Chapter 33: Vivid Eyes
The academy was also buzzing with news of an upcoming assessment, a simulation exercise in a dungeon gate that would test each students survival skills.
I was thrilled. This was an opportunity not only to showcase my progress but also to test my limits in another real world teammate dungeon gate scenario.
Valeria and Jet were also excited and they decided to team up for the simulation.
On the day of the asssessment, the students gathered at the academy’s central plaza, where a massive portal shimmered in the air, casting an otherworldly glow across the area.
Each team was instructed to enter the gate and complete various objectives, which included eliminating monsters, rescuing imaginary hostages and retrieving specific artifacts.
As we stepped through the portal, I felt the familiar rush of Arcane energy surrounding me. The world we entered was a dense forest filled with towering trees and an eerie silence that hinted at lurking danger.
The simulation was designed to resemble an actual dungeon gate, with all the risk and threats one would expect in a high stakes mission. Our first challenge came in the form of a pack of wolf like Shadow creatures that moved with deadly presicion.
I took the lead, using my agility to maneuver through the wolves attacks and dodging their strikes effortlessly while creating openings for Jet to attack.
He unleashed a wave of arrows, enveloping the wolves and forcing them to retreat, while Valeria casted a shield spell around me, absorbing any incoming damage.
After we defeated the wolves, we proceeded deeper into dungeon territoy, where we encountered a midlevel boss; a monstrous creature known as the Aqueos Golem.
The boss towered over us, its body made of shadowy bones, with hollow eyes that glowed with a sinister light. Letting out a guttural roar that shook the ground beneath our feet.
Jet shot a barrage of arrows, aiming for the creatures legs to hinder its movements.
Valeria, in turn, casted a rejuvenation spell, enhancing our stamina and ensuring we could withstand the prolonged battle.
I focused on observing the bosses’s patterns, using my insight ability to study its movements and predict its attacks.
When the boss swung its massive arm down, I activated Spacial Manipulation, creating a distortion that slowed the creature’s attack, allowing me to counter with a powerful blow.
The attack overwhelmed the boss, blasting off parts of its bony exterior.
Our coordination was flawless.
As the battle raged on, we chipped away at the bosses defenses, eventually breaking it down piece by piece. With one final strike from Jet, the creature collapsed, reduced to shadowy mist.
We took a moment to catch our breath before continuing through the territory, although we killed a boss monster the dungeon wasn’t sealed because this was merely a simulation and not a real gate.
As we continued through the forest, collecting artifacts and overcoming smaller obstacles, I felt a growing sense of pride in my friends and myself. This experience had solidified our bond, and I knew that together we could face even greater challenges.
When we finally exited the simulation, our team was among the highest ranking, having completed all objectives and eliminated the midlevel boss.
The academy’s instructors took notice, commending our teamwork and individual skills. It was a trumphant moment for I and my team, each of us feeling a deep sense of accomplishment.
Later that evening, as we gathered in the academy’s dining hall, Valeria raised her glass, grinning, "To us! The Border Cleanup Group!"
Before we could answer, a hush spread like ripples of water across the dinning hall, causing everyone to turn their heads.
The Chancellor, Hans Wagner entered with the sort of deliberate calm that made silence bend around him. His robs had shade of midnight blue and stiched with silver stars and it flowed as though they carried their own breeze.
He didn’t speak immediately, instead he strode the length of the hall with his boots tapping softly on the stone. The weight of his prescense pressing down on all of us until even the whispers had gone still.
When he reached the dais, he raised a single hand.
"Students of Reaper Association Academy: Cindralock Branch," his voice filled every corner of the hall without need for magic or any public address system. "You have done well today..."
For some unknown reason, my stomach tightened, though I kept my gaze fixed on the table. I could feel his eyes scanning the room, lingering here, brushing past there until finally, they landed on me. A subtle nod, nothing more, but it was enough to make my pulse quicken. A thousand pairs of eye balls might have noticed, but I did too. He acknowledged me.
"Your performance in todays exercises," Wagner continued, "Was not merely a display of magical skill, but of determination, creativity and above all, unity. I commend you all." his hand lowered, and his expression shifted solemnly but still commanding. "It is good, then, that you hone these virtues now for the season of the Cindralock Magic Tournament is upon us."
Gasps and murmurs followed suit, excitement rushed through the hall like sparks leaping from a bon fire. I sat a little straighter.
The chancellor’s voice cut clean through the rising chatter. "The tournament is no mere spectacle. It is tradition forged in spellfire, a crucible where the brightest young sorcerers prove themselves before the eyes of the world. This year, our academy stands as proud participants once more. You will be tested, not simply on strength, but on wit, courage and the endurance of your very soul."
"Some of you," Wagner continued, his tone deepening, "will rise higher than you ever dreamed. Others may falter, but mark this: the Cindralock tournament does not shape who you are, it reveals it. And I, for one, cannot wait to see what truths you will show the world."
Then, for the briefest moment, Wagner’s gaze flicked back to me. The corners of his mouth almost tugging upwards, as though he knew something I didn’t.
The hall erupted in applause, with cheers echoing off the stone wall. But all I couldhnear was the echo of his voice in my head, and the unshakble certainty that whatever the tournament demanded of us, I was already being watched.