Chapter 5 - The essence makes no mistakes
The chill from the pond shivered the bones of the participants.
As the first part of the ceremony had ended, the senior led the youngsters back to the main room of the building.
On the main desk they had passed earlier, a large pile of folded clothes was stacked on top of one another.
There were also 4 guards in the room, the same ones that had driven the participants there.
The senior made his way to the desk and took a stack of clothes, passing them around to everyone who had submerged into the pond.
“Change into these, wet clothing is not good for your well-being. The restrooms are down there.”
The senior pointed down a hallway perpendicular to the entrance and each student went in to change.
They left the restroom with a sky blue robe on and their drenched clothing nowhere to be found.
This was another common occurrence, usually the participants of ceremonies such as these are given changing clothes after the first part.
The youngsters possibly tossed their old clothing for these ones while in the restroom. Their best village clothing is nothing compared to the linens and cotton of an empire, leaving no reason to hold both. It was a valid exchange for the youngsters.
Lilith entered the restroom last and changed, tossing away her drenched clothing like the rest of her peers.
The robe felt nice, it was soft to the touch and almost felt like she was wearing nothing.
She left the restroom and made her way back to the main room.
Despite the new clothing, the failed participants still had sorrowful expressions. They had traveled such a long distance, prepared themselves for days, and even arrived in their most elegant clothes just to return home like it had never happened. That was the way things were, no matter how elegant one presented themselves, no matter how long one prepared. If you failed, your fate would be the same; returning home empty-handed and forgotten like a grain of salt.
The murmurs of friends comforting each other filled the room, incomprehensible chatter.
“Senior, please! One more chance, just one more! There must have been a mistake with the pond. I assure you I will not disappoint a second time!”
A young boy whined to the senior, on his knees, kowtowing at his feet.
“Raise your head, boy.” The senior said, not even looking at the youngster. “The essence makes no mistake. You are talentless and have no place in this empire.”
The boy raised his head in shock. He looked at the senior with tearful eyes but what greeted him was a pair of eyes filled with revulsion.
The senior's tone and demeanor completely changed when talking to the dejected boy. The abrupt change hushed the room.
“W-what?” The boy stuttered pitifully.
“Was I not clear? You are talentless and have no role in this empire. You will be returning to your village.”
The boy shivered like a puppy.
“But I’m from Sky Shade Village, there must have been a mistake, Senior!”
The boy tried to rebuttal, his voice loud and obnoxious like a baby’s. The senior only looked down at him with a scorn.
“Guards, take this boy outside.”
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The senior gestured toward the boy and turned around, his robe swaying with the motion.
“I am far too busy to deal with talentless insects right now,”
The senior walked back to the pillar of stairs as the guards made their way to the boy, restraining his arms and lifting him off the ground.
The boy struggled like a pig in a slaughterhouse, shouting to the back of the senior with tears and snot staining his face.
“SENIOR! DO NOT TURN AWAY FROM ME, SENIOR! I HAVE POTENTIAL! I AM FROM SKY SHADE! YOU WILL REGRET THIS, I’LL BