The moment Brant's words sank in, the crowd erupted into chatter.

"Trial selection? Wait, aren't we supposed to go straight to the academy?" one whispered.

"You fool! Don't say that out loud! Do you want to be crowned king of country bumpkins?" another hissed.

"We could die in the trial?" a girl asked, her voice trembling.

"Tsk. I'm already dying in this filth," a young man in rags muttered, eyes burning with determination. "Might as well die trying."

Clap!

Hasker slammed his hands together, the sharp sound silencing the murmurs.

"Alright, enough guessing before you even know if you're qualified for the trials," he barked, his voice echoing across the plaza. "You should all have received a number. Form groups of two hundred—numbers 1 to 200 in the first line, 201 to 400 hundred in the second, and so on. You have ten minutes."

The crowd began to shuffle, though not without chaos.

"Oi! You can read numbers, right? What does mine say?"

"Uh… it says… I think… ah—"

"Tsk. Useless."

It wasn't just a few—most couldn't even read their numbers. A handful, including Leo and Lily, had to help others line up.

The literacy rate in this world was abysmal. Even a Marquess could turn out to be illiterate.

The professors could only sigh. It was the same everywhere they went. Even in major cities, the situation wasn't much better.

The Emperor had yet to establish a proper education system—how could he, when beasts ran rampant? Even a main city guarded by a Rank 5 or Rank 6 powerhouse could crumble overnight. Right now, the Empire's top priority was strengthening its fighting force.

Somehow, everyone managed to form proper lines before the ten minutes were up.

Soon, the testing began.

"1-star talent, Thread Weaving."

"1-star talent, Herb Mixing."

"No talent."

"1-star talent, Stone Craft."

"3-star talent, Iron Body."

"No talent."

"No talent."

"2-star talent, Sound Sense."

"No talent."

"1-star talent, Minor Healing."

"Hm. That Iron Body might be useful," Hasker murmured.

"And the herb mixing," Brant added thoughtfully. "Even if it's low-ranked, it's valuable for research."

The process continued. Talents were called out one after another, and the promising ones were made to stand aside.

Occasionally, something caught Leo's attention.

"2-star talent, Beast Taming."

"1-star talent, Beast Taming."

He frowned. "Beast Taming… of different ranks? What do these ranks even mean? I've never heard of this before."

Lily, standing behind him, nodded in agreement.

Suddenly—

"You will be taught everything in the academy. Have patience."

Leo stiffened. The voice had echoed inside his head. He whipped around and caught Brant smiling at him, fingers stroking his beard.

Ahhh Fuck! Why did it have to be meeee!

Leo was never a fan of being an eyepiece of a superior; it meant more work and trouble for him. Leo could only grimace and think about what he had done wrong to gather his attention.

Brant chuckled quietly. "Heh. I like this kid," he said, amused.

Hasker followed his gaze, spotting Leo's drooping face, looking like someone who'd just been told he had lifelong debt.

Soon, a familiar figure stepped up for testing—Alric.

He wore his usual arrogant grin. Being a beast tamer already, he was confident he wouldn't fail like many others.

He placed his hand on the orb. A deep purple glow flared.

The examiner's eyebrows rose. "4-star talent, Beast Taming."

A wave of whispers rippled through the crowd. That was the highest so far after the 3-star Iron Body.

Alric puffed out his chest proudly, his earlier humiliation replaced with triumph.

One of the instructors nodded and noted his number, marking him for further evaluation if he passed the trials.

Next was the timid girl standing behind him. She hesitated before placing her hand on the orb. It pulsed faintly yellow.

"Whoa! 5-star talent, Spirit Reinforcement!" the examiner exclaimed, eyes wide.

Envious stares instantly turned toward her, making her shrink back even more. Alric's expression twisted. His spotlight had been stolen in an instant.

"What do you think you're doing? You're my servant—act like one!" he snapped, grabbing her wrist harshly and dragging her away.

The instructors only scoffed. Her status as a servant meant she had no protection if her lord mistreated her himself.

Leo frowned, wondering if the girl's ability had any link to Lily's, since both seemed spirit-related.

Then, it was his turn.

He stepped forward and placed his hand on the orb. It blazed orange.

"6-6-star talent! Beastiary of Souls!" the examiner shouted, dumbfounded.

A stunned hush fell over the field. Till now, here was already better than anything seen in most cities—and now a 6-star talent appeared.

Brant's grin widened, clearly unsurprised, as if he'd expected it.

But Leo wasn't even focused on the reaction.

<Minor System Update!>

<Talent Rank Introductions>

[Beastiary of Souls] – 6 Stars

[Primordial Beast Taming] – 10 Stars

Oh great… even systems get patch updates now, Leo thought wryly.

He stepped aside, and Lily moved forward.

The examiner, still recovering from Leo's result, didn't think anything could shock him again. Until the orb erupted in a radiant gold light.

He blinked. Rubbed his eyes. Then, practically shouted, voice cracking,

"8-star talent! Spirit Caller!"

The crowd exploded.

Leo let out a low whistle. Lily's smile bloomed instantly, her pink hair gleaming like rose petals in the sunlight. She looked radiant—jovial even—as she shot Leo a smug look that said

"I'm better."

Leo made a mock motion of slapping her. Her face flushed instantly, and she quickly stepped aside. There was still the lingering pain in her butt, which made it difficult to sit straight.

The professors' and instructors' eyes gleamed with greed. They had to recruit these two, no matter the cost.

James looked like a proud father, while Vintage fought to hold back tears of joy.

With talents like these, their city's tier—and future—would undoubtedly rise with the resources they would get.

Somewhere at the same time, Zolton's testing had also been done, nothing impressive—well, from all the shock that had been made already

"4-star Talent, Beast Taming." The man said, clearly disinterested after witnessing the real talents.

Zolton had already made up his mind, he would go away from this city even without telling his father. Not that he cared about his father, he was sure—James would torment him fo life if he stayed.

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