The group traveled for the next ten minutes to reach the Radiance arena. This was the first time Aron had seen this building, spanning over a mile. The colossal structure only spoke about the legacy the Greenville Academy carried with it.
"Students from all years can use the facilities to cast the spells of any magnitude here without any care of damaging your surroundings." Tracey explained, seeing the amused faces of the newcomers.
"It provides a viewing area where the faculties can inspect your spells and later give you the much-needed pointers to improve it." She added, turning her head to Aron with a charming smile.
"We will go to the spare fifth arena. That's where the last leg of your tests will take place." Gloria commented with her signature stone face. Unlike yesterday, her face had gone back to the same rigidity as earlier.
A few students were entering and exiting the building. As opposed to the Gamma trial complex, this place seems to be frequented much more regularly.
Tracey seems to guess what the trio had been thinking. "You must be wondering why Gamma complex doesn't have students using the facilities?" Aron nodded along with Chris.
"You will get a better idea once you enter the academy. For now, know this. Each student will have a limited amount of points in their wallet that lets them use the facilities. Simply speaking, getting yourself tested in the Gamma complex is way more expensive than the Radiance arena."
The twins can better grasp the situation compared to Aron. "So these points that you speak of.. must be for internal usage only." Christina remarked.
"Obviously." Tracey gripped Aron's arm ever so tightly, making sure the boy could feel her ample chest. "You have to take up various tasks or projects that will award you both marks as well as points to spend on the facilities in the academy."
Aron thought of something and immediately turned to Tracey. "What about a room? Does that cost money.. or the points?" "Hehe.. what do you think?" She didn't keep him waiting for long. "Regular suites don't cost much and are affordable. Nonetheless, if you want to enjoy some luxury, you better be ready to cough up an astronomical amount of points for that."
Each of her words struck Aron in his heart. Finally.. he was going to have a room just like Julia's.. but now.. his dreams seem to have been shattered into pieces. Does life have to be this difficult? Doesn't he deserve the sweet-smelling, pleasing to the eyes and refined rooms after living much of his life in abject poverty?
"What happened to you?" Tracey saw the bright expressions of the boy dim down in a matter of minutes. "Nothing. I think I had too many pipedreams."
Tracey chuckled lightly. "You better get rid of them as soon as possible. Life is going to be much more difficult in here." She pointed towards herself. "If you are happy being a mediocre person like me, it can be a bit easier. But.."
She turned her index finger towards the blue-haired girl walking in the front. "If you are someone who only wants the best. Better be ready to put your ass on the line, just like the one over there." Her words made Gloria squint her eyes, but she refrained from speaking up.
Aron curled his hands into fists. He can't settle for mediocrity. He got to be strong. The insights Tracey's shared helped him realize this was only the first step in his long journey to the top. Nevertheless, since he didn't falter up until now, he had no intention of slowing down.
"Shhhh... Shut your traps, we are here." Gloria whispered in a husky voice. "Teachers are here already. All of you better be on your best behavior." She opened the large wooden gate after the tight-lipped warning.
Aron and the twins quietened down at the mention of teachers. "Guess who they are here for?" Despite the warning, Tracey made sure to pass the words directly into Aron's ear.
His eyes widened. "This isn't a regular practice?" "Hmph.. you think they got so much free time? Obviously, they are here to watch you perform with their own eyes." Only now did Aron realize why she had questioned him about the choice of the spell.
Somehow he can feel his limbs jam up. "Let's go." Tracey didn't give him any time to falter, shoving him in the doorway that led to a bright exit. "Don't fret it. Just do your best."
He gulped after listening to the girl.
Compared to him, the twins were not at all unnerved by the situation. They seem used to being focused on attention from people around them. Chris spoke a few words of encouragement to Aron as they exited through the other side of the dark tunnel.
It took his eyes some time to adjust to the bright sunlight. Once he can properly take in his surroundings Aron can hear his increased heartbeats.
