Talent

In an enormous hall, hundreds of students could be seen talking to each other. Each of them had a different expression on their face, but most of them were visibly nervous.

Not without a reason. Today was the opening ceremony welcoming the first years, and the day their future would be decided. The talent evaluation!

"I know you are all nervous, but please cooperate. We don't have the whole day." A guard standing next to a huge door said calmly, yet his voice traveled across the entire hall and everyone calmed down.

The principal of the academy has already given his speech, so now they only needed to evaluate the students' talents.

"Next!" The guard opened a door as a student walked out of it. By his downcast gaze, it was clear that his talent turned out to be not the best.

The next moment, another student walked inside with the door closing behind him immediately.

This continued for another hour before it was finally the turn of the last students. His eyes were black, and they almost seemed devoid of any emotions. However, his white hair falling onto his forehead brought quite an impression. It was, of course, Draco.

His looks were, honestly, quite good, but that didn't matter. What mattered was only power and nothing else.

'I can't believe I am doing this again.' Draco sighed, walking inside. Honestly, he already knew his talent evaluation, but he still had to proceed with the procedure unless he wanted to get expelled.

In this school, talent was everything. Almost all the care from the teachers and resources would be given to the talented ones. Some would say that is indecent, but it was actually quite normal.

After all, these people would be the ones leading humanity in the future.

'It's a pity I didn't have enough time to prepare.' Draco knew of one treasure that could help him, but he simply didn't have enough time to collect it. After all, he has just been transported back in time today.

Clink!

The door behind him closed with loud noise as Draco looked around. The first thing he saw was a huge device in the middle of the room. Beside it stood two people - they were the main teachers of the first course in Northern Academy.

"Good evening." Draco bowed slightly to all of them, trying to sound as polite as possible. Getting on their bad side was never a good choice. Both of them nodded and Draco proceeded to make his way toward the device.

'In my past life, this was the day my life changed into misery.' Draco sighed, extending his hands towards the orb, which seemingly floated in the air.

Immediately, Draco felt mana leaving his body, and soon a few words popped on the screen above. [C-]. This basically meant that he wouldn't be able to cross this rank ever in his life, and that was the harsh truth.

It wouldn't be such a bad talent evaluation in some no-name academy, but with this academy where half of the kids were from prestigious families, this talent was just so so.

Draco smiled subtly as he turned back around. "Thank you for your time," Draco said to the teachers before taking his leave.

The door closed and a heavy silence descended.

"Angelica, did this kid just smile after seeing his results?" Paul asked, somewhat confused. This result was by no means something to be proud of.

"Maybe it was just a smile of defeat," Angelica replied, brushing her golden hair behind her ears. Taking a glance at the device and the kid who disappeared through the door, Angelica squinted her eyes.

Something about that kid seemed strange.

Perhaps it was the deadly look in his eyes.

"Maybe." Paul agreed. "Anyway, this batch of kids are quite talented. Especially those five."

"Yeah," Angelica answered though Paul noticed the disinterest in her voice. She herself was a [S] ranked Hero and had quite a reputation throughout the human domain. She was known as the Queen of Sun.

"I am leaving," Angelica added before disappearing from the spot.

Paul scratched the back of his head. "It's always so hard to talk with her."

***

Draco returned back to his apartment barely an hour later, thinking of his next plans. The treasure he wanted to obtain was actually not so far away from the academy, but there was a problem. He probably wouldn't survive there even with his past knowledge.

'Thankfully, there is still a week before the actual courses start.' Draco relaxed. Some would think that it would be a better course of action to drop out and become a mercenary, but that was hardly the truth.

Perhaps later.

This academy was sponsored by guilds and the Union, so Draco just needed to show his worth, then he would get stronger much faster. Besides, as much as he didn't want to admit it, he could learn a lot from Angelica since she was a [S] ranked Hero.

In his past life, Draco dropped out of the academy just after a few months because of the bullies. Well, what do you expect? Having no close ones, Draco's mental state was quite weak at that time.

"Anyway, I shouldn't relax too much." Draco opened the status screen, stopping his gaze on his only skill. He had thought for quite a long time and he chose to use this skill immediately.

Of course, he could prepare himself further, but there were too many factors at hand. What if he got a more difficult quest? Too much was unknown.

'Just the fact that the quest isn't going to be an impossible one is enough.' Draco thought, taking a deep breath. More than anything, he was curious about the other worlds. What would it be like that? Was it also packed with demons and heroes?

Curiosity overcame him and Draco quickly took the backpack from the desk. He had already packed it before; it was filled with food, water, and a simple dagger.

He didn't have enough money to buy himself a longsword, but he already took a mental note for himself to increase his wealth. After all, resources played a huge part in becoming more powerful.

Draco stood in silence for a few seconds before mumbling: "World Travel"

Immediately, the space around him distorted and Draco felt a huge force sucking him in. A dark portal formed before his eyes, excluding otherworldy energy.

"There is no going back." Draco felt mana leaving his body rapidly because of the portal as he understood that he didn't have much time. He stepped inside, but he felt his backpack pulling him away.

'Ah... so I can't even bring anything?' Draco took out a bottle from his backpack and threw it into the portal. As expected, it flew away from the portal, forced by the surrounding energy.

Only after doing the same with the dagger did Draco sigh and threw the backpack away. Determination glowed within his eyes as his expression turned serious, even lethal.

'Let's begin.' Draco stepped inside, not doubting himself anymore.