“Astral Academy certainly is so big…! It’s much bigger than I thought,” expressed Edna in awe while glancing around at her surroundings. “The gardens are well maintained, the buildings look so modern, and the feel of the whole place just gives off this radiant vibe. It just feels so grand.”

“Yeah. This place sure has gotten bigger,” commented Theodore as he too glanced.

“What? Bigger?” She asked, turning to look at him in surprise. “How do you know that, Theo? As far as I know, there was news where they announced that they were going to build another arena and it was then the whole remodelling thing was mentioned.” Then she looked at him suspiciously and asked, “Have you been here before and you’re not telling me about it?”

He glanced at her sideways and seeing her looking at him suspiciously, he chuckled and shook his head.

“Of course not. The only person that didn’t tell details was you,” he said and smirked coldly at her.

His look made her understand what he meant, and so she quickly apologised by saying, “I’m really sorry for what happened at that time, Theo. Honest. She made us a good deal that we just couldn’t refuse.”

“Yeah, yeah. You keep saying the same thing,” he said, waving his hand at her while sighing wryly. “Anyway, to answer your question: I did come here before, only once though… when I was really young… with my aunts.”

“Your aunts?”

“My father’s sisters.”

“Oh, wow. Your family is certainly big,” she remarked in amazement. “Just how many family members do you have?”

“Enough to not want to mention them right now,” he replied curtly.

“Theo!” She said sharply. “That’s not the way you speak about your family.”

He shrugged his shoulders and said, “They didn’t believe me after knowing me for fourteen years, so why should I bother about them? The only people I really care about now is my sister, my mother, my father and… uh…” and trailed away.

“And…?” She prompted, looking curious. “Who is it?”

He turned to her and replied, “It’s… someone I don’t have the right to mention right now.”

She blinked at him in surprise and asked, “Really? You need their permission or something?”

“Yes,” he said simply with a soft smile.

Edna continued to be curious for a few seconds before shrugging her shoulders and deciding to change topics.

“I wonder if they’ve repaired the holes that you made back then?” She asked aloud. “You know, the ones in your lodging, the other buildings and the one made in our guild.”

“They probably would’ve done it by now,” he replied indifferently.

“Was it necessary to do that?”

“I was angry at my sister, so what else did you expect I’d do?”

“True,” she agreed importantly, “otherwise you might’ve caused a violent explosion.”

“I don’t do that. I just blast bad people away and it just happens,” he explained with a chuckle as he knew what incident she was referring to, which was the small gang that tried to insult them a while ago. “I wonder if that gang is facing justice.”

“They’ve already been kicked out of town,” she replied, to which he smirked triumphantly. “Don’t gloat. Thanks to your actions, the guild had to compensate for the damages done to the buildings.”

“Hey. I paid for them too,” he defended with a smile, “and it’s not like I was attacking randomly.”

“Still, you need to control that high attitude of yours, or you may face an opponent you simply can’t muscle over,” she reasoned with him.

“The only person in this world that I doubt I can muscle over is my dad,” he stated as if it was a fact, “so I’m kind of curious to see who else would show up to cause me a problem.”

“Seriously…!” Edna expressed with a sigh before returning to her smiling attitude. “At least, I’m glad you didn’t bring your weapon with you.”

“Yes… A fact that I’m having second thoughts over,” he muttered.

“Come on, Thero. I’m with you, aren’t I?” She asked cheerfully.

“Yes, which is why I willingly left my weapon there and came with you, but… I will summon my weapon if I need to.”

“Please don’t do that so causally,” she pleaded with him. Edna glanced around to check that no one is listening before saying, “Our guild’s getting paid a lot of money to send both of us on this really important mission, and we’re getting to do our education along the way. So, please don’t blow it like you normally do.”

“I’ll… try…” he said, trying to be as confident as he possibly could and laughed lighten the mood, but only ended up making Edna more worried.

They continued walking down the path and headed to the building with a large board labelled

“Administration” on it. Once inside, they questioned the staff about taking the entrance exam and presented their adventurer guild cards to verify, which are usually used as the identification cards for everyone. A few minutes later, they confirmed their exam spots and after questioning if they knew where to go, they sent a lady to guide them when since they did not know where the exam is taking place.

“Will we be put to a written test separate from the other places?” Theodore asked the lady.

“Yes,” she responded, “as well as a practical test.”

“What? Practical test?” He asked, looking startled.

“Yes,” the lady replied calmly. “It’s something we’ve added starting this year to place students in appropriate ranks.”

“So, similar to the ranks in guilds?”

“Precisely. It will help us monitor, measure, and do our best to help them accordingly.”

“I see…” he said slowly, looking sullen.

A few minutes later, they arrived at a large building. She mentioned for them to enter and wait for the examiners to arrive, who would come shortly. With that, she wished them good luck and returned back the way they came.

“Well,” began Theodore, and he and Edna glanced one anther before he finished with, “let’s go,” and they entered the building one after another.

“Woah! What is this place?” Edna reacted in awe.

