"WHAT!?"

Elane’s sudden shout surprised both Rohan and Harland.

"What’s wrong? What’s happened this time...?" Rohan was surprised by her sudden outburst, water practically spraying from Elane’s mouth.

Wiping herself down with a slight blush on her cheeks, Elane replied: "No! It’s just... you’re really thinking of applying for the best university on Earth?"

To Elane, this was something so far beyond her that she’d never even considered it. Even with a C rank Colonel for a father it wouldn’t be so easy to enter a place like that, especially if she didn’t really have much of her own talent to offer.

In contrast to Rohan, she knew that even with her father’s status, a recommendation letter from him didn’t guarantee an entry ticket into a university, even those ranked lower than Primus!

At best, a recommendation letter from him would only guarantee an entry ticket to the assessment — there was no such thing as a fast pass to get directly into such a famous institution, even for the sons and daughters of big shots even higher up the hierarchy than Harland.

So to hear straight from her father that he believed Rohan actually stood a good chance greatly shocked her.

But after calming down, she began to see the sense in his words. Even more so than he did.

After all, unlike her father who’d only heard hearsay and stories from her, she’d actually fought alongside him and bore witness to his growth over the past week or so.

She knew exactly how monstrous his growth rate was.

A guy who went from not even knowing how to hold a spear properly to surviving against an E rank Elite beast, taking down an F rank Elite Soldier Ant almost entirely solo, and then playing the decisive role in bringing down Liam and the Pseudo-Commander boss of the Spike Beast gate all within such a short span of time...

If a person like that didn’t have the right to at least try for Primus University, then who did?

’Definitely not me...’

Elane began to lose confidence in herself. So far, everything that she’d accomplished in regards to her own strength had direct attributions to Rohan. Her being able to hunt and obtain so many Origin Crystals and even survive the full 7 days of the Origin Realm? All thanks to Rohan teaming with her. Her first Genetic Armament? Obtained with Rohan’s help. And then there was the fact that he’d somehow turned it into an Elite Genetic Armament too.

’How can I even compare to someone like that, let alone wish to stand alongside him in applying for Primus University...’

Harland observed the shifting emotions on his daughter’s face and understood what was happening immediately. Her shock hadn’t come from the disbelief in Rohan’s talent, but rather from the absurdity of applying to such an elite institution being talked about so casually.

To most people, Primus University was a place where the next echelon of humanity’s elite were born.

The place where the future powerhouses of the Federation gathered. Where geniuses, heirs, monsters and freaks with absurd potential sharpened one another into even deadlier weapons.

Even getting your name mentioned in relation to it was enough to make ordinary Awakened feel a pressure they couldn’t quite describe.

And now here Rohan was, sitting half-propped up in an overly expensive hospital bed, talking about applying to it like someone mulling over whether to take the train or bus.

Rohan scratched his cheek awkwardly.

"...When you react like that, it makes it sound kind of ridiculous."

Elane immediately shook her head, alleviating herself of any more self deprecating thoughts.

"No. That’s not what I mean." She paused, then frowned.

"Well... okay, no, it is ridiculous. But only because its Primus. If it were any other university I wouldn’t blink an eye." 𝘧𝓇ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝘣𝓃ℴ𝓋𝑒𝑙.𝑐𝘰𝑚

That made Harland’s mouth curve upward faintly.

Rohan let out a breath and leaned his head back against the pillow.

"I’m not saying I’m definitely getting in," he muttered.

After all, even if his Evolution Gene did make his talent skyrocket, it wasn’t something he could reveal. Whether he could come up to par with the standards of Primus without having to rely on it depended entirely on him.

"I just mean... if I’m going to go somewhere, I may as well aim as high as possible."

That answer, simple as it may be, made both Elane and Harland look at him a little differently.

Because there was no arrogance in it. Nor any delusion.

Just confidence.

They say that arrogance is just confidence with nothing to back it up, and Elane knew all too well that Rohan was nothing like that.

He wasn’t sitting there declaring that Primus University needed him, or was beneath his concern.

Rohan was well aware of the opportunities such a place could bring to him. Even though he could almost certainly rely on his own efforts inside the Origin Realm to push his strength as far as it could possibly go, there would come a point where he’d eventually stagnate and have to look for opportunities elsewhere.

But if he managed to get into Primus, it would be as if such obstacles never existed.

It was a no brainer decision really.

"So what do I have to do to get into a place like that?" Rohan asked, moving away from the weird atmosphere that had developed. ’What got into those two?’ He couldn’t help but think.

"That’s where Primus and the other two top 3 universities differ from every other institution. Normally, you’d just have to take a few written exams and then some physical testing to see if you fit the requirements.

But with Primus and the other two, there’s a step beyond that. Once those who don’t even pass the bare minimum are weeded out, the real assessment begins. The remaining students are pitted together in a battle royale style match where you are forced to fight against your peers: only the top 50 remaining at the end of it get the right to finally enrol."

’That doesn’t sound too bad.’ Rohan thought.

"How many are usually in these assessments."

Harland smirked as if he could tell how nonchalantly Rohan took those last few words. He could practically read Rohan’s mind right now, knowing exactly what he was thinking.

"Oh, just a few million each year. People come from all over the Federation to apply for this place, not just on Earth."

Rohan: "..."

Elane: "..."