Seeing the palpable tension between Dean Sterling and Dean Cromwell, the School Director simply waved a dismissive hand, separating them.
"Fly Ansel, is it?"
"A promising seedling, indeed."
The Director lifted his cloudy, amber eyes and gazed at Fly walking off the stage, committing the young man's handsome face to memory.
Fly himself was, of course, completely unaware of this little episode.
He walked back towards his class with a leisurely gait, the eyes of every freshman in the stadium following his every move.
At that moment, Fly was like a true celebrity, the center of everyone's attention.
And there was nothing to be done about it.
To be a genius was to bear the burden of a genius.
When he got down from the stage, the freshmen of Class Two were lined up, nervously awaiting the next announcement. After all, Fly had just broken the school's test robot; replacing it would take some time.
Seeing Fly return, his homeroom teacher, Mr. Carter, rushed over to greet him from afar.
"That's my boy, Fly!" Mr. Carter clapped him on the shoulder, his voice brimming with pride.
His original hope was that Fly's performance would be impressive enough to make everyone take notice.
But the reality was...
It had done far more than just make them "take notice."
It had completely shattered everyone's imagination.
Looking across the entire freshman class, it was doubtful that anyone could come close to breaking Fly's record.
No!
It was doubtful that anyone could even approach it.
With his many years of teaching experience, Mr. Carter could already see the outcome: Fly's score in the Power Assessment Test would, without a doubt, be the highest in the entire year. And he would leave all the other students far, far behind in his dust.
And as for himself, Mr. Carter, he would, without any suspense, be appointed the homeroom teacher of the newly established Rocket Class.
The teachers of the neighboring classes, Ms. Reed of Class One and Mr. Drake of Class Three, couldn't help but turn green with envy.
This was especially true for Ms. Reed. Her class had already finished their tests, and the results were a complete and utter disaster.
Her most outstanding student, when placed next to Fly, seemed utterly insignificant.
And while Mr. Drake's class had yet to be tested, he knew in his heart that he probably didn't have a single student who could even come close to Fly's level.
Good heavens! Everyone else is taking a test, but this kid is doing a speedrun! He's like a veteran gamer who's already memorized the strategy guide! Mr. Drake grumbled internally.
Just as Fly was about to respond to Mr. Carter, he suddenly felt a gentle, yet cool gaze fall upon him.
He turned his head to see that a breathtakingly beautiful girl had, at some point, walked up beside him.
"Fly."
Her pearly teeth parted slightly, and she softly spoke his name.
Fly felt a delicate, orchid-like fragrance drift towards him. He looked at the girl again: her hands were as soft as young cattails, her skin like polished alabaster, her neck long and graceful, her teeth like perfectly set seeds of a gourd. Beneath a face as cold as a mountain of ice, there seemed to be the faintest hint of a smile. Even in his past life, Fly had never seen a woman so delicately and movingly beautiful.
"I'll remember you," she said, then turned and gracefully walked away.
Fly: "What was...??"
"What was that all about?"
He stared at the girl's receding back, completely bewildered.
"She probably sees you as a rival," Mr. Carter said nonchalantly, glancing from Fly to the girl's departing figure. "That's Genevieve, the genius girl of Star City."
So that's Genevieve? Fly thought, his eyes still on her retreating form.
Of course, he knew the name.
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She was the prodigy who had ranked third in the entrance exams, the number one local genius, who had once held the illustrious title of "Star City's Strongest Middle Schooler." (That Valerius fellow was a transfer student. The Tarantino family's main business wasn't in Star City; because of the school's prestigious reputation, many students traveled from afar to enroll. And "Emperor" Valerius was the most outstanding among them.)
A genius girl as beautiful and powerful as her was bound to have countless admirers.
But just like Fly, Genevieve seemed to pour all of her energy into her training. Towards the advances of others, she neither accepted nor refused, simply responding with her icy demeanor and that subtle, almost non-existent smile. Gradually, her would-be suitors would get the hint and leave of their own accord.
In the eyes of most, Genevieve was the mysterious and powerful Ice Princess.
But just now, this very Ice Princess had taken the initiative to approach him and say something so... ambiguous.
"Fly, it seems this Genevieve takes you very seriously," Mr. Carter said, shaking his head with a sigh of admiration.
"Takes me seriously..." Fly raised an eyebrow.
To have the confidence to approach him and say such a thing after witnessing his performance on the test... this Genevieve was clearly very sure of herself.
Speaking of which, she's in Class Four, right?
Alright then. I'll be sure to watch her performance.
The school finally brought over the new test robots.
Dean Sterling announced that to make up for the lost time, the rest of the tests would be conducted in three separate lanes simultaneously.
This meant that three classes would be tested at the same time.
Fly looked up and saw that, sure enough, three new robots and two additional crystal balls had been brought in. The school staff had sectioned off a new area in front of the main stage to facilitate the concurrent testing.
