楼上的上瘾女士

Silence...

The whole coliseum went silent at this absurd display of strength as well as nonchalance from Hal as he stepped off the stage after clearly defeating Lyle who slipped to the floor, unconscious.

Valerie then asked Melinda the question almost everyone seated in the coliseum was thinking, 

"What just happened?" 

Melinda shrugged once again, 

"A mix of a disinterest to play to the gallery and let the battle drag on as well as an overwhelming strength that places Hal above the so-called leaders of the young generation."

While Han Doe had suspected Hal could have easily defeated him when they faced off in the rundown district, it was now clear as day that he never had a chance.

Not to mention, with Hal not holding back, his (Han Doe's) decision to forfeit in which he avoided any injury seemed all the more like the smart choice now.

As the second stage of the Entrance exams neared the end, there were not many battles to provide as much excitement as the ones preceding, the most notable of which was Melinda and Valerie's battle but one did come quite close.

It was a battle between two ladies with the strength to defeat those with stronger cultivation than them.

A battle between two extraordinary progenies of powerful families.

A battle between Adeline Silva and Nicole Antonov.

Nicole summoned the large Blue war hammer that was the standard Cosmic Armament for all members of the Antonov families while Adeline retained the use of her Large Ax cosmic Armament.

The battle between the two ladies was impressive with neither actually seeming to have an edge.

Nicole could not go all out with her succubus bloodline (courtesy of Hal) but more than held her own to the point of a spectacular explosion due to a collision of cosmic attacks by the two at the end of which, both ladies were out of the circle.

The battle ended in a stalemate but judging from the glare they gave each other, Hal knew there would be a sequel especially with duels being allowed and encouraged among members of the Royal Academy.

Hal hardly bothered with how he was paired and simply stepped on the stage whenever it was his turn to either accept the forfeit of his opponent or crush them with overwhelming strength.

Why should he water it down?

He needed this over as soon as possible.

The faster it ended, the faster he could get to dealing some idiots the swift ass-kicking they deserved.

When the second stage finally ended, in quite an anti-climatic fashion (Melinda and he had been paired together to battle for who would be proclaimed the winner of the second stage of the Royal Academy entrance exams and they had both fought like they were mildly sparring with each other. It was almost like a dance) the rankings based on points was revealed and unsurprisingly, Hal clinched the top spot.

An honor he truly cared nothing about.

That said, when the Empress appeared on the stage to address them all as new members of the Royal Academy, he listened attentively and she had his full attention.

Every participant was present.

Including those who had been rendered unconscious after their battles as they had been quickly resuscitated.

Many were in awe of the Empress, most especially the manner in which she instantaneously appeared on the center stage along with two others who were clearly her attendants.

This had to be the highlight of the evening for almost everyone in the crowd.

The chance to see the Empress so close was an incredibly priceless experience.

And yet, not only were the new members of the Royal Academy so close to her they could feel the power radiating off her body, but they would also get more chances to see her up close since she was principal of the Academy.

'They are so lucky' many thought.

Hal, however, did not feel lucky.

He felt the pressure was targeting him specifically.

At first, he thought to shake it off as mere paranoia but he could not...

'Yep, she's definitely targeting you'

... after Grimoire confirmed his suspicions.

"Well done, all of you. It is no small feat to become a part of the most prestigious structure on the Haron continent. Hal Doxon, I congratulate you for proving the best among your peers. You must feel proud" she said to which Hal furrowed his brows but said nothing.

The Empress continued, 

" I will now award you all with badges of honor badges that will show you as a member of the Royal Academy and grant you the required honors wherever you go"

After that, the ones with her produced cases which they opened up in front of all participants to pick out a badge each.

As they picked, Hal felt the Empress' attention on him and did his best to ignore it.

Once everyone had a badge, the Empress said in a fairly emotionless voice, 

"Once again, I congratulate you" with that she vanished along with the two with her.

Returning to the VIP box while the coliseum applauded the new members of the Royal Academy.

While many participants indulged in the applause and swelled with pride, one and most evident of whom was Pierre who looked almost teary-eyed at finally being successful in getting into the Royal Academy,  Hal stared at the badge and sighed.

'Thank goodness it's over' he thought as he walked off the stage.

...

It was nightfall when the Entrance exams ended and the crowds in the coliseum finally dispersed.

It had been quite a watch and many were talking about it as they went to their respective homes or hotel rooms in case of not actually living in the Imperial city.

The hottest topic was the young man, Hal Doxon who was clearly a hidden gem, hidden because no one knew of him until this exam, and the best of all participants, not just in terms of points but also in terms of performance.

While they discussed the young man who had now returned to his suite with Rita, Marla, Karmen, Lillian, and Olivia who joined him once they were out of the Coliseum, Hal received a message on his communication Talisman.

The Empress had summoned him.

To what location, he had no idea but was to board a carriage sent to pick him up at the hotel he was staying.

Having no idea what the Empress wished to see and speak to him about and thinking how somewhat comical it would be for the carriage to explode once again in an assassination attempt, Hal prepared to obey the summon.

Not with joy though.

Even if he did not care about passing the Entrance exams, it was still a wonderful avenue to celebrate with an Orgy. An orgy his women, excluding Melinda and Nicole who had returned to their respective families for the meantime, were prepared and excited for.

Anyway,

When the carriage entered the territory of the Imperial palace, Hal chuckled to himself as the location being the Imperial palace should have been obvious.

The carriage ride was long but they soon arrived at the destination which had to be the most luxurious and the grandest residence he had seen so far in the Imperial Palace.

A residence worthy of a woman second in status only to the Emperor. 

At least that was what Hal presumed without seeing the residence dedicated to the Emperor.

"Get out" said a guard that was clearly meant to guide him about the residence.

Hal frowned lightly at the guard's tone but said nothing and let himself be herded deeper into the residence to two large double doors, the type of which Hal had seen enough of (though not this grand or of this quality) to know was a door to the Empress' study.

That said, when the doors opened, he was left speechless as the dimensions and contents far surpassed anything he had expected.