On the Planet Ostrion, the Capital bears the same name as the planet. Once considered the most powerful city in the Aegis Alliance, it was now considered a grade A city, the only one on the entire planet.

Being one of the important cultural points of humanity and a part of their history, the city was constantly protected from any enemy intrusion.

The Capital was a crossroads of cutting-edge technology and bustling life, the harmony between the rapid advancement of human technology and nature blended perfectly. Glass and steel towers with vibrant holographic billboards floated above, showcasing the latest fashion articles or ads with celebrities.

Levitating transportation tubes crisscross the urban landscape, connecting various neighborhoods together with magnetic trains that pass quickly through them.

Flying cars of different shapes and colors navigated the skyways, while crystal beasts could be seen on dedicated roads for their passage.

The heart of the city was a vast park with a green oasis cradled by technological marvels. Gigantic biodomes shelter lush ecosystems, allowing citizens to enjoy the beauty of nature, no matter the season.

In the distance, formation arrays hover over the outskirts of the city. These formation arrays served as gateways for interstellar travel, their appearance softened by holographic illusions that blend seamlessly with the sky. The spaceships, smooth and shiny, emerged from the formation arrays in a burst of light, gliding gently toward the designated landing areas.

The streets were vibrant and bustling with the rhythmic footsteps of citizens and travelers. Pedestrians of all shapes, sizes, and races roamed the streets among humans. The streets were a tapestry of colors and cultures, as beings of flesh, metal, and scales with vibrant skin colors intertwined.

The scent of exotic flowers mingles with the smell of foods synthesized from a myriad of culinary traditions, coming from street stalls and sprawling markets. Kiosks offering nutrient-infused elixirs attracted passersby while drones hovered through the air, delivering aromatic drinks to eager customers who stopped to exchange stories.

Kieran watched this entire scene through the window of a magnetic train while his eyes stared at a tower in the distance that seemed to pierce the heavens, its top hidden by clouds.

Along the tower, numerous symbols of inscriptions run through each of its stones, while at its foot stands a small town that seems to be separate from the rest of the Capital with numerous formations arrays surrounding it, illuminating the surroundings.

This tower was called the Heaven Reaching Tower, and the small town around it was the Transcendental Academy of Ostrion.

As he got off the magnetic train, Kieran could see thousands of young people of different races, most of whom were only at Bronze rank, moving towards the academy.

"I thought there would be fewer people coming to the inscription on the last day. Is the academy so well known that it attracts races from other planets too?" while he asked himself these questions, he continued his walk towards the academy.

He suddenly felt a wave of energy coming from his spiritual world, but his expression did not change as he sent a thought into his spiritual world that seemed to be sealed by his crystal essence.

A small blue whale tried as best she could to cross this layer of crystal essence.

"I told you I can't let you out yet. You'll have to wait, play with Master while waiting."

Runihoril, who was sitting cross-legged with his eyes closed, suddenly opened them with a frown.

"Do you think I'm a babysitter?"

"Sorry, Master."

"Besides not being able to go out and see the Capital's technologies because of her, I also have to take care of her," Runihoril sighed before moving towards Luna.

"Come, little whale," he said before forming seals with his hands, causing a small inscription symbol to appear around Luna, which caught her attention.

Seeing that she was no longer attempting to force the layer of crystal essence, Kieran turned his attention away from his spiritual world and looked at a building that stood at the border of the formation array surrounding the academy.

An incessant stream of young people entering and leaving through the doors of the building. Those leaving the building all had disappointed expressions on their faces.

Once inside, Kieran saw a holographic sign indicating a direction with "Inscription" written on it. Following the directions indicated, he soon arrived in a room filled with VR capsules.

The door closed after a dozen other people entered the room, and a weak, robotic voice was heard near the door.

"Maximum capacity of 1000 participants has been reached. Changed direction settings for new arrivals."

Ignoring the robotic voice behind him, Kieran glanced around the room. He saw two humans who appeared to be Professors from the academy sitting behind a desk with several screens in front of them, welcoming the participants before sending them to settle in a VR capsule.

