Chapter 65 - 065: The Heavy Night

Chapter 65: Chapter 065: The Heavy Night

0As silence loomed, night settled heavily over the greatest academy for mages and knights alike in the human realm.

The heavy silence was broken, though, by the sounds of carriages still rolling out into the courtyard and out of the school gates.

Who were leaving? Those who couldn’t bring themselves to risk tarnishing their future prospects.

The old Headmaster looked out the windows of his office and down at the leaving carriages. But his gaze did not hold scorn or disdain. Instead, an expression of pity stayed for a long while; for the children whose prospects would have begun here at Silver Arcane.

’If it wasn’t for the looming war,’ he thought, sighing.

He crossed over to the other side of the room, overlooking the auditorium.

St. Nicholaus’ Auditorium radiated and shone with light on the inside.

A warm smile flashed across the old man’s face as his stick flexed in his hand.

"Kolby?" 𝒻𝑟ℯℯ

"Yes, my lord?" A voice answered from a dark edge of the office.

"Increase the mana output in the Auditorium. And get Clara and Raul, in case of any accidents. These children remaining here must be protected and guided, no matter the cost. You have access to my personal vault; take anything as much as needed, if the need arises."

"Yes, my lord. But... Sir Raul is not exactly close by, so..."

"He should be here in the next 10 minutes." The old man glared menacingly at the shadow. "Or you all will answer to me, and painfully so, I assure you. Go!"

"Yes, my lord."

At once, the shadowy presence left. The old man sat himself down on one of the sofas, exhaling deeply.

"May the blessings of the Goddess be upon you, children," he muttered fervently under his breath.

St. Nicholaus’ Auditorium

"Still, I’m impressed with the level of that old hag’s power," Professor Clara hissed. "Stopping the time of these brats’ cores must eat greatly away at him."

The male professor beside her laughed.

"Well, the children have been at it since noon. They had to eat and replenish their energy."

Over at the center of the large, four-thousand-seat auditorium, rows of magic circles had been inscribed into the floor, large enough for each candidate to stretch their legs and still have enough room.

A few feet above, an artificial dome hung over, like an artificial sky, and deep within that sky, mana flowed in quiet, slow, visible streams of light gold and blue.

The number of candidates still left was less than three-fifths of the population just the previous night.

After the Headmaster’s announcement of what the third trial would be, the candidates were provided the opportunity to discuss with their guardians whether or not to risk the chance.

By mid-evening, a few hundred had already left, some slipping away quietly, others with clenched fists and bitterness in their hearts.

No one mocked them, though. No one could bring themselves to do so.

Everyone in the hall understood and knew the unspoken truth of ascending: the higher you climbed, the more permanent your mistakes became.

Injuries to cores at Master Rank and below could be treated. But at this stage, the slightest taint could end a path forever.

Professor Damian stood closest to the barrier covering the candidates, hands folded behind his back. His expression betrayed no emotion, but his senses were stretched to the limit, ready to intervene at any moment.

"Mana pressure now at optimal variance. Ready to continue, Professor," an engineer notified.

Professor Damian nodded before turning to face the children who were now gathered at the entrance of the dome after having gone to eat.

"Welcome back, brave ones. It is time to continue from where we stopped.

"What you’ve been doing for the previous hours was taking in mana to fill your core to the maximum limit, then releasing the mana back out, which gets purified before you take it in again. This process is to open up and clear your body’s mana network, the Pathways, and to also make your cores malleable little by little." He paused, glancing around.

The children’s eyes were so focused on him, as if he held their salvation in his hands. "Good. I believe we all had a good break. Because this is where the real difficulty begins. Get back to your circles!"

"First off, after the time spell is released, you begin compressing your already full core. You make your core fold inward," Professor Damian continued when all had been seated. He held up a glowing blue gem. "This is a core fragment of a Godbeast that will serve as your catalyst. There are many varieties, so pick whichever one you want. They’ll all have the same effect."

"After compression, for a little over five minutes, your core will remain in the compressed form. During this time, you have to absorb the energy from the fragments as quickly as possible."

"Excuse me, sir?" A candidate raised her hand.

"Yes?"

"The core fragments of these Godbeasts should have some will left in them. How—"

"Have you ever heard of the Innate Soul Domain?" He cut her off.

The "Yes, sir" was chorused.

"Long story short, you will overpower these wills by imposing yours. This will lay the foundation for your Inner World, your domains. The issue of Domains is not your concern yet. The main issue is suppressing your cores’ will. All the teachers will help in the suppression, so fear not so much."

"After absorbing the core fragments, if successful, your core will shatter and slowly begin to restructure itself in accordance with your will. Its shape and glow will feel completely different. That will be success, and the first phase will be over."

"You were told this process will take three days, but thanks to our special Time-affinity expert, your cores will experience time much faster, so it’s not exactly three days.

"The main issue, like I said, is conquering the Godbeast’s will. Failure might lead to a burst core as a result of the compression, the destruction of the pathways closest to the core, or even mental collapse. Rest assured, our amiable Headmaster has thoroughly prepared everything you’d need for a successful ascension. Top-rate healers and priests, core fragments of tamed, powerful Godbeasts, and—" He gestured to all the personnel in the auditorium. "We all are here for you." A pause.

"Now, children. It is time to take your future, your destiny, into your hands. And may the blessings of the Goddess be upon you all."