Once inside, they saw that the inside was a large open space all the up to the ceiling. There were side-doors on their floor that led to some other places, but their line of sight fell on the group of people seated on chairs nearby.

“Oh, look. More people,” said a sweet girl’s voice from the group as they noticed and group turned to look at them.

“Come over here, you two,” said a very beautiful looking girl with a smile, gesturing for them to come over to them.

As they walked over, Theodore silently counted the number of people there and realised there were only fourteen students. It made him feel oddly out of place, especially judging by the noble like appearance that everyone in the group was projecting.

This made him sigh and wonder to himself, “I guess I’ll be taking the test with children of nobles.”

“H-Hello everyone,” greeted Edna nervously once they reached the group.

“Hi. Please, take a seat,” the girl from before asked and gestured at the free chairs put in another place. Once both Theodore and Edna sat down, the girl greeted them with, “I don’t know if you’re aware, but I am the Princess of East Nation, Floreta Rockford. It’s a pleasure to meet you.”

“The pleasure is all mine, princess,” replied Edna courteously with a beaming smile. “My name is Edna Rosario and this is Theodore Conroy,” to which Theodore simply nodded at her.

That sparked the beginning of them introducing one another. Out of them, only four people stood out the most to Theodore. Regi Rockwell, a tall and bulky man with rippling muscles who was the second prince of West Nation, Stella Foxwell who was short and cute while being the Princess of South Nation, Rizer de Zenahill as he was the first prince of North Nation and his sister, Evangel, who was the first princess of his nation.

Everyone else there were either in some kind of high ranked nobility or related to people in noble positions. This caused the First Prince of North Nation to ask Theodore about his nobility status.

“I’m sorry, prince. We’re not from nobility,” replied Theodore with a small smile. When asked if he was related to anyone from the high society, Theodore simply shook his head while Edna explained.

“We’re not from any known league of sorts, your highness. I used to work as a receptionist at a guild, and he’s an adventurer registered in the same guild as me.”

“Oh…! So, you’re adventurers. That means you two are commoners,” said Rizer in amazement, causing a stir among the group.

“Rizer!” Floreta snapped at him irritably. “Watch what you say.”

Rizer snorted and replied, “No. You watch what I say,” and smiled affectionately at her. “I’m just amazed that commoners were able to get into Astral Academy to try out the test. Even we of nobility are guaranteed to pass regardless of the outcome of the test results.”

“Even so, Astral Academy allows for all individuals to enter and doesn’t consider their social status,” said Floreta firmly. As Rizer rolled his eyes in exasperation, she turned to Edna and said, “It’s amazing for the two of you to get this opportunity. Do your best to pass the exam, okay?”

“Yes, we will,” replied Edna confidently.

“Likewise,” said Theodore with a respectful smile.

“Yes, good luck to them cause’ they’re going to need it,” said Rizer in a challenging voice.

“This isn’t a competition, bud,” reasoned Regi.

“Oh, it is. Didn’t you hear that the results of our exams this time will place us in an appropriate rank? Whoever gets the highest rank is crowned the best of our year, and I’ll be it.”

“Oh really?” Floreta asked sarcastically. “Don’t count on it too early.”

“You doubting me, sweet heart?”

“Don’t call me ‘sweet heart’ so casually!”

“Oh, come on. Our families are already in discussion of a marriage between the two of us, so it’s only right we get familiar with each other and be nice to one another.”

“Sorry, but while at school, I don’t heed my political position. I am my own person and a student of Astral Academy.”

“Okay. Do what you like, but don’t forget that you’re still a princess,” he reminded her softly, to which she glared at him with great irritation shown on her face.

“You know, Rizer,” began the sweet and cute looking Stella, “one of these days, your arrogance will be your downfall.”

“I have every right to be arrogant, Stella,” he told her with a chuckle. “I was the best of the best among the warriors that I faced off against, including my instructor.”

“Yes, but there’s always a saying: someone stronger will show up to put you in your place,” she quoted cheerfully.

As if in response to her quote, there was a knock at the entrance and a stocky looking boy entered.

“E-Excuse me,” he called to them nervously. “I-Is this w-where the exam t-t-takes place in?”

Seeing how nervous the boy was, Rizer turned to Stella and asked, “Is this that person you mentioned?”

“Shit it,” snapped Floreta before turning to address the newcomer. “Yes. Come in. Who are you? Are you here for the exam as well?”

“H-Hi. M-My name is Lustre Grand, and yes; I’ve come to take the exam,” he introduced himself with a nervous smile.

“Don’t just stand there, Lustre. Please come in and take a seat,” called Floreta to him.

“Y-Yes. Thank you.”

The boy, Lustre, slowly moved forward and reached them while carrying a large bag over his shoulders. When he reached them, he grew increasingly nervous and began fumbling with his hands and slowly moved to sit on a chair.

Unfortunately, the chair got pushed back by his nervousness, and his bottom hit the floor instead. This caused Rizer and a lot of others to burst into loud laughter at the boy’s clumsiness. Theodore and Floreta eyed their laughter coldly while Stella’s eyes were transfixed on the boy with her mouth gaping open slightly. Only Edna watched nervously from the side-lines while Regi acted like he did not care.

