Inside the illusory garden of mirrors and pearlescent pillars had its floorbed lush with purple hyacinths filling the entire space. At the very center of the room was a crystal-like coffin encasing a young man with stardust silver hair and severed horns in his head. Numerous cracks appeared in his scarred pale skin, making him look like a broken work of porcelain. Silken cloth and Iridescent black and gold feathers enveloped him like a cocoon as he laid, unable to awaken.

It was Kaisellin's mindscape.

A few feet away from him were three other young men bearing a strikingly similar appearance to Kaisellin. One laid unconscious as if knocked out into oblivion, while the other two stared at him curiously.

[Is Aster dead?]

[He's knocked out cold. Cold.]

Seith in his high ponytail and tight-fitting clothes shifted his sitting position and leaned closer to Aster's sprawled state, closely examining him.

[Anyway, what's wrong with Eiran? He's usually the quiet type.]

Raden, in his half top knot and elegant clothes, crossed his arms and leaned into one of the mirror pillars.

[I think he's triggered.]

[From what, even?]

[With Aster being a dumbass.]

[...]

Seith stared at Raden with a dumbfounded look for a moment before replying.

[But he's always been a dumbass.]

[All he knows is threatening people and strangling them. And well...'that'.]

[Figures. That's all the Lord ever taught us...]

Meanwhile, back in the examination room, Zyler reflexively stared at Eiran, confused at his sudden antics.

'What the? He had the nerve to doze off? In a test like this?'

He sneakily peered into his paper and tried to conceal his widened eyes.

'Huh? He's on the third page already? Is he even taking this seriously?'

He quickly lowered his head after seeing the professor's eyes turning to Eiran.

"What's with the noise?"

"Pardon me for the disturbance, professor."

Eiran didn't show a hint of embarrassment and bowed politely.

"Stop doing useless things and focus on your paper."

Eiran nimbly rotated his wrists to relax it before picking up the pen again.

Just like Aster, he flipped through the pages' contents again one by one. Unlike before, there was no longer hesitation in answering it as he scribbled diagrams and formed paragraphs with ease.

It didn't take long for him to finally turn to the last page, reading the last set of questions.

'It's another standard textbook question.'

Eiran, finally relieved that it was almost over, began writing his last set of answers.

'The halflings—the ones who are both earthborn and Sorenian-blooded, have two general distinctions.'

'In essence, Nephilims are individuals from earthly races who were given a fraction of an orthodox Sorenian's blood which allows them to wield the gods' divinity, soren.'

'A Nephilim is able to wield either the power of the Adonis or the power of the Seraphim. Although extremely rare, those who were favored by a Sorenian and directly turned through a binding ritual is able to turn others into Nephilims.'

'Consequently, the halflings who received the power of the Draconem were infamously coined as the Heathens. As followers of unorthodox deities, they bring chaos to the land like their ravaging masters.'

You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.

Satisfied with his brief answer, Eiran gently placed his pen down and rose from the desk, not bothering to check the other applicants who were still busily scribbling in their own papers.

"Finished already?"

Zyler shot a quick glance at Eiran's back with a look of envy before turning back his attention to his own. He almost breathed a long sigh.

Eiran handed over his test answers to the azure-eyed professor and deftly leaved the room without waiting for his confirmation.

"What a rude little..." The professor clicked his tongue and glanced at the clock.

"It's only been thirty minutes though." He muttered inaudibly.

Eiran leisurely strolled through the garden square of Alioth Knight Academy.

He wanted to savor his every chance since taking control of Kaisellin's body after years of being holed up inside the mindscape along with a chaotic bunch of motherfuckers who looks exactly like him.

'While I'd hate to admit it, Aster's gut was right. Stepping into this place...feels like I've returned to an old dwelling where everything else had changed.'

He crossed his arms at his back.

'Strange, indeed.'

He came across a marble statue of a person at the center of the square, where the bottom part was finely engraved with the words, 'General Alioth'. Eiran raised his head more to get a clearer view of it, though what enters his vision wasn't much exciting.

The statue looked like an enigmatic knight straight from a fairytale. He had a holeless mask with regal motifs at the sides, as well as messy shoulder-length hair tied in a half ponytail. He was neatly garbed in Kuanos Genesis's tactical attire, with several honorary medallions hanged at the left side of his coat.

'hm? His earring...'

"You must be a fan of him too."

Eiran's thoughts were interrupted as he turned his head, finding a short teen with gunmetal chonky hair and an innocent demeanor. He noticeable wore oversized clothes and leathery overalls.

Feeling his questionable stare, the gray-haired quickly let out a short exclaim, motioning his index finger at his ears.

"I just noticed your earring, it's getting pretty trendy again these days."

"Trend?"

"Yeah." He then pointed at the marble statue. "It's General Alioth's most cherished accessory."

"Though when it became a staple jewelry these days, it doesn't look that impressive anymore. Since it's no longer unique."

He turned to the chonky-haired teen, who now disappeared from sight just as quickly as he appeared.

His slender hands slowly reached for his chest, where a heart that Sorenians weren't supposed to have was faintly beating.

'What could this be? This numb feeling of creeping rage and something else while looking at this statue.'

