For the first time in a while, Lucien was finally without any escorts or anyone keeping him in check.
He felt lighter.
He felt… free.
But it didn't last long, as an oppressive force suddenly started pushing him down out of nowhere.
He was taken by surprise, but he somehow handled himself.
Keurgh!
Unfortunately, for many others around him, they weren't so lucky, as they fell on the ground, only to never rise again.
The test had already started.
Lucien's steps felt heavy, and taking every other step was like a chore.
But he pushed through.
He wondered how the Academy would even handle tens of thousands of candidates at once.
But now he had his answer.
Anyone who couldn't withstand this spiritual pressure was deemed to have failed already.
Lucien followed the signs present everywhere to reach his destination.
It took him a solid 7 minutes to reach there, which said a lot about the test because the distance was merely 500 meters.
He was practically crawling, but all the pressure around lifted as soon as he reached a huge, spacious auditorium with hundreds of seats.
"Please, have this." He was handed a small paper with a few numbers written on it. "Please enter that room in front, right when your number is called."
[217]
Many other kids were sitting inside the auditorium, and as if a wave was washed through, they all turned their heads around to see Lucien.
All kinds of emotions were visible in their eyes, but mostly envy and curiosity.
They were curious as to why the Prince was here, when he could've done these procedures yesterday with other High nobles.
The people present in the auditorium were mostly commoners, with a few scions of lesser nobility.
They were envious because the man guarding the auditorium didn't greet them as politely as him.
Matter of fact, he was borderline swatting them like flies and didn't inform them about anything without asking.
It was clear that there was favoritism even in the Academy.
Lucien, not minding their gazes, moved ahead and sat on one of the chairs randomly.
As he was patiently waiting for his turn, he was also judging and analyzing other candidates who had made it.
In all honesty, no one present there was very impressive, but soon, his instincts tingled yet again.
He turned his head around and noticed the same black-haired girl he had seen on the front gate entering the auditorium, followed by her friend, who paled in comparison.
Florence also felt someone watching her.
Rotating her head, she was shocked to notice that it was none other than Prince Lucien himself.
'He was also staring at me at the Academy gates.' She squinted her eyes at him, expressing her displeasure with him.
But to her surprise, instead of making it a big deal, the Prince simply stopped staring at her and turned his head around.
'Does he like me?' She had a wild thought, which she quickly dismissed.
What kind of Prince had any shortage of women?
'Can he sense my powers?' That was the most likely explanation here, and to be honest, it made sense.
She was, after all, nearing the peak of the Adept realm.
…
[217]
Lucien noticed that his ticket number was being displayed on the big red screen above the room that he was supposed to enter.
He stood up, attracting most of the attention again, and walked towards the room.
A beautiful blonde woman opened the door for him politely, giving him a deep bow.
Lucien nodded and entered.
As if he had entered a different realm, the room he entered took his breath away.
Literally.
For some reason, he couldn't breathe.
Huff!
He held his breath and noticed something strange.
The room he was standing inside was distorted.
'Low-level illusion sorcery.'
He had faced such things hundreds of times in his past life, and he knew how to counter them.
For low-level illusion, it was pretty simple.
Pain.
He bit his lips hard, and the illusion fell apart instantly.
'They didn't even try.' He scoffed, but also realized that this was not even a part of the exam.
They probably added this mini-phase just for the fun of it.
"Lucien Callastre," He heard someone calling his name, making him look around.
He found himself in a generously decorated room with elegant portraits, murals, and other decorations adorning the room.
But what grabbed his attention immediately was the large wooden desk that sat in the middle of the room, behind which five individuals sat.
He felt a terrifying pressure emanating from them, but amongst them, the one who grabbed his attention was the silver-haired individual in the middle.
Arthur Albrecht.
The vice-dean of the Lumen Academy.
But apart from him, another person stood out a lot.
A ginger-haired guy sitting immediately right of Arthur.
His face was above-average and had a polite smile, which seemed normal at first, but something about that made him super uncomfortable.
Just what was it?
With the same polite smile, the ginger-haired man spoke once again, "You must be Lucien Callastre, right?"
"Yes." Lucien nodded, affirming his question.
Everyone nodded as well, except for Arthur.
"So, Mr. Callastre, why weren't you at yesterday's early admission process like other high nobles?" The same guy asked, addressing him as any other interviewee.
"Nobody told me about it," Lucien answered straightforwardly.
"Nobody was supposed to, Mr. Callastre." The ginger-haired man immediately replied, "Everyone with this invitation was sent emails and messages to their respective phones."
'Tch! I need to learn this box of scraps before it causes me more problems.' Lucien brooded, berating himself for his lack of effort towards the modern technology.
"I…" He didn't know how to respond to that. "I wanted to go through all the official procedures like everyone other. As the Prince of this nation, I should be aware of their struggles, so I can lead them with an example."
He lied.
It didn't even take him a breath to form a lie to mask his incompetence in using modern devices.
"..."
The room was silent, and Arthur had the urge to facepalm, but he held back.
"Oh, how noble of you." He replied.
'Yeah, nobody bought that.' Now, it was Lucien who had the urge to face palm.