PART 7 :-
FEAR AND GROWTH
[Inside a dark, sealed chamber.]
"Where are we?"
"Hell wishes to speak with all of you. That's why you've been summoned here."
"What is this place?"
"An abandoned palace. It's completely sealed by Hell's magic. Only those he permits can enter."
[Everyone heard footsteps approaching.]
"What is this presence...? It feels like a monster is coming."
"Is my aura truly that terrifying to all of you?"
[Everyone knelt before the shadow. None of them could see Hell's face.]
"Rod... Day... I heard one of you was watching Bright the day before."
"It was me..."
"Ah... Day. So it was you. Did I give you that order?"
[Chains suddenly shot out and wrapped around Day, tightening around his body. He struggled to breathe.]
"Forgive me! I made a mistake. It won't happen again."
"On the other hand... if you want to meet him that badly, then I'll give you a task."
[The chains vanished, and Day finally caught his breath.]
"The Rite of Resonance is about to begin. The entire land is busy preparing for it.
Go and test Bright.
See how capable he has become... and how much stronger he is now.
But remember one thing—none of you are to kill him or anyone else. I don't want unnecessary chaos right now.
Understood?"
"Yes..."
[In an instant, they found themselves standing deep within the forest.]
......….
MC perspective :-
"Hey, hurry up or we're going to be late and won't get good seats!"
"Move faster, you lazy scums! Those drums aren't going to wait for you!"
The whole city was in a festive mood... at least for the upper clans. For the lower clans and the slaves, it was just another day of labor.
I wanted to put an end to it, but Juha told me not to. He said it wasn't the right time.
I don't understand... when will the right time come?
"Hey, Bright! What are you doing here?"
I turned and saw Tyr and his teammates. They weren't like the others. At least, they had never treated me badly.
"Are you guys heading to the Ritualium[*] as well?"
"Yeah. I don't see your group."
"They're on their way. You all look nervous."
"Well, you know only one spirit animal chose me. If we fail today, our group might face a lot of problems."
"What were your names again? I'm sorry... I forgot."
"I'm Nyx, and he's Dio."
"Nyx... Dio... why do you want to become warriors?"
"I'm a bastard. Everyone keeps telling me I don't belong anywhere, so I want to become a warrior and find my own identity," Nyx replied.
"I was abandoned by my parents. They left me behind. I want to become someone the world can't ignore anymore," Dio said.
"As you know, I'm a D-Ranker, just like you. I'm weak... probably even weaker than you. I came here because I want to prove that even an ordinary person can rise to the top. I don't want to die as someone weak," Tyr said.
"You know... all of you have different reasons, yet you're still together because you share the same goal—to prove that ordinary people can reach great heights. I think that's what truly matters.
You help each other grow.
Instead of focusing on how weak you are, fight together and move forward together. I believe there's a weapon waiting for each of you—one that shares your will. But more importantly, cherish your friendship. Keep helping each other become stronger."
They looked at one another.
"Yeah... that's what we've been missing. We've been too focused on our weaknesses. We should help each other grow instead.
Thanks, Bright. We'll remember your words."
They walked away, and a moment later I saw Bond and Dex coming from the vault.
"What did you say to them?" Bond asked. "They look fired up."
"I just told them to cherish their friendship."
......….
*[ Ritualium :- A collection place of holy rituals, traditions, and ceremonial knowledge.]
......….
PART 8 :-
BEGINNING OF THE RITUAL
Minidra perspective :-
[At the Ritualium.]
"Welcome, everyone! Today we gather for this year's Rite of Resonance. In just a few minutes, the ceremony will begin," the Ritecaller[*] announced.
"If this ritual is so famous, then why did nobody tell us about it before?" Bright asked me.
"As you can see, it's a festival for the upper clans. The lower clans treat it as an opportunity to earn money. Everyone knows the Rite of Resonance exists, but the part where the warriors are chosen by their weapons takes place inside a sealed chamber. Only the Head of the High Authority and its members are allowed inside. That's why no one knows what truly happens during the ritual."
"Oh... you've been here before?"
"Yeah. I've seen this ritual once."
"Then how does it work?"
"First, we're introduced to the public. After that, we have to demonstrate our skills. Then the ritual begins. Once a weapon chooses us, we demonstrate our abilities with it before the High Authority and the upper clans."
"I guess there's going to be a lot of excitement."
Fireworks burst across the sky, signaling the beginning of the ceremony.
"Today, you shall witness the future warriors who will one day fight in wars to protect our faith and prove that our land is the mightiest in the world!"
We stood in the center of the arena while thousands of spectators watched from the stands.
"Once I become a warrior, I'll kill everyone who refuses to follow our religion."
"When I become a warrior, I'll conquer every land that stands against us."
The other students eagerly spoke about what they would do once they became warriors.
Bright's dream was different.
Changing the hearts of an entire nation... that was almost impossible.
But no matter what...
I'll stand by his side and support him.
"Now we are going to explain you all about the ceremony.
First Part – Covenant of Unity :- First you all going to face magic puppet without any weapon, only raw combat and your Aura. Likely how much you all grown your power which we taught you. You are going to facing them as your group.
Second Part – Rite of Resonance :- After that the ritual going to happen in the locked hall.
Third Part – Guardian's Verdict :- After you all chosen by weapon you all going to come out face the guards with your weapon, individually."
"What do you mean, guards!? We're not strong enough to defeat the guards on our own!"
"Relax. They won't use any Heka against you. But don't expect them to go easy on you either."
"Hey, Shaman, why aren't the other classes here?"
