Transcendent Gene
Chapter 182: Entrance Ceremony [2]

Chapter 182: Entrance Ceremony [2]

Gio’s actions didn’t go unnoticed. In fact, there were many eyes on him even before the battle began.

The Headmaster looked in his direction specifically when making his speech. Gio was the first person to be called out, so even before the speech was over, people were moving towards him.

They aimed for the target on his back, rejoicing when he entered combat. They wanted to steal the final strike when he was exhausted and on his last leg.

However, the scene that unfolded didn’t cater to their desires at all. Gio had a sincere battle with a second year and didn’t even look tired afterward. The majority of his pursuers left during the battle, leaving only one or two in the vicinity.

They wouldn’t be privy to the rest of his journey through the forest, but there was another group that was.

"That is Kyrian’s child?"

In an observation room at the First Institute, a group of professors sat with the Headmaster and observed the entrance ceremony. Most of them were first-year professors who wanted to see which seeds they’d like in their classes. The rest were merely those interested in the happenings.

It didn’t matter who asked the question, nor did it matter who answered it. All of them were of the same mind.

"It is. He was registered recently, but there are no mistakes in his bloodwork. He should be legitimate."

"A son of his second wife?"

"No. Giovani Atmos was born before the Moving Fortress’ remarriage and after his...widowing."

"A child from outside?"

"Rather, a child he’s been hiding."

"Oho...?"

The Headmaster made a sound of intrigue.

Not many new students could catch his interest. Most of them were useless and would remain useless until their second year at the earliest.

The rare few who showed great talent were always flawed in other ways. It was an accepted consequence of dealing with teenagers.

It was only natural that all of them had their own quirks and issues. If it was an ordinary school, they’d have all the time in the world to focus on those things.

However, here, at the First Institute, those were all issues and quirks they had to resolve early if they wanted to keep up with their peers. The Headmaster paid attention to those who actively worked to fix their weaknesses. Those few started sprouting further into their careers at the school.

’This one...’

Gio fought differently. It was evident that he’d experienced real combat.

’He retreats more than he attacks. When he attacks, he does not cease until it’s time for the next retreat.’

It was a very specific style of fighting that indicated one had been dealing with beasts since one was weak. After all, such a strategy was most useful for fighting stronger and less intelligent opponents.

’He’s adapted it somewhat. Has he only recently fought humans for the first time...?’

The Headmaster was interested in Gio for many reasons. Some were related to his father, some were related to his Sequence and fighting style, while others more were related to him as a person.

’Hmm...’

Well, there was an entire week left before the event ended and the first years returned to FIS.

It was more than enough time for him to properly flesh out his curiosity.

***

Gio figured there were people watching him from somewhere. It was only natural for an event like this to be observed.

’I have to be careful using Hekat.’

Its power wouldn’t appear obviously in other people’s eyes, but if he used it too robustly, then people would naturally look at him strangely.

Every Sequence an individual absorbed was registered as a part of them. It was necessary for abilities to be laid out properly so rules and regulations could be enforced.

The records only showed the names of Sequences and a summary of their effects similar to what was on the labels in the vault Kyriaj took Gio to.

[Virtual Manifestation]’s full potential couldn’t be seen through those summaries, but the fact that it certainly couldn’t control the earth would be easy to point out.

Regardless, Gio didn’t focus much on any of that. Instead, after thanking Serene, he rushed away to continue gathering points.

She didn’t say much after she lost. It wasn’t like she was ignoring his existence. It was more like she was pretending to be an NPC until another challenger arrived.

Whether it was a tactic to shoo him away or not, he left after hearing only one more piece of advice from her.

"I’d say focus on activities. You’ll have a lot more fun than you’re expecting."

He kept her words in mind as he ran through the forest. Even as he was confronted by one of the pursuers who stayed after watching his fight, he kept his eyes on the lookout for activities.

It would have been a different scenario if the boy was someone powerful, but he merely wanted to defeat the guy who had ten points. The honor was his only goal, and there wasn’t anything like a plan in his mind.

He was swept in five moves. Gio hardly even used his Sequence in the process.

’Activities...what are they supposed to look like?’ Gio thought to himself.

’Maybe something like that?’

He saw another interesting scenery in the middle of the forest that didn’t look like it belonged. This time, instead of a waterfall, it was a manmade rock formation that looked like it was supposed to be an art piece.

Gio approached it with more caution. When a voice came from the foliage above, he wasn’t surprised.

"Welcome, challenger!"

A boy who didn’t look much older than Gio did a flip and fell from the tree branches above, landing cleanly in front of his new guest.

Gio furrowed his brows.

"Adversary?"

"Nope, but I guess that means you already ran into one of us. You must be strong!"

The boy clapped his hands and directed Gio’s attention to the rock formation.

"Your challenge is right there. I’m just here to make sure you don’t cheat. Oh, and if anyone tries to interrupt you, I’ll help you out a few times before I leave it up to you," he said.

"That’s the end of the explanation?" Gio asked in return.

"Yep!"

The boy smiled widely.

"Figure out the rest from the rocks. If not, just leave. You don’t need the points, anyway."

"We all need the points."

"But you could wait for someone else to do it and just steal from them. That’s what everyone else is doing. Isn’t that right, everyone?"

The boy looked over Gio’s shoulder into the brush behind them. Gio didn’t turn around to follow his gaze, but he was also aware of the presences there.

Six of them. Six others had found this place before him, and after determining that the challenge was too much, they all chose to wait for the person who completed it.

Still, Gio shrugged.

"They can do that. I’m not weak enough to do the same, though."

A spike of hostility followed by no action. Gio didn’t need to pay the onlookers any more attention after feeling it.

He approached the rock formation and investigated it. There were runic patterns on the surface of the rock and strange spots on the ground all around.

It was evidently a puzzle of some sort, but with no indicators or clues showing one how to solve it, even finding the first step looked different.

’It looks that way...’

Yet, Gio wasn’t daunted by it in the slightest.

If it was a puzzle, he only needed to keep trying things until he found the right option.

And there was nothing remotely difficult about using the process of elimination.