It was pretty easy to land on the conclusion that the people that now surrounded me were not normal, and should they have no real influence over the test, there was no harm in maintaining a respectful attitude.
Taking note of my struggle to rise to my feet, one of the men standing to the left of me, raised his hand and my body began to float upwards. I drifted across the room before being dropped onto a nearby chair.
Now that my vision was no longer restricted to only the ceiling, the differences in the current room and the last were apparent. The decor and make of the room was one that seemed much more natural, all carrying the same air as all the other establishments I’d been to. Which obviously weren’t a lot but certainly enough to compare.
The five people, three men and two women, continued to observe me for a few moments. It was as if they couldn’t decide if they wanted to kill me or keep me as a pet. This awkward tension that built up, quickly became the second most uncomfortable situation I’d ever been in.
The first being one I shall never talk about again.
Finally, the man who moved me spoke up.
“What happened?”
I’d expected my ability to speak had ceased to function after my beat down, but apparently blood was just as good as spit.
“Knights. Wall. Fight. Test.” Every word was more strenuous than the last. It felt as though my vocal chords were being rubbed against shards of glass.
They all turned to look at the hole, two even going up to inspect it. Once they’d all confirmed the truth of my words, a round of questioning began.
“What is your name?” The same man asked.
“Cyrus.”
“How old?” This time one of the women spoke up.
“18.”
A few of them clicked their tongues in disappointment, which I couldn’t quite understand if it meant they expected me to be younger or older.
“And just to clarify, are you taking the preliminary examinations for The Terrakis Academy of Academis Heartile?” The first man questioned.
At this point, I chose it better to let my throat take a moment to heal. So my response came in the form of a simple head nod, which hurt just as much.
The mans’ eyebrow shot up in confusion, and his nose crinkled.
“Son. you are aware that the test of the armoured knights is not the site for the preliminary examinations, right? In fact it’s not a part of our entrance examination at all. It is a testing ground for only our most experienced and advanced students.”
My expression grew sour, but from all the bruises and blood on my face it probably seemed like a muscles spasm or some kind of pain reaction.
‘How the hell was I supposed to know that?’ I wanted to cry out, but naturally couldn’t. For various reasons.
‘Infra can my throat be healed through meditation?’
‘It’s been four weeks since I awakened my Heartile!’ I snapped. How the hell did it expect me to get stronger that fast?
Slowly, I allowed for my eyes to close as five middle aged onlookers watched, waiting for me to speak. It was difficult to not try and lose consciousness once my eyes closed, but as the Tecz flowed through me once more, I could instantly feel the alertness of my body return.
‘That’s never going to get old.’
My eyes opened once more, and I let out a small ‘hmph’ to clear my throat. Though it was still sore, it was no longer strained when I spoke.
“I just clicked on the button on your website like my chip told me, next thing I know, I’m in a room with two murderous gigantic suits of armour.” I put it bluntly, hoping they let it slide under the thought process of me being in great pain.
My original plan of maintaining a respectful attitude was thrown out the window when I found I’d been thrown into a life threatening battle due to some kind of slip up.
“Interesting.” They all murmured in unison.
“Could it have been a distance malfunction?”
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“The dean wouldn’t do something that stupid! The maze must’ve switched at the moment he was transported!”
“That’s more improbable and stupid than what I said!”
“Who are you calling stupid, you hag!”
“Enough!” The oldest of the four cried out. She approached me slowly, her gaze piercing through me. Her stare remained on me, observing me like some kind of lab rat.
Finally her expression softened.
“I do apologise my dear for the mishap, but unfortunately you’ve already missed the real preliminary exams, and we know that it wasn’t your fault, but we cannot make any exceptions. So what we can do is get you healed up, compensate you for the mishap and send you on your way.” She smiled, as if it was supposed to make everything better.
Though this setback wasn’t a complete roadblock to my lifes roadmap, it did significantly disrupt the timeline I hoped to abide by. According to Infra, the exams only happen once every five years.
And even if in five years my growth is exceptional, and I become some kind of unrivalled hotshot, a lot can happen in five years. What if I don’t survive for five years? Or if my uncle doesn’t survive? Or if he quits his job?
There was definitely a better order to list those things in, but my point stands.
However, no matter how much I wanted to protest, I didn’t. Or more specifically, I couldn’t. I was tired. My body and mind were a mess, and I couldn’t look any more pathetic than I already did.
So I let my head nod in defeat and began to stand.
Clunk!
The key fell from my pockets as I stood.
The woman immediately went to grab it. Her eyes pierced through me as a suppressive aura spread over me.
“How did you get this?”
I was already in a critical state, and the current suppression I’ve been placed under was in no way helpful.
Clearly the women took note of my expression and ease the suppression by just enough to allow me to speak.
“It was under the big desk in the other room. I thought it was how I could pass the test so I snatched it.” My mind drifted as I wondered if they sold good tea in The Underground.
Her tone and reaction were a bit surprising, but it was probably because she assumed I was trying to steal it.
The aura completely dispersed from my body, and the womens flickered back to one of a sweet old lady.
It was frightening.
“You know what, we had two less participants pass the preliminary exams this year than our average quota. Why don’t we see what you’re capable of.”
My eyes lit up, hope flickering in the shadow of doubt that had weighed on me.
