“Wait what-“

Elias was stunned. He couldn’t believe what he was hearing. For a second he thought the principal had made a mistake with the names or was even playing a trick on him, but the gazes thrown at him by his fellow inductees seemed to say otherwise.

Because of what had happened back in the main lobby concerning Lady Silver Swan, a lot of the candidates taking part in the assessment knew Elias’s name. Most of them even knew what he looked like, so when they heard his name being called they turned towards him with shock and surprise.

Elias felt embarrassed by all the stares being thrown at him but tried his best to keep his cool and not show it outwardly. That however couldn’t stop a look of surprise from appearing on his face, as he honestly did not expect to hear his name being called at all.

After the principal started reading out the list, Elias expected to hear his name being called in the 2nd to 5th range but even after the 2nd place was called, his name still hadn’t been mentioned.

This caused Elias to get quite anxious, and he had to be calmed down by his brother, Lars. They both told themselves that they didn’t try hard enough, as even Lars gave up on the whole thing.

That’s why after hearing the professor mention him in first place he was so stunned that he couldn’t even process anything. What was even more shocking was the fact that he had gotten 100% in all the exams,

It just didn’t feel real!

Clap, Clap, Clap

From within the crowd, a soft sound of clapping could be heard, breaking the entire hall out of its reverie and causing everyone, including the principal, to offer a round of applause for the impressive achievement.

Elias stood in the middle of the applauding crowd, not knowing how to react and just standing there silently. He turned his head to the direction where the clapping sound first came from, and saw Aamiya elegantly clapping her hands with a gentle smile on her face.

Elias smiled at her softly, before bowing to the applauding crowd with thanks and respect. Even if he still couldn’t understand what was going on, there was no harm in showing gratitude!

After allowing the show to go on for a while, the principal signaled for the hall to quiet down, as he prepared to offer his closing speech.

“Most of what needed to be said to you has been delivered by Professor Harleigh so I don’t really need to say much. Upholding the virtues of the academy is as important as your academic success here, so I hope and pray that all 140 of you act as proper beacons for us in the real world.”

Professor Conti gazed at them with a serious expression, causing most of the inductees to shift uncomfortably. “The world you younglings are about to step into is like nothing you have ever seen or dreamt about before. Your worldview is about to change, and in the coming weeks, it shall morph into something totally beyond mundane understanding.

“Do you think you understand the true meaning of right and wrong? You don’t.”

“Do you think you have experienced the chilling touch of pain and fear? You haven’t.”

“Do you doubt the existence of evil and the pull of the silent night? You shouldn’t.”

“The world beneath the morning is a cruel and dangerous place, one that rejects conformity and the idealistic standards of man. Blood, death, destruction and chaos—these are the things waiting to accept you with open arms.”

He looked around the hall and noticed the anxious faces of the inductees before chuckling, “In a way, you could say that all one hundred and forty of you have willingly walked into the belly of the beast.”

All of the inductees within the hall shivered at that statement. They didn’t know why, but they felt like they had made a big mistake in trying for the assessment. They just wanted to become Disciples and Apostles for varying reasons, what is all this talk about walking into the belly of a beast?

Elias was the only one in the hall who didn’t show much anxiety and fear, as he already had some experience with what the principal was saying. He had already heard this type of speech from Sister Marie multiple times, how could he be bothered by it now?

Professor Conti cleared his throat, as he didn’t know why the new inductees were so easily scared. He had just scratched the surface, how would they react if he told them about the existence of malevolent ghosts and bloody ghouls?

“In any case, you all have been handpicked by divine selection to represent and protect the purity of this world. Your family, friends and all you hold dear are now resting within the palm of your hands, and it is your choice to either squeeze and never let go, or give up and watch everything you cherish turn into dust.

“The board of Fate is a deadly game, and all 140 of you have been allowed to act as its players. Make use of this chance to grow and develop in strength and wisdom, so you can at least have a say in how the pieces of this world are moved.”

He then looked at them in brief silence, with his gaze momentarily settling on the top 20 candidates of the written exam, particularly a young man standing in the hall with calm confidence, as his voice took on a solemn tone,

“On behalf of our founder, the Benign Philosopher Noa El-Lah, I welcome all 140 of you to the White Helm Academy of Estica!”

…

Elias and Damien walked through the bright and prestigious halls of the academy, as both of them tried to make their to the Dean’s office of the History department.

A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

Damien couldn’t stop babbling on about how shocked and proud of Elias he was, which caused the latter to have a minor headache. He felt like Damien was even more excited about the whole thing than he was, which warmed his heart slightly.

With that being said, Elias still couldn’t believe he got the top spot in the written exams, especially with him having scored 100% in all exams taken. He was relatively confident in his ability to pass all the other subjects but was stumped when he saw the questions related to numerology.

In the end, it was Lars who ended up answering those questions for him, and both of them just hoped for a minimum result. Who would have thought that they would have gotten all the questions under it correctly, Elias felt like Lars was a secret maths guru!

When he had questioned Lars about it, he had shrugged it off and said even he didn’t expect to answer all the questions correctly. He had nonchalantly said that the academy should try to set harder questions next time, but Elias could detect a hidden touch of pride and joy in his voice. He was definitely happy with the results.

Elias chuckled to himself as he and Damien continued to make their way down to their last stop of the day.

