The morning sunlight streamed through the gaps in the curtains into the bedroom, and Ian woke up early, sitting up on the bed.
After receiving the news from Yiserin yesterday, Ian found out that Serinveia—the silver dragon who had nearly killed him—had joined Ethelrina’s team.
Ian felt a headache coming on.
After all, Isabella had said that if he could win the Holy Trial championship, she wouldn’t interfere with the matter between the two of them anymore.
“Sigh, I can only take it one step at a time.”
Ian didn’t lose heart; after all, the first trial’s score only accounted for a small portion of the overall Holy Trial results.
The advantage of winning the championship, besides the rewards, was only the privilege to choose tasks first in the second trial.
Moreover, according to Dean Isabella, Ian’s potential was even stronger than Serinveia’s.
Ian guessed that Isabella must have meant that his bloodline was stronger than Serinveia’s.
Plus, the dean had specially increased the runner-up prize to include a Bloodstone that helped develop the bloodline.
Wasn’t that clearly an encouragement for him to secure second place in this first trial?
‘Once I awaken my bloodline, won’t I be able to easily defeat Serinveia?’ Thinking of this, Ian couldn’t help but clench his fists, already fantasizing about how he would get back at her.
Glancing at the clock on the wall, it was already 7 a.m.—only two hours left until the trial began.
Ian quickly put on a black outfit.
He didn’t bring any weapons since in the first trial, all weapons had to be obtained during the challenge itself.
When he reached the living room, Ian found that Yiserin and the other two were already ready.
What surprised Ian was that Sephiroth was still wearing the gray-black dress from yesterday, showing no intention to disguise herself as a boy again.
As for Yiserin and Xianye, both were dressed in the boys’ uniform of Saint Roland Magic Academy—a blue double-breasted jacket with silver trim, and the academy’s crest on the collar and cuffs.
“Let’s go. Lillian said she’ll be waiting for us at the plaza,” Ian said to the group.
Before the Holy Trial started, it was customary for the dean to give a speech, with heavyweight figures from various factions also making appearances.
Naturally, the teams participating in the Holy Trial had to gather at the plaza first.
The plaza of Saint Roland Magic Academy was already packed with people; most of the students participating in the Holy Trial had arrived.
Ian and his group weaved through the bustling crowd toward the center of the plaza.
Due to the trial, the academy’s security was exceptionally tight, with many combat instructors deployed to maintain order.
Scanning the crowd, Ian spotted Lillian standing alone somewhere, looking somewhat lonely and out of place compared to the clustered groups around her.
Today, Lillian still wore her golden twin-tails, dressed in the girls’ uniform of Saint Roland Magic Academy.
The upper half was similar to the boys’ uniform, but she swapped the pants for a skirt and paired it with white over-the-knee stockings.
“Lillian, have you been waiting long?” Ian greeted her warmly, a hint of awkwardness in his tone.
“I… I just arrived too. I was… just about to look for you all,” Lillian replied softly, her golden twin-tails swaying slightly as she gently shook her head.
“Then let’s hurry and find our team’s spot,” Ian said.
“Okay.”
Ian’s group headed toward their team’s location, attracting quite a few glances.
Because of the Saintess Family’s reputation, Lillian was well-known at the academy—though not exactly for a good reason.
Besides, with Veronica also in the Saintess Family, Lillian was often compared to her and usually ended up the object of disdain.
Feeling the scornful gazes, Lillian grew a little uncomfortable, even though no one spoke ill of her openly.
“Don’t take it to heart,” Ian comforted her.
“Mm,” Lillian replied, lowering her head.
Seeing Lillian’s dejected state, Yiserin stepped in front of those staring and coldly swept them a glare: “What are you looking at?”
Xianye and Sephiroth silently stood beside Lillian as well.
Though they said nothing, their stance clearly showed they were a united team and wouldn’t tolerate outsiders’ jeers.
Lillian lifted her head, heart warmed by their defense.
After comforting Lillian, Ian’s group reached their designated spot, when suddenly a commotion arose from the crowd behind them.
“Look! That’s Ethelrina over there!”
As the record holder of the Saint Roland Magic Academy entrance trial, Ethelrina was a renowned figure in the academy.
“Who are those behind Ethelrina?”
“Isn’t that Saintess Veronica? And Princess Sophia from the Crovian Kingdom, and Flora from the Elven Forest.”
“Oh my god, what kind of divine lineup is this? Do we even stand a chance?”
“Who’s that silver-haired person next to Ethelrina? I’ve never seen her before.”
Ethelrina and her group walked slowly through the crowd.
Standing beside her, Serinveia’s icy blue eyes coldly scanned everyone with disdain.
When her gaze landed on Ian, her hostility was blatant.
Ian chose to ignore Serinveia’s hostile stare—just seeing her already irritated him.
Some time passed.
With the Holy Trial imminent, everyone was naturally nervous, and the plaza was noisy.
“Silence.”
Isabella suddenly appeared on the raised platform at the plaza’s center.
She wore a white magical robe and held a staff embedded with a magic crystal.
As her voice fell, the previously noisy crowd instantly quieted down.
Beside her stood several high-ranking figures from other factions.
One person caught Ian’s attention—the Red-Robed Bishop whom he had bumped into not long ago.
The Red-Robed Bishop’s gaze swept over the crowd, lingering for a moment on three individuals: Veronica, Lillian, and Ian.
“Behind me is the location where you will participate in the first trial,” Isabella’s voice was soft but clearly heard by everyone.
As she spoke, a white halo shimmering with light suddenly appeared where Isabella had been standing moments before.
“Before entering, each of you must receive a token to record the points you earn from defeating demons. Of course, you can also gain points by shattering the tokens of other teams.”
“If you face mortal danger, you may crush your token to teleport out. However, once the token is broken, all points you have accumulated will be reset to zero.”