"Here are the details of the test."
"For three days, you will all be sent to a selected wilderness to compete with each other. At the end of the three days, you would be allocated scores based on the number of group multiplier tokens you have as well as your personal token. I believe this has been previously explained to you. The top 10 teams with the highest points would get special rewards based on their position. The group leaders would also get special rewards.
"Do note that your fellow students might not be the only thing you have to look out for. With that well said, it's time to depart."
. . .
On the top floor of the two-storey building in the administrative area which served as the academy director's office. Standing in front of the huge French window watching the images displayed on it was a sturdy middle-aged man with a black beard; the highest authority in the academy, the academy director Roland Agares.
Interestingly, the display was that of the event taking place in the arena more than a kilometre away. Despite the huge distance between his office and the arena, Roland could take note of every action occurring on the other side from the luxury of his office while sipping from the wine glass in his right hand.
Knock, knock.
"Come in."
The door creaked open followed by the sound of soft footsteps approaching the director.
"I didn't expect you to be here. As the dean of the involved division, shouldn't it be your task to supervise the exercise?" Roland asked before taking a sip from the glass.
"Hehe. Although that's true, it isn't mandatory. I had that Zero take care of the matter while I remain behind. As the elder in charge of the Grading panel, he possesses sufficient status to oversee the exercise." Dean Alfos replied with a light smile before standing by the idle of Roland, albeit one step behind while watching the 'screen'.
"I see no problem then." Roland said.
"Any team that has caught your interest?"
The dean gave Roland a side-glance as he tried to decipher the meaning of the question. Seeing the expression of the director stoic as ever, the old man smiled.
"Just a few." The old man answered before turning back to the 'screen'.
"The two princesses sided as expected and the combined influence of two direct royals, princesses at that, easily attracted a bunch of talents. It seems that the eldest sister is quite smart as she utilized her entire spots, grabbing herself six impressive talents all of whom are among the top 50. Together with her younger sister, their team stands as the strongest in my books."
The screen changed the display to show the two twin princesses of the Great Dawn kingdom who were most famous for being born on an auspicious date together with heavenly talents. Both were blonde and had similar hairstyles but with slight differences. One French-braided her hair to the right with a bit of purple mixed in her blonde hair. The one with her braid by the left had a bit of azure green mixed in her hair.
"Next on my watch list would be the young prince's faction. It seems like he has been growing it from the very first day he stepped into the academy. Just like his sisters', he made full use of his spot allocation to gather seven of his strongest and trusted colleagues. Although his team isn't filled with top 50 talents like the twin princesses', he still managed to grab himself some noteworthy names. One of which is the little miss of the Saunters family and that commoner kid, Andrew Goth was it? I'm really surprised that he even managed to pull that tough nut into his gang. There are also another two top 50 rankers in his group making it a total of five in their team. I'd say that's quite low for a royal, but it's understandable if one considers the circumstances surrounding his birth and status. It seems that most of the children have not only been informed, but some also know how to make accurate political decisions." Dean Alfos smiled.
"You think so too?" Roland asked as he glanced at the screen that had just switched focus to a young blonde boy.
The blonde boy happened to be the young teen Asher had crossed gazes with two and a half years ago when he had just settled into his dormitory[1] as well as the one Emma Saunters called 'elder cousin', the twin princesses called 'elder brother' and the other young nobles called 'young lord'.
"Huh?" Dean Alfos glanced at Roland.
"The son of a sovereign's concubine would at most get the title of duke, but you should know more than anyone the backstory of his mother as well as his current situation in the royal family. Getting out alive once the crown prince ascends the throne would be a cause of celebration for him much less holding onto a title. His life is already destined and has been mapped out. Unless he can perform some miracle and ascend to the title of duke under the current king's reign or reach the eighth stage of the Guardian realm, at the very least, before the crown prince ascends, he would die. No matter which option you take a look at, it's impossible." The dean shook his head.
"...true." Roland nodded.
However, the dean remained unconvinced. He felt that Roland knew something or at least, had something in mind, but for some reason, didn't want to say it.
'Well, makes sense though. The issue surrounding the young prince is something even Marquises dread speaking about in public. The director would even be more cautious.'
"Next after that would be a certain special group." The dean smiled mysteriously.
"Hmm? 'Special'?" Roland couldn't resist asking as his brows wrinkled.
It should be known that dean Alfos was the one who knew the current strength of the students of the division better, among the two of them at least. As such, his input on the top teams would be very valuable for Roland.
Despite having already called out two teams, dean Alfos never addressed them as special, and the two teams had a total of three royals and a direct descendant of the third-strongest family in the kingdom. The first team was even completely made up of top 50s; eight in total. This was unprecedented. Why? Because the top 50 rankers were not ordinary people, each possessing an astounding degree of intellect. They could easily guess that being a group leader possessed a special class of privileges hence, most would want to form their group. For a team to have eight of them meant that not only was the leader very strong, but they also possessed an extraordinary amount of charisma.
If there was a team that could be called special, Roland believed it was the one made up of the twin princesses and six top 50 rankers. Strength, talent and intelligence were gathered to a frightening level in this one team, and it should be recalled that the two princesses were among the top 5, or to be precise, both number one and two in the entire division. What could be better than that?
"Yes. Special." Dean Alfos maintained his smile as the 'camera' slowly switched focus.
"Although they're quite small compared to the other two, half their numbers are top 50 rankers with one of them being among the top 10 and someone we both have had our eyes on. If mana levels and potential weren't taken into consideration, he would have been the undisputed number one of the division and maybe even the entire academy. Forget that; his performance has even been greater than any student I have seen since my arrival at the academy. Yes, this special team happens to be none other than the one headed by that of the direct descendant of the fourth great family and the only living son of that man."
Asher's group appeared on the screen.
"Director, my instincts tell me that we are about to witness a great show. It will either be the birth of a legend or the great reveal of an impostor."