Chapter 83: Test
Tuesday
Asher just attended classes in the morning. Today’s class was about spirits. Even though not everyone has a spirit, knowing about spirits is still useful when battling a spirit contractor, so everyone had to attend the class.
There was not much taught about fighting spirits, just some information about the connection between a spirit contractor and their spirit. A spirit contractor and their spirit have connected mana pools, allowing them to use each other’s mana and fight for a longer time, giving them an advantage in mana capacity.
Spirits also cannot be damaged by physical weapons unless you coat the weapon with mana or use an artifact to attack the spirit.
After taking his other classes and having lunch, he just went to his room and fell onto his bed for a nap.
Meanwhile, at the Teleportation Room of Elyndor Academy.
This room is used when someone is teleporting to the Academy after getting permission, because without permission, no one would be able to bypass the spatial barriers that cover the whole Academy.
There were two professors, some academy staff, as well as guards present in the room.
The two professors were Elisa and Aelar.
In the center of the room, space started to crack, and then a man with silver hair appeared.
That man was obviously Walter Astrean.
As soon as he appeared, everyone bowed in respect.
Aelar bowed and said, "Welcome to Elyndor Academy, General Walter."
Aelar had been a part of the war that took place 10 years ago at the Southern Border.
Walter nodded lightly as he looked around the room.
"It’s been a while since I last came here," he said.
His voice was calm, but it carried a natural authority that made everyone stand a little straighter.
"We are honored by your visit, General Walter," Elisa said with a respectful smile.
Walter looked at Elisa and asked, "Who are you?"
Elisa replied calmly, "I am a professor at Aetherium Academy and also in charge of a batch of S-Class first-year students."
Walter looked at her and said, "So you are in charge of that crazy kid. It must be hard for you to teach him."
Elisa replied, "It is certainly not easy."
Walter looked at her and said, "So where is that kid right now? Why is he not here? As far as I know, he was already informed of my visit today."
Aelar hesitated for a moment and then said in a low tone, "He is probably taking a nap right now."
Walter frowned at this.
Walter then looked at Aelar and said in a serious tone, "Where is that kid right now? Where is he staying?"
Aelar looked at Walter and said, "Don’t worry, I will immediately send someone to fetch him."
Walter replied in a serious tone, "No need. I will go myself. Just tell me where he is and his room number."
Aelar immediately replied, "His building is about 1.5 km south of here, and his room number is 405."
As soon as Aelar finished speaking, Walter vanished from his spot.
Aelar looked at the place where Walter had been standing, then sighed and said, "Still the same."
In Asher’s Room.
Asher suddenly opened his eyes as he sensed some disturbance in the space around his room.
But before he could even do anything, he was teleported and found himself in midair.
He looked around. He was in a garden, and just below him was a small pond.
Asher looked at the pond and started falling toward it. He tried to teleport, but couldn’t.
Then he muttered, "What the fuck? A kid can’t even sleep in peace now."
He couldn’t do anything to stop himself from falling and eventually crashed into the pond.
He surfaced a few moments later and looked around. Soon, he spotted Walter looking at him with a smile.
Asher looked at him and said in a calm voice, "Aren’t you too old for pranks like this? If I knew you were going to do this, I wouldn’t have taken a bath this morning."
Walter simply laughed after hearing Asher and replied "It seems your mouth has become even worse than before."
Asher climbed out of the pond and looked at his Walter and said."My mouth wouldn’t be like this if some old men stopped teleporting people into ponds."
Walter ignored his complaint and said, "Stop complaining about these things, the water did not even touch you."
Then he stopped and looked at Asher, who did not have a single drop of water on him because his whole body was covered in a layer of mana.
Then he continued, "This trick of yours is really good for both defense and attack."
Asher looked at him and replied, "This skill’s name is Susanoo. I just don’t have enough mana to use it fully."
Walter looked at him and said, "It does not matter whatever you call it."
Then he walked closer to Asher and said, "That’s enough for a lesson to punish you for not respecting your elders. Now let me do the work I came here for."
He then placed his hand on Asher’s shoulder and said, "Don’t try to resist."
Asher replied, "I know that already, no need to tell me."
Walter closed his eyes and then sent his mana into Asher’s body to check his condition. He kept checking for several minutes and then opened his eyes and said, "There does not seem to be any problem with your body."
Walter then removed his hand from Asher’s shoulder.
Asher looked at Walter and said, "I already told you that I have no problem. I am just so smart that those stupid spirits are afraid of me."
Walter stared at Asher for a few seconds after hearing that.
Then he said, "Your ability to speak nonsense with a straight face is truly impressive."
Asher shrugged and replied, "I am just stating facts."
Walter ignored that and asked, "Have you noticed anything unusual recently?"
Asher thought for a moment and then replied, "Not really."
Walter looked at Asher and then said, "So maybe the spirits are just overreacting then. Nothing to worry about. I should tell that rude brat quickly."
