Void Absorption: Rise of the Martial God

5

On the high platform, Dean Aldren had initially believed that given his prestigious position in the academy and the sheer authority in his furious reprimand, Dorian — the weak and cowardly underdog — would be trembling in fear, too intimidated to resist, and would simply slink away in disgrace.

But!

Instead, he saw Dorian standing perfectly still, his gaze unwavering and devoid of fear, even carrying a hint of amusement as he met the dean's eyes.

"Dean Aldren, if you want to expel me, fine. But I've paid the full tuition for this semester. There's no reason to bar me from taking the final assessment, is there?"

"You —!"

8:43 AM

Dean Aldren's eyes bulged with rage. He hadn't expected this boy to dare talk back to him!

Noticing the impatient expressions of the martial academy recruiters nearby, the dean quickly sneered and snapped at Dorian.

"Fine! You're no longer a student of Duskfall Academy anyway. Take this last exam and then get the hell out!"

He then turned to the recruiters with a deferential tone. "Honorable recruiters, what do you think?"

"Just let him finish the assessment quickly," one of them said with a frown.

The others nodded indifferently.

Seeing this, Dorian smiled faintly, clasped his hands behind his back, and strode confidently toward the examination room.

"Dorian Ash!"

As Dorian passed by Warren and his group, a low, icy voice hissed in his ear.

Dorian's footsteps faltered slightly. He turned his head with a casual glance, only to see Warren glaring at him with venomous eyes.

"Dorian, you've got some nerve! Not only did you kick Lyra in the backside, but you also dared to lay hands on my boys. Just you wait!"

Beside him, Lyra remained silent, but her fox-like eyes burned with humiliation and loathing as she stared at Dorian, as if she could tear him apart with her teeth.

Never in her life had she been humiliated like this!

Dorian completely ignored Lyra. Instead, he glanced at Warren once, then looked away — the way you'd look away from something unremarkable — and walked out.

Damn it!

Upon hearing this, Warren clenched his fists tightly, his face darkening with rage.

"Warren, you have to stand up for me! That bastard treated me like that... and no one has ever touched me there before~"

Lyra, seeing how Dorian had completely ignored her, was seething with anger. She leaned close to Warren, her voice dripping with feigned sweetness as she whispered in his ear.

"Don't worry, Lyra. Once the assessment is over, I'll crush that loser with one hand!"

Warren glared at Dorian's retreating figure, his voice laced with venom.

......

"Go on in."

Up ahead, Dorian arrived at the testing site. An instructor from Duskfall Academy stood nearby, his expression indifferent as he gestured toward the examination room.

"Got it."

Without wasting words, Dorian pushed open the door and stepped inside.

He knew the room was equipped with specialized machines to test strength, speed, and reflexes.

Bang!

The door shut behind him, and a red light flickered above the examination room, signaling that the test had begun.

"Hey, what do you think this loser's stats will be? Think his overall score will even hit 30?"

"Pfft — 30 points? Are you blind? I'd say 25 at most!"

"What an idiot. Where does he get the confidence? Knew he'd embarrass himself but still went for it. Now he's expelled — no need to come back next year!"

"Ha, no wonder they call him trash. Probably fried his brain too."

"..."

The crowd below buzzed with mocking whispers.

Up on the high platform, Elder Harwick, along with Dean Aldren and the vice deans, stood with faces dark as thunder.

Damn it all!

They had planned to impress the visiting officials from the martial academies and boost their academy's promotion rate — maybe even earn some bragging rights. That was why they had come up with this scheme!

Every other weak student had obediently played along, but who could have expected this?

Some reckless fool had to go and ruin it?!

They were practically giddy at the thought of a 100% promotion rate — until Dorian had to go and humiliate them!

And not just a little embarrassment — this was a full-blown disgrace!

Sure, they had already expelled him, but Dorian was still one of their students, wasn't he?

Now the worst third-year student's pathetic stats were about to be laid bare before the officials of the greatest martial academies in the kingdom!

Just thinking about it made their faces twist like they had swallowed flies.

Damn it!

Dorian Ash, don't even think about setting foot in this academy again. Just wait until I blacklist you!

Dean Aldren seethed inwardly, his face dark with fury.

Ding!

At that moment, the red light above the examination room switched to green, signaling the end of Dorian's test.

Simultaneously, his results were transmitted through the room's energy-monitoring device and displayed on the crystal screen in the examiner's hands.

Before Dorian even stepped out, the examiner, his expression indifferent, was already poised to announce the outcome.

But the next second —

His eyes nearly bulged out of their sockets as he stared at the data on the screen.

The words died in his throat.

What the hell?!

Is this for real?!

Disbelief twisted the examiner's face.

"What's the hold-up? Hurry up, don't waste time!"

Dean Aldren's face darkened as he furrowed his brows and bellowed,

"Speak up now!"

"Yes, sir!"

The examiner jolted upright and immediately announced in a booming voice,

"Dorian Ash — strength: 1,500 pounds, speed: 18.1 m/s, reflexes: supreme grade, overall score: 99!"

The moment the words fell —

Dead silence swept through the crowd.

Wha... what?

Dean Aldren, doubting his own ears, fixed his gaze on the examiner and demanded, "Say that again?"

It wasn't just him — no one could believe it either!

Especially the hundreds of third-year students below, who stood utterly dumbfounded!

"Dorian Ash — strength 1,500 pounds, speed 18.1 m/s, reflexes supreme grade, overall score — 99 points!"

The examiner had no choice but to announce it again, louder this time.

This time, everyone heard it clearly.

Instantly, the crowd erupted in uproar.

"Holy hell, this can't be real! How did Dorian Ash get stats like that?!"

"Fake, absolutely fake! There's no way Dorian outperformed Warren Cole!"

"Seriously? The dead-last in our grade, with that trash-tier One-Star beginner strength, scoring 99 points?! That's practically perfect — what the actual hell!"

The students were dumbstruck, the entire hall boiling with disbelief.

Meanwhile, Dean Aldren, the vice deans, and Elder Harwick stood frozen in shock.

The students didn't know, but they did —

There was an unspoken rule in the academy's grading system.

There was no such thing as a perfect 100.

The highest possible score was 99.

It served as a reminder to even the most gifted students:

No matter how talented you are, there is always someone better.

Never let temporary success breed arrogance.

No matter how outstanding any student might be, even if they possessed the ability to achieve a perfect score, that final point would always be automatically deducted after the assessment!

Dorian Ash... a perfect score??