Chapter 59: Academies

Chapter 59: Chapter 59: Academies

The morning sun crept over the modest rooftops of Riverdale, filtering through the weathered glass of the small attic window and illuminating drifting specks of dust above the desk. Eric sat hunched over the terminal, his eyes reflecting the soft, pale-blue glow of the national examination network. The hum of the cooling fan inside the desk-mounted receiver was the only steady sound in the room, occasionally punctuated by the creak of settling pine floorboards below.

Filtering through the national examination portal, Eric pulled up the institutional admissions registry.

Based on his cumulative score of 230 points, the system automatically illuminated eligible tiers while placing absolute digital locks over the royal academies of the capital. Across those prestigious names, institutions backed by ancient ducal houses, grandmaster taming dynasties, and boundless imperial stipends, a stark, crimson padlock symbol was stamped into the holographic interface. All of them demanded an elite threshold of 500 points or higher, a barrier designed specifically to reserve their halls for high-nobility heirs who had been fed rank-elevating elixirs and raised on high-tier beasts since childhood.

Eric did not spare those locked portals a second glance. He had never expected to march straight into the capital’s royal academies, nor did he harbor any illusions about their political minefields.

Instead, he scrolled down to the respectable mid-tier bracket. Among the reputable options accepting composite scores spanning the 100 to 500 range, five prominent regional institutions populated his terminal display:

ELIGIBLE INSTITUTIONAL SELECTION POOL

- Aurum City Academy

- Central Research Institution

- Valora City Academy

- Xenos City Academy

- Exos City Academy

Eric rested his chin in his hand, his dark eyes scanning the descriptive summaries, departmental rosters, and historical graduation metrics of each academy.

Aurum City Academy was a venerable institution situated in the mineral-rich eastern territories, renowned for turning out heavily armored vanguard squads, fortress-clearing siege specialists, and disciplined military legionnaires.

Valora and Exos were standard regional powerhouses, prioritizing front-line field deployment, beast-taming subjugation, and wilderness reclamation contracts.

Xenos City Academy leaned toward agility tactics, scouting detachments, and aerial combat units, boasting several celebrated squadrons within the national border guard.

Yet, as Eric scrolled down the third page of institutional overviews, one specific name seized his undivided attention: the Central Research Institution.

Unlike conventional martial academies that prioritized raw combat tactics, front-line vanguard deployments, and brute beast-taming subjugation, CRI possessed a completely distinct admissions filter. While other schools weighed practical rift combat as seventy percent of a candidate’s entrance score, CRI enforced a strict minimum theoretical score of 80+, completely setting aside the candidate’s practical trial tally for primary qualification.

Within the kingdom of Auremont, CRI served as the premier national center for beast physiological nurturing, alchemical development, and evolutionary biological research. It was an academic behemoth that answered directly to the imperial scholarly fellowship rather than the regional martial ministries.

A sharp spark ignited in Eric’s dark eyes.

*In a typical martial academy, I’d just be another commoner with a basic breathing technique clawing for scraps against noble scions,* Eric reasoned, leaning forward against the cedar desk, the wood creaking softly under his forearms. *They measure worth by raw offensive output, lineage bloodlines, and how many rare beasts a family can buy to inflate a student’s early combat power. I’d be forced into the mud over every standard resource.*

*At CRI, my advantage is absolute.*

Eric tapped his temple with a faint, knowing smirk.

*With the Myriad Beast Encyclopedia revealing hidden evolution trees, physiological bottlenecks, and precise evolutionary catalyst formulas that modern academia hasn’t even conceived of, biological research will be an absolute breeze. That means priority access to high-tier evolutionary materials, subsidized laboratory allocations, specialized environmental cultivation rooms, and institutional backing for Coal’s growth. I can turn research breakthroughs into raw power.*

With a flawless, unprecedented 100 on the national theoretical exam, his admission into CRI was not merely likely, it was practically carved in stone. No department chair in their right mind would overlook a perfect theoretical paper, especially from an independent student without noble tutoring.

Without hesitation, Eric designated CRI as his primary first-choice token, dragging the blue emblem into the primary submission slot and drafting his application portfolio.

For his remaining two tokens, he selected Aurum City Academy and Xenos City Academy. Both were sprawling, reputable regional powerhouses that could serve as reliable combat-focused backups if some administrative anomaly somehow interfered with his CRI application.

"Eric? Aren’t the merit rankings posted today? How did it turn out?"

Emily’s warm, familiar voice drifted up the narrow wooden attic stairwell, carrying the gentle, reassuring domesticity that had kept Sunshine Home anchored through its hardest years. Below, the muffled clatter of tin spoons against earthenware bowls signaled that Mark, Jake, Mili, Alex, and little Lily were finishing their morning porridge before heading out to their lessons and chores.

