"Next please."
'Hmm... I didn't think there'd be anyone of her power level here... S class rank E. It might be the lowest rank of the class, but still, very impressive.'
"...But I would like to note that enrollment will be difficult without them."
She nodded in response.
"Great. We'll start with your name."
"Nyla."
"...Umm... It'd be preferrable if you gave your full name."
"There was someone who told me that just that will be enough. Someone who works here."
"R...Right. I'll proceed with that then."
It wasn't easy for her to keep her professionalism in front of entitled children that day. And for so long as well. Now, to her, she saw Nyla as another entitled little girl who was enrolled in the school through connections.
She didn't say this but her feelings were more than obvious.
Her expectations were for Nyla to be either extremely weak or for her name not to be processed at all. Her surprise was reasonable when none of her expectations were met.
"Also, could you not just outwardly say my class or skills for everyone to hear. With all due respect, its kind off irritating just thinking about all the unnecessary attention I'll get."
Lisa was sweating. She was legitimately shocked from the results. In all her years of working at the Hero Academy, she has never met a prodigy as incredible as the one standing in front of her.
SS class at the age of 16, skills so many you couldn't even list them out. She could use fire, water and light magic, all at the same level.
'Who is she?'
"Hello?"
"Y...y...yes. Oh. I, uh... You'll be informed on what to do next. Please wait over there together with the rest."
"That's all?"
"Correct."
"..."
Nyla didn't want to get close to those that were there. She wanted to avoid them as much as possible. So she was going to walk away, until...
"Excuse me."
'Great. I knew this was gonna happe...' Her eyes slightly widened from shock.
"I was wondering, if we've met before."
Why would she start like that? There's obviously no way they've met. It got even more confusing when she realized that it was the S class girl who was in front of her in the line. That makes it even more unlikely that they'd ever met.
"I doubt that." She did. Yet somehow, the girl looked familiar to her as well. It made her uncomfortable, so she walked away but what surprised when the girl stopped her again.
"My name is Haizea. Its nice to meet you."
Why was she so persistent? Could she have known who Nyla was. What was her goal? Did she have ill intent, or did she actually want to become friends? Whatever the case was, she didn't want any part of it.
But her heart was too soft. She couldn't just ignore her. What if she really wanted to become friends?
'She's a noble. Does she know I'm one too? Or at least, used to be one.?'
"I'm Nyla. Nyla Von... Just Nyla. Its nice to meet you too."
"Nyla..."
"Woah... Look. Over there." Some girls in the background seemed to be admiring something and interrupted the moment.
"Who is he? Could he be an older student? He's so beautiful."
Haizea noted the group of students they were referring to. There were four boys and one girl. Though the school doesn't have a uniform policy, you could still tell that they were definitely students.
But it was specifically one boy that peaked their interests. He had short wavy white hair. His clothes were of the same color from top to bottom, elegant but not too flashy, covering everything, all the way to the top of the neck.
"Do you think we could ever talk to him? How strong is he? Surely he's already a full fledged hero." The new students were glorifying him.
"I know him." Haizea whispered.
"Of course you do." Nyla responded. "He's pretty popular." Her eyes were locked onto him.
Then he turned his head over to their direction. The other girls lost their minds.
"Look at his eyes. They're blue... So pretty."
Haizea noticed something. It was like he looked directly at Nyla. Not only that, but she also didn't take her eyes off of him.
The air. To her, it felt like it was burning. This is usually caused by someone's anger. But that wasn't actually what it was. It was something else. Coming from the two of them.
She used magic sense on him, and the result gave her chills.
It was his aura. It was menacing. Higher than Nyla's too. That means he's stronger than a regular hero. That was unsettling.
"Do you know him?" She asked Nyla, but she didn't respond.
"Look at you. Always grabbing all the attention." One of the student's companions told him.
"It wasn't on purpose." He laughed it off then they walked away.
Haizea wasn't the only one who noticed how Nyla and the student looked at each other. There were other new students who saw them. Judging by their expressions, they didn't like it.
"Alright everyone! Can I have your attention please!"
BOOM!
It came from the opposite direction they were facing. Dark smoke covered the area. Then a bright light came from the source of the explosion.
A woman, dressed like magician performer with the top hat, tuxedo and the cane appeared.
"Ladies and Gentlemen. Lets not waste anytime."
Flames came from the ground beneath her, melting most of it. Than a stage rose from the ground up, lifting her with it.
For a moment, the smoke intensified. Then it all vanished. They weren't in the same environment anymore.
An arena. They were in an arena. An empty one at that.
"Anything can happen at anytime. Monster attacks, wars, demons... All of these are what we teach you how to overcome."
Her voice was echoing all over from the stage that she stood on. She spoke into her cane, which was a magic device for amplifying her voice.
"Are you strong enough, brave enough..." A copy of herself appeared in the crowd seat. Not one, not ten. Thousands upon thousands, filling the arena.
"Are you independent? Immune to fear of what's real?"
The arena now sounded like a football stadium from her copies. They cheered, threw their hats, even made arts of fire in the air using their magic.
"Are you worthy of becoming a hero? Those who fight for all in front of their eyes, those who don't cower in fear to their enemies, those who can be role models. We shall find out today."
"My name, is Alinta Aithne, and I will be your commentator throughout this test."
"Test? What test?" someone asked.
"122! There are 122 new students this year! Can you believe that?!"
And the crowd goes wild.
"122? That's a little much." An older student was watching the event on a magic screen in his hand. He did so while eating meat with the other.
"Are you watching the enrollment event?" His friend asked him.
"I had to once I heard the news."
"News? What news?"
"Didn't you hear? There are TWO SS class students this year."
"Two?! That's incredible. Our year didn't have a single one."
"Our year? Since the construction of the school there's only been one! But this year there's two more!"
"Are they girls?"
"Creep."
"You know what I meant by that."
"Nope. They're both boys. But I haven't seen them. That's why I'm watching the event."
"I'll watch it too."
He pulled out a small crystal then pressed on it hard. A screen appeared on his hand, broadcasting the event.
"I should let you know though, today's event is going to be dangerous. Stay safe, and off you go!"
One by one, they vanished into thin air. Some panicked, others were confident. Most were just confused. This was all too sudden for most of them. But for others, they expected it. After all, you can't just go to a new school without doing the entrance exams.
"Look at her."
"Hmm?"
"The one with the red hair. She looks different from the rest."
"Of course she does. This school doesn't have a uniform policy."
"That's not what I meant... Her aura. Its different from the others.
"How can you tell?"
"I don't know... I just... Feel it."
She wasn't the last to disappear. But when she did, even the commentator noticed it.
The difference in the magic density around the air. It was too much to go unnoticed.
"That one."