"There you are!" A very recognizable sound vibrated through my ears. Though I knew I was at fault, why did Adam need to raise his voice? Urgghh, so annoying.
"You almost make me be punished, man."
"Why, bro?" I'm asking, clueless. What's he talking about?
"You asked him why, huh? I wondered where you've been for the whole 2 hours." Oh shit, this voice and tone of his are so familiar. I turned to look at my back. As I'd expected.
"W-wait, sir Ranzel. It's just my stomach acted up, I wasn't slacking off, sir!" I'm begging him, I quickly dropped to my knees. I hope that Sir Ranzel will let it slide this time.
"You think I'm a fool, huh? You wanna pick a fight with me?" Sir Ranzel looks more furious as he hears my excuse. "I know you're stupid, but let me tell you…"
I got myself near his left as he wanted to whisper something.
"This is my fuckin first time to hear someone's butt stuck in the toilet for 2 hours straight." From his voice that goes deeper and deeper, I can tell that I need to set up the last prayer so I can die peacefully.
"S...sorry, I just can't catch up to the line, you know that I'm slower, right?" I'm sweating, can I escape from my death?
Sir Ranzel sighed.
"You're lucky that we're all in a public place, otherwise you might get my feet kiss your ass for the 163rd time," he scolded me, but I don't know if I can classify it as a scold? Yeah,why not? Now we are in public place, of course he has no courage in scolding his own students, heh, what a coward professor.
However, I'm relieved that Sir Ranzel got himself down. Or else I might get some silly expression if I get some good kick from Sir Ranzel.
"Look what we have here, guys! It's Louis, the strongest in the batch… from the bottom!" That voice made me, and my teacher looked toward him.
Yeah…it's him. The person who loves picking on the weaker is Sai Rucandev. He is a noble who was born in the Rucandev family. If I'm not mistaken, Faze Rucandev, who is his great-grandfather, is the noble who got the fire of the phoenix's tail, known as one of the strongest abilities ever recorded in history.
"Owww, look at this pitiful boy." An annoying sound came streaming through my ears. It makes my fist clench. That voice of his makes me feel wanna punch him straight in his face, but if I do that, I'm the one who might die.
"Watch your mouth, Sai." I smiled, even my soul throwing a huge tantrum. I know I'm stupid, but I'm not that kind of stupid to make myself die.
"Oh man, are you threatening me? Is it maybe because you got a constellation on your back while you were gone?" He chuckles heavily, though he always says something that is almost the same to me. He came, leaned closer to me, and whispered,
"Pity on you, your mom must be disappointed in you."
Silent. I can do. I can't deny that, even my sister has already gotten a powerful constellation. While I am only walking, I don't know where my fate will bring me. But what can I do? I am always training, sparring, studying…But I still can't avoid this kind of treatment. They don't know that I put in the full effort to change my fate.
"Silent guys!!… The evaluation will start now, so the one who will go first is… Adam Rojez!"
All eyes focused on Adam. Even though he is a commoner, his exceptional talent earns him some respect. Sighed. Thankfully, he is willing to be my friend even though I'm not talented.
As Adam got to the center of the circle of celestial beings, his mana was absorbed by the circle, and it created a new form of Adam with a slight difference from the original one. His new form looked green mixed with white and radiating a sparkle of mana.
[The Knight of The Fallen Leaves]
Potential Rank: B
Rarity: 16
Hmm… just as I thought, he is awesome. My heart agreed along with my head nodding, saying that Adam got the constellation that was suitable for him.
The next one is Sai Rucandev.
Of course, all of the eyes now focus on Sai since he is the Rucandev family. He brings the name Rucandev wherever he goes. Though it's bothersome, it's still an asset to be cocky about.
Watch me, and witness who I am. I. Everyone cheered as Sai walked over through the aisle. It's like they were pretty sure that Sai would overcome such an enormous power and would be the hope for the country in saving countless lives in the future.
He stood at the center, and a light came out along with a fire venom.
His clone also has black skin with red flames… this is absurd, truly. While the fire venom is circling the clone, that black clone holds a sword and shows its sword art.
[The Queen of The Fire Venom]
Potential Rank: A
Rarity: 4
Now, that's what we call talent. He smirks at me.
