Chapter 50: Rude Woman

All was going smoothly and everything was within Julius’s expectations. It wasn’t until toward the end that the woman asked Julius a question that definitely wasn’t a part of their script. “I’m assuming you know that most of the student population is made up of those with excellent or perfect affinities correct?”

Julius nodded his head in confirmation.

“So why would a slightly above average commoner with a mere pair of high affinities try to get into one the most prestigious institutions on the continent?” She asked unkindly.

So that’s how it is huh? Julius thought to himself. Will his affinities be more of a factor than he had originally thought?

“Sonia, that is highly inappropriate.” The kindly gentleman scolded her, defending Julius. He mentally placed the man above the woman in his list regarding likable people.

“It is a perfectly fine question, Harold,” the woman refuted.

“Mr. Silas, please tell Sonia that it is not appropriate for a professor of Goldencrest to talk to a child this way, affinities notwithstanding,” Harold complained to the man in the middle.

The man in the middle stared at Julius, trying to see his reaction. Julius felt a probe of aura extend from the man and tried to invade Julius’s aura, trying to get a read of how Julius was feeling at the moment. It was much less elegant than Declan’s and was quite a breach of common courtesy. Probing with aura wasn’t rude or anything, but using it in the way the man just did was.

Now Julius was getting annoyed. The woman insults him and then the man tries to invade his privacy, while he is already attached to a truth stone. But he hid it underneath the smile he still had on his face, and simultaneously slapped away the tendril of aura before it could get close.

The man sat up straighter in his chair as he felt Julius rebuff his probe. “Sonia,” he called out to the woman.

“Yes sir?” The woman asks, suddenly much more polite.

“Harold is correct, that is not how a professor should speak to anyone, much less a student. It is a bad reflection on the academy and not what we represent,” the man reprimanded the woman who in turn pressed her lips together as she took the rebuke.

However, the man wasn’t done speaking. “On the other hand, while the question could have been asked more politely, I do think it is a good question to ask. Would you care to respond young Julius?”

Julius didn’t know what to make of the man named Silas. He had tried to do something rude but also admonished his staff member for acting out of place.

Julius just decided to keep it blunt since the woman hadn’t tried to sugarcoat anything. He stared right at the rude woman and said right to her face, “I don’t have an excellent affinity, you’re right. But I am confident in my skills, I see myself doing very well on the practical exam. I may not have the “talent” but I have worked very hard to get where I am today. It would be stupid to assume I am not worthy of attending here just because of the mere rank of my affinities, especially for a school that is lauded for its ability to produce the best in the empire.”

The orb pulsed blue, confirming that everything he said was true, even the part where he inferred that she was stupid. The woman didn’t like that and was about to say something in response. However, Silas cut her off with a wave of his hand before she could speak.

“Confident huh?” He asked Julius.

Julius turned to stare at him with deathly serious eyes, “Very.”

The man looked below at the pulsing blue orb below him. “Okay, Mr. Snow I think that is all the questions we have for you today. You are free to head to the next portion of the exam. It is down the hall, follow the arrows and they will lead you to the training arena where a teacher will be there to proctor your test.”

Julius stood up and bowed to the panel of examiners, before leaving. He could feel each one of their gazes digging into his back, each for different reasons. He knew he could have maintained his cool and not antagonized them, but he also didn’t want to go to a school where they punished him for sticking up for himself.

He also didn’t know how much influence they would have in whether or not he would be accepted. Everyone except the old man had been rude. The Sonia woman didn’t like that someone with a lowly high affinity was applying to Goldencrest and Silas had tried to invade Julius’s privacy. It was only because he had been practicing with Declan so intensely that he had even felt it.

Julius wondered how much that happened to Tier 1’s. According to Declan and Orus, aura skills for Tier 1’s were rare, so Julius couldn’t even imagine how many higher tiers were able to feel out someone’s aura without getting caught.

Luckily, Julius was able to catch Silas in the direct act of doing it, but he didn’t know if that made Silas mad or not. Julius shook his head, he needed to put it out of his head for now. It would only serve to distract him and he would have his practical exam coming up. He still didn’t know what exactly was going to be tested or how it was going to go, but he relaxed and concentrated on it instead of the interview.

Silas POV

Interesting. The only other Tier 1 in this year’s batch with an aura skill was that Chris Patterson kid, but unlike this Julius kid, he flaunted it to everyone who could hear. Mentioning it several times during his interview.

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Silas wasn’t mad that Julius had thrown off his aura probe, on the contrary, he respected that. It was rude of Silas to even attempt it and had done it mostly out of habit. He treated most Tier 1’s like the children they were, which often led to him taking too many liberties with their privacy. He needed the reminder that even Tier 1’s deserved some respect for privacy.

He also was going to have to remind himself to have a conversation with Sonia later, once the exam was finished. Talking to a prospective student like that was not okay, she should have known better.

Silas was sure that Harold would make sure to bring it up whenever he could too, it was just another headache he didn’t need during this busy time of the year. Entrance exam time was always the busiest, everyone was running around making sure everything was taken care of. There were always more and more examinees each year, they were always stretched too thin. He wished the headmaster would allow them to start the application process in advance, like how some other schools have started doing. They had an early enrollment but that was for specific nobles only. Unfortunately, the old man was stuck in his traditions, making the staff cram the entire process within a couple of days.