Second phase of the exam 2
Creak! All eyes were on Belle as he pushed open the door. How many steps would he take? A lot of people asked, since he didn't show any pressure while doing it, unlike the rest. Tap, tap. Belle's movements sounded as he walked into the door, totally different from the Guardian teenager who had stopped at that point. But Belle didn't stop there; he closed the door after he entered.
"Seeing that, a lot of people erupted in shouts, some seeming really surprised. The most surprised were the people from the Academy. Seriously, the girl they presented as their best in the district is not their best. Their top contender had taken the test separately before and had been able to work into the door, but only stopped there and quickly teleported out from the pressure. So, they didn't think much when the Guardian teenager did it, but this is completely different."
Crack! While everyone was still reeling from what was happening, something even more unexpected occurred. The other three doors that no one was using cracked before slowly dissipating into dust. "Is he the one causing that?" A lot of people had that question going around their heads, so they all looked towards the Academy for an explanation. Both the Guardians, the religious group, Obsidian, and the big clans all seemed eager to know what was happening.
"We have tested it a lot of times, and things like this have never happened, so he will actually be the cause," The Academy representative, sitting among the crowd, replied. He saw a whole lot of prominent people looking at him and was afraid the other faction would use their hands to seek answers. Who knows what would happen when they do? A fight might erupt. The stalemate of powers doesn't mean something interesting can't tilt the balance. If the balance is somehow tilted, the Academy will be on the receiving end, as everyone will be digging deep to extract information from them.
"What is actually the secret behind the door?" the Guardian representative asked. He was really the crafty type. Hearing his question, the Academy representative was caught between a rock and a hard place. He didn't know if the academy considered it a top secret. Maybe seeing his dilemma, the priest spoke out.
"Since the Academy decided to show the door, they already expected someone to ask about the door secret. Don't worry, I can assure you the Academy might have planned to subtly trade information by leaking the door secret and gauge our reactions. It always happens when crafty foxes meet. They all throw bait to lure each other out. I bet the door destruction could also have been caused to quickly bring our attention to it," the priest said.
"For the first time, I am seeing you make sense in decades," the Obsidian representative said. Hearing them, the Academy representative didn't know what to do. But then he heard a voice in his head. Those foxes are crafty; they will know one way or the other. Tell them we didn't destroy the door; they will understand we didn't after you tell them though.
"We didn't destroy the door. The door is a secret we came up with concerning the spatial zone. It can replicate the same pressure the spatial zone gives. The closer you get to it, the more you feel the pressure, like getting to the core of the spatial zone. To the Catalyst and Ascendant ranks, the pressure won't be much, but for newly awakened ones, just walking up to it is already an achievement, pushing it open proves how strong they are, and walking into it sets them apart from their peers. I don't know about working in and closing the door behind you, though," the Academy representative said awkwardly.
Hearing him, the people that weren't marveling much when it first happened were even more in awe. "I see, so that's it," the Guardian representative said as he turned to look at Elizabeth, only to realize that a lot of eyes were already on her. "I think he overdid it a little. I told him to show that we can't be bullied, but he just didn't understand my explanation and took it further," Elizabeth said with a wide laugh. She wasn't really too surprised, as she had already seen Belle as a fellow Divine Rank like herself. So, was it really a fair competition when a Divine Rank competes with Mortal and Catalyst Ranks?
"Overdid it a bit? Quite a way to overdo things," the Obsidian representative said. "Tell me he is not already at the late-stage Catalyst level."
"You can watch him to guess for yourself," Elizabeth said, causing the attention to shift away from her and back to the screen. Watching the screen, after the three doors dissipated, the last door soon followed, and the ranking was immediately displayed.
"First position: Belle, late-stage Mortal Rank," the screen displayed, catching people's attention. "Oh, I forgot to say, the door can help us determine the rank of exam participants," the Academy representative said. He had received information through telepathy to leak one piece of information in order to manipulate the other factions. "Actually, Belle is an early-stage Divine Rank. He quickly climbed up to the late stage," the representative said, looking at Elizabeth.
Hearing this, everyone was shocked, including Elizabeth herself, although she managed to hide her surprise. "Maybe my brother is too beautiful and gets favored in most cases," Elizabeth said, making it seem like it was a secret that couldn't be known by others.
"Big sis, we can actually trade information on your brother's secret. I promise not to cheat you," the Guardian representative immediately proposed, interested in this secret that could allow someone to skip a stage.
"You're quite crafty," the Obsidian representative commented. "I think Big sis' power has something to do with seeing the future. She predicted that me watching would reveal her brother's rank. This is the first time the Academy is introducing the door and the system of revealing ranks," he said, deducing their motives. Many people immediately thought that his guess might be true.
"If her powers can accurately predict the future, then it is scary," a voice whispered among the crowd. "It's true. Even if her second power is weak, she can make up for it. She sees your plan before you even act and can come up with a great counter," another voice added. "He will be really hard to deal with, even if he's not backed by a clan," the Guardian muttered quietly.
"Oh, now I understand why my instinct told me not to get close," the priest said with a smile.
Elizabeth silently acknowledged that they were all sly and cunning individuals. Out of excitement, she had used her power to check the exam and had seen that this stage would reveal the ranks. Although she hadn't seen Belle's rank specifically, she had already confirmed that he was a Divine Rank. She was eager to see Belle's rank, but she also wished that it would remain a secret. "It's not like I can hide it again," she said to herself. Elizabeth had already prepared herself for the shock that everyone would experience when they found out Belle's true rank. She even considered withdrawing him from the academy. When the display showed that he was a Mortal Rank, she was genuinely surprised. She thought being the in the Mortal Rank was impressive, but she didn't understand how Belle managed to hide his true Divine Rank. Was he truly just a Mortal Rank? Did he achieve so much power while being only a Mortal Rank? The display and the information released by the Academy representative shocked Elizabeth more than anyone else, but she managed to keep a straight face and conceal her true emotions.
Inside the hall where the examinees gathered, most participants looked towards their future competition as they engraved the names deep within their hearts. "Belle," the Guardian boy named Blaze said with a smile as he looked away. He took second position and was an early-stage Catalyst. "The pretty face sure has some backbone," the scrawny-looking youth next to him commented. He also took second position, and like Blaze, he was an early-stage Catalyst.
"Interesting, he seems more like a monster than the academy's real number one," the girl with fishnet hand gloves commented, looking away. "Sis, do you have the same feeling about him?" Greg asked his sister seriously for the first time. "He is special, that's why I want him," Liana said, also looking away. "I see," Greg replied. He already knew that his sister had a knack for spotting things of great importance. "I will teach you how to flirt with boys then," Greg offered. His first power was the ability to heal, and his second power was being a strategist, so he often thought a bit differently from others in his class.
Many students took mental note of Belle. To some, their eagerness to compete with him was ignited, but for others, their instinct told them to stay far away from him. "Did I overdo it?" Belle wondered to himself, wearing a slightly awkward smile.