Chapter 14

There are two types of education: Standard Education and Magical Education. Standard education is about all the knowledge that doesn’t involve magic, while magical education is about all things magical.

The education that involves magic is restricted to a select group of individuals with authority and is considered forbidden for regular people to learn. This includes Deon and other apprentice knights, despite their status as apprentices for the kingdom.

The extent of deon’s knowledge about magic is about the awakening ceremony, which he only learned a few days ago. Other than that, he barely knows anything.

That’s why deon is quite worried about his result since he doesn’t know anything about it since his knowledge about the awakening ceremony doesn’t involve this inspection.

Deon tries to be optimistic since it is quite a high number and might be a good thing, but he isn’t an optimistic person as he always thinks of the worst before the best outcome to prepare himself for any disappointment.

“Selena Learmonth,” the man with the glasses spoke, creating a buzz in the crowd.

All eyes were on the red-haired girl as she gracefully made her way to the central table, outshining the other nobles in elegance.

Deon also paid attention to the girl and watched her closely, curious about her result.

“21”

The result floated inside the crystal ball, allowing all the other participants to see it, and the participants started to whisper amongst each other. Some participants would sometimes glance at deon as they whispered.

Lady Selena frowned when she saw her result but quickly returned to her resting face and walked away, not waiting for the man with the glasses to excuse her.

As Selena is about to return to her original position in the crowd, she glances at deon. Deon was already staring at Selena, so when she glanced at deon, their eyes instantly met.

Deon never expected Selena to look at him, so he unconsciously nodded his head toward her as a greeting, as he did when he met her at the library.

Selena politely nodded back before diverting her eyes as she returned to her original position in the crowd.

The other participants also noticed deon’s and Selena’s small interaction and began whispering again, with some whispers going to deon’s ears.

“Do they know each other?”

“Who is he again?”

“Do they have some kind of relationship?”

“Isn’t he just a commoner?”

Deon rolled his eyes in his mind when he heard the whispers around him; some didn’t even care about deon hearing them.

‘Why are you guys insulting me for? It was just a small greeting. Stop overthinking things,’ Deon thought and began ignoring the whispers around him as thoughts began to stir his mind when he remembered the frown of Selena earlier and what it meant.

‘She clearly wasn’t happy about her result even though it was quite high compared to other people, and why did she look at me?

I think it is safe to assume that the higher the number shown in the crystal ball, the better the result, and that’s why she looked at me? Since I got the highest result?

But that’s assuming she knows about what those numbers represent…. I’m an idiot. Of course, she would know. She is a noble that is friends with the princess. Oh yeah, speaking of the princess, she’s not here. Did she fail too?’ Deon thought as he tried to analyze the situation with a very little piece of evidence he had.

Deon continues to watch the other participant’s results, trying to get more clues, and so far, no one has matched his result or even come close to it.

There were numerous participants who successfully completed the awakening test, which made it quite lengthy. As a result, Deon became bored and tired, and he wasn't alone in feeling this way. Other participants were even yawning.

The test ended after a short while, and Deon received the highest score of 86. The second awakened individual scored 32, creating a considerable difference between them.

This somewhat astonished deon with how big the gap was, and he finally understood why the man with the glasses told deon to repeat his test.

“For now, stay in this room until the second ceremony is finished. I don’t want to see any foolery when I return, or else I don’t mind erasing your result,’ the man with the glasses said with a stern and cold tone, silencing the room as he walked out of the room.

‘Ohh, right, there is still the second awakening ceremony. I wonder, how will William do? I hope he passes,’ Deon thought.

The 1500 participants were divided randomly into two groups, with deon and his friend being lucky as they got to stay with each other.

William and the rest of the grade 10 apprentice knights in their Whitehill town were put in the second awakening ceremony. The God of Sea church is holding the second awakening ceremony with only 500 participants.

Shortly after, the second group of participants who had awakened entered the testing room without any delay for Deon and the others.

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There were fewer participants awakened in the second batch compared to the first, and most of them were wearing apprentice knight uniforms.

Deon curiously looked around, hoping to see any familiar faces. Unexpectedly deon saw William in the crowd with the seniors from their institute, which surprised deon as he approached them.

“Hey guys, congratulations on passing,” Deon said as he approached the four apprentice knights. Three of them were grade 10s: Edmund, Harris, Aaron

Although deon and the grade 10s never really introduced themselves, they knew each other as the other three were the top apprentice knights in their grade, making them quite famous in the institute, and likewise, they too know about deon.

“I heard you passed. I guess this year’s grade 9 are quite impressive with two of you passing” Edmund, who was the top apprentice knight in his year, spoke while the other two grade 10s only nodded at deon in acknowledgment, but deon didn’t mind as he knew about the grade 10’s haughty attitudes.

“Deon! I passed. I can’t believe I passed,” William excitedly said to deon, completely different from his usual reserved attitude.

“Congratulation, William. I’m happy for you,” Deon replied.

Deon was genuinely happy because someone from his grade passed the Awakening Ceremony, even if it was not his two friends.

“Do you have any clue at what’s next?” Edmund asked, interrupting William, who was about to continue talking.