"Wow, Rucandev never disappoints us."
"Right? I thought I would never witness any of the elemental creatures, but this is my first time seeing it, which gave me goosebumps."
I can't deny that elemental-type creatures are very rare. Even that, who would've thought that this bastard who steps on the weaker would get such a high-level trait from his constellation? From the look of it, I figured out it might be a mid-level creature. In this country, we have about 6 high-level creatures. But still, it's not enough to fight the 4 strongest nobles.
"Next person will be… Eva Everton." Sir Ranzel's voice echoes throughout the dome.
Eva Everton. She is one of the nobles from the Everton family. In this school, she is the real deal. She already won in a spar against Sai. Not only that, she was the reason why Sai had a scar on his left eye! And the school also recognizes her as a talented student! Even so, she never looked down on the weaker, not like Sai. That's why most students show respect toward her.
What?! Eva Everton?!, where is she!!?
Urghh, the public always makes a huge commotion. It's so annoying, but she is Everton after all. Of course, wherever she goes, people will stick to her. What a bother.
As Eva appeared and advanced along the path, people began to gather, drawn as though by an invisible tide, to witness the outcome of her evaluation. With every step she took further inside, the hall grew ever more crowded. Her presence, her influence… belonged to an entirely different realm.
[The Richest of The Night]
Potential Rank: S
Rarity: 1
…
A thunderous roar erupted throughout the hall.
"WHOAAA!!!"
The space trembled with the sheer volume of the cheering. Naturally it did—just look at the result. S-rank? One percent rarity? And on top of that, The Richest of The Night itself? My jaw hung open. I had never imagined she would be this powerful; no wonder she is like a monster.
"Wait… are my eyes failing me?! The Richest of The Night?!!"
"Is this not the second time that The Richest has bestowed its fables upon a human?"
"Indeed, is it not? The first awakener nearly ascended to the level of the nobles. Tragically, a catastrophe took place, and the Hell Gate unleashed merciless, dreadful demons. Even an A-ranker struggled just to slay two of them."
"Is Eva… truly that powerful?"
Questions and accolades surged through the air in a restless murmur. In such a moment, it was not only The Awakeners Association that fixed its gaze upon her… The World Awakeners as well would surely take interest. Everton has created a monster, has it not?
After the uproar subsided, the evaluations proceeded smoothly for the other students. At last, the final turn arrived.
"Louis Feryl!" Sir Ranzel called out my name.
I stepped out of the line and walked directly toward the circle. With each pace, my heart thudded faster. At last… would I learn who my constellation is?
I moved forward with all the confidence I could gather. Sai merely laughed silently, shoulders shaking, as if he had already decided I was destined to be a failure. So be it. Because of Adam's encouragement, I still had enough courage to stand within the circle.
"Good luck."
I halted. I looked toward Eva. Had she just wished me luck? A soft chuckle escaped me. Because of her, my confidence grew a little steadier. So the rumors were not unfounded after all. Eva truly possesses a kind heart.
I stepped into the circle and placed my card into the special box. I supposed it would inscribe my evaluation information once the process was complete. At first, excitement fluttered within me, despite my lack of power or talent. I hoped, perhaps naively, that a miracle might occur, and that a constellation would grant me a fragment of its strength once the evaluation began.
But then—
[No Constellation Detected]
[Evaluation Failed]
A crimson screen materialized before my eyes.
…
The hall fell utterly silent.
I accepted the result, and yet… why is my power still so insufficient? I had believed that this "once in a lifetime" opportunity would acknowledge whatever strength lay within me. And yet…
"Hah, just as I said. This kid cannot even be measured against me."
"I know, right? Why did he even bother coming to this evaluation?"
"I suppose he was praying for a miracle. Hahaha."
I turned away, their hushed words following me, their whispers loud enough that I could not help but hear. The sting of it cut deep. I quickened my pace, eager to escape the hall.
"Hehehe, he must be devastated."
"I could not care less about that. What truly interests me is how his parents will react," they chuckled.
Eva simply gazed at those who scorned Louis, her expression unreadable. She let out a quiet sigh. And far behind the crowd, a man in a trench coat stood in silence, his eyes fixed upon Louis.