With the start of the trials only half a day away, Blue city was filled with the bustle and conversation of many young adults, excited to see how they would fare and if they would be lucky enough to enter the Academy. Word had now traveled across the entire city, and even the beggars on the streets knew that dawn tomorrow would mark the official start of the trials. 

They were to be held in the commercial district as this was the most prominent open space in the city. Although the merchants there would be losing out on potential revenue, they didn't mind as most people, including themselves, wanted to observe the trials, meaning hardly anyone would visit their stores anyways.

Silver had been currently browsing some swords at a weapons stall in the commercial district. After selling off 100 E class magic cores and 5 D class magic cores which Ghost was generous enough not to devour, he now had 287 gold coins and five silver coins.

This opened Silver's eyes to the difficulties of making money, as after a week of killing magic beasts, he would only be capable of buying ten beginner-level spell books. This made him even more determined to find a better way of making money, as he knew becoming the strongest would require large amounts of capital.

"How much is this one?" asked Silver as he pointed at a black blade with a matching colored sheath, giving off a dull look. Silver knew, however, that this blade was of good quality, and with his abilities, he would be able to transform it into a magic weapon.

"It's 500 gold, young sir," the beady-eyed merchant replied as he clasped his hands together.

"Oh? And since when was black iron this expensive for a normal blade to be worth this much?" Silver questioned

"My mistake, my mistake, hehe, I thought you were talking about the blade next to it. That one there only costs 300," the merchant corrected as he began to feel flustered. He had seriously misjudged the youth in front of him. Wasn't he just a poor commoner? How did he know so much?

"You will get 200 and not a copper more" Silver placed the gold on the counter and walked away from the stall without giving the merchant a second look. Although the sword was worth around 250 gold, he had given himself a discount based on how the merchant treated him.

He didn't want to cause any problems, but Silver was always one who returned kindness with gratitude and cruelty with enmity. The merchant who had tried to bully a poor commoner had instead been robbed of 50 gold. However, he decided against pursuing the matter as he didn't want to risk offending someone he shouldn't over a few measly gold coins. 

Silver had initially wanted to buy some armor as well, but looking at the 87 gold coins he was left with, he decided to make some when he reached the Academy instead. Placing the sword on his waist, he walked towards the Reid family stable as he was sure to have a hungry baby dragon waiting.

Once Silver arrived at the enclosure, Ghost came running at him, jumping around as though he had seen a long-lost friend.

"Hey there, little guy. Did you miss me?" Silver smiled as he knelt and patted Ghost.

"Or did you just miss the food?" he added as he grabbed one of the buckets of meat he had carried. The dragon responded by happily devouring the fresh meat and no longer paying attention to Silver.

"You guys seem a lot closer," came a voice from behind Silver

"Zac? When did you get here?" Silver stood up and greeted his friend

"Am I not the one who should be asking that" Zac laughed as he patted Silver's shoulder

"Ah, I arrived this morning, but I have been running around making the final preparations for the Academy."

"Hmm, I see that now" Zac replied as he pointed to the sword at Silver's waist.

"Ah yes, this is just until I'm able to get something of better quality," Silver noticed the unenthusiastic look on Zac's face, so he began to explain.

"I'm sure you will. Anyways what about armor? Have you bought some?"

"Not yet. I'm waiting until I arrive at the Academy to acquire some more suitable armor."

"Hmm, I see. Well, as long as you're on top of things, I guess that's all that matters" Zac smiled.

"So how have things been here without me? Anything interesting happen?" Silver asked

"Oh, nothing much really, I just met an annoying girl, but that's about it."

"I see. Did this girl happen to wear a veil?"

"Wait. How did you know that?" Zac was slightly surprised.

"Hahaha, I just noticed her looking at us after our great performance. I got the impression she saw through the whole thing. So I would be careful around her." Silver advised.

"Hmm, well, she definitely has a mysterious background. But she provided me with beneficial information, so she gets the benefit of the doubt for now. Oh, by the way? Is there anything you wish to know about the Academy?" Zac almost kicked himself for his stupidity. How had he forgotten about his new friend who was clueless about magic, let alone the Academy?

