Elden Continent.

The Elden Prospect candidates observed the magic screen and saw the event of Kane Cromwell displaying his talent.

"Six mana cores at grade 9 huh? Not bad, I've finally found someone worthy of fighting me."

A devil-race person saw the incident and blurted out. He has two horns protruding from his forehead. It was 3cm long. His hair was dark red.

He was 201cm tall. His body color was purplish-dark, and his eyes were emitting red-colored miasma that exuded an aura of dread. The muscles in his arms and shoulders were well-defined.

"Aldous, if you want to fight him, you should go through me first."

An elf girl criticized.

This Elden Prospect candidate from the devil race wanted to steal her prey.

The elf girl has a long brown hair, reaching down to her waist. The top was braided carefully, and it added to her beauty. Her deep-set hazel eyes could charm any man. She had a thin figure, an oval face, and her chests were flat.

`How handsome. I wonder if he could last long if we fought against one another though.`

The girl fantasized in her mind. Will she finally be able to find someone who could match up to her looks and talent?

"Thessalia, how dare you. To think that you're such a person. Hmph!"

Aldous mocked her. He knew that this girl was fantasizing about fighting against Kane Cromwell and how well he'd do against her.

`You damn elf. Stealing prey again.`

The elven girl called Thessalia just giggled and covered her mouth with her hands.

Back to the Central Square, 6 additional Prospect candidates were identified.

"Amelia Strom, grade 6 mana core. Wood mana essence. Not bad."

"Is she the daughter of that Sadist Healer?"

"No Sir, her parents are already dead. Madam Anabella and Sir Gilbert just adopted them to the main family."

"Oh."

"Next one, Priscilla Mason. Oh, Dean Mason, is she your granddaughter?"

"Yes, Sir William."

"Dual mana core at grade 7. Wood and Earth mana essence. You've produced some great talents within your family, Dean Mason."

"Hehe. You're flattering me, Sir William."

Even though they were both deans in the Great Magic School in the Imperium branch, James Mason still thought of William as his superior. After all, William was somebody in the peak grandmaster-level while he was on a lower power level.

"Hagio Vedrix. Mana core at grade 6. Earth mana essence. Dantian grade 7. Not bad."

"Helena Summer. Madam Lena's daughter?"

"Yes, Sir William."

"She's still fertile even when she's that old."

The officials were speechless. Only William and some other special people had the right to mock one of the Golden Guardians of the Great Human Imperium.

"Not bad, dual mana cores at grade 7. Fire and dark mana essences."

After an hour, many students have finished identifying their grades and tests. Most have failed with a passing rate of less than 5 percent. Two more Prospect Candidates were identified.

"This result is at least a bit better than the last few school selections."

"Yeah, two years ago, only 2% were able to pass. There weren't any Prospect candidates. It was a disaster."

The human officials talked within themselves. The foundation of the Great Human Imperium was very weak compared to the other two members of the Alliance.

They really wished that someone comparable to Kane Cromwell would show up in order for their foundation to be more solid. There was definitely no way the Great Human Imperium would rise with just Kane at their disposal in the future.

The tests continued.

There were at least 40,000 students left, with some still on the platforms or in the test rooms.

"Lina, there are so many Prospect candidates this year. I want to fight all of them!"

Lina did not bother responding to her. She had the feeling that something bad happened.

"Lina, what's wrong? Are you not happy?"

Luna wondered why her sister looked despondent.

"Sister Luna, I feel a bit uneasy. I think something bad has happened over at the forward camp."

"Tsk, you're still worried about those bastards at the camp? Come on, let's just watch the school selection. Those guys can take care of themselves."

Lina still felt uneasy.

At the square.

Sam was looking for Sabrina. He saw a glimpse of her figure and headed in her direction. He was about to greet her when she suddenly bellowed.

"Zachariel Strom, have you finished your test? Oh? You haven't even identified your mana core grade? Don't tell me you have such a bad talent that you're afraid of embarrassing yourself in front of many people."

Many people were drawn over the commotion. They started asking questions about what happened between the two.

"What a disappointment. To think that my grandfather had thought highly of you."

Her grandfather had told her that Zachariel's potential was leagues ahead of her. She did not believe it and that was why she started to challenge him and declared him as her rival.

However, seeing that things were different now, she felt that she had wasted her time on him. To think that the grandson of the Madman Strom and the man her grandfather thought highly was only so-so.

