Two hundred points should be enough to secure first place, right?
Seraphine wiped the sweat from her forehead.
Truthfully, given her background, there was no need for her to push herself so hard.
With her family's influence alone, she could have easily gained direct admission to Astral Nexus University.
However, Seraphine hated relying on such privileges.
Rather than being protected like a fragile treasure, she preferred to prove herself through her own strength.
Thus, she had chosen to participate in the Entry Test—
determined to show everyone that even without her family's backing, she could still claim first place.
But when her gaze turned to the leaderboard,
her face burned hot with humiliation.
First Place: Link — 452 points!
Link??
Seraphine gritted her teeth in frustration, muttering the name repeatedly under her breath.
Meanwhile, inside an office adjacent to the arena,
an elderly man dressed in the garb of an old-world aristocrat was watching the wall-mounted screen with great interest.
"This Link... he must be the genius recommended by Yilan Middle School,"
the middle-aged man standing respectfully at his side said.
"Yes, my lord."
"According to an old friend of mine," the middle-aged man continued,
"this boy's character isn't bad either.
Apparently, when those Moon Worship Sect scum attacked his classmates, he stepped forward to protect them."
"Didn't expect him to be such a brave little fellow," the noble elder said, the corners of his mouth lifting into a faint smile.
This young man had already surprised him twice in a very short time:
first by seizing the top spot on the leaderboard with overwhelming force,
and second by demonstrating courage and composure in the face of danger.
"Pull up his footage," the elder ordered calmly.
The staff quickly projected footage of Link's earlier battles onto the massive wall screen.
Standing deferentially to the side, the middle-aged man spoke again,
"At first, I thought his rapid rise must be due to some powerful talent.
But now, it seems I may have misjudged."
"Given the way he controls his spiritual powers,
he very likely possesses a talent specifically related to them."
The noble elder smiled ambiguously,
a sharp gleam flashing in his eyes.
"He doesn't just have a talent," he said slowly.
"If I'm not mistaken, he's already developed his own understanding of spiritual powers—
and has even formed a Heart of Spiritual Powers.
Just like that little one from House White."
"What?!"
The middle-aged man's heart skipped a beat,
understanding full well the significance of those words.
"My lord, are you certain?"
"Not only that," the elder said, his voice calm but heavy with meaning,
"but from my observations, his Heart of Spiritual Powers is... highly unusual.
Even I can't fully see through its structure.
It might even be an entirely original framework he created himself."
"An original structure?!"
The middle-aged man felt his worldview shatter slightly.
The so-called Heart of Spiritual Powers was a reflection of an esper's fundamental comprehension of spiritual energy.
Its existence could dramatically boost a person's skill potency and training speed.
Different Hearts had different focuses:
some were tailored for healing, others for destruction and combat.
Normally, when constructing a Heart of Spiritual Powers, most espers would follow traditional frameworks—
blueprints refined and perfected over centuries.
Doing so made it easier and more stable.
True, some attempted to create original frameworks,
but most such efforts were disappointing.
After all, the conventional frameworks had withstood the test of time.
Thus, in the current era, those capable of independently building a Heart of Spiritual Powers were vanishingly rare.
The noble elder lapsed into thoughtful silence,
his eyes distant, as if contemplating something deep and complex.
After a long pause, he finally spoke:
"Move this Link boy ahead of Seraphine in priority ranking."
The middle-aged man froze.
According to their original plan,
Seraphine was supposed to be the first-ranked candidate in this year's Eagle Hatchling Camp—
which would determine the allocation of key resources.
Yet now the elder was personally ordering that Link be promoted over her?
"My lord, do you truly think so highly of him?"
The elder chuckled lightly,
"I am old, and I long to see something new and fresh.
Don't you feel the same?"
...
High up in the branches of a giant banyan tree,
Link wiped sweat from his forehead and took a long drink from an energy bottle.
After prolonged fierce battles, fatigue was starting to catch up with him.
He glanced at the wristband display: 9850 points.
His points were nearing the 10,000 mark—a truly staggering figure.
To put it in perspective, the second-place holder, Seraphine,
had just barely broken past 1,000 points.
In other words,
there was a tenfold gap between Link and Seraphine!
"I wonder when this test will finally end," Link murmured.
He scanned the sky, then leapt nimbly down from the tree.
He still wanted to push his points up to a clean 10,000 before it was over.
Sensing nearby movements, he launched several Shadow Arrows into the distance.
The moment they struck, his points finally ticked over—
reaching exactly 10,000!
Almost simultaneously, a booming announcement echoed from the speakers mounted around the arena:
"Entry Test concluded. All participants, please return to your designated entrance points."
Link didn't linger.
He adjusted his sword and began making his way toward the rendezvous point.
When he arrived, he found the entrance area already crowded with students.
They were all chatting animatedly about their point rankings,
their voices a mix of excitement, anxiety, and dread.
Some wore dark expressions—
clearly those whose scores had been disappointing.
They were understandably worried about being eliminated.
However, the moment Link appeared,
the entire crowd's attention snapped to him.
Even students who had been deep in conversation fell silent.
"That's Link!"
"I can't believe it... a prodigy like him came from a regular middle school!"
"His strength is terrifying! A true dark horse!"
"How did he do it?
He looks so harmless and ordinary,
but he killed more moonfolk than anyone else!
Could he be some kind of smiling assassin?
Just thinking about it gives me chills."
"I was pretty rude to him earlier...
do you think he'll hold a grudge?"
Listening to their whispers,
Link couldn't help but let out a wry smile.
Did they really think he was that petty?
But it was true—
the strong often walked alone.
Even though every student here was now gazing at him with awe and amazement,
none dared approach him directly.
Link didn't mind.
He casually found a corner and sat down to rest.
Yet even as he did,
he could keenly feel two sharp gazes locking onto him from somewhere nearby...