"It went great, Sis!" Eric called down, genuine warmth ringing through his voice as he leaned toward the open door. "I easily cleared the qualifying cutoff! I’ll definitely secure a spot in a top-grade regional academy, so don’t worry about anything!"

"That’s wonderful!" Emily’s voice sounded visibly relieved, the tension of several stressful weeks bleeding away through the floorboards. "Oh, thank goodness! I’m so sorry I have to head out to the diner for the double shift today, otherwise we would have baked sweet buns and thrown a proper celebration."

"Don’t worry about it at all, Sis. Keep your focus on your shift," Eric answered with a broad smile. "We’ll celebrate properly the moment the official acceptance letters arrive on the portal. Have a safe shift!"

"I will! Keep an eye on the little ones until lunch! See you tonight!"

The front door clicked shut downstairs, its brass latch locking with a familiar rattle, followed by the quiet chatter of the children washing their wooden bowls at the pump.

Turning back to the glowing screen, Eric finalized his personal statements, attached his verified admit token transcripts, verified his identity through his smartband signature, and submitted all three files directly to the central registry.

PING.

A crisp, metallic confirmation chime rang out from his smartband, and three rows of golden script materialized on the display:

ADMISSION PORTFOLIOS LOGGED

Central Research Institution (Status: Under Review)

Aurum City Academy (Status: Under Review)

Xenos City Academy (Status: Under Review)

Estimated Decision Window: 6–7 Standard Days

"Now we wait," Eric murmured, leaning back into his creaking wooden chair and resting his hands behind his head.

He glanced down at his updated digital balance displayed in the corner of the smartband. Between recent transactions, supply purchases, sword maintenance, and general living costs for the orphanage, his liquid funds were gradually thinning. More importantly, departing Riverdale for an academy in the central territory meant being away from Sunshine Home for months, perhaps even a full year at a time.

*Before I pack my bags, I need to make sure Emily and the kids are fully provided for,* Eric thought, his expression turning solemn and protective. *If I can grind out another million credits over this coming week, I can leave a massive financial cushion in Emily’s account. Sunshine Home won’t have to worry about property taxes, bulk food supplies, new clothes, or winter heating fuel for years to come. Emily won’t have to bend herself working double shifts at the grease diner just to keep the roof over their heads.*

However, marching back into the jagged crags and untamed rifts of the Parva Mountains without proper protective gear was pure, unadulterated recklessness.

During the national trial’s closing stages, his shadow-drake leather armor had taken savage blows from Soldier-rank claws. The armorer down in the commercial district had made it clear: he needed one full day to clean the dried beast blood, re-weave the stabilizing defense enchantments, and reseal the torn seams with fresh drake-tendon thread.

"No armor means no deep rift expeditions today," Eric said, turning his head toward Coal.

The obsidian crow was perched quietly along the rough timber window frame, preening his glossy flight feathers with deliberate, rhythmic strokes. At the sound of his contractor’s voice, Coal paused, turning a single bead-like eye toward Eric and clicking his hard beak with an inquisitive chirp.

"Let’s make the day count right here," Eric decided, rising to his feet and rolling his shoulders until his spine gave a clean, satisfying crack. "No slacking off just because the exam is over."

Down in the small dirt backyard behind Sunshine Home, Eric cleared away the loose stones and fallen leaves, establishing an open training perimeter well away from Emily’s small vegetable patch.

Having witnessed the terrifying combat prowess of metropolitan prodigies wielding high-tier techniques during the trial, Eric knew that his current martial foundation was still razor-thin. Talent alone was useless if his body failed to execute under real pressure. Driven by that cold, unrelenting realization, he drew his practice blade and spent the entire day drilling relentlessly beneath the open sky.

Shadow Steps and Advanced Swordsmanship.

Again and again, Eric repeated every footwork angle, defensive parry, rapid thrust, and edge transition until the patterns burned deep into his sinews and bone marrow. He lunged across the packed dirt, his feet whispering against the soil as the shadows shifted beneath him, his starlight-blue liquid mana circulating through his seven celestial nodes to support every stroke.

Hours dissolved under the baking sun. Sweat soaked through his linen tunic, stinging his eyes and dripping from his chin onto the dry ground, but he did not slow down. With every hundred repetitions, guided by his Rank-C Skill Comprehension, the micro-flaws in his form smoothed out, steadily nudging his martial techniques toward Major mastery.

He was no longer just an orphaned boy scraping by in a border settlement; he had seen the true monsters lurking in the wider kingdom, and every drop of sweat was spent closing that gap before he stepped onto the wider stage.