Zachariel ignored her. He woke up late because of the subsequent nightmares and he was still stuck at identifying his mana core since he arrived late. Those nightmares started to manifest ever since he had formed his mana core. He had no other idea why they started.

He has no time to deal with that woman now.

"Hey, you bastard! Why are you ignoring her?"

Sam called out for Zachariel. Seeing how she treated this man like a waste, he wanted to get on her good side by reprimanding him too.

Zachariel looked over and saw a tall man pointing at him. His head was square-faced. His hair pale-gold in color. He had a hostile look in his eyes.

"Kneel and ask for forgiveness now! How dare you audaciously call yourself her rival when you don't even possess the talent to match up to her?!"

`A lovestruck fool.`

Zachariel sneered in his mind. What an idiot. If he knew Sabrina's behavior and personality, he may have to reconsider going after her.

Zachariel went straight into the platform and ignored him.

"You-!"

"Hey trash, stop meddling between my personal business. You're creeping me out."

Sabrina was disgusted about his behavior and left. The other people pointed at him with disgust too.

"You bastards, what are you pointing at?! Do you think you have the right to point at someone like me who is a Prospect candidate? Scram you piece of trash."

His arrogance knew no bounds. Everyone around ignored him.

`You bastards! That girl. One day, I'll make her fall for me. As for that piece of trash, I'm going to kill him!`

Extreme killing intent rose from the depth of his eyes. His lust for Sabrina had bloomed for worse.

At this moment, a huge flying demon beast arrived. It was a steel-winged falcon. Atop it stood a person.

The people at the grandstand were shocked at the sudden event.

`Who's so daring to arrive in such a rude manner in front of his Imperial Majesty?`

"Stop! Identify yourself."

The man atop the demon beast walked out and introduced himself.

"It's me, Grandmaster Silver. I have come from the Medullan Forward Camp to report something urgent."

"Let him be, William. What is it, Sir Silver Cooper?"

Emperor Marcus mediated the situation and chose to listen.

"Your Imperial Majesty, the forward camp is under attack by a disaster-level beast tide. It's led by the red dragon Valryx, a divine demon beast."

"That red lizard?" William was rather curious.

`Why is this red dragon attacking now?`

"Were any Templars detected in the vicinity?"

"None, your Imperial Majesty. However, the possibility that they have orchestrated this beast tide is high."

"As far as we are concerned, Valryx just started an assault out of nowhere that caught us out of guard. The reinforcements from the nearby Highgate City should have already arrived, but the threat of a divine demon beast remains. We need someone of the- "

A bright light flashed, followed by an explosion.

"What the-?!"

BOOM!

All of them were shocked by the sudden change of events.

Piles of rubble and other debris flew out from the eastern side. Everything within 50 meters of the explosion was reduced to dirt. The students who were caught in the blast were flung away. Their injuries were light and nobody died.

"Who dares to launch an attack in the Capital City?!"

The guards immediately went into action and stationed themselves near where the explosion occurred. The people in the grandstand turned to look at the source of the explosion.

William readied himself by gathering mana essence in his right hand.

"Run!"

"Damn it! I was about to identify my mana core grade!"

The students immediately ran away from the square. They were terrified.

"Stop! Stop it! One of the platforms exploded."

Bruce Thompson shouted.

"Exploded?! Bruce, what are you implying?"

William retracted his hands for now.

"A student was in that platform. He was going to identify his mana core grade and the explosion occurred right after."

"A student?"

Many of them doubted what Bruce had just said. This incident had not happened before in the history of the alliance. Even the greatest Prospect candidates had only cracked the devices, and never once did those devices exploded with such a great magnitude.

`Someone this incredible exists within the Imperium? Impossible!`

The Elden and the Void dignitaries also questioned Bruce's judgment.

In the square, Hal and Amelia caught up with each other.

"Amelia, did you see Zach?"

"I saw him last approaching the platform where the explosion occurred."

"What?! Don't tell me he was near the platforms when the explosion happened and was caught by it?"

Amelia suddenly realized that something bad may have happened to Zachariel.

"Hal, stop saying scary things."

The twins were worried. If Zachariel died, that would be tragic.

The smoke dispersed after a while.

Everyone saw a person kneeling in the center of the explosion. His right hand was extended to the ground to support himself.

His breathing was erratic. His hair was disheveled and he sustained some injuries. His clothes were ripped apart.

Hal and Amelia recognized this person.

It was Zachariel.