Within the grandly designed first-year auditorium hall, a group of rookie Apprentices were attentively listening to the explanations given to them by their newly appointed professor on the details of their assessment exams.

Each revelation seemed to weigh much more heavier than the last, as the bright and youthful teenagers didn't expect the path to gaining acceptance into the academy to be filled with such intricate mysteries and supernatural processes.

From them realizing that their bodies had become a little bit 'less human' than before, to finding out that each of them had indirectly come face to face with one of the gods and that right now, somewhere within them was not only the blood of a divine being but also a small packet of conceptual light directly related to a gods authority,

It felt entirely surreal!

Each reveal completely overshadowed the last, as they all felt like they had been opened up to an entirely new perspective of the world—a perspective that felt quite vague and unknown to them.

Within their emotions of shock and faint apprehension, there was also a faint spark hidden within the depths of their eyes while they paid attention to their lecture.

It was the spark of adventure, the glimmer of expectation and most important of all—the look of firm determination.

When Professor Windsor's explanation got into the topic of the Ceremony of Blessings and the Wisp of light, a young man with raven black hair at the back of the hall nodded thoughtfully, as if confirming a guess he had come to long before.

Elias wasn't too surprised by the details revealed during the lecture, as he and his brother had come to similar conclusions long ago.

During his ceremonial ritual, he felt like the green swirling aura that settled within the golden cup felt quite domineering and divine as if just that single string of gentle green swirl would have been capable of subjugating even the strongest of human minds.

He was stripped of his will and bodily control, with his usually calmed mind totally overwhelmed and blanketed by thoughts of praise and worship.

He felt like if the divine aura had willed it at that time, he would have instantly lost his life, with no way to resist or enact his own free will. At that point, it even felt like his body was not his!

That feeling of genuine subjugation, as well as the smell of blooming flowers and the feeling of clear waterfalls which accompanied made its connection to one of the gods quite clear, as well as which of the five orthodox deities it belonged to.

It was clearly related to the Benevolent Mother!

The green color which Lars said materialized during his Spiritual Resonance Test, as well as the presence of the Naturist elf during his ritual all helped to further back up this theory. This meant that anyone who had passed the assessment process while manifesting the color green currently had a part of the Benevolent Mother within them,

That sounded quite magical and mystifying!

'Does that mean that one of the divine authority groups is related to the power of life and nature? I wonder what the other four are.'

Elias took a moment to think about it, as the answer to his question was actually quite simple.

Since Professor Windsor had related the manifested colors in the first part of the test to their compatibility with each of the orthodox gods, didn't that just confirm that the other colors were related to each of the other orthodox deities?

Elias felt like he was close to the truth, but that there were other hidden details he was currently not aware of. For example, Professor Windsor stressed the fact that the colors manifested are supposed to pertain to each of the orthodox faiths, but that didn't seem to be entirely factual to Elias.

During his first test, Lars had noted to Elias that two spiraling hues of purple and green wrestled for the right to occupy his inner self. From what Elias could guess, the color purple didn't seem to relate to any of the current Orthodox churches, meaning that it also didn't pertain to any of the gods as well.

That and the appearance of the withered pale vine during the conclusion of his ritual, Elias felt like that pale color was most likely related to one of the outlawed religious practices—particularly the worship of death!

This would also explain the decaying aura the vine instinctually gave off as well as its relation to Elias, as the latter had always had a similar synergy with death that he had with life.

Even if he didn't pride himself on using it very often, Elias could still see the lingering spirits of the dead, an ability that was totally uncharacteristic to regular human eyes.

When he was moving through the war-ridden city of Lytton, Elias had even spotted blurry figures that looked like wailing spirits within the city's fallen architecture but forced himself to look away from them as there was nothing he could currently do to aid them.

This also brought him to his current dilemma; if an individual was supposed to manifest just one divine color and become linked to one particular god's authority, what did this mean for him? What was the meaning of the appearance of the two ethereal vines? Why did they fuse into one? How come the color and nature of his own divine wisp felt like an anomaly? What was he supposed to do from here on out?

Elias sighed helplessly while running his hands through his hair. He had decided to start his investigations as soon as he could, as he didn't want to be left in the dark on something so strange and ominous.

He had even experienced the flickering images a couple of times during the lecture, causing him to be quite on edge about the entire thing.

The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.

Professor Windsor decided to put an end to his lecture after getting to the topic of the Wisps, with the cold professor promising to touch up on the topic and more during the next lecture.

Apparently, the Spiritual Resonance Test and Ceremony of Blessings was just one small introductory part to the complex nature of the Echelon of Faith.

He gave his young students an assignment for the next class, before picking up his materials and moving to exit the lecture hall.

The young Apprentices broke out into a flurry of chatter and discourse, as each of them desperately wanted to share their opinions on what they had learned in their first class.

It was truly an extraordinary experience for them.

Damien stretched in his seat lazily, before turning to Elias with a carefree face. "What a first class. Everything seems so complex and complicated. I'm starting to regret my decision not to join the Lowe Police Department. I feel like that would have been way more easier to handle than whatever we are going to experience here."

Elias looked at his friend with a strange experience, noting how nonchalant his tone was even while he spoke of being worried.

