Entrance Exam I

"Is this really an academy?"

Standing firmly in front of me was the entrance gate which was flanked by two statues of the most famous hero of the first generation, Garuda. The gates and statues were gigantic in scale, as were the walls that were built around the academy grounds.

I once said that the academy grounds were built right in the middle of the island. However, I never thought that there was an island within an island.

So, it turned out that there was a lake and a large circular island in the center of the city, and it was on the island in the lake where Octagram Academy was located. There were a total of 4 entrances to the academy area; the east gate, the west gate, the south gate, and the north gate.

While the main island was half the size of Singapore, the campus itself covered an area of eight kilometers square which was divided into eight main areas or so they called realms; Eagle, Tiger, Cat, Horse, Dove, Crow, Wolf, and Owl.

The Eagle realm was where the lecture halls were located. The Tiger realm was where the professor's offices were located, the area was off-limit for students and unless the professors demanded the students visit them at their office, the students were forbidden to go near the area. Just like the Tiger, the Cat realm was also an off-limit for students as it's where the research lab facilities were located.

The Horse, Dove, and Crow realms were located close to each other. These three realms were a student's area, where the training facilities, Dormitories, and Public Spaces such as cafeterias, grocery stores, and parks were located.

The last two realms were Wolf and Owl, these two realms were located side-by-side, a few kilometers away from the dormitories. The Wolf realm was the student space, where the buildings of student clubs were located. Lastly the Owl realm, as the Owl was an animal symbolized wisdom and knowledge, the grandiose building resembled a castle was built there, the Grand Library of Octagram.

People were crossing the bridge to get inside the campus. Once inside, they were walking to the Horse realm where the training facilities and the great arena were located.

Thousands of candidates gathered in a large octagonal-shaped area with 4 large octagonal architectural buildings on each side of the octagon. The north, east, west, and south was the entrance to the Horse realm, meanwhile the northeast, northwest, southwest, and southeast was where the large octagon buildings stood firmly. And at the center of the Horse realm was the great arena, which was designed like a colosseum but with a touch of futuristic architectural.

Those four training facilities were where the Entrance exam was held. I got a separate exam venue from Lux and Ayano. The building where my exam was located was in the northeast while theirs was in the southwest.

It's a shame even though I wanted to see their performance.

But well, it was not the time to think about that.

"Next!"

"Hello."

"Please fill this form first."

The receptionist looked too young for this job, he was probably a professor's assistant. By the professor's assistant, it meant that he was a top student among his peer or has the potential to be a good hero, or maybe the worst case was that he was an undergraduate with a poor economy, a pushover, trying to earn good grades and money as an assistant professor but ended up being a professor's slave instead.

'Not that I care.'

I filled out the form and continued on my way into the building after I received the tag number, it said '403'.

Inside the building was another waiting area that was already crowded with prospective students. 10 doors led to the exam room, and above each door was a numbering screen telling the current candidate's tag number who was taking the test inside.

The highest number of the ten rooms was 304.

"Wow. That was 99 people before my turn."

I looked around, trying to find something to waste my time.

People were either talking to each other, introducing themselves, or happily 'talking' about their powers.

It was less fun, of course, if there was no such thing as a group circle.

Within this crowd of candidates, a circle of various kinds had formed. There was a rich kid's group, the geek's group, the boss-lackey's group, and even a harem group–there was one group where a bunch of girls gathered around one guy over there.

I was not exaggerating when I say I'd be surrounded by the girls if I take off my geeky-looking round glasses, because that was a fact.

In order to take the exam peacefully without anyone bothering me, I had to do this. Hiding my face from the female predator who was thirsty for a handsome guy.

"Hmm, what should I do to waste time?"

Well, there was nothing fun here except socializing with other people. But, there was none particular I'd like to socialize with here.

"Hmm, that kid is…"

Never mind what I just said earlier. There was one person I'd like to talk with among the geek group.

I walked over to the geek group, acting friendly and humble. "Hey, can I join here?"

"Yeah, sure!"

Surprisingly, they welcomed me with pleasure. Was it the effect of my nerd fashion?

My eyes were locked on one particular green-haired boy with a bowl cut. Behind the lenses were his azure eyes staring blankly at the floor. His body may be small and looked fragile, but his mind was as sharp as Zhuge Liang's.

Bell Walker. The Immoral Alchemist

In the future, he'd be a great obstacle for the demon army in taking over the earth. His meticulous and extreme mind gave humanity a chance to fight the demon as an equal. He experimented with a human using a demon's blood and thus created a mutant that could release one of the demon's best traits, regeneration; creating an immortal army. Although it didn't last long as the demon countered it immediately six months later.

Even though his method was somewhat heinous, in a future where rules and society have collapsed, what he was doing for the survival of mankind was arguably the most effective method to fight against the demon.

But, right now, he was nothing more than an innocent brat. All he thought about at this age was how to cure his sister. Since it was only him and his sister, also was economically poor to afford medical services for his one and only sister. All he could do was make his own medicine.

His goal today was not only to pass the exam but also to get a full scholarship. Too bad for him, there was no professor who was interested in alchemy in this year's exam.

My goal today was to get to know this group that Bell was in, and slowly befriend him while waiting for me to get called.

"My name is Zio Varrez, nice to meet you…"

A few hours later…

"Candidate number 403, please enter Room C."

"Oh, it's my number…" I looked over the group for the last time. "It has been fun, see you all on the first day of the new semester!"

I bid my farewell to them.

Honestly, I didn't expect I'd get much knowledge and information from those talking. But, that was just a bonus. In the first place, my goal was to get to know Bell and befriend him, slowly but surely.

Even if he failed to enroll in the Octagram Academy, at least I already got his contact.

The Immoral Alchemist as my best friend, think about the benefit I got if I was to help him make the medicine to cure his sister. Because in the end, I had the knowledge of the future. His masterpiece–Tearfall, the elixir he made for his sister but sadly when the elixir was completed, his sister was already dead.

I'd just come to him at his desperate moment so he would swear his loyalty to me.

"Candidate number 403, Zio Varrez?"

I nodded silently.

Opening the door to room C, he nodded back at me.

"This way," he said.

Behind the door was a large squared room, at the different side of the room, sat two examiners of a different gender.

The man looked like he was in his forty, muscular and bulky body with a hairstyle commonly seen of a carpenter. Messy curls with a beard like a cloud, you know what Mario looks like? Yes, that guy looked similar to that game character.

The other was a woman with a violin body shape, her appearance was like a goth girl, all black clothes, as well as her make-up and hairstyle.

I recognized the woman examiner was Jillian Willford. She was an A-rank hero and ranked 432nd in the hero association–Omega ranking. She was actually a spy for the infamous villain league at this time, Dystopia.

In the middle of the room was a machine I had never seen but knew the name of.

Monolith Crystal.

"Candidate Zio, please stand by the machine and place your hand on the monolith."

It was a machine that looked like a crystalized mana shaped like a diamond. The color was transparent at first, but when I placed my hand on the monolith, it was half filled with blue color.

The examiners murmured as they saw the colors in the monolith.

These colors mean I suck…