Immediately after the principal’s announcement, Elias and Damien had gotten busy with their registration process and stormed out of the hall. Elias didn’t even have an opportunity to speak to Aamiya before he was dragged off by his overly excited friend.

In the end, it worked out in their favor, as both of them had gotten the opportunity to get everything done on time and without obstruction. They didn’t have to wait in a long queue, and for that, Elias had to thank Damien, even if he was dragged off without his consent.

Elias glanced down at the many items in his hands, causing him to break out a relaxed smile. After completing the registration process and becoming an official Apprentice of the White Helm Academy, Elias was given the benefits pertaining to his scholarship which shocked him greatly.

The academy would cover his tuition, academic and housing fees, and would continue to do so as long as he scored among the top 3 in written exams every year. This meant that Elias didn’t have to pay a dime and could pocket the rest of his funds. This removed a large burden from his heart, as he didn’t want to have monetary issues while studying.

He was given the academy’s official school uniform, badge, stationaries and even a one-year free lunch pass for the school's cafeteria. Elias was also given an accommodation suite meant for only him to use in the most developed hostel in the academy, which he heard was an added perk for breaking the school's exam record.

Looking at all this, Elias was already overwhelmed but it didn’t stop there. According to Mr. Evans who was the Head of Administration, Elias had been put on a monthly allowance of 10 Nel by the principal, a benefit which also came from his outstanding educational results.

So not only did Elias get free tuition, accommodation and lunch, but he would also receive free miscellaneous funds which he could spend on whatever he wanted at the end of every month, this was a dream come true!

Lars looked at the blooming smile on Elias’s face and shook his head in dismay. The smile on his face made him look quite charming to others but to Lars, it made him gag in disgust, as he felt like his brother looked quite like a clown.

Elias pretended not to notice Lars and continued to chat comfortably with Damien as they walked off, with the two friends drawing occasional glances from passing staff and students of the academy.

The images of the two friends created a massive contrast in the minds of onlookers, with one having a fiery and wild appearance and the other looking much more calm and reserved. From the outside, their friendship looked like the classical example of the phrase; ‘Opposites always tend to attract.’

The two friends didn’t notice the gazes being thrown at them as they comfortably made their way to their destination while chatting.

“So Elias why are you signing up for a course in the history department anyway? From what Mr. Evans said your departmental courses should be related to the Nature Department, so why are you picking this one?”

Damien gazed at Elias’s registration spreadsheet and shuddered. His friend had registered for courses from almost all of the departments and was planning to add one or two more. Did he have a death wish?

The academy’s departmental structure was set up in a way that aside from the five general study courses, each academy Apprentice had to register for at least three departmental courses.

The academy had five departments namely the Physical, History, Astrology, Law and Nature departments, with students being free to pick out three courses from these five. The only thing was Mr. Evans recommended picking the three courses related to ones Echelon of Faith, as it would help in understanding the essence of the path one was about to undertake.

Elias had been told by Damien that the five departments were related to the study of the five divine authorities, with Physical being related to the Echelon of Ruination, History to the Echelon of Sapience, Astrology to the Echelon of Possibilities, Law to the Echelon of Law and Order and Nature to the Echelon of Life.

Elias didn’t really understand the meaning of the term ‘Echelon of Faith’, but he just assumed that it was related to one’s divine attribute and the result of the assessment. They would be having an introductory Theosophy class the next day, so he expected to get a solid explanation for the question.

Anyways Damien had registered for the three courses under the Law Department which were; Law Science, Study and Essence of Light and a peculiar course known as Noblesse. He had also registered for an extra course in the physical department known as Body and Fitness, as he was a major exercise enthusiast.

This brought his total course count to nine when added to the five compulsory general courses, a number which gave him much headache when he thought about all the studying he would have to do in the future. But when he thought about the number of courses his friend had registered for, he suddenly felt like his situation wasn’t too bad.

Not only had Elias registered for the three compulsory courses of his assigned department which was the Nature Department he had also registered for at least one course from the others as well.

He had applied for Body and Fitness, Weapon Architecture, Astromancy, Noblesse and was also on his way to apply for the courses of Old and New World History and Arcane Study as well, bringing his total course count to fourteen, Damien felt like that was too much!

Damien looked at his friend's calm smile in response to his question and sighed in his heart. He didn’t know why but he suddenly felt pity for Elias, as he could already see him burning the midnight oil while trying to maintain his scholarship grades.

‘I guess being a top student has its pros as well as its cons…’

The two friends continued to chat as they moved forward, with the bright hall of the academy carrying the bustling chatter of staff and students alike.

…

The DSS headquarters, Island of Estica

In the office of the Jurisdictional Captain of the main branch of the DSS, a man could be seen seated behind a black desk.

The man was garbed in the characteristic clothing of the Carriers, with the main difference being the number of promotional stars adorning his coat.

He gazed upon the officer in front of him, with the faceless mask on his face not being able to hide the seriousness and poise that radiated from his figure.

He leaned forward on his desk, before regarding the Carrier in front of him with a voice filled with reluctance and pity, “2nine the order from the Board of Inquisitors has arrived and unfortunately, it has been decided that your duties shall be temporarily suspended and an official punishment has been given.”

The man paused as if to let the gravity of the situation sink in before continuing,

“So please… hand over your badge.”