He honestly didn't understand how Damien was so aloof most of the time and felt like he didn't know if that side of his friend was a blessing or a curse.

He had just found out that he had not only drunk the blood of a deity but also had a part of that deity now swirling around somewhere within his body. How could he still be so unbothered?!

Elias sighed within his heart, before turning his gaze towards the hallway. He could still see Professor Windsor standing outside massaging his temples as if he had just finished carrying out an extensive mental exercise.

Elias thought for a minute before deciding to approach him, as he needed to make his moves early and start his investigations.

Damien was confused when he saw his friend give him the cold shoulder and hurriedly pack his stationaries before striding towards the exit door, as if he had something important to do and wasn't in the mood to chat.

'Sigh... Have the trials and tribulations of a scholarship student already caught up to him? Poor Eli.'

Damien thought that Elias was hurrying to another class, and sighed in his heart for his friend, before raising his legs and placing it on the table in front of him. He didn't have another class for the next two hours, so he felt like lazying around while observing his classmates would be the best use of his time.

The young man had on a calm smile on his face, similar to a person who didn't have a single care in the world.

...

Professor Windsor stood in front of the first-year lecture hall, massaging his temples and battling with his muddled thoughts.

He wasn't used to talking for such long periods, particularly to a whole hall full of energetic teenagers who could have different types of reactionary outbursts at any moment.

'Ha… This isn't what I signed up for.'

While he was inwardly lamenting about the cards he had been dealt by life, the deliberate sounds of footsteps came from somewhere behind him. He turned towards the door of the lecture hall, his eyes taking in the image of a young man with raven black hair and a standard academy uniform walking towards him with stationaries in hand.

He remembered that this was the young man that had answered his question brilliantly during his class, and was one of the people who had not reacted much when he spoke on some odd topics.

The young man had left such a deep impression on him, causing him to instantly remember his name—Elias Nor.

The young man seemed to have a question for him, and even if he was quite exhausted, he had to remind himself that a teacher always had to have time for their students. It was one of the many responsibilities that came with the job.

Professor Windsor cleared his throat, before calmly regarding Elias who was standing before him. "Yes, Mr. Nor? Do you have any questions related to today's class? I do remember saying that I would answer every question next time due to our limited time."

Elias calmly listened to his teacher, before bowing his head slightly in response. "Yes, professor I remember. I do have a question, but it's not something related to today's class. I wanted to ask if it is okay for me to read the curriculum ahead of time, as I want to be able to do as much as I can within this first year."

Professor Windsor looked at the young man with a deep gaze, before contemplating what he had been asked. He naturally knew that Elias was currently a scholarship student and that this request must be related to his desire to maintain that status quo.

Reading ahead of the curriculum would help him assimilate into the class faster, thus giving him an edge over any of the other students with an overall lax attitude.

This didn't seem to be against the rules so the man wasn't against the idea. Rather he had developed a favourable opinion of the young man, as there weren't a lot of students that would willingly sink into studying on their first day.

This just went to show how much the scholarship meant to him, and also how he didn't plan to be lazy but instead continue to improve. It was an attribute that was impossible to dislike.

Professor Windsor told him about how he could gain access to the public library and freely browse the books related to each course offered in the school. He said as long as he had his student identification, he would be granted access to the library.

The reticent professor also told him not to rush and said that he should take it slow, emphasizing that he should only do what he can, lest he burn out due to mental exhaustion.

Elias had a look of gratitude on his face as he expressed his thanks to his teacher. He didn't expect to be granted permission so easily.

He bowed once again, before asking the Professor for permission to leave, saying that he had another class that was about to start.

Professor Windsor granted his request and watched the young man disappear down the hall before moving his gaze away and walking towards his office.

He still had a lot of study materials to prepare for the following general classes.

...

The subtle light of the setting sun fell directly onto the numerous lion engravings of the prestigious academy, streaming into the halls and painting the scene in a nostalgic twilight theme.

The dim sunlight made the inner structures of the academy seem much more poetically artistic as if they had been sculpted by the tender and careful hands of a soul that aimed to bring it to life.

The halls were densely packed with students, who were filing out of the academy buildings and moving towards their respective accommodations, as the time for academic activities had just concluded.

Elias moved towards the History Department on the left side of the academy estate, his face hiding a subtle hint of fatigue as he made his way through the halls.

He had attended three extra classes after his introductory class, all of which were at least two hours long. He had also been very busy with renting books from the public library during his free time, meaning that he had not had any time to rest at all during the day.

He held an identification card in his hand, one that didn't belong to him, as his feet stopped in front of the door to the office of the departmental dean.

He took a deep breath before lightly knocking on the door, as sounds of shuffling paper came out from the other side.

After knocking for another four times without a response, Elias decided to try and push open the door to see if it was locked from the inside.

To his surprise, the door opened without any obstruction, and a scene filled with numerous books and shelves opened up in his view.

A desk stacked with numerous documents was in the middle of the archive-like space, and an elegant figure with dark burgundy colored hair was attentively flicking through a document in hand.

Upon noticing the entrance of a figure, the lady slowly lifted up her gaze, her enchanting eyes shifting from one of confusion to one of remembrance as she slowly rose from her seat.