Alicia was going through some complicated emotions at that moment.
This in and of itself was already surprising. Especially considering that she hadn't felt such a range of emotions ever since she was brought to Natura's capital all those years ago.
By her best count, which was almost always correct, there were nearly 300 people in the Coliseum that she now found herself in.
The confusing part came from her surroundings, specifically the multitude of people surrounding her.
This was the beginning of the orientation for those of the Heaven Class.
Which, according to her elders, was the most elite and hard to succeed in class of the Aserx Academy in the great Alcatum Continent.
"Does this mean they are all nearly as talented and strong as me?" She questioned while analyzing the bearings of the youths around her.
Shortly after doing so, she noticed something that made everything make more sense and caused her to smirk slightly in disdain.
They were weak, or to be more accurate; a vast majority of the people here didn't have the pressure or sharp gaze that she was used to seeing.
They were a far cry from the older elven teens that helped train her instincts and sense for battle.
In other words, these youths may have potential, but most of them were simply flowers that grew up in a greenhouse and would falter and shatter at the slightest issue.
Following this discovery, she began to feel complacent about her future at the Academy. She was already imagining the scenes of her crushing all the competition.
She might even become the youngest graduate the Heaven Class had ever seen and return in glory to lead her Kingdom after becoming a world class expert.
While she was indulging in her fantasies, a sudden pressure hit her heart. Her skin broke out in goose bumps. Her breath turning erratic as her panic almost made her take off running.
Looking up and around wildly for what had set her off so strongly, she quickly spotted four blurry figures floating above the four corners of the arena.
Each with different colored pressures radiating from their persons that caused her heart to flutter with fear. She wondered briefly if she was going to die here before achieving her goals.
After looking at them for a second though she was able to make out that the four figures were all wearing the standard teaching suits of the Academy allowing a large boulder to lift from her heart.
She knew that this must be some sort of test and not an attempt by hostile forces to kill any would be competitors in the cradle before they could grow.
Realizing this all in the matter of a few seconds due to her strict anti-ambush training she was forced to undergo by her paranoid grandmother, her thoughts quickly shifted to trying to understand the purpose of the teacher's actions.
That's when it hit her, and with a quick look around she saw that some of the students around her had already collapsed and were knocked unconscious.
They were testing their resolve, and as far as the purpose of such a thing Alicia couldn't understand.
Judging the previously statuesque enforcement students' rapid movement to remove all the students who fainted from the arena, they had been eliminated.
She knew that she couldn't afford to fail this impromptu test no matter what. It was at that moment that the world around her shifted.
Everything in her eyes gained a blue tint that threatened to overwhelm her entire being.
She was forced to use all her energy fighting to withstand the feeling of freezing and drowning that simultaneously fell upon her.
Firming up her mind, Alicia couldn't help feeling surprised and a little afraid.
"This level of power already feels as strong as the guard captain by grandma's side!" She screamed in her mind. Her earlier arrogance was completely crushed by the reality she faced.
Since these teachers were here doing this, it must mean that they hadn't actually been accepted into the Heaven Class of the Academy yet and were still being tested.
She was furious at the unfairness of the Academy for a moment for not letting any of the prospective students know such a critical fact.
With her face grimacing in pain, her normally pale skin was flushed with an unusual level of redness that made her face appear like blood would leak out at any moment.
Her normally silver and arctic blue hair was awash in the all-encompassing blue that only served to give her an embarrassing look.
'I would certainly make many of my suitors back home disgusted with this look' She thought with a wry grin. The thought was stupid, but it helped distract her for a while.
She couldn't tell whether it was seconds, minutes, or hours later but eventually she realized that everything seemed to have changed.
The blue colored pressure that up to that point had seemed unchanging went still for a second, then the world exploded into a cacophony of four colors.
Alicia was forced to withstand the strongest pressure she had ever felt in her life.
It was so powerful and packed with so much intention that Alicia could tell that if it weren't for the obviously reduced strength used against them everyone in the arena would have surely burst into pieces based on the sheer amount of pressure acting on their bodies.
"Is this what strength I will need to overcome? Is it even possible for one person to go against such people?"
Alicia could feel her mental fortitude weakening as the pressure continued to crush down upon her and the surrounding students.
Forcing open eyes that she had just realized were closed, she witnessed the four colors of blue, red, green and purple were overlapping and intermingling.
That was when her eyes caught sight of a figure standing a few feet away that was easily noticeable from her angle.
Upon seeing that there was another student near her enduring the pressure she strengthened her own resolve to hold on for as long as necessary.
She would not be defeated by any of her peers and certainly not on the very day of orientation. With her newfound strength she was able to look around slightly.
She was able to see a few more students in her line of sight, restricted as it was by the colorful suppressive domain they were still weathering.
