Chapter 8: Why is the opening ceremony 100?
The Academy of Gracia is located in the heart of the Eternal City, covering a vast area.
Ancia sat in the carriage of the Holy See of Light, slowly entering this historic academy. In "Westlife", players should have entered the game for the first time today, but she was pulled in seven days early by the will of the world, and only now is she truly seeing this academy.
The main body of the Gracia Academy consists of several castles and towers connected by long covered bridges, which guard the central Moon Lake. In the center of the Moon Lake stands a solitary tower, where the mysterious Dean of Astrologers is said to reside.
This year's freshmen lined up in two rows outside the auditorium, and the order of the queues was not based on surname, gender, height, or age, but only on talent.
Ancia and Heligaluo stood at the front of the line, with Ancia positioned on the right, indicating that the academy considered her talent to be greater than Heligaluo's.
"Hey, what's your last name?" A haughty voice spoke to her from behind.
Ancia turned around and saw a gray-haired, gray-eyed girl in a gorgeous dress standing behind her, with a sparkling diamond crown on her head.
She is the Imperial Princess, Eve Augustine, a very beautiful but arrogant princess with a real princess complex.
Ancia said calmly, "Just call me Ancia, I don't have a surname."
Princess Eve frowned, her slender eyebrows furrowing. "How can there be no surname?"
In Princess Eve's worldview, she has the best mentors and enjoys the resources of the royal family. It's understandable that she can't compare to Heligalo, who is being nurtured by the Church of Light, but how could she lose to an orphan who isn't even a commoner?
Ancia didn't understand why she was so hung up on the surname. She simply hadn't set a surname when playing the game. Even if she named herself "Electric Scooter Seat Exposed to the Scorching Sun," the other characters would accept that setting without batting an eye.
Princess Eve raised her chin and said in a condescending tone, "Fine, considering your decent potential, when the new students choose their dorms later, I'll allow you to be my follower and live in the same villa as me."
There are a few detached villas by Moon Lake, so you don't have to squeeze into a four-person dormitory with other students. However, the conditions for living there are very strict. Not only do you have to reach the talent level recognized by the academy, but you also have to pay a huge amount of gold coins. They are reserved for students with outstanding talent and powerful backgrounds.
The villa allows a maximum of two people to stay at the same time, but the price of 30,000 gold coins per month will not be split between the two people, but will instead become 50,000 gold coins per month.
According to the game's design, this is intended to incentivize players who want to live with the male protagonist to spend money. Judging from Princess Eve's statement, she will obviously cover the accommodation costs for both of them on her own.
Heligalo, who had not intended to interfere in the conversation between the two ladies, turned around and said calmly, "Your Highness Eve, Ancia is not anyone's follower."
Princess Eve rolled her eyes at Heligaluo. "No wonder the air was so heavy it was hard to breathe. Turns out it's the Vatican's puppets here."
Ancia was a little angry. She didn't care what Princess Eve said to her, but when it came to Heligaluo, whom she considered a friend, her face immediately turned cold. "Heligaluo is my friend, not a puppet. Princess, hasn't anyone told you that you're childish?"
friends.
Heligalo's cold expression softened, and his heart felt light.
Princess Eve was so angry that she couldn't maintain her royal composure. "You're speaking up for the Papacy? You can be Heligaluo's follower, why can't you be mine?"
The surroundings were quiet, and the argument at the front of the group had been heard by everyone. Soon, a female voice echoed from the middle of the group, "That's right! It's your good fortune that Princess Eve wants you to be her follower. What good is talent if you're an orphan? Can you afford the cost of the magic materials later on? I advise you to be sensible and apologize to Her Highness right away."
Ansia: "..."
So that's how it is. All the friends around this princess are her lackeys. So when Ancia said she was Heligalo's friend, Princess Eve immediately equated her with a lackey.
"Don't bother, I have plenty of coins." There was nothing to say to this stubborn lunatic, and with no obligation to teach in rural areas, Ancia lazily turned back.
"You..." Princess Eve's furious voice trailed off as she saw the door open.
The auditorium doors opened, and the new students slowly entered the auditorium, which could accommodate more than a thousand people. The fan-shaped hall was filled with gently sloping, deep red armchairs that extended to the arched platform with gilded railings on the second floor.
On the central platform was a familiar magical device, the same one Ancia had seen in the Holy See of Light, used to test the talents of new students.
The mysterious dean was shrouded in a cloak, with nebulae floating around the hood obscuring his face. His voice was beautiful and melodious: "Gracia has welcomed a new batch of students. Miracles that will be famous throughout the continent will be born among them in the future."
He was an astrologer, and his predictions in divination had never been wrong. The audience below the stage paid more attention to this group of freshmen, and immediately noticed the blond boy at the front of the line.
"Is the Dean referring to the Holy Son of Light?"
"We don't know his affinity rating; the Holy See has never publicized it."
"The Holy Son of Light is ranked ahead of Princess Eve, so his score should be higher than 90, right?"
"The royal family always boasts about Princess Eve's 90 affinity rating, but they never expected there would be someone better."
