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The dark-haired boy stepped forward with a rigid posture, almost like a soldier at attention. The other students only watched in silence, confused about why he had been called.
— Your task will be to explore the Tomb of Xeri'tness. You are to return only upon receiving the approval of the expedition commander — declared the Rector, her calm voice dictating his fate.
— Rector...
Zyn tried to react, but as soon as he met the resolute expression of the woman before him, any protest was silenced.
He stepped back, swallowing hard, accepting his sentence with the silence that remained. When the directive came from the blackboard, there was nothing that could be done.
— Did you hear that? He's going to have to explore that place, Xeri'tness — murmured one of the apprentices, covering her mouth in shock.
— Oh my goodness... that's practically a death sentence, isn't it?
— Is he going alone? How can this be considered a test? It's absurd! He's being left to his own devices...
— Oh my god, oh my god! Does this mean we'll all have to go there too? I don't want to! Why do they want to kill magicians like us? Aren't we valuable? — Lenia commented desperately, unable to contain her anxiety and stop biting her nails.
— Are we valuable? Lenia, sometimes you live in your own world. Our class has only 12 magicians now, but it used to be over 60. You should remember that.
As the whispers grew like a whirlwind, Rinn turned to Rick and whispered:
— She's just discarding him, isn't she? Since when is this a test?
— Maybe he'll come out alive — Rick answered, keeping his eyes fixed on the center of the room.
— Come out alive? You're being way too optimistic. You know Xeri'tness was abandoned by the academy itself. It's full of magical distortions, wild creatures, and structures that could collapse at any moment.
— It's suicide — Tamires added from the other side, a pencil near her mouth.
— That's what I'm saying! — Rinn commented next, thinking that this plan definitely couldn't be carried out alone.
— Well, let's not be hypocrites. For all these years, no one really cared about who lives or who dies. This was never about compassion. Everyone is just being dramatic — Rick said in a cold tone, his gaze fixed on the classmates around him. — No one really feels sorry for him. They just don't want to be in his place. That's why the whole room is like this.
As Rick spoke, his eyes briefly met the Rector's, and he noticed her expression had changed.
Not good.
— Silence.
The Rector spoke in a low voice, but loud enough for everyone to hear.
However, everyone continued to talk with raised voices, theories running wild.
Only Rinn, Rick, and Tamires remained silent at that moment.
— I said: SILENCE!
Everyone fell silent immediately, going mute. The Rector's words were followed by an expression of anger, which quickly dissipated, returning to her usual stoic demeanor.
All eyes were now on the Rector, whose expression had returned to its usual coldness.
— You may return to your seat, Zyn. — she ordered, her voice sharp, without even sparing the boy a glance.
With her hands raised toward the fragmented black mirror in the center of the room, she pulled out another card. The paper flickered like a dying ember before igniting with a dark glow.
— Lenia, step forward.
Lenia's lips repeated in a whisper in response to her name being called:
— Oh my god, why me?
I don't want to die, I don't want to die, I don't want to die.
The girl froze for a moment, but then followed the orders and stood in front.
— Lenia, you will go to the neighboring planet of Ox'theria, where a civil war is currently taking place. You will report to the second officer and earn their approval.
The Rector's eyes fixed on Lenia, who trembled slightly, but the tension in her body started to fade as she thought about the situation.
In the end, wasn't this a relief compared to Zyn's task?
Lenia let out a quiet, almost imperceptible sigh, and replied:
— Yes, Rector.
Compared to having to explore some tomb that hadn't been touched in over 1000 years, filled with mutant creatures that could easily kill mages, taking care of a civil war with the support of the planet's soldiers seemed relatively easy.
— Well, her task doesn't seem that difficult, does it? Assisting in a civil war should be easy for someone ranked 2 in the academy.
Rinn said with his elbow resting on the table, his head leaning against his right hand, watching Lenia with a soft smile on her face.
— Honestly? I'd rather explore the Tomb of Xeri'tness than get involved in the war in Ox'theria. In the tomb, at least we have the chance to run when everything goes wrong. But being in a prolonged war like Ox'theria's is a whole different situation — Rick said.
He then turned his face toward Rinn, who remained quiet, digesting the words, still without a formed opinion after hearing him.
After Lenia returned to her seat, the Rector called the names of all the other students in the academy. One by one, each student stood up and accepted their respective tasks in search of ascension.
Tamires was assigned to search the tunnels beneath the buildings of the main city of the planet — an old labyrinth, full of forgotten knowledge and creatures lurking in the dark.
In comparison, Rick was tasked with recovering ancient lost scrolls of the academy, linked to the Xeneis, a magical race rarely discussed or understood.
— Rinn, step forward.
When he heard the Rector's voice, Rinn let out a contained sigh and stood up from his seat. He positioned himself in front of Yunen, his torso slightly tilted forward, hands behind him, eyes fixed on hers, not diverting them for an instant.
— Your mission will be to recover the Sight Stone, located in the city of N'Lanor, at the edge of the Dead Forest trail. You will go with other ascended mages and must return with the stone... or you will be considered a failure.
The air instantly became heavy.
The atmosphere turned dense, suffocating.
The students fell silent immediately — the name N'Lanor echoed like a cursed omen.
No one expected to hear it at that moment.
Rinn clenched his fists tightly, his fingers nearly digging into his own skin. If Zyn's mission was insane, his was simply a death sentence.
Zyn could still run through the corridors of the Tomb of Xeri'tness. Rinn couldn't. N'Lanor was a cursed city, where the past and present mixed like poisonous mist.
The cursed city.
At that moment, he wanted to challenge the Rector's decision, or even unleash all the indignation he was feeling, but he stopped himself from taking such actions.
Thinking rationally, even arguments wouldn't help. The decision had already been made — by her and the council of the Blackboard.
— Understood, Rector. I will fulfill the order.
He replied through gritted teeth, silently boiling with anger, before returning to his seat as he was dismissed with a gesture.
You want to see me dead, don't you?
Be satisfied.
He thought to himself, refusing to listen to Rick or Tamires' words.
All he saw was the reddish glow of the Blackboard card, consumed by the fire conjured in Yunen's hands, who had a small enigmatic smile on her face.
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