Now she knew why her grandmother and the elders made it a requirement to pass this class to succeed to the throne.
If this is how they vet potential students, then there would surely be many more hellish experiences and grueling challenges for them.
Far from scaring her, the thought of the arduous path she was about to embark on only served to make her determination even stronger.
Just as she had become determined to suffer under the pressure all day if need be, it was gone.
The pressure from all sides vanished as if it were never there to begin with. All that was left was the four floating teachers.
They were still covered in their own unique pressures of students that managed to withstand the pressure.
The teachers seemed to exchange some words that she couldn't hear due to the height at which they stood.
The next thing she knew, the green-colored teacher seemed to wave a hand. She watched the sky flash as kei energy flowed across the sky almost as if painting a picture in the sky itself.
The very next moment, the design was completed and began to glow with an increasing emerald brilliance that soon encompassed her whole vision.
She could barely feel the energy in the air acting on her in some mysterious way.
When she next could make out her surroundings, she found herself in a large auditorium with approximately 50 other kids her age all around her in seats just like herself.
She could tell at first glance that these kids were different from all the ones she had seen earlier.
They had a certain look in their eyes and carried themselves with a level of steadiness that she hadn't expected to see.
She was beginning to get excited at the prospect of fighting and beating all these talented people!
She took a deep, calming breath and raised her focus and senses to the maximum in preparation for the next hurdle that was sure to be coming soon.
Alicia was confident she had figured out what was going on. The admission process was a way to weed out those that couldn't cross the talent barrier needed to excel in the Heaven Class.
The pressure test that just occurred was used to further weed out those who lacked the ambition or determination to push beyond their limits and become a true powerhouse.
With the talent and willpower aspects of the students already tested, the only thing left that had yet to be examined was the actual combat ability of the students hoping to stay in the Heaven Class.
At that moment there was a flash of light and the same four teachers from before appeared in front of the classroom.
Each one was no longer covered in that god awful pressure and Alicia could finally make out the details of each of her new teachers.
The first thing that jumped out to her was their age, they were all much younger looking than she expected them to be.
Granted, as the premiere Academy of the Continent and possibly the most famous Academy of the world it was understandable for the teachers to be of an excellent quality.
Still, Alicia could tell that the twenty-something-looking teachers in front of her were really only that old.
It was one of the abilities her instructors at the royal palace had taught her that used her elven heritage that had a close connection to life energy to determine how old someone is.
With old experts being able to change their features at any time and as the queen to be, it was imperative for her to be able to tell who's who.
She was certain that none of the teachers in front of her were over the age of 30. They still radiated with strength.
Even some of the most talented elves of her kingdom hadn't reached their power level until well into their hundreds.
She noticed there were two male and two female teachers. The male covered in red turned out to be a half orc half human.
Judging by the overall human appearance except for the fangs that poked out of his bottom mouth.
The male covered in green earlier seemed to be a normal human, that is if not for the faint white light that radiated from his skin and pulsed every few seconds like a slow heartbeat.
The female covered in blue seemed like a pure human with an extreme affinity for water and ice-based Kei.
Her sky blue hair and arctic white eyes that caused a shiver to run down Alicia's back when she glanced at them.
The final woman covered in purple surprised her for a second as she saw that she was a pure-blooded elf, obviously one with a mutation.
Most pure bloods had nature Kei, but hers had transmuted into thunder and lightning somehow.
Alicia noticed the woman turn her head towards her and smile lightly in her direction before nodding her head.
With her expectations mounting with each moment. She was starting to look forward to this place.
Alicia couldn't help but make a mental note to herself to send a thank you letter back to her grandmother for forcing her to come here.
It wouldn't be easy, and it was sure to be painful, but she could tell that she would be able to get much stronger here.
Forget being strong enough to take over the crown.
If her conjectures about the future were correct then she might even be strong enough to investigate the disappearance of her parents when she finally left.
At that moment, as if feeling that they had given the students enough time to compose themselves, the teachers cleared their throats.
All the still dazing students snapped back to the present. Everyone jumped forward and lasered in on the teachers, having subconsciously realized they were the ones who released the pressure.
Even if most of them had been too shocked to notice who it was before. The Elven teacher stepped forward then and began to speak.
"Welcome to the first year's Heaven Class everyone, I am glad to see that so many of you have made it this far. That is something to be proud of, but"
At this moment she paused, looked around at all the students focused on her.
"This is just the beginning. There will be many more of you who drop out before the first month is over.
If you manage to last beyond that point, then and only then can you consider yourself as an actual student of my Heaven Class."
The elven lady smiled kindly, appearing to have not noticed the tense atmosphere that had come back in full force following her words.