As fate would have it, Lone's tester was the old woman in charge of the testing. As soon as he was in front of her, he rudely said, "You're a total cunt, you know that, right? I'm warning you right now, you've wasted your first chance with that clap from earlier."

"First chance? What nonsense. Just be quiet and let me test you. I don't want to even lay my eyes on you since you're his disciple," the woman replied dismissively then used her artefact to display Lone's MP, magic potential, and his affinities.

Overall Magic Potential 1,000/1,000 Magic Affinities Fire: 100% Water: 100% Ice: 100% Earth: 100% Air: 100% Lightning: 100% Illusion: 100% Contracting: 100% Enchantment: 100% Nature: 100% Healing: 100% Charm: 100% Space: 100% Total MP 662,300

Silence consumed everything. It was almost like time itself had frozen.

Only after several seconds had passed could a sound be heard. One of the professors had stumbled out of his chair, making it fall over. He shakily lifted his hands to adjust his glasses before he mumbled, "Y-You h-have the p-potential to be a tri- a trideca-mage!"

With that one mumbled declaration, the whole crowd was triggered.

"Thirteen attributes?!"

"How is that even possible?! Isn't the testing artefact broken?!"

"No. The artefacts have never lied or malfunctioned before..."

"So he seriously has the potential to be a literally perfect trideca-mage?!"

"That can't be right! There has to be a mistake! Even Headmaster Erion doesn't have that much potential! Him being an octa-mage is absurd enough, but we're expected to believe that this non has five more affinities than someone as powerful as him?!"

Even the students of The Academy were getting riled up at this point. Some clenched their fists in jealousy, but some chose to voice their frustrations by throwing out wild accusations.

"He must be an experiment of the headmaster! I bet that's why he and that girl are his disciples! She got gifted with a stupid amount of MP, but he got gifted with an unreasonable amount of potential!"

"That's dumb. That's even more impossible that the artefact being faulty. Maybe he's an expert in illusion magic? He could have cast a grand-scale illusion on everyone here to cheat his way into The Academy."

"That's even more foolish. Do you really think something like that wouldn't be detected by Vice-headmaster Merkel?"

"Hmm... so an inside job? Maybe he paid The Academy a ridiculous amount of money to make a spectacle?"

At this point, the old woman in charge - Vice-headmaster Merkel - had heard enough. She'd collected herself from her shock, so she stood up and walked to the front of the stage all the while ignoring Lone who had a big grin spread across his face as his arms were crossed over his chest.

Putting some magic in her voice, she said, "Silence! You will all know soon enough if the foxkin's potentials are real or not when he participates in a combat class. Do recall, it is mandatory to take at minimum, one practical combat class regardless of what you wish to learn as a student here, so anymore nonsense out of you students will be heavily punished!"

All of the people with the emblem of The Academy stitched or magically affixed to their clothing shuddered in fear of those words.

Vice-headmaster Merkel then glared at the over 3,000 loitering failures. "Leave. The tests have concluded. If you do not vacate from the premises of The Academy within the next 10-minutes, then I will forcefully remove you with gravity magic, and I promise, I shan't be gentle."

While she clearly wasn't a fan of Lone nor his group, she was very serious about her duties as a member of The Academy's faculty. Her no-nonsense personality was famous amongst the students, and it had resulted in her arguing with Headmaster Erion himself on more than one occasion.

Everyone quickly left the square and returned to the bridge which connected The Academy to Mystopolis. Almost everyone was still disgruntled, but what could they do in response to the threat of being subjected to powerful magic?

Many of the royal or noble hopefuls were likely to file official complaints and may even demand reparations, but that was a matter for another day as far as Vice-headmaster Merkel was concerned. It was also a worry with very little merit. It wasn't the superpowers and nations of Altros that tolerated The Academy, it was The Academy that tolerated them. Or, at least, it should be that way.

'Why Headmaster Erion refuses to use violence to further his ideals of equality is beyond me, especially when he is showing how prone to favouritism he can be. That stupid Divine goat... His weakness will end us.' She shook her head and collected herself.

Sighing faintly, Vice-headmaster Merkel flicked her wrist, resulting in ten badges flying out from her hand and towards Lone's group, Prince Seto, the rabbitkin, the old man, and the brash young boy. Before any of the pieces of metal hit them, Vice-headmaster Merkel employed some very basic gravity magic to make them float right in front of each of the future academy students.

"Look after those carefully. The first term of the new year begins in two days. Teacher Rax will be in front of the main building - the one right there," she said as she pointed at the grandest and largest building in their immediate surroundings. "If you wish to stay in your future dorm right now, you may. If you already have lodging in the city and wish to keep it, say so now so we can use your dorm rooms for extra storage. The less we can rely on space magic, the better it will be on our space magic teachers' MP reserves."

"I already own a home in Mystopolis, and I'm far older than most of the other students, so I shall decline the offer of a dorm room, thank you," the elderly man said with a respectful smile on his weathered face.

The rabbitkin excitedly said, "I get free lodging?! I definitely want a dorm room! Um, please..."

Lone raised his hand and said, "All of my group are set up to stay in Madam Cortelle's Palace of Rest for the next 2-years, so we don't need our rooms here."

The teachers and Prince Seto were already aware of this, but most of The Academy's students, as well as the young boy who had passed with them, weren't. Shock covered many faces while jealousy at Lone's obvious wealth consumed everyone else's.

