Chapter 46: The Champion

Chapter 46: Chapter 46: The Champion

Following another Aegon’s cold declaration, thr Ironwood Expanse became an unspoken forbidden zone.

?Over the final two hours of the examination, several desperate hunting packs wandered near the southern sector in search of easy prey.

However, the moment their scouts spotted the fifteen groaning capital heirs slumped against the tree roots, or caught a glimpse of a small boy in a red scarf walking calmly ahead of his three cousins, they turned pale and fled into the bushes as fast as their legs could carry them.

?Nobody dared to test whether Aegon Noiré would draw his actual blade the second time around.

?Without a single examinee foolish enough to block their path, Aegon led Zane, Clara, and Marcus on a leisurely stroll along the border of the middle zone, casually cutting down one more stray Giant Puppet before the afternoon sun finally dipped low enough to kiss the peaks of the western mountains.

?DONG! DONG! DONG!

?It was then, three deep and resonant chimes echoed from the ancient bell tower atop the northern cliff, sending a wave of golden light sweeping across the entire ten-mile expanse of the forest.

?Instantly, the 70% mana suppression array vanished into thin air, and the remaining combat puppets paused in their tracks.

?Up in the crimson-tinted evening sky, Chief Proctor Ronin’s voice boomed like rolling thunder.

?"Sunset has arrived! The Final Stage of the Imperial Academy Entrance Examination is officially over! All surviving examinees, prepare for extraction!"

?Silver teleportation circles lit up across the moss and dirt.

?Hum!

Aegon and his cousins were welcomed by the crisp evening breeze of the northern cliffside plaza.

?Around them, roughly 3,500 surviving children materialized across the white marble tiles.

Most of them collapsed immediately onto their knees, gasping for air, clutching bruised ribs, or weeping openly as Academy healers rushed onto the square with glowing green staffs.

?Beside Aegon, Marcus, Zane, and Clara let out simultaneous sighs of relief while looking up at the colossal golden curtain hovering above the plaza where the final locked rankings of the top one thousand students were now displayed for the entire capital to see.

Marcus spotted his name sitting safely at 642nd place with 70 points, while Zane and Clara sat even higher at 510th and 430th place.

?"We passed! We actually passed! All four of us made it into the Imperial Academy!"

Zane smiled.

?"Yeah we did. And its all thanks to Aegon. If we had been on our own, the three of us would be getting thrown out of the capital gates right now. And look at the very top of the board."

?Across the vast plaza and the velvet pavilions above, tens of thousands of pairs of eyes rose toward the pinnacle of the golden sky-screen, where three names shone in blazing crimson and gold letters, far ahead of the rest of the generation:

?[ 1st Place: Aegon Noiré (540 Points) ]

?[ 2nd Place: Aria Everlight (490 Points) ]

?[ 3rd Place: Veera (470 Points) ]

?[ 4th Place: Prince Larsen Beliath (310 Points) ]

?[ 5th Place: Julian Von Draken (280 Points) ]

While the Third Imperial Prince and Duke Von Draken’s grandson had barely crossed the 300-point mark, the top three applicants had broken past 450 points inside a mana-suppressed forest.

?Up on the high stone dais, Elder Vaelen and Chief Instructor Wane stepped forward to the marble railing, looking down at the front of the plaza with beaming smiles.

?"What a magnificent display! In the past thirty years of the Imperial Academy’s history, no applicant has ever crossed 500 points inside the Ironwood Expanse! Aegon Noiré, Aria Everlight, and Veera! Step forward to the front of the dais!"

?As the crowd of examinees parted like the sea to form a wide path, Aegon calmly walked forward toward the base of the faculty platform.

?From the eastern side of the square, Aria Everlight stepped out as well. Even after four hours of hunting inside the misty gorge, her white silk dress remained completely spotless.

?As she came to a stop two paces beside Aegon, Aria turned her head toward him. Unlike the distant, polite mask she wore around the royal heirs, she was seen smiling.

?"Congratulations on taking the triple crown today, Aegon Noiré. First at the Pillars, first in the written hall, and first in the Ironwood Expanse. I thought pushing my score to 490 in the final hour would be enough to catch you, yet you still stayed 50 points ahead."

Aegon offered a polite nod.

?"You were hunting Giant Puppets alone, Lady Everlight. That is quite admirable."

?Aria let out a light, melodic laugh behind her sleeve. "Even so, a win is a win. Once the semester begins in the Elite Class, I hope you won’t refuse a proper spar."

?While the two of them conversed calmly at the center of everyone’s attention, Veera walked up to the third spot before the dais.

?His coarse linen shirt was shredded to ribbons, his forearms and chest caked in dried crimson blood, black soot, and the metallic oil of shattered puppets.

In the final hour of the exam, after seeing Aegon’s score jump to 480, Veera had gone completely mad in the inner gorge, burning his own blood essence to tear apart three Giant Puppets barehanded just to claw his way up to 470 points.

?Every muscle in his body was screaming in agony, and his knuckles were split down to the bone.

Despite all that, as he stood before the grand dais, he received no acknowledgement.

? Almost nobody was looking at him.

?Up on the dais, Elder Vaelen and Chief Instructor Wane were staring enthusiastically at Aegon, still arguing over whether the boy should join the Scholar Tower or the Combat Department. Across the plaza, the young noble ladies were whispering with flushed cheeks about how calm and handsome Aegon looked in his black cloak, while the male examinees looked at Aegon with fear and awe.

Even Aria Everlight, the untouchable pearl of the Grand Duchy, was smiling brightly at the boy beside her without sparing Veera a single glance.

Elder Vaelen stepped in front of the champions, announcing:

?"Well done to the three of you. Especially you, Aegon Noiré! To claim first place across all three stages of the entrance examination is a feat that has only been achieved twice since the founding of the Empire! Tomorrow morning at the Opening Ceremony, the three of you will receive your S-Class badges and rewards personally!"

Clap. Clap. Clap.

?Thunderous applause erupted from the neutral nobles and the instructors on the platform.

?"Aegon Noiré! Remember that name!"

?"House Noiré has truly given birth to a young dragon!"

?Standing just five paces away from Aegon, Veera clenched hus bruised so tightly that fresh blood dripped from his palms.

?Why is it him again?!I am the one who awakened the Supreme Grimoire! I am the one who risked my life tearing those iron monsters apart with my bare hands! That spotlight, those cheers, and the first-place throne were supposed to belong to me!

?

He was mad. Very mad.