NOVPUB
Chapter 97: Rewards
A black-haired girl slowly rose from her seat, wearing a flowing black dress that clung tightly to her body. A shadowy gown-veil hung over her head, casting a faint shadow over her pale, expressionless face.
Her skin was like porcelain, made more noticeable by the inky black lipstick that painted her lips. Dark kohl traced her eyes, matching the abyss-like black of her irises, and her fingernails—glossy and pitch black—flashed faintly as her hand brushed against her robes.
Each step she took made the crowd’s heart race in fear and trepidation. A few students shivered as she passed, yet no one dared to stare at her for more than a second as they all averted their gazes.
"Nyss Blackwell. Duke House Blackwell. Six Mana Channels. Mana Capacity: High. Tier 3 Thunder and Tier 3 Shadow Affinity."
"What the fuck! Another Advanced Affinity User???" A student nearly cried tears of regret for being born in this generation.
"The fuck is happening here?? Why are so many monsters rising in our time?" Some students actually felt like dropping out of the academy.
After all, even if they had Tier 2 Affinity, there was a considerable gap between their foundation and the foundation of these few monsters who stepped on the stage.
Meanwhile, Nyss ascended to the top of the floating platform and stood there alone—away from everyone.
"She’s like... goth royalty," someone whispered in awe.
"Thunder and Shadow—what a terrifying combo," another muttered. "No wonder they call her the Freak of House Blackwell."
Orion looked at her with shining eyes, ’Damn, a goth baddie.’
[Hehe Master, she looks perfect for you! See those calm and indifferent eyes, as if everyone here is beneath her. You will be the perfect match for her! (๑˃ᴗ˂)ﻭ]
Orion inwardly chuckled, ’Calm down, I don’t know her behavior or anything. Who knows if we’re even compatible or not. Let’s just wait and see how everything goes.’
Elanora smiled sweetly looking at Nyss but didn’t comment further. After giving the crowd a few seconds to calm down, she continued.
"Third..." Pausing a little, she smiled faintly, "Emilia Ashborn."
The students looked at each other with wide eyes. They didn’t expect her to be ranked even above the Duke Heirs.
"She really lives up to that weapon."
"The Spear Saint’s daughter?!"
"She’s a monster with a spear! I heard she is as good as Sylvia with her weapon."
Arya, seated beside Orion, leaned slightly and whispered, "She deserves the recognition. She’s been training like a lunatic ever since she was five."
Orion softly smiled and nodded his head, and inwardly thought, ’Well, she needs to keep up with a monster like you. Of course she has to train hard.’
Emilia calmly rose from her seat with her unchanging expression.
"Emilia Ashborn. House Ashborn. Six Mana Channels. Mana Capacity: High. Tier 3 Thunder and Tier 3 Water Affinity."
She climbed atop the platform calmly and stood with Sylvia and Garron.
Elanora nodded at Emilia and continued to read, "Now, for our second-ranked student, and also one of the most talented throughout the history of our academy." She paused and took a deep breath, "Arya Stormrend!"
The crowd breathlessly looked at her before bursting out with cheers and applause. Nobles and commoners alike stood up to welcome her.
Arya, however, simply rose from her seat with a calm smile on her face.
"Hehe, I will see you up there now, Brother Orion." She softly chuckled and began ascending toward the platform.
Orion gently shook his head and watched her as she ascended the platform.
"Arya Stormrend. Royal House Stormrend. Seven Mana Channels. Mana Capacity: Peak. Tier 4 Light and Tier 4 Thunder Affinity." She gently announced and nodded at Arya with a smile.
Arya smiled back and gently bowed before going to stand beside Emilia.
With her going there, the entire crowd became silent, their anticipation surging to the peak as they knew who remained—the anomaly who awakened with four elements, one of the brightest stars in the kingdom’s history.
Elanora’s eyes turned toward Orion, her lips curling into a playful smile, "And lastly... the one who unquestionably ranked first in the entrance exam. Welcome Orrrrioooonnn Helstrom!!" she shouted as if someone was entering a boxing ring.
Orion smirked and stood up, forcing everyone to turn their gazes toward him from atop the platform. Slowly, he moved forward.
"Candidate Orion Helstrom. Noble House Helstrom. Eight Mana Channels. Mana Capacity: Supreme Tier. Tier 5 Fire, Tier 5 Light, Tier 4 Wood, and Tier 4 Wind Affinity."
The entire crowd exploded once again, hearing the confirmation from Vice Dean Elanora about his result.
"Holy hell, it’s still the same! I was expecting the testing orb to malfunction." One boy from a noble family regretfully said.
"The hell!? Do you know how much political power he will give our kingdom once he grows up? We will become the strongest Human Kingdom." Another young man from a different noble family directly rebuked him.
"Yes, but we might not be nobles at that time." The first noble thoughtfully said, making even the second noble silent.
At another section of the seats, a group of students stared ahead in disbelief.
"Four high-level affinities. Eight Mana Channels. And Supreme Grade mana capacity," a girl with azure hair murmured. "Who can compare with him?"
Another older-looking student beside her nodded, "It would be hard to find a talent of his level even in the Empire, much less this kingdom."
"Haa... Helstroms really struck gold with him." At another part, a youth from a high-ranking noble family couldn’t help but shake his head.
Orion slowly ascended the platform with his hands behind his back. His flowing black hair painted a picture of a celestial ascending. All the students gazed at him with bated breath.
He could also feel the waves of envy, jealousy, admiration... and lust? He turned around to see girls from both commoner backgrounds and nobles looking at him with slightly heated gazes.
His lips twitched as he hurried his footsteps. Looking ahead, he saw the two giant statues holding the banner majestically standing tall.
’It’s finally my turn to shine here,’ he thought, reaching the top of the platform.
[Hehehe! You got them all, Master! First place!!!＼(≧▽≦)／]
’Of course I did. Who else could have topped my results?’
Elanora curiously looked over at him, seeing how he went directly toward Arya and stood beside her. However, the only one who didn’t even look toward him was Nyss. She still stood there indifferently.
Even Garron nodded toward him out of respect for his talent and background.
Elanora clapped her hands to gather everyone’s attention, "Welcome to the Thunderpeak Royal Academy, the top geniuses of this year. Your batch probably has the most amount of geniuses in the past hundreds of years."
"So now," she playfully smiled, "let’s talk about the rewards the top 10 will receive for giving us such an exceptional display of their talent. Now, from rank 10 to 4, each of them will receive a Custom-Made Armament Voucher—they can use this to have the Runesmith of our academy make a Tier 7 Armament for them. Ranked 2nd and 3rd will get the same voucher for a Tier 8 Armament, while Orion—the first-ranked individual—will get a voucher for a Rank 9 Armament."