“Here. Let me help,” said Theodore, getting off his chair and lending a hand to Lustre.

“T-T-Thank you, sir,” said Lustre, grabbing his hand and getting helped up.

“Don’t ever call me sir. My name’s Theodore Conroy. Call me Theo for short if you like.”

“Ah. Yes. I-I will… Theo. Thank you.”

“Don’t mention it.”

Together, they sat down in their respective chairs, and Lustre relieved his shoulders by setting his bag down.

“What’s with the bag?” Edna asked curiously.

“T-This bag c-contains all of my luggage that I b-brought with me,” he told her nervously.

“Oh. You brought all of it with you?” She asked curiously. “Didn’t you find any lodging in the local to stay?”

“I… I thought I would take it directly to the dormitory but…” he said and trailed away nervously.

“You had to take the exam first,” finished Edna for him with a smile, and he nodded in agreement. “It’s understandable, but you should’ve known that they would only let you into their dormitories if you pass.”

“I… I do know, but-but Miss Amaranda assured me that I would pass.”

“Miss Amaranda? Who’s that?”

“My mentor. Well, her name is Amaranda Lefrity but she is widely known as the Magic Titan.”

There was a moment of shock in the room before Floreta exclaimed, “Hold on a second! You’re the rumoured pupil of the Magic Titan?!”

“I,” he began, looking momentarily startled by her reaction before saying, “yes, that would be me.”

She stared at him in disbelief while Edna blinked in his direction as her jaw dropped in shock while Stella stared at him in awe. The others had similar expressions on their faces as well. Theodore let out a light chuckle and smiled at him but he suddenly sensed animosity from someone.

Turning, he was startled by the serious look Rizer was giving to the boy. Apparently, Lustre sensed it as well because he turned and looked very nervously towards the Prince of the North Nation.

“Um… Is s-something on my face?” He asked him nervously.

No, but the fact that you were the one the Elven Kingdom had been spreading rumours about so proudly, the rumoured student of the Magic Titan. It’s about time I got a good look at you… and I’m not impressed. For starters, you look so goddamn frail!”

“Rizer!” Floreta exclaimed, giving him a very angry look. “Stop being rude!”

“What’s so rude about stating the fact!” He retorted irritably and gestured at him. “Just look at him. He’s like a leaf that could fly away if we just blew at him.”

“Appearances do not depict one’s capabilities,” reasoned Floreta.

“Are you kidding me?” Rizer asked incredulously. “Do you think the mightiest warrior in the world, the Phoenix Titan, would appear frail and skinny?”

His comment made Theodore snort with laughter that drew everyone’s attention to him.

“See? It’s hilarious to think of such a powerful warrior to look like… whatever this is!” Rizer stated, nodding at Theodore laughing and gesturing irritably at Lustre’s appearance.

“Well…” began Lustre with a wry smile. “Many have said that I don’t appear like the student of someone from the Nine Pillars of Power. E-Even my own people t-tell me that,” and finished with a nervous smile.

“And you think that’s a good? You think it’s some kind of complement?”

“I… I think it’s pretty funny,” replied Lustre with a sweet smile.

“Hahahahahaha,” laughed Theodore as he found the statement to be very funny.

Rizer gave him a scorn look before turning back to the Magic Titan’s pupil before saying, “It’s not funny. They were obviously disappointed in you. I mean, when we heard there that the Magic Titan had a student, we were all expecting them to be big, strong, powerful and mighty. Yet, here you stand… well, sit… and saying that I’m disappointed is putting it mildly.”

“Rizer, you are crossing your limits!” Floreta thundered.

“Like I care? I’m massively disappointed by this sad turn of events!” Rizer snarled heatedly and turned back to him. “I just don’t understand what someone as mighty as the Magic Titan saw in you to take you in as her student. In fact, what kind of abilities do you even have that made you her student?”

“I… Um…” began Lustre nervously, but he was spared when several men and women entered the building.

“Looks like everyone that needs to come has come,” said a tall man, who smiled serenely at them.

“Wait,” said Floreta, holding up her hand and beginning to count. “Are you our examiners?”

“Yes, we are, princess.”

“In that case, there’s only seventeen of us here. Is that all? Where are the rest?”

To that, the adult smiled and replied, “Princess, the seventeen of you are to take the test away from the rest of the student body because of your special circumstances. We can’t test you fairly with them, so we need to do it this way.”

“That’s understandable,” said Rizer smugly. “It’d be pitiful on the commoners to compare my majestic results with theirs.”

“Rizer…!” Floreta exclaimed irritably. She turned to his sister and asked, “Evangel, can’t you stop your brother’s bad mouth?”

In response, the cold black-haired beauty simply ignored her and continued to read through her book. Theodore glanced at her and saw that the book was a documentary about the Dragon Clan. Momentarily surprised, he turned back to the adult as the man started speaking.

“Now then,” he began with a cool smile, “if there aren’t any more questions, let’s proceed into conducting the exam. But first, I want all of you to form into groups of four.”