Chapter 23 - Registration(II)

Chapter 23 - Registration(II)

"Aha! Time's up. Jemna, go round up the batch of students. It's time." Codix munched on an apple as he looked at the display.

If before, the children were sweating like melted butter, now, their entire bodies were steaming like a hot pot. Codix could almost see little wisps of despair floating around them like tiny storm clouds. Accompanied by the loud grunts and sighs, it was safe to say the majority of the examinees were not having a good time.

He rolled his eyes dramatically. "Now they are just showing off. Good. Good. Good!"

"Sir, typically, the standard time of a 100-question examination at the preliminary level is one hour," Jemna remarked, adjusting her glasses. At the same time, she wondered if the current examiner was truly a devil in disguise.

"And so?"

A twitch appeared on Jemna's face but she quickly concealed it. "This preliminary examination has 500 questions, Sir."

"Hmmm… I see. Good job." Codix awkwardly dropped the matter and focused on his apple. With Strict Jemna keeping him in check, it seemed he wouldn't get to torture the kids as much as he hoped.

'Tch lucky bastards.' Codix's eyes glinted and numerous nefarious thoughts danced in his mind.

'I have to find some other way. Hehe.'

….

As the fifth hour drew to a close, the examination staff announced the end of the preliminary examination and forcefully collected all papers, leaving some unfortunate individuals in tears.

Raven was about to leave his seat when he noticed a mysterious black card on his table.

"Fifth Floor, Hall C. Hmmm… it has my picture. Seems like some kind of ticket," mused Raven.

After checking the card, Raven lifted himself off his seat and approached the exit.

"Raven!" a crisp voice called out, but Raven wasn't surprised by the voice.

As soon as he heard that, Raven turned around and welcomed the approaching Trix. Judging from her unfazed facial expression, Raven had to guess that the examination was a breeze for her. After all, it was merely the preliminary.

"You got one too!" Trix played the black card in her hand. "I didn't notice it until the end. Seems like this is gonna be interesting, don't you think?"

Without waiting for a reply, she asked, "Floor 5, Hall C?"

"Yeah…" Raven's voice trailed as the two walked toward their destination.

"Cool." Trix punched Raven lightly on the shoulder. Caught off guard, Raven sent her a glare.

Trix asked in a low voice, her tone hinting at her annoyance, "Why didn't you tell me you were a mystic? Don't lie, please. You ain't surprised about my black card which means you knew all along so why?"

Raven explained with a tone of pure honesty, "I only became a mystic shortly before our last meeting. Since you never told me about your awakening, I figured you must have some good reasons hence my hesitation."

Part of the reason he never told her was because he never really had much time on his hands. If it wasn't for the registration today, Raven wasn't even if he would have seen her in another month.

"I–I– whatever, man. I didn't want to pull you down back then. But now… now it's all interesting. You and I are going to have so much fun." Trix smiled, hanging her arm around Raven's shoulder.

The two quickly reached their destination. Immediately they stepped into the hall, a shudder coursed through their spine and a cold sensation wrapped all over them. Raven's senses blared like a fire alarm. [Seventh Sense] went into disarray as it struggled to process information from the surroundings, all to no avail. It made no sense… no pun intended.

Inside the hall, a plain golden field stretched out before them, with an elevated platform at the end. Astonished gasps spread far and wide amongst the crowd of children as their eyes locked onto the elevated platform. It was floating in the air, without any support and signs of a technological device. How was this possible?

Is it technology? Or is it magic? Or maybe both?!

Raven furrowed his brows as he analyzed his surroundings. There was something wrong here. "Trix, do you feel it?"

"Yeah. Hard to miss. Feels like we are in another world. Weird."

"Another world?"

"Yeah, the only way to explain the alarming sensation. Everything looks okay, nothing mindblowing here, yet there is this lingering sensation evading the grasp of our senses. It gnaws at our blindspot. So depraved. I read somewhere that this sensation is common when crossing into other worlds or pocket worlds… don't look at me, it's a guess."

Raven's eyes reflected his pondering mind as he replied, delving into his seventh sense more, "The Western Arena was a shelter during the Advent. It was designed to protect humans. Perhaps this hall is one of the remnants of the past. A separate room equipped with peculiar technology?"

"Hmmm…" Trix hummed, nodding as she looked around. Just like Raven, she was attracted to the unnatural and this place reeked of abnormality.

Raven was willing to believe that the room was merely confusing his senses. Surely it couldn't be another world. Raven had been to two "other worlds", and the sensation they evoked, while similar, was far more profound than what his seventh sense revealed to him right now.

'This place gives a feeling of being out of sync, but those other worlds, especially the Astral Realm… they were suffocating,' Raven thought, shuddering at the memory. 'I was barely able to move without feeling like my mind was unravelling.'

At that moment, all that was in his mind was to survive and return back to his world, but now that he thought about it… The laws of otherworlds rejected foreigners… or maybe just humans. Perhaps humans don't belong anywhere outside the mundane.

'No use thinking about it. I am merely a mystic.' Raven reminded himself not to jump the gun. Answers would come to him when he was ready.

As the children gathered in the hall, they quickly formed cliques. It was one of the laws of society, something very fundamental to living. Although Raven found it astonishing, he understood the logic. People felt safer when they were amongst others. However, Raven and Trix had no intention of mingling with the rest. For starters, since coming to this world, Raven had grown to dislike company. Meanwhile, he had never seen Trix with any other friend than him. When he questioned her about it, she mumbled something about not everyone being worthy of sharing her brilliance… that was definitely a coping mechanism.

"Wow. Lots of big names here. If it were anywhere else, I would be worried by the presence of the aristocrats," Trix commented as she looked around. "Hey, what do you think the mystic exam is going to be?"

"Probably something to do with testing the basics." Raven passively replied as his eyes took in the scenery.

Trix rolled her eyes and snorted, "Yeah, no shit sherlock."

Raven simply shrugged, focusing more on his surroundings. He took in a sharp breath of air, astonished by what he was seeing. Just like Trix mentioned, there were a lot of big names here. Most of them he only read about on paper.

"Raven! I finally found you!" A sharp rang out as a tall figure approached.

She wore a combat outfit that accentuated her well-toned figure and dark brown hair. Her eyes sparkled with excitement as she approached Raven.

Raven frowned— Who the hell was she?!