Elder Agnes was proud of her son Aiden, who reached the 9th level in Foundation and was an Alchemy genius at the age of 19. That was what she thought until she looked at this boy, who also reached the same thing or even more at the age of only 17.
"The number one ranking on the List of Excellence is…" Agnes paused, then said slowly:
"Alex Obsidian - 1st position!"
The crowd immediately shut down and became silent upon hearing this name. It was as if the entire building was muted.
Every possible expression showed on the crowd's faces. They had considered every possibility, but not Alex.
How could their imagination have been that wild? A person from a Martial arts clan has beaten two geniuses from the most reputed Alchemy families.
"Alex?" Elena repeated the name, seemingly dumbfounded. She never thought that she would get defeated by a person who is not even from an Alchemist Clan.
It was even incredible that he had performed so well that he had made it onto the Top of the List of Excellence.
Olivia was also in awe that she could not speak. Her eyes moved from Elder Agnes, who had announced the list slowly, to where Alex was sitting.
'I have to say it to Young Miss Clara,' thought Olivia.
Meanwhile, Mia was sitting next to Alex. She observed big brother Alex with her beautiful eyes and felt more and more curious about him.
But no one in the hall spoke against the result since there was no way anything could be wrong with the results personally supervised by the Elders.
Everyone just looked in awe when they saw Alex, who sat in his spot quietly. The smile on his face was the same as usual; calm and light.
"Everyone who got selected, come tomorrow," said Elder Agnes and left.
At this time, Elena got up slowly from her seat. As she walked towards the exit, she took a couple of steps towards Alex.
"I look forward to your performance tomorrow." She smiled brightly. People's gazes froze on her smile, their hearts melting at the sight of it.
The crowd was dismissed. Alex and Mia started walking towards the exit, where he saw Lucas waiting for him.
When Lucas saw Alex, he immediately asked.
"Brother Alex, what rank did you get?"
"Rank 1."
"Good job, Brother Alex. From now on, I will rely on you," laughed Lucas.
"Let me pass the second test first," said Alex, shrugging his shoulders.
As the two were talking, Olivia engaged in a conversation with Mia. She asked, "Tell me truthfully, Mia, do you both have something going on between you?"
Apparently, when Olivia saw that Alex, who was never close with girls, led Mia close to him, many assumed there was something between them.
Mia realized the misunderstanding and shook her head to deny it.
"Then what's going on? Tell me the truth." Olivia wanted to know what was happening.
Mia hesitated for a second, then slowly told her the whole story about how Alex saved her from the bullying of Peter and his gang.
"Nothing is going on between Alex and me. We are just friends, and I am not even worthy of him," Mia began to defend Alex stubbornly.
"I know that nothing is going on between you and him, but if you keep hanging out with him, there are bound to be rumors. That is humiliating to Alex. Can't you understand that?" Olivia sounded more serious as she stared at Mia. "You should know there is a huge difference between you; whether it is status or talent."
Mia tried to be strong and keep herself from crying. She looked at Olivia and said, "It is none of your business, and Big Brother Alex is my benefactor. If you have any problem, you can directly talk to him."
"Hmph! You will regret your choice," snorted Olivia and walked away.
Mia, who was now alone, glanced towards a figure in the distance.
Meanwhile, when Alex bid farewell to Lucas, he sensed someone gazing at him. Turning, he saw Mia staring at him from afar.
He waved his hand to her and proceeded towards his dorm.
_______________________
After a short rest, it was close to nighttime.
After making slight preparations, Alex headed towards the Heavenly Star Pavilion to attend the dinner banquet hosted by Senior Stella's Elder brother.
The Heavenly Star Pavilion was very close to the academy gates, and Alex soon reached the 4th floor of the Pavilion. At the entrance, numerous guards were stationed, assisting in welcoming the arriving guests.
"Excuse me, please show us your invitation." When a guard noticed Alex approaching, he walked over and blocked his path.
"Invitation?" Alex was taken aback. He did not have such a thing, as Senior Stella had only given him a verbal invitation. He said, "I'm Alex Obsidian, and I should be on the guest namelist."
"Please wait a moment, young sir," said the guard solemnly as he checked the namelist.
"Hahahaha, I didn't expect that I would be able to see Brother Alex here!" A flattering voice said. A young man walked towards Alex dressed in luxurious formal attire, making him look very flashy.
He was Charles, ranked 19th in the list, and was from an Alchemist clan under a Martial King powerhouse, also being his classmate.
"Brother Alex, why are you waiting outside? Don't tell me they dared to stop you!" Shouted Charles in anger.
He then removed a gold-colored invitation from the folds of his clothes, presenting it to Alex and said, "Brother Alex, you can use my invitation."
Charles was very pleased; he never thought that he would get the chance to please the strongest person in their class and the only person who reached the 9th level in Foundation compared to others who were still only in the 7th level.
'Haha, as expected, I am very lucky!' thought Charles.
Alex couldn't help shaking his head. This guy was one of his friends in class, but he was a complete chatterbox and a flattering master, one of the few people with a very good network among the disciples of the Outer Courtyard.