"Am I here?" Maximus murmured, still disoriented from the teleportation.
He looked at others who were also somewhat groggy, with some almost vomiting.
"Please proceed to the exit," a calm voice sounded in the square.
Not daring to stay long, Maximus followed the others to the exit.
...
Maximus stepped out of the dimensional teleportation terminal.
He wandered around the city, unaware of its location.
After some scouting, he discovered that this place was Silver City, the terminal and destination point of the Silverleaf Domain in Origin Domain.
Although not as prosperous as compared to Silverleaf Floating City, Silver City had a tier 9 mana density.
Merely inhaling the surrounding mana made him feel his strength getting stronger.
...
While Maximus leisurely walked around, he heard someone call his name.
"Maximus?" a voice behind him asked.
Maximus turned around and saw that it was an acquaintance, Griffin.
"It's you, Griffin," Maximus said calmly.
"I knew it was you Maximus, just from your back," Griffin said confidently.
"I thought you wouldn't attend the academy trial this time," Griffin sighed in relief.
"Of course, I would. I had something to do earlier, so it was a little delayed," Maximus explained.
"Not just a little delayed, there's less than 10 days before the registration, you know?" Griffin joked.
"This is not the place to talk. Why don't we go to a restaurant? My treat," Griffin followed up.
"Alright, lead the way," Maximus nodded and agreed.
Griffin hailed an autonomous vehicle to go to a famous restaurant in Silver City.
...
Inside the Dragon and Phoenix Pavilion...
Griffin secured a private room and ordered a variety of dishes.
"The name of this restaurant is quite arrogant, don't you think?" Griffin joked, commenting on the pavilion's name.
While they waited for their food to be cooked and served, Maximus joined in with a joke.
"Do they actually cook dragon and phoenix as dishes?"
"Of course not." Griffin shook his head.
"Pure-blooded dragons and phoenixes are extinct. Otherwise, I think they would really serve them," Griffin replied, aware of the background of the establishment.
"Oh? Why do you say that?" Maximus became curious.
"I heard that the owner of the pavilion is a big food enthusiast. He vowed to make ancient dragon phoenix his signature main dish," Griffin explained.
"He even collaborated with a tier 9 Exotogenetic Alchemist, hoping to revive these Ancient species."
"Unfortunately, they haven't succeeded so far and have only managed to create various unintelligent hybrids," Griffin sighed, also eager to taste these ancient species.
"It is indeed a pity," Maximus could only sigh, admiring such a lofty goal.
From what he had read, these ancient species, along with the Titans, were the ruling powers during ancient times.
Humans were merely ignorant tribes, insignificant compared to them.
"By the way, do you know the format of the Academy trial?" Maximus asked.
"Yes, there are usually three trials, but you only need to pass the first one to be eligible to study in the Origin Domain," Griffin explained.
"The first and most important trial is called the Celestial Ascent Path."
"This trial is like a huge moat that has prevented many previous examinees from qualifying to study in the Origin Domain."
"How does it work?" Maximus inquired.
"The Celestial Ascent Path is an endless stairway that tests your will," Griffin began.
"At the Origin Arcana Institute, those who pass the test are divided into two groups: seekers and official students."
"You can become a seeker by simply climbing up a thousand steps."
"This test of will should be more difficult as you go up" Maximus nodded and thought to himself.
"What's the difference between seekers and official students?" Maximus asked, puzzled.
"Seeker meant only being eligible to stay in Origin Araca Institute without any especially or privileges beside staying in origin domain"
"As for the official student, you can attend classes and lecture according to your chosen course, provided that you pass its criteria"
"Like me, only if I pass the test for Battle Academy can I be an official student."
"Of course, I still need to pass the trial before thinking about anything." Griffin grinned imagining his future.
"I see. Can you tell me about the other tests?" Maximus inquired.
"I don't have much information on those. The first test is always the same, but the others likely vary depending on the profession you choose," Griffin replied.
Griffin then shared all the information he had gathered from his family and other sources before their arrival.
...
"Here's your order," the server said as he delivered the food they had ordered.
While they were eating, Griffin suddenly thought of something.
"By the way, have you upgraded your personal token?" Griffin asked.
"No, why would I need to?" Maximus inquired.
