Akito frowned as he reviewed the information before him again. The regular Pillar exams were finished after nine days of testing, all that remained were the elite exams. Those who desired to take it needed to sign up in advance, giving ample time for informants to dig out their info.

You’d think this would give a disadvantage during the normal exam, but it hardly ever mattered. Those who enlisted were a cut above the rest, this year as well not a single one failed to pass the normal exam. Akito’s Family provided him with information on all the seventeen hundred participants, and he’d also done his own digging on this particular opponent.

Ephemeral Mask: age twenty, direct son of the Vault Family Patriarch. Skilled in the Sealing and Immortal Smith profession, estimated to be able to perform both to the peak of the third grade. Uses a thin long spear in combat and focuses on quick, technical spearmanship. Fire attributed, focuses on attacks that burn fiercely but finish quickly to round out his spearmanship. Estimated ranking, 1012.

A list of his know achievements and techniques went on, but Akito kept returning to that ranking number. “How is this possible?” He muttered. No matter which informant he asked or how deeply he dug, the scion of the Vault Family never ranked in the top thousand.

Akito knew that the rankings weren’t always accurate, his own ranking in the mid four hundreds, showed that much, but they were usually still in the ball park. Dark horses usually arose due to a lack of information, but there was plenty of information on Ephemeral Mask.

A Viscount House didn’t have the resources to cover up a younger generation, not when people really started looking. His strength growth could be followed clearly from his debut, even if he had some power hidden it shouldn’t be much.

“What a waste of money.” Akito scoffed and detached the info slip from his mirror and tossing it aside. He had faith in his own senses, the level of threat he felt from Tai wasn’t small. That bastard hid his true information too well. With such a huge gab between the info and reality, Akito couldn’t trust a single word of it.

He tapped his knee while weighing his odds. It’ll be too dangerous to involve the other two Family members who’re taking the exam. They were both ranked in the fourteen hundreds, and he might not be able to stop Tai from taking them out depending on his true specialty.

His hand stopped as a sigh escaped his lips. He’d give up on revenge if he met the two from his family first. Their chances of reaching elite were practically nonexistent, but after the trouble he caused he owed it to the family to help them out.

‘The exam is more important. I can always deal with him in the Academy later.’

It was then that the sound of rolling could be heard in the room.

“Who’s there!?” Akito jumped up as a film of water shrouded him. His spirit sense quickly found the rolling orb, but not whatever put it in motion. He watched the orb cautiously until it stopped.

A projection shot out and displayed a dark screen. The screen didn’t change as a short message played in a cold and feminine voice. The short message shocked Akito.

He held his hand above the orb and a beam of spiritual energy entered him. He closed his eyes to digest the spiritual energy while the orb disintegrated. He soon opened his eyes with a grin. “Don’t blame me. I was willing to let you go, but it seems you’ve picked up some powerful enemies.” He muttered with narrowed eyes.

…

“Interesting rules.” Tai muttered while reading over the format for the elite examination. The Academy’s exams would vary depending on the proctor, and nowhere was it more apparent than the elite exams.

The necessity of comprehensiveness and a fast pace standardized the normal exams somewhat, but the elite exams held no such boundaries. Everyone participating already passed the enrollment exam and were part of the school, so with the bases covered the head proctor could really get creative with the elite test.

Some years would be a large race, some would be a team battle, some were rounds of last man standing, some were puzzles, and sometimes the examinees were dropped into a location without being told the goal. The test could truly be anything, and the number of passers usually ranged from zero to ten. This exam could be called kind as at least one person was guaranteed to pass, and the rules were directly explained.

The test would take place in a giant puzzle labyrinth over ten days. Each puzzle room would have three choices, a knowledge test, a profession test, or a strength test. Clearing a certain number of rooms would reward a key, and collecting nine keys would unlock the final gauntlet to leave the maze. The first one out became an elite without question, but anyone else will be based on evaluation by the proctors.

‘The Academy sure lives up to its reputation, using a Planal Artifact for an entrance exam.’ Tai was really impressed, he’d only ever heard of Planal Artifacts before after all, and it was something he aspired to possess one day.     

