9 The Exit Exam's Begin!

As Sol opened his eyes, several gasps could be heard coming from the chefs in the back.

"That's Sir Trofi, the cooking teacher!"

"What's he doing here?"

"I guess he wanted to cook today or something..."

"Well, whatever the reason is, all I know is that that boy sitting there is in deep trouble."

Sol faced the angry cook above him with nonchalant eyes.

"I think I've seen you before... Sol Von Cillion? Was that your name? I wouldn't think you would act like this from what I have heard about you, but maybe you've lost your mind after all the bullying from other students." Trofi said mockingly, while still being angry and serious.

At that moment, Sol's face suddenly contorted into an irritated expression.

His tone was carefree and happy just before, but now, his eyebrows furrowed in and the left side of his top lip raised up.

"What did you say?" He sounded pissed off.

The tone was enough to throw even Sir Trofi off slightly, 'Did... did this boy just speak back to me?' He thought to himself, slightly confused.

"You heard me! How are you intending to pay for this!?" Trofi exclaimed in a louder tone this time.

'This mere ant dares to talk to me in such a way? I might have to kill him as punishment.' Sol suddenly rose to his feet.

The action was abrupt enough to make Trofi jolt in surprise. Trofi stared at the boy's intense eyes and couldn't help but feel shivers run up his spine.

'He's a mere boy... why do I feel so uneasy by that look in his eyes!?' 

At that moment, Sol suddenly smiled, "Hahaha! My bad, forearms!"

"W-what the hell did you just call me?" Trofi confusedly retorted.

"Sir Trofi! My apologies, Sir Trofi. You see, I was in the infirmary for several days without eating any food, so I let my hunger get the best of me. I will be sure to pay you back!"

Trofi was slightly taken aback by this. At that moment, Sol thought to himself, 'Let's see... this is what the old Sol would have said right?' He thought to himself, waiting for Trofi's reaction.

"I don't care about you and your personal problems, kid! You can't pay later... pay up, or get beat up. Your choice." Sir Trofi exclaimed harshly.

'As I thought...' Sol thought to himself, 'It feels like shit. No wonder he lost the will to live...'

At that moment, Sol curled his right hand into a ball and tightened his fist.

'Acting weak so that you don't face the consequences of stating your real thoughts. There is some merit to it if the risk is too high... however, anything else is nothing but cowardice. As long as I know the threat of my actions, I am uncaged.'

"Just kidding." Sol cunningly quipped, smirking as he hurled a fist straight into the nose of Trofi.

Trofi wouldn't have seen it coming even if it was from a mile away, as Sol's previous cowardly tone had made him completely lower his guard.

So, when Sol's fist pummeled his nose, he didn't react in defense.

Thankfully for him, he was a much higher Rank than Sol, so the punch practically didn't do squat to him.

"Oh... hehe~~" Sol awkwardly chuckled as he lowered his hand. Trofi's rage-filled eyes glared at him for a few quiet seconds before he blurted out in anger.

"Y-you're dead!" Trofi suddenly shouted, lunging at the boy.

Before he could touch Sol, however, the young boy placed his hands around his mouth and yelled, "Help!" Which immediately halted the teacher.

"What are you doing?" Sol smirked, staring at Trofi, "Attacking a student in the school? It isn't a good look." He turned around and walked away without saying another word.

Trofi was left unable to do anything. He desperately wanted to beat up the smartass brat in front of him but knew that his words were right.

With eyes and cameras surrounding every room in the academy, his attacking a student would surely get him fired.

'This boy... when looking at his smile, why do I feel like he planned for all of this to happen? It's almost like he knew that I wouldn't be able to hit him back.'

...

'I knew he wouldn't be able to do anything to me, so I acted how I wanted. Plus, the school year is about to end, so Trofi will have to wait until next semester to get his revenge. In that time though, I will be too strong for him.'

At that moment, several bells across Vanathril rang at maximum volume.

School had finally begun. This meant that the exit exams were also starting soon.

For now, Sol had devised a fairly basic plan moving forward. However, he would only focus on passing the exit exam temporarily, as that required his full attention.

Although he had broken through the Third Stage of the Origin Rank, he was still a few Ranks lower than almost all of his peers.

Most kids' Ether Energy Cores would finish developing at the age of 10 when they would be able to start using Ether and cultivating.

By age 13, most noble kids would be at the Fourth or even Fifth Stage of the Origin Rank.

'Good thing this Origin Rank is nothing more than a Rank for creating one's foundation for cultivation. If it was like a real Rank, people being one or two stages above me would mean the difference between winning or losing a battle.'