A large arena awaited him, surrounded on all sides by a raised pavilion. "In case any of you didn't know, Radiance arena also acts as the ring for the duels between students." Tracey passed on the last-minute trivia as the group ascended the stairs.
All around him, Aron observed many middle-aged men and women looking down at him keenly. So many gazes seemed to bring physical weight with them. Gathering all his courage, he raised his head and took a sweeping glance all around him.
In a single glance, he picked up almost two dozen neatly dressed dignified personalities, each with a unique persona. Anyone will feel the pressure when faced with so many teachers at once. On top of that, he can't find a single face with an amicable smile he had gotten her used to.
Each one of them possessed a set of piercing eyes as if they were her to uncover all his secrets. Despite the bright day around Aron, there was only darkness all around him in his vision with every single one of the teachers acting like a wolf, ready to pounce on him.
However, right then Aron's gaze landed on a face and his vision brighten up. A woman dressed entirely in black was standing with her arms wrapped around her chest. Only her presence was like a sun in the dark.
The slight hint of a smile on her face was the only thing Aron required to find his newfound confidence. Her figure was like a guardian angel looking over his from the high heavens.
While Aron was going through these surges of opposing emotions, Tracey stood next to him, her arm still locked in his. "Tch... Tracey!!" Gloria clicked her tongue in annoyance, attracting the attention of everyone as they stood in the center of the arena.
Initially, Tracey didn't get what Gloria was trying to hint at. But her friend did signal her. Following her gaze, Tracey found someone who absolutely should not have been present in this gathering.
Disturbed by Gloria's mumbling, Aron too did the same and looked in the direction. The raised platform around the arena surrounded the entire perimeter. As such there was no need for the teachers to huddle together. This meant they can easily locate the personality of interest.
A single woman stood with her hands grabbing the rails. She had lush olive green hair and an extremely macho-man face. Her expression was enough to tell Aron that this woman had definitely seen the battlefield. A scar on her left eyebrow only confirmed his hypothesis.
She had a tall and bulky figure and right now she was staring right at him. No... looking closely, he doesn't seem to be the person of interest to this lady at least.
Tracey felt her knees go weak. What was Mrs. Jayden doing here? Common sense told her that the warden of the girl's hostel should have no business coming here. Yet, there she was.
Her hands let go of Aron's arm pronto. Dropping her head, she stood in attention. Her heart was beating fast, terrified of the lady in a full-body gown.
"All of you are here. Nice..!" Mr. Simon jumped onto the arena, right next to the group. "Thank you, ladies. I can take over from here." Tracey and Gloria, promptly left the area, leaving behind the twins and Aron.
"Well.. well.. you guys truly created a ruckus in the screening test. I have never seen the tests attract this much attention hahaha.." Simon pointed to the viewing pavilion, occupied by a multitude of important personalities, each subsequent one more amazing than the last.
"Chris and Christina." He took a deliberate pause. "Academy has already reviewed your performance yesterday. In case both of you have any spell you want to perform here, then go ahead."
"Otherwise, if you believe you have put in your best efforts in the Gamma trials. Then no need to perform here. Academy has reviewed the spells and deemed both of you eligible to join us." Chris had very much expected such an outcome. His only worry was that Simon had not mentioned Aron with them.
"If you choose the second option, you can leave this area and take seats next to the two ladies over there and we will move on to our little brother here." Simon explained.
"Then we would like to skip this trail, good sir. We believe both of us have given our best in the Gamma trial." Chris came forward with a swift answer. Christina had no apprehensions as well. Both of them took one glance at Aron before stepping away from the stage.
The smile on Simon's face widened. "Coming to you, my boy." Once again he paused as if this was a theatre and he was not an instructor but a performing artist instead. "Regretfully, the academy is not fully satisfied with your spell casting abilities, despite the splendid score you garnered in the Gamma trial."
