Currently, there are ten people who have reached the Sword God/ Arcane God Soul Realm. They are called the Ten Supremes, the highest martial might of the Ataraxia Empire.
However, the Dean of the Academy, William Ivan Goodfella, is the only person in the Ataraxia Empire who has surpassed this profound soul realm and stepped into the "Life and Death" Soul Realm — a realm just below the Celestial Beings.
If he can surpass the Life and Death Realm, he will become an immortal being and join the ranks of the Celestial Beings, known as Demi-Gods.
Though even after reaching the Celestial Being Realm, there are additional levels and stages of power.
Gray clicked his tongue inwardly. He didn't expect to be noticed by the powerhouse of the academy, and it happened because he had unleashed his Abyssal energy.
Gray mainly has two types of mana: one is regular mana, and the other is Abyssal energy.
When he injected his fingers into the stone slab, he used his Abyssal energy on his fingers and unleashed it like threads, cutting the stone slabs into cube-sized pieces.
He thought no one would notice such faint Abyssal energy, but as the Dean was a Life and Death Realm master, he had noticed.
Gray looked at the Dean with worry, while the Dean looked at him with intrigued eyes.
Right then,
- We should talk after the entrance ceremony, young man.
The Dean smiled and left his position.
'He left like that?' Gray became puzzled. He had expected the Dean to ask questions, but he just left.
Gray let out a deep sigh.
* * *
The practical exam came to an end, and the prospective students were moved to a massive auditorium, where every department — Magic, Knight, Scholar — had gathered. Here, the combined results of the written and practical exams would be announced.
Gray and Soren Valerian were sitting in the front row with calm and composed expressions. Around them, others were anxious as the results would be announced soon; some were praying, and others were swearing that they would stop doing the bad things they had continued.
"God, please let me pass, I won't treat people badly."
"I'll stop seeing people as trash."
"I'll stop beating my maid."
The anxiety was particularly strong among noble students because their family's reputation depended on their performance.
There were also students who didn't show emotions about the results; rather, they were focused on Gray. One of them was Zeke von Melvinger.
He was constantly glaring at Gray while trying to sense his mana.
However, the mana he was sensing from Gray was just at the Sword Expert mid stage, while what Gray had demonstrated was closer to the Transcendent Realm.
Zeke sighed. The more he saw Gray, the more unusual he seemed.
Meanwhile, Kalsa Bakiraga had a faint smile on his face. He was thinking about challenging Gray, as warriors speak with action rather than words.
At the same time, he was annoyed because the mages sitting beside him, who hadn't witnessed Gray's prowess, were questioning the evaluation system and calling Gray a fraud.
"A stupid fool like him scored 1st in the Knight Corps. Huh."
"Cutting a boulder into cubes? Huh, we can do that with our eyes closed," one mage remarked.
"Yeah. The brutes can't compare to us with the brute things they are meant to do."
"hahaha,"
At their mocking remarks, Kalsa Bakiraga snapped and was about to stand up to them, but the instructors entered the room and demanded silence.
"Tsk," Kalsa Bakiraga clicked his tongue in annoyance.
Meanwhile, many female students were interested in Gray as well. They were captivated by Gray's handsome looks. Moreover, Gray was from one of the Seven Great Families, making him even more of a suitable husband material.
Since political marriage was the norm, choosing someone like Gray was a blessing to them.
Just then, Instructor Joseph Klash, who was in charge of the Knight Department practical exam, spoke,
"Silence... now we will announce the results."
As he finished, an old magic teacher stepped forward and cast a spell.
Fwoooosh..
The spell created a transparent sheet floating in midair. On it, all students names and exam results were displayed in columns and rows, clearly visible to everyone.
"Wooah."
"Incredible."
The prospective students were mesmerized by this spell, especially the students from the Magic Department, as they realized how advanced the magic the professor had used was.
After a moment of awe, the students looked for their results. The spell also had a feature: each student could locate their name in an instant.
As students saw their results, some started crying, while others laughed with joy.
Seeing this Gray clicked his tongue inwardly. He recalled the moments on Earth when his colleague received promotions, while he stood alone on the sidelines, lonely
The winner gains tomorrow, while the loser learns the truth, standing beside the winner with a devastated expression.
Gray shook his head and looked for his results. However, before he could see them on the huge floating magical sheet, some people started shouting in anger.
Startled, Gray turned to them; they were the prospective students from the Magic Department.
"Hmm!?"
Gray raised an eyebrow — their anger was directed at him.
"How can a Swordsman get full marks in Magic!!"
"This is preposterous!"
"There must be some mistake."
The magic students showed incomprehension.
In response, Professor Joseph Klash stepped forward and spoke, infusing mana into his voice, making it intimidating and hard for anyone to endure:
"By the Dean's order, Gray von Ashborn is hereby declared the honor student of the great Rajuk Caeloria Academy."
'What??' Gray's eyes widened at his words.
"For his unimaginable performance, Gray will be given special privileges. Such as..."
As Professor Joseph continued, Gray grew more and more confused.
Instinctively, Gray then looked at the results sheet.
"!!"
Gray's eyes widened even further.
Gray von Ashborn:
Written Exam: Magic: 100, Knight: 100
Practical Exam: 100
"Since his magic answer sheet could be questioned and might broaden the perspectives of aspiring mages, it will be displayed on the academy board."