Chapter 13: Early Awakening

As she spoke, they walked farther and farther away, totally forgetting that Jiang Zihan was still standing there. Seeing this, he could only shake his head helplessly and quickly follow behind.

The afterglow of the sunset reflects their shadows as they walk towards home.

At Jiang Zihan’s home, his mother was busy preparing dinner; the sound of chopping meat drifted from the kitchen. Meanwhile, Jiang Zihan and Mo Shiyan were sitting on the couch, side by side, without saying a word for some reason.

At last, Jiang Zihan could no longer bear the awkward atmosphere in the living room and said, "I’ll go see if there’s anything Mom needs help with."

Then he rushed into the kitchen and took a deep breath.

Standing at the counter, Jiang Zihan was still slicing potatoes when his mother walked over and whispered in his ear. "Zihan, tell me the truth. What is happening between you and your roommate?"

His knife paused for a second before responding. "Nothing special, we’re just regular roommates."

He’s telling the truth. Although he knew Mo Shiyan’s background from the game introduction, he barely knew any details about his past. However, his mother truly isn’t looking for such an answer.

This was the first time you ever brought a friend home; I do not really believe in your words... His mother chose to swallow this sentence back into her stomach.

At last, she only said, "No matter what decision you make, I’ll always support you. Always remember that."

Then she patted his shoulder and left the kitchen with a plate of mushrooms in her hand.

Hearing her words, he lowered his eyes, hiding the emotions in them.

As they were eating dinner, Jiang Zihan finally had to face his mother’s questions about the entrance exam.

"Mom, there’s no need to worry. I did pretty well on the exam, and I have total confidence that I’ll definitely get accepted into a Hunter Academy," Jiang Zihan said.

His mother nodded and turned to Mo Shiyan, asking about his thoughts.

"Don’t worry, Auntie. I also have the confidence to get in," he replied with a sweet, well-behaved smile.

"That’s good... that’s totally wonderful... here, have some more food. You have worked so hard preparing for the exam; feel free to eat anything you like," she said as she placed a shrimp into Mo Shiyan’s bowl.

"Thank you, Auntie."

Jiang Zihan waited a while, but his mother hadn’t even given him a glance throughout the whole dinner time.

Jiang Zihan: "..."

Mom... is he your son, or am I your son?

Inside Mo Shiyan’s mind, the little "Jiang Zihan" bit hard on the shrimp, as if the shrimp was Mo Shiyan.

Seeing his reaction, Mo Shiyan was in a good mood and placed a shrimp into Jiang Zihan’s bowl.

Jiang Zihan froze for a second before naturally putting it in his mouth.

"So have you two decided which Hunter Academy you’re going to apply to?" his mother suddenly asked.

"I remember that the deadline to apply should be next week Tuesday...?"

"Cough— Cough—" Jiang Zihan nearly choked on his food.

Mo Shiyan immediately stood up and walked over to pat him on his back so that Jiang Zihan could breathe smoothly. He seemed so used to it, as if he had done such actions multiple times before.

Oh my... I totally forgot about that!

Jiang Zihan quickly finished his dinner and brought Mo Shiyan into his room. Then he went online and started searching for Hunter Academies that he could apply to. In the past months, he had spent all his time studying the knowledge required to become a Hunter, totally forgetting to take a look at what schools there are available.

Seeing that Mo Shiyan was still standing in place, he quickly pulled him over to the computer and said, "Stop standing there; come search with me."

But Mo Shiyan reached out and just closed the laptop, then turned Jiang Zihan’s chair around so that he was facing him.

Jiang Zihan’s eyes immediately widened in shock. "Shiyan, what are you doing?"

Mo Shiyan let out a light smile and lifted up his chin. "If you are interested in knowing which schools are suitable for us, why don’t you just ask the person in front of you?"

Jiang Zihan’s breathing faltered for a moment. He immediately pushed his chair backward and turned his head to the side. "Then... you say?"

Although he was performing like this, Mo Shiyan saw a different side of him in his mind. The little "Jiang Zihan" was covering his face with both hands, his ears completely red.

So Mo Shiyan did not continue teasing him about it. Instead, he changed the topic and began introducing the different Hunter Academies he recommended.

"Zihan, do you know how many Hunter Academies there are right now?" he asked.

"That I know," Jiang Zihan immediately raised his hand and replied, "Including the Royal Imperial Military Hunter Academy, there are a total of 152 Hunter Academies."

Mo Shiyan nodded and continued. "Of these 152 schools, I recommend 3 of them. The first one is the one you just mentioned, the Royal Imperial Military Hunter Academy. They provide students with the best resources, and although their management is much stricter than other academies, it provides more opportunities for us to participate in dungeon missions, which can help us accumulate experience quickly."

"And the other two that you recommend...?"

"The other two are the Interstellar Ice Hunting Academy and the Spirit Flame Hunter Academy. Both schools provide new students with the best resources, making them excellent platforms for Hunters to grow," he explained.

Jiang Zihan hesitated for a while before asking. "The admission scores for these two schools are all extremely high. I don’t think that I am able to meet their requirements."

"That’s why between, all these schools, I recommend the Interstellar Ice Hunting Academy. Although they are more focused on students who have awakened ice-type abilities, they do lower their admission requirements for students who are able to awaken early," Mo Shiyan explained.

"Awaken early...?"