Aron was not very surprised at the development. The experienced teachers of the Greenville Academy were not going to mistake his physical strength for a support spell-like Tracey did.
Thankfully, he had done his due diligence before showing up. "As a result, I will have to ask you to perform a spell casting of your choice. It can be a spell of your choice, there is no restriction on it. Do you understand?"
Compared to yesterday, Simon was very patient with that. Aron can also glean some courtesy from his words. He gave a nod and Simon took a step back. "Do note that there is no stringent requirement on the level of the spell as well. But it should be a functioning spell."
One thing Simon didn't mention was the level spell did actually matter. Because that's how the academy decides your talent. Simply speaking there is not a single screening test that didn't serve a purpose or was redundant.
Nevertheless, Aron was aware of this fact. Even so, he was prepared to play this safe. All he wanted was to get admitted to the academy. He wasn't naive enough to count himself in the big leagues of talented students just yet.
Yes, he had achieved an insane feat with a high score no one ever reached in the Gamma trial. But that doesn't mean he let his achievement get to his head. As far as he was concerned, that score was probably just a fluke or a glitch in the trial.
"I understand, Mr. Simon. Shall we begin then?" Suppressed by the aura of the monumental personality, Aron would like to get out of this place as soon as possible. "Haha.. of course, dear. Here.. let me step back a little. You can begin when you are ready." Simon offered the kid some space, excited to see what this amazing little fellow was going to do next.
"Huuuu.." Aron kneeled over the ground and sucked in a long breath, filling his lungs to the brim he closed his eyes. "Summoning magic: Summon Undead!!"
The boy revealed a smile as a red magic circle spread on the ground. A small bony skeleton emerged from the spell, much to his delight. It had not even been a second when out of nowhere, another hand reached out from the magic circle before it could close up.
It was the hand of a much larger skeleton. It held onto the first one's leg and began pulling himself out of the gates of hell. The hand gave way to a head with two glowing red eye sockets. Watching the second skeleton emerge, Aron knew the situation had just taken a turn for the worse.
The group traveled for the next ten minutes to reach the Radiance arena. This was the first time Aron had seen this building, spanning over a mile. The colossal structure only spoke about the legacy the Greenville Academy carried with it.
"Students from all years can use the facilities to cast the spells of any magnitude here without any care of damaging your surroundings." Tracey explained, seeing the amused faces of the newcomers.
"It provides a viewing area where the faculties can inspect your spells and later give you the much-needed pointers to improve it." She added, turning her head to Aron with a charming smile.
"We will go to the spare fifth arena. That's where the last leg of your tests will take place." Gloria commented with her signature stone face. Unlike yesterday, her face had gone back to the same rigidity as earlier.
A few students were entering and exiting the building. As opposed to the Gamma trial complex, this place seems to be frequented much more regularly.
Tracey seems to guess what the trio had been thinking. "You must be wondering why Gamma complex doesn't have students using the facilities?" Aron nodded along with Chris.
"You will get a better idea once you enter the academy. For now, know this. Each student will have a limited amount of points in their wallet that lets them use the facilities. Simply speaking, getting yourself tested in the Gamma complex is way more expensive than the Radiance arena."
The twins can better grasp the situation compared to Aron. "So these points that you speak of.. must be for internal usage only." Christina remarked.
"Obviously." Tracey gripped Aron's arm ever so tightly, making sure the boy could feel her ample chest. "You have to take up various tasks or projects that will award you both marks as well as points to spend on the facilities in the academy."
Aron thought of something and immediately turned to Tracey. "What about a room? Does that cost money.. or the points?" "Hehe.. what do you think?" She didn't keep him waiting for long. "Regular suites don't cost much and are affordable. Nonetheless, if you want to enjoy some luxury, you better be ready to cough up an astronomical amount of points for that."
Each of her words struck Aron in his heart. Finally.. he was going to have a room just like Julia's.. but now.. his dreams seem to have been shattered into pieces. Does life have to be this difficult? Doesn't he deserve the sweet-smelling, pleasing to the eyes and refined rooms after living much of his life in abject poverty?
