"Did he just tell Amanda Verne 'sunny innit'?"
"What the fuck did that idiot just say?"
"He just told Amanda Verne sunny innit hahaha!"
Some of the rich nobles who gathered in a corner burst into laughter when they heard what Lucius said.
The man of the moment inwardly facepalmed. He felt like digging a hole and burying himself but forced himself to maintain a calm appearance. He was already deep enough in aura debt, he couldn't make things worse by reacting.
The person that was spoken to, Amanda, glanced at Lucius briefly then walked towards another corner of the room. Away from where the rich, young nobles gathered, and away from the mode of everyone present.
In the next few minutes, everyone witnessed something surprising. The nobles, that most people had spent the bulk of their time sucking up to were currently trying to suck up to Amanda.
By the looks of it, they were failing terribly. She looked visibly annoyed, but nobody cared. Eventually, some of the others gained confidence and went to suck up to her as well.
"The way of the world". Lucien muttered under his breath.
"Right?" A male voice from behind Lucien said causing the latter to nearly jump out of his skin.
"And who are you?" Lucien asked as he turned around.
Standing in front of him was a boy, a little taller than most, with a thin frame that seemed a little out of place when compared with the muscular figures of the majority. His light brown hair hung loosely over his forehead, brushed aside just enough to keep his vision clear. A pair of slim glasses rested on his nose, catching a bit of light, but not enough to hide the sharpness in his blue eyes.
His clothes were clean and well-fitted, quiet in tone, not flashy but clearly chosen with care.
"Alex Greene". Alex said while stretching out his hand for a handshake.
Lucien blinked twice when he heard the last name. He looked at his transmission watch, a watch that slowly replaced cellphones until they were obsolete, and on the strap, the name Greene was printed on it.
"Greene from Green Enterprises?" Lucien asked while pointing to the Greene on it.
"Yes, although your watch is a very outdated". Alex said. He then grabbed Lucien's hand and placed the watch on his ears. "He says he wants to be put out of his misery".
Lucius chuckled. "Very funny, you kn-" Lucien paused. Alex didn't look like he was joking at all. "Wait, you're not joking?"
"Nope". Alex shook his head. "He wants to die". He pointed at the watch.
"Too bad, I don't have money for a new one". Lucius muttered.
Alex put his hand inside his pockets and brought out a new watch that was not at all Identical to the one that Lucius wore. It looked a lot more recent compared to what Lucius was wearing.
"Here you go then". Alex said, placing the watch in Lucius' hand. "Just put that poor soul out of its misery".
Lucius was stunned for a few moments. By the time he recovered, Alex had already disappeared into the crowd.
'What I'd give to be some carefree young debauchee'
"Alright everyone, gather round!"
While Lucius was lamenting his fate, a voice echoed inside the room. The source of the voice was a man that was in his early thirties. He was wearing the academy's standard instructor's uniform. Behind him were several other figures that were wearing the same outfit.
"So if you're here, then congratulations. You've been invited to study in the Academy for Demigods. If you're here then it means that we believe that you will be the backbone that will spearhead the human race into dominating the ongoing war against the monsters and threaten our existence"
"What's going to happen next is merely a formality. We're going to examine your divine signatures and your physical prowess and then you'll engage in combat so that we'll know the extent of your abilities". Logan said.
"Alright then, everyone should make two lines so that we'll be able to text your divine signature and physical prowess simultaneously so that we'll be able to place you in good draws for the combat assessment".
Everyone did as they were told and got into two lines. Lucius got into the line for the physical assessment first.
There was a square stone that had a couple of wires attached to it, leading onto a screen that was in the hands of the person conducting the test. The concept was that when the stone was it, it would measure the force behind the hit, thus measuring the strength behind the punch.
Lucius got on pretty well, in fact his score was among the strongest which made him feel a little happy. His happiness didn't last long however. Before long, he finished testing his divine signature.
There was a crystal that was somehow of similar size to the stone used in the physical assessment. One would put their hand on the crystal and then it would glow with an intensity that represented how strong one's ability was, their divine signature.
Lucius was a bit nervous when he put his hand on the crystal. Up until that moment, he had been left alone, ignored, treated like another person. After this, he would actively be ostracized and discriminated against. He rather enjoyed his moment of peace.
A few seconds after Lucius placed his hand on the divine crystal, it didn't glow at all. The person conducting the test furrowed his brows.
"Try again". He said after hitting the crystal a few times
Lucien placed his hand on the crystal again but nothing changed. The crystal didn't glow.
"There's nothing here". The person conducting it said, his disbelief was quite evident with the tone of his voice. "It's empty. He has no divine signature"
'Kill me now'