At the far north end of the city, there was a mountain decorated with arranged arrays of wilderness and exotic structures at all levels from base to peak.
This mountain was called Asterisk Arcane Academy.
At the base of the mountain, among the multiple buildings, the biggest one was Asterisk Entrance Hall, which also led to the big and wide stairs that went all the way up to the peak of the mountain, while branching countless times in between.
Rudrean and Aelira entered the hall and went towards one of the reception tables.
The middle-aged lady behind the table smiled at them and asked, "Hi. How may I help you?"
'Quite the lookers are these two.' She internally chuckled.
"We would like to register for the next entrance exam," Aelira answered with a smile.
"In that case, we should hurry. The exam will start in half an hour. Give me your status cards."
"I have one, but he doesn't. Can we make one for him here?" Aelira asked.
Rudrean apologetically smiled at the receptionist.
"We can make one quickly. No worries." The lady took out a card as it faintly flashed with lines before she began speaking as if the card were a mobile phone.
A minute later, another reception lady of similar age arrived and took both of them to a room.
"Touch the crystal and infuse your mana. And I would need your name."
"Rudrean Zen."
'Darling. Make sure you keep a mana wrap at your central node, so that the crystal can't check your talents.' Aelira sent a magic whisper to Rudrean. A simple technique to send the voice directly into a target's ear through mana.
In simple analogy, it was like creating a pigeon of mana, giving it a letter, and sending it into a person's brain through the ears, where it would read the letter.
Except that magic whisper was faster at conversion than speaking loudly.
"This…" The receptionist looked at the crystal reflecting Rudrean's status and couldn't believe her eyes.
She blinked several times and rubbed her eyes to confirm.
Aelira grinned. "There's no error, lady. That's real."
[Rudrean Zen]
[Age: 18]
— Stats —
Constitution: E
Agility: E
Strength: E
Magic: S+
"S+…." The receptionist looked at Rudrean. 'Then he must have a good talent, but he's hiding it.'
"Here." She took out a card from a slot in the crystal and handed it to Rudrean. "Your Status Card is ready."
The lady then took them towards the entrance leading to the mountain. "You will have to climb 1000 steps and then follow the western steps leading to Exam Ground. There will be signboards for everything, so you'll find it easily."
"Got it."
"Thank you."
Aelira and Rudrean began walking the steps, hands held and eyes up, looking at the magnificent structures.
There seemed to be other stairs and roads.
People were also flying up and descending via flight instead of using stairs.
"I just know we are going to have a lot of fun here." Aelira grinned and looked at the shared screen in her mind. "And with your talent, we can continue to get stronger."
[Love-Bound Arcane]
—> Aelira.
—> Phoenix Flame S to SS, Aelira | 100,000 LP.
—> SS-rank Compendium of Fire Spells | 100,000 LP.
Rudrean nodded. "But this will take some time."
Aelira grinned as she hit her shoulder against Rudrean's arm. "As long as we make love regularly, we'll gather it in no time."
Rudrean's ears turned red as he smiled. "Yeah."
TRING!
Suddenly, the status card in Aelira's pocket vibrated.
"Hello," Aelira answered with a grumbled voice, sounding annoyed and upset.
And then, an angry voice burst out of the card.
"Aelira! We know you are at the Blue Star Hub! Young Master Ferochin has also taken admission there in the Asterisk Arcane Academy, and he will be there tomorrow. We've already informed him that you are there, so obediently go with him when he comes, okay?! The deal is sealed."
"SHUT UP!! Are you my mother or his bitch?! WHY ARE YOU RUINING MY LIFE?! YOU KNOW ABOUT HIM AND STILL!" Aelira screamed, her chest heaving and eyes reddening. "DON'T EVER CALL ME!"
Aelira put away the card before her red eyes began overflowing with tears. "Fuck, fuck!"
Rudrean's jaw clenched as he said, "Don't worry. Nothing will happen to you. Whoever that Ferochin is, we will deal with him."
Aelira wiped her face and nodded, her eyes blazing with anger. "I hate my family!! They don't want my happiness at all! Uncle's children wrecked the business, but nothing happens to them! Instead, I have to marry a fucking asshole to save the family?!"
Aelira looked ahead and continued walking with Rudrean's hand in hers. "From now on, you are my only family. My mother, father, and brother… nobody cares for me. Screw them!"
"Yeah, screw them. That's not a family." Rudrean frowned as he also felt angry. "Why would they do this to their own daughter?"
"Exactly!" She looked at Rudrean, and a smile bloomed on her slightly messy face and reddened eyes. "So I am really lucky to have found you."
"And I am lucky that you found me." Rudrean grinned. "Let's work hard and get strong, so that no one can separate us."
"Yes!"
…
Arriving in the Exam Ground, the duo stood at a corner in the ground full of people between 18 and 25.
There were fifty-three people.
Some were standing alone, some in groups.
"Do you know what kind of exam they do here?" Rudrean asked.
"No idea." Aelira shook her head and glanced around as she relayed to Rudrean through magic whisper. 'But we might be strongest in this batch thanks to the D to S-rank compendium of Fire Spells. We just have to be smart and utilize this arsenal properly.'
'Especially your Fire Spells. They'll be crazily more powerful since your Magic is at S+.' Aelira grinned as she winked at him. 'We also practiced the fire spells on the way for hours, so we'll be fine.'
Rudrean smilingly nodded. 'It felt good to use magic.'
"Hello, everyone!"
A loud voice suddenly rang out as everyone looked towards its source.
An old man with a white beard was floating above them in a layered black robe with golden-threaded embroidery.
"I will be holding this week's entrance exam. The name is Harganel, better known as Cloud Warrior Harga. My official position is the vice-head of the Alchemy Department."
Cloud Warrior Harga descended and stood at the far end of the ground.
Stomping his feet once, a rectangular stone five meters tall and meters thick erupted from the ground.
"Now then, I would like to start the exam without further ado. In the Asterisk Academy, combat power is the main factor. Alchemy, Arrays, Forging, and other stuff are side activities. Naturally, side activities are also important, but your personal power is the priority."
"So when I call your name, come up here and unleash your strongest attack on this stone." Cloud Warrior Harga held a scroll that appeared from his storage ring. "If you cannot crack this stone with one attack, you'll have to go back down."
"Here goes the first one. Don Zekir!"