The walk was longer than expected.
Not due to the distance along, but because of the sheer number of people there were.
Applicants for the Academy flooded the roads, making it very hard to navigate, especially for Ronan, who had never been to this place before.
The red light district and dark market were easier to navigate than those roads.
Ronan noticed students nervously making their way, going the same direction he was.
A blonde mage with a staff taller than her, gripping it close to her chest.
A bulky warrior with a sword slung over his back.
A short mage with a small wand in his hands, muttering something under his breath.
Ronan filed the details away in his mind as he sifted through the crowd.
The Academy grew larger with each step.
The massive building that had once seemed distant was now looming over him. The white spires cast long, dark shadows across the multiple roads.
Runes.
Everywhere.
Ronan couldn't see them, but he could feel them.
Not only that, but as Aura had said, the mana density was unnaturally high in the area. It was artificial, Ronan knew that, but he couldn't help but feel safer with the mana being this dense.
The crowd gradually slowed as he approached the main gates.
They were massive.
Two double doors that were swung open, tens of guards standing at their entrance.
Ronan walked up.
"Name?"
"Ronan Ashbourne."
The guard's eyes widened. Of course it did. Everyone recognized the Ashbourne family.
But the reaction didn't last long. It was replaced quickly by disinterest.
"Go on," the guard said, stepping aside.
There was no respect. If it had been one of his two sisters, the guard would have instantly put them on a pedestal.
Sadly, Ronan Ashbourne wasn't his sisters.
Ronan followed the flow of students. A few of them glanced his way, but none of them paid him any mind. Everyone was trying to get to their destination.
"Close range combat evaluations to the right!"
"Mages follow the blue markings!"
"Supports gather here!"
There were figures shouting out instructions. Not instructors – too young – but students. Upper years, maybe third or fourth years.
So this is how they separate us?
Without hesitation, Ronan walked toward the mage evaluations.
He didn't have a single combat skill other than fireball. He didn't have any knowledge of martial arts, no knowledge of how to use any weapons – his only real strength was that he was somewhat tall.
But that wouldn't help him there.
When he reached, he saw an examiner with a clipboard.
"You. Name."
"Ronan Ashbourne."
The man blinked once, then nodded.
"Registration is first. Follow the line."
Ronan followed the flow of students. If it were any other situation, maybe he would have heard whispers about him, but the students weren't even talking to each other.
The line moved forward.
One by one, the students were briefly examined and then let into the testing area.
Finally, it was Ronan's turn.
"Name?"
"Ronan Ashbourne."
No reaction, just writing.
"Hand."
Ronan nodded and put his hand out on the crystal in front of him.
The crystal glowed slightly before it quickly dimmed down.
"Ronan Ashbourne. Mana core: State 1. Affinity: Fire," the man scribbled something on his notepad. "You may enter."
Without a word, Ronan stepped inside.
The moment he crossed, the space around him shifted.
The courtyard vanished, and in its place appeared a wide, circular, enclosed room.
High ceilings, minimal decoration – massive.
Rows of students were scattered across the room. They weren't organized or structured, just there.
"Attention!"
Ronan turned his head towards the voice and saw a young examiner, maybe 25, hovering over all the students. The man had blood red hair, which was cut into a warrior cut. His face was chiseled, and there was a single scar under his cheek. The man was suspended mid-air with a slight distortion of mana under his feet.
"You have all passed the initial registration. Congrats," the man said. "Sadly, that does not mean anything."
The silence in the room deepened.
"This is the mage evaluation trial," the man said.
He raised one of his arms, and the entire room shifted.
The flood dissolved, the walls stretched, and the entire room, as Ronan knew it, vanished. In an instant, every student was no longer inside.
The terrain was unfamiliar. Stone pillars, broken Roman-style temples, ruined structures.
And orbs of light.
Hundreds of light orbs were scattered around the area. They were floating loosely, and mana pulsed from each of them – some more than others.
Mana nodes, Ronan thought.
"Each of you will be assigned a sigil," the examiner said, taking out a disk with a unique design on it. "This sigil will represent your position in this trial."
Murmurs broke out.
He paused.
"If this sigil is destroyed… You are eliminated."
As he said that, a disk materialized in Ronan's right hand.
Ronan instantly gripped the disk firmly in his fingers and examined it. It had a design engraved into it that he couldn't decipher, and he could tell that there was some type of rune inscribed into it.
The instructor spoke again.
"As you all have noticed, there are balls of mana floating around the area. These are mana nodes. To claim a mana node, you will have to channel mana into it. Once you claim a mana node, you will start gaining points. However, if you stop channeling mana into a mana node, it will stop generating points, and you will lose all of the points you've generated. Even the smallest stream of mana will work."
So it's a control based test.
Students started whispering, but the instructor's next words shut them up quickly.
"There are 400 mana nodes. There are 2500 participants."
Silence.
Slowly, understanding spread through the crowd.
"Doesn't that mean…"
"People will just steal from each other!"
"That's not fair, my mana pool isn't naturally large–"
"Exactly," the instructor's voice boomed. "You may fight. You may interfere. You may form alliances. But the final verdict will be the top 400 point leaders. Those will be the ones to enter Luminara Academy."
"Each person will have a limit of 3 nodes. As long as one node is in your possession by the end of the exam, you will keep all your points."
Ronan frowned.
But there wasn't. Nothing came. No additional rule, no sudden twist.
"Time limit: one hour."
A pause.
"Begin."