"As you can see, each class will take part in the first stage one by one. Once your class moves on to the second stage, the next class will begin the first. After the second stage is over, every student will face the guards individually, but only after all the classes have completed both the first and second stages.
Now, if everyone understands, we shall begin the ceremony," Shaman announced to the class.
......….
*[Ritecaller :- the person who announced the news to the audience in a ceremony or a fight.]
......….
PART 9 :-
COVENANT OF UNITY
Bond perspective :-
"So we're going to fight puppets now?"
"What!? Those aren't puppets!"
"They're actually knights made of rock."
There were more than ten of them. Each member of our group had to face at least seven or eight rock knights.
"They're made of rock, but they're surprisingly lightweight. They're designed specifically for combat training," Minidra explained.
"Hey, guys, I have something new I want to try. But I need a little time to use it. Can you all cover me until then?" Bright asked.
"Alright."
Without asking any questions, we all agreed.
Bright sat down on the ground and closed his eyes, focusing his mind.
The rest of us formed a circle around him, protecting him from the incoming attacks.
Minidra summoned water and lightning around her arms and charged straight at the rock knights.
"Lightning slash!"
A water like a sharp blade in a lightning speed instantly cut three knight.
"The grand wall!"
Dex create a wall around Bright to protect him from other attack while concentrating.
I saw two knights coming from my side.
"Blast of Light!"
I channeled my Aura into the ground. It spread beneath the rock knights before erupting into a blast of light that sliced them clean in half.
BOOOOOOOM!!
What's going on!?
I turned and saw Erebus fighting the rock knights all by himself. Then I remembered... he didn't belong to any group yet.
"Dex, watch Bright. I'm going to help Erebus."
"You idiot!!"
A rock knight swung at Erebus from behind.
I instantly gathered my Aura into my right fist, hardening it like iron, and threw a punch.
TRETREAAKKK!!
A loud crack echoed through the arena as the knight's head shattered into pieces.
"Why are you helping me?"
"Because of my master, you're alone now. Besides... I can't let someone Bright and I consider a friend get hurt."
"Friend...?"
"Come with me."
I grabbed his arm and pulled him back to where the others were protecting Bright.
"What's Bright doing?"
"He said he needed some time, so we're keeping the knights away from him. Fight alongside us... just for now."
"...Thanks."
"Are you stupid!?" Dex shouted. "Now we have even more of them to deal with because of your decision!"
Hurry, Bright... We need you.
These knights were different.
They had already adapted to our combat techniques. We couldn't defeat them with martial arts alone anymore—we had to use Aura.
But that was the problem.
There were too many of them.
We weren't strong enough to destroy all of them before our Aura ran out.
"Somebody help us!!"
"It's Tyr and his group!"
They came running toward us.
"We tried everything, but we couldn't even scratch one of them!"
"Dark Bullets!"
I saw the same attack I had witnessed that day in the market.
Dark bullets of light shot through the air, piercing straight through the rock knights and leaving holes in their chests.
He brought down two of them with ease.
Now that I think about it... did he really need our help?
"Thank you... for helping me."
"You're not leaving."
"What do you mean?"
"We can't win this alone. The bigger our group is, the better our chances."
"What!? Does that mean we have to fight their opponents as well!?"
"I'm sorry... We couldn't defeat even one of them. We're just too weak."
"Do you think feeling sorry will keep you unharmed!? Or make you a warrior!? I told you before—we're newcomers. No one is going to stand up for us. We have to stand up for each other because no one else cares about us!"
I burst out in anger.
"Umm..."
"Do you remember what Bright told you this morning!? It's not just about fighting as a group. It's about trusting each other with your lives. Every one of you has something you're better at than the others. Help each other with those strengths. Win or lose, no matter what happens... stay together. Support each other."
"He's right. If we run away now, even if a weapon chooses us, we'll never become true warriors. Instead of relying on others... let's rely on each other."
They charged at a rock knight.
One of them trapped the knight's legs with the earth beneath it.
The other two combined fire and wind into a single attack.
The blast erased the knight from the waist up, leaving only its legs standing.
"Behind you!"
Another rock knight charged toward them—
—but it was sliced clean in half.
Erebus had cut it down with a single WindCut.
But there are still thirteen left...
I had already lost count of how many each of us had to face.
We were reaching our limits.
"Sorry for the delay."
Bright stepped out from behind us.
"Stay back."
He motioned for us to move behind him before walking alone toward the thirteen remaining rock knights.
"No, Bright! Fighting that many by yourself will get you hurt!" Minidra said, unable to hide her concern.
"It's alright, Mini."
He looked back at her and smiled.
"This will only take a few seconds."
"Kazekiri!"
His words were cold.
In the next instant, every rock knight was cut into pieces.
He hadn't even moved.
"What just happened!?"
"What is this Aura surrounding the entire arena!?"
Voices erupted from every direction.
Everyone was stunned.
Not just the students—even the adults were speechless.
"How did you do that!?"
"I spread my Aura throughout the entire arena and turned it into my own domain. Once they're inside my domain, every element around them becomes connected to my Aura. I can manipulate them however I want. So I simply turned the surrounding wind into countless invisible blades and cut every knight into pieces."
"You can do that!? You didn't just destroy those thirteen—you destroyed every single knight in the arena!"
Bright staggered forward, about to collapse, but I caught him.
"Let me guess... it consumes too much energy."
"Yeah... but don't worry. I'll be fine in a few seconds."
"Oh, Bright... you can rely on us," Minidra said, worried.
"Sorry... I just didn't want any of you to get hurt."
"The first stage is now complete for all of you."
The Ritecaller announced the end of the first trial.
Thanks to Bright, we had cleared the first stage.
......….