The timing of their arrival was perfect. The academy’s enrollment period began the very next day, so the first thing they did upon entering the city was find a hotel near the castle to stay in.
Because enrollment was about to start, hotel rooms were in extremely high demand, with only two rooms remaining.
“According to the tropes in novels, shouldn’t some short-sighted young master show up now to fight us for these last two rooms?” Po Kong joked with a grin as he handed a few gold coins to the receptionist.
“I doubt it. Like you said, that only happens in novels,” Starlight replied, expressing his skepticism.
Xia Duo clicked her tongue in annoyance. She found human novels incredibly dull and doubted that such convenient coincidences happened in real life.
Just as the four were chatting pleasantly while waiting for the receptionist to process their paperwork, the hotel doors were unceremoniously shoved open, and a large group of people dressed in lavish clothing swarmed inside.
“...Wait. Po Kong... it’s actually happening!” Moen whispered, her eyes shimmering with surprise.
“Huh? I was just joking... seriously?” Even Po Kong looked stunned as he turned his head to look at the group at the entrance.
It was obvious to anyone that the crowd was surrounding a youth who looked slightly younger than Starlight and the others. Judging by his expensive magical robes and ornaments, he was clearly another candidate preparing for the entrance exam.
The people flanking him were likely his personal guards or bodyguards.
“Uh... I haven’t really read those kinds of novels. How is the plot supposed to go from here?” Starlight asked, sounding a bit uncertain as he watched the crowd take up a large portion of the lobby.
He wasn’t afraid of what they could do—to him, this group clearly wasn't a match for them—but he wondered if starting a conflict in the middle of the city in broad daylight was appropriate.
The young man at the lead stepped toward the front desk with an arrogant air and spoke as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
“How many empty rooms are left? This young master will take them all!”
Despite the youth's overbearing manner, the receptionist could only explain the situation truthfully: there were no more vacancies, and the last two rooms had just been rented to the four people standing nearby.
Hearing this, the youth raised an eyebrow and turned to look at Starlight and his companions. “I’m taking your rooms. Whatever price you paid, I’ll give you double!”
To make traveling easier, the four of them were dressed quite simply. Po Kong wore standard martial artist attire, his simple training robes giving off a capable and lean vibe.
Starlight was dressed in black and carried a large fur backpack, making him look less like a mage and more like a hunter or a ranger.
As for Xia Duo and Moen, to avoid unnecessary trouble, they had put on their hoods after entering the city, concealing their signature elven ears and partially hiding their stunning features.
“Looking at their plain clothes, they clearly aren't from any prominent families. They wouldn't dare defy my orders, would they?” the young man thought to himself.
Seeing that the four remained unmoved, he spoke again. “Do you think the money isn't enough? Triple! This young master has plenty of—wait...?”
He scanned the four with an arrogant gaze, but when his eyes finally landed on Po Kong’s face, his expression shifted spectacularly.
The rest of his sentence got stuck in his throat. Several different emotions flashed across his face in rapid succession, and eventually, his entire face turned bright red.
“You... tsk! Forget it! Let’s go! We’re not staying at this hotel! Move it!”
The youth’s attitude did a complete 180-degree turn. He immediately spun around, retreated to his guards, and led his bewildered attendants out of the hotel as if he were fleeing for his life.
The hotel lobby was suddenly empty again, leaving Starlight and the others standing there with strange expressions.
“I say, Po Kong... was that weirdo someone you know?” Starlight asked after a long pause, turning to his friend.
Po Kong scratched his head, looking innocent. “I don’t know him! I thought they were intimidated by your aura. What the hell... what happened to the novel plot?”
Xia Duo frowned, her eyes following the direction the group had fled. She shook her head in confusion.
After taking the keys from the receptionist, she pulled Moen away from the lobby, muttering, “None of you know him? Is there something wrong with his head? Are all wealthy humans this strange? Whatever, sister, let’s go to our rooms.”
Seeing the two women leave, Starlight patted Po Kong on the shoulder and laughed. “It seems your predicted plot development was a bit off, Mr. Po Kong! Let’s not just stand here. Let’s go get settled!”
“No, really... I truly don't remember knowing someone like that. Or maybe... was that guy just terrified by my kingly aura?”
“More like your turtle aura. It’s not a bad thing to avoid a fight. Let’s go.”
“Hmm... in this situation, they wouldn't be lying in wait for us outside, would they? I have a bad feeling about this...”
“If there were people like that, Xia Duo would have noticed them already! Your baseless worrying is starting to annoy people!”
“Fine, fine... Wait, don't pull me! I can walk by myself!”
...
By the time they headed out the next morning, Po Kong still hadn't encountered any plot twists. He had even wandered around the hotel several times and asked Xia Duo to do some scouting.
The result was Xia Duo giving him a look of pure disgust, telling him he had definitely read too many novels and was losing his mind, which drew a round of laughter from Starlight and Moen.
Amidst the laughter, the four left the hotel and walked toward the Central Spiritual Arts Academy in the city center.
Along the way, they saw massive crowds. These were entourages from various noble houses escorting their young sons and daughters to the academy.
In truth, the Central Spiritual Arts Academy’s enrollment wasn't as rigid as one might imagine. The only real requirement for candidates was that they had to be under twenty years old.
However, for every year older a candidate was, the exam questions became more difficult. Consequently, a large number of applicants were still filtered out every year.
As for the graduation requirements, they sounded simple enough: one only needed to obtain the qualification of a high-tier mage within the school. Given Starlight’s true strength, he could probably graduate on the spot the moment he enrolled.
However, his goal wasn't a mere graduation certificate. He wanted to learn new spells he had never encountered before and find a way to meet the Dean, Eventador.
Soon, they followed the bustling crowd into the grounds of the academy.
Rate on N.U.
