Everything happened fast for Rey.
The second trial demanded him to demonstrate his proficiency in his power. Not hard.
The third trial asked him to defeat three monsters of his level. A bit difficult but he did it anyway.
The fourth trial made him fight a clone of another participant and he won.
The problem was the fifth trial.
"Fifth Trial Great Fall: Kill the Beast."
Following the deep voice, Rey assumed his defensive posture but his body shivered as the energy in his body sapped away and left him extremely weak.
"W-What the hell?"
He's now only a low level 1.
"Roar!" A red-skinned leopard walked from the distance and bared its fangs at him.
"You can give up anytime." The mysterious voice said.
"Is this why no one passed the fifth trial last time? Killing a peak level 1 as a low level 1? Fucking hell!" Rey gritted his teeth and bent his knees.
The leopard ran toward him at breakneck speed and jumped.
"Arghhh!" Rey sidestepped and gave it a round kick right in the jaw.
With a click, the leopard's mouth was bloodied and its eyes flared with rage.
"Oh boy, oh boy!" Rey clenched his fists and stared at the racing beast with determination.
…
…
…
"4,000 students failed the 5th trial. Disqualified. 100 students passed."
"30 passed the 6th trial."
"10 passed the 7th trial."
"All 10 failed the 8th trial."
Rey collapsed onto his knees and gasped outside the tower. All his injuries were healed and he looked fine but he almost died inside.
'Fuck! They're crazy! How can they put such nightmarish tests and call them trials?'
If he didn't give up in time, he'd have died. Rey was scared and upset at this whole entrance.
But…
After a few hours, when the Queen of Shadows announced he'd be eligible to join the academy along with the few lucky others, he put behind all negative emotions and cheered.
Then the qualified students didn't even go home. They were directly taken by some high awakeners to the dorms.
The college would begin tomorrow. Only then did the students get a faint idea of what this whole thing was about.
"The academy is in another world!"
The campus was huge, the buildings were beautiful and mysterious. Most of them weren't open yet, so the cadets couldn't visit.
Along with a couple of neighbors in his dorm, Rey roamed the vast academy grounds.
But when he tried to cross an artificial barrier at the border, he was stopped by a high awakener.
"Cadet, you cannot cross this area without permission." The guard said.
"…But why?"
As if to answer that question, a figure stumbled through the translucent barrier from the other side and collapsed onto the ground, spilling out blood like a leaking balloon.
The guard poured him a healing potion and a bot took the man away to recuperation. Then he gave them a long look. "This is why. It's dangerous. Those things will eat me alive if I'm not careful and you kids wouldn't even able to be fight back."
"W-Wait, aren't we in the academy? Why are there dangerous beasts around us?" One of Rey's neighbors asked in a shivering voice.
"Oh, we are in the academy. But the academy is in the center of a very dangerous place. Even Sovereigns would have a hard time crossing it or so I heard. Well, the beasts wouldn't actively attack us and once the classes begin, your teachers would hold some sort of outings into these places and bring you to fight monsters. But unless you're a high awakener, don't think about venturing out alone."
Rey and his neighbors returned in confusion and fear.
What the hell did they get themselves into? Was it really a golden opportunity or some shady deal?
As the cadets wondered, the man behind the academy was condemning a group of students that were supposed to have 'died' in the entrance.
"You didn't give up when you should and if the secret mechanism didn't intervene, you would've all died. Dead. Do you understand what you've done? What would've happened to people who care about you? What would happen to your own future? You sacrificed your future for a seat in the academy. Utter stupidity."
The students lowered their heads. Some wept while others had a face of remorse.
Only a couple of students didn't reach much. They just had a regretful expression, regretful that they couldn't pass even after risking their lives.
Varian noticed these people. The blue-haired young girl from earlier was also among this group.
All these people that didn't have any remorse were the ones that lost everyone in the war. They're orphans with no other goal.
Varian sighed and snapped his fingers. The students were escorted back to their homes.
Only a couple of war orphans remained. They looked at the Emperor in confusion. Why were they allowed to stay?
"While all of you risked lives, most of them did it out of overconfidence. Only you few were willing to die to pass the trial. I'll give you another chance."
Varian smiled faintly and the throne hall went dark. A blizzard set off and snow quickly reached their calves. But the air was hot and they began to sweat. Their minds felt a prickling pain and their body seemed heavy.
It wasn't just one power acting on them. It was many.
"Reach the throne and you'll pass."
The twenty-odd students given the second chance took it stubbornly and moved forward.
Their bodies were soon riddled with injuries and their minds were filled with faint illusions. Yet they moved forward through sheer will.
To their despair, even the one at the forefront couldn't take more than a dozen steps before collapsing.
Then they crawled. Even then, it was becoming too hard to even lift a finger.
"Arrghhh!"
"I will…"
"No!"
As they pushed their bodies beyond limits and brought upon themselves tremendous pain, their blood-curling screams filled the throne hall.
Just like they feared, no one reached the throne. The young girl at the forefront collapsed just in front of the throne stairs.
As they all despaired at the second failure, the throne hall lit up and their injuries were healed in a blink. Most of them were escorted out and three students remained.
"You three qualify." Emperor tapped on his armrest and said.
"B-But I didn't reach the throne." The young girl with blue hair looked at him in confusion.
"Oh, none of you can reach the throne. Not even the ones that passed the test. It's just a lie to see how you'd react facing an impossible challenge. And you three did well." Varian smiled faintly.
The three looked at each other in confusion.
"You three should try valuing your life more."
A look of sadness flashed on their faces and the three young people didn't answer.
"I know you lost everyone but…new bonds can always be formed. Make new friends, meet elders that you can respect and learn from, get rivals that'll keep you on the edge for the rest of your life, fall in love and realize what it means to protect someone with your life.
It's unfortunate that you lost everyone but it'd be more unfortunate if you shut yourself in because of that. So, the next time we meet, I want you three to show me the bonds you built in the academy, am I clear?"
"Y-Yes."
"Alright then, go and prepare for tomorrow. It'll be a hectic schedule."
The three were sucked into a space gate and disappeared.