"The trial will take place in the virtual world, you know?" Griffin reminded him.
"Tsk, it's indeed the richest domain," Maximus murmured in awe.
According to Griffin, every ten years, trillions of people take the test in the Origin Domain.
With trillions of Tier 3 and 4 mages and knights, Maximus couldn't fathom the cost of running such an event.
But as he contemplated further, he realized that having trillions of people simultaneously in the virtual world was like a drop in the ocean compared to natural mana generated in the origin domain.
"I see. Can you tell me about the other tests?" Maximus inquired.
"We don't have to worry about that now, usually it was only for those who previously pass the trial and became a seeker."
"After all to pass the other test and become an official student, you need the corresponding knowledge and inheritance."
"Without enough accumulation or monstorous talent, we can only dream of passing it in one go." Griffin sigh.
"I can only say, good luck to us! Cheers!" Maximus raised his glass and toasted.
"Cheers!" Griffin replied, clinking glasses with him.
...
After eating with Griffin, Maximus visited a branch store of EGCC.
"What do you need, sir?" a steward approached him.
"I want to upgrade my personal token," Maximus said as he took out his token.
"Sure," the steward readily agreed and led him to another room.
"How much does it cost to upgrade the token?" Maximus asked as he took a seat.
"There are three types of tokens: the Identity Token, which you already have, the Arcane Token, which is what you should want, and the Primordial Cosmic Token, only available to Tier 9 mages and knights," the steward patiently explained.
"To upgrade from the Identification Token to the Arcane Token, you'll need a million magic crystals," the steward said with a smile.
"Alright, how do I upgrade?" Maximus asked, as he readily paid.
"This is a Jade Crystal Token. You simply need to fuse it with your personal token, and it will automatically upgrade," the steward said, taking out a jade token similar to Maximus's own.
Without further ado, when the two jade-like tokens were close together they began to merge.
[Maximus Shadowcrest:
Personal Information
Bank Account
Properties
Privileges
Options
Dimensional Servers (New)
Origin Arcana Institute Trial (New)]
Examining his token, Maximus noticed two changes.
First, he accessed the Dimensional Servers to understand their purpose.
ραΠdαsΝοvel.cοm After a while, he learned that the Dimensional Servers allowed him to access token functions specific to each individual dimension, even enabling cross-dimensional communication.
Satisfied with that, he opened the Origin Arcana Institute Trial.
[Register...]
It appeared that only those taking the trial were eligible to view it.
After a bit of registration and a brief process, he learned that only individuals under 100 years old and at least tier 3 strength were eligible to register.
This reminded him of his wives.
Fortunately, during their travels, he guided and trained them regardless of the cost, that they had already reached Tier 3.
[234h-23m-54s...53s...
367,129,123,643,543...]
After registering, there was another blank space, displaying a countdown to the trial and the number of people who had already registered.
"There are so many?" Maximus exclaimed in shock.
He had thought that when Griffin mentioned trillions of registered participants, it was only 2 or 3 trillion.
But hundreds of trillions?
It seemed like an enormous amount.
After all, reaching Tier 3 before the age of 100 required either legendary talent or significant resources to accumulate power.
"It's because you can retake the trials," the steward chimed in, noticing Maximus's silence.
"Retake the trials? I thought you could only take it once?" Maximus asked.
"You can take it every trial until you're over a hundred years old. This is also to give a chance to people with poor backgrounds to train their willpower..." the steward explained the ins and outs of the matter.
Apparently, the trials had three purposes.
First, is to select geniuses from various domains and continents.
Even individuals from the Divine and Beast Continents were also eligible if they wished.
Second, to train these talented individuals.
Although they may not be able to pass, being eligible to reach at least Tier 3 before the age of 100 proves that they are worthy of training.
Once again, it showcased the arcane continent's style of nurturing people from all over the world.
Third was money.
To be eligible for the trial besides meeting the necessary criteria, a corresponding fee was required.
For himself, it cost 100,000 magic crystals as a Nascent Mage.
As for the fees for other tiers, he didn't know, but one thing was certain: it required a massive amount of magic crystals.
After some further questioning with the steward, Maximus left and began planning to rent a place for his wives and children to settle before the trial.
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