“Yes, definitely! You won’t regret this,” I managed, voice raspy but determined.
“You’d better hope so,” the woman replied with a smile that made my skin crawl. The sweetness in her voice was almost unnatural, like honey laced with venom. I forced a smile back, but inside, her gaze unnerved me.
Creepy, but still… mood unaffected.
She gestured toward a door to my left, her hand floating as if she held all the time and power in the world. “Now, run along through that door,” she said. “It’ll take you back to where you were originally transported from. The process will be the same when the main exam commences, except this time you’ll be directly sent the invitation. The main exam will be held in three months, so do not waste your time.”
My head bobbed in a weary nod, still too sore for much more than that. I extended my hand to shake each of theirs in turn, feeling every bruise in my body ache with the movement. They responded in kind, though the air around me felt cold—detached.
With a final look at the room, I turned and walked through the door.
?
Once the door closed behind me, the four others in the room turned to the woman, their faces mirroring the questions they couldn’t hold back any longer.
“Why’d you let him through?” the man who had first questioned me, Cyrus, asked, his tone skeptical.
The woman shrugged, a casual, indifferent gesture, like she was brushing off a trivial matter. “I found him interesting,” she said simply, though the gleam in her eyes suggested there was more to it than she let on.
“And what about the key?” the man pressed, frowning. “That’s just the—”
“Cleaners, I know,” the woman interrupted with a dismissive wave. “Just think of it as my own little test for him. In that state, he was able to hold himself together against my suppression. Even though he’s weak, his willpower makes up for it tenfold.” She smiled, an almost predatory grin.
“But—” he started again.
“That’s enough,” the woman snapped, her voice laced with a force that carried her aura, instantly suppressing them all into silence. “I am the Dean of this academy, and as Dean, I make whatever decision I want. And you forget—I’ve only allowed him to participate in the main exam. I haven’t given him free entry.”
She sneered as she turned away, her robes rustling as she left the room with the others standing in her wake, silent and unsure.
“Do not make me regret this, Fortis,” she muttered under her breath before disappearing through the doorway.
?
I was over the moon. My body was a wreck, my spirit battered, and yet, I was still standing—still alive. They had almost killed me, sure, but I’d made it through. That alone was victory enough for now.
As I made my way back to the transport point, I couldn’t help but smile through the pain. The fact that I had passed, despite the confusion over why the old woman had changed her mind, didn’t bother me one bit.
A pass was a pass, and that’s all that mattered.
When I arrived back to the Underground, I immediately bolted to the training room. My entire body was excited. I did it! Now I just need to prepare myself.
?
Infra asked out of the blue.
I grunted, annoyance creeping in as I worked to clear my thoughts. “Say what you want to say, Infra. Stop beatin' around the bush.”
I set down the metal training Weaver I’d been gripping, letting my body sag into the worn-out chair. It had been six days since the brutal test, and despite training, my progress had been frustratingly slow. I knew I had time—three months to be exact—but my Heartile felt close to breaking through again, that familiar aching pressure building in my chest. Yet, nothing came of it.
Maybe it wasn’t my Heartile at all. Maybe the lack of sleep and constant training was catching up to me. I was tired, so tired. But I tried not to let pessimism cloud my mind.
Since I’d returned to The Underground, my reputation hadn’t changed. I was still known as a free win, an easy target for anyone looking to pad their record. Even though I poured half my day into training, both physically and with my Heartile, my progress was glacial. Goblin’s old book helped teach me the fundamentals, but there was only so much one could learn from pages. To truly grow, I needed experience.
And the only problem? My only sparring partners were bags of sand shaped like people.
I reached for my Weaver again, fingers aching from overuse, when Infra interrupted once more.
Infra commented, the hint of curiosity evident in its voice.
I paused. It felt odd to be on the receiving end of questions, especially from Infra. I had been the one asking everything up until now. But the question wasn’t new to me. In fact, I’d asked it myself a hundred times.
“Sure, it was terrifying at first,” I said.
“Those first few hours in the hospital… after hearing everything from you, I wanted nothing more than to wake up again and find the world hadn’t changed. I desperately wanted a familiar face to wake me up, to hear someone’s voice that I recognized and feel like everything had just been a nightmare.”
I exhaled, staring at the faint reflection of my tired face in the blade. “But when that first night came and went, I knew it was real. I knew that no amount of second-guessing or doubting would change it. So I shoved it all to the back of my mind. I don’t have the luxury of getting lost in all that until I’ve got the power to do something about it.”
I thought back to the moment Infra had told me about my uncle.
“Then, when you told me about my uncle, I wanted to run to the nearest phone. The thought of hearing a voice I knew, something that wasn’t alien to me, it… it almost broke me. But then you said it was near impossible, that the Academy was so shut off from the world that nothing got in or out.” I laughed bitterly. “Naturally, I had to push that down too. So, it’s not like I’m without doubts. Or confusion. I’ve got plenty of both. But I can’t afford to let them drag me down.”
Infra was silent for a moment, processing my response.
I blinked, momentarily taken aback, then smiled.
“Yeah, you’re right, Infra.”
The anger that flickered within me was brief, snuffed out by the bizarre comfort I found in our exchange. It was strange, sharing something so personal with a chip in my head, but I felt lighter.