They were a kind of spatial artifact that held an entire realm instead of just a storage space. They were often considered a symbol of Marquess Households, as they were all gifted one upon reaching the rank, though a few lesser houses have been lucky enough to acquire one through other means. Unfortunately, the Vault Family was not one of those.

“Hmm, he comes off as a bit of a braggart who loves a good show.” Tai muttered as he recalled the barely contained excitement and pride of the Head Proctor as he introduced the Planal Artifact and explained the rules. “But there’s definitely more to him.”  Tai’s eyes narrowed as he focused on a few rules.

Understanding the Head Proctor’s personality has always been integral to success. Only the first to exit had a guarantee, everyone else would be judged on the Proctor’s scale, and deciphering that scale was part of the test. The apparent ease of this exam was such a case.

The rules for teams were disadvantageous but detailed. A flamboyant person usually didn’t care much for teams, but Tai got the feeling that wasn’t the case here.

‘I’m just looking for alternatives.’ He sighed while putting his mirror down. The proctor’s intent won’t matter so long as he came first. ‘I have to come in first, I can’t rely on fair judgement if it gets that far.’

The examinees naturally couldn’t bring their spatial rings with them. It’d give those with larger backgrounds way too big of an advantage. Instead, everyone was given an empty ring and a thousand points to select resources to place in it. A standard rule in exams and trials that Tai wouldn’t think twice about if the sealing materials weren’t outrageously expensive. Some of the components were more expensive than completed products of other professions.

It might be overreacting, but Tai couldn’t shake the feeling this was aimed at him. In the entire Southern Region, only three Households specialize in seals: two Viscounts, and one Marquess. The other Viscount Family had no members attending the True Pillar exam, and the Marquess Family’s sealing techniques were special and didn’t require the same type of gear.

This insane pricing would only really affect him, and he didn’t know how else he might get targeted in the future. Rather than his best chance, getting first is most likely his only chance of breaking the two-hundred year old curse of the Vault Family.

Those thoughts in mind, he took out the two things he’d be bringing with him and started maintenance on them. They were already in perfect condition, but his mind eased while he worked on his giant spear.

It had a thick metal shaft with a massive spearhead. It looked poorly kept, with cracked lines running across the spearhead, but it also gave it an ominous and ancient feeling. Tai’s lovingly polished the second-best spear he’d ever forged, his Scorch.

He ran a sliver of qi through it and watched as blue flames flickered around the blade instantly before nodding his head in satisfaction and putting it down. He then turned even gentler eyes to the other gear he’d be bringing in, the one that’d take almost half his thousand points.

Scorch cost next to nothing since he’d made it himself and there was a makers discount, but this gorgeous piece of armor was another story entirely.

Full bodied, layered in various beautiful colors of purple, with a simple and tight shape. There were no extra ornaments on it to block functionality, but the various spiral marks, and enchanting engravings of burning feathers that seemed to dance along it were simply breathtaking. The helmet had engravings of a circlet around it and  was retractable. It looked awe inspiring and intimidating.

Tai touched it softly and felt the warmth coming from it for a moment before he started working on it. This armor inspired him to take up the Immortal Smith Profession, though he ended up far more skilled in weapons craft than armor. It’s the most valuable thing he owned, and a longtime birthday present from his mom.

Tai never met his mother, as far as he can remember at least, but he did speak with her through letters. His dad never told him anything about her, the only times he even mentioned her was when he dropped off her letters and gifts.

This didn’t bother him though. He knew his mother was alive and well, that’s more than Raul could say. He also knew that the day would come when he couldn’t be brushed aside like a child. A day when he’ll ask his father the question and get an answer. Till then, he’d appreciate what he did have and take everything step by step.

A strong confidence and pride roused inside him as he wiped the armor clean. The worries and concerns he had were brushed aside with the nonexistent dirt from the armor. It didn’t matter if the test was unfair, or how good the other examinees were, or even what forces in the dark worked against him. He’d be first because he’s the best. It’s just that simple.

FaustVoncleave

Back. First time the story is following someone else for a while, almost feel as nervous as the midterms, but hopefully this will go as well as those did too.

Rough picture of Scorch, except Scorch is all metal and the blade is much thicker.