Asher didn't move to leave the hall like Teo Swig and Thalric; no, he simply remained seated as he listened to the other students go on and on about other Empires, their voices overlapping in a chaotic blend of excitement and speculation. Each one brought up various rumours and wildly exaggerated, often fabricated facts they had heard about other Empires but couldn't be bothered to confirm or deny.
'I wonder how many people are as strong as me... or stronger than me,' Asher thought to himself, his gaze steady yet distant. He didn't dare say he was the most talented in the world of Crymora; in the Zarethorne Empire, maybe, but worldwide, not yet. But this competition, this sudden announcement, served as a silent yet undeniable test to that very notion, one he looked forward with every fiber of his being.