Completely ignoring the silently envious and surprised students, Vice-headmaster Merkel nodded her head. "Excellent. Well, you may leave now. Be here by noon on the fifth sun. If you are even a second late, I promise, I will fight Headmaster Erion personally if I have to just to ensure that you and your friends are expelled."

Lone grinned. "I really don't like you. Do you teach any classes? Let me know which ones so I can avoid them completely. I've had plenty of experiences with cunts for teachers, and if I can avoid it, I'd love to steer clear of another one."

Vice-headmaster Merkel snorted arrogantly. "I teach alchemy, gravity magic, gravity theory, and I occasionally host lectures on refined MP control."

Lone held his chin and thought before he said, "You aren't the only teacher who teaches gravity magic, are you? I kinda wanna learn that school... Alchemy too now that I think about it."

A contemptuous look entered the old woman's eyes. "You have no affinity for such a powerful school of magic, so please, stop dreaming. As for alchemy, it's a common theory subject, so I wouldn't worry about it."

Lone chuckled. "I'm a helluva talented bloke. Anyway, I guess I'll get an actual answer to my question during the induction two days from now. Let's go guys."

As he and The Wanderers left the stage and began walking towards the bridge, Vice-headmaster Merkel said some final parting words. "You may be the most talented person I've ever seen, Lone Immortus, but talent means nothing without real skills to back it up."

Lone raised his right hand and flipped her off. Not even turning his head around, he said, "I could kill you in less than a second. I ain't the best at using magic, sure, but give me a year, and I bet I'll easily be twice the mage you could ever hope to be, so go fuck yourself."

Vice-headmaster Merkel clenched her fists and grit her teeth as she stared at Lone's slowly fading back. She turned to one of the teachers behind her and said in a low voice, "Professor Fredley, ensure that for every class that he, in particular, signs up for, he gets assigned to the one with the harshest and most difficult to work with teacher or professor."

"Should I arrange for him to fail some of his tests? And what about his friends?" Professor Fredley asked quietly as he pushed up the bridge of his glasses.

Vice-headmaster Merkel shook her head. "I do not mind if he is given the worst teachers to work with, but I will not tolerate his hard work being tampered with. This is me simply being petty. If he can still thrive and shine brightly despite this childish retaliation of mine, then he deserves all of the grades and rewards that he earns."

She then clasped her hands behind her back and stared sharply at Professor Fredley. "Should I find out that you or any of the other teachers try to cheat him out of his genuine results, then mark my words, you shan't have long to live."

"I-I'll keep that in mind..." Professor Fredley smiled awkwardly. 'She's still holding it over us for turning a blind eye to the demi murder 3-years ago, isn't she? She was the one who said that it was fine to let the humans have their fun since the demis never complained... Hypocritical cow.'

Unaware of her colleague's thoughts, the vice-headmaster personally took upon herself to show Prince Seto, the rabbitkin, and the boisterous young boy to their dorms.

"Ever the antagoniser, Husb-, Ahem, I mean Lone," Eolande corrected herself upon seeing Soph's eyes narrow dangerously.

Lone shrugged as he settled on the sofa and ordered his room's spirit to go get him some lunch. "Fuck that cunt. If she ain't gonna respect me, then I'll treat her like the arse of a mule that she is."

Swind nodded as he carefully sat down while he cuddled Rachel. "I do not usually endorse crude behaviour, but this time, I have to agree with Mr Immortus."

Soph tugged on one of Lone's tails and asked, "Can you bring out Kyu and Gara, please? I miss them..." Clearly, she cared far less about what everyone else was currently talking about and more about her cuddly daughters.

Smiling wryly, Lone rubbed Soph's head lovingly then summoned their two daughters. "You didn't have any issues with that woman's attitude?"

Soph hugged the slightly distressed Garadia tightly and placed the sleeping Kyuubi on her lap before she answered, "No? She didn't seem to hate fluffy things, and even if she does create any problems, you would just fix them... Um, you would fix them, wouldn't you?"

Lone grinned from ear-to-ear. "Yes, I would. Of course I would. Headmaster Erion seems to be on our side too, so if things really went tits up, I was just gonna demand he showed up after beating up all of the teachers and anyone else that tried to stop me."

Eolande sighed. "You know, it's really dishearting that violence is how you solve things, but it's even more disheartening that it usually works."

Lone shrugged. "People value their lives more than their pride usually."

"That 'usually' is what has me worried..." Eolande floated over to a bookcase and laid down on top of it before she added, "Well, knowing you, you're probably hoping for some trouble to increase your level and stats."

Lone smirked. "Don't forget my skills too."

"Ah, how foolish of me," Eolande replied a bit sarcastically.

Lone laughed at that.

He and his group lazed about and talked for just over 30-minutes following that conversation. After they had finished their late lunch, Lone spoke to Swind.

"Hey, let's head to the Soul Hall. I think it's about time that you actually learnt how to use at least one soul skill. You're an Ascending, so while you don't have my Growth Accelerator, you should still be able to learn skills extremely easily," he said as he got up and stretched.

Swind frowned. "I do not wish to leave Rachel's side, and any skills I learn will pale in comparison to yours..."

Lone shrugged. "Yeah, but it wouldn't hurt, would it? Just bring Rachel with you. If anyone pisses you off, just do what I'd do."

"Kill them?" Eolande asked.

Breena sulked under her mask. "No, beat them up."

"Convince them that they're stupid?" Soph added.

"Any of the above depending on the situation," Lone replied with a smile on his face. "Anyway, let's go. Time's a-wastin'."

Swind slowly nodded. "Okay, Mr Immortus."