Level Two Exams... It was the high-tier entrance exam which was much harder than the tier one exam, which was only reserved for people who didn't take help from external resources throughout their lives.
On the contrary, the level two exam was more for the wealthy individuals who had external help while growing up, which propelled them ahead of the underprivileged mages. That's why a tougher test was designed for them.
No matter how privileged a person was or which family he came from, they needed to pass through the test to get an entry into the Academy.
Despite the toughness of the exams, it was still impossible to believe that only five out of a thousand managed to pass through to this stage.
Moreover, all five of the people who were selected were Prodigies, standing at the peak of their group.
Amongst the five, Gabriel also noticed some familiar faces. Three of the five participants that managed to reach here were the people he had already seen before.
One of the three was the Earth Mage Alexai he met outside the city, who had managed to accurately guess how much time it was going to take them before they could enter the city.
As for the second person, it was none other than the person who had helped him in the city when he was standing against Yann. It was Cain Ashton.
And lastly, the third person he recognized was a young woman. She was the Princess of the Lumen family and the only daughter of the King. Just like Gabriel, Elia also had the Element of Light, making three light mages present here, including him and Cain.
At present, out of six youngsters present here, there were three mages of light, one mage of earth, one mage of Lightning, and one Mage of Summoning.
All five participants that came with Rem and Lishen stood at some distance from each other. Only Gabriel stood near the mirror. He was slightly pleased that Cain had managed to reach this stage. Even though the core of his plan was messed up, Cain was an essential part of what was left of his plan.
"Your gloves seem interesting. Can I see them?"
Rem didn't mince his words, directly asking for Gabriel's gloves since he wanted to see what it was about them. If they could hide someone's aura, then there was something very special about them.
"I'm sorry, but I'll have to decline." Gabriel also didn't hesitate before rejecting straight away. There was no way in hell where he was going to willingly hand over these gloves to anyone.
If he took off both his gloves, his other Elemental Mark was going to be revealed, and before he could even realize what was happening, he was going to be surrounded from all sides by the entire force of this academy.
It was better to offend one teacher than it was to offend everyone in the Academy by revealing his identity.
"Hmm?" It was the first time someone had refused him, especially a student.
Elia's brows furrowed slightly. Cain remained mostly expressionless. He had already been disappointed by the Kingdom and everyone that held influence, so he didn't care if they were disrespected. He himself didn't care about doing things just because someone asked them to do, especially when that person wasn't even a teacher of their own class.
Alexai shook his head lightly. He didn't understand if this was the arrogance of Gabriel or something else, but he didn't appreciate it that much.
The fourth mage was the Mage of Lightning, known as Cole. He could understand why Gabriel didn't give his globes. He was sure that those gloves were his treasures. He was a part of the family that made artifacts so he could notice some things.
Just like Rem could see the auras of humans, Cole could see the essence of artifacts. The only problem was that he could only see if an item had the essence of a treasure.
Unlike Rem, he couldn't see the exact quantity. If a Numen Artefact and an ordinary artifact were placed before him, he couldn't find any difference between the essence of each.
That's why he understood why Gabriel wasn't giving his gloves. Many people preferred to keep their treasures to themselves. Instead of Gabriel's rejection, what surprised Cole more was the sheer quantity of treasures on Gabriel. It was as if Gabriel was a walking treasure shop.
He could see Gabriel's gloves being a treasure, his clothes being a treasure, and even his ring being a treasure.
'Must be spending from a rich family. A prodigal young master.'
Because of the sheer number of treasures that Gabriel possessed, his first impression on Cole wasn't good.
As for the last person, it was a man known as Ray, who had the Mark of a Summoner on the back of his left hand.
"A kid who doesn't know his place," he stated, not even caring enough to keep his voice low. "A typical young master without a brain."
Lishen found Gabriel's rejection somewhat amusing. The kid certainly had guts which he liked in a person, but senseless guts were an idiotic quality, according to him. He couldn't praise the kid. He had to side with his friend on this.
"So you realize who you're talking to?" he asked. "Rem is the Head of the House of Earth, and I'm the Head of House of Wind. You should really think before you speak."
"Hmm?" All five youngsters that were escorted by Rem and Lishen grew surprised to hear who these two really were.
Initially, they had thought that these two were ordinary teachers who were handling the examination. But they were literally heads of Departments? Did that mean Qin was the Head of the House of Lightning? No wonder he was so arrogant.
"It doesn't matter who I'm talking to. My gloves are a family heirloom. I can't give them to anyone."
Just because they were Head of Houses didn't mean he could risk his identity for them.
The gloves and his attire came with the Ancestral Staff of Death and Necromancy. He couldn't afford to risk anyone finding out.
"Even if the King were asking for those gloves, your answer would still be the same?" Ray inquired, taking a subtle glance at Elia. He knew she was the princess. He wondered if the kid was really arrogant enough to even reject the King.
"Even if it was the King, I'm not giving these gloves to anyone." Gabriel knew he needed to stay firm on his ground if he wanted to protect his identity.
What he didn't understand was why these two were so adamant about having his gloves? Were they suspicious of him? First, they were staring at him outside and now this. He felt that it was only suspicion but no more than that. If it were more, they wouldn't have asked for it. Instead, they would've forced him to hand over.
Elia heard Gabriel say that he would even refuse her father. She couldn't believe the sheer arrogance of the kid. Just who did he think he was?
Things had started getting intense.