"What happened to you?" Tracey saw the bright expressions of the boy dim down in a matter of minutes. "Nothing. I think I had too many pipedreams."
Tracey chuckled lightly. "You better get rid of them as soon as possible. Life is going to be much more difficult in here." She pointed towards herself. "If you are happy being a mediocre person like me, it can be a bit easier. But.."
She turned her index finger towards the blue-haired girl walking in the front. "If you are someone who only wants the best. Better be ready to put your ass on the line, just like the one over there." Her words made Gloria squint her eyes, but she refrained from speaking up.
Aron curled his hands into fists. He can't settle for mediocrity. He got to be strong. The insights Tracey's shared helped him realize this was only the first step in his long journey to the top. Nevertheless, since he didn't falter up until now, he had no intention of slowing down.
"Shhhh... Shut your traps, we are here." Gloria whispered in a husky voice. "Teachers are here already. All of you better be on your best behavior." She opened the large wooden gate after the tight-lipped warning.
Aron and the twins quietened down at the mention of teachers. "Guess who they are here for?" Despite the warning, Tracey made sure to pass the words directly into Aron's ear.
His eyes widened. "This isn't a regular practice?" "Hmph.. you think they got so much free time? Obviously, they are here to watch you perform with their own eyes." Only now did Aron realize why she had questioned him about the choice of the spell.
Somehow he can feel his limbs jam up. "Let's go." Tracey didn't give him any time to falter, shoving him in the doorway that led to a bright exit. "Don't fret it. Just do your best."
He gulped after listening to the girl.
Compared to him, the twins were not at all unnerved by the situation. They seem used to being focused on attention from people around them. Chris spoke a few words of encouragement to Aron as they exited through the other side of the dark tunnel.
It took his eyes some time to adjust to the bright sunlight. Once he can properly take in his surroundings Aron can hear his increased heartbeats.
A large arena awaited him, surrounded on all sides by a raised pavilion. "In case any of you didn't know, Radiance arena also acts as the ring for the duels between students." Tracey passed on the last-minute trivia as the group ascended the stairs.
All around him, Aron observed many middle-aged men and women looking down at him keenly. So many gazes seemed to bring physical weight with them. Gathering all his courage, he raised his head and took a sweeping glance all around him.
In a single glance, he picked up almost two dozen neatly dressed dignified personalities, each with a unique persona. Anyone will feel the pressure when faced with so many teachers at once. On top of that, he can't find a single face with an amicable smile he had gotten her used to.
Each one of them possessed a set of piercing eyes as if they were her to uncover all his secrets. Despite the bright day around Aron, there was only darkness all around him in his vision with every single one of the teachers acting like a wolf, ready to pounce on him.
However, right then Aron's gaze landed on a face and his vision brighten up. A woman dressed entirely in black was standing with her arms wrapped around her chest. Only her presence was like a sun in the dark.
The slight hint of a smile on her face was the only thing Aron required to find his newfound confidence. Her figure was like a guardian angel looking over his from the high heavens.
While Aron was going through these surges of opposing emotions, Tracey stood next to him, her arm still locked in his. "Tch... Tracey!!" Gloria clicked her tongue in annoyance, attracting the attention of everyone as they stood in the center of the arena.
Initially, Tracey didn't get what Gloria was trying to hint at. But her friend did signal her. Following her gaze, Tracey found someone who absolutely should not have been present in this gathering.
Disturbed by Gloria's mumbling, Aron too did the same and looked in the direction. The raised platform around the arena surrounded the entire perimeter. As such there was no need for the teachers to huddle together. This meant they can easily locate the personality of interest.
A single woman stood with her hands grabbing the rails. She had lush olive green hair and an extremely macho-man face. Her expression was enough to tell Aron that this woman had definitely seen the battlefield. A scar on her left eyebrow only confirmed his hypothesis.
