Level Up Family

The scene within the central compound was now a one as each candidate observed the instructors who appeared one by one. Most of them carried a scholarly air, while few amongst them had a more heroic appearance, dressed in hardened battle wear with their weapons strapped on their waits or backs.

Curiously, only one of the superior instructors, being Ilan was present. Other than himself, the rest who gathered here were no less than the novice and veteran instructors.

A few instructors were a bit constrained around Ilan, who carried a fierce look by nature, but those who were closer to him spoke with inquisitive tones.

"Haha, Instructor Ilan, I didn't think that you'd attend today, have someone special caught your attention?" A fat male instructor asked.

"That's right. There's got to be a brat in this new batch of candidates. Why else would someone of your standing come here?" Another instructor said.

Ilan didn't look at the two but scanned his eyes across the candidates before locking onto a form. He then smirked and responded, "Indeed there is, but I'm only here to observe."

Juliana stood proudly on one side of this batch, her eyes scanning the crowd until it landed onto Grevlin's figure; she then smiled and sent him a wink before turning her eyes away.

Anna, who stood nearby Grevlin, obviously noticed the scene just now; she gave Grevlin a curious look as she asked, "Grevlin, did Miss Juliana look at you just now? It looks as if you're both acquainted."

Grevlin nodded and answered, "Um, yes, I met her with both my parents on the day I visited here."

Anna had flashing eyes as she heard Grevlin's words; she clasped her fist into her palm as she exclaimed with a look of realization, "Ah... so you're like me then,"

"Hmm, like you?" Grevlin asked with a puzzled look on his face.

Anna snickered as she held one hand against her mouth while replying mysteriously, "Hehe, you'll know soon."

Grevlin felt her manner was strange; his eyes had a flicker as he prepared to use his inspection skill on her. However, right at this moment, there was a change.

One of the instructors walked forward; it was a middle-aged woman garbed in a witch hat with a mean face, large nose, and a tall robe; her staff made noises as its base hit the floor before she halted and stared at the audience of candidates.

A few gulping sounds were heard as being so young, some of the candidates felt a little bit intimidated by her stare. Still, those were only the minors as many teenagers showed more bold and confident looks.

'Heh, we have some brave rascals; I'm curious to see their performance...' The witch hat woman thought to herself with a smile before she cleared her throat, preparing to speak.

"Ahem, greetings aspiring students, my name is Grumple, an instructor of the ways of Mystic Magic. I would first like to welcome you all to our Royal Branch Academy. Today is the day of the trials, and there might be many of you, but I'm sorry to say that only a hundred of you lot can join the academy."

Most of these students showed no reactions as this was common knowledge, but some who came from far places had pale expressions. One teenager stood out as he complained.

"That's unfair!"

Grumple, just like her name, wasn't an easy-going woman, her mean look turning even scarier as she glared at the brat that had spoken out. Instantly, a terrifying suppression formed over the boy, causing him to feel like he was suffocating. The child shivered in fear before shrinking back.

Not long after, the pressure vanished, Grumple then snorted as she spoke, "You're a bit bolder than most, child. Though you stepped out of place, I won't hold you for your disrespect today, but there better not be a second time. Is that understood?"

Melson looked at this scene with interest as Grevlin and Anna didn't seem moved; Jae snickered as he thought to himself, 'Such an idiot.'

The teenager gulped and nodded like a bird pecking for worms; Grumple no longer paid him any mind, ignoring some of the candidates' now fearful looking eyes before she continued speaking.

"Good, now back to the topic, two of you have already passed the assessment and are pre-enrolled. I will ask for you both to remain within the field as someone will guide you to your instructors, but as for everyone else, prepare yourselves for the trials shall now begin!"

Following her words, her staff tapped the ground before causing a loud rumble to sound nearby. Soon, the floor began to open as the earth shook slightly.

While some candidates were alarmed, many were used to magic and mechanisms of such sort being born in this world. As such, they were idly discussing Grumple's words.

