"Are you saying she absorbed and integrated that entire core instantly?" The Elder asked.
"Exactly. That was the blessing I gave her, to be able to instantly absorb mana-bearing resources. She will do very well with a supply of mana stones and monster cores, and given her choice of a Berserker fighting style, I think she will do exceptionally well among the Crushing Mountain Disciples."
"Why do you say she chose a Berserker fighting style?" The Elder asked.
"It was part of the reward from the trial. I can see it because I ran the trials, and she chose the path of a Berserker after learning the [Crushing Blow] Skill. She will naturally learn many more skills related to her path in the future, and with the right opportunity, she might even go much further along the path of a violent warrior as she grows." Cain explained.
"So, like you have been doing for your Disciples, but without your direct supervision?" Elder Mariel asked.
"Somewhat similar. I don't know how far she will make it without a qualified guide, but that is part of the fun of being a Cultivator, right? Forging your own path through life and toward Immortality?" Cain asked.
The assembled Elders nodded. Coddling her would do her no good. All they could do was wait for the process to finish and see how powerful she had gotten when she regained consciousness so they knew what to do with her in the immediate future.
Cain wasn't entirely familiar with their names for the stages of development in the Mortal Realms before the first awakening, but she had made it to level 82 with that one stone, about a third of the way through the Mortal Realm in one shot by level numbers.
Of course, that was only a thousandth of the way by pure experience needed, but that wasn't the point. She would wake up with the opportunity to take almost all of the Berserker skills, and then she could work her way toward the First Advancement as she settled into the Sect.
It would be an incredible experience for her, and she was likely to be hailed as a hero among the initiates, given her ability to defend against attacks by the senior Disciples who wanted to bully them. If her personality were as strong as the trial suggested, she would soon be a rising star among the Cultivators of this region.
The Elders began listing names, going through everyone who was accepted into the Sect, while those who failed to gain acceptance grew more and more desperate to hear their names. The remaining few looked shattered when the Elder announced the end of the list.
"Those are all of the successful applicants for the first round of this year's exams. Those who wish to try again may return to the Initiate areas outside the walls, where you will be brought to the Seaside Sect in two years for another attempt to gain entry into a Sect. Those who passed will be gathered again in a few days' time for your next test.
If you choose, you may leave and pursue your own destiny outside, and we will provide you with the necessities to make the first part of your journey.
The choice, as always, is your own, and in life, you can only rely on your own strength." The Crushing Mountain Sect Elder informed them.
Cain had expected to see more than one single System activation, but the Initiates weren't really an impressive bunch, and only a handful had passed the test at all, so the variety of rewards available had only given the top prize to a single person today.
Cain considered making it an option for all Disciples, but that would cause Chaos in the Crushing Mountain Sect, and the Elders had asked him to hang around for a while before they brought him back to the Sect with the portals, which would lead him to Misha.
"What do they need to do now that they passed the first test? Is there some cool oath or something?" Luna asked as she watched an Inner Sect Disciple lead the new kids away.
"The first day is simple. There are only half as many open dorms as marked for their use as there are potential disciples. They need to pick a roommate and get settled into a room. That part is always a struggle for them, and some will end up sleeping in alleys for weeks before they get themselves settled.
The Crushing Mountain values strength, including the strength of will, so we let them sort out their own living arrangements. Some will want a lackey with them, some an equal, but eventually, all of them will find a space, or someone will take pity on them and help them apply for a new space. The rest of the trials reject those without a suitable character." The Elder explained.
"Oh, I like it. Survival of the fittest and all. Do we bet on the outcomes?" Luna asked.
"You're too young to gamble, little lady." Cain admonished her.
"Can you bet on my behalf?" Luna asked, giving him her best pleading look.
"Maybe. Should we bet on the first to be forcefully ejected from a room?" Cain asked the Elders who were gathered around him.
"Oh, that is a fine first wager of the trials. I wager one flagon of whiskey that it will be that boy with the snake tattoo on his arm. He looks like the sort who can't back up his words." One of the brewers suggested.
"The boy with the left side of his head shaved. He is already unpopular among the others. I can see a pair ganging up on him no matter where he picks." Another Elder suggested.
"Why aren't the bets on who will settle in fastest?" Luna whispered to Cain.
"Because that's too easy. A cute girl got extra prizes for doing so well in the trials. Half of the Initiates would beg to join her, so she should only take a few seconds to settle in." Cain replied, then pointed at a room in the apartment-style outer Disciples dorms.
"See, there she is, already settled in with her choice of roommate. It looks like we might have our first forcible ejection as well." Cain said, pointing toward a room near the end of the row, where they would get the most sunlight in the evening but be in the shade for the early mornings.
An arrogant-looking young man with flowers in his hands, picked from the flowerbed outside the dorm, was strutting up to her door with what he presumably thought was an endearing smile on his face.
"I should probably go resurrect him." Cain sighed, making the Elders laugh.
"He can't see inside the dorm. There is no way he can see how she greeted that roommate of hers, but he should know better than what he's about to do. It's a small kindness to let him die for a moment first." One of the Elders agreed.
The boy simply marched up to the dorm and pulled the roommate out through the window before stepping inside with the flowers held in front of him before being violently ejected back out of the dorm and across the roadway, hitting the far wall with a wet splat that could only mean death.
The Berserker Girl looked enraged for a few more seconds while she picked up her roommate and carried her back inside in a princess carry, but quickly calmed down and then looked horrified as she saw the blood streak extending down the wall of the dorm across the way, from the second floor to the ground.
Cain set Luna down on top of a pillar near the training grounds and flew over, resurrecting the man as he landed and looking down at the pathetic sight of the sobbing Initiate.
"I hope you learned a valuable lesson today. It wasn't easy to get the Death Goddess to return your soul to your body. I won't bring you back to life again if you make another mistake." Cain informed him, then flew away.
The Death Goddess honestly couldn't care less about his soul since he had no power and nothing else about him to draw her interest, but the warning should be enough to keep the boy on the right path for a while, assuming he passed the other tests.
The display of power was enough to keep anyone else from bothering the top seed or her roommate, and it also seemed to smooth over the process, leading to almost everyone finding roommates within the first few minutes.
The resurrected initiate and one other boy were left out, as two others decided that they would rather be solo than room with them, but after a few minutes, they realized that they could actually room with each other and work together, leaving everyone indoors, and the two outcasts uncomfortably sharing a room.
"Wow, I have never seen them all get rooms the first night. Maybe we should let them kill one the first day all the time." An Elder suggested.
"Most groups aren't going to have someone capable of putting on such a show that it would make the others fall in line, though. Should we start planting a ringer in the groups?" Another Elder asked.
"No, that's too dishonorable. We can take this one as a one-off and rejoice that, for once, the Initiates are behaving themselves." The brewer suggested.
"Speaking of behaving themselves, the Elders are going to stay sober for the evening, right? I have Inscription Exams to mark, and a courtyard full of Immortal Drunks did not make it easy for me." An older woman complained, looking around with disgust.
"We promise. That hangover was nothing to joke about." An Immortal promised with a sincere hand over his heart, making the Elders chuckle.
They had all been in the same shape this morning, but most of them had poison-cleansing potions on them that let them recover in minutes. It was still enough to know that drinking whisky from the mug was not a great idea.
