A Staggering Amount Of Talent

Once everyone was done with their assessment,  Locke suddenly stood up and said to the chief examiner, "I'd also like to take the assessment, is that okay?"

The chief examiner looked at Locke in surprise.

"That's not right. A genius like you shouldn't have to participate in such a test, right?"

Locke said to the Chief Examiner:

"I just want to know what level I'm at."

Enlightened, the chief examiner answered, "Oh, in that case, there's nothing holding you back."

"Go ahead."

Locke nodded and placed his hand on the crystal ball.

He was slightly uneasy.

Although he had the Beastmaster System, and he had just reached the silver-tier, this did not guarantee that his aptitude would be above rank 3.

However, there was no point in dwelling on it. Instead, Locke forced himself to focus.

The crowd under the stage eyed Locke with much anticipation.

They too, were curious to see how odd-defying his aptitude was, since he was able to hatch a rose gold battle beast.

Soon...

The crystal ball began to shine with a dazzling radiance.

The colors of the crystal ball changed constantly.

From the color of bronze to the color of silver...

Then, from the color of silver to the color of gold.

"Rank 3, he's already at rank 3!"

A student standing below the stage could not help but exclaim when he saw the changing colors of the crystal ball.

"Look, the color is still changing!"

Another student shouted loudly.

Locke heaved a sigh of relief.

He had reached a safe threshold.

In the blink of an eye...

The color of the crystal ball changed once more.

From the color of gold to the color of diamonds.

Although the students already suspected that Locke had a high aptitude, seeing the colors change had still given them quite a shock.

Before long, the diamond-color of the crystal ball was no more, and it was instead replaced with the divine color of white.

A user with rank 5 aptitude had been born.

At this moment, the chief examiner was in disbelief.

Although Locke had possessed a rose gold divine Battle Beast, this would not mean that his aptitude with mana would be good.

However, the scintillating white light before him had proved him wrong. Locke an indisputable powerhouse.

Moreover, the chief examiner's heart was also churning non-stop.

After all, recruiting a monster-level genius to the academy would provide him with huge merits.

He did not expect such good fortune to befall on him.

"Wait, this doesn't seem right."

The chief examiner was still celebrating when suddenly, he realized something was amiss.

The crystal ball was still changing colors.

This time, it was flashing violently.

Moreover, the frequency of its vibrations was constantly increasing.

Several seconds later.

Crack.

The crystal ball suddenly split in half.

Silence.

The assessment venue had gone completely silent.

Including the chief examiner, everyone was staring at the broken crystal ball in a daze, and they were unable to regain their senses.

It was no wonder that they were making such a fuss.

After all, no such thing had ever occurred before, and it was completely unprecedented.

Even after so many years of the Federation's establishment, there has never been a student who possessed enough aptitude to destroy the assessment device.

It was simply bewildering.

'Just how much mana does this kid possess?'

It took a long time for the crowd to recover from their shock.

When they finally did, however, they acted as if they had suddenly woken up from a dream and immediately burst into an uproar.

"I feel like I've gained a new experience today!"

"What terrifying aptitude does he possess in order to destroy the assessment device?"

"What a terrifying person."

"That's amazing!"

The chief examiner returned to his senses and looked at Locke with a complicated expression.

He did not say anything.

Even Locke himself had not expected such a scene to transpire.

He thought that he would only reach rank 5 at most.

However, he had not expected to break the device itself.

It seemed that under the enhancement of the System, he had become a genuine genius.

Locke walked down from the test platform and headed to the rest area.

"Congratulations."

"Brother Locke has a bright future. Please take care of me in the future."

A group of people surrounded Locke like stars surrounding the moon. They spoke with no ulterior motives and only genuine politeness.

This was very normal.

The strong preyed on the weak, and the strong reigned supreme regardless of the era, and regardless of the world he was in.

It was the unchanging principle of humanity.

Moreover, Locke's aptitude was very obvious. He had already surpassed rank 5. This also meant that as long as Locke was willing to work hard, and if he did not lose his way, then in the future, he would undoubtedly be an existence that surpasses the divine Beastmasters.

As such, many wanted to befriend him as soon as possible.

Even a casual support or shoutout from Locke in the future would bring enormous opportunities to these people.

...

The assessments had ended.

Those who had passed the Federation's Advanced Beastmaster Academy's assessment left the testing grounds under the lead of the examiner.

They arrived at an empty space.

There were already five or six people waiting there.

Two of them were wearing cream-colored uniforms with the Federation's Advanced Beastmaster Academy's emblem on them.

Judging from their attire, they should be the instructors of the Beastmaster Academy.

The rest of them looked to be in their twenties and should be students of the Advanced Beastmaster Academy.

"I'm the Federation's Advanced Beastmaster Academy's instructor, Trista. This is instructor Jacques."

Noticing everyone's arrival, the two middle-aged men dressed in instructor uniforms took a step forward and introduced the people beside them.

"First of all, congratulations on passing the first assessment."

"However, the next assessment is where it actually matters."

Trista looked around and said to the students present, "Apart from determining whether you will be admitted, the assessment results will also determine which class you'll be distributed to after you enter the academy. Therefore, I hope that all of you can do your best to obtain a good result."

As soon as these words were said...

The students present were shocked, and the atmosphere around them suddenly froze.

"Next, we will test your current mana levels."

"Do you see that stone pillar in the distance?"

"What we want you to do is to unleash all your mana to attack that pillar."

"The pillar will assess your mana levels through the strength of the attack."

"Alright, get ready. We'll start now," Trista explained to the students in a serious tone.

The students walked to the pillar and lined up.

"The assessment begins."

The examiner's loud voice echoed in the students' ears.

The first one to walk to the stage was a short male student. He slowly walked to the pillar.

Then, he gathered mana in his hand and slammed it into the pillar.

Soon...

Seven-tenths of the pillar's height lit up with a bronze glow.

"8-star bronze, you've passed."

As the pillar lit up, the examiner also spoke up.

The student who had finished the assessment walked down excitedly, seemingly very satisfied with his results.

This meant that he was one step closer to entering the Federation's Advanced Beastmaster Academy.