He stared at the woman in front of him with undisguised hatred, his hands tightening up and his legs spread apart, ready to attack.
Tap!
He suddenly felt a tap on his shoulder just as he was about to flare up; the tap seemed to have grounded Cole a little, making him slightly come to his senses.
"The academy has extremely dangerous people; this is not the time to flare up. " He thought as he slowly calmed his emotions.
After regaining a little bit of his composure, he turned to check who actually tapped him.
Behind him was a guy that seemed within his age range, possessing a slightly typical face. He had brown hair, with his distinguishing feature being his slightly bushy eyebrows.
"Umm, you were standing for too long, so I decided to inform you," the person said gently.
"Oh, sorry, sorry," he apologized before turning towards the counter again.
"I would like to register," he said while trying his best to keep a neutral face.
The woman across from him maintained her sly smile while handing a form to Cole.
"Fill this out as soon as possible and wait to get your things."
On the mention of things, he suddenly remembered his luggage that he brought along on his way to the academy.
"Where's my clothes and money?" He asked suspiciously while taking the form from the woman.
"All external items are forbidden in the Spiriters Academy; all items needed will be provided by the Academy." The woman replied.
"How did that girl have her phone then?" He questioned internally.
He quickly waved the thought off his mind, grabbing the form and moving towards another location to fill it.
Basic reading and writing were usually taught to children in the slums as part of some government program to launder money.
He wasted no time before checking through the information on the form and filling it out as best as he could, but something made Cole stop his actions.
"Innate Spirit star rank" was written boldly with an empty space allocated in front of it.
Cole thought for a while before writing "one star" and then proceeding to submit the form back to the woman.
The woman picked up the form, looked towards Cole, then at the form, and then at Cole.
"One-star innate spirits don't belong here," she said while staring at Cole.
As if wanting to intentionally cause trouble for Cole, she unnecessarily raised her voice while saying that.
His breathing skipped, his hands slightly shivering. He stood pondering what exactly to do.
"One-star innate spirits need to undergo a test before they can be officially registered," she continued to say.
Cole felt a bit relieved, hearing that there was still hope for him in the academy.
"Why weren't we told this before?" He asked.
"No one expects a star to even make it here." She said with a smile still on her face.
The conversation seemed to have attracted the people's attention as they began mocking Cole while giggling amidst themselves.
"One-star ranks are to report to the testing center first," she said.
Cole stood in his spot, his previously suppressed emotions about to be under the mocking gaze of other students.
Cole's teeth clenched hard, his fingers digging deep into his palm, his eyes growing slightly bloodshot.
This time there was no one to bring him back from the brink of eruption, his whole being ready to start a battle.
"Relax, Kid," Cole suddenly heard.
The voice seemed to speak directly to him; no one else in the hall appeared to have heard it.
Vigilance overtook his rage as Cole hurriedly surveyed his environment.
"Is the academy really this dangerous? This is the second time I would feel something strange in such a short while," Cole questioned.
Cole didn't wait anymore in the building, as he directly stormed out of the place, ready to head to the testing center.
Following the map he saw in the previous location, Cole headed towards a part of the academy.
As Cole headed further, the students seemed to be reducing in frequency until they all disappeared totally.
After walking for about 20 minutes, Cole finally found the testing center.
The building felt completely out of place in the academy, with its dilapidated appearance and almost lifeless vibe. It was made of wood, unlike the typical appearance of other buildings.
Cole wasted no time before heading straight into the building. The interior didn't fail Cole's expectations, as every step he took produced a creaking sound.
After a while of waiting awkwardly in the hall, Cole couldn't find anyone to attend to him.
Five minutes.
Ten minutes.
After about twenty minutes, Cole finally lost his patience and decided to leave the building.
He took steps towards the door he came in through as briskly as possible, but just before he could reach the door.
"Stop, kid," Cole heard from behind, accompanied by a weird inexplicable pressure.
The boy hurriedly turned to see. It was an old man standing there in a half-leaning position. His lean was supported by the wooden cane in his hands.
"We don't get students here often," the man said slowly.
"Looks like you aren't too talented. How did you get to the academy then? " The man asked.
Unable to find any response to the man's words, Cole was only able to stand there and stare back at him.
"All those don't even matter; the main point now is, are you strong enough to stay?" He asked with a squinted expression.
The previous awkwardness in Cole's gaze completely vanishes, completely replaced by burning resoluteness.
"Fiery gaze you got there, kid," the man said as he turned to enter deeper into the building.
He silently followed the old man, intentionally lagging behind by a few steps.
"The testing center tests only one thing, and that's strength," the old man said as he continued walking.
"You will be battling the weakest second-year student and you must at least draw to pass, or you can just forget it ".
He was quite shocked by this revelation, slightly stopping in his tracks as fear was about to settle in him.
But that doubt quickly disappeared and was soon replaced with more confidence.
"Bring it on!" he screamed internally.