Asher looked at Walter and asked, "So you are leaving now? That’s a relief. And if you come next time, be sure to at least bring something to eat. Who comes empty-handed to check on someone?"
Walter looked at him and said, "I still wonder how you are still like this. Is there no one in your class who beats your ass for saying things like this?"
Asher looked at him and replied, "What is wrong with saying the truth? And why would anyone want to beat me? I am a person who believes in peace, not in violence."
Walter just sighed and said, "I am not going back. Instead of going back and spending my break in boredom at home, I would rather stay here and watch your practical test that will happen the day after tomorrow."
Then he paused, looked at Asher, and said, "You are only at Gold 1 Star. Stop being lazy. You could have easily reached Platinum if you cultivated daily."
Asher just ignored him.
Walter sighed and continued, "I also want to see how strong this generation is, especially that Pope’s grandson and the Princess.
Then he glanced at Asher and said, "How strong are they according to you? I heard you beat them quite easily."
Asher replied calmly, "They are just stupid and act on their emotions instead of logic."
Asher then continued, "Enough about those idiots. It’s good that you are staying for the rest of my trip then."
Walter raised his eyebrows in surprise and asked, "Why is that a good thing?"
Asher looked at him and said in a calm tone, "Because before leaving, you can also drop me at Aetherium Academy. Then I won’t have to travel on that train for five hours."
Walter stared at Asher for a few seconds.
Then he said, "So that was your real reason."
Asher nodded.
"Of course."
Walter looked at him and asked, "Do you think I am some kind of free transportation service?"
Asher thought about it for a moment and then replied, "A very fast transportation service."
Walter’s face twitched slightly.
Sometimes he genuinely wanted to know what went on inside Asher’s head.
"Walter then just sighed and vanished.
Asher looked at the spot where he had been standing earlier and then muttered, "A petty old man."
Then Asher also vanished and teleported back to his room. His room was only 400 meters away from the garden.
After reaching his room, Asher fell onto his bed and then thought, "So even an Immortal Rank can’t sense anything wrong unless I use it. That’s reassuring."
Then he looked outside the window and muttered, "Only 4 days until I reach Master Rank."
Meanwhile, in the Teleportation Room.
Walter appeared back in the room. It had been only 5 minutes since he vanished.
After noticing that Walter had returned, Aelar looked at him and asked respectfully, "So sir, did you meet with him? Is there anything wrong?"
Walter looked at Aelar and said, "There is nothing wrong with that kid, but he is still rude and a troublemaker."
Elisa, who was standing nearby, asked, "So there is really nothing wrong with him?"
Walter shook his head and replied, "I checked his body personally. There are no abnormalities."
Hearing that, both Aelar and Elisa felt relieved.
Although Asher himself kept saying that there was nothing wrong with him, hearing the same thing from Walter was much more reassuring.
Walter then looked at Aelar and asked, "When is the practical test?"
Aelar replied, "The day after tomorrow."
Walter nodded.
"Good."
Then he continued, "I will stay here until then."
Aelar was slightly surprised.
"You are staying at the Academy?"
Walter nodded.
"Instead of sitting at home doing nothing, I would rather watch the practical test."
Then he paused before continuing,
"I also want to see how strong this generation really is."
Aelar quickly straightened his posture and replied,
"Understood, sir. I will make the necessary arrangements for your stay immediately."
Walter simply nodded.
"There is no need for anything extravagant. Just give me a quiet place."
"Of course," Aelar replied.
The Academy staff nearby immediately became busy. Hosting one of the strongest humans in the Empire was not something they could take lightly. Even though Walter himself did not care much about status or luxury, failing to provide proper accommodations for a legendary war hero would be embarrassing for the Academy.
Walter then looked at Aelar and said, "Okay, notify me as soon as the preparations are done. Now I am going to meet the Elf King. It’s been a long time since I last met him."
Aelar just nodded.
Next Day
Afternoon
Cafeteria
Asher was eating with his friends when suddenly everyone’s mobile phones rang at the same time.
Everyone reached for their phones to check the notification.
Asher looked at Aria and asked, "What is it about?"
Aria looked at him and said, "The information about the practical test."
Aria paused and then said, "They are changing the test from a team battle to a solo battle."
Adam and Noah looked at Asher and said, "Shit, now we might have to fight against this guy in the test."
Asher ignored Adam and Noah and said, "What type of test is this?"
Aria replied, "A battle royale. And instead of only the S-Class students from both academies, the A-Class students will also participate in our test. So, a total of 200 students will be surviving in a forest for 2 days, and every 2 hours, the exam site will shrink so students can’t just stay hidden for the whole test."
Asher then asked, "Do we also get loot spread throughout the forest, like guns, swords, potions, and maybe food?"
Noah, Adam, and Aria looked at him with confusion apparent on their faces. Then Aria asked, "Why would there be loot present in the test?
