Chapter 77: Evaluation
In the bright light of day, within the walls of a small village nestled in the hills, the people gathered in one of the compounds, their eyes filled with anticipation.
They looked toward the platform where a group of old men sat on the side, exuding an air of authority, all in silence.
Adriana, the red-haired woman, approached the stage with a frown, casting a cold gaze upon the assembled crowd.
"The tournament will begin according to the instructions," she announced in a loud and clear voice.
All the students nodded in agreement, their eyes fixed on the stadium.
"The first round will assess your progress over time, and your ranking will be determined accordingly," Adriana explained. Retrieving a list from her pocket, she continued, "The first participant is William."
"Yes," William smirked, his expression arrogant, as he confidently walked toward the stage. Those around him hastily moved aside, some wearing fearful expressions, while others attempted to flatter him.
Either way, the golden-haired youth climbed up the stage with an arrogant expression on his face.
"Show your cultivation speed," Adriana instructed, looking at William with a deadpan expression.
"Yes," William replied. He closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and then opened his golden eyes.
His eyes displayed a strange pattern, and an ice shard materialised in thin air beside him.
Although the ice shard was small, its sharp edges emitted a terrifying pressure, causing the very air around it to tremble.
Astonishment filled the eyes of the elders, "This… this is…"
"High-rank mage apprentice," Noah said with a smile, nodding his head in satisfaction.
Everyone present was astonished upon hearing this.
"Hasn't anyone in the history of the academy progressed so rapidly in their ranks? High rank Mage apprentice in a month I haven't even imprinted a spell in my mental space yet." a random person said among the crowd of students.
"This is impossible. How could he reach high rank so quickly? Even the leader, who is said to be the greatest genius of the village, was on the verge of breaking through, even with the help of the entire village supporting his cultivation," Leo exclaimed with disbelief on his face.
While Aur just rolled his eyes, hearing the whispers of everyone surrounding him who also expressed disbelief.
However, he followed the crowd. Of course, William would be stronger. After all, he had taken more steps than Noah, the village leader.
Although Noah might have more resources than William, that was only on the surface. With the river of opportunities given to him, it wouldn't be shocking if he could directly reach tier one wizard status.
However, these people reacted as if their whole reality had been altered by what they witnessed, as if their IQ had suddenly dropped.
"Oh, wait. Their IQ might have really dropped, at least the people around me, but…" Aur looked at the places the elders and Noah were, and as he expected, although they showed a slight shock, it wasn't an overreaction. After all, they already knew that William was more talented than the leader himself.
Aur still remembered his previous encounter with William, where his brain seemed to degrade just staring at the man. If he didn't have the intelligence stat maxed out, he might be just like them as well.
Thinking of this, Aur sighed while shaking his head.
Even Adriana, who was beside William, looked at him with astonishment on her face, replacing her deadpan expression.
"Teacher," William called her with a smile on his face.
"Huh?" Adriana looked at him with a small blush on her face. "You can go back now. If anyone hasn't reached your cultivation ranking, you will be ranked first in the class," she said, suppressing her blush.
However, she knew that nobody could surpass him in the progress of the wizard realm, not to mention they couldn't even reach high rank in mage apprentice, as it was impossible for them.
It had not been achieved in the entire history of the academy for a reason.
William smiled as he looked at her. "Did you just blush, Teacher Adriana?"
"No, I didn't," Adriana said with a cold expression. "Now, get lost." She released her pressure slightly.
William hurriedly backed away while scratching his head. "If you don't want me to get close, you could just say. Why did you release your pressure on me without reason?" he grumbled with speechlessness as he returned back.
Under William's bright radiant aura, Jack, who had reached the mid-rank of martial apprentice, became a mere side character who could barely be praised by anyone.
However, the biggest disappointment was Henry, as he was just on the verge of reaching mid-mage apprentice.
Adriana announced this in disappointment, which made Henry grit his teeth as he put his head down with shame.
The elders whispered among themselves, seeing this, as they looked at the third elder with mockery.
"He should have thought more with his head than his lower regions, incurring the wrath of our genius like that," the first elder shook his head with a smug expression while patting the third elder.
The third elder's fist tightened as he shook his head with an expressionless face. "I am sorry, brother; looks like I failed as a father."
The first elder internally snickered seeing the face of the third elder.
"I am sorry, brother; looks like I failed as a father. It's nothing, but you should teach your son some manners and instil strong morals if he wants to live in our village, don't we, leader?" he respectfully said while looking at Noah.
Noah just smiled and nodded his head, "you are right, First Elder. Third Elder, have you disciplined the poor child yet?"
"Yes, I have, Leader. After we return, I will give him an even harsher punishment," the third elder said expressionlessly.
"Good." Noah nodded his head as he looked away, causing the third elder to heave a sigh of relief.
"Tch, these old foxes," the first elder internally cursed.