"I don't understand. What is there that I won't find out when I'm there?"

"Eh..." Zac slightly opened his mouth but changed what he was about to say.

"Don't you want to know who the number 1 rank is?"

"Rank 1? There are ranks? And why would I want to know who the current first is?" Silver was bemused

"Uhm...That's because uh." Zac wasn't sure how to answer. It wasn't like knowing the first rank was helpful to them, but it was still the most sought-after information regarding the Academy. If factions knew who it was, they could either reel them in or eliminate them before others could.

"If only I had half your confidence, I'm sure I could conquer the world," Zac laughed. He knew Silver did not need the information he had to offer. This confidence in his new friend mainly came from the ease with which he dispatched the assassin.

"Thanks, I guess" Silver wasn't sure what Zac was talking about. But he knew that he would tell him if there was anything important.

"Come, let's go get something to eat. Baby dragons are not the only creatures who get hungry," Zac said as he led Silver out of the enclosure and towards the Bear and Geese.

It was a few hours before dawn when Silver and Zac finally arrived at the commercial district, or to be more precise, at the district's outskirts, as there were simply way too many people to get anywhere near. Silver had never seen a crowd this large before. There were easily thousands of people, maybe even tens of thousands.

He could barely even see the Academy's procession at the forefront of the crowd. There were three prominent figures with white cloaks amongst them who Silver assumed were the teachers. Behind them were ten or so young adults who were most likely students. They were all standing with their backs straight and facing the crowd.

With a few hours left from the official start of the trials, Silver decided to close his eyes and meditate. Zac was shocked upon seeing this and began to feel slightly envious. He wondered how someone could be so calm in a situation like this. Many of these youngsters gathered today were waiting for their entire lives for this opportunity as today would literally decide the rest of their future.

Like this, time slowly went by. Seconds felt like minutes, and minutes felt like hours. The youngsters who had been entirely silent in anticipation began to fidget and talk amongst each other. At the front, one of the Academy's teachers noticed something and was slightly impressed. He was a handsome man around 30 years old with no defining features.

"You've noticed him as well?" a burly man next to him asked.

"Yes, it's impressive how calm he is," the handsome man replied

"I wonder if he could be the next rank 1."

"let's not get ahead of ourselves. Although a calm heart is indeed a prerequisite, it is not the only deciding factor."

"Hmm, but as I'm sure you're already aware, the other factors can be more easily trained. This youth seems to have a calm nature which is rare to find. I am interested in seeing how far he can go" the burly man seemed adamant about sticking with his hunch.

"Oh, perhaps we should change the first test then," the handsome man proposed.

"Why's that?"

"Well, we can test just how calm his heart truly is while also being able to win a little money."

"You want to bet against me?" the burly man began to regret his earlier words. If only he had thought more carefully, he would have seen this trap coming.

"Yes, nothing too crazy, just a measly 10 million gold coins."

"T-ten million?"

"Oh, don't tell me you're afraid of just this much"

"Okay, sure, let's do it. But what is the proposed bet" the burly man knew there was only one way out of this, and so he decided to believe in his intuition

"Well, I'll just summon one of my darlings, and we'll see how close he can get"

"That's a bit..."

"Oh, come on, you've already agreed. Besides, we can get rid of most of the trash this way, finishing the trials much sooner. Don't you want to get back to the Academy already?" the handsome man knew the right things to say to convince the other man.

"Fine, but I win if he gets within 10 meters."

"Hahaha, I was originally going to say 50, but you've proposed a much better deal," the handsome man laughed.

"Eh, we'll see who's laughing at the end of it all" the burly man seemed confident but secretly cursed himself on the inside. How could he have been played so easily?

As time passed, the sun's first rays finally appeared on the horizon. At that exact moment, one of the students banged a loud drum three times. After the final bang, silence followed, and the handsome-looking teacher stood out in front of the others to address the crowd.