"Who do you think are the lucky pre-enrolled students?"

"No idea, but since they're pre-enrolled, their status and strength have got to be quite alarming."

Many of the others chatted with curious eyes, but Melson and Jae had pensive looks on their faces. It didn't take long for the changes to finish as an underground passage had appeared before everyone's eyes.

Grumple then looked at everyone and spoke, "The passage is open, now go on kiddo's, show us what you've all got! The first ninety-eight to exit from this tunnel will be the newly enrolled students."

When all candidates heard this, no one hesitated anymore. Quickly, they bolted down the stairways towards the tunnel, with many of them vanishing soon after.

As everyone moved, only Grevlin and Anna stood silently, watching the scene with interest. Jae and Melson, who had been eyeing Grevlin, showed puzzled looks, but that didn't last long as they pressed onwards.

"I'm going first; let's see if you can catch up!" Melson said as he glanced at Nero before focusing ahead of him once more. His body glowed in a bright white light, which soon faded as his figure was now three meters down towards the entrance.

Jae also left, but he didn't speak to Grevlin like Melson did; he quickly employed a unique movement skill, causing his body to traverse as if he were skating on the ground, using the earth to pull his body forward.

Grumple looked at this with interest, as did many instructors; they could feel the powers from both Jae and Melson, which caused their expressions to change.

"Amazing! These two boys are at the limits for their age, such talent, I didn't think we'd see another batch from those two pre-recruited in our exams." One instructor said.

"Haha, these boys are good, Instructor Ilan. Were these two the ones you came here for?" Another Instructor said.

Ilan had a surprised look on his face as he thought to himself, 'I didn't think there would be another Limit Talent; I might have underestimated the prodigies in Ivanov. First, there was that boy who that bastard Seth claimed for himself, then there came the blessing with gifts, that Wilborn has quite the unique talents and he should have already been enough for me to feel satisfied, but now... heh, it looks like I might be able to claim another.'

"Instructor Ilan?" Another of the instructor said, noticing that Ilan had spaced out.

Ilan promptly recovered; a sly look flashed in his eyes as he cleared his throat, preparing to speak as if he had accepted both as his disciples, but right at this time, there was a change.

"That boy with the freckles is called Melson; he was entrusted to me by an old friend. As such, today, I shall be accepting him as my personal disciple."

When everyone heard that voice, their faces showed alarm, knowing who it was, even Ilan couldn't help but grit his teeth in regret as he heard it.

'Damn!' He complained inwardly knowing it was too late.

Not wasting a moment, all instructors turned around, facing a distant building on the campus as they spoke in unison, "Our sincere congrats to you, Academy Principal!"

As if it heard enough, the voice spoke in a neutral tone, "Continue on, oh and by the way, I believe you've all kept up the time of those two children."

With a tinge of embarrassment on their faces, the other instructors looked towards Grevlin and Anna, remembering that they were still there.

Ilan had a frown on his face as he looked at Grevlin, he didn't like a bone in Seth, and it was natural that he wouldn't like anyone named as his disciples.

Grumple, unlike before, now showed a gentle look, her manner startling even the other instructors as she spoke, "Ah, please forgive me, so it's you children. Truly excellent; come on quickly. You must be filled in on our school rules before anything else."

"Yes, Miss Grumple." Both Grevlin and Anna said as they weren't fussy about the details.

Anna then let out a few coughs as she wiped her mouth with her rag as she left with Grevlin, who walked ahead. Soon, both left with Grumple together as they ventured towards the academy's core areas, ready to start their first day as students. However, while school was about to begin for Grevlin, another chapter was about to unfold for his father.

____

NB: "Hey guys, I will be doing special contests every month from now, from them you can win an Amazon gift card along with a copy of one of my Amazon book series. There will be two competitions this month, one for Valentines and one for the end date of Chinese New Year. Keep an eye on my Twitter and Facebook page for more details to come in the coming week."

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