Path of Ruin: The Dawn of a New Era

1. Via 1317 of the solar calendar, the capital of Rout Nitis-Rout-en

Luke POV

After we woke up, we went to the tables that were still full of food from yesterday and filled our bellies.

Soon it's dawn and the instructors are coming. The time has come to announce the test results. We finally get to know who will participate in the final exam.

They call the first name and announce the verdict. Failure. His results were not enough. It wasn't surprising. Even if a person can get here, it does not mean that he will continue. Until now, if the minimum conditions were met in the individual exams, it was possible to continue, but this time it is different.

They gradually call out the names of other participants. Most of them have ended in failure, but here and there someone is successful.

The first of us to hear Mia's name. She goes to the instructor's and the results are entered in her application. It was on the edge, but she succeeded. I am happy for her. I look at her and see her breathing. We all silently congratulate her.

We will return our attention back to the instructor who continues to announce the results. They call Ezra as the next of our group. He too was successful.

Soon after, Eon and Artur learn the results. They both passed. Only Sára and I don't know our results anymore. I hope we won't have to wait too long for them.

The room slowly depopulated as more and more people were unsuccessful. Out of almost a thousand people who came this far, barely fifty of them were successful. There are only thirty people left who have not yet received their results and this number is rapidly decreasing.

They finally call Sarah's name. I hope that, like the others, Sára will be successful. When she announces her results, I breathe a sigh of relief. She passed. Even if I fail, her future is secured. I dropped a stone from the heart. She walks back to us and I give her a happy smile.

The number of people waiting for the results continues to decrease until at the end there is only one left, me. My name is called. It's finally my turn. I go to the instructor and hand him my application. He takes it over and looks at the contents. There he writes down my results from the last test and announces my verdict. Accepted.

I've almost come to terms with death, but his words give me new hope. He returns the parchment to me and I return to the others. As soon as I reach them, Sára throws herself around my neck. He feels like I heard a soft sob, but I act like it never happened. I hug her too, but end it quickly. Now is not the time for that. We will be able to celebrate when we become official students of the academy. We still have the final exam.

The instructor claps to get our attention again and tells us how it will proceed.

In order to be accepted into the academy, we must awaken mana. That will also be the meaning of the last exam. Anyone who has successfully passed and will pass during the time when registration is in progress will be given a chance to meet this condition through previous testing.

This final exam will take place on the tenth or eleventh Via. Those who have been selected to participate must remain here until it is held. The instructor said that several rooms had been prepared for us to sleep in. The Academy will provide us with everything we need.

After saying everything necessary, he orders us to follow him and leads us to the already mentioned rooms. He will also show us the location of the toilet along the way. Apart from the room we will be in, it is the only room we can enter.

There are fifty-six of us and the room is set up for thirty people, so we are divided accordingly. Eon and Sára are in the first room while me, Mia, Artur and Ezra are in the second.

We go inside and I look around. It's not who knows what. There are no beds, but only thirty mats with blankets and pillows spread out along the walls of the room. In the center are two square tables with benches on the sides. There are windows opposite the door and there is also a bookcase in one corner.

We go to the four beds in one corner and take them. It doesn't take long before the other sleeping places are occupied.

There's not much to do here, so I'm going to borrow a book. I randomly pull one out and put it back in its place. I'm not looking at the title. I open it right away and start reading. It is the Bible of the Orthen Church. It is probably the most widely distributed book in the world. The book records various commandments and instructive stories about the god and his greatest followers who were honored with the surname Saints.

Although I have never read the Bible, I already know most of the stories from it. Actually, almost everyone in the world knows about them.

Although you can find the Church of Orthen almost anywhere, it is most widespread and influential in the south of the Eastern continent. There is an empire under the direct control of the Pope, otherwise known as the voice of God.

I'm not particularly religious. But in contrast to me, Sára is a devoted believer. At least every ten days he goes to church to pay his respects to God. This faith has helped her through the most difficult phases of her life and I hope it never breaks.

I slowly read word by word, turning the pages until I finally read the last chapter. I close the book and look at the others. They followed my example and also decided to devote themselves to reading. I smile. I don't disturb them and get up to put the book back where it belongs and get a new one.

Just as I am about to return to my seat, the door opens and an instructor walks in accompanied by servants holding trays full of food. The instructor announces that it is time for lunch and has his entourage place everything on the two tables in the room. He doesn't stay here too long and leaves.

I'll put down the book I just picked up and go eat. Before long, Ezra, Artur and Mia join me and we start eating together. It feels good to have a full stomach.

Time passed quickly and soon the last day of recruitment arrived and tomorrow we have the final test. Our stay at the academy was uneventful. We had everything we needed, enough food and the possibility to wash in the bathroom. If it wasn't for the limited stay, I couldn't complain about anything.