The students of Class Two, Class Three, and Class Four moved like a dark tide to their designated spots to line up.
Mr. Carter watched his students, his heart pounding with nervousness.
Fly was, of course, his most prized student, but he was also deeply concerned about the performance of the others in his class.
Fortunately, the students assigned to Class Two this year were of high quality. Coupled with his patient guidance over the past week, their performances were all quite commendable. Mr. Carter could finally breathe a sigh of relief.
Mr. Drake of Class Three, on the other hand, was not so lucky.
His class's performance was even worse than Class One's had been, with an extremely high rate of students scoring zero.
Mr. Drake himself looked like he was about to cry. His bonus for being an outstanding teacher this year was probably going down the drain.
Fly, however, paid little attention to this. His eyes were fixed on the Class Four testing area, his gaze sweeping through the crowd, searching for Genevieve.
That girl dared to say something like that to me. Let's just see what this "genius girl" is really made of.
Soon, it was Genevieve's turn.
She gently placed her hand on the crystal ball. A bright light flashed, and the mirage of her Beast Totem slowly materialized behind her.
Her totem's mirage was... an incredibly ugly, small grey bird with a patch of missing feathers on its head and tail feathers that were completely frayed and messy...
A wave of confused hisses and murmurs immediately erupted from the surrounding students.
Fly himself was baffled. This renowned genius girl had chosen a Beast Totem that was so... insignificant...
It seemed even more absurd than his own choice of a cockroach.
Then, the crystal ball flashed, and a line of burning gold text appeared in the air:
ãBeast Totem: Grey Sparrow. Species: Common Species.ã
The appearance of this line made the entire stadium explode. The sound of discussion came from all directions.
"Heavens, is that really the genius girl hailed as 'Star City's Strongest Middle Schooler'? Why does her Beast Totem look so pathetic?"
"I know, right? Could she be just another bookworm who's clueless when it comes to the Martial Studies?"
"And here I thought she was some kind of master, with how arrogant she looked. Turns out she's nothing special."
...
Genevieve was not swayed by the tide of gossip. Her expression unchanging, she walked towards the test robot.
As the proctor started the timer and announced the beginning of the test, Genevieve slowly raised a slender, delicate hand and began to hum a strange, wondrous melody.
Her voice was at once the cheerful chirping of sparrows in the woods, lively and bright; then the mournful sigh of the wind across the plains, full of sorrow and longing; then the soaring cry of an eagle on high, proud and resonant; then the clear, bubbling music of a mountain stream, crisp and joyful...
The surrounding students seemed to be drawn in by the beautiful song, their discussions ceasing as they became lost in appreciation.
Even the test robot stopped its attack sequence, its arms drooping as it stood frozen in place.
Only Fly felt a faint sense of unease. Something's wrong. This song... it feels like it's hiding a murderous intent!
Suddenly, Genevieve's song grew rapid and urgent. After a few sharp trills, there was a deafening BOOMâ. The massive test robot exploded from the inside out.
Right before everyone's eyes, the test robotâthat monster of steelâwas reduced to a pile of scrap.
Genevieve's song stopped, and only then did the watching students snap back to reality. They looked at each other, then at the wreckage-strewn testing area, completely baffled as to what had just happened.
Genevieve walked up to the proctor and said softly, "Teacher, the battle is over. Shouldn't the timer be stopped?"
The proctor, as if waking from a dream, hastily pressed the stop button on the stopwatch.
The time was frozen at 193 seconds.
The crowd of onlookers remained silent for about ten seconds, and then erupted in a tsunami of cheers.
It had happened again! Another student had defeated the test robot!
This time, the look of astonishment on the students' faces was no less than when they had watched Fly.
Although Genevieve had taken a full 193 seconds, she had used a sonic attack!
First, she had controlled her opponent with a beautiful song, then instantly obliterated it with an explosive crescendo. How was it so elegant, so unbelievable?
This performance, among the freshmen, was likewise completely unheard of.
If Fly was a showcase of overwhelming violence, then Genevieve was an elegant requiem, leading her enemy to a peaceful death at their most comfortable moment.
Moreover, her time of 193 seconds had been recorded only because the proctor had been so entranced by her song that he had forgotten to stop the timer.
The actual combat time was far, far shorter.
Fly couldn't help but shake his head with a wry smile. This genius beauty certainly had the capital to be arrogant.
Suddenly, he saw Genevieve look over at him. Her lips moved, as if she were saying something.
In the next instant, a beautiful voice entered his ear.
"Fly, I look forward to what's to come."
Heavens!
Fly was utterly shocked. He was a great distance away from Genevieve, yet her voice had reached his ears with perfect clarity.
And it seemed no one else had heard it.
What kind of long-distance, precision-targeted sound skill is this?
This Genevieve... isn't she just terrifying?