'Just what kind of life have you lived, Kaisellin?'

♦️♦️♦️

"You seem pleased, Professor Thorne." The brown-haired professor with his neatly trimmed beard and striking azure eyes turned to his assistant and softly muttered.

"There are quite a few promising applicants, but it's still too early to tell if they can pass the second test."

Unlike the strict demeanor he had shown in the test, he was considerably gentler and more scholarly. The assistant served him earl grey tea and quickly left the office, wishing not to disturb the professor.

Taking a quick sip from his tea, Thorne stopped his successive flipping and stared at a particular test paper. It was the very first one that was passed among the applicants, which he recalled was from that aloof-looking fellow.

On its upper part was a rigid handwriting of a name that looked almost print-like. He almost broke into laughter.

'This kid...he wrote everything in runic wordplay. What a lunatic. He's exactly like that person who proposed we write the written test questions in runic alphabet.'

If he hadn't stared at it intently, he would have thought it was part of the questions.

'Is this when they babble about how handwritings could say so much about a person? Aster Riverblood...it's that strange kid.'

'He must be an extreme perfectionist.'

'Hm? He managed to unravel all the trick questions at the start? With such detailed descriptions?'

He recalled his behavior from a while ago. Thorne previously scoffed at how Aster dozed off in the middle of the test, with even his head drooping down the desk. But now, staring at his brilliant and advanced answers, it hardly mattered anymore.

As his eyes eagerly darted from left to right, his brows slowly furrowed as his reading pace slowed. From around half the second page, his handwriting changed completely. Different from his rigid print-like penmanship, the other half was flowy, cursive, and...well, aesthetically pleasing, much like a deranged poet's writing.

Thorne flipped through the first page to check, then back at the second page, staring at it in confusion.

'What the...'

He leaned onto his leather chair in contemplation.

'Does he have multiple personalities or what...?'

He considered the possibility of cheating, but quickly shook it off. He would have long noticed it if that were the case.

A soft knock interrupted his thoughts.

"Come in."

A tall woman with long lilac hair and chained glasses entered his office.

"Professor Thorne."

Thorne flashed a gentle smile at the woman who was once his student, now making name for herself in the most prestigious educational institution in the Continent.

"Yes, Dame Louise?"

"It's Professor now, Sir."

"You coming here is perfect timing."

He handed her 3 separate test answers from different applicants as if it was a natural thing.

She scanned through them one by one, going through each answers with careful intent.

"The first one—Ashton Williams, commoner. His answers are very theoretical and full of jargons, but he managed to explain it all in the most basic manner. I believe he has potential in the magic engineering department." She handed the first paper back to Thorne, who placed it together with an applicant profile of a teen with cute freckles and gunmetal grey chonky hair.

"The second—Lancelot, no surname. A slum child, then." She paused for a brief moment and double-checked the contents. "Hm. He's a rare gem. Most lower-class children don't have much success in passing because of the difficulty of the written test, be he looks pretty knowledgeable and confident in his understandings. Could he have been taught by a master?"

"It's possible." Thorne nodded, placing the test answer on top of the other profile of a blonde-haired handsome lad.

"As for the last—Zyler Elijah Ravencrown, a fallen noble. His answers are pretty much...should I say—creative? Unique? His way of answering the questions makes him sound like a veteran. It's interesting, coming from a kid. It's very practical and efficient."

Louise checked Zyler's profile and squinted her eyes.

"He looks familiar."

"Have you seen him somewhere?"

"No. But I've seen someone who looks like him."

Her voice slowly trailed.

"Very, very briefly."

Thorne handed her the last test answer he was holding, the one belonging to Aster. Louise curiously scanned it in curiosity, wondering why the professor handed it over separately.

Upon reading the first part of the page, her eyes widened, staring back and forth to Professor Thorne and to the paper. Her eyes lightly shook.

"This...!"

"Right."

"It's the most impressive."

"But there's one thing I'm pondering about."

"What is it, Professor?"

Thorne lightly rubbed his beard with his index finger.

"I've never heard of house Riverblood."

Louise nodded in agreement.

"Likewise, Professor. I'm also surprised to discover a hidden Marquis house upon checking earlier."

"Have you verified it properly? Are you sure it's not a fake identity?"

"Of course. It's undeniable."

Louise's eyes momentarily darkened as she lowered her voice.

"Since the records say it was a noble title bestowed by none other than the late king."

Thorne's face hardened for a moment, before sipping his tea to calm himself.

"The same tyrannical madman we know?"

Louise nodded in affirmation.

"But I've never heard of the late king ever bestowing a noble title during his reign..."

"What a twist of fate." He sighed softly.

"Are you still going to proceed?"

"He deserves it, Louise. General Alioth himself specifically told us to accept any talents regardless of their background."

He rose from his seat and opened his desk drawer where his stamp was placed.

Looking at his profile for the last time, Thorne stamped his seal alongside Alioth Knight Academy's insignia.

Normally, he would have consulted this with the council formed in the academy, but a situation led most of them to be summoned to the headquarters. Thus, the authority of choosing the qualifying applicants was passed onto him temporarily until the dean returned.

"Looks like we've gotten our top scorer."