Filly looked at herself in the mirror. She was now wearing a black and white uniform with a serpent insignia on her chest and glasses on top of her nose. She didn't usually wear glasses, but she felt like she needed them this time for a change. Pushing up her spectacles, she couldn't help but sigh. "It would be better if I just failed this Advancement."
She wasn't particularly fond of cultivating, but it didn't mean she was going to fail the Advancement Examination on purpose. With her strength, she was confident she would pass the exam, though she would be dreaming if she thought her ranking would reach the top.
Just barely passing was enough for her as she still needed to graduate from the martial school to repay her family. And after that… Filly looked at herself in the mirror with great determination. "I will live my life the way I want."
A knock came on the door, and Filly knew it was time. She opened the door and saw Gail wearing the same uniform as her. "Is the carriage ready?"
"Yes, Miss," Gail nodded.
"Alright, let's go," Filly said, and they went downstairs. However, she was about to step down when she saw the scene below. "We have a lot of customers."
"Yeah," Gail said from behind, glancing at the number of customers eating on the first floor. "And they're almost all eating the same thing."
Filly smiled as the smell of fried chicken permeated the air. "We only launched the dish yesterday, and our customers have doubled. And it's only the regular fried chicken made from the Scavenger."
"This is a good sign, Miss."
"I know," Filly said, and they both started going downstairs. "I expect more people to come in the next few days, and that's also when the official battle against Skyline Savory will begin."
Hearing this, Gail's eyes widened in surprise. "Isn't it too soon?"
"Yes, but we have to take advantage of the current event. The city will be filled with people because of the Advancement Examination. Some officials from other cities will visit, and we also have to attract them," Filly explained as they reached the door. Along the way, her workers wished them the best of luck.
They were about to open the door when it was opened from outside and Ned entered. He was scratching his head in confusion, holding the wooden basket.
"What's wrong?" Filly asked with a raised eyebrow.
"He's not there," Ned said.
"Mr. Yoma," Ned said, sighing.
"Mr. Yoma?" Filly and Gail looked at each other. "Who's Mr. Yoma? Didn't I tell you to give the basket to Mr. B—"
Filly didn't finish her words as she understood what was happening. So that's his name. Yeah, I was rude for not asking his name. This thought made her feel disappointed.
Seeing her face, Ned became worried. "I'll go immediately to find him!"
"No need," Filly stopped him before he could leave the restaurant. "He's probably somewhere else. Just check from time to time if he's back."
"Alright then," Ned said, scratching his cheek. "Good luck with the Advancement, Miss!"
"Thanks," Filly nodded, and along with Gail, they went outside and entered the carriage. Soon, the horses pulled the carriage towards the venue where the Advancement would be held.
"Gail, are you confident?" Filly asked as the carriage started moving.
"I'm confident that I will at least reach the top 5," Gail said. "But reaching the top 2 or top 1, I need great luck."
"It's because of Bel, right?" Filly smiled, mentioning her friend.
"Yeah, but what I'm most worried about is Arke," Gail's eyes turned serious. "He is a man that even Bel will have a hard time fighting. He is also a Cultivator with a fire attribute."
Filly didn't know the person Gail was talking about, but hearing that the guy named Arke had a fire attribute made her mood heavy. "That's a tough opponent. But don't worry, reaching the top 5 is good enough. That's also good for business."
"Right," Gail smiled. "This will definitely attract customers."
Because the event will have a lot of people watching, it's the perfect place to make Filly's Restaurant famous. If Gail reaches at least the top five, people will get curious about her. Those unfamiliar with her will definitely want to know her identity. Then, once they find out that she works for Filly's restaurant, they will also get curious about it.
Filly wanted a chain reaction that would end up making her restaurant famous.
The carriage reached an intersection, and they began to move slowly. Filly pushed the curtain of the window to the side to get a better view and saw carriages moving in the same direction as them. There were also a lot of people walking on the side, some were martial students, while others were just commoners wanting to watch the event.
While she was looking outside, her eyes fell on someone wearing a full dark grey robe that covered his whole body. She could only see the person's side profile, but she noticed the half mask that covered his eyes.
Oh? Someone is hiding their identity? Filly raised an eyebrow. For that person to hide their identity, they are probably one of the cultivators who defeated a martial student and got their hands on an invitation card.
Gail, who happened to look outside, also noticed the person. "That person is really small," she couldn't help but comment.
"That height and figure…" This comment made Filly think of someone. It can't be? She shook her head the next moment for thinking such a ridiculous thing.
"What's wrong?" Gail asked.
"Nothing," Filly shook her head while pulling the curtain back.
Their carriage, along with the other carriages, went outside the city. Their destination was a mountain where the event would be held. Those in the carriages took about 20 to 30 minutes, while those on foot had to walk for at least an hour just to get there.
After arriving at the foot of the mountain, Filly and Gail went out of their carriage, their eyes naturally went to the top of the mountain.
"It's too high," Filly couldn't help but mutter in astonishment.
"The venue is different this time," Gail said, looking around. This was not the first time she participated in the Advancement Examination, and the last venue was held inside one of the martial schools in the city.
There were already a lot of people at the foot of the mountain, most of them were students, and some came with their parents or guardians.