"Perhaps you don’t know me? Well, now you will," said Director Aeltor, his voice echoing throughout the conference hall, his purple eyes piercing the souls of the students.
"It doesn’t matter if your father is the King; it holds no significance here," Aeltor said, looking directly into the Prince’s eyes. Some nobles wanted to protest but found themselves unable to speak.
Aeltor narrowed his eyes, a hint of danger lacing his voice, "No matter how fancy your attire is, it doesn’t matter here."
"Now that you’ve learned this, let’s proceed with the ceremony without further delay." Aeltor stepped towards the Professors.
In front of the students, two men dressed in Mage uniforms entered, carrying an orb in their hands.
The orb was white and didn’t appear magical, but in reality, it was a highly advanced piece of technology.
It had the ability to analyze mana, absorb mana, and purify impure mana. Additionally, this orb, used to determine attributes, was a mana reservoir.
"Everyone whose name is called will come here and be tested. Those who fail will not be admitted to the Academy."
Then, a man dressed in priestly robes began reading names from a paper. "Julias Romania Jermanus."
The Prince stood up, his eyes calm; the training he had received since childhood had instilled a sense of calmness in such situations.
As the Prince approached, the Priest bowed slightly, a smile appearing on his face. "Welcome, Your Majesty."
Julias smiled, "Thank you, Priest John."
Priest John was pleased that the Prince knew his name and smiled. "Please, discover your attribute."
The Priest stepped back; the ceremony was fraught with dangers. It was known that the Prince had been a prodigy since childhood; if there was any backlash from the orb, it would be dangerous.
Julias took a deep breath; he would be lying if he said he wasn’t nervous. As he touched the orb, he felt his mana being absorbed.
The orb, absorbing his mana, suddenly burst into flames, the fire expanding and spreading throughout the area. As inexperienced students feared what would happen, a rune inscribed on the ground glowed with a blue light, preventing the fire from spreading.
"As expected from the Prince," the Chemistry Professor adjusted his glasses, his eyes shining with admiration. Jasmina, an elderly woman, was impressed by the Prince’s mana.
She looked at Aeltor standing beside her. Despite his young appearance, Aeltor, with his long white hair tied in a low ponytail, was the youngest among them.
He was 700 years old and had seen King Arthur. Whenever she tried to bring up what had happened to Arthur, Aeltor always changed the subject.
Despite her curiosity about what King Arthur, who had lived 700 years ago, was like, Jasmine didn’t push the Director too hard.
"It didn’t surprise me," Aeltor, unlike the other Professors, was not surprised; he had seen individuals more powerful than Julias.
Aeltor’s eyes weren’t even on Julias; they were on Morrigan. Morrigan resembled a woman from 700 years ago.
"I’m very curious, how will it be?" Aeltor seemed thoughtful as Prince Julias was drenched in sweat.
His mana was depleting at an incredible rate; trying to appear strong, he attempted to smile. After a while, the fire around the orb diminished, and the Prince’s upright figure stood out.
As Julias breathed heavily, a round of applause erupted from the crowd, especially from Alice, who cheered in a way that annoyed the others.
Seeing this, the women, especially Harvey, were enraged.
As the Prince returned to his seat, the Priest read the next name on the list. "Adrian Lydor!"
Adrian’s figure emerged from the front rows; he had red hair falling to his neck and green eyes like his father, with a cold expression that impressed some of the girls.
Like his father, Adrian was a man of justice and honor. He had defended Morrigan on many occasions, even standing up to the Professors.
With a calm expression, Adrian touched the orb, appearing even more composed than Julias. After a moment, the orb flashed with lightning, followed by the formation of a whirlwind.
Priest John cried, nearly fainting from witnessing such a sacred sight.
Morrigan shifted uncomfortably. The always stoic Morrigan felt an intense unease. She fought the nausea rising within her and managed to restrain herself.
"What is this feeling?" Morrigan looked at the orb, which had turned into pure golden light, and sensed something watching her with a murderous intent. "It’s so unsettling..."
Not only Morrigan but even Thomas, who wasn’t in the conference hall, felt uneasy, though the pain he felt was less than Morrigan’s.
After a minute, the light faded, and the orb returned to its original state. A deep silence followed for a moment; Alice was relieved, but the sudden wave of applause startled her.
"It’s a miracle!" A random noble shouted in excitement, and many others, including the Professors, agreed.
Amid the applause, Alice returned to her seat. "Congratulations, Alice. You looked truly divine."
Alice blushed with embarrassment, unable to meet the Prince’s gaze. "Thank you, Your Majesty."
Under Aeltor’s gaze, Priest John prepared to call the final name, and when he saw it, he swallowed nervously and looked at Aeltor. Seeing Aeltor ignore him, John read the name.
"Morrigan Thornvile!"
As soon as the name was heard, the entire student body fell silent, not out of excitement or respect, but because of the rumors.
There were many absurd rumors about Morrigan—like she was born with dark magic or that she cursed her family the moment she was born. These made her a popular topic of gossip in society.
The most popular rumor was that Morrigan was the reincarnation of Morgana. Many people believed this.
This was especially because, for the first time in the history of the Thornvile Duchy, where every generation was born with blonde hair and blue eyes, someone with black hair was born.
The Gawain lineage was strong, with a high affinity for the Fire attribute in every generation. Even Prince Julias had platinum blonde hair, the hallmark of the Gawain family.
Morrigan slowly walked toward the orb, and the Priest avoided looking at her.
Morrigan raised her right hand and placed it on the orb. As soon as she did, Jack was surprised by a new notification.
{The individual named Morrigan has earned the title ’Awakening.’}
{Congratulations on completing the tutorial stage!}
{The ’Create Avatar’ feature has been unlocked.}
While Jack was trying to understand what was happening, there was pure astonishment on stage. The orb trembled and floated upwards. Before anyone could comprehend what was happening, pitch-black darkness began to flow from the orb.
Before the Professors could react, the barrier shattered with the sound of breaking glass, and the darkness spread across the entire floor as if it wanted to consume everything in its path.
The floor was damaged, and Morrigan’s figure was no longer visible on the stage, but before anything else could happen, the darkness suddenly receded.
After a moment, Morrigan’s figure reappeared, her skirt swaying supernaturally, and the darkness seemed to embrace her as it surrounded her.
"As I expected," Aeltor said, then looked at the still-shocked and terrified crowd.
Everyone looked scared and confused. As the darkness around Morrigan disappeared, she stood there, equally surprised, staring blankly.
"What are you looking at? The ceremony is over. You may leave." Hearing Aeltor’s voice, Morrigan snapped out of it and returned to her seat.
A little while later, after Aeltor gave his closing speech, Morrigan left under the gaze of everyone. After leaving the conference hall, she was stopped by Professor Jasmina.
"You are expected in the Director’s Office, Lady Morrigan."
Morrigan was surprised but complied and headed to the Director’s office.