Chapter 506: Academy Trio

Chapter 506: Academy Trio

More Awakeners continued to file into the waiting room, and before long, Michael spotted a few familiar faces.

It was the trio he’d first met at Bright Academy when he’d just arrived.

One was a martial disciple, another an archer, and the last a water mage.

If his memory served him right, the martial disciple had been at Level 29 back then—already at Rank 2—which had left an impression on Michael, who at the time was still some distance from the peak of Rank 1.

The youth’s class had stood out to him for another reason as well—it reminded him of Lilian, his former classmate who shared the same profession.

As for the other two, they had been far lower in level at the time—one at Level 16, a water mage, and the other, an archer, was at Level 13.

That had been more a month ago, so naturally, Michael couldn’t help but wonder how much progress they’d made since then.

He decided to start with the martial disciple.

A quick use of Detect revealed:

[Martial Disciple – Level 31]

A two-level increase in a month. Michael wasn’t entirely sure whether that rate of growth was considered exceptional, but given the looming college exams, he doubted the youth had slacked off.

Level 31 was respectable—only nine levels behind him. Not bad at all.

Next, he turned his attention to the other two.

Since plenty of people had used Detect on him the moment he walked in, he saw no reason not to return the courtesy—especially now that he was mildly curious.

In truth, he could have done this earlier, but he hadn’t been interested in anyone else until now. Most of his attention had been occupied by his other body in the Land of Origin, still hard at work refining his class-bound item.

The girl—the archer—had reached Level 22, while the water mage was now Level 19.

“…”

Michael wasn’t sure how to feel about that.

He figured they’d probably tried their best… well, maybe one of them had. After all, there was only so much that could be done in a single month.

In that light, the martial disciple’s growth was actually impressive. The higher the level, the harder it was to advance, and while the water mage had technically gained more levels on paper, the actual experience required told a different story.

If their XP gains were swapped, the water mage would be close to peaking Rank 1, while the martial disciple would still be sitting at Level 29.

The three seemed to have formed a tight-knit group, sticking close together as they entered and found seats. It made sense—they were from the same school, after all.

They noticed him too.

The martial disciple gave a proud little snort in his direction, a reminder of the youth’s naturally arrogant temperament.

The other two, however, gave him polite waves before heading off to sit elsewhere.

A few more minutes passed, and more Awakeners trickled into the room. By the time the clock struck 10:30, the influx finally stopped—nearly two and a half hours after Michael had first arrived at the academy.

He gave the room a quick sweep with his gaze.

There were close to forty Awakeners present. For a city the size of Brightgate, that was probably every single one.

And yet, in this sea of faces, his attention kept circling back to the trio from Bright Academy.

The martial disciple still wore that proud, faintly challenging look; the archer seemed content to chat with the water mage; and all three sat apart from him—yet they never quite stopped glancing in his direction.

The quiet waiting soon ended when a staff member in a crisp blue uniform stepped inside. The chatter in the room died down almost instantly as they offered a polite bow.

“Good morning, everyone. I’ll keep this brief,” the staff member began. “The second round of the college exams is about to begin. You should have already received a general outline of the content during your evaluation, but I’ll go over it once more.”

They paused, letting their gaze sweep across the gathered Awakeners.

“This next stage will take place in a virtual space. Your performance there will form the second segment of this round. It will also be broadcast publicly, as the Federation is aiming to create more awareness.”

That last statement drew a variety of reactions—some Awakeners straightened, others frowned.

Michael was expressionless.

“The evaluation you underwent this morning was simply to confirm your information and update your examination profile,” the staff member continued. “This is different from the applicants to the Liberal Academies, where only the first-round written test determines entry. Also, the virtual space stage will encompass the entire examination under the Federation’s oversight.”

They clasped their hands behind their back, voice turning firm.

“In other words, you won’t just be seeing participants from your own country—you’ll be facing candidates from other nations as well.”

A hand went up from the middle rows. “How’s that even going to work?” the Awakener asked, frowning. “Just for this round, nationwide there should be millions of participants. Are we really all going into the same virtual space? And… are Awakeners going to take the exam together with cultivators?”

The staff member gave a small nod, as if expecting the question. “Good question. I was just coming to that.”

They took a step forward, tone steady. “First—no, Awakeners and cultivators will not be taking the same exam. Only Awakeners will enter the virtual space for this round.”

A few murmurs rippled through the room at that clarification.

“This alone drastically reduces the total from millions to thousands,” the staff continued. “It’s still a large number, yes—but much more manageable.”

They paused to let that sink in before moving on. “Second—since this is a nationwide stage, you will be mixed with foreign participants. The system will divide everyone into multiple groups. The exact size of each group will depend on the initial total, but you will be competing alongside—and against—Awakeners from other countries.”

Several expressions shifted at that, some sharpening in focus, others clouding with unease.

“It’s only after the total number of participants is reduced to a very small fraction,” the staff added, “that the next segment will also be broadcasted to the public.”