Oblivious to the discussions going on about him in the crimson hall
Valdis and Isolde walked through the corridors leading out of the crimson hall in complete silence, both completely invested in their thoughts.
'What's Malrik's current strength that will enable him to participate in discussions on that level?' Isolde wondered as she walked, absorbed in her thoughts
Since she was little, Malrik had been the one she looked up to constantly, not because of his strength but his audacity.
Ever since she was little, Malrik had been known as the prodigy of the Ebonhart House, the greatest talent in its history. At that time, he was extremely hardworking, spending more time training than relaxing or playing around like people his age.
When the day of his evaluation arrived, his talent astounded everyone present.
Makrik had two supreme talents in both destruction and darkness laws, with a heaven-grade talent for fire laws. This, combined with the Eternal darkness physique, ranked in the top ten and a blood purity of ninety-two percent.
This result made him a genius among geniuses. His blood purity was the highest recorded in the last millennium, making him the closest person to the first patriarchs in blood purity.
Unfortunately, the results of his evaluation leaked and spread through the kingdom quickly, alerting the noble houses and the royal family.
The Royal family, in particular, felt slightly threatened by his talent, as they already had their hands full with a monster like Draven; now they had to add his son, who was an even greater monster than him.
So they orchestrated multiple assassination attempts against him, but the result wasn't what the royal family expected.
The numerous assassination attempts enraged Draven so much that he took action personally, wiping out every organization that dared take the job as well as all noble houses connected to it.
That day, the capital was dyed red, and chaos abounded, but the royal family couldn't say a thing about it as they knew that if they obstructed Draven from venting his anger, he would immediately point his spear at them, demanding answers.
But that wasn't the day that truly changed Malrik; it was the secret realm incident when the crown prince killed a lot of Ebonheart youths.
That day, something in Malrik snapped because, according to eyewitnesses, the cool and calm Malrik transformed into a blood thirsty monster, killing everything he considered an enemy, almost killing the crown prince on the spot.
The strangest thing about that incident was Draven's lack of response to the situation after Arkan's rampage through the capital. Some people said that he was afraid of the royal family, but people who knew Draven's character and the power of the Ebonhart house knew that wasn't it, as most nobles knew that the Ebonharts were stronger or at least equal to the royal family.
And when the royal family announced that Malrik would be sent to the Ashen threshold as punishment for his crimes, many nobles thought that the king had finally gone mad, as this was a blatant provocation to the Ebonhart house. Questioning if he thought Draven's silence made him think that he was a pushover.
But surprisingly, Draven still kept silent and sent him directly to the Ashen threshold by himself. This move shocked every noble family in the kingdom.
Most people thought that this was done because the Ebonhart family just wanted peace, and others thought that the reason for this move was that the royal family had a trump card that even the Ebonharts feared and dared not provoke them.
But no matter what the reason was, it wasn't something others would have a say in.
As Isolde was still deeply in thought, a voice came from beside her, dragging her back to reality.
"What am I going to do from here onwards?" Valdis asked
Isolde looked at Valdis for a brief moment before she replied, "For the next three years, you'll train with the new batch of initiates. But this will be after you break into the meridian opening realm."
"Is there a reason one must break into the meridian opening realm before one joins the initiates to train?" Valdis asked
"The reason you must be at the Meridian opening realm is that the initiate training teaches one the basics of aether control, and you can't do that while being in the body refinement realm.
Hearing this, Valdis nodded in understanding, and seeing this, Isolde continued.
"Once you are done with the training, you'll prepare for the academy selections," Isolde said
"Is the Obsidian Crown Academy difficult to get admitted into?" Valdis asked
"Yes, because unlike the other powers in the kingdom, the Obsidian Crown Academy is a neutral power that accepts anyone who can pass their tests, regardless of status. More than a thousand people participate in the entrance examinations, but only about two hundred people make it in, and of those two hundred, not everyone of them will graduate," she said
Hearing this, Valdis' eyes widened in shock. The difference between the candidates who participated in the trials and those who actually entered the academy was massive.
"What do the trials consist of that makes them so difficult to pass?" Valdis asked.
Seeing his reaction, Isolde chuckled and said, "I actually don't know. They change the format of the trials every year, and no one except the dean knows what the content of the trials is.
Valdis nodded. The fewer the people who knew the content of the trial, the better, as the probability of the news spreading was little to nothing.
"But don't worry about your talents, it's practically impossible for you not to enter the academy. All you need to do is to train properly, and you will eventually become a student of the academy," she said
Valdis walked in silence for a while before he asked, "You once said that the little princess of the royal family is about my age, so that means she will also be attending the academy as well."
Isoldes' eyes brightened with a playful smile appearing on her lips, "Yes, she will be enrolling the same year as you, which means you have all the time in the world to capture the little princess's heart." As she finished saying this, a light chuckle left her lips.
But as soon as it started, it ended, and the atmosphere around them changed instantly. Isolde then spoke in a tone devoid of her previous playfulness, "Regardless of whether you are or will be interested in the princess, please do know that the title of freshman king should be yours and no one else's, as it has a lot of advantages and privileges attached to it."
"Freshman king?" Valdis asked in confusion
"The freshman king is the highest ranking individual after the trials, and it is usually given to the strongest student of a particular year," she answered.
"You were a freshman king?" Valdis asked
"Yes, I was and still am, so was Malrik before he graduated."
"So the title stays with you as you progress," Valdis asked
"Yes, but you stop being the freshman king and become a crown. Using myself as an example, I'm currently in my third year of crown. Meaning I'm currently the strongest individual in my year," she said with her chest puffed upwards.
"Can you lose your title as the crown?" Valdis asked
"Yes, but that's if someone challenges me for the title and defeats me. If no one can after my fifth year, I'll graduate as the crown, and even that comes with a special reward."
Valdis, after hearing this thought for a moment, asked: "So even big brother graduated as a crown."
Hearing his question, Isolde's body froze, and an awkward smile appeared on her face.
"Malrik didn't graduate as the crown of his year."
"He was defeated by someone in his year?" Valdis asked in shock
"No, he wasn't," she said with a sigh
"You're getting me confused."
"Malrik didn't graduate as a crown but as a sovereign."
"Sovereign? What's that?" Valdis asked
"Well, a sovereign is a title given to the strongest person in school across all years, and the requirement one must fulfill before being granted such a title is that the individual must defeat all the crowns in school while being below the fifth year," she said
"What!!!" Valdis exclaimed in shock
"And the mind-blowing part is that he achieved this in his third year, which means he fought and defeated the crowns ahead of him."