"Huh, which family's young lady is that black-haired girl next to the Holy Son? I've never seen her before."
"I don't remember."
"Ha, Princess Eve can't even compare to a girl who suddenly appears."
The whispers hidden beneath the smiles and feather fans reached the dean's ears, and he said meaningfully, "Now we will conduct the talent test."
The first person called up to the stage was the boy at the very end of the line, seemingly in reverse order. He hurriedly stepped forward and placed his hand on the crystal ball. The value on the magic screen quickly jumped up and stopped at 80.
"Freddy Haywood, Wood Element Affinity, 80".
“Naty Santos, Fire Affinity, 82.”
...
Even the lowest affinity value among the newcomers was above 80, and soon only Ancia, Heligalo, and Princess Eve remained in the team.
“Eve Augustine, wind element affinity, 90.”
Princess Eve stepped down from the stage and sat in the freshman area. When she heard the dean call out Heligaluo's name, she fiddled with her exquisite folding fan. What would Heligaluo's affinity rating be?
92? 95?
She wanted to see just how high the numbers the Holy See had been hiding for so long could be.
Heligaluo stepped forward, placing his white-gloved hand on the crystal ball. A golden storm instantly gathered inside the crystal ball, and the values on the magic screen surged wildly before finally coming to a slow stop.
"Heligalo Claudien, Light Affinity, 98."
Snap.
Princess Eve's folding fan fell to the ground. The first thing she looked at was not the numbers on the magic crystal screen, but Ancia, who was standing at the front of the stage.
If Heligalo's score is 98, then what would Ancia's score be?!
An answer she didn't want to believe surfaced in her mind, and Princess Eve clutched the lace trim on her skirt tightly.
Only Ancia was left. As Heligaluo brushed past her, Ancia whispered, "What if the magic device breaks down later?"
Heligalo said in a low voice, "I'll pay for it."
When Ancia stood in front of the crystal ball, the dean's voice was filled with obvious laughter, "Miss Ancia, don't worry about compensation, I have prepared three sets of magic devices."
Ancia cleared her throat, surprised by the dean's keen hearing. She placed her hand on the crystal ball, and a similar golden storm gathered again, the numbers on the magic screen jumping faster than those of Heligaluo.
The value kept rising without slowing down, until "100" was displayed on the magic crystal screen.
Bang.
Black smoke billowed from the magic crystal screen, the crystal ball cracked, and golden light chased after Ancia, unwilling to leave.
The familiar scene unfolded once again, and Ancia remained calm, while the audience was shocked and speechless.
Princess Eve had to use almost all her self-control to keep from standing up abruptly from her seat; Ancia's affinity score was higher than the 99 she had expected.
How could it be 100?
Since the founding of the Gracia Academy, there has never been a new student with an affinity value of 100!
Everyone present recalled the dean's prophecy before the ceremony began: the divination did not point to the Holy Son of Light, but to Ancia.
It can only be Ancia.
Affinity is fixed from birth; once it reaches 80 or above, every point difference is an insurmountable chasm that requires a lifetime of effort to bridge.
But those with higher affinity scores are also working hard, so the gap won't narrow; it will only widen.
The dean snapped his fingers, and the damaged magic device vanished, replaced by a brand-new crystal ball and magic screen. He asked softly, "Miss Ancia, shall we continue the test?"
Ancia shook her head. Testing the light element was enough to complete the process. The affinity for the wood element was also full, and she already knew the value, which was 100, the same as the light element. There was nothing more to test.
"It seems Miss Ancia is kind-hearted, saving Gracia a magical device." The dean's soft voice did not travel through the entire hall through amplification magic; only Ancia heard it.
Gracia not only knew that she had untested wood elemental talent, but also knew the specific values, so he prepared three sets of magic devices.
Ancia glanced thoughtfully at the mysterious dean, and caught a glimpse of a strand of deep blue curly hair in the gaps between the nebula's movements.
"Alright, please take a seat in the freshman area, Miss Ancia. I've heard you have a bit of a talent for divination. If you'd like to learn, you can come find me at the Moon Tower," the dean said with a smile.
ah?
Ancia asked in confusion, "Isn't the dean supposed to not accept apprentices?"
She clearly remembered that when the story unfolded in the real world, Dean Gracia always appeared only as a background character and never interacted with any of the characters in the academy.
“Gracecia is always an exception when it comes to geniuses, and so am I.” The dean’s voice became alluring, like a siren emerging from the deep sea to lure passing travelers.
Ancia laughed awkwardly. Her divination was based entirely on the known plot of the game, which was completely different from the astrologer with real skills like the Dean. If she actually went there, she would only expose her ignorance.
"I won't bother the dean for now; I still have a lot to learn."
The dean said regretfully, "Well, Miss Ancia, if you have a thirst for knowledge about fate, you must come to the Moon Tower."
Ancia agreed and sat down in the last empty seat in the freshman area, with Heligaluo and Princess Eve on her left and right sides respectively.
Heligalo sat upright and handed a small velvet box to Ancia.
A note from the author:
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