Chapter 109 - Rehearsal
[Ding-dong!]
[Congratulations for your admission!]
Every eyes turned to the frontmost part of the hall. There was a niche in the wall, and in the middle of it was a stand made of stone, supporting a glowing orb on it. The voice was coming from the orb.
Everyone frowned. The announcer's tone was too cheerful for their taste. They had just experienced an unpleasant event, and it didn't suit the mood at all. Still, no one dare to utter their satisfaction.
[Every one of you, who managed to survive the hurdle, is now officially our Randalvine Magic Institute's student. You shall not worry of your injury, for we will take full responsibility of the injury you have sustained.]
[With that being said, the hall will be cleaned in five minutes. Therefore, you have to get out of the hall before the time runs out, lest you wanted to get cleaned too.]
[Do your best, students!]
Except Basil, everyone's eyes darkened. They knew what "cleaning" was. "Cleaning" was a term used to neutralize any possible threat — mainly intruder — inside a building by utilizing the set Rune.
Needless to say, people who got swept in the "Cleaning" process had never end well.
Out of 290 students from Karan's batch, only 170 of them could stand on their feet. The others had either lost the ability to or were too shocked by the [Stare of Death] they had received from the ten High Doppelgangers.
Luckily though, they still had enough sanity to get the meaning of the announcement. Therefore, they were looking up at the still standing people.
"Hmph! You reap what you sow. If you hadn't acted so selfish earlier, you wouldn't have ended like this."
The students who had lost their ability to stand had their face contorted by that word. The person who had said that wasn't wrong.
Before the ten High Doppelgangers had been killed, they had been given a simple instruction. Cut their ear to prove they weren't Doppelgangers, and join the other human.
But, no. They had refused to do that. They had chosen to separate themselves from the people who had cut their ear instead. In result, the ten High Doppelgangers had almost wiped every one of them.
They had been too shocked to properly react. Furthermore, the mental attack of the ten High Doppelgangers had been too much for their weak mind to bear. They had been lucky the people who had cut their ear had helped them to defeat the High Doppelgangers.
"Abandon or not to abandon, huh? I don't like selfish people to be honest," Green muttered audibly, everyone could hear him.
"You are contradicting your own word. Surviving is winning, no? They were just being selfish to survive," Kimberley chimed in.
Green stared at Kimberley from the corner of his eyes. "When you are being selfish, you have to be prepared to die alone. Begging the people you have betrayed for your survival is not being selfish anymore. It is being shameless, lady."
"That is very hypocritic of you."
"Haha! You are willing to rescue the people who have betrayed you, despite how much they have damaged you? That is what I call hypocritic, lady."
Kimberley snorted, before stepping forward with Acacia. The time was running, and she didn't want to leave behind her fellow students.
"Well, I am going to take my leave. I don't have any pity towards losers." Green went out of the hall.
Timothy, who had merely observed the scene silently, followed Green with Cloud in tow. Xiu Li, who had a soft heart, decided to also help his fellow students.
In the other hand, Basil was just being himself. He didn't care about them at all. Therefore, he left the room with Deacon without any care.
One of the students who was lifted from the ground by Kimberley looked up at her. "T-thank you." He was so touched by the kindness, Kimberley looked like an angel to him right now. "Human are meant to help each other," Kimberley said righteously.
Once again, everyone could hear her.
While some of the people decided to help the students lying on the ground after hearing Kimberley's word, some were still looking at the students lying on the ground coldly.
Whoosh!
Kimberley took off with Acacia, while carrying three students behind her. The people's eyes were focused on the flying Acacia, who was mounted by Kimberley. It didn't take long until Kimberley completely vanished from their view.
The students lying on the ground could only stare at the scene emptily, while cursing themselves inwardly. They hated the decision they had made. If only the hadn't been so selfish, things wouldn't have escalated this way.
When they were drown in their depressing thought, Karan stepped forward, and extended his hand to one of the students lying on the ground.
