Void Evolution System

Melania sort of faded into the background after that.

She was still there. She did the remaining two tests along with August, but her genius was overshadowed by his at every step.

August didn't mean to do it.

In the last two tests, he really couldn't control his results. He just had to pray that he didn't show anything too crazy.

Nevertheless, the next two tests measured mana and mind. They were categories that would become incredibly important when the heir wars started, so even before they entered, these geniuses needed to prove that they were worthy.

August was only 3rd class. Many of his competitors were 4th class. He was also a ten-year-old, the youngest of the young.

He'd lied about the latter when he registered, because they would probably lose their minds if he was honest, but the first part was already enough of a crutch.

That was why Rakon needed another reason to put his money on August.

For a 3rd class to stand a chance, they needed to be far beyond others of their same caliber.

The mana test was more about purity than capacity. Capacity would grow for anyone, and since they were dragons, they already had an unreasonable amount of space to house their energy. Dragons were inherently expected to have large mana capacities.

To them, purity mattered more. It told of how a genius treated mana, and what kind of work they'd done to maintain it.

August was particularly skilled in this facet.

He had been enamored with the energy since young, and it was the first thing he learned even when he didn't have any thoughts of training.

Mana purity was hard to achieve for commoners. Since they didn't have the necessary means to purify the mana on their own, they'd often end up with mana as rough as what their environment could provide them.

August had Damien.

Not only did he learn how to purify his mana, he was given an environment where the mana was already extremely pure.

Putting those two facts together with his love for mana, which caused him to constantly interact with it, August's mana purity didn't even have to be mentioned.

The testing device practically danced with spirituality when it received his energy. It was a reaction that only those of the Holy Clans could produce, which instantly put August's identity under question.

Though, nobody actually addressed the elephant in the room.

Rakon's eyes shined.

'He's definitely a hidden noble.'

Sometimes, people of that caliber had strange desires. Wanting to participate in the heir wars as a commoner seemed to align with those actions, usually taken under the excuse of "experiencing life."

Melania also thought the same. That was why she didn't feel too bad about losing horribly to him.

Her mana was also relatively pure, especially for a commoner and an earth dragon, but how could she dream of coming close to a true noble?

It helped her put aside the negativity brewing in her heart and concentrate on the test, so it didn't matter to her whether her assumptions were true or false.

'He sure doesn't act like a noble.'

August was an outgoing person, and he looked to be interested in others purely out of curiosity, not out of some twisted sense of superiority.

It was hard for nobles to hide their regality. They'd never touched the common air before in their lives, so how could they properly mimic their less fortunate counterparts?

August's ability to do so meant that he'd either been living away from his clan for a very long time, or…he had a disgustingly twisted mind.

Well, the chance of him not being a noble at all also existed, but nobody considered it in the slightest.

When August and Melania finished the mana test, they were led to another chamber within the facility.

It was a large building, but most of the space wasn't put to use for testing. A large percentage was made to hold people, since large crowds were expected, and the rest was used for a variety of purposes, since these buildings wouldn't just be torn down after the testing ended.

Nevertheless, when they entered the room, Rakon immediately shut the door behind them without another word.

The two of them were left alone, and before August could say anything, the lights shut off with a large bang.

The darkness was complete. He knew that Melania was nearby, but he couldn't feel her presence. He knew that his senses were working, but he couldn't hear anything, smell anything, or attempt to perceive his surroundings at all.

His mind was isolated from all else, and that was when his final trial began.

A trial of mind, created to see if geniuses could endure the high-risk high-reward environments they'd be thrust into when they joined the heir wars.

If their minds couldn't handle the pressure, there was no point in their talent. It would all go to waste regardless of what happened.

So, this was the last test, and the most important.

The scenes that flashed through August's mind made him feel like he was really present inside them.

He could feel the sensations of war as he was enveloped by a battlefield. The sword in his hand was real. He couldn't control his actions, but he could feel the movement of his muscles as his arm chopped down to kill another enemy.

Blood was everywhere. Mayhem was everywhere. And, on the other side of it all was a treasure that everyone present wanted for themselves.

It was all or nothing in this place.

And August…

The light in his eyes immediately died.

His emotions numbed, and his perception of everything changed immensely.

This scene…it wasn't new to him. Qinglong had been in wars like this thousands of times at the very least. He was always fighting tooth and nail to gain a treasure that he had no business of getting his hands on.

For those rewards, he risked everything. He killed and killed until he was the only one left, and after attaining what he fought for, he'd go looking for the next battlefield.

It was a tiring life in August's opinion, but it was one he'd been forced to live every single night for the past three years.

This was how he dealt with it.

The instant he found himself in a life-or-death situation, he turned everything off and embraced his draconic instincts.

When it was necessary, he'd become the monster he feared when he was a child.

When he needed to, he could give an entirely new meaning to the name "August Void."

And that…that was the most bittersweet thing for Damien to watch happen, knowing that he couldn't do a thing to change it.

It was a mentality a child should never have.

But, when that child was a dragon, and the Azure Dragon's successor at that…

It was a mark of fate, the makings of a ruler.

It was already obvious that August would participate in the heir wars before he even entered the room.

But if this was any indication of how that event would go…

Surely, it would be far more significant than anything that had happened in Arulion in many, many years.