seems to have pulled the same feat. All this felt extremely inconceivable.
"Too bad that the tapes of his recorded battles are not available for students at the moment, otherwise it would have been a blast watching all of them." Ava proclaimed.
Sophie shook her head and patted her cheeks to return to normal. "This is going to shake things up quite a bit. Do you think so much attention is good for him? He has not gotten rid of his slave status yet, after all." She stated, concerned for the boy.
Only when Sophie mentioned it, did Julia come to her sense. She was right. They had massive trouble on their hands. "It's okay. Granny Nancy is already aware of Aron for the most part. Worst comes to worst we will ask for her intervention in the matter."
Both Ava and Sophie seemed to acknowledge her. "I think we should hurry up. There was already a crowd collecting around his dorm building. Hera and Hestia must be waiting for us there." Julia nodded and the three girls rushed over to the Necromancy department.
< Kudos!!>>