Chapter 110: The Potential Man

The students were soon led away from the combat grounds and toward a completely different section of the testing area.

Unlike the previous tests, this place was much quieter, with several large open tents arranged in rows across the field.

Amon followed the other students into one of the tents.

His eyes immediately landed on the device standing in the center.

There was only one machine inside the entire tent.

It was a tall, silver-colored structure with several smooth crystal plates built into its surface.

A circular platform sat at its base, while a transparent screen floated above it, ready to display the results.

Amon stared at it for a few seconds. ’This looks much better than the one at the Adventurer Bureau.’

The difference wasn’t even low, this one was far superior.

Amon glanced around the tent. ’The Royal University really has a bigger budget.’

The students gradually gathered around the machine as the instructors took their positions.

Professor Evelyn Hartwell stood beside the device with a small tablet in her hand.

She adjusted her glasses and looked over the students. "I will call your names one by one."

Her voice was calm, but there was enough authority behind it.

Professor Hartwell glanced at the tablet before continuing.

"Before we begin, I want everyone to understand something." The atmosphere became more serious. "If you receive a low potential ranking, do not whine, complain, or ask for a second attempt."

A few students exchanged awkward looks.

Professor Hartwell continued without changing her expression.

"The result is what the device determines based on your potential. If you believe there has been a mistake, you may have it checked again at an Adventurer Bureau after the screening."

She pushed her glasses up slightly. "However, none of you will disturb this test by demanding a retry."

The students nodded.

"Good." Professor Hartwell looked back at her tablet. "Let’s begin."

She started calling names at random.

The first student stepped forward nervously and placed his hand against the designated crystal plate.

The device hummed softly.

The screen above it flickered for several seconds before displaying the result.

[Potential: B]

The boy stared at the screen for a moment before letting out a relieved breath.

"Next."

Another student was called.

This time, the result appeared almost immediately.

[Potential: C]

The girl lowered her head slightly before stepping away from the machine.

Amon watched her leave. ’Not everyone is going to get an impressive ranking.’

The testing continued as Amon stood toward the side of the tent and quietly watched the process.

After several minutes, Professor Hartwell called another familiar name.

"Darian Voss."

The tall black-haired student stepped forward.

His scarred eyebrow twitched slightly as he glanced at the device before placing his hand against it.

The machine immediately activated and a few seconds later, the result appeared.

[Potential: A]

Several students murmured among themselves.

Darian removed his hand and looked at the result without much reaction.

He simply nodded and stepped away.

Amon watched him return to the crowd. ’As expected.’

An A-rank potential wasn’t surprising.

Amon slowly moved farther back from the machine and looked over the remaining students.

’If there are two thousand students competing for one hundred spots, only a small portion of the people here will actually get into the Royal University.’

He had already heard that only one hundred students would be selected.

Looking at the students around him, Amon estimated that perhaps twenty or thirty people in this particular group would make it.

The others would have to find another university or continue their studies elsewhere.

Amon wasn’t particularly surprised.

He knew what the Royal University was like.

They had enough applicants to choose from that they could afford to be extremely picky.

’They’d rather leave a seat empty than give admission to a mediocre student.’

Someone with average potential might become a decent adventurer someday, but that wasn’t necessarily enough for the university to spend its resources on them.

Amon folded his arms. He wasn’t particularly worried about his own results.

Finally, Amon heard his name.

"Student Amon Arcadia. Please step forward."

Amon walked toward the machine while several students turned their attention toward him.

He stopped in front of Professor Hartwell.

She looked at him for a moment before giving him a small nod. "Don’t disappoint me."

Amon chuckled. "I’ll try."

He stepped onto the circular platform and placed his hand against the crystal plate.

A soft hum filled the tent as energy began moving through the machine.

Amon watched the transparent screen above him.

The machine remained suspended in its calculation for several seconds longer than it had for anyone else.

The students began whispering.

"What is taking so long?"

"Is something wrong with it?"

Amon’s eyebrows rose slightly. ’Please don’t tell me I’m about to break another machine.’

Finally, the screen stopped flickering as a single line of text appeared.