"Grab my hand." He looked at the student sternly. "Although you have disappointed me, we are still classmate. We have been disintegrated once, and we cannot afford to repeat the same thing." Karan smiled faintly.
"I won't forgive you. Therefore, live with the guilt, and pay me back someday." With tears, the student grabbed his hand, and Karan lifted him up.
As Karan had said all of that audibly, every remaining students in the hall could hear it. Although they didn't like it, what Karan had said was right. If they left the people behind, they would be no different than them. They didn't want to be like them.
Therefore, they pushed their enmity down, and extended their hand. Everyone deserves a second chance.
"Tsk. Darn it! Grab my hand, bastard!"
"Hmph! You better remember this day!"
"Take my hand, and pay your debt later!"
That way, all of the students got out of the hall. None of them realized five minutes had already passed, and not even the "Cleaning" started. Karan was the only one who realized about this fact. However, he kept his silence.
He knew it was another test from Randalvine Magic Institute. Therefore, he didn't want to tell his fellow students about it. If they realized nothing happened despite the time was already exceeded, they would surely left the injured behind.
If that happened, there might be a possibility all of them would fail the test.
When they got out of the hall, they were greeted by two things. One, a clear sky and warm sunlight. Two, Priests treating the injured students.
All of the people, who had their limbs cut, heaved a sigh of relief. Even if they had their limbs cut, they had made sure to keep their cut limbs in their Spatial Bracelet. Therefore, their cut limbs could be reattached by the Priest.
"Hello, can you treat my friend here, Miss?" Karan approached one of the female Priests. "Of course, I can. With the help of God, not an injury cannot be healed." The female Priest smiled benevolently.
Karan laid down the student he was carrying, and let the female Priest take care of him. The student took out his cut foot, and positioned it right below the cut part.
The female Priest clasped her hands together, and chanted something. A soothing yet mighty aura was radiated out of her entire existence. She extended her hand, and a golden light came out of her palm, basking the injury in its grace.
Karan looked at the scene in amazement. No matter how many times he had seen it, he was always amazed. The Miracle a Priest could perform was worthy of something to be amazed at.
It was the reason why there were still many Mages believed in God, despite their love to logic. They simply couldn't comprehend the way Miracle worked. Thus, they accepted God existed.
The cut foot was slowly reattached. The muscles of the cut body part grew, and entwined themselves, creating a gruesome yet magnificent scene to watch.
It didn't take long until the cut foot was completely reattached as if it hadn't been cut in the first place.
"Amazing," Karan exclaimed. He bowed to the female Priest. "Thank you for your work, Miss." The female Priest waved her hand graciously. "Thank our God, not me." Karan merely nodded out of courtesy.
Even though there were many Mages believed about God, he wasn't one of them. Therefore, Karan merely nodded his head to indicate he wasn't a believer, but he respected the female Priest.
"You should not move too much yet. Although your foot has been reattached, you can not give too much burden to it." The female Priest looked at the student sternly.
The student merely nodded at that. He didn't actually need to be told that. In terms of human anatomy, he knew better than the female Priest. However, he couldn't act disrespectful. Even the Human Emperor himself believed in God.
"Excuse me, do you have any injury for me to treat?" Everyone's attention was attracted by the rather loudly said sentence.
Looking to the direction where the voice came, they could see a female Priest holding onto a student's sleeve.
The student, who was facing his back to the female Priest, turned his head to her. "I didn't know Priest is hoping for people getting injured nowadays."
"What? No, we have never wished for someone's misfortune!" The female Priest looked at the student in bafflement.
"Hoh? Why are you insisting I have an injury, then?"
"I was merely asking, student."
"Being ignored is a solid rejection, Priest."
The student, and the female Priest looked at each other. While the student was looking at the female Priest neutrally, the female Priest was looking at him incredulously.
"Huuh... He could have just said he didn't need it." Kimberley facepalmed, and Xiu Li nodded in agreement.
The identity of the student was no other than Basil, apparently.