The Entrance Exam Begins

After finishing breakfast, Aston and Kayla headed towards the University Plaza for the exam.

"Pwhaa, that was so delicious! I have never had this type of food before. Ramen and Curry, huhhh… that was great! Thanks for the meal Aston hehehe." Kayla said as she laughed and smiled at Aston.

"You're welcome anytime," Aston said as he forced a smile and looked into his now-empty wallet. His brother only gave him 10,000 credits for food before the exam. Stating that as long as he got into the school successfully, he wouldn't need more money for food.

In reality, the truth was that it was all his brother could give him since his brother liked to waste money buying lavish gifts to use to woo girls who rejected him anyway. "Stupid brother of mine, your terrible luck with women has rubbed off on me. You better hope I pass this exam, or else I will starve to death." Aston said as he vowed vengeance on his brother for his bad luck.

Aston shook his head and kept walking with Kayla. "So earlier, you mentioned you were a merchant. Is that your family business?" Aston asked as he looked towards her as they were walking.

"Yes, my family runs an intergalactic trading company called the Roselle Trading Company. The Roselle Trading Company is our family-owned business that has been around for several generations.

Our company specializes in trading resources from various planets we own, including mineral and produce planets. The company has a team of experienced space explorers who travel to different planets to acquire resources that are in high demand in various parts of the galaxy.

They have established good relationships with the Empire, many planets, and trading partners, allowing us to negotiate favorable trade terms.

The mineral planets we own are rich in precious metals, rare minerals, and other valuable resources. The company has invested heavily in mining technology and equipment to extract these resources efficiently.

We also have advanced refining facilities that allow us to process the raw materials into high-quality products that are in high demand in the Empire.

On the other hand, the produce planets are known for their exotic fruits, vegetables, and other food items. The company has skilled farmers who grow and harvest these products, ensuring they are of the highest quality.

We have also developed innovative packaging and transportation methods to ensure that the product arrives fresh and in perfect condition.

The Roselle Trading Company is known for its ethical business practices and strong relationships with its employees, customers, and partners.

They prioritize sustainability and environmental responsibility in their operations, ensuring that the planets they trade with are not overexploited or damaged.

Overall, the Roselle trading company is a trusted and respected player in the galaxy's resource trading industry, with a strong reputation for quality, reliability, and integrity." Kayla said as she put away a card she had pulled out of her pocket.

"That was quite the mouthful. Are you still memorizing that spiel?" Aston said as he looked at Kayla in surprise. A true merchant, she didn't turn down an opportunity to promote her family's business and gain a potential lead.

When a simple introduction would have sufficed. "No, I have it perfectly memorized but making people believe that I don't know it by heart but can read so much information without pause or error is much more impressive than if I had said it from memory," Kayla said as she smirked and looked at Aston as if she could read his mind.

"Merchants can be scary," Aston said as a shiver went down his back. "It's best if I don't offend such a sly and smart merchant like her," Aston thought.

As their conversation finished, Aston and Kayla arrived at the plaza in front of the University. Tens of thousands of people stood in front of the University. "Are all of these people participants in the exam?" Aston said as he whistled in surprise.

"Yes, the Gate University has close to 100,000 participants every year. Although usually less than a couple thousand get in each year. There has never been a limit on the number of students who can be accepted because of the school's sheer size," she paused as she thought.

"But never has there been too many people passing the exam. Not only do you have to pass several tests, but you have to survive the final test. Although the number of tests varies each year. The exam always ends with a 4 Day long survival test on Planet Tyber. Many don't make it past here." Kayla said as she looked around at all of the participants, imagining them as giant bags of credits waiting to be earned, licking her lips.

Aston looked upon this young lady with interest; she was sly, knowledgeable, and intelligent. Yet she also had a scary side. He couldn't help but fear for his fellow applicants' wallets as he remembered his.

"AHEM!" came a voice from behind Aston as he turned back to look at the entrance of the University.

The University was designed with Roman and Eastern European architecture. It was an impressive and grand structure. The University held a sprawling campus with numerous buildings, each designed to evoke the architectural styles of ancient Rome and Eastern Europe.

The main building and entrance of the University was a large, imposing structure with columns, arches, and domes reminiscent of ancient Roman architecture.

The building was made of stone and brick, with intricate carvings and details adorning the façade. These held various historical moments, from man's first trip to Mars. From the first contact with the Universal Coalitions. To the founding of the first Gate.

The University's Plaza was the central gathering place for students and faculty, featuring fountains, gardens, and statues of great thinkers and philosophers from Roman and Eastern European history.

Classrooms and lecture halls were housed in buildings designed to reflect the unique styles of Eastern European architecture, with features such as steep roofs, ornate woodwork, and colorful facades.

The library was an impressive structure, with towering columns and intricate mosaics, evoking the grandeur of ancient Roman libraries.

Student housing was designed to reflect the local vernacular architecture of Eastern Europe, with features such as steep gabled roofs, colorful stucco exteriors, and ornate ironwork balconies. Overall, the University was a stunning and inspiring place of learning.

