"Bonus rewards? Is that even possible?"
"They really went beyond all our expectations. They truly deserve it."
"Exactly. Especially Alice—she managed to beat two very powerful opponents at once."
Alice and Tiana exchanged excited looks. They couldn’t wait to find out what the bonus reward would be.
Philip raised his hand, and the top three winners received their prizes.
A B-rank sword appeared in Alice’s hands.
[ You have received an item ]
[ Na: Burning Moon Sword ]
[ Rank: B ]
Alice’s eyes lit up with joy. She hadn’t expected to receive a B-rank weapon.
And a sword, no less! She had been worrying about how she’d find better swords as she got stronger, but now she didn’t have to worry about that anymore.
She glanced at the head of the academy and could see a small smile in his eyes, as if he was saying, "Well done."
Tiana received a C-rank item, and right away, an announcent echoed in her mind.
[ You have received an item ]
[ Na: Elental Bracelet ]
[ Rank: C ]
[ Description: Increases your elental compatibility by up to 50%, helps you understand elents more quickly and easily, and boosts your elental power by up to 50% when using elents. ]
Tiana’s eyes lit up with excitent. It felt like this item was made just for her—absolutely perfect.
"Thank you so much," she bowed slightly in front of the academy head to show her gratitude.
"No need to thank . You earned it with your own effort," Philip smiled.
After giving out the other rewards, he looked at Alice and Tiana and said:
"Co to my office to receive your bonus reward, and also to get the badge that grants access to the Lapis Phoenix Domain."
Then he rose into the air and turned his attention to the audience.
"Thank you to everyone who ca to watch the rise of our future powerhouses and specialists. The test is officially over, and the results are final!"
The audience began clapping and cheering for the winners. What they had witnessed today had gone far beyond what they expected.
"Can you believe it? Geniuses like that were born in our city."
"I’m sure Alice and Tiana’s nas will be known throughout the entire country! Our city’s finally about to get famous!"
"First it was that genius who cleared the Coliseum Dungeon, and now these two. Haha! Our city finally raised so talents who can rival those from the capital!"
"But what about the bonus rewards? Isn’t he going to give them out now?"
"The audience probably didn’t hear what he said to them. Maybe the rewards aren’t ready yet, since this was so unexpected."
"Yeah, that makes sense. Maybe he’ll give it to them in a few days."
The audience continued to whisper among themselves.
"Mom, let’s go et the girls," Daniel turned to Liana and said.
Liana got up excitedly and left the spectator stands. Daniel smiled when he saw how happy his mother was.
Seeing his mother and sister happy—that was more valuable to him than anything else.
He quickly followed her out of the stands. Soon after,
"Shall we go?" Alice glanced at Tiana as she spoke.
"Yeah, let’s go outside. We shouldn’t keep your brother and Aunt Liana waiting too long," Tiana nodded and walked out ahead.
Alice didn’t leave right away. She first looked at Livana’s face—she could see the anger and frustration in it. Her expression was dark, and no one even dared get close to her.
Seeing that, Alice burst out laughing loudly, and of course, Livana noticed. But she just ignored it and stord off angrily.
"Tch, so boring," Alice muttered and left as well.
Alice and Tiana also ca out and spotted them.
"Mom! Bro!" Alice ran forward and hugged her mom tightly.
"I did it! I got first place!"
Her voice was full of excitent and joy.
"I knew my beautiful girl could get first place," Liana said happily.
Tiana walked up with a small smile and stood beside them. Even though she didn’t show it, it was clear she felt a little sad that her own family wasn’t there with her.
"Tiana, aren’t you going to co for a hug? Or... do you still not see us as your family?" Liana, of course, could tell how Tiana felt.
"Really?" Tiana asked, eyes shimring.
"Of course. Co here." Liana opened her other arm, and Tiana didn’t hesitate to step into her hug.
"Haha! Both of my pretty girls got top ranks!"
"Well, now I’m starting to feel a little jealous," Daniel teased. But seeing how happy his family was made a smile form on his face too.
"Bro, I never could’ve gotten first place without your help," Alice let go of her mom and jumped into Daniel’s arms.
"Now you see why I’m the best brother in the world?"
"Of course, of course! My brother’s the best," Alice laughed.
"Thank you so much," Tiana stepped away from Liana and, a little shyly, sincerely thanked Daniel.
Without his help, she was sure she wouldn’t have even made it into the top five. But unlike Alice, she couldn’t bring herself to hug Daniel.
"No need to thank . In the end, it was your own effort that got you here," Daniel replied.
Sure, he was the one who pushed them to train—but if they hadn’t wanted it themselves, they never would’ve progressed. The fact that they’d co so far proved their determination.
"So, should we head ho now, or is there anything left?" Liana asked as she walked up to them.
"Philip told us to co to his office to get our bonus reward and the badge for entering the Lapis Phoenix Domain," Alice replied.
"Good, I wanted to talk to Mr. Philip too," Daniel nodded.
They started heading toward the office of the head of the Awakened Association academy—but on the way, they ran into two people they really didn’t want to see.
"Mom? Dad? What are you doing here?" Tiana asked as she saw the man and woman standing in their path.
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