Nicole impatiently waited for the analysis result and five minutes later it came out. She swiftly took the paper that had been printed out and read it carefully. There were others' results which also came out a moment later but she was too engrossed in what she was reading.

When she completely read the whole thing she took a deep breath to calm the bubbling emotions and looked at Blue deeply. A hint of greed flashed by her eyes. She had already returned to her previous calmness and also took out others' analysis results but she didn't even glance at them properly.

She told them their result which matched with what they already knew. However she didn't reveal Blue's attribute but instead told him that it will be revealed at a later time in a more private setting and gave him a slip of paper to show others if they asked him.

She completed the remaining procedures to register them on that computer and brought out an id card for each of them. After the group received their ids she guided them calmly to a van. It was an automatic van with a set destination to one of the main premises of the academy.

Just before Blue entered the van she said to him in a gentle tone,

"Blue, when you will be asked to choose your preferred personal teacher later, don't feel pressured by what others say to you. I hope that you will consider me at that time."

He gave her a sweet smile as he replied in an adamant tone,

"Teacher Nicole has been very kind to me. Since there is such an option for me to choose then I will definitely have you as my first choice."

He then gave a courtesy bow to show his gratitude to her before he entered the van. The van progressed with a steady pace as it left the horizon. Nicole watched the van till it left her vision with a happy smile on her face. She then said in a pleased tone,

"Even without the elemental affinity, you are a wonderful young man. I am looking forward to teaching you."

°°°°

The van steadily progressed and half an hour later it stopped to signal that they reached their destination. They exited the van and took a sharp breath at the scene in front of them.

In the sky, There were floating islands with skyscrapers on them. There were even some clouds in the sky that seemed to have been transformed into buildings where people flew in and out of.

On the ground, there was an enormous lake with its other side faintly visible at the horizon. Even their awakened human's eyesight had to strain to see the end of it. By the lakeside there were rows upon rows of spiral towers, cube-shaped buildings, mansions made out of literal gold, flying cars, floating hoverboards and many other futuristic as well as fantastical scenes present that they couldn't even dream of.

When Blue watched it all he also showed a shocked expression.

Of course, he was pretending. He had seen so much throughout his past life that this place barely qualified to him as a remote city. When he was in Carnova he truly felt that, from a human's perspective, it was similar to arriving in a primitive village in the middle of a jungle while having lived in an ultra futuristic metropolis for all his life.

As they exited the van and stood still watching the scenes ahead a drone flew over to them and said in a robotic voice,

"Detected new students. Please follow the drone to the designated place. The entrance ceremony will begin shortly."

As it said that the group also came out of stupor before looking at the drone in a curious gaze. Blue took the lead to answer it,

"Okay, please lead the way."

The drone slowly moved forward to keep their pace steady. Other two guys also followed him who were following it ten steps ahead of them.

It led them to a five meter long and three meter wide hoverboard parked at a distance from them. There were also similar hoverboards around it. It then told them,

"Please get on the hoverboard. We will begin the journey shortly."

Blue and his group complied and got on it without making things difficult for the drone.

Karla was looking all over the place with intense curiosity burning in her eyes. She never thought one day she would get to experience all this.

"So this is the place where my big brother and sister studied. Truly… beautiful."

She thought and then looked at Blue who was caressing her silver hair that was tied in a ponytail gently while asking the drone many questions. She noticed that he seemed to enjoy caressing her hair. She then made a decision to grow her hair longer. It previously went up to the middle of her back in length but now she wanted to grow it until the length reached her waist.

Blue wanted to ask the drone some basic questions about the academy so he started with,

"What is your name?"

The drone activated the hoverboard and it started floating upwards before heading towards one of the floating islands with skyscrapers on it. It turned towards him and answered,

"My model name is Outer Player Academy Assistance Drone and my serial number is OPAAD-9295849."

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"I see… I will just call you Lil Drone then. So if I ask you some questions, could you answer?"

"Affirmative. Please feel free to ask."

"Well, where are we?"

"We are now in the academy administration office premises and currently heading towards the designated place where the entrance ceremony will be visible for you to attend."

"Hmm? Okay… so how many new students still left before they complete their entrance test?"

"Apologies. Exact number is unknown."

"It's alright. Then how many new students had completed the entrance test?"

"Excluding the ones who are on their way to the premises of the academy the total number of new student ids detected is 144,961 and still increasing."

When the group heard the number they took a sharp breath and one of the guy's couldn't help but ask the drone with a hint of anxiety,

"That's impossible though. When we left there were barely a thousand of us in the capital. How could there be over a hundred thousand? Is there a mistake in your detection?"

