"It's empty, he has no divine signature"
The room where the test was going on was noisy and filled with activity, so even if the Instructor said something like that, only a few people were bound to hear it. Unfortunately for Lucius, the few people that did hear it didn't keep their mouths shut.
"He doesn't have a divine signature?"
"Who's that? Who doesn't have a divine signature?"
"That kid over there, he doesn't have a divine signature"
It took all of ten seconds for everyone's attention to be focused on him. The person in question could only rub his nose awkwardly and walk away from the front of the line. Even as he walked away though, the gazes of most people present still followed him.
All of a sudden, Lucien felt that "sunny innit" was only the second worst thing to ever happen to him, and he had been through his fair share of things.
After he took the divine signature test, everyone avoided him like he was a plague. Despite them not openly saying anything, he could see their thoughts through a single look into their eyes. It seemed like no one wanted anything to do with him.
Well, except for one person.
"Fascinating," Alex mumbled for probably the hundredth time, squinting at Lucius like he was some kind of rare animal.
Lucius blinked. "Why are you so close to my face?"
Alex raised his hand like he was about to touch Lucius' cheek.
Lucius grabbed his wrist before it got there. "Let's not."
"Oh. Right. Sorry," Alex said, taking a step back. "It's just... you're fascinating. Every demigod has an ability, that's normal. But you? You don't. You're not normal"
"Yeah," Lucius muttered. "Thanks for the reminder."
"You don't understand, I'm not trying to make fun of you." Alex looked genuinely confused. "I'm just trying to figure it out. This is something that even I don't understand. How does someone with divine blood not have a signature? It shouldn't be possible."
Lucius sighed and ran a hand through his hair. He didn't want to talk about this. Not with anyone. Definitely not with the guy who looked like he read too many science journals for fun.
Then Alex suddenly straightened up. His expression turned serious.
"Would you let me run some experiments on you?"
Lucius raised an eyebrow. "I may be broke, but I'm not selling myself for lab work. No thanks."
Alex waved a hand dismissively. "Not that kind of experiment. I just want to study your condition. Figure out why you don't have a divine ability. Who knows? Maybe I could help you unlock one."
Lucius paused.
That didn't sound terrible.
He didn't really have anything to lose. If Alex actually figured something out, great. If not, well, he didn't really have anything to lose. His life was already at rock bottom for a demigod.
He was about to give a half-hearted maybe when Alex delivered the final blow.
"Just think of it as paying me back for the transmission watch I gave you."
Lucius groaned. Loudly. "I knew that stupid thing was gonna come back to bite me."
"Is that a yes?"
"...Fine."
Meanwhile, as Lucius was talking with Alex, Amanda was watching him with a very curious expression on her face. She had already finished her test and as everyone was preparing mentally for the combat round, she had a bit of time to herself.
There was a coin with two blank sides in her hand as she stared at Lucius. While staring at him, she flipped the coin and caught it in her palm with the skill of a professional gambler. She then opened her palm and stared at the blank surface of the coin for a few seconds.
"Tails again, looks like he's an interesting one..." she mumbled.
"Alright everyone, gather here!" Logan, the instructor who made the first announcement about the two tests shouted, getting everyone's attention. When he finished talking, everyone gathered around him. "As you know, the last thing on the agenda is the combat assessment. And as most of you may have figured out, we cannot hold it here so everyone prepare yourselves!"
That was the last thing Lucien heard before the reality in front of him distorted. A moment later, he found himself standing in the stands of what seemed to be a battle arena. There were tens of square rings elevated above the ground. In the epicenter of it all was a ring that was as large as four of the normal rings joined together.
"This is where we will host the combat assessment". Logan said. "The combat draw should have been sent to your transmission watches and everyone from the number one to one hundred and sixty, please make your way to your designated combat ring".
"When you enter the combat ring, you can start any time you want. The ring has damage sensors and the stats from your earlier tests have been uploaded into the combat ring so when damage that is deemed fatal to either person is sensed then the two people fighting would be warped out of the ring. Remember this is just an assessment. The academy does not care about who wins or loses, all we need is to know the extent of your abilities".
Lucius felt his watch beep after Logan finished talking. He stared at the message displayed on it and let out a small sigh. He was fighting someone known as Ben Jared on ring 45.
Not wasting any time, Lucius made his way to his designated ring where he met someone who looked the same age as him staring at him the same way a hungry wolf would look at food.
From the way he dressed, Lucius knew he was one of the rich people that came from earlier.
"Looks like today is my luck day. Using you as my stepping stone I'l-"
Lucius facepalmed as soon as Ben started talking.
"Why," he muttered, "did I have to get stuck with a third-rate villain monologue?"
"For the love of the gods, shut up and fight!" Lucius shouted.