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nCreak.

nThe door to Locke’s house swung open.

nHis mother had returned with a big bag of food.

nWhen Locke’s mother noticed that Locke was still sitting at the dining table, she instantly revealed a toothy grin.

nShe quickly walked to the dining table and quickly took out the food that she had bought.

nWhile taking the food out, she said to Locke, “I was in a hurry today, so I bought a few pieces of pre-cooked food from the market.”

n“I was afraid that you’d be hungry, so I bought a lot. It should be enough for you.”

nA moment later…

nThere was a huge plate of fiery red meat on the dining table, as well as a bowl of soup.

nLocke’s mother, introduced the food on the table to Locke.

n“This big piece of meat is the meat of a Stage 1 Fire Fox. It’s the perfect dish for novice Beastmasters.”

n“And this big bowl of soup is made out of Ice-cold Fish. It’s very delicious.”

n“Come, son. Hurry up and eat it. If it’s not enough, just tell your mother. Your mother will get more for you.”

nWhile chewing on the Fire Fox’s meat, Locke said to his mother, “There’s no need, mom.”

n“This is enough for me. I have to say though, the Fire Fox’s meat is really delicious.”

n“Thank you, mom.”

nSeeing how happy Locke was, her face was full of smiles.

n“Eat more, son. From now on, your mother will cook Daemon meat for you every day.”

nLocke nodded hastily as he chomped down on the Fire Fox’s meat.

nBefore long, the plate that used to hold the Fire Fox meat and the bowl that contained the soup had been licked clean.

nThere was not a single scrap left, and yet, Locke still wanted more.

nHowever, not wanting to look greedy, Locke hurriedly returned to his bedroom once he was done with his meal.

nHe sat on his bed and began to cultivate.

nThree days passed very quickly.

nTime flew quickly when he cultivated. Those three days had felt like only three hours to Locke.

nThe passage of time had gone completely unnoticed while Locke cultivated.

n…

nIt was finally the day for the enrollment assessments.

nLocke arrived at school very early. It was a very important day to him.

nHowever, his motivations were completely different from everyone else’s.

nOthers were hoping to enroll themselves in a top-tier university to change their destiny.

nIn contrast, Locke was only doing it for the 100 Function Points.

nLocke stood on the field.

nHe peered forward to as far as his eyes could see.

nAll he saw was a sea of people.

nAll of them were young students who were participating in the assessments.

n“What should I do? What should I do? I’m so nervous!”

n“Me too. If I can’t get into a Beastmaster Academy, I’m toast.”

n“Which Academy do you plan on entering?”

n“I don’t plan to get into the Federation’s top three universities. As long as I can enter an ordinary Beastmaster academy, I’ll be satisfied.”

n“Yeah, I’ll be satisfied as long as there’s an academy willing to recruit me.”

nThe students gathered together in groups of twos and threes, and they were discussing nervously.

nThe assessment day was undoubtedly the most crucial day in their lives.

nAs long as they performed well in the assessments and crossed the hurdle to enter a Beastmaster university, their future would be bright.

nIn contrast…

nIf they were to fail the assessments, they would become an ordinary person, one who attended ordinary university, worked mundane jobs, and lived a mediocre life.

nThe difference between the ones who succeeded and those who failed was like a canyon.

nAs such, it was natural for the students to be that worried.

nHad Locke not possessed the Beastmaster System, he too, would be among those nail-biting students.

nThere were around ten wooden sheds that had been set up around the field.

nAll sorts of workers were busy toiling away.

nEach wooden shed was an academy’s enrollment station.

nIf one wanted to enroll in an academy, they would need to line up at the corresponding academy’s enrollment station.

n“Locke.”

nA familiar voice rang out.

nLocke turned his head and saw his classmate, Bill.

n“So, you’re attending the assessments, huh.”

n“I guess you’ll be taking the assessment for the Federation’s Advanced Beastmaster Academy then.”

nBill looked at Locke with a complicated expression, and there was a undisguised envy in his eyes.

nAfter all, no one could resist the temptation of the Federation’s Advanced Beastmaster Academy.

nThat was the true gathering place for the talented.

nIf one went there, there was no chance that would remain ordinary.

nLocke smiled and greeted Bill in return.

nThen, he asked, “Which academy do you plan to apply to?”

nBill answered with a dejected expression, “I plan to apply to the Royal Academy, but their requirements are quite high. I’m not sure whether I’ll make it.”

nLocke gave Bill a round of encouragement.

nFollowing that, he left.

nLocke went and joined the queue for the Federation’s Advanced Beastmaster Academy.

nHowever, he was quickly taken away by a staff member.

nDue to Locke’s possession of a divine Battle Beast, the academy had already scouted him in advance.

nAs such, his attendance in the assessments was only just a formality.

nLocke looked at the queue. Compared to the other universities’ queues, the number of people at the Federation’s Advanced Beastmaster Academy was really low.

nEvery single person in the queue of them was a genius in his school.

nHowever, they needed to take the assessment step by step to be admitted into the Advanced Beastmaster Academy.

n“The assessment shall now begin.”

nA majestic voice sounded.

nWith that, people walked forward to a table one after another.

nSituated on the rectangular table, was a crystal ball.

nIt was a mana core inspector.

nEvery Beastmaster would have a mana core in their body.

nTherefore, the size of their mana core had often determined the future of a Beastmaster.

nAfter all, only large mana cores could contain large amounts of mana.

nThe size of one’s mana core could be split into five ranks.

nA rank 1 Beastmaster was only slightly stronger than an ordinary people, and as such, it was very difficult for them to advance into the silver-tier.

nAs a result, most, if not all Beastmaster universities would reject them.

nRank 2 was the common rank.

nAs long as their battle beasts were relatively strong, they would still have a chance in entering average Beastmaster universities.

nOnly those above rank 2 would be considered outstanding talents.

nOne by one, the students walked forward and placed their palms on the crystal ball.

nThe moment their palms made contact with the surface of the crystal ball, the crystal ball would emit a dazzling light.

nThe color of bronze represented ordinary aptitude.

nThe color of silver represented rank 2 aptitude, and so on.

nThe assessment was conducted very quickly.

nOn average, it had taken less than a minute to complete an assessment.

nHowever, the vast majority of the people were mostly bronze or silver-ranked.

nThis also meant that the vast majority of them would not be able to further their studies in Beastmaster universities.

nThose who had obtained bad results revealed expressions of disappointment.

nSuddenly.

nAn uproar broke out in the fifth wooden shed.

n“A rose gold light!”

n“Damn, it really is a rose gold light! It’s so dazzling.”

n“That’s amazing. Just who is that person?”

nCountless people turned their gazes to the student standing in front of the table.

nThe examiner also revealed a smile to the student in front of him.

n“Not bad, not bad. Finally, there’s a rank 5 talent. You’ve managed to achieve our standard.”

nIn just half a day, the assessments were nearly complete.

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