Zack’s siblings were there too. He gave them a thumbs up and charged toward his journey passionately.***In Dillonia, one of the few Adrian had his eyes on and also the most extraordinary out of all of them, Polaris Ryan, also entered the exam hall. When Polaris was thirteen years old, his parents divorced due to problems in their marriage. It had been the most painful year of his life, and he went into a full-scale rebellion phase after the divorce went through.One day, he got locked up after being involved in a fight. The station called his parents, and he got an earful from them when they picked him up. This caused his rebelling to worsen, but this was also the year his life took a huge turn.Draco, the newly appointed legate of Wyvern Peak, led his men against the enemies in the Battle of Azure Creek. The battle lasted for months and ended with tens of thousands of casualties. When Polaris saw War Legate Draco on television and saw how glorious War Legate Draco looked, he d
Such were the thoughts every legate had when selecting a successor. Adrian, too, was eager to see the younger generation surpass him. Just like how humans had to improve along with the times, the new legate of Wyvern Peak had to surpass their predecessor. Mya could not contain her laughter when she heard this. She brought Adrian a cup of coffee and said, "You should stop staring at these six. Shouldn't you be paying attention to the other candidates as well? What if, and I mean what if, none of the six you chose makes it through to the next round?"Adrian took a sip of his coffee and replied, "The chances of that happening are less than 50 percent. Of course, I'm hoping to see others pass with flying colors as well, but I think the new legate will emerge from among these six.""Who do you think has the best chance?" Mya asked.Adrian's interests were piqued. "How about you tell me who you favor instead?""Juno, of course. I think she’ll become the next legate since it's written i
Remy nodded and answered whatever questions Will asked about the exams. Polaris and his parents left the hall together. They wanted to treat him to something delicious.Zack and Sage also left with their family.Jerome stood before Sierra. She had been waiting for him for a long time. She smiled when he finally showed up. "How did it go? Did you give it your best shot?"Jerome nodded. He was touched that Sierra had shown up. "Thank you for being here, Sierra. I did really well in my exams."Sierra smiled. "Why are you thanking me? You make it sound like we're strangers." She chuckled when she saw how speechless Jerome was and held out her hand. After a moment of surprise, he accepted her hand and felt static running through their arms. Sierra even blushed."Let me buy you something nice to eat."Sierra nodded with a smile. "Sure, let's go. I'm starving!" The two of them looked like a couple who had just got together. They seemed to be trying to get closer to each other but we
Mya agreed with what Adrian said. Humans truly improved along with the times. Despite the exam questions getting more difficult, more candidates were nonetheless scoring full marks. Wyvern Peak would grow even stronger when these youngsters took over."It's lunchtime. The candidates have all gone out to eat, and we should too," Mya said to Adrian, knowing that the results for the second and third exams would only be out later this afternoon. Adrian was in a good mood after seeing that the candidates' results had exceeded his expectations. He nodded and headed to the cafeteria with Mya, while the Songton headquarters staff discussed the results of the first exam. Of course, only core members were allowed to see the results, so it was a long wait for the rest.The results from the second and third exams were estimated to come out after lunch, and Adrian and Mya returned to the surveillance room to check on them. As expected, the results had been uploaded. They sat down to read it thr
“But it's really late now," Mya said. "We have a helicopter, don't we? Let's use that.”"Okay then." Songton headquarters had three helicopters for emergency situations. Adrian and Mya got onto one of them and headed to Cawthorn County that very night.***The pair arrived at nine in the morning, landing somewhere near the venue, and hurried off to find Vincent. The candidates were having their breakfast and preparing for two more exams that afternoon. Some of them were going through their notes, while others were huddled together to discuss the possible questions.Meanwhile, Vincent was sitting on a bench alone. He looked as though something was weighing on his mind."War Legate Draco's here!" A few candidates instantly recognized Adrian when he and Mya showed up. Dozens of gazes turned toward the pair, but Adrian gestured for them to continue what they were doing.He stopped before Vincent and asked, "What were you doing during your last exam?"Vincent, whose head was in
Vincent did not know how to answer, but the fact remained he was worried about his grandmother.Of course, Adrian understood he was just being a filial grandson. Knowing it would be difficult for Vincent to calm himself, he asked, "Have you spoken to her?"Vincent shook his head. "She's in ICU, so I haven’t managed to talk to her. Grandfather's been hiding her illness from me. It was a friend of mine who told me about what happened.""What's your grandmother’s name? Which hospital is she in?" Adrian asked. "Mara Mitchell. She's in Trinity Hospital at Northrive.""Okay. Come to headquarters in half an hour. Mya will get in touch with the hospital by then.""Yes, sir." Mya then went to make the arrangements.Adrian patted Vincent's shoulder. "I understand you're trying to be a filial grandson but you have to remember that your grandmother's an old woman. There will come a time when she has to leave you. You, on the other hand, are still young and have your whole future ahead of
The video call was made to the headquarters of Cawthorn County. When a staff member saw the incoming Joy's video call request, he turned around and said, "Sir, we’re getting a call from the hospital.""Bring Vincent here," Adrian replied. "Yes, sir.” The staff walked out of the room, finding Vincent sitting in the hallway with his head lowered. "Vincent, come in please." He rushed to his feet and entered the room, where the video feed was being projected onto a screen. Mara looked weak and exhausted."Grandmother!" Vincent cried the moment he saw her. "Are…Are you trying to give me a heart attack, Vincent? I heard from Joy that you aren’t focusing on your exams. What are you doing, boy? Don't you remember what you said to me before you left?"Vincent wiped his tears. "I’m just so worried about you, Grandmother. How are you feeling? I'm sorry I can’t go home to take care of you.""Have you forgotten what you said, Vincent? You said you want to become a hero who protects hi
The woman and her grandson were so close, yet so far…Vincent saluted Mara for a few moments before lowering his still-trembling hand. Tearfully, Mara bid her grandson farewell before the video call cut off. Mya walked over and patted Vincent's shoulder. "Listen to your grandmother and focus on your exams. War Legate Draco traveled all the way here from Songton just to see you, so you can’t disappoint him."Vincent turned toward Adrian and bowed. "Thank you, sir. I won't let you down." After Adrian nodded in acknowledgment, Vincent took a deep breath and walked out of headquarters with a newfound determination. He was going to give his all for his grandmother and himself. He was going to do his best for the rest of the selection. Looking at Vincent’s receding back, Mya sighed. "Such a filial boy… I hope he does well and becomes a respectable person in the future. So, what now?"Adrian got up. "We're heading back to Songton.”The pair returned that very same day. Adrian once a