Tall skyscrapers filled the view, and the road was crowded with cars and beasts. It appeared as if time itself was moving faster here. Everyone appeared busy; that was what Rishi thought as he stepped out of the railway station.
Following him was a boy with a white skull mask; they were both clad in large black robes. Multiple vehicles and carts were lined up on the left and right sides. "Follow me," said Vinay, bringing him toward one of the Beast carts.
Rishi had many questions, but he decided to ask them later. He could feel some people there looking down on him and Vinay when they approached the cart area.
It appeared as if the people here looked down on them. He was new here, so he decided not to judge on the first interaction, but he was still not pleased by the first impression he got of this place.
Sitting on the cart, he looked outside the window and saw the busy city. The people here were mostly well-dressed. He could see multiple flying beasts; all appearing to be above average.
He could notice some riding Epic-Grade Beasts. The one riding them had an aloof attitude. Their mount was clad in feather armor with precious crystals that could enhance their strength. They showed as if they were looking down on others.
Instead of getting offended or feeling bad, Rishi saw this place as an ideal place to sell his beast mounts. However, it would not be easy to open a shop here. The other problem was that he had not captured Wyverns till now.
'Let's keep it in mind. This looks like a good place to do business. The Dominion Clan of Rawat Clan is also present here; having them here was a double-edged sword.'
'If they learned that he owns a Beast Shop, they would try to take it away from him or ask him to share ownership and profits with them. This was the reason why he was never dependent on his clan.'
They knew how to milk out all the profit from any member who had taken help from them. In Rishi's case, they were too ashamed to ask anything from him. And he was someone with status; people still respected his father.
This was also why they tolerated him and never tried to question him or pry into his matter. He was planning to use his clan name to get out of trouble; they were one of the city's top seven most influential clans.
The one thing that made him even more worried was that the Dominion Clan of the Agastya Clan was also present here and managed all the branch clans in the state; meeting them would only bring up more trouble. They had much more influence in this city; Rawat Clan was barely in the top five.
"Did you like the capital city of Rishi? Isn't it too grand? Look at these giant structures. I always wanted to come here." Vinay said it in an excited tone.
"It lives up to its name; I knew it would be grand, but even in my imagination, I would not have guessed it would be something like this." Replied Rishi with a look of astonishment.
While he didn't tell it to Vinay, this place appeared to be a mess. It was full of strong and wealthy people who were capable of creating a lot of trouble for him. He had to be cautious with each move he made here. The only good news was that there was a Beast Cultivator Association and a university that would be his biggest ally.
Hiding talent was useless here; he had to fight and show everyone why they should invest in him. Becoming a ranker was impossible without external aid. He clenched his hand, preparing himself.
"It's great, but only compared to other cities in our state; when it comes to the nation, there are many that are way more prosperous than it. I want to visit them all," said Vinay.
"Me too," said Rishi; he also wanted to travel around and see all the famous places. The good part was that this goal aligned with his goal of becoming a ranker.
Time passed by, and he and Vinay discussed multiple things. The main emphasis was on the admissions test.
"Don't worry. I got the permission letter to move directly to the third round. We saved much time by not participating in the beginner rounds." Vinay said it in an excited tone.
"Tell me more about it; how many Beast Tamers have applied for it." He asked with a curious expression on his face.
"More than you can imagine, every year, more than 20,000 students apply for it. In the first round, they have to give the written and physical exams, in which only eight thousand are selected," explained Vinay.
"The selected students are then divided into eight groups and have to complete assignments with others in their group. Only the top 250 from each group qualify for the final round."
"That's a lot of students; I never thought it would be that famous." A surprised expression appeared on Rishi's face.
"Students from our state and those from other neighboring states apply. Our university has a reputation for giving birth to many rankers. The cold and comfortable weather and beautiful scenery are other things that make it famous," replied Vinay.
"How did you arrange the permission letters for us at the last moment?" asked Rishi.
"It's no big deal; I asked the academy to arrange them for us. While they couldn't get us the acceptance letter, it was not hard for them to arrange a permission letter to move to the final round directly," said Vinay.
"It looks like our academy was not that bad after all," said Rishi.
"There is only a little problem," sighed Vinay.
"What is it? Is there a lot of competition?" asked Rishi.
"Nah, competition is not a big deal for us. The thing is, the students that mostly join the final round with permission letters mostly rely on their influence and wealth; they are not seen in a good light," replied Vinay.
"That's not a big deal; how will they be able to differentiate us? Second, why do we even need to care? We will crush them and show them they should be grateful to only meet us once." A cruel smirk appeared on Rishi's face.
'That only time will tell.' Vinay suddenly took out a mask and gave it to Rishi. Unlike his mask, this one had a blue pattern on the white surface.
Rishi took it, "Why are you giving it to me? I stopped using it a long time ago."
"It's not for hiding your identity; they already know our identity. It's just to look cooler. Think of it as a costume." said Vinay.
"But why do we need it? Is there a fancy dress around too? He asked as he looked at the mask. It appeared to be made from good material.
"There is nothing like that," Vinay facepalmed himself. "It's just to become famous faster. We will gain popularity by causing chaos in the test. Don't you want to attract attention? This is the best way."
A smile appeared on Rishi's confused face. He took it closer to his face and said, "The idea is great, but I still don't think it is needed."
"You want me to appear weird by wearing the mask alone; come on, I arranged everything you can do, at least this much, to thank me." Vinay said as he pressed it against Rishi's face.
Rishi wore it only to find it changing and adapting to his face. "Happy now," he asked.
Vinay looked at him for some time before saying, "Shit! I should have chosen the blue one; it looks so good on him."
Rishi laughed and walked out. "Too bad, I am not going to exchange it now." He fixed his eyes on the Giant gate with armed security guards guarding it. They were checking the identities of everyone before allowing them.
There was a separate entry for the students appearing for the admission test. They had to scan their IDs before entering. Without wasting time, Rihsi and Vinay stood in the long line.
It was lucky for them that there were multiple scanners, and the ones before them were rushing; they didn't have to wait long before their turn came. An awkward moment occurred; they didn't have the identity card like other students.
The others looked at them, looking at each other. Their different attire was already making them appear abnormal. This only highlighted them compared to other students dressed in regular clothes.
Vinay and Rishi approached the watchman and showed him their permission letters. He checked the permission letters and looked at both of them again. They both had a strange dressing sense.
He asked them a few questions before allowing them to pass. The watchman didn't care much about their existence, but the same could not be said for the students.
Countless gazes focused on them, judging them. Their attire only made them easier to distinguish. Soon, they found every student moving away from them, ignoring them like a plague.
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