"I shall skip the useless talks. All you need to know is that this academy was founded for one thing: to turn every single one of you into warriors."
"And that is exactly what you would all become." As soon as Aric said this, he raised his hands, and then from his space ring, bracket looking artifacts enveloped with an orange aura, quite literally, spilled forth at remarkable speed.
Each bracelet descended downwards, stopping in front of the millions of youths sprawled across the large expanse.
Aric continued, "This bracelet will be your everything during the stay at the academy. You all shall figure out its functions on your own. Put it on."
Every youth listened to his command and immediately reached out to the artifact in front of them.
As soon as Atticus touched it, it fixed itself on his wrist, letting out a low golden glow before dimming down. He immediately felt a connection to the artifact.
Atticus gazed at the artifact on his wrist, observing it.
'Hmm, it looks like a higher version of the artifact we used in the Raven camp,' Atticus thought. Just like the artifact Atticus had used in the Raven camp, this one also looked exactly like it. But Atticus could feel a difference; this one had way more capability than the one at the camp.
Seeing that every youth had worn the bracelets, Aric continued, "Good. I shall let you all figure out its uses later. But for now, you all shall undergo a test. I advise you all to try your hardest during this test as it would determine a lot of important things about your stay at the academy."
Hearing this, Atticus couldn't help but see how very similar everything was to the Raven camp. 'It seems the camp was truly to train us for the academy,' Atticus pondered. But his thoughts couldn't help but shift to the other tier one families.
If the Ravensteins had trained their youths to prepare for the academy, what's to say the other families didn't do the same?
Gazing at each of them, Atticus observed that they were not at all surprised by the unfolding events. It was as if it was all expected.
"I wish you good luck." As soon as Aric said that, the entire expanse that the youths were standing on suddenly let out a blinding light, immediately engulfing the entire youths.
And then, every single one of the youths all disappeared.
Almost instantaneously, Aric also disappeared from the air
***.
Deep within sector one, at the center of the sector, sprawled a metropolis surrounded by walls and adorned with towering structures.
In the middle of this city lay a grand coliseum with seats filled to the brim with different youths. At the top, there were many booths with tilted glass, clearly for people of high status.
In the center of the coliseum, many large screens displayed various parts of an area, which was clearing up, showcasing different 15-year-old youths.
This was the inner part of the academy, and every single youth gathered were students of the academy who had come to watch the test.
The academy was a place filled with every single talent in the human domain. Despite what some might think, showcasing the strength and potential of their geniuses to the entire domain was foolish, especially when there were a lot of people who could use this information for something malicious.
Each year, the only people allowed to watch were tiered families and all the youths currently attending the academy.
In all of the tilted booths, different families were currently present, watching the event.
In one of the booths, Anastasia turned to Avalon and remarked, "Avalon, I can't find him," while swiping through different screens, looking for a particular one showing Atticus on one of the different screens.
The booth they were in was personalized for its users. On top of the tilted glass, there was a large screen displayed on it. It allowed them to select and focus on whatever screen they wanted to focus on.
"Calm down, honey. It just started," Avalon replied.
After saying goodbye to Atticus back at the estate, Avalon had left to take care of some business. He had met the family at the academy.
He, Anastasia, and Freya were currently sitting inside the booth.
"Yeah… oh! Found him!" Anastasia's exclamation was marked by the loud cheers of the different youths in the coliseum.
"That's my brother!" One random youth screamed.
Some cheered loudly, seeing a familiar face of a family member on one of the screens.
Directly high above the coliseum was a large circular construct hovering in the air. The air around this construct was brimming with unimaginable power. One could only wonder what the construct contained for it to let out such power.
Inside this structure, in a large round hall, beings that all radiated an otherworldly aura were seated around the hall.
None of these beings were actively releasing their aura, but the fact that people of their strength were all gathered in a single room made the atmosphere try hard to withstand their power. The air cracked with intense energy.
Every single one of them was seated at the same elevation, and it was clear to anyone watching that everyone currently present was of the same status.
Suddenly, a man materialized in the hall. Everyone turned their gazes to see Aric.
"Haha, Aric! This year's test is going to be interesting!" A man with vibrant orange hair that seemed to emit a subtle glow, complementing the radiant gem embedded in his head spoke, his voice booming through the hall.
This man was Luminous, the Paragon of the Stellaris family.
"Would you fucking shut up," another man with a more subtle voice spoke immediately after. He had oversized ears, and massive headsets adorned his head. This man was the Paragon of the Resonara family, Octavius.
Individuals from the Resonara family had always been very sensitive to sound. They were always quick to be ticked off, especially if someone was disturbing their peace.
This hall was filled with the powerhouses of humanity, Paragons.
Almost all the Paragons in the human domain were in attendance, and they were all here for one thing: to watch the test.