Despite all his complaints, life had to go on, and Eric had no choice but to accept it. After chatting with the others for a while, the homeroom teacher—a gray-haired elderly man—walked into the classroom.
Once the room quieted down, the teacher got straight to the point. "Those of you who are registering for the Knight Academy entrance exam, please come to my office later to pay the fee and fill out the registration form. The school's academic office will handle the rest."
As he spoke, the teacher's eyes focused mainly on the students who were likely to sign up. In truth, he already had a good idea of who would register. You had to meet several criteria: top grades, good physical fitness, and a decent family background. Narrowing it down to those conditions, it was obvious to everyone who in Class 12-4 would be applying.
Eric's city was called "Sun City," but in reality, it was just a small town in the American Midwest. Compared to other small towns, the economy was a bit better, but only marginally—it couldn't compare to the affluent coastal regions. In this town, very few families could casually afford the $10,000 registration fee for Knight Academy. Many students were simply shut out from applying because of the cost.
After the homeroom teacher finished speaking, he left the classroom. The students who planned to apply stood up and began heading to the office. Joe Johnson and another student, Mark, both stood up, and just as they were about to leave, Eric slowly stood up as well.
Chris, his desk mate, looked at him in surprise. "Are you going to the bathroom?"
"No, I'm signing up," Eric responded calmly.
Chris froze, staring at him in disbelief. "You're registering?"
It wasn't just Chris—Joe Johnson also turned to look at Eric in shock. "Eric, you're signing up too?" There was no malice in his voice, just genuine surprise at Eric's decision. His words caught the attention of many classmates, who turned to watch the exchange.
Most students knew each other's situations fairly well. Eric wasn't weak, but compared to someone like Joe, he was much skinnier. Passing the written and professional exams might be doable, but could Eric really make it through the physical and practical tests?
Joe's surprised expression hadn't faded when Mark chimed in with a laugh, "Eric, you sneaky devil! You've been hiding your training from us all this time! We'd invite you to work out with us after school, and you'd always skip. Turns out you've been doing extra training on the side. You're sly, man!" Mark's tone was exaggerated but friendly, and there was no mockery in his words. He genuinely believed Eric must have been training in secret—after all, with a modest family background like his, Eric wouldn't be spending $10,000 on a whim without confidence in his chances.
Eric just smiled and shrugged it off. "Don't overthink it. I'm just naturally talented, no extra training needed. I figured, why not? It's only $10,000. Who knows? Maybe they'll expand the admissions this year, and I'll hit the jackpot."
"Haha, dream on!" Mark laughed, but Eric's words did stir some curiosity among the other students. Those who hadn't planned to apply started wondering, *Could he be right? What if they do expand admissions this year?*
Still, none of them rushed to change their minds. If they weren't planning to apply, they had their reasons. Although Eric's comment caused a bit of a ripple, it wasn't enough to make anyone suddenly decide to sign up.
Chris's expression was complicated. Even though registering didn't guarantee success, Eric's family was worse off than his own. This made Chris feel like he lacked the courage even to try. He gripped his pen tightly, but in the end, he didn't change his decision. Even if he did register, Chris felt his chances of passing were even lower than Eric's. Rather than wasting time, he figured it was better to focus on his studies.
…
Eric didn't have time to worry about what the others were thinking. He joined the group of students heading to the teacher's office to register. There weren't many students from Class 12-4 signing up—after all, the chances were slim, and those who clearly didn't meet the requirements didn't bother applying. In the end, only eight students left the classroom.
If it hadn't been for the two students from the general classes who had passed the exam in the last two years, even having four or five students apply from the general classes would've been a stretch. In fact, in many regular high schools, only a handful of students across the entire school applied to Knight Academy.
Eric quickly glanced at the other students walking with him, and just as he expected, they were all top students with excellent physical fitness. Their bodies were well-built, strong, and balanced. Compared to them, Eric's physique seemed noticeably less impressive.
After a while, a girl named Nancy, walking with the group, glanced at Eric a few times before finally asking, "Eric, what's your vitality score?"
Eric paused, unsure how to answer. *Should I tell them my vitality score is 1.1?* The problem was, he had no idea how they measured vitality in the real world or what units they used. Just as Eric hesitated, Joe Johnson chimed in with a grin, "Nancy, I bet Eric hasn't even gotten tested yet. If he had, he would've told us by now."
Mark joined in, "Just look at him. There's no way his score's higher than mine."
Nancy didn't press the issue further. She just rolled her eyes at Mark and said, "I went to get tested again the other day, and my highest vitality reading was only 108 calories. Ugh, I need to eat more supplements before the physical exam to see if I can boost it a bit."
"I'm a bit better than you. My highest peak was 112 calories," Joe added proudly.
Eric decided not to hide anymore and asked, "Who has the highest vitality score in our class?"
A bright, athletic-looking boy in front turned and smiled. "That'd be me, I think. My last test peaked at 115 calories." Eric recognized him—his name was Peter Jones, one of the top students in the class.
Peter continued, "But even though my score's decent, the guys in the honors class are on another level. I heard Zhou Bin's last test was over 120 calories. He's almost guaranteed to get in this year, unless something unexpected happens."
Mark joked, "Haha, Peter, why don't you hire someone to break his leg? That'd be one less competitor for us!"
Peter rolled his eyes. "It's not like we're competing within our school. Whether Zhou Bin gets in or not doesn't affect us much. But if it would work, I'd consider it."
The group laughed, but Eric was lost in thought. *Does my 1.1 vitality score equate to 110 calories?*
It seemed likely. But even if 1.1 was equal to 110 calories, it didn't give him much of an edge. After all, Peter from the general class had 115 calories, and there were probably plenty of honors students with scores over 110.
Last year, the minimum vitality requirement for Knight Academy was 112 calories. Whether that would increase this year was still unknown.
*Looks like I need to work on boosting my vitality a bit more,* Eric thought as they approached the homeroom teacher's office.
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