At 9 a.m., Link arrived at the school.
Thanks to his recent increase in strength, his senses had become significantly sharper than before.
For instance, even from a distance, he could clearly hear his classmates' conversations.
"How much did you improve during this month of training?"
"My Power Values are around 6 now. Not exactly impressive, but I've at least stepped into the esper ranks. At this pace, I think I've got a shot at getting into a city academy."
"You're doing better than me. My Power Values are only at 3. I probably won't make it into a city academy. At best, I'll have to settle for some countryside school."
"My case is slightly better. My family bought some psionic potions to support my training, so I've already surpassed 10 Power Values. But I still feel like I'm progressing a bit slowly."
"Hey, don't say that like it's no big deal. Do you know how rare it is to hit double digits? You're already among the top scorers in our class. You might even make it into a big city academy."
"Speaking of which, I think the only one in our class—or maybe even our entire school—who has a real chance of getting into a Capital University is Mary."
"Totally. I mean, just look at her background. We regular folks can't compete with that."
Their voices were filled with admiration and envy.
Meanwhile, Link recalled what the teacher had explained in the past.
All higher education institutions across the kingdom were evaluated based on the results of the National Spiritual Powers Examination.
At that time, each student's Power Values, as well as various other abilities, would be taken into account for a comprehensive evaluation.
At the top of the pyramid were the four Capital Universities, founded and managed by the kingdom itself.
Only these four institutions were officially entitled to use the title "university." All others were designated as "academies."
Next in line were the city academies, developed with heavy investment from major cities. While not as prestigious as the Capital Universities, they were still considered excellent.
Third-tier institutions were academies founded by regular cities, while the lowest were what students jokingly called "countryside academies."
In truth, these so-called "countryside academies" weren't that much weaker than third-tier ones.
The main reason for their lack of popularity was simply their remote location.
Link's goal—Astral Nexus University—was one of the four Capital Universities.
At that moment, the classroom atmosphere grew even livelier.
The school's unofficial information broker, Booma, was now in the middle of spilling juicy gossip to a crowd of classmates.
"Your info is outdated. I've got the real scoop: Mary's family has poured massive resources into her training."
"The House of Rosewood didn't just give her a top-tier Flesh Forging Art and Meditation Technique—they also provided her with a ton of high-end psionic potions."
"From what I've heard, even ten days ago, her Power Values had already surpassed 20. Do you know what that means?"
"At this rate, she'll be a Capital University student within five months!"
"Man… people really aren't born equal. My family practically sold everything we owned just to buy me a few cheap psionic potions. Compared to the rich, we're not even dust."
"This world is so unfair. Why do some of us have to be born as beasts of burden?"
Link quietly walked into the classroom without drawing much attention.
Due to the chaos caused by the Moon Worship Sect's attack last time, the initial Power Values test hadn't gone as planned.
So in most students' eyes, Link was just another ordinary kid.
Right then, Max suddenly appeared out of nowhere and ran up to Link.
"Link! You're finally here."
"Haven't seen you in a month—how's your training going? I gotta tell you, I'm discovering my talent's actually not bad."
"My old man said he'll keep buying me psionic potions to help with training!"
Link's expression twitched slightly as he glanced at Max.
With Lib's assistance, he could instantly assess Max's current Power Values.
Only 5 points—pathetically low.
At that rate, Max would struggle even to get into a decent city academy.
"Wait for me in the classroom after the test," Link said softly.
Looking at one of his few close friends, Link had made up his mind to help Max out.
Max didn't think much of it and nodded readily.
Soon, most of the students had arrived.
Suddenly, the previously noisy classroom fell silent.
All eyes turned to the door—and saw Mary walk in.
Mary was, as always, the center of attention.
Today, she wore a flowing white dress, her golden hair glowing warmly in the sunlight.
As a scion of the House of Rosewood, Mary had clearly inherited some of the finest genetics in Halica.
Golden hair, sapphire eyes, skin as fair and smooth as milk.
Her gaze casually swept across the room, until it landed on Link—and then her brows furrowed slightly.
She could sense something unusual.
There was something about Link that didn't quite fit with the rest of the class. He seemed… out of place.
A faint look of surprise flickered across her face.
Her talent included a limited precognitive ability—
and it was telling her that Link might not be as simple as he appeared.
She grew more curious about him, though she didn't show it outwardly.
Instead, she silently returned to her seat.
Moments later, the teacher walked up to the podium, scanning the students with a faint smile.
"It looks like many of you have made great progress this past month."
"Now we'll begin the Power Values assessment. Are you all ready?"
"Yes, teacher!"
"Excellent. Then line up and follow me to the training hall."
Under the teacher's guidance, the students left the classroom and headed for the training hall.
However, their expressions varied widely.
After a month of training, most of them had a good sense of where they stood.
Also, it wasn't mandatory to take the Power Values test at school.
In fact, many public training centers in the city offered the same service for a small fee.
Link silently queued at the back, watching as his classmates approached the testing machine one by one.
"Jack, Power Values: 6.18."
"Tom, Power Values: 11.11."
"Jerry, Power Values: 3.52."
"Mary, Power Values: 21.78!!"
The moment Mary's result was announced,
the entire training hall erupted into an uproar.