Chapter 124: Entrance Club Tests (1)

An upperclassman read off the ten names, starting from rank one down to rank ten.

"Hazel Moss..."

Out of the corner of her eye, Shani saw several first-years congratulating a girl with curly ginger hair.

Hazel responded to her friends with equal enthusiasm, the picture-perfect image of a popular, well-liked student.

"Luca Adams..." As the second name was called, the crowd congratulated a boy just as enthusiastically.

The boy was none other than the student who had cheered Shani on before the exam began.

’So his name is Luca,’ Shani thought to herself.

Right after that, the third name was called: "Shani Rowan."

This time, there were no immediate cheers, though every student turned as one to look in the same direction, straight at Shani.

Shani blinked, offering a stiff smile in response to the heavy silence.

"Congratulations, Shani!" Luca abruptly broke the quiet. He trotted over to Shani, giving her a bright thumbs-up.

"Thank you," Shani replied awkwardly.

The other students couldn’t quite bring themselves to act as overly familiar as Luca, so they pretended nothing had happened and turned their attention back to the remaining announcements.

Following Shani, none of the remaining names received the wild cheers Hazel and Luca had enjoyed.

’Guess those two really are popular,’ Shani mused.

Once all the names were called, the students who hadn’t made the cut groaned in resignation, bid their surviving friends farewell, and shuffled out of the club room.

Meanwhile, the ten remaining students didn’t stay in the room for long either.

An upperclassman stepped forward. "Hello, everyone. My name is Jace. The next trial is also the final trial, and all of you here have a chance to pass, there are no more rank-based eliminations."

Jace’s words did little to ease the freshmen’s nerves. If anything, anxiety mounted as they realized the upcoming test would strictly evaluate their actual skill.

"The next test is a practical trial for accuracy. Follow me to the Training Hall." Jace led the underclassmen out of the room.

Shani walked alongside Luca. Ever since cheering her on, he had stayed right by her side, offering commentary on practically everything that happened.

’Do all of Sonny’s friends share the exact same personality?’ Shani thought, somewhat speechless, though she made no move to distance herself. After all, she was already getting used to Sonny’s chatter.

The second-floor corridor bustled with students ducking in and out of various club rooms, but the Training Hall was exponentially livelier.

In one corner, Shani spotted students leaping and twirling with colorful ribbons. She narrowed her eyes, scanning the group, but couldn’t spot Jeryon among them.

’Is he already done with his trial? I hope this exam wraps up quickly so I can go watch him.’

Just like the Shooting Club, several other clubs were holding their trials in the Training Hall, allowing spectators to watch the action live.

"The distance is twenty meters. That’s so far!" Luca practically squeaked, pointing toward another corner of the massive Training Hall.

Shani snapped her head around to follow Luca’s finger. Mounted against the far wall were two bullseye targets, while Revan and a few Shooting Club members inspected handguns roughly twenty meters away.

Jace guided the Shooting Club prospects over to the group.

"Everyone’s here and ready. We can begin the trial right away," Revan announced without unnecessary pleasantries, though his face wore his signature warm smile.

"This trial focuses on accuracy. As you can see, the targets mounted over there are your goal. The test consists of two parts. The first is an untimed precision test: five shots, with no time limit."

"The second part is a rapid-fire test. You will again fire five shots, but all five must be taken within a ten-second window."

"There are no rank eliminations. You pass as long as you score eighty points or above overall. Any questions?" Revan asked after finishing his explanation.

Everyone shook their heads in silence.

"Alright. First and second place from the written exam, take your positions!" Jace instructed, wasting no time.

The students exchanged nervous glances. Even though they weren’t the ones up first, they were still caught off guard by the lack of any practice rounds or warm-ups.

Every single one of them wanted to pass. After all, the Shooting Club was one of the most popular clubs in the academy, boasting a massive applicant pool.

Firing essence firearms was one of the easiest ways to utilize essence without requiring extraordinary innate talent.

C-Rank students found comfort in mastering marksmanship as a failsafe in case they failed to reach B-Rank, which would permanently lock them out of achieving the Full-Beast stage.

B-Rank students held similar motivations, though for them, it wasn’t about failing to reach the full-beast stage, but rather acknowledging that reaching it took considerable time, meaning they needed alternative combat methods for offense and defense in the meantime.

Shani felt nervous herself, though not quite as panicked as the others.

She had trained tirelessly over the past week, skipping her afternoon breaks just to ensure she could consistently hit eight-point shots without compromising her essence control.

She watched attentively as Luca and Hazel stepped forward to pick up the provided handguns. Shani was genuinely curious to see how skilled they were.

During combat class, Shani had been far too absorbed in bombarding Damon with questions to notice who was good at shooting. On top of that, essence control played a crucial role in this trial.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Luca fired three quick shots, despite the first stage being an untimed precision test.

A few onlookers assumed Luca was being reckless, but when their eyes shifted to the holographic screen displaying his target, everyone’s eyes widened.

"Ten, ten, ten...!" one of the students gasped.

Seeing the result, Luca grinned proudly, looking as though he had known all along that he’d hit the mark.

Bang! Hazel began firing as well.

"Another ten!"

Shani’s jaw dropped. It wasn’t just Luca who was impressive, Hazel was just as phenomenal.

And judging by their relaxed postures, they were completely at ease, a far cry from Shani’s own grueling practice sessions that constantly drained her mental focus and stamina.

’Is this the difference between training from a young age and starting late?’

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