Humans are fools.

When Ernest discovered the lands beyond the Blackhole, we should have stopped right there.

Paradise was not meant for humans.

But did we heed the warning?

No.

We explored.

We died.

We killed.

We even encountered the Gods, and that was our second grave mistake.

We foolishly opened portals to Paradise, unaware that they would lead to our downfall.

Yet, we still haven't learned.

Believe it or not

The price for our arrogance will be steep.

— Pasteur, in his book which was banner before its release "Paradise: A Blessing or a….?"

***

"Whoa…"

Levi stood before two massive black gates, surrounded by a seemingly endless queue of people. The gates were enormous—gigantic, made from a material Levi couldn't identify.

But one thing was clear - they were incredibly sturdy.

Flanking the gates on both sides were long, towering black walls that stretched as far as Levi could see. These walls weren't unguarded, above them, at regular intervals, massive machines stood watch, programmed to prevent any invader from entering.

This was a place countless people could only dream of setting foot in.

The Favored Ones Academy, the greatest educational institution in the world, which was established after the discovery of Paradise.

It was located in Switzerland, part of the Union of Europe.

There wasn't any special reason for choosing this location. When the institution was being founded, people sought a safe and secure place to teach the next generation without much trouble.

And after the First Cataclysm, only a few places on Earth could still be considered safe, and Switzerland was one of them.

Thanks to its cautious approach and tight security during the Cataclysm, only few portals were lost to monsters, making Switzerland a safe haven for humanity. This was why officials decided to establish the Academy here.

Levi was here today to take the entrance exam for the Favored Ones Academy.

It had been nearly two months since he emerged from Paradise. And he hadn't dared to enter Paradise again, fully aware of the dangers that awaited him, especially after Franz's warning.

During that time, he had rented a place for Ian and Marie.

Yes, he could only rent a place.

What initially seemed like a large sum of money—earned from selling parts of the monstrous bird—turned out to be far less than he had expected. Levi couldn't even afford to buy a house. Instead, he settled for renting a small place.

In addition, he had purchased necessary utilities, some artifacts for himself, and defensive items for the siblings in case of emergencies.\\

In the process - a lot of credits were spent.

Not to mention the academic fees for the entrance exam and the month-long journey to the Academy.

With all of these expenses, Levi found himself broke once again.

His only hope now was to perform well in the entrance exam and earn a scholarship from the Academy.

To prepare, he had done some research.

There were three types of scholarships he could aim for.

The first was the Theory Scholarship, based on the marks obtained in an exam covering information about monsters, Earth's history, the discovery of Paradise, and more.

Levi had already given up on this one as he barely knew anything about the world.

The second was the Combat Scholarship which was based on an evaluation of an individual's fighting abilities and potential.

Levi was pinning all his hopes on this.

The only problem was that there were only seven spots available, combining both theory and combat scholarships.

However, there was one more way to earn a scholarship - the Support Scholarship.

The Favored Ones Academy had 21 instructors, 7 head instructors, 3 guardians, 1 chancellor, and 1 dean.

And each of them had the authority to award a scholarship to one student. This meant the Academy accepted 40 scholarship students each year. It seemed like a large number, but not when compared to the 500 students who were admitted annually, and the 100,000 who applied for the entrance exam.

Of course, not all 100,000 students were present here—it was impossible to accommodate them all.

As a cutoff, only students at least at the Follower rank could take the test, eliminating more than three-quarters of the applicants.

Now, the remaining 25,000 students had gathered here for the next cutoff round. That's how Levi ended up in front of the massive gates.

As the queue moved, it was finally Levi's turn to enter.

"ID?"

The person sitting inside a small cabin, separated by a wall, asked Levi as his face appeared on the screen. Levi responded with the unique ID he had received when applying for the entrance examination.

As the staff member entered the ID into his device, Levi's detailed information popped up—his name, age, gender, date of birth, mercenary rank, and other basic details. Nothing out of the ordinary.

Levi was then allowed entry through a smaller gate attached to the massive black gates.

"You can pass. If you have any spatial rings, they'll be inspected further—please cooperate," the staff member said as Levi walked in.

As he passed through the gate, a red light scanned his entire body—likely to check for any dangerous items. Levi had brought nothing except the ring on his finger.

Unsurprisingly, another staff member approached him.

"Please hand over your spatial device—it will be returned to you after the examination," they instructed.

Levi nodded and handed over the rings. There were the ones that had once belonged to Fat Boy and the young master of the Malakani Family.

Thanks to the Mercenary Federation, he had gained access to both Kai's and Fat Boy's rings and he had even found many items inside them, but there was nothing he needed to hide.

He handed over both spatial rings, which contained all his artifacts and other belongings. Now, only his clothes and citizenship watch remained on him.

"You're in Section 469. Follow the instructions sent to your watch and proceed to the location," the staff member said, moving on to the next candidate.

Levi followed the instructions and headed toward his assigned section.

---***---

Start of Volume 02 - The Favored Ones