Chapter 9 - Going for the entrance exam.
In the early hours of a particular day in which the entrance exam was fixed at a venue in the Floating Lotus academy, Maxmillan, with the help of his sisters and mom, had finished packing all that he needed for his tiring journey to the faraway city.
"Maxie, remember. If anything goes wrong over there, immediately return home." Lenna said with a gloomy expression in her face, which anyone could tell that she was really worried.
"I understand mom." Maxmillan said with the nod of his head.
Then he went forward to hug his mom who embraced him back with a tear bead rolling down her left cheek from her glistening left eye.
She wished she could dissuade Maxmillan, her only son from going to the city. But since he had fully made up his mind, there was no point in doing so. Besides, she wanted him to be happy and didn't want to get in his way, or he might get furious at her as time goes on for causing him to be absent at the exam venue and therefore ruining his possible chances of being admitted into the widely-known institute.
After packing all that he needed into a large sling bag, he embraced his two other sisters and headed for the door to start his journey to the city.
Although his family members would gladly accompany him to the city, but to prevent them from experiencing any ruinous event that might occur if he failed in the end, he decided to take the long trip alone.
He didn't want the society to cast wicked or malicious gazes upon his family who really loved and cared for him. Or if that happened where communities avoided them for being the one to raise someone that couldn't enter into harmony with Astra Mystralis, therefore subjecting his great and loving family to the harshness that only he was supposed to face and endure till he lives out his life, he would feel really bad. And that was absolutely the last thing that he would ever want this greatly responsible and absolutely kind family to go through. He didn't want to come from another world and submerge this beautiful and charitable family into a never-ceasing stygian currents of misery and troubles.
When he got to the gate and turned back to look at his home once more, the home that he grew in with a family that really loved him and would do everything within their power to provide for him, he saw that his mom, Lenna and his two sisters, Nailah and Lylla, were already standing outside the house to accompany him with their loving gazes that however emanated fear and worry.
Smiling and filled with warmness for this beautiful gesture of theirs, he waved at them which they also returned with smiles in their faces.
'I wish I couldn't go. But I just have to try, for my sake and theirs. Anyway, any result that would manifest after taking the academy's entrance exam, will be accepted as my fate in this world. I will never shy away from the consequences of my actions, I will embrace it with my whole being.' Maxmillan said, further strengthening his resolve that had begun to weaken and waver.
Then he opened the gate to leave. And once he did so where he appeared in the street, he didn't turn around to look back at his family who looked at him from the place they stood on with worry concealed in their accompanying gazes and smiles. He simply pressed forward with an unbreakable resolve that anything that would happen, should happen. He wasn't going to avoid it. Instead, he would press ever forward and face it head on.
Therefore, if it worked out well for him, good!
But if not and raging cyclones of countless troubles manifested because of it, then he would face them fearlessly and with an invincible-willed mind!
***
Forty-five minutes later...
As Maxmillan walked to the garage where he would enter a beast-drawn commercial carriage that would take him to the city, he could see kids of many other people leaving their homes with their parents and practicing happily along the way.
Some of them created spherical balls of fire and gleaming, solid structures of ice. Some caused brooms to start sweeping the earth by themselves through enchantment words that sounded out of their lips in the form of whispers. Just about many spectacularly marvelous things were going on that caused Maxmillan to shake his head in sadness at his own unfortunate condition.
But still, after seeing countless kids appear at the garage to enter carriages that will convey them to the Floating Lotus Academy before the exams would begin, and untiringly performed astonishingly brilliant feats of magic along the way with their overly excited and glad parents clapping for them and exulting them, Maxmillan's conviction and resolve didn't waver for a second. Instead, they self-reinforced with every dark cloud of fear and worry that surfaced in his heart to enshroud every inch of it, instantly nullified and dispelled.
The carriage he was in, after the passenger seats were filled in, began its journey to the city. And as it came across every bump that shook the carriage that was beginning to move at a high speed on the wide tarred road to the city, Maxmillan couldn't help but feel like they were cannonball attacks directed at his solid and reinforced conviction to shatter them.
However, he withstood the internal impacts of the road bumps on his resolve, since he was fully ready to see his actions till the end, and was resolutely prepared to embrace anything that will surface as a result of the course of action that he took.
...
A couple of hours later, the carriage arrived at the city from the town. But it wasn't the only one arriving, many others were arriving, about hundreds of them and were filled with people fully prepared, anxious and excited to take the exams that would be conducted by the exam committees of the Floating Lotus Academy, a grand magical institution that they had always dreamt of going to for their admissive exam and become spellcrafter-in-training students.
They knew that their lives were about to change, since they had arrived at the institute were a lot of revered Astra Spellcraft Commanders graduated from and became powerful Astra Spellcraft Lords that held really paramount posts in numerous prestigious organizations and eminent establishment in cities that were as big and prosperous as the Shining Lake City that the Floating Lotus Academy was located.
Maxmillan got down from the carriage with great shock immediately appearing in his face, as he could see numerous greatly towering structures that couldn't be found anywhere from the planet that he came from, found at every direction that his eyes could possibly see to.
The structures he saw, seemed like giant towering swords that pierced through the clouds of the sky. And they were so massive that a large row of tall and enormous mountains wouldn't be able to occupy half of the land space that these grandiose and imposing structures individually occupied. It was simply a breathtaking and mind-blowing sight all around.
Then what blew his mind more that it could almost leave his body, were certain groups of flamboyantly-dressed, seemingly eminent and stellar people who were accompanied by their awe-striking emissaries, flying from one faraway towering building to another at great speeds, with one of them causing snowfall and a deluge of bright sparks of fire to fall from the sky as he flew across it without doing anything.
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
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