"Applicants here to take the Gate University Entrance Exam, please pay attention to what I am about to say because I will only say this once. I will also not be answering any questions. This year there has been a major change to how we test applicants. This year there will only be 4 Tests and a simple neural exam at the end of the tests." said an old man on a stage that had appeared from under the plaza grounds.

Many murmurs and whispers were heard amongst the applicants as he said this. At the front, closer to the stage, a group of what looked to be nobles started yelling towards the stage, "What is the meaning of this!? The University has always done a few written exams followed by the survival test!" said a noble at the front "Yeah that's right why were we not informed ahead of time about this change" said another.

Many others nobles and commoners started chipping in to question the old man. "SILENCE!" yelled the old man as his eyes glared and closed to a slit as a pressure emanated out in a wave from the old man and spread across the entire plaza. A few nobles and commoners towards the front even fainted in fear.

The rest of the plaza fell to a pin-drop silence. "I have no problems sending all of you home. We at Gate University do not need you. The Star Empire has Billions of citizens, and there is always someone who can attend in your place. All of you are either fortunate to be here thanks to your family's military service, or you were able to afford the tuition thanks to your family.

All of you are here, thanks to others. Do not for one moment think you are special. The progress of mankind was built hand in hand between ourselves and our allies. For all of you to have a better life and better chance at surviving on the other sides of Gates, the Empire built this school." as the old man finished his rant and looked around, he was glad to see he had managed to pour a bucket of water on these pompous kids.

But as he looked around the plaza, he noticed a few students who did not react to his pressure. "Hmph, looks like we got a few good prospects this year. The teachers will be fighting over these ones." he thought to himself. "My name is Alder Galad. I am the principal of the University. Today I will be explaining what this year's test will be. Listen well. This year there will be three tests meant to test your physical attributes," Alder paused and looked around.

"To improve the survival rate of prospective students, the Emperor has decided to include such tests. Those too weak will fail, and those who pass will know their limits. The final test will, of course, be the 4-day survival test on Planet Tyber. After passing these tests, a simple neuroscan will test your mental faculties," Alder continued.

"There will be no written test this year. As many of you may know, the school accepts students according to 4 Rankings. You can either enter as a normal student, a 1-Star Student, a 2-Star Student, or a 3-Star Student. Normal students receive no additional resources other than their education."

"The higher your Star ranking, the more resources you will receive to further your studies and training. These resources include things such as nutrient solution supplies for your physical training. Access to different levels of knowledge we have gathered from various universes, private tutors, access to specialized training rooms and machinery, gene therapy, A. I Combat training rooms, larger dormitories, etc. The list goes on."

"So you must try your best to earn more resources. You must score the same rank in 3 tests as the rank you hope to receive. Score 3-Star in three tests and earn 3-Star Student status. But 3-Stars in 2 tests but 2-Stars in the last and you will become a 2-Star student. The same holds for the rest of the ranks. The exam will take place over an entire week."

"The first test will be a strength test, the second test will be an endurance test, and the third test will be an agility test. The final test will be a survival test. Today you will be doing both the strength and endurance tests. Tomorrow morning you will do the Agility test. Tomorrow evening you will begin the survival test."

"You will have to survive until the morning of the seventh day of the exam." as Alder looked around, he couldn't help but see some fear and trepidation in the eyes of some participants.

"Hmmph, this outta teach those snot-nosed noble brats to try and get in easily to my school." Alder thought to himself. It had been a problem for years where nobles would bribe and threaten various school staff the cheat on the exam to get into the school. Unfortunately, many nobles would die on the final test regardless.

And to make matters worse, Alder would get the blame from their families despite it not being his fault. So after years of begging the Emperor, he finally relented recently for some odd reason and told Alder to change the exam to be more comprehensive with a focus on a student's abilities rather than their knowledge.

Alder happily obliged and made the changes. He loved the look on the face of the kids who thought they could cheat. "Step into this teleportation portal if you still wish to take the exam this year. "Alder said as a big teleportation portal rose from the ground before the stage. This will teleport you to the testing facility on Planet Tyber. Which is where this year's exam will be held.

We have built a huge outpost to hold these exams on Planet Tyber from now on. I wish you all good luck." Alder said as he waved, and the stage he was on lowered into the ground before disappearing.

Now all that was left in front of the plaza was the Portal. After a minute, everyone who still dared to participate walked through the Portal. "Come on, Aston, let's go!" Kayla said as she grabbed his hand and dragged him into the Portal. It's not that Aston was too scared to walk, but he was so excited he couldn't move.

Before, as he wasn't the smartest kid, he feared his chances of getting in. Now that the exam was entirely physical, he was guaranteed to get in! "All those years of training with Charles are gonna pay off now. Layla, Charles, watch how your little brother passes this exam!" Aston thought to himself as he passed through the Blue portal to Planet Tyber.