"Urgh, still early in the morning yet I have to deal with all this." He cursed under his breath as he cross the hallway.

’But still, a hidden blade huh’ he thought, his gaze drifting at the Ruby necklace on his palms.

"Just where’s the classroom? " he mumbled, his gaze lazily drifting towards the freshmen like him.

They were heading towards a two massive dark-oak door.

"Is that the one? " he followed them quietly, not near enough for them to notice he didn’t listen to the banquet announcements.

Arriving before the two massive doors, he stared at the signboard hanging above them—none, there was none.

’The section system won’t be use in second semester anymore huh.’

The classroom was far larger than any lecture hall Zeres had seen during the first semester.

Rows of seats rose in layers like steps carved into a hillside, enough to accommodate hundreds of cadets at once. The ceiling stretched high above, supported by marble pillars engraved with faint runes that glowed softly under the morning light.

Tall windows lined the walls, allowing sunlight to pour inside and illuminate the sea of students gathering throughout the hall.

Unlike the smaller classrooms used during the first semester, there were no section markings here.

The noise inside the lecture hall resembled a bustling marketplace.

Some discussed the banquet.

Others boasted about their rankings.

A few compared the paths they hoped to pursue in the future.

At the very front stood a raised platform with a massive black board behind it. Above the board was Lunaire Academy’s crest, a crescent moon surrounded by five stars enclosed within a runic circle.

This was where every gifted would gather from now on.

The second semester had begun.

_____________

Looking around, Zeres decided to seat at the back.

"Hey, he’s that one right? "

"Yeah, the one who placed second on the Trial."

"Wow, he must be living in a different world unlike us."

"Tch, what’s so good about that vampire? "

The murmurs began to shift as he entered, their gazes varied, some of envy, awe and even dissatisfaction.

’Looks like someone’s getting arrogant after professor Elyssa confirmed I wasn’t the one who killed the commoners in that cave.’

Well, either way, he’ll just have to lay low, like what the fucking system wants.

The door bursted open, and a professor entered, he wore the usual navy-blue blazer and suit—a uniform for professors.

His face looked refined, well define jaw, deep set eyes and a hair that’s styles to the side properly.

Two assistants followed behind him, they both hold a massive white orb.

"Is that it? "

"Yes, it looks like the orb of Kaesir"

"Wow, am I finally seeing it? "

The cadets all shifted, their gazes drawn by the two orb of Kaesir the assistants held, it was wrapped in a white cloth.

"Greetings cadets who passed the Trial, I am Kyro, a knight and I will be responsible on this process."

"First of all, I congratulate you all." The man stood on the podium, the sleek sword hang beside him.

"However, do not be blinded by your arrogance into thinking the second semester will be the same as the first one."

"The trial is done specifically to pluck out all incompetent cadets that will sully the name of the academy."

"Starting this semester, all of you are required to take missions, whether you like it or not—you are to complete four missions a month."

"And now, we will be guiding every one of you to your destined paths.

"Talent can open a door, but your Path decides how far you’ll go."

"Now, fall in line of two, I won’t tolerate any issue that will occur during this sacred process."

The cadets all tensed as a terrifying aura burst out from the professor.

’This is fucking torture’ Zeres but his lips.

All of the student’s were nervous, that also means their heart is beating way too fast. 𝕗𝚛𝚎𝚎𝐰𝗲𝗯𝗻𝚘𝚟𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝕞

’This fucking nauseating feeling.’ He cursed under his breath.

But still

’The atmosphere is really tense, are we entering hell-difficulty now? ’ Zeres thought to himself.

"Hey, that’s Aeliz, it’s her turn." A cadets mumbled behind him.

His head snapped towards the direction the cadet behind him was pointing at.

Aeliz stood before the orb of Kaesir, her hand hovering close to the orb.

Her eyes were closed shut.

The assistant watching her deployed a barrier around her immediately as the air around her trembled.

The wind swept inside the classroom, lightning began crackling outside, the lightning mana around them was already being sucked by her mana.

’What a pure mana, Is this the difference between one who knows ones path and ones who doesn’t?’ Zeres raised his arms, the strong wind swept at his long hair.

"Impressive" the professor walked towards Aeliz, his arms crossed as he stared at the mana trembling around Aeliz.

After some moment, a massive amount of mana surged forth, all of them was being sucked by Aeliz, slowly refining them into hers.

’This speed of refinement, such genius’ professor Kyro felt the purity of the mana.

Indeed, just as the rumors say, she was a prodigy of this generation.

"Phew" Aeliz’s lashed fluttered open, her sapphire-like eyes immediately meeting his.

A grin tugged at her luscious lips before she winked at him.

Zeres’ eyes widened slightly. ’This woman!’

"They know each other? " the cadets stared to murmur at each other.

’Tsk, this woman really knows how to make it hard for me.’ Zeres clicked his tongue, his annoyance flared at the continued murmur.

Turning around, he glared at them.

"Hieek! " the two woman shrieked, then they looked away.

"Cadet Zeres, you’re next" Kyro looked at him, his gaze sharpening.

Zeres nodded before he went up to the podium.

One of the assistant pointed at the orb before them.

Zeres raised his hand slightly, it hovered closely at the orb.

In an instant, all of his surroundings stopped, his vision turned white.

"Where am I? " he mumbled, his gaze drifting around him.

And there, he saw it—five paths lay ahead of him, each path had a rune engraved on the pavements.

"Is this the process of acquiring a path? " he marvelled.

It was beyond his expectations.

He hadn’t expected it to be this grand.