Whilst the minions of Neon scour every vicinity of the city, a figure dwelling in the academy was suffering from his labor. The upcoming entry examination to enter the Academy was nearing its end. However, this man was preoccupied with a bundle of papers that scales beside a towering mountain
[Felix Sinestrou LVL 327
Race: Glazerus
Age: 39
Titles: Academy director
Background: A man who's second to the psychic prowess of the great oracle who's currently sickened
Specialty: Divination]
'I can't believe there's a ton of applicants that I overestimated my time and capability. Apart from my original duties, I've been assigned as the great oracles' temporary replacement. With that im in charge of overseeing the circumstances of the city leading to millions of lives being held under my supervision. But what's with this letter...?'
In his grasp was a letter personally mailed with the assistance of Sakkari's authority in play. It was such a peculiar sight when the sender was known to have no such thirst for his attaining power. And yet this letter before him was forcefully sent by the authority of the aforementioned individual
'Guard captain Sakkari, I've heard he possesses psychic prowess above the norms. I wonder what his letter contains that would pose such great importance that even I who's currently performing the task of the oracle herself. Let's get this over with, I'll read it before I continue with the registration forms for every examinee,'
The moment he laid his eyes on the contents of Sakkari's letter his expression worsen when he continues to proceed. Though the letter only contained his suspicion about two individuals who recently stepped forth in the city. Everything was normal, and only points out the captain's baseless accusations, but the moment he read their descriptions, he was horrified by what was to come
'It can't be... The great oracles spoken disaster is about to begin, and the final piece has finally arrived. Two indifferent forces who shared the same features as humans but their true identities are hidden in a mountain of danger. With every step, they take the final hours of this country will soon begin turning its final gears. The thing which separates them from the norms was a pair of golden eyes only found in the depths of the abyss,'
24 hours later
"Ahahahahaha!!! I can't believe this show hasn't died out for the last 3 decades since its release. The cat and mouse duo, Whisker and Squeaks... Not gonna lie this new generation has some great taste. Alex! Come down, it's already been an hour and you still haven't finished wearing your uniform," Only a few hours left before the opening of the academy, and yet his disciple hasn't prepared for their momentous day
'This is quite a shocker to me, in my days as Ernest Quelt there's no such thing as an academy. In the earliest days, I'd sign up when I turned eighth and the rest is history, but instead of school, I got sent to a boot camp. Military tactics, and not a hint of privileges since we're only there to survive and experience a lifelike simulation,'
[Squeks: Catch me if you can loser! You're such a pathetic piece of shit, I can't believe you're my natural enemy!!!]
'Did this cartoon use to have some slurs? I never once thought I'd enjoy something like this! It's better than the version where they're mutes. Come on Whisker, kill that shitty mouse before he escapes!!!'
[Whisker: Why you thieving mouse, you're gonna pay for what you've done~
Emergency news: We interrupt this program to tell you the latest and most pressing issues for those who reside in Everglaze
Emergency news: Just now a dozen civilians from all over the town have been found dead with their internal organs found to be missing
Emergency news: But that's not the reason for this interference, once the cops have thoroughly investigated the victims... They've found something quite shocking, all of them were found to be related to any sort of illegal activities
Emergency news: Robbers, Kidnappers, Rapists, and many more were brutally murdered without a trace of the perpetrator. But let me remind all of you, this isn't a work of a vigilante, even though they have a few principles though they reject the law
Emergency news: A possible speculation says this is a work of a new syndicate or someone out for revenge. But that's highly unlikely to be the conclusion, all we know is that the perpetrator has no care for the lives of his/her victims]
'As expected, these people don't require my help. If they can easily find the victims left by my homunculus then their already able to protect their own. But one of the things brought back to me was out of the range of my expectations,'
A ring with a beautifully designed jewel had a mark of a demon was something that he never expected to arise
[Custom made jeweled ring: A ring that holds a high-quality gem etched with a strange symbol
Item Type: Accessory
[Blood sacrifice]: The one who equips this will slowly be drained of their blood]
'This item stands out from the rest of the things that lesser homunculus have collected in their nightly hunt. Glutton found this inside a house decorated with things bearing the same resemblance to the symbol of the ring. This ring has a particular scent, the putrid stench of compiled blood! There's gotta be a few cults around this city, and if I found them, then I'll easily gain a bountiful of food for my lesser homunculus,'
When he heard some footsteps approaching his vicinity, Neon quickly hides the ring and continue to enjoy the remainder of his time. Soon after his disciple arrived after he waited for about an hour for his disciple who dons an elegant pair of clothes
"Sorry, it took so long. Did I make you wait? Wait a minute! Why are you wearing the same pair of clothes you've worn yesterday?" Alex was now prepared for their entrance and when he faces his master, he was in shock about his clothing
"Didn't I mention earlier that we have to pass the examination first? I'm the one who's supposed to be bewildered in our exchange, why are you wearing that? You haven't even passed and yet you're wearing something eye-catching. You might as well get mistaken to belong to a rich lineage that bribes the academy," Neon's awful remarks easily pierce through his disciple's ego, and his excitement was replaced with sorrow
"N-No way! I dressed the same as a snobby rich kid. I-I thought this type of clothing was normal, this is the type of clothes I was forced to wear in my life as a slave,"
"It looks like your owner's delicate with his/her toy, they even gave you such wonderful clothes. Normally a slave will be naked and a collar of submission will be strapped to their neck. I guess you're quite lucky with your owners. If you're done sulking around, then we can start our march to the academy," Though it's quite early for the two to leave, they'll soon realize their choice was the right call
"Dang, thats such a long line!" Alex and his master were already on the other side of the academy where they stood until they were called by the instructors
'It was right of me to follow my intuition, it seems this year a ton of people have awakened as guardians. I guess this wasn't a surprise after I'd heard that a lot of casualties have arisen since I died. Losing an SSS-grade guardian will ultimately affect the lives of everyone in this world,'
'I'm even labeled as the last line of defense when a new catastrophic monster appeared upon the world. Not to brag but even to this day, no one had toppled my kill count relating to the extermination of a catastrophic monster. Since a lot of time had passed, I think this will be the time they circled this part of the waiting room,'
"Examinee no. 404 Neon, it seems you're the only one left in this room... Ugh, what to do, we lacked a few numbers and so you weren't able to participate earlier on. Guess you'll have to be paired with the upcoming batch, now follow me to the training grounds," In the longest time he waited, he has yet to know the content of the exam
But he was already prepared for the worst to come, he brewed some potions in advance and sharpened his tools. He was about to pull them out when he was about one step away from the entrance. However, the sight he saw was far beyond his expectations
'What the hell is this?'
The others weren't holding any means of disabling their foe and instead of weapons, they were holding wooden replicas. Then he realized the reason why the deaths of the guardians seems to pile up, the training program was a piece of shit. There weren't any kinds of stimuli or any dangerous obstacles to simulate the dangers of the world
"Gather up everyone, this will be your last member before we commenced with the examination. Here's the explanation, five out of the ten people here will advance, and there aren't any rules on how you disable your target. But I would like to warn you, any acts of taking another person's life are strictly prohibited. With that said and done, let the match begin!!!" When he heard the words of the instructor his views made a 180 on the worth of this academy
'Anything is prohibited as long as it doesn't cross the line of killing? The weapons are made of wood, but with a simple application of mana, and can easily become sharp. Healing potions and spells alike are also available, lastly, they never prohibited the acts of allying. It looks like I have to apologize for that displeasing expression I've made, this place is just a little more tamed... What's more, the ones I've gotten paired with seem to be some amazing talents,'