100. Inside the city
'The test hasn't even started and I have already made some enemies, my luck is always awesome.'
Noah turned toward the merchant.
"What else do you sell?"
The man smiled and took out a bag from his back, opening it in front of Noah.
"Oh, I sell many things, young master! From special weapons to wonderful talismans. Also, I have a lot of drugs that will help you greatly during the test."
Noah looked at the goods but he couldn't see anything valuable.
He shook his head and sent away the merchant, then he resumed his inspection of the surroundings with closed eyes.
As time passed, more people arrived behind him and silently put themselves in line.
The young noble from the Muwlos family continued to look in his direction and Noah felt his gaze on him.
However, he simply ignored him and moved along with the line.
Caravans arrived unceasingly, increasing the size of the crowd in front of the city gates.
After more than half a day of waiting, Noah finally managed to arrive at the entrance of the city.
"Name and purpose for the visit."
A guard in green armor spoke to him as he arrived at the edge of the line.
"Vance, I want to join the academy's entrance test."
The guard took an inscribed marble tablet and showed it to Noah.
"Place your hand on this, we need to confirm your age."
Noah followed his order but the tablet remained unresponsive after he touched it.
The guard nodded and gave him a medallion with his name written on it.
"Follow the signs for your lodgings and don't lose the pendant or you won't be able to participate in the test."
Then, the soldier let him pass.
Noah put the medallion in his space-ring and entered the city.
He was quite surprised by the magnitude of the buildings, it was his first time inside a big city of that world after all.
There were many three-story houses and, in the distance toward the center of the town, some six-stories structures were visible.
'It is almost as if I'm back to my previous world.'
Large insignias stood in the middle of the paved main road, indicating different locations and their direction.
'Test participants area'
Noah followed the direction of the sign and arrived in twenty minutes at a large district full of three-story manors.
Another guard blocked his path.
"Show
Noah took out the pendant and the guard handed him a small wooden card with a rune written on it.
"Mansion E, room 14. The test will take place in fifteen days. Someone from the city troops will lead all the applicants to the examination area on that day. Good luck."
Noah nodded and entered the district.
Many youths were grouping and chatting on the yards of their villas but they all turned their heads to look at Noah walking along the central road.
It was clear that he didn't belong to any noble family as his clothes were shabby and untidy.
Most of them felt superior to him and began to make jokes about his appearance but the strongest among them felt only danger from his figure.
'There is someone worthy of my attention.'
When he arrived at the mansion with a big "E" painted on it, a tall youth about the same age as Noah stood in front of the entrance door with a smirk on his face.
"This mansion is reserved for nobles. A commoner like you can simply sleep on the courtyard. You have no problems with that, right?"
'I really hope that killing is allowed in the test.'
That was Noah's thought as he stared fixedly at the youth in his eyes.
He focused all his mental pressure on him and the young man paled instantly facing the might of Noah's sea of consciousness.
He began to sweat profusely and then he fainted on the spot.
Noah simply stepped over him and opened the door under everyone's gaze.
The insides of the mansion were clean and tidy, with a large living room and many doors with numbers drawn on them.
He stepped on the stairs for the first floor and walked on the corridor until he found the door with a "14" written on it.
The wooden card appeared in his hand and he neared it to the handling of the door.
However, nothing happened and the door remained locked.
"You need to put some "Breath" in the tablet to make it work."
Noah turned and saw a girl of about sixteen years old on the other end of the corridor.
She had long red hair and a cute face, her eyes shined with a green color.
Noah followed her instructions and transferred a bit of "Breath" from his body inside the tablet.
CLACK!
A metallic sound rang from the room and when Noah grabbed the handle, the door opened smoothly.
He did a slight nod toward her and directly entered the room, closing the door behind him.
"Why did you help him, sis? He would have figured it out by himself anyway."
A tall man with short red hair appeared from behind the girl still standing on the corridor.
"Mh, I have the faint sensation that we should be friendly with him."
She put a pensive expression as she stared at the room 14.
"Usually your instincts are right, the Patriarch had said that you are a natural talent in understanding the flow of the "Breath" after all."
The girl nodded and replied with a bit of sarcasm.
"Yes, yes, I will become the inscription master of the family elevating our status to a medium-size noble family."
The man behind her just patted her head and returned to the room.
Inside Noah's room.
Noah was already sitting cross-legged looking at the second Kesier rune.
It was daytime and since there were still two weeks before the test, he would use that time to train a bit more.
The room was quite luxurious but he was too focused on raising his strength as much as he could to notice it.
The weeks passed with him never exiting the room and, in the end, the day of the test arrived.