Chapter 45: Blackstone City Takes First

Several minutes later, the candidates from Blackstone City stepped out of the Teleportation Device in Blackstone City.

The City Lord and the academy representatives were already waiting in the square.

Some looked exhausted. Others were excitedly talking about what had happened during the Assessment.

The City Lord looked toward the Teleportation Device.

"Are they all back?"

"Not yet," one of the academy representatives replied. "There are still a few inside."

A few more candidates stepped through the portal, and soon, Ethan appeared with Aria

The City Lord watched the candidates return with a faint smile.

He already knew the overall result of the Assessment.

Among the surrounding cities, Blackstone City had taken first place.

He didn’t know what had happened inside the Assessment grounds or who had performed the best, but he knew one thing.

His deal with Ethan had been worth it.

Ethan stepped away from the portal with Aria.

The City Lord’s smile became a little wider when he saw him.

The academy representatives also turned their attention toward Ethan.

One of them stepped forward.

He looked to be in his mid-twenties. His dark hair was kept short, and he wore a black uniform with silver patterns running across the shoulders and chest. His build and presence made it clear that he was a combatant.

His eyes settled on Ethan.

Then he noticed the faint silver water drop mark in the middle of Ethan’s upper brow.

"Interesting."

"Are you Ethan?"

"Yes."

The young man gave a small nod.

"I see." He said as if realizing something.

More candidates continued coming through the portal until the last person finally returned.

The Formation Engineer stepped forward and deactivated the Teleportation Device. Within a few seconds, it shrank back to its original size.

He picked it up and slipped it onto his finger.

The young man who had spoken to Ethan seconds ago stepped forward and addressed everyone.

"My name is Rollin. I’m a representative of the Order Academy."

He looked across the candidates.

"The academies have already made their selections during the Assessment. We’re here to take the candidates who were selected to their respective academies."

The representatives from the other academies stood nearby.

"The same process is taking place in every city where the Entrance Trial was held."

Rollin paused.

"You have two days to prepare before you leave for the academy. Use that time to say your goodbyes, settle any personal matters, and prepare whatever you need."

His gaze moved across the candidates again.

"After two days, we will leave."

The candidates began murmuring among themselves.

Two days. That wasn’t much time.

Rollin looked at them. "You can go now. Use these two days to prepare. We’ll leave in two days."

The candidates slowly started leaving the square but someone just happened to block Ethan’s path.

"So, how did the Assessment go?"

Ethan looked at him.

Leon smiled. "I think I did pretty well. I managed to make it through all three assessments."

He crossed his arms.

"Although, the Free-for-All assessment was a little annoying. A summoner with long-range summons took first place. He even attacked me from behind while I was fighting someone else."

Hearing what Leon said, Ethan came to a realization.

During the Assessment, he had accidentally killed someone while trying to take down another candidate. The person had looked a little familiar at the time.

Now that he thought about it, that person was most likely Leon.

Leon continued, completely unaware.

"Still, clearing one dungeon doesn’t prove much. If you couldn’t even beat me in the Assessment, then maybe you’re not as strong as people think."

Ethan looked at him for a moment.

Leon gave a small laugh.

Aria stared at him.

"Leon, you really are an idiot."

Leon looked at her. "What?"

"If you knew Ethan’s results, you wouldn’t be saying that."

Leon frowned.

Before he could ask what she meant, Rollin stepped forward.

"There’s no need to guess."

Everyone nearby turned toward him.

Rollin looked at Ethan.

"Ethan came first in the Reputation assessment and first in both of the Combat assessments."

Leon froze.

"...First?"

"That’s right."

Leon stared at Ethan for a moment.

"But how?"

Everyone in Blackstone City knew that Ethan had Shadow-type summons after the City Lord attacked him at the dungeon entrance, so there was no reason for Leon to doubt it.

But if Ethan really had only those shadow-type summons, then how had he managed to come first?

"Your summons were shadow-type. Then where did those Solar Elementals come from?"

Ethan was already losing interest.

He still had the Secret Realm Token, and he wanted to find a quiet place to use it as soon as possible.

Leon was still trying to figure it out.

"Did you have another summon this whole time?"

Ethan didn’t answer and simply walked past him.

"Hey, I’m talking to you."

Ethan kept walking.

Aria followed him, leaving Leon standing there like a fool.

...

Back at the City Lord’s residence, the City Lord was already laughing.

"Hahaha! Blackstone City came first!"

He leaned back in his chair with a wide smile. He had been waiting for this moment.

"Those old fools from the surrounding cities were so confident before the Assessment. I can already imagine their faces."

He laughed again before finally calming down.

"This time, it’ll be my turn to laugh at them."

The City Lord picked up his cup and took a sip.

"Of course, I have you to thank for this."

Ethan sat across from him.

"It was just an arrangement."

The City Lord raised an eyebrow.

"An arrangement?"

He shook his head with a smile.

"After everything that happened, I can’t help but feel like you were the one who lost out."

Ethan smiled.

"Lost out?"

The City Lord didn’t notice anything strange about his smile.

He had no idea just how much Ethan had gained from their little arrangement.

Aria, who had been sitting nearby, suddenly leaned forward.

"Father."

The City Lord turned toward her.

"You haven’t even asked how I did."

Her tone made it sound like he had committed some great offense.

The City Lord paused before laughing. "Ah, you’re right. How did my daughter do?"

Aria immediately smiled. "Much better than you expected."

"Oh?" The City Lord raised an eyebrow.

"Of course." She leaned back proudly. "I made it through the final assessment."

She waited for him to say something, but the City Lord only smiled.

"That’s it?"

He looked at her. "What?"

"I made it through the final assessment and that’s all you have to say?" Aria crossed her arms and puffed out her cheeks. "Aren’t you going to praise me? I could have been seriously hurt in there, you know."

The City Lord laughed. "Fine, fine. My daughter did well."

"Just ’did well’?"

He shook his head. "Alright. You did very well."

"Much better."

Aria smiled with satisfaction.

Ethan took the opportunity to excuse himself and returned to the room he had been staying in at the City Lord’s residence.

Ethan sat on the bed and took the Secret Realm Token from his inventory.

It was a small, black wooden disc with a strange silver symbol carved into its surface.

He turned it over in his hand. There was nothing else special about it.

Ethan closed his fingers around it.

Crush.

The wooden token broke apart in his palm.

[Secret Realm Token has been activated.]

[Teleporting to the Secret Realm...]

Before Ethan could react, his body disappeared from the room.