Students got off their Griffins and walked through the gates of Celestial Vanguard Academy. They heard an enormous roar and saw a dragon with black scales and golden outlines between the scales land. Everyone turned their attention.
"Who's that, Kouki?" Hakashi Tanaka said.
"I don't know, but how dare that lower lifeform come here on a majestic dragon when I, the one destined to rule all, have not," Kouki said in an arrogant tone.
"You're right, brother. Who dares to show us, the Phoenix Kingdom prince and princess up," screeched Meiyo, as her best friend Akari Himura agreed.
Their eyes widened, and their faces turned to anger when they saw Noboru, their disowned brother, jump off with a High Elf Knight. Kouki drooled at the thought, making Rose jealous when she saw... "That motherf***er! He dares to return to our sight after what he did," Kouki yelled.
"I swear your father controls the academy; he shouldn't have been able to enter there, Kouki-kun," Akari said.
"He blackmailed our father," Meiyo replied for Kouki, who was drooling at Celestia and glaring at Noboru.
"So, Celestia, we are here," Noboru said as Celestia smiled. Noboru was the only human she trusted.
"Yes, we are. We need to go to the entrance exam, Noboru-Sama," Celestia said, as Noboru nodded, and both he and Celestia walked to the main hall.
"Hey, Disgrace," Kouki yelled with his posse behind him. Noboru sighed and continued walking, ignoring his brother.
"Hey, I know you can hear me," Kouki yelled. Noboru turned back; his eyes glowed red as he saw Kouki try to punch him, only for his punch and Kouki himself to go through him as if he was an illusion, and Kouki slammed into the wall.
"The Gensōgan! You dare use my clan's bloodline against me, you little s**t! How dare you have it before me, you disowned s**t! You should seal that away and give that kingdom you built to us as reparation," Kouki barked, only for Noboru to ignore him.
"Yeah, disgrace, Kouki's right. You are a disgrace to our clan and a traitor. Make reparations now or else," Meiyo said as Noboru walked off. He wouldn't waste his breath on these idiots; he had an exam to pass. He needed to save energy; unlike them, he wouldn't be able to access a 12th-dimensional beast's power, and who knows what relic the three founding kings gave the academy to sabotage him. The relics were made not by humans, but naturally by the boundless gods' power, and if they used that, it could even beat him, maybe not in the transcendent state, but he couldn't access that state at will.
"Hey, don't you dare ignore us, you piece of s**t. It's no wonder Mother and Father hate you," Kouki yelled.
"Fine, get lost, coward," Meiyo yelled as Noboru's hands shook. Celestia put her hand on Noboru's.
"Noboru-Sama, don't. It's what they want for you to start something," Celestia said as Noboru nodded. They walked into the hall and stood away from the rest. Noboru and Celestia were then given guidebooks, just like the other students. Noboru opened the book and scrolled. He had the ability to learn instantly with a single glance. He then channeled Omni Energy in his ears and heard the students complaining and smirked, especially Meiyo and Kouki, who seemed to be giving up.
"Those fools. The information about the test is all in it. There are several types of tests we might do when put on a team, like the Labyrinth Trial, where candidates must navigate a complex, ever-changing labyrinth filled with deadly traps, puzzles, and monstrous creatures. Only those who reach the exit, or the Time Dilemma, where the candidates are placed in scenarios where they must manipulate time or endure time-related challenges which will push their understanding of causality and paradoxes. But I think the team we are on will be The Multiverse Maze. It is described as a series of interconnected, alternate reality puzzles that test a candidate's ability to adapt and think across multiple dimensions," Noboru said, taking a pause for dramatic effect. "And guess what, nobody has survived it, and it was only ever given to people who were a danger to the royal families or if a disgraced prince took the challenge to show up the king's chosen heir," Noboru said, smiling.
"In other words, that's the perfect test they will choose to get rid of you and try to take the Dragon Kingdom for themselves. What are we going to do?" Celestia asked, worried.
Noboru just pet her face and rubbed her ears, making her lean in. "We are going to complete it. The one good thing about that test is it's the only test we have to do, while the others have to do five more. And I guess we will be in the top ten instantly," Noboru said.
"But what about the relics? What if they use them?" Celestia said, as Noboru continued to casually rub her face.
"Don't worry; they won't use them. I can't sense them nearby. Plus, it's streamed to the three kingdoms. Using them publicly like this will create outrage, especially since this test is to appease the boundless gods. That's why they will choose the most impossible-to-complete challenge for us," Noboru said.
"I believe in you, Noboru-Sama. I know you will lead us to victory," Celestia said as lightning was seen crashing down. Everyone turned to look at what it was, amazed when they saw an old man with the academy crest on his blazer.
"First of all, I am Principal Roshi. You maggots are here to learn from the best school how to be warriors for your respective kingdoms, whether it's Magic Knights of the Phoenix Kingdom, Fighters for the Quilin Kingdom, or Shinobi for the Tortoise Kingdom. It all starts here," Roshi said as Noboru found that he missed Heroes for the Dragon Kingdom but ruled against pointing it out. He saw Kouki and Meiyo smile and ignored them, sensing rage in their Omni Energy as it began to swirl out a bit, only for them to stop.
"You will all be required to pick a partner. This partner will be your partner for your life in the school. After that, the school will pair you up with another duo randomly selected for you to compete against in the entrance exam. One duo will return, and the other duo will survive. Now, pick your partner," Roshi said as people rushed to find their partner.
Noboru and Celestia nodded and walked together to the teacher to register as a duo. An hour had passed, and the duo had successfully registered themselves. They were each given a sheet of paper that said the entrance exam they would be taking. Noboru smiled; it was as he predicted. They had the Multiverse Maze, but he
knew it wasn't a multiverse like they claimed. They would be using the Dimensium to keep reincarnating him to different higher dimensions, made using the Dimensium, to create the battlescape to kill him. But they forgot he's been fighting higher beings his entire life, and this will only power him and Celestia up as they will be transcending dimensions using the cheat method the founding kings used. In short, they would be clearing puzzles instead of stories.
'Foolish Father and Mother, by trying to kill me, you will only make me stronger. Yes, the puzzles are harder because there's no main character, so I won't get an advantage of being in a story, but it won't take as long for me to complete. I predict that it will take me as long as it takes to complete one 4th-dimensional story to complete this entire trial,' Noboru thought. He could see Celestia shaking, so he put his hand on her back to calm her.
As Noboru was thinking this, he heard Celestia and his name being called along with two others. "Duo A, Noboru Chikara and Celestia Lunablade, please get ready on the platform to be transported to the Multiverse Maze along with Duo B, Kazuto and Shelia," Roshi said, with a gleam in his eye. The two duos came on the stage, and Dimensium was used to create a 10-layer hierarchy of Dimensium. Each layer transcended the lower, starting with the 3rd dimension and going up to the 13th dimension. The dimensions' puzzles were customized to Roshi's liking. You see, it was all the possible entrance exams on each floor.
Noboru and Celestia appeared in the first part of the maze, the 3rd dimension, known as the Abyssal Tunnels.
"Well, Celestia, let's show these people the power of the Dragon Kingdom," Noboru said with determination.