Yuanting Academy, circular cafeteria.
Located next to the towering Purple-Shirt Forest, this cafeteria was rather unique, with pillars on the bottom and the restaurant itself resembling a circular corridor. In the center of the circle stood a tree with blue leaves, striking against the pale blue of its foliage which adorned each branch, adding to the restaurant's aesthetic as its faint floral scent wafted through the air.
Just after classes finished, the staircase leading to the cafeteria was crowded with students. Dressed in either white or light brown uniforms, they were discussing the day's events.
By the end of the year, Yuanting Academy would welcome its first major exam and the lively intra-grade competitions.
Unlike the usual practice of using transcendent animals bred by the Academy, this time students were required to raise their own transcendent animals from scratch, so skill levels varied considerably.
Despite the variance, compared to the uniformly bred Academy companions, the diverse and interesting fighting methods displayed at lower Sequences were eye-opening and filled with laughter.
"Today is the final day, the top 16 have already been decided," students gathered around the dining table discussed while the autonomous Flight Units, designed like cartoon birds inside the circular cafeteria, carried prepared lunches to the students who ordered them and then flew out again to continue their back-and-forth routine.
"Yes, while everyone is not that strong, the process is much more fun than previous competitions."
"Some can only Levitate, simply raising their opponent into the air where they can't leverage, immobilizing them. Others imitate the illusion mice from the entrance assessments, making their companions appear larger and more imposing to easily scare off opponents, and some even thought to drive away opponents with a foul stench." Although it was like a cockfight, the variety of tactics was indeed plentiful.
As everyone was talking, Hexia was also sitting in the cafeteria, having lunch with her companions.
"Hexia made it into the top 16 this time. This means our class has two students in the top 16, not bad at all."
"At first, I was quite worried, feeling that the other classes were more formidable. Later, I realized they were all about the same," Agnes said, patting her chest lightly to show that there was not much to worry about.
"Qiu Shu is over there at that table, it looks like the boys from class invited him for a meal today, probably to cheer him on," Mel pointed at a lively table not far away.
"I want to treat Hexia to some good food too~," Mel raised her hand, her eyes shining with excitement.
Without a doubt, Mel liked Hexia. They often hung out together at school, and she was eager to express her feelings, but not knowing how to do it, the only thing she could think of was treating Hexia to nice food, just like she did with her pets—the only way she knew to get closer was by buying them tasty treats.
Hexia felt a bit embarrassed by this because Mel often did such things, and she didn't have much in return, but refusing would likely upset the simple Mel, so she could only agree with a smile.
"Alright, but it doesn't have to be anything too expensive. If we win, let's all go out to the city together."
"Mm-hmm," Mel nodded happily, pleased that Hexia had finally agreed to go shopping with her.
Not long after, the specially made T4 level bluish pastry was served in the circular cafeteria. Its shape resembled a hamburger, but it wasn't one. Its bottom had two layers of soft, glutinous bread-like mochi, with pale blue ice cream in the middle and light purple sweet potato cream with a hint of saltiness. The semi-transparent top layer was sprinkled with finely chopped blue petals, which was very pleasing to the eye.
Upon cutting a small piece with a knife and serving it with a fork and spoon into the mouth, a subtle sweet chilliness unfolded, with each layer offering a slightly different flavor, separated by mochi.
In the afternoon, the competition began.
"Next, let's welcome Hexia from the 2nd class of the first year to the stage."
In the large outdoor courtyard in the Purple-Shirt Forest, students looked on with curiosity and eagerness at the girl with gray hair entering the arena, facing a boy with black hair on the opposite side.
"The third match, Hexia versus O'Conner."
Hexia recognized him; he was the boy who had chosen a cyan wolf pup during the re-examination.
"Hexia, I remember you. You left a deep impression on me," the boy on the other side said as he rubbed his cold nose from the winter, full of enthusiasm.
"Today, let's decide the victor and see who is the strongest in our grade!" He stepped widely to the side, pointing boldly towards the sky, shouting with grandeur, and was met with loud cheers from his classmates behind him.
There were roughly 300 students in the first year at Yuanting Academy: not too many but not too few. The somewhat notable ones were familiar to everyone, such as Hexia and Qiu Shu from the 2nd class, O'Conner from the 3rd class, Pawula from the 6th class, Orcas from the 7th class, and so on.
Hexia used to think that being the top of the grade was a far-off achievement, especially in Yuanting Academy, which she believed was teeming with geniuses and fierce competition. But now she realized that many things had been unconsciously magnified in her mind.
With nine classes in the first year and not much difference in the strength of each class, only 2-3 people were truly outstanding in each class. This added up to about 20 people in the first echelon, and among these 20, only 3-5 could be on the same level as her. In essence, she only had a few competitors.
She had never really estimated her own position before, but she didn't know that in her classmates' eyes, she had always been the favorite to win the championship.
"That's Hexia, one of the top three in the Yuanting Academy entrance exams." Even the students cheering for O'Conner were worried about whether they could defeat her.