Vogue walked to the main street and hailed a taxi that was passing by. The driver, a middle-aged man who had seen countless students coming and going, nodded and opened the door without comnt.
The journey took approximately thirty minutes through the morning traffic of the city. Vogue sat quietly in the back seat, watching the urban landscape pass by through the window and noting how different everything looked now that his perception had been enhanced.
Finally, the taxi pulled up in front of an absolutely massive building that dominated the entire city block. The Citadel Administration Center was architecturally distinct from all the surrounding structures. While most buildings in the city used standard concrete and steel construction with various colors, this particular building was painted completely pure white from top to bottom. The white surface almost seed to glow faintly in the sunlight.
Most impressively, there were two enormous statues positioned on either side of the main entrance. Each statue depicted an angel standing at least fifteen ters tall. The angels were carved from so kind of white stone that looked almost like marble but was probably sothing more durable. Their wings spread wide, their faces showed serene expressions, and their hands held weapons that suggested they were warrior angels rather than peaceful ssengers.
Vogue paid the taxi driver and stepped out onto the sidewalk, his eyes drawn imdiately to the angel statues. He walked closer to examine them with genuine curiosity.
As he approached and looked up at the nearest angel statue, he was struck by how incredibly lifelike it appeared. The details were extraordinary. Every individual feather on the wings was carved separately. The folds in the robes showed realistic fabric behavior. The facial features had the subtle imperfections that marked real faces rather than idealized art.
But more than the visual appearance, there was sothing else about the statues. A faint sense of pressure emanated from them, a subtle spiritual weight that pressed down on anyone who stood too close. It wasn’t overwhelming or painful, just noticeable. Like standing near sothing powerful that was currently sleeping but could wake up if needed.
Vogue felt the pressure but it didn’t particularly bother him. His ntal fortitude had been strengthened significantly through all his experiences and transformations.
Suddenly, while he was studying the statue with his curious expression still visible on his face, sobody ca up directly behind him without making any sound.
"That’s quite unusual, you know," a young male voice spoke from behind Vogue, startling him slightly. "Being able to look directly at these statues without feeling their suppression effect usually ans one of two things. Either you’re already a high-level Stellar Knight with significant spiritual power, or your ntal fortitude is exceptionally strong for your apparent age."
Vogue turned around to see who was speaking. Standing behind him was a young man who appeared to be in his early twenties, dressed in an extrely neat and expensive-looking suit that probably cost more than most people’s monthly rent. The young man was smiling in a friendly, approachable way that suggested he was used to starting conversations with strangers.
"I’ve been bullied quite a lot in the past by various people," Vogue responded with a slight shrug, keeping his tone casual and self-deprecating. "I suppose my ntal strength must have increased sowhat due to all that bullying. You learn to ignore pressure when you’ve dealt with enough of it."
The young man suddenly burst out laughing as though Vogue had just told the funniest joke in the world. His laughter was genuine and loud, drawing a few glances from people passing by on the sidewalk.
"If that logic actually worked consistently," the young man said between chuckles, "there would be countless people walking around with incredibly high ntal aptitude! Every student who ever got picked on in school would beco spiritually enlightened!"
He composed himself and extended his hand in a formal greeting gesture. "My na is Sean Brightholm. What’s yours?"
Vogue glanced briefly at the young man’s outstretched hand, then looked up at his face to assess whether this person seed trustworthy or not. After a mont’s consideration, he reached out and shook Sean’s hand firmly while speaking clearly.
"I’m Vogue Morningster."
Sean’s expression changed slightly, showing recognition. His eyes widened just a bit and he nodded his head thoughtfully, as though searching through his mory.
"Vogue Morningster... where have I heard that na before recently?" Sean muttered to himself, his brow furrowing in concentration. Then his face suddenly lit up with realization. "Oh! I rember now! You’re the young man who donated those incredibly valuable treasures to your school! The Evolution Fruit, the Sky Grade technique, and that Epic Grade beast egg! Even the city mayor and the Three Great Families were apparently filled with jealousy when they heard about it. Your story was all over the news broadcasts and social dia for the past three days straight!"
Vogue wasn’t particularly surprised that his actions had beco public knowledge so quickly. He had expected this outco when he made the decision to donate those items publicly. News like that traveled fast in a society that valued cultivation resources above almost everything else.
"Co on, let’s go register ourselves together!" Sean said enthusiastically, his friendly deanor suggesting he was genuinely interested in getting to know Vogue better rather than just recognizing a famous na. He started walking toward the main entrance, gesturing for Vogue to follow. "No point standing around outside when we both have business to conduct!"
Vogue fell into step beside Sean, and together they walked through the massive entrance doors into the Citadel Administration Center’s interior.
The inside of the building was just as impressive as the outside. The entrance hall was enormous, with ceilings that stretched up at least three stories high. Expensive-looking chandeliers hung from above, providing warm lighting. The floors were polished marble that reflected everything like a mirror.
And there were people everywhere. There was already a very long line of students waiting inside the building, all of them presumably there to register their newly awakened talents and beco official Stellar Knights just like Vogue intended to do.
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