Argus knocked, and it didn't take long for someone to answer the door. A beautiful young lady with white hair and horns opened it. It was none other than Astelle.
Astelle was shocked by their "visitor." She saw a very beautiful girl. It was her first time seeing a beautiful girl the same age as her.
Astrea on the other hand was not surprised at the person in front of her as she already knows her though not personally. Astrea even have a favorable impression on her as she loves the food that the beautiful girl in front of her cooks. This was the first time the two meet.
'It looks like a beautiful art.'
Argus thought, he stared for a while before he cough. Astelle who was lost in thought was woken up by his cough and was again shock.
'What? Is this Argus? Why do he felt... Ordinary? What happened on him?'
She wondered.
"You... You're back."
"Yeah."
"And who is this young lady beside you?"
Argus glanced briefly at Astrea.
"I am Astrea. Nice to meet you."
Astrea introduced herself calmly. She already knew Astelle, but since this was their first face-to-face meeting, she needed to introduce herself.
"I am Astelle Arisia. You can call me a friend of Argus. Isn't that right?"
Astelle looked at Argus.
'Why do you need confirmation?' he thought, but outwardly, he just nodded.
"Anyways, come in. Perfect timing; those two idiots are also inside."
Astelle's expression soured at the thought of her brother and Rex. They entered the apartment, and Argus saw Kelvin and Rex holding a paper with a picture on it.
The two immediately notice the beautiful girl behind Astelle and the two was surprised.
"Hmm? Who is this beautiful lady? Why don't you introduce her to us?"
A smirk appeared on his face.
"I'm Astrea. I was saved by Master and decided to follow him for the rest of my life."
"""Master?!"""
Astrea's words stunned the three. All eyes turned to Argus. He gave a bitter smile—she wasn't entirely wrong.
'Whatever. Let's just go with it.'
He shrugged.
"I tried to stop her from calling me that," he said with a sigh.
Astelle looked at him with disdain. Rex smirked knowingly. Kelvin just looked confused.
Argus could tell—they each had their own thoughts but he didn't explain any further.
Astelle notice another thing from Argus.
'What low presence. Is that a skill?'
The same notion occurred to the two youngsters. They didn't notice him right away. On the other hand, it's because of his skill, and on the other hand, it's because Astrea can readily draw anyone's attention, which covers his already weak presence.
"Ahem... Uhm, Lady Astrea... How did Argus save you exactly?"
Astelle was the first to ask.
"I don't really want to talk about it right now."
Astrea replied curtly, trying to dodge the question.
"Ah, yes, if that's what you want."
The atmosphere turned awkward, which Rex noticed immediately.
"Anyway, since my brother here let you follow him, it means you're a trustworthy person. Welcome to the group! Perfect timing! I have great news for you. I tried to contact you many times, but it looks like you were far from the city."
Rex then spread out the papers he was holding.
"Do you know that they changed the enrollment this year? The Top 10 academies decided to have a joint enrollment this time."
Rex explained the information he has regarding the Academy enrollment.
According to him, the Top 10 Academy will conduct only two test: Level Test and Survival Test
1. Level Test
The minimum level requirement to enroll is level 25. That is all.
2. Survival Test
All who meet the requirements need to participate in the survival test.
Venue: Unknown
Duration: Unknown
Rules: Unknown
Rex thinks like any other survival test, the goal is to survive until the end. Passing the survival test guarantees enrollment in one of the Top 10 Academies. Even if you don't make it, the academy will consider you based on your performance. So, every Awakener need to show everything they got during the test. In simple words, passing the survival test guarantees enrollment on the Top 10 Academies.
"So you mean, the that it's joint and includes a survival test?"
Kelvin asked curiously. Rex nodded in confirmation.
"Yeah, that's basically it."
Astrea looked at the paper Rex spread out on the table, picking one of them up and reading its contents.
"What are these papers you brought, then?"
"This? These are list of basic profiles of new awakeners. They are two categories in this list. Elite list and Genius list. I, of course, was included in the Genius List. You two are in this as well. Argus was also in the Elite List. Even with you being low key, you were still included in this list. I want to remove you at first but my sister... This is the only thing that I can do."