"Negative. There is no mistake in the detection. It is stipulated that new students are not allowed to ask certain questions and your previous question falls under that category. The question thus will not be answered."

The guy was dumbfounded as he got silenced by this drone instantly. Just as he was about to angrily question it again Blue waved his hand and asked to be careful lest this drone was recording their conversation. This instantly doused his anger and he looked at the drone vigilantly with a frown as he quieted down. He decided to let the handsome guy do the talking for now.

"Lil Drone, can you give us a short summary about the academy?"

"Affirmative. The academy spans a very vast area with many diverse places that have the resources to nurture the students. There are ten main premises of the academy. The academy administration office, faculty management center, teacher quarters, student quarters, training grounds, recreational clubs, sport fields, event stadiums, exam centers and special facilities."

"The students are allowed to roam freely within the student quarters, recreational clubs, sport fields and event stadiums. Students need a special permit to visit the academy administration office, faculty management center and teacher quarters. Students could only enter the training grounds and exam centers in the presence of a teacher. All students are prohibited from entering the special facilities premises. The rest of the information will be omitted for it will be revealed in the entrance ceremony."

The entire group became silent after learning so much information in a short time. Blue however didn't pay much heed as his Memory Palace bloodline ability had recorded the information for him to access at any time. He still waited half a minute while making a pondering expression to make it so he wasn't out of place. They were getting closer to their destination so he asked the final question,

"How long till the entrance ceremony starts?"

"It is estimated to start in three hours."

"Thanks, buddy."

"It is my duty."

With that they got down from the hoverboard as they stepped on the floating island. The drone further guided them inside a skyscraper. They were surprisingly taken on the rooftop as they rode the elevator. There were also many young adults on the roof. They all had a drone accompanying them.

There were about a thousand people gathered but it still didn't feel crowded. The roof was just that spacious. They also saw some familiar faces from the time they were in the capital. Almost all of them came forward to greet them after recognizing each other.

Of course there were some who just watched them from a distance without interacting.

Most of them actually recognized Blue in an instant. He was wearing a bucket hat then but he still gave off a completely different vibe just by being still. Now that the bucket hat got transferred to Karla instead and his face was exposed they almost swarmed him to get to know him better.

Others who were unfamiliar with them also took this chance to ask about him from those of the capital. The previous bleak rooftop became very boisterous with just his appearance alone.

Blue greeted them all politely with a gentle smile on his face. He made sure not to neglect even a single one who came to greet him. Though a bit uncomfortable from all the attention he was very adamant to establish a good image of him in others' hearts in this early stage.

One of the three priorities, reputation required high tolerance, insane sociability and torturous efforts in image building.

This was all worth it for the long run.

Time slowly passed and the rooftop became quieter. However there was a sense of harmony and a pleasant mood in the air. Blue didn't disappoint them and kept them all engaged one way or another by either telling about his many experiences in the entrance test or listening to others words attentively and responding adequately.

Karla's identity as his lover was also revealed which got her much unwanted attention. Most of the girls who were gunning for him became envious and looked at her with a hint of scorn. They didn't lash out at her yet since Blue who was still there might think of them as petty. That would break their heart. They however started scheming in mind how to make her life difficult and how they will get her away from him.

Karla who was receiving their scorn glanced at them from time to time with a smug look. She didn't care what they thought in their mind. She wouldn't be leaving Blue no matter what they threw at her. They could keep dreaming.

Those who were single couldn't help but sigh bitterly at their fate.

Truly, it was always about the face!

Those who had a girlfriend looked at their girl with a hint of displeasure as they noticed their entire demeanor changing in front of him.

Truly, it was always about the face!

Both sides finally agreed on a single point as they all felt bitter that day. However they didn't get angry or displeased at him as the guy was very polite and never jabbed at them or looked at their girl with intentions.

He was just that good!

They also agreed on this point.

As the students kept arriving at the rooftop and the number reached around ten thousand till they stopped, a projection in the sky appeared where a middle aged man with a regal face and formal clothes stood solemnly. He was standing in front of a podium and behind him stood a few hundred figures either in their mid or late twenties while very few in their early thirties. He noticed Nicole at the back who now wore formal clothes like others around her.

The regal faced man began his speech,

"Welcome, new students. Welcome to the Outer Player Academy where you will learn about the path of a player. I shall now commence the entrance ceremony. Many thanks to the teachers who conducted the entrance test earlier today."

He didn't pay much attention to the guy but to Nicole instead. He saw her expression freezing for a moment along with some other teachers who also had a gloomy look on their faces when the guy "thanked" them.

"Might as well say welcome to the cutthroat player society."

Blue snickered disdainfully as he listened to the rest of the speech.