The two Professors had the same outfits but in opposite colors. While one had a white official outfit, the other wore a black outfit.

Kieran inspected them for a moment before joining the line of participants who moved one after the other, arriving in front of the two Professors a few minutes later.

The Professor, dressed in white, with black hair and silver eyes, looked at him for a moment before lowering his gaze to a holographic keyboard and asking in a bored tone, "Name, age, types of your crystal tree, and the role of your ability in a team."

"Kieran Arvost, 18 years and 11 months, double awakened transformation type and frontline fighter," replied Kieran.

As soon as he finished his words, the Professor's head lifted, and his eyes, previously filled with boredom, now held a hint of interest in them.

"Since you're turning 19 soon, you'll be registered to join the second year. Since you've got one more month before that, we'll slightly ease the entrance tests to make it fair. Your test capsule is the number 982, and once inside, each test you undergo will grant you a score. Based on your final results, you'll either be accepted or not into the academy," said the Professor, gesturing toward a row of capsules on the right side of the room.

"Ok, thank you."

Kieran went to the capsules that the professor had indicated to him before finding number 982 and settling inside. A light scanned his body several times before his mind was drawn into the virtual world.

Once inside, he found himself in a white room that seemed to have no limit.

Inspecting his body, he felt no difference from the real world, apart from the disappearance of Runihoril and Luna in his spiritual world.

[Test number 1 Starts.]

[System Initialization... Data used: Human race, middle stage Bronze rank.]

Behind the desk, the two Professors had finished welcoming all the participants who had entered the room, and the one who had taken Kieran's information looked in the direction of his capsule.

"What is it, Andrew? Did you find an interesting kid?" asked the other Professor.

"Maybe Ethan. But I'm not sure what he's worth yet."

"All these reforms are truly exhausting. We used to simply check the grade of their crystal trees before, but now that the Aegis Alliance has abolished the grading system, we have to examine them one by one. They could have at least established a new system before putting us in this situation," said Ethan, with a bored expression on his face.

"At least now we're actually evaluating the participants themselves, and with the events of the destruction of Ozryn, it's no wonder that the Aegis Alliance is abolishing the grading system. This is the first time a city on Ostrion suffered such an attack. The tests that were carried out on the remains of the city showed that an unknown energy had rendered all our technologies unusable."

"Hey, have you heard the information coming from the higher echelons of the army?"

"The one about the Ozryn survivor who indicated that a Vral had caused the catastrophe?"

"So you've heard about it too."

"Of course. The war with the Vrals restarted as soon as the information was revealed to the army."

"What if the survivor had lied?"

"Do you think the army would start a war without first verifying whether the survivor lied or not?"

"I wonder who the survivor was that contacted the army."

"No idea, that information was classified as confidential."

The screens in front of them suddenly lit up one by one.

"Let's look at number 982," Andrew said as he changed one of the screens in front of them to show Kieran's situation.

"So this is the kid who caught your eyes," Ethan said as he checked the information from Kieran's capsule.

"He's almost 19 years old. He just needs to pass the first four tests to be able to enter the academy. Do you have the information on what he has to face against?"

"Yeah, and it's going to get pretty interesting if he gets past the first four tests," Andrew replied with a smile.

Their eyes were fixed on the screen, which showed Kieran. A few meters in front of him stood a young man with black hair at the middle stage of the Bronze rank.

As soon as the black-haired youth's eyes landed on Kieran, he rushed towards him. His crystal essence flowed through his entire body, flowing towards his right fist.

Kieran watched the whole scene without moving. When the black-haired youth arrived in front of him, throwing a punch in his direction, he took a step to the side to dodge it before swinging his fist in turn, hitting the youth with black hair in his chest.

The next moment, the youth's body transformed into particles of light before disappearing.

[Test number 1 Succeeded. 10 academic merit points awarded.]

[Test number 2 Starts.]

The particles of light regrouped together, forming a new opponent for his second test.