Aileen had already risen from the table.
The professor walked up to her, and she politely clasped her hands together, looking up at him.
The professor slowly scanned her from head to toe.
“What’s this?”
I cautiously introduced Aileen, pointing at her with my palm.
“She’s my partner for the exam. I received a lot of help from her during the test.”
The professor’s gaze on Aileen deepened.
She stared at her for a long while before slightly nodding.
“The smell of blood is too strong. It’s not to my taste. Keep your distance.”
Aileen didn’t lose her smile.
She calmly bowed her head and greeted her.
“Yes, Professor. I’ll see you next time. Evron, contact me whenever you need help.”
She slowly walked away.
I watched her back as I waited for the professor’s next words.
She stared at me, her gaze mixed with mischief and sharpness.
“How did you pass when I thought you were just some loser? Did you seduce a girl or something?”
“No, I didn’t.”
I responded with an awkward smile, hiding my embarrassment.
The barriers of status and skill were too immense.
How could I even think of doing that? Besides, her dangerous aura didn’t match mine at all.
I was the type to seek safety and comfort.
The professor, perhaps losing interest, turned her head.
“Anyway, after the opening ceremony, you need to go straight to my office. I have a lot of work to do.”
Her face was full of dissatisfaction and irritation.
I quietly bowed my head.
If I caught the professor’s eye at a time like this, it wouldn’t end with just one broken bone.
***
At that moment, I heard people beginning to murmur near the podium.
Professor Heisen was standing on it.
Many didn’t even realize he had appeared.
He was accompanied by a young man, who seemed like his assistant, looking around as they made their way through the crowd.
Soon, all eyes in the lot turned toward him.
Professor Heisen, with a fatigued face, slowly opened his mouth.
“Congratulations to everyone on entering the university. I am Heisen, the one who supervised the entrance exams.”
His words were soaked with exhaustion and helplessness.
As his gaze swept over the surroundings, it landed on Professor Irien.
After staring at her for a while, he spoke again, his face showing even more fatigue.
“I don’t have much to say. You can do whatever you want in university, as long as you follow the rules. As for the rules, look them up later.”
As he continued, the annoyance began to seep through his words.
“Old currency will no longer be accepted. From now on, everything will be calculated by points. The results of this exam will be the same. The higher your rank, the more points you’ll receive; the lower your rank, the fewer points.”
Professor Heisen’s voice gradually lost strength.
By the end, it was almost inaudible.
It was clear he was growing tired of speaking.
At that moment, the young man standing behind him stepped forward with a grin, looking as though he had something to say.
Professor Heisen looked at him briefly and muttered, “You can listen to this fool for the rest of the talk.”
Then, he melted back into the shadows, disappearing.
The young man appeared next to us.
He rubbed his eyes and spoke with a tired voice.
“I didn’t know what else to say, so I just came. The rest, he’ll handle it.”
Professor Irien heard this and chuckled.
The displeasure that had been written all over her face had vanished.
“Good evening, everyone!”
A broad-shouldered man spread his arms wide and shouted.
His voice carried immense magical power, vibrating throughout the entire lot.
It wasn’t just a sound—it was a kind of enormous magic that etched his presence into my soul.
“I won’t waste your time. It’s all pointless talk anyway. I’m here to add a few words to what Professor Heisen mentioned about points. Let me use the first transaction, which will be held in celebration of your admission, as an example.”
He pulled out a paper covered in writing.
The paper fluttered in the wind from his fingers.
“The beasts you faced during the exam were provided by our organization, Beast Corporation. You killed many of our beasts during the test. Since you touched our products before purchasing them, you’ll need to pay us the appropriate fee.”
There was a brief murmur in the crowd.
Some seemed confused about this forced transaction.
Professor Irien, however, found this situation amusing and just grinned.
“In order to save you all time, we’ve already collected the fee for you. It’s a thousand points per person. You’ll be able to confirm this transaction when you check your points.”
He then pulled something from his pocket and tossed it into the air.
Something endlessly came out of what seemed to be a spatial pouch.
I lightly grasped what had appeared in my hand.
It was a ring.
“We call this the score wallet,” the man said. “It syncs with an individual’s soul, so even if you lose it, you can just get a new one. Once you infuse it with magic, you’ll be able to check your score!”
I looked at the ring.
It was made of a dark mineral, with a complex magic circle engraved within it.
As I carefully infused it with magic, the ring responded by displaying a number, 50.
‘Was this my score?’ I touched the number with my finger, and additional numbers appeared, resembling transaction details.
+1,100/Admission
Corporation 1,000/Beast
-50/Beast Corporation
The 1,100 points I had received for admission were now gone.
No, it seemed they had deducted the cost of the ring, which they had called a souvenir.
My insides boiled with frustration.
“Has everyone checked?” the man asked. “This is a lesson for you all. Don’t trust people too much! Since it’s already activated, I can’t refund it.”
A sense of dissatisfaction filled the air.
Small sighs and murmurs could be heard, but no one dared protest.
The man on the podium was stronger than any of the new students here.
“I am Luo, the customer relations director of Beast Corporation. How does everyone feel after completing the first transaction?”
He looked around briefly and then laughed loudly.
“You all look displeased. I think this serves as a good introduction to this place. Here, power matters, and so do your points. That’s all that matters, and you all have neither.”
He smiled as he spoke, but his words were cold and cutting.
“Earn points by any means. You’ll need them to attend classes, to live. The entrance ceremony ends here. I hope you all survive well.”
With that, Luo flew off into the air.
But then he hesitated.
He returned with an awkward smile and shouted:
“If anyone is interested in Beast Corporation, feel free to visit us anytime. We have priority for this year’s freshmen, so don’t go to another organization and end up in trouble!”
He truly seemed to finish everything with that, flying off without hesitation.
Once he disappeared, people looked at each other in confusion, unsure of what to do next.
Some hesitated, unsure of how to proceed.
***
The first to leave were the people from the noble families I had been talking with at the Ice Mansion.
They moved as one group, leaving the open space.
Their confident and unbothered manner made it seem like nothing could stand in their way.
Many others followed them after a brief hesitation.
Watching them, I clicked my tongue.
‘What would they do if those people suddenly decided to take all their points away?’ Why were they following so naively? I stayed where I was, remaining still.
Professor Irien stretched her arms.
It was clear that she found the whole situation amusing, as a smile played across her face.
“Hey, how many points do you have left?” she asked.
I showed her my ring.
She grinned at the sight of it.
“Heh, you’ll probably run out after a meal. But remember what I said? You must sign up for this guy’s class next time. If you don’t, you’ll be beaten senseless.”
When Professor Heisen heard that, he laughed like Professor Irien.
It seemed like he found the situation amusing as well.
“Well, I’ll be going ahead now. See you next time.”
Professor Heisen said and melted into the shadows.
“Shall we go too?”
Professor Irien used her magic to lift me into the air.
Her magic shot us into the sky in an instant.
The wind hit my face fiercely, making it hard to keep my eyes open.
As we sped forward, I struggled to open my eyes, catching a brief glimpse of the university’s landscape.
Mountains.
Dozens, if not hundreds, of massive mountains formed a mountain range.
The peaks, rising as if they were going to pierce the sky, emitted strong magical energy.
I was caught in her magic, flying through the air while staring at the vast natural scenery.
There was no sign of civilization.
The university, the entrance ceremony—everything was different from what I had imagined.
I didn’t expect points to be so important.
I certainly didn’t expect to have them all taken away as soon as I arrived.
And I never imagined that a crisis would arise that would need to be resolved right away.
It was an unforgettable entrance ceremony, one that would remain in my memory forever.