The hallways were now filled with students. They all moved in a certain direction; toward the school gymnasium where the exit exams would take place.

'However, since the Origin Rank Stages are so many compared to normal Ranks, which only have Four Stages in total, I don't have to worry about kids that are a few Stages above me being able to defeat me. With my fighting ability, I should be able to make up for at least two or maybe even three Stages worth of cultivation in the Origin Rank.'

As he finished his inner thoughts, he made his way into the gymnasium with the other students.

The gym was a separate building altogether. Structurally, it was an enormous glass dome full of several training types of equipment.

On entering, Sol noted that all the equipment was taken out of the building. 

Instead, placed inside were rows of hundreds of 3x3 ft. metal plates that were shaped like hexagons.

All of the students promptly stepped onto these metal plates as if they had done this before many times.

This was because they in fact had done this in their previous year's exit exams.

Placed to the sides of these metal plates were rows of seats facing the center where the students stood.

At the front of the dome was a large, curtained platform.

Hundreds of students began pouring into the gymnasium, making their way onto the metal plates and facing the platform in front of them.

Sol was one of the first to come in, so he stood in the first row with a perfect view of the stage in front of him.

He could already feel and see the nervous energy in the room. The air even began to feel more humid because of the sweat.

Kids had been preparing for this exam for their entire year, so naturally, hefty expectations were placed on their shoulders.

After a few more minutes of waiting, the large red curtains that enclosed the stage finally opened…

A deafening hush fell over the crowd of students as anticipation and anxiety situated themselves.

On the middle front of the stage was a podium, and a few feet behind it were multiple seats that were all filled with who the students would know to be familiar faces.

A flutter of claps suddenly erupted through the crowd as the curtains fully opened, revealing everyone inside.

The parents of the participants, but of course, not all of them. Only a few high-standing nobles and rich representatives sat with their chests out with smiles of pride on their faces.

These people had spent fortunes on various elixirs, pills, and other forms of equipment to prepare their children for this exam, so they naturally were confident.

At that moment, Sol spotted his stepmother and his father in the crowd of individuals on the stage.

His father didn't seem to be very amused, unlike everyone else on the stage. His unimpressed expression conveyed that he was thinking of something else right now. 

His stepmother, however, cheerfully clapped while looking at another place in the crowd of students down below.

Sol received the memories of this new body, but that didn't mean they suddenly became his memories as well.

They were simply pieces of information that he wasn't at all emotionally attached to.

So, it didn't affect him seeing the people who had wronged the old Sol in the past.

In fact, he couldn't care less about his parents or siblings. 

After the applause calmed itself, a mythical-esque figure slowly collected out of thin air in front of the podium.

An older gentleman whose long white beard nearly reached his abdomen.

He had a large smile on his face, with almost no wrinkles, which contradicted the white beard.

His body was also no less defiant, being over 6 feet in stature, with broad shoulders and a developed body.

He wore a mage's robe with several colorful ores encrusted into it, along with a pair of knights' iron pants that were bronze.

"Young ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the final exit exams of your Intermediate schooling year!" The man exclaimed brilliantly, as some sort of sound Ether Spell allowed his voice to reach every ear inside the building.

A roar of excited cheers reverberated through the dome at once, showing the immense hype of the students present.

"To wish you luck on this big day are your teachers, mentors, and custodians!" As soon as he said this in his deep but moving voice, all the empty seats that faced the students on the left side were filled with hundreds of teachers at once.

"Along with them are the amazing representatives of other academies across the Five Sanctions who have joined us today to commemorate this grand event!" With this, the row of seats on the right side was also filled mystically. 

After this grand reveal, the old man gave a long speech about the school and its virtues and merits, but Sol could care less about paying attention to that.

After two entire hours of talking, with several other figures also giving their speech to the students, the old man finally rejoined the stage.

"Students! At this moment, you are all permitted to insert Ether Energy into the plates on which all of you are standing. Once you do, this exam will begin!"

After he said this, a moment of pause occurred. Students readied themselves and took in big breaths to calm their nerves.

At that moment, Sol's body was suddenly enveloped in a rich blue aura.

This threw some students off guard, who weren't even expecting the kid to be able to use Ether Energy to enter the exam in the first place.

After about two seconds, Sol's body disappeared on the spot.

"Oh... an eager one it seems." The principal muttered to himself as he chuckled.

At that moment, the other students also began to get enveloped in a blue aura and disappear one by one.

After using Ether Energy on his plate, Sol felt as though he only blinked once and opened his eyes in a brand new setting.