The Lizea Kingdom's Royal Academy, Anize.
One of the largest establishments in the kingdom. It nearly occupies a fourth of the whole capital and has over five thousand students—it was the only prestigious cultivation school in Lizea, after all. The school campus was further divided into five parts: Bronze, Silver, Gold, Platinum, and Diamond—which are in the south, west, east, north, and center areas respectively.
"There sure are many people..." Naoki sighed, waddling through the crowd.
Naoki was currently in the main courtyard of the academy—its size was as huge as the gigantic majestic gate that he entered.
"How could those two leave me like this... it seems after that incident, they both have gotten distant." A comical tear flowed from his eyes.
Astria and Dorothy have recently become closer, in fact, they were together almost every time now—leaving Naoki to his own devices. Apparently, if you are a child of one of the cultivators in the Soul Chart, even if adopted—you only need to take the aptitude test, which the two have already done.
"Hi everyone~!" A laid-back presence stepped on the podium, announcing its presence.
"That's! Eira-sama!!!" A cheerful girl exclaimed.
"She's so beautiful! I want to be like her..."
"Don't tell me... she's overseeing our exam...?" A weakly man grimaced.
Eira Hrothford, one of the most popular figures of the younger generation—after all, she had gotten so strong in a short amount of time. It was not an exaggeration to say that she carried the future of Lizea as even the practitioners of the Soul Chart has high hopes for her.
"First off... I hope everyone knows about the elemental assessment test for the new enrollees~"
"...?"
"Eh...?"
"This was not what I heard..." A woman said in despair.
"..." Naoki stood in silence.
"I'm sorry~ The principal wanted to strictly filter out those who are talented and are not..." She said apologetically, though her tone remained the same.
It seems that the new enrollees will have to do a practical demonstration of the elemental arts that they can use in order for them to move on to the second and actual assessment exam. Naoki grimaced, the thought of him not having much progress in his Ice arts had hit him.
<<----------->>
"This..."
The elemental exam apparently separates the males and females—the reason being that the academy had still accepted males who had potential relative to other males.
Naoki was in a line, looking in front of him, despair loomed over—the men enrollees had not conjured any elements at all. Although there was the occasional guy who could make simple elements, it barely counts—its size was smaller than the size of a pebble.
"It seems that this generation of males is not getting any better..." The female instructor heavily sighed.
Most of the guys had failed, and only those who could barely summon any elements had passed. Naoki was feeling a bit relieved, it seems his "progress" was already good in comparison.
"You're Naoki Ozawa... was it? quite the unique name you have, much like the Sakurahime Empire's—you wouldn't happen to be from there, right? In any case, I was already informed by the principal of your recommendation letter—you don't need to take this exam." The instructor gestured at Naoki, looking at the papers she was holding.
"...? But..." Naoki hesitated, he still wanted to try out the new move he had recently created.
"Well, I won't stop you if you want to give it a go—frankly, I don't like nobles who get free passes at the exam." The instructor sighed.
It was quite common for people with a lineage to enter the academy at the back door, even for males—provided they were influential enough. Although Naoki was not part of any lineage as it was only his last name back in his old world—the instructor had mistakenly assumed that he was affiliated with one.
"Let's see... you can use Ice Arts...? is this really true? After all, this is one of the hardest elemental arts to cultivate." The instructor doubted the papers that she had held.
It was Astria who had enrolled Naoki, again. It seems that it was customary that a woman should vouch when enlisting in an institute or an event—so Naoki didn't bother and spent his time making the most out of his Sky Tower pass.
"..." Naoki focused his mind, a ball of ice forming in his body.
"...oh?"
"And...!" Naoki activated his [Blitz] on the Ice, sending it at an astonishing speed.
*Shatter*
The ice cracked as it hit a wall, and a slight dent could be seen.
Naoki had gotten much better at using his Ice arts and while it was nothing rare for a woman, the same could not be said with men—which is why the instructor was shocked. Moreso, at the fact that it moved so fast—supposedly, you can control the movement of your elemental arts after a certain point of proficiency.
*Murmur* *Chatter*
"Hey... did you see that?" A guy asked his friend.
"That guy made a fist-sized ice ball, and quite fast to boot!"
"Is he a son from the higher-ups!? I've never seen someone so proficient in elemental arts."
"I still can't control its movement though... I've only used the [Blitz] node as a substitute." Naoki sighed to himself.
Naoki's Ice Art was not superior to the elemental prowess of the average woman cultivator but for men, this was nothing short of a miracle. Everyone had already eyes on Naoki.
"Everyone, quiet down." The instructor sternly glared.
"...!?"
"How...? I can't move...!" Naoki silently thought, his lips sealed tight.
It was not just Naoki, everyone else froze on their spot with some curled up on the ground—pissing their pants. Naoki felt like he had met the god of death from the instructor's words, which was likely related to the instructor's specialty.
"Here, you can have your Cultivator ID back—from now on, you are part of the Lizea Academy."
"Eh... ah thanks."
"I'm sure you are already aware that males can only ever reach the bronze area in the academy. Although that is the case, if you do well on the placement exam after this, she might just place you at silver rank—just like the young master of the Hrothford family."
"...?"
Naoki wasn't quite sure what the instructor meant by "she", but what surprised Naoki the most was the mention of another male cultivator who was probably as strong or even greater than him.
Arthur Hrothford
As he was born with Soul Rank II, he managed to reach the 11th Soul Node and contend with fellow female cultivators—thus making him the strongest man in the Lizea Kingdom. While his strength is still negligible, the kingdom treats him as an important figure, and many of the strong female cultivators are vying to be his partner—though he had refused every time.
"Now, don't die out there." The instructor gestured to him that he may return and proceed to the next exam.
"...I somehow had a bad feeling about this."
Naoki gulped—steeling himself for what happens next. He will soon realize that that is exactly what he will need, literally.