Emma walked into the shop towards evening with Umbra and the 2 young cubs.
"You are late," Ning said from the place he stayed at. "Took these to the Arena to get Umbra to fight. I thought it would be a good idea to show Lory what he would have to do," Emma said. "How did the evaluation go?"
Ning smiled before forming an 'ok' with his fingers. "No problems."
"Oh, good good. Anyway, I need a few more books, about the history and politics of this continent. Apparently, the written questions will include these."
"And the practical ones?" Ning asked.
"I'm not sure yet," Emma said. "It seems they have different practical tests every time, so it could be anything. I'm prepared for most things that could come my way though, so no worries."
She took the book and walked away, leaving Ning behind to the shop without any customers. For the next 3 days, Emma learned everything she could, and on the morning of the 4th day, it was time for the tests to start.
"Do well, and make your father proud, okay?" the old lady said, holding Emma's face in her hands. "Good luck."
"Thank you, Miss Laila," Emma smiled. "Come on Lyra, time to go."
She didn't need Ning or Umbra to come with her. She went alone, with everything she could possibly need in her storage ring.
The morning city was quiet. The only thing in the streets were the people who made their way to the institute. Due to the importance of the institute and the people who came for it, the city was partially shut down for the morning to let the exam takers make their way to the city.
Emma saw beasts of all shapes and sizes, every which one she could recognize, make their way to the institute. Just the same as her.
She arrived at the Core region of the city where the governmental buildings were as was the Star Beast Institute. The institute itself was surrounded by large walls, everything beyond not visible to the person outside.
How many times had Emma come to this place and wondered what was inside? She missed not having her Divine Sense to easily see inside walls or Clairvoyance magic to bring up images of a distant location. Outside the institute, near the gate, she handed over her registration slip for the test to one of the people handling it. After being verified, she was made to fill up a few more things, mostly expanding on the information she had already given them.
She also had to give details of the beast she was planning on joining the institute with. Lyra's descriptions were simple to fill and gave her no trouble at all.
"Your tests will be held at these times in these places. Read through the rules posted across the institute to make sure you don't break them."
Emma nodded and made her way inside.
Past the institute walls, Emma could finally see how it was inside. Many people and beasts gathered around on a large open ground, with freshly cut grass. A few trees littered the field, but most were far away. The entrance had a 20 feet wide cobblestone path that led to a building in the distance that was the institute.
The institute itself was no more than 2 stories tall, but it was wide and it was long. Emma couldn't see how many rooms there were and if the building was even a singular one. She thought she saw another one in the distance, but it could be connected.
There was more open space on the other side of the institute, but the ground seemed to slant in that direction, and she couldn't see what that could be there.
"How wide is this even?" she wondered. "It's like a small city by itself."
Lyra didn't respond.
Emma then made her way toward the open ground where everyone else waited for their exam. She opened the note that she received and read through it.
"2 writing exams; 1 in an hour and another in 3 hours," she read the first part. "Then a physical exam around 2… and another one an hour after that. That's it."
She put the paper in her pocket and made her way to one of the lone trees with people gathered around it. The rules were posted on a piece of paper, stuck to the tree high up.
There were no major rules she had to be aware of from what it seemed. These were simple stuff such as don't be disrespectful to others, don't cause trouble, don't destroy institute properties, handle your beast, etc.
She still read through it all and when she was at the end, her attention was taken away.
"It's you!" someone gave a little gasp from her side.
Emma turned her head to see a well-dressed young girl with curly brown hair and freckles on her hair. "Oh, Betty. Hi," Emma gave a small smile and a nod.
"Hi," the girl replied, not expecting a simple greeting. Her eyes immediately fell on Lyra, widening in surprise. "Is that… a Shadow Puma?"
"This is Lyra," Emma asid. "Lyra, say Hi."
Lyra gave a small yelp with a smile.
"Hello," Betty said softly. "I thought Shadow Pumas were only found in the SpringWind Continent. How did you get one?"
"From the Springwind Continent," Emma said.
"You've been to that place?" Betty asked before shaking her head. "That doesn't matter. You shouldn't have come this year."
"I did say I would, didn't I?" Emma asked.
"So you didn't listen to my warnings?" Betty asked.
Emma nodded. "Thank you for the warnings. I could see your warnings were well founded, but they didn't apply to me," she said.
"Well, I can only warn. It's your job to take my warning and act accordingly," the young lady said. "I do wish you good luck."
Emma watched the young lady walk away and saw something crawl beneath her clothes. A smile formed on her face.
"That's a fancy little beast, isn't it?"