[Potential: S]

Professor Hartwell’s eyes widened.

Her lips parted slightly before she quietly whispered, "Amon Arcadia... S Rank potential."

Amon stared at the result. ’...S?’

He immediately removed his hand from the device.

The machine’s glow faded.

Professor Hartwell’s eyes remained fixed on him as she adjusted her glasses again. "You really are an anomaly."

Amon gave an awkward smile. "I suppose that’s one way to put it."

Professor Hartwell shook her head slightly before looking at the next name on her tablet. "You can step aside."

Amon quickly walked away.

He could feel the eyes of nearly everyone in the tent following him. A few were already whispering among themselves.

Amon walked toward the corner of the tent and finally stopped.

"Fuck."

There was a reason he was concerned.

It was a known fact that a person’s potential would remain the same throughout their life.

And there were already people who knew that his potential had been A-rank not too long ago.

Now he had suddenly displayed S-rank potential in front of hundreds of students and several instructors.

’This is going to be a pain.’ Amon rubbed the back of his neck.

He was honestly thankful that he had decided not to reveal his potential ranking before this test.

If he had told everyone he was already A-rank, the amount of attention surrounding him would have been even worse.

He took a deep breath and tried to look at the bright side. ’At least it isn’t SSS.’

That would have been much worse.

An SSS-rank potential would have immediately placed an enormous amount of attention on him, and Amon knew exactly what would happen to someone with potential that absurd.

The authorities would eventually start paying attention.

They would want to know where he came from, what bloodline he possessed, how his growth worked, and whether he could become a threat or an asset.

Amon didn’t want that kind of attention. ’Though I’m probably going to reach SSS eventually anyway.’

Those with absurd potential were bound to attract the attention of powerful organizations eventually.

The only question was how much this S-rank result would affect his life.

---

The Potential Test finally ended after the remaining students had been checked.

Professor Hartwell stepped forward and looked over the students. "I am pleased to see so many new faces who may soon become students of the Royal University."

A few students smiled proudly.

Professor Hartwell then glanced toward Amon. "And I am equally pleased to see that there are still anomalies capable of surprising me."

Amon pretended not to notice the attention.

Professor Hartwell continued. "Those who are selected will receive their invitations from the Royal University as quickly as possible. Until then, there is nothing more you need to do."

She raised one hand and gestured toward the exit. "Your respective buses are already waiting outside. Return to your academies and await the final results."

The students slowly began leaving the tent.

Amon let out a deep breath and followed the crowd. ’Finally.’

As he walked toward the buses, he noticed someone standing between the students.

Nolan Reed.

The blond-haired boy caught his gaze, he didn’t said anything, Nolan simply nodded with a small smile.

Amon nodded back. ’What the hell is his problem?’

There was something strange about Nolan.

He had already seen the boy’s bizarre Spirit abilities during the Combat Test, and now the strange smile only made Amon more curious.

Still, he decided not to think about it too much.

Amon climbed onto his academy’s bus and found an empty seat near the window.

The journey back was mostly silent.

Most of the students weren’t in the mood to talk, especially after seeing the results of the screening.

Amon had performed exceptionally well in almost every category, and that naturally made him the target of some resentment.

He could hear a few students quietly complaining about him.

He wasn’t particularly concerned though.

There was nothing he could do about other people’s insecurity, and he certainly wasn’t going to deliberately perform worse just to make them feel better.

After a long journey, the bus finally arrived back at the academy.

Amon stood up as soon as it stopped. He stepped outside before anyone else could leave.

The moment his feet touched the ground, several people immediately rushed toward him.

"Student Amon!"

"Are you Amon Arcadia?"

"Would you be interested in a sponsorship?"

"Our organization would like to discuss an offer with you!"

"We can provide resources for your cultivation!"

More people surrounded him from every direction.

Some were holding documents, while others were already trying to introduce their organizations and explain what they could offer him.

Amon looked from one person to another.

His brain struggled to process what was happening.

He had expected some attention after the screening but not this much.

Amon’s mouth twitched. "What the fuck?"