Rex didn't continue what he was trying to say as he already saw Argus resignation expression. Kelvin and Astelle nodded as they began reading the profiles.
"So these are the elites and geniuses my grandpa told me about. I want to fight them."
"Calm down, sister. How did you get this information, by the way?"
"Well I made these. It even sells well as many people bought this. Since I've gotten your permission, your race was not hidden. Almost all of those who bought this List would probably be shocked. It's already been a week since I started selling this. Perfect timing, an auction event will occur this evening. Let's take a look?"
"I don't have a plan so why not?"
"Let's go then.
Argus ignored him. He and Astrea were curious on the list, so they each picked up a paper to read. Scanning the list of names, Argus realized he didn't recognize anyone on it.
Argus didn't care much about people he hadn't interacted with. He could remember faces after an encounter, but names? That was a different story.
As if Rex remembered something he looks at Argus.
"You just came back right? The registration for the test will start now. The test was tomorrow so let's go register."
***
"There's so many people, and the line's so long."
"Yeah, are all of them Awakeners?"
"How many of these are crouching dragons and hidden phoenixes?"
"Too many annoying trash."
"Too noisy."
Rex, Kelvin, and Astelle each had different thoughts. Astrea and Argus, on the other hand, were rather annoyed.
The five of them were currently at the entrance of the only colosseum. Even with the sheer number of people, there was still order. You could see people with emblems on their clothes stationed at every part of the colosseum. When their group showed up, they immediately drew attention.
Who wouldn't look at good-looking boys and girls? Their appearance and aura made the four of them stand out within the crowd. Some gave looks of admiration, curiosity, disdain, and jealousy.
"So handsome!"
"Two goddesses appeared!"
A group of three friends started to whisper to each other.
"Who are those people?"
"Tsk, their faces are maybe their only capital."
"You two don't know anything."
"It looks like you know something, so who are they?"
"Are they some big shots? Tsk, I hate those kinds of people. They're arrogant."
"Well, look at this."
The third friend handed them a paper. The same paper that Rex had bought.
"What's this?"
"Elites and Genius List? Is this some kind of joke? Who would do something like this? Are these even legitimate? Genius my ass!"
"Tsk tsk tsk, for your information, this list I bought is very legit. I bought it from none other than 'Mysteryoso.'"
"Mysteryoso?! That mysterious reporter? Are you serious?"
"Yeah! That person. I lined up for almost five hours just to buy this list!"
"If it came from that person, then this list is one hundred percent true."
Mysteryoso was a famous person. No one knew his true identity, but many people found him trustworthy.
"Let's see... so that's the son of the current head of the Obscurite Clan?"
"Genius class, huh. Not surprising, a man who grew up with a golden spoon and was lucky enough to awaken a Unique Class. This world is really unfair."
"Those twins, hmm. Their race?!! Draconian?!"
"What?! That legendary race appeared?!"
"Genius List, huh. Not surprising, they're called a legendary race for a reason."
"The other beautiful woman isn't on this list though. Is beauty the only thing she possesses? A woman of either of those two?"
His voice was a bit loud, so the group heard him — including Astrea, of course.
"Maybe she's a b—."
Since the second hole only floated 20 meters above, the man's desperate screams could still be clearly heard every time he reappeared.
There was no loud impact — only the sound of him slipping straight into the hole below. However, with each fall, his speed slightly increased as acceleration added up.
By the fourth cycle, just as the man's voice cracked into a pitiful whimper, Argus, who had been silently watching, finally spoke.
"Astrea, that's enough."
His voice was calm but firm.
Astrea clicked her tongue, reluctant but obediently following her master's words.She gave the man one last cold glance before waving her hand.
The two holes vanished at the same time, and the man crashed flat onto the ground with a dull thud.
He groaned miserably, unable to move for a while.
The surrounding crowd kept quiet, pretending they hadn't seen anything. Most of them lowered their heads, secretly feeling a mix of fear and pity.
No one dared to speak any more careless words. They just stared fearfully on the girl who cause all this.