As the Eagles flew closer to the building, its grandeur only continued to grow. Leo could now see that the base alone was so vast it could easily cover the entirety of Kendru City. From that enormous foundation, the structure rose section by section toward the heavens, narrowing gradually until it ended in a needle-like point that pierced the sky itself.

The building's exterior appeared to be forged from black metal and hardened black crystals, materials so dark and dense that they reflected an ethereal, shadowy glow. It felt less like a man-made structure and more like something born from the abyss.

It was then that the instructor who had been giving them a speech earlier returned, his voice echoing clearly across the open air.

"Welcome to Aurelius Beast Academy!"

He spread his arms wide, his tone filled with practiced enthusiasm.

"I hope you are ready to embark on a new journey!"

No one paid him any attention.

Every pair of eyes remained glued to the towering structure before them, mesmerized by its sheer scale and exquisite design. Even Leo was wide-eyed; back on Earth, this could easily have been the tallest and broadest building in existence—perhaps even beyond that.

As the Eagles descended and landed, they were promptly unsummoned. The candidates found themselves standing stiffly in an open field at the periphery of the academy grounds, momentarily frozen as they took in their surroundings. Soon after, several people approached them, each carrying stacks of thin books—nearly ten to fifteen in each arm.

They all wore the same uniform colors: black fabric trimmed with gold. Upon closer inspection, Leo noticed a subtle red undertone beneath the black, visible whenever the fabric fluttered with their movement (check out Miho's character design). The style, however, varied greatly. Everyone seemed to have customized their attire in their own way.

In the distance, Leo even spotted a robust man who was completely shirtless, wearing only the academy's uniform pants.

From among the group, a fair-skinned young man stepped forward. His youthful looks immediately caught the attention of many female candidates, while several male candidates began grumbling under their breath. Lily remained completely unfazed, her gaze resting on him with clear boredom. Miho, on the other hand, was still struggling to build confidence and didn't spare him even a glance.

"Everyone," the young man called out, his voice crisp and confident. "Now that you have been admitted to Aurelius Beast Academy, success in life is guaranteed—"

He paused briefly, letting his words sink in.

"—but only if you are willing to work hard."

After another short pause, he continued.

"We will now distribute a book containing the guidelines and power structure of the academy. When you receive this book, you will also be officially registered into the academy records. Before the first day of next month—January 1st of the Beast Calendar, Year 501—you are required to read and firmly imprint every guideline written within. Everyone, form lines of ten to fifteen people. We will begin shortly."

With that, he waited as the newly arrived candidates organized themselves. Nearly five minutes passed before the lines were properly formed. Leo stood near the back of his line, occupying the fourteenth position, with Lily and Miho standing just ahead of him.

The staff—both men and women—began distributing the books. As Leo observed them more closely, he noticed that many of the women wore rather revealing outfits. Some exposed their thighs with high slits running upward; others wore low necklines that revealed a modest amount of cleavage. A few even wore miniskirts so short that Leo suspected a single strong gust of wind would put on an unintended show.

Western-style clothing must be extremely popular here, he mused.

Then why the heck were those geezers so damn good at maths?!

Leo still couldn't get over how Brant and Lu had extracted information from him like hungry goblins snatching gold.

Lily noticed his scrutinizing gaze toward the girls but chose not to say anything.

Once everyone had received their books, the staff began registering the candidates one by one, starting from the front of each line. Leo glanced down at the book in his hands, raising a brow as he pinched one of the pages between his fingers and rubbed it lightly. The texture was smooth—almost identical to modern Earth paper. Even the printing was uniform and precise, nothing like the crude books commonly found in outskirt cities such as Kendru.

Even the hardcover's color quality was impressive, displaying a detailed aerial view of the Aurelius Academy—the very sight they had just witnessed from the sky.

Soon, it was Lily's turn.

The moment she handed over her metal plate, the female staff member handling registrations froze, her eyes widening as she stared at the screen. Her tablet nearly slipped from her hands.

"W-what the hell… 115,880…?" she muttered in disbelief.

Lily lifted her chin proudly, puffing out her chest—clearly directing the gesture toward Leo to assert her superiority. And honestly, who could even challenge Lily in the chest department?

It was worth noting that during the previous one-month trial held five years ago, the first-ranked participant had barely amassed fifteen to twenty thousand points. Lily's score made her an absolute super rookie.

Still, the staff member quickly composed herself and proceeded with the registration.

Afterwards, Lily was handed a new device.

A smartphone? Leo guessed.

It was a sleek rectangular object, slightly larger than a palm's length and comfortable to hold. Lily stared at it with confusion. Noticing her reaction, the staff member smirked faintly.

"Country bumpkins," she muttered under her breath.

Both Leo and Lily heard it clearly.

The air around Lily instantly shifted, her aura sharpening as the staff member's eyes widened and she instinctively took a step back. Before Lily could act, however, Leo placed a hand on her shoulder. The tension around her dissipated almost immediately.

Leo then turned to the staff member, his gaze cold and steady.

"Please do the work you are assigned," he said calmly, "and refrain from making unnecessary comments."

The woman's face twisted with anger.

"A newly admitted fresher telling me what to do?" she snapped. "Kid, mind your tongue—lest it gets ripped off!"

She leaned forward, voice rising sharply.

"So what if I called you country bumpkins? Isn't that the truth? Who do you think you are?!"

Her shrill voice made Leo's ear itch. He hated this type of woman—and of all places, he had run into one on the very first day.

What shitty luck…

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