Night strolled through the city. He wasn't going to lie - The Valiant was massive.

Beautiful towers and buildings sprawled across the land, and shops ran away into the distance. And these weren't made of wood. No, rather, they were made of marble of a quality Night didn't even know existed. Hell, if they used half of the same kind of stone in his own town then maybe it'd still be standing.

Even the road he was on was huge. On each side, vendors, merchants and charlatans presented their goods for all the city to see. Heaped upon the stalls, almost as if to boast their wealth, were turkeys, stews, pastries, great joints of meat by the butcher, sausages by the cooks, potions of healing, speed, strength, night vision, and many Night didn't even know the name of; there were swords, shields, breastplates, leggings, all of which were polished so vigorously that the light seemed to bounce off them like so many scattered mirrors.

The stalls were lined with such shining mana-lamps that each one almost looked like a captive star; from every lamp shone a brilliant golden light unlike Night had ever seen before. Night knew he was supposed to be amazed.

This was Valiant, after all. The city the Master of Light ruled over.

Restraining himself from grabbing something from the unguarded merchants, he made his way to the centre. The deeper he went, the richer the city seemed. Gold and white seemed to fly across the street as the townspeople- No, nobles walked around him. They walked around him in a big circle. Like, really big.

But since when did I care about other people's frowns?

Ignoring the looks they sent him, he eventually came across a small building. The words 'VALOUR ACADEMY: CANDIDATE RECEPTION' were spread across the top, not half as glamorously as the ones that surrounded it. Funnelling into it were teenagers, around his age, all wearing things of different shapes and sizes. Some wore pristine robes and held a obviously-expensive staff in their hand. Others wore simple clothing, wearing nothing but a simple coat as they shuffled inside.

Night could see how the two types of people stood apart from each other.

Moving to join the queue, he couldn't help but frown. The building was quite small - Just a little bigger than his former home. But there were so many people going inside. How could they all fit? Were they going underground?

From the back, he could see about, what, thirty people? This would probably take a-

"Yo! What's up?"

Night spun around. He was about to reach into his coat when- Oh yeah. They took it away. Stupid hospital security guards.

Night read the person who had greeted him. He had short blonde hair, fair skin, but not so fair it told everyone they used illusion magic on themselves. A simple brown coat, too thin to hide anything, black trousers, no enchantments... I think. Probably... Just another guy like me? Maybe. He's too friendly to be from the outskirts, though.

He seemed alright.

"...Hi."

"Hey!" He smiled. "I never saw you around here before. You new to this part of town?"

Night had met too many people who pretended to be nice, before stabbing the person they befriended in the back. Those types of people were all too common. "Yeah." Night gave him a small smile. "The name's Night," he said, extending a hand.

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Smiling broadly, the stranger extended his own hand into a lively handshake. "Artis. But most people call me Art." He turned towards the line. "Night's a name?"

"I mean, it's mine, so, yeah?" Night glanced at him. "Art's a name? Artis?"

"It's pronounced Ar-Tees, and yes, it is." Art stood on his toes to try and get a better view of the line, but after realising he wasn't tall enough, gave up. "Anyway... So, you're also a candidate for Valour?"

Night nodded. "Yep. But why are we called 'candidates'? Shouldn't we be called students?"

Art raised an eyebrow. "Yeah, you're definitely new around here." He raised his hands as if to make a gesture, before stopping and putting them down again. "So... You know how Heroes are supposed to be, like, virtuous and brave and all that?"

"Yeah." Night looked Art up and down. "That's the point, right? How we're different from the Villains?"

"Exactly. And the Heroes can't have..." Art stumbled on his words. "Um... Like, fakers-"

"You mean fraudsters?" Night suggested.

"Yes! Yeah, that. Anyway, the Heroes don't want people pretending to be good getting into the academy, using all the resources, before getting kicked out or turning into Villains after graduation." Art continued. "So they implemented a system where they check everyone to make sure they're all good and stuff. Think of it as a... Alignment check."

"Okay..." Night thought. "Wait, how do they do that?"

"Oh, basically, they look at your soul."

"Alr-" Night stopped. "Hold on. Your soul?"

"Yeah!" Art confirmed cheerfully. "Don't worry, it's not as bad as you think. They only look at what they have to. They also check out your magic type, while they're at it."

"My soul?" Night stared. "How the hell does that even work?"

Art's eyes widened. "Woah, no swearing!"

Night blinked. "...Hell isn't a swear word."

"Don't say it! And yes, it is!" Art huffed.

"Well," Night muttered to himself, "If that's how you react to hell, I wonder what'll happen when I say shi-"

Art coughed loudly. Whether to avoid the swear-bomb, or for some other reason, Night didn't know. "You see those totem-statue things over there?"

"Hm?"

Looking over, Night could see multiple towering, stone statue-like... Things. The shortest of them was just shy of the ceiling. The tallest was, well, sticking out of it, with a special glass dome protruding from the ceiling just to make sure it could fit. Each of them took a different shape. One was a lion, the other was an owl, and a different one was a wizard. Each of them had a pair of glowing gems in their eye sockets, almost as if they were staring at the 'candidates' who stood beneath them.

Night knew he didn't have to, but he felt compelled to whisper. "So what-"

Art shushed him. "Watch." He said, pointing.

Night looked as one of the students wearing a red and orange robe-like thing stood beneath one of the statues. One shaped like a dragon. After talking to one of the people stationed behind a booth next to the statue, she turned around. Stepping onto a small platform in front of it, the girl bowed her head, ever so slightly, and stopped.

After a few seconds, the platform glowed with a golden light - A disguised teleportation circle, Night thought. A triumphant look spread across her face as in a familiar flash, the girl disappeared.

"So... It's as easy as that?" Night asked.

"Look!" Art said, raising a finger.

Up ahead, beneath a different statue stood another boy. Night couldn't get a clear line of sight on the kid, but he could see the boy's face clear enough. Standing on top of the platform, the boy repeated the same steps as the other girl. But instead of the circle glowing yellow, it glowed red.

A look of alarm shot across the boy's face as he suddenly disappeared in a single, red flash.

Night winced. He didn't know what happened, but it didn't look good. "...What happened to him?"

"He's either evil or he was thinking something sussy when the statue read him." Art sighed. "Happens to, what, half of all candidates?"

Night looked at the line. Almost time. "Where do they end up? Those who fail?"

Art thought for a while, before shrugging. "Actually, I have no idea!" His eyes widened as he saw the last person in front of Night walk forward. "Looks like it's your turn, huh? Well, good luck!"

Seeing a spot open up, Night was about to go forward when he stopped for the last time. "Wait, what does 'sussy' mean?"

Art gaped at Night. "You know, sus?"

"Yeah, but what does 'sus' mean?"

"...Suspicious?"

"Oh, okay."