She had a tall and bulky figure and right now she was staring right at him. No... looking closely, he doesn't seem to be the person of interest to this lady at least.
Tracey felt her knees go weak. What was Mrs. Jayden doing here? Common sense told her that the warden of the girl's hostel should have no business coming here. Yet, there she was.
Her hands let go of Aron's arm pronto. Dropping her head, she stood in attention. Her heart was beating fast, terrified of the lady in a full-body gown.
"All of you are here. Nice..!" Mr. Simon jumped onto the arena, right next to the group. "Thank you, ladies. I can take over from here." Tracey and Gloria, promptly left the area, leaving behind the twins and Aron.
"Well.. well.. you guys truly created a ruckus in the screening test. I have never seen the tests attract this much attention hahaha.." Simon pointed to the viewing pavilion, occupied by a multitude of important personalities, each subsequent one more amazing than the last.
"Chris and Christina." He took a deliberate pause. "Academy has already reviewed your performance yesterday. In case both of you have any spell you want to perform here, then go ahead."
"Otherwise, if you believe you have put in your best efforts in the Gamma trials. Then no need to perform here. Academy has reviewed the spells and deemed both of you eligible to join us." Chris had very much expected such an outcome. His only worry was that Simon had not mentioned Aron with them.
"If you choose the second option, you can leave this area and take seats next to the two ladies over there and we will move on to our little brother here." Simon explained.
"Then we would like to skip this trail, good sir. We believe both of us have given our best in the Gamma trial." Chris came forward with a swift answer. Christina had no apprehensions as well. Both of them took one glance at Aron before stepping away from the stage.
The smile on Simon's face widened. "Coming to you, my boy." Once again he paused as if this was a theatre and he was not an instructor but a performing artist instead. "Regretfully, the academy is not fully satisfied with your spell casting abilities, despite the splendid score you garnered in the Gamma trial."
Aron was not very surprised at the development. The experienced teachers of the Greenville Academy were not going to mistake his physical strength for a support spell-like Tracey did.
Thankfully, he had done his due diligence before showing up. "As a result, I will have to ask you to perform a spell casting of your choice. It can be a spell of your choice, there is no restriction on it. Do you understand?"
Compared to yesterday, Simon was very patient with that. Aron can also glean some courtesy from his words. He gave a nod and Simon took a step back. "Do note that there is no stringent requirement on the level of the spell as well. But it should be a functioning spell."
One thing Simon didn't mention was the level spell did actually matter. Because that's how the academy decides your talent. Simply speaking there is not a single screening test that didn't serve a purpose or was redundant.
Nevertheless, Aron was aware of this fact. Even so, he was prepared to play this safe. All he wanted was to get admitted to the academy. He wasn't naive enough to count himself in the big leagues of talented students just yet.
Yes, he had achieved an insane feat with a high score no one ever reached in the Gamma trial. But that doesn't mean he let his achievement get to his head. As far as he was concerned, that score was probably just a fluke or a glitch in the trial.
"I understand, Mr. Simon. Shall we begin then?" Suppressed by the aura of the monumental personality, Aron would like to get out of this place as soon as possible. "Haha.. of course, dear. Here.. let me step back a little. You can begin when you are ready." Simon offered the kid some space, excited to see what this amazing little fellow was going to do next.
"Huuuu.." Aron kneeled over the ground and sucked in a long breath, filling his lungs to the brim he closed his eyes. "Summoning magic: Summon Undead!!"
The boy revealed a smile as a red magic circle spread on the ground. A small bony skeleton emerged from the spell, much to his delight. It had not even been a second when out of nowhere, another hand reached out from the magic circle before it could close up.
It was the hand of a much larger skeleton. It held onto the first one's leg and began pulling himself out of the gates of hell. The hand gave way to a head with two glowing red eye sockets. Watching the second skeleton emerge, Aron knew the situation had just taken a turn for the worse.