“They told us to put our hands into that crystal ball” Deon pointed at the crystal ball in the middle of the room. “The crystal ball gave us a score that… uh… I guess... the administrator wrote in his document,” Deon explained as best as he could with the four youths listening closely to deon

“What’s the score for?” Edmund asked as he frowned while looking at the crystal ball

“I have no idea, but I think the higher your score is, the better your result. But that’s just my speculation,” Deon replied

“Hmm,” Edmund pondered as he looked at the crystal ball

Just as the group was about to resume their conversation, a man wearing glasses entered the room. He promptly made his way to the center of the room, next to the crystal ball, and began to explain the testing process, similar to what he did during the previous session.

Deon quietly spectated the result of the second batch. However, the result was mostly the same as the first batch.

William: 9

Edmund: 18

Harris: 10

Aaron: 20

“Deon, what was your score?” William curiously asked

“I got 86,” Deon nonchalantly replied

“86? What? How did you get that?” William asked, quite dumbfounded

The grade 10s also heard deon and gave deon a surprising look

“Did you say 86? Are you sure?” Edmund said, frowning. He already wasn’t happy as Aaron beat his score, and now, his underclassman might have an even higher score than him.

“Of course. Why would I lie about that?” Deon replied, with no intention of being humble. Since he wasn't close with the people around him, he didn't see the point in hiding his score, which could potentially make them feel discouraged by the significant difference.

“Hmph, Are you sure you’re not lying to us? No one even got more than 40 in our group, and you’re telling us that you got 80? double that?” Harris said with a hint of mockery in his eyes

“Like I said, why would I lie about my score?” Deon replied, quite annoyed with Harris calling him a liar

“Ohh. I don’t know, maybe to impress your seniors since we didn’t see it personally, and now you’re trying to trick us,” Harris replied as though he caught deon red-handed.

“Why would I need to impress you? I barely know you. I don’t even know your last name. if you don’t believe it, then don’t.” Deon replied, not backing down from a fight.

To deon, the grade 10s are nothing but strangers. He doesn’t care what they think of him. The only opinions that matter to him are that of his friends and family.

“Hmph. Of course, I don’t believe you. I would’ve believed you if you gave a reasonable score but 86? That’s just ridiculous.”

“Oh? Why is that ridiculous? Do you know anything about what the score means? If you do, please enlighten us! What’s ridiculous is you assuming what the score means when you don't know anything,” Deon mockingly replied. He had enough of Harris’ arrogant attitude.

“You…. What? Do you think your tough now that you’ve awakened? Don’t think I won’t beat your ass just because you’re my underclassman,” Harris replied, angrily looking at deon

“And don’t think you could beat me just because you’re one year older than me,” Deon replied while looking at Harris, not backing down if a fight did happen.

“Hmph. Do you actually dare to fight me?” Harris asked. His eyes were boiling in anger. He has no intention of being disrespected by his underclassman.

“I’m waiting,” Deon nonchalantly replied

“Enough. This isn’t the time and place for you two to fight,” Edmund said while trying to hold Harris back.

Harris, who was about to advance toward deon, stopped and looked around him.

A few onlookers witnessed the argument between the two apprentice knights and found it entertaining, particularly the nobles, who appeared to be hoping for a fight.

“Hmph. You got lucky, brat, but next time I won’t tolerate your disrespect,” Harris said while trying to calm himself.

“I’m still waiting,” Deon mockingly replied

“I said enough. I’m warning you two,” Edmund said while looking at deon and Harris with a cold look.

Deon ignored the grade 10s, their arrogance toward their juniors is famous in the institute, but deon doesn’t care about it. He isn’t someone who will back down from a challenge.

William was silent throughout the confrontation. He didn’t want to anger both sides, especially deon, whom he always fought during every annual tournament and knew about his fighting capabilities.

Even if William doesn’t know what the score means, he also believes that the higher the score, the better the result.

As far as William knows, deon would never lie so bluntly and somewhat believe him, but he also couldn’t help but be discouraged. He thought he had finally caught up to deon, but even now that he had awakened, there was still a large gap between him and deon.

‘No, I shouldn’t be thinking like this. I’ve also awakened, and that’s more than enough. Besides, who knows, maybe I will surpass him in the future like I surpassed Rayner,’ William thought as his optimism returned.

“All right, that concludes the awakening ceremony.

Congratulations! As the administrator of the awakening ceremony, I am incredibly proud of your hard work and dedication that has led you to this momentous achievement. This is a significant milestone in your life, and I am honored to have been a part of it.

I am confident you will all positively impact the world, and I look forward to seeing all you youngsters accomplish. Once again, congratulations on your graduation, and I wish you all the best in your future endeavors.” The man with the glasses said, but his words didn’t seem to be genuine as it felt more like reading a script about what to say to the participants at the end of the test.

“More staff will be coming to escort all of you outside, but for now, stay here and wait.”

After finishing his ‘speech,’ The man with the glasses ignored the participants and headed toward deon, which attracted much attention.

“You… Come with me. I need to discuss a few things with you,” the man with the glasses said while pointing at deon and gesturing for deon to follow him.

“Yes, Sir,” Deon immediately replied. Although he knows nothing about this man with the glasses, he couldn’t be careless in treating him, especially since the administrator seems to not care about the nobles. That alone speaks volumes about his background.

Deon followed the administrator and exited the room.

William and the three youths see deon’s back with complicated feelings, especially Harris, who has an ugly look on his face.

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Thought for Thoughts

* Two types of education: Standard Education and Magical Education

* What does the administrator want?