When Areii entered the assessment room, he perceived a strand of hostility lingering about. An abnormal atmosphere. It wasn't the tension-plagued expressions of his classmates, no. It was more like an intent.
Raw desire.
Areii's eyes darted around, in a desperate attempt to glean any hint that he could get. Every detail he could absorb was a step closer to deduction. It was standard procedure when preparing for combat.
Weird. He thought, suspicious of why his mind was reacting this way. Areii had detected danger, forcing his instincts to carry out his many honed reflexes.
However, as if noticing his wariness, this abnormal atmosphere abruptly absconded. It hid away in the dark recesses of the classroom, waiting for a different opportunity to stalk its prey. This behaviour was what made things clear.
I smell the presence of a demon.
With a narrowed gaze, Areii scanned the room again. This time, he did it slowly. No one looked him in the eye. Every noble in the room found it beneath them to interact with him.
But Areii knew.
There were definitely traces of a demon here. Palpable intent was not something that Energy Sorcerers were capable of exuding. Perhaps a [Soul Caller] from Earth could do so, but not Energy Sorcerers. Other than a demon, with its untamed and sinful desires, no other creature that Areii knew could exert such an influence through simple existence.
Which fool succumbed to temptation?
Disdain flashed deep within Areii's eyes.
There was a saying on Earth.
"With each flap of an Angel's wings, the demons would multiply."
Almost every human survivor knew of this saying. Angels signified despair, nothing but creatures with some twisted mind and a god complex. Yet, the demons and the Angels hated each other to the core. They would stop at nothing to eradicate the other.
Thus, the humans were caught in the crossfire.
Since Helen Montclair made use of an Angel's gift, the demons have responded in kind.
The assessment today was team-based. Using the data from earlier individual assessments, Grand Lord now had an accurate grasp on every student's abilities. Teams could thus be balanced out and standardized.
Areii opened his email and looked at what the school had on him.
=o=o=o=
Name: Areii Layvann
Student Number: 60606
Section: A-1 Leviathan
Energy Quality: Yellow (Average—Commoner)
Grade Point Average: 99.2% (Rare—Suggested occupation change: Tactician's Assistant.)
Physical Aptitude Grade: 36.8% (Slightly Above Average—Commoner.)
Energy Sorcerer Ranking: #649 (Rare)
=o=o=o=
As for his team, Areii tapped on a different file.
=o=o=o=
Rank #15 Kizzen Afa (Female — Barrier Mage)
Rank #244 Varia Malhomm ( Male — Blasting Mage)
Rank #649 Areii Layvann (Male — Blasting Mage)
Rank #928 Qui le Savayaan (Female — Barrier Mage)
=o=o=o=
A half-and-half configuration... Areii fell into thought.
With two mages of each combat type, Areii's team would have leeway in the distribution of forces. The boy could also make use of a few [War Saint] tactics to supplement their battles and get a high grade. Preferably, Areii wanted to score in the top ten of the batch.
It has to be mentioned that what also made this assessment different was that it rewarded Merit Points or [MPs]. With enough MPs, Areii could exchange for a variety of resources, ranging from highly nutritious food to expensive and complex energy source cores. The former was what any Earthling would expect—food that provided energy and nutrients to the body, giving Energy Sorcerers a boost in their stamina and e-regeneration (energy regeneration). The latter, on the other hand, was what the world of Aquamarine hungered for.
In Aquamarine, energy sources could be divided into levels. At the same time, each level a person has access to coincides with their status as an individual.
Charcoal (Slaves) ››› Biomass (Commoners) ››› Coal (Bourgeosie) ››› Natural Gas (Nobles) ››› Oil/Petroleum (Myths and Kings) ››› Solar, Wind, Hydroelectric, Geothermal (Legends) ››› Nuclear (Gods)
An energy source core contained different types of energy, and Aquamarine's technology relied heavily on them. They were like the planet's batteries—and only a few companies had access to their technology. Without an energy source core, harnessing any one type of energy would generate a lot of waste and inefficiency.
Moreover, Energy Sorcerers needed these energy source cores to gradually make changes to the quality of their energy. This was what created such a great divide in classes. Only the rich and powerful had access to high-level energy, while the poor and weak are left to survive on scraps and toxic waste.
Apart from people naturally born with high-quality energy, the rest of the populace had to—quite literally—bathe in higher energy. It was the only known way to transform the Energy Quality that one was born with.
And Areii was no stranger to this process. Bathing in blood was how a [War Saint] cultivated their blood aura.
"A War Saint who bathes in the blood of dragons shall become a dragon themselves."
It didn't take long for Areii to find his teammates. He spotted the trio from afar and walked over. The three nobles were exchanging pleasantries and discussed strategy.
When Areii arrived, however, they turned silent.
"..."
A frown appeared on their faces, and their eyes flashed with disdain. Varia Malhomm even had hints of hatred from the few times that the two had been in conflict.
Snickers echoed out from their surroundings, as other nobles looked forth with schadenfreude-laden expressions.
"So they're the team who got the commoner."
"I feel sorry for Kizzen. The fact that she's #15 on the rankings despite being in B-1 Behemoth speaks volumes about her abilities. Now that she's been lumped up with a commoner, there's no way she's going to get a good score."
"She got the worst two Leviathan students—Malhomm and Layvann. How miserable, no?"
"Her misfortune is our fortune."
"The fall of the Afa family is nigh. I believe it's time we sell our shares and pull out our investments."
Hearing these words made Kizzen's expression even worse. The eloquent slander of the surrounding nobles stung. Her eyes had already begun to turn red with anger.
Areii watched as this occurred, uncaring for the whispers and the gazes. He had nothing to lose and nothing to care for. These nobles could do nothing for the cries of a sea of banshees were much, much worse.
"Silence." A voice boomed from the central area. A platform had descended from the ceiling, housing a man with a lion-like frame. His long hair was like a golden mane, and his eyes pierced through everyone in the room.
His aura of dominance was different from Helen's. If the woman's dominance came from her abilities as an Energy Sorcerer, then this man's aura was birthed from the sheer force of his existence. From his stature at 7 feet tall and all muscle to the scars that riddled his arms, everything about him screamed danger.
Yet, he spoke gently, like a father to his daughter.
"Good," He smiled, revealing his pearly white canines. "For today's assessment, each team will be tested on their ability to raid a Giant Spider Nest inside the Virtual Realm. Bonus Merit Points will be awarded to those with the fastest clear time and the least amount of sustained losses. The top teams will also receive corresponding rewards.
"The assessment will last for two hours maximum, and you will be returned to reality upon death. There will be no respawns.
"Please move to your assigned [Virtual Mind Cabin] and connect to the Virtual Realm. Upon logging in, you will be summoned to the testing grounds. We will begin in five minutes!"
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