Chapter 10 - Exam Begins!
'This is really amazing. How I wish I could sense Astra Mystralis and enter into harmony with it, I will surely do a million and twelve hugely amazing things with it.' Maxmillan said within himself and heaved a deep sigh.
'Well, I am here now for the exam. Let me see the kind of fate that is waiting for me at the Floating Lotus Academy." He said further and deeply exhaled .
Then he began to look around for where he would take a carriage that would convey him to the Floating Lotus Academy.
Without needing to ask anyone, since he simply followed the kids that got into carriages that would convey them to the Floating Lotus Academy, he got into one which drove off after it was filled with passengers.
As the carriage moved on the way at a high speed, along with many others that could number in the hundreds, Maxmillan was able to take in more sights of wondrous and marvelous things in the city.
'This is one hell of a grand city.' Maxmillan said within himself and shook his head.
Then he looked around him within the carriage and saw that some kids seated beside him were really anxious about the admissive exam. He could see them shaking with looks that could be interpreted as anxiousness, boldly written all over their faces.
He would have loved to give them words of encouragement, but he had his own issue to think about. And that was the issue of what he would face and endure if his scheme of taking the admissive magical exam fails. So, he couldn't spare any encouraging words for anyone other than himself.
After driving for more than forty-five minutes, the carriage eventually arrived at the massive golden gate of the Floating Lotus Academy, which was wide open to allow the passages of commercial carriages into the academy's massive parking ground.
As soon as the carriage parked at a spot, Maxmillan and the others in the carriage immediately got down and paid the driver for the trip.
Then they looked at the imposing prestigious academy that stood like a sky-piercing otherworldly tower far in front of them. It was so colossal in size that it seemed to occupy a land space that will contain numerous mountain ranges, about a dozen mountain ranges and still have more land space that can be occupied by numerous other structures.
'My gosh! How mightily sized.' Maxmillan said within himself as he walked towards the building that seemed like the deific cosmic abode of a giant god. It was impressively beautiful that everyone looking at it couldn't help but be bedazzled by the majesty that endlessly radiated from it.
'I wonder how much was spent in building this academy. Isn't this too massive? Or some primordial colossal beings live within some halls in the academy?' Maxmillan asked within himself as he walked towards the building that exuded incomparable grandness and splendor.
Moments after he arrived before a really large assembly of kids that greatly aspired to become proud students of the academy, a few middle-aged people walked out through a large golden door to appear before the massive gathering.
"As you all know, today is the day fixed for the academy's hundredth and third admissive exam. So, hope we are fully prepared?!" A middle-aged man who seemed much more older than the others that walked by his side, calmly asked with a voice that mysteriously rang loudly in the ears of the thousands of people gathered before him.
"Yes!!" Everyone answered in unison.
"Good!" The middle-aged man said.
He then spoke further, "Well, I don't want to waste anyone's time. So, let's get started with the exams. And yes, anyone that's capable of impressing the exam judges with their Astra Mystralis attunement prowess, will be given an elder medallion that will allow them to enter into libraries that others won't have the privilege to enter."
"If you want to know what is in this particular library, you should do your best to amaze the judges who can't wait to be dazzled by your exceptionally honed ability in manipulating Astra Mystralis, and the manifestation of myriad effects that will fully blow their minds!" The middle-aged man said calmly, but his voice rang loudly again in the listening ears of the thousands of people assembled before him.
"Start the exam." He suddenly said.
The instant he mentioned that, millions of motes of golden light suddenly surfaced in the air, before attracting to one another and fused to form a large, hard-light square-shaped platform that floated many feet above the ground and gave off a luminous golden brilliance that dyed the ground in its bright golden hue. Then projecting from the platform to the ground, were more than sixty ladders also formed from hard-light which also emitted beautiful golden luminance.
"Now that we have our exam platform, I want each and everyone of us to climb the platform to show the judges that we are fully capable of becoming reliable and indispensable students of the academy. And please, one after the other. No disorderliness. Or I would cancel the exam with immediate effect. Yes, I have the power to do so." The middle-aged man said and warned with a stern look appearing in his face.
Immediately he said that, sixty people that were at the forefront of the assembly, immediately ran forward towards the ladders to climb up and appear on the platform.
While some who felt that the exam had started already, ignored the ladders which they perceived were placed there to test their prowess and immediately casted spells on their limbs to increase their jumping power.
Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh!...
They leapt onto the platform and immediately chose a spot where they began to exhibit marveling magical feats. While those that climbed up the ladders to appear on the platform, immediately chose their own spots on the platform and began to seriously display their skills. While the parents who watched their kids perform, cheered for them happily and excitedly.
Maxmillan who watched as they displayed brilliant feats of magic, couldn't help but develop a bleak feeling in his heart. But he didn't allow this feeling to shatter the resolve and conviction in his heart.
Since they got up there to perform, he would also get up there to do his and hope for fate to be his mount to great glory, or be the fiend that would ruin his life.
After about six hundred and eighty-nine students had performed, where only a hundred and twelve were selected to become students of the Floating Lotus Academy, Maxmillan finally made up his mind to climb up the ladder to appear on the platform and perform.
Chapter 11 - HumiliatedImmediately Maxmillan climbed up the floating square-shaped platform, he walked to a spot where he would exhibit his own ability.So, with his eyes closed and fully ignoring the cacophonous sounds of various magical effects manifesting around him, Maxmillan tried to sense Astra Mystralis.He had a theory that he wanted to test, which was that since about sixty people were on the platform and made use of their Astra Mystralis harmonization ability to produce astonishing magical effects around them, then him sensing Astra Mystralis should be much more easier. The energy which he felt was absolutely imperceivable by him because he wasn't from this world, should be made much more easier to detect because of the users of Astra Mystralis who surrounded him and continuously casted myriad magical effects. Therefore, that alone should have a great influence on his seemingly inexistent perception ability, so he thought. After ignoring the loud and disharmonious sounds
Chapter 12 - Attacked!A couple of days later, where Maxmillan had long arrived in the city by feet and drank from pools of water that he saw on the ground to quench his thirst, nearly everyone in Shining Lake City had known who he was. Details about him and the incident that surrounded him, had spread like ravaging wildfire to every home and institution within the city. And so, whenever any of them came across him while heading in certain directions or to a particular destination in mind, they immediately avoided him like he was a frightening monster that only his gaze alone would cause them to be filled with illness and bring about their instant perishing and immediate decay. At the moment, Maxmillan was really hungry that he could entirely devour a full bucket of rice and hot tasty soup. And this was because he hadn't eaten for days since he arrived at the city where nearly everyone did their utmost best to avoid him like he were a plague. He was so famished that mouth-watering
Chapter 13 - RevivedAs soon as the orb of light entered Maxmillan's body, it immediately produced an invisible energy field of accelerated bio-tissue proliferation.Once this bio-electric field of energy appeared and fully encompassed Maxmillan's withering body, it immediately diminished the effect of the spell by causing Maxmillan's dried and withering body tissues to immediately return, and at a speed that will awe people, as Maxmillan went from being a skeleton with little to no flesh to a really healthy individual with strong vitality. Also, the orb of light shielded Maxmillan's mind from the spell that wanted to eradicate his mind and put his body in a living-dead state.After a long while of the spell trying to destroy Maxmillan's mind and take over his body, the spell wore out and became less potent. While the fog that fully enshrouded Maxmillan's body, began to thin out with every passing second that after five minutes, it thinned out completely with nothing happening to Max
Chapter 14 - Enhanced!"Arghhhhhh!!" Maxmillan continuously screamed in vein-ripping, blood-bursting, and eye-gouging pain.——————————————————————[Notice!]——————————————————————[Host is currently undergoing evolutionary metamorphosis from Average Human to Peak Human.][Body Transformation Process can be canceled if pain can't be endured by Host.] ——————————————————————Cancel: [Yes] / [No]——————————————————————As Maxmillan gnashed his teeth in pain with green veins bulging out from the sides of his temples, a holographic screen that displayed what he was currently passing through and provided the option of cancelation, appeared in his vision. Maxmillan read through everything despite the excessively overwhelming, artery-rending pain and groaned, "No!" ——————————————————————[System Alert!]——————————————————————[Host has refused to cancel Body Transformation Process and is therefore rewarded with the following items:] [Digital Compass, Binocular, First-Aid Kit, Sub-Machine G
Chapter 15 - A Sad, Incomplete Reunion (I) When Maxmillan recalled what was displayed on the holographic screen in his vision, he couldn't help produce a frigid smile in his face."Difficulty level is eight over ten, right? Hmm. I guess they must be very powerful then, since even after my enhanced physical state and the powerful weapons I now have in my possession, they are still given a difficulty level of eight out of ten." Maxmillan said to himself with a certain gleam in his eyes. "Well, there are still two months and three weeks before the mission will expire. Let me quickly return home to see everyone and put their minds at ease. They must be greatly worried by now. And I hope mom hasn't set out to look for me and endanger herself in the process." Maxmillan said and started to run in the direction of his home, such that he fully exerted himself so that he would arrive in his home before dawn.As Max started to run at his peak speed of 90km/h, he suddenly got a system message.
Chapter 16 - A Sad, Incomplete Reunion (II)Once Maxmillan arrived at the door with total anticipation in his heart, he immediately knocked on it.Knock! Knock!As soon as he knocked on the door, everyone who were in their different rooms and were sleeping, immediately had their eyes snap open."Huh? But who could be knocking on our door at this hour of the night? Who could this be?" Nailah whose eyes were still sleepy, asked with annoyance in her tone."Or could it be Maxie?" She subconsciously asked. Instantly, at the mention of Maxie's name, her eyes immediately brightened up."C-Can it be?" She asked with great hope surging at the depth of her heart. Swiftly, she dashed out of her room and rushed to the door to see if her wild assumption was true.As soon as she opened the door and the tall, impressively-built muscular figure of Maxmillan was presented to her, her mind was instantly inundated with great joy before she leapt at him to embrace him. Her action was immediately accom
Chapter 17 - Returning to the CityWhile in the kitchen serving himself what he would eat, but with heavily-weighing sadness pressing down upon his heart, he looked at the holographic screen once again and re-opened the mission notification message that he received. ———————————————————————— [Notice!]————————————————————————[New Mission Alert!][Mission Title: Returning Mother Home!]———————————————————————–[Details: Host's mum went in search of Host for not returning home the same day after taking the admissive exam and could therefore endanger her life, as the road path to the city is filled with all sorts of unknown dangers — Transport Carriages could be attacked by vicious, evil-scheming kidnappers and its passengers could be abducted for payment of huge ransoms, or simply turned into grieving wailing slaves for some ruthless Enslavers or tyrannous House Master Lords. So, Host is expected to find her and bring her home safely, no matter the cost.][D
Chapter 18 - Domineering!Whoosh! Maxmillan arrived in the city a second after he took off from his parent's house. And as soon as he arrived in the city, an aura of exceeding brutality and viciousness began to exude from his body. Also, a resenting gaze could be seen in his eyes, as he was constantly reminded of the various inhumane maltreatments that he experienced in the hands of every caster of Astra Mystralis.Although he moved at a great speed that could seriously harm his skin due to air friction, and his eyes due to the impact of the wind upon them, but they didn't sustain any form of damage due to the protective, high-frequency auric field of energy that shielded his whole being from the dangerous and deleterious effects of moving at such a colossally fast speed. At the moment, Maxmillan's eyes seemed to contain tens of thousands of gleaming, blood-red daggers that will shoot out of his eyes and stab wickedly into anyone that will make trouble for him.After a while of look