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[Destiny Path - The Institute of Bloodlines]

[The entrance exam will be held tomorrow morning]

When he received this invitation, Emery did not need to think twice about this. These kinds of things rarely came across and there were plenty of reasons for him to join this institute, especially after he saw the word 'bloodlines'.

First, this institute could give Emery the solution he needed to win the next stage game. Ever since he obtained his bloodline, it had never let him down. The transformation his bloodline had given to him granted him extraordinary raw power without the need of weapons or items. Therefore, Emery believed this was his bloodline's chance to shine even more.

Second, Emery, to this date, was still unable to activate his second stage transformation no matter how hard he tried. Thus, he hopes to find an answer for this problem

The last and most important reason, the institute might have an answer about his true origin. Emery had always wondered about it, wanting to find his origins. He truly needed answers; answers about who he really was and why he was so different compared to the other feys.

Closing his eyes, Emery took a deep breath and went to rest. There was a long day ahead of him.

As soon as the morning light peeked through the window, Emery immediately got up from his bed and prepared himself for the upcoming exam. Walking out of the palace and through the courtyard, where the five statues stood, Emery once again looked at the information listed in the invitation.

The invitation led him towards an unmarked portal, which would transport him to a secret location. Looking at the portal before him, Emery decided to take another look at the information, lest he went into the wrong one and got lost. After being sure that it was the correct portal, he immediately walked into it.

When he arrived at the other end of the portal, Emery was surprised the sight presented before him was not what he had thought it would be. The location was not in the middle of a mountain, nor deep into a forest. In fact, the place where Emery currently stood was a bustling city, where he could see a view similar to that of the Golden City.

One of the locals, who saw Emery just standing there and looking around, approached him and said.

"Welcome to Zodiac City."

This bustling city was located on a hill by the beach, the city itself swallowed most of the hill making it a unique yet strange sight. Besides, there was something very different in this city, when Emery compared it to Golden City, its inhabitants.

Most of the residents, who filled this city, were not like ordinary people, but rather 'special'. Looking around and observing everything that caught his attention, Emery found the people here had horns, tails, scales, and so on. A sight that was quite intriguing for him.

Emery then stepped out of the portal and began walking through the main road. As he walked, Emery was increasingly amazed by the beauty of this city and the interactions between ordinary people and 'special' people. These people interacted in a friendly manner with each other, truly a harmonious sight to behold.

Along the way, Emery could also spot several giant statues situated on the side of the road. Those statues depicted creatures that looked extraordinary. One of them looked like a tiger with wings on its back, there was also one who looked like a colossal turtle with a city on top of its shell. Looking at these statues, Emery believed there were many more of them spreaded across the city.

"Emery!" Hearing a voice calling his name, Emery turned around to look who it was. In the distance, a white-haired woman with pale skin was walking toward him.

"Silva" Emery felt glad to finally able to see her again.

Scanning Emery from head to toe, Silva crossed her arms and said jokingly, "It has been a year, but I see that you look as stupid as usual, Emery."

Scratching his head, Emery replied with a smile, "Yes, yes. The city is quite overwhelming for me. By the way, this place is amazing!"

"It's alright, I guess." Silva indifferently said, as she stared at the beautiful city. However, Emery could see a small smile on Silva's face when she said that.

Even though it had been a year since that eventful day, the things that had happened in Elder Respite were still crystal clear in Emery's mind. The girl he remembered was always angry and sullen all the time.

"It looks like she has changed." Emery thought, as he smiled faintly and looked at Silva.

Silva realized Emery was looking at her and immediately frowned. "What are you looking at, you dumbwit?!"

'Nope! She is still the same.' Emery thought loudly in his mind.

Waving his hands in the air, Emery said, "I was just surprised to see you smile. That's all."

Upon hearing Emery's reply, Silva was stunned and paused for a moment. But then, she immediately returned to her usual annoyed expression.

"Huh?! I smile because I like it here! Who wouldn't?!" Silva snarled. "In this place, our kind doesn't need to hide themselves."

After thinking for a while, Emery just realized the meaning of 'our kind' in her words.

"Since you are here, I assume that you finally got the invitation to enter the bloodline institute?"

"Yeah... that's exactly what happened."

"I see, I guessed you should have. By the way, I have seen your fight in the first stage. I gotta say that it was… quite interesting. But, don't think that's enough to compare with the elite class."

Hearing the word 'elite class', Emery's eyes lit up as he asked a question.

"Really? Tell me about it then."

Rolling her eyes at Emery, Silva said, "Huh?! You still know nothing, aren't you?" Silva then shook her head and beckoned Emery to follow her. "It's not the time to chit chat. We should head to the gathering area soon. You will see what I mean in there."

Emery nodded his head and followed suit. The two of them walked through the main road, as they went towards the hill summit, where Emery could clearly see a palace standing. As it turned out, the palace wasn't their destination, but it was the towering building right next to it.

Looking at the signboard plastered on the building's gate, Emery could clearly read two words.

[Bloodline Institute]

Emery and Silva then entered the building, as they made their way into a spacious, majestic-looking hall. Emery could see dozens of acolytes standing and chatting with each other. He then noticed there were dozens of figures standing on the top floor of the hall, watching and looking at them with interest.

On the walls of the hall, Emery could see several banners showing symbols that looked like nobles' insignia.

Silva came closer to Emery and whispered something to him.

"I will only tell you this once. Only once. So listen carefully and don't let me repeat."

"Alright, alright. Just say it."

Gesturing with her eyes, Silva said, "You see that guy over there? The one with the hairy body."

Following her glance, Emery spotted the said person. "Uhm. What's up with him?"

"He is Rofos, an acolyte with the Panthera bloodline. He is a rank 7 acolyte. The last intel on him said he had more than 50 battle power, that's even before he transformed!"

Silva then shifted her finger to the other side of the hall. Following the direction, Emery saw a young girl standing and chatting with a burly man. "That girl is Vida. If your weak brain remembers our last year's ranking, she was in the top 5 in both elements and combat ranking. She has a rare bloodline from the bird of prey species."

"And that guy talking with her is Zack, the prodigy, the special one, who was ranked number one. He has a dragon bloodline, so you should never mess with him. He has been nurtured since he was young. Hence, there is no doubt he is the very best among our generation."

Emery gave his best to digest the informations he had just received and remember the faces of those specially mentioned acolytes.

Crossing her hand, Silva turned and looked at Emery. "You see, these are the sort of people you will be competing against in the next game. I've already told you who you should avoid at all costs. The rest will depend on yourself."

Not long after, a man in grand magus attire walked to the podium. Emery saw that the man had a coiled horn on his head.

"Acolytes of the bloodline heritage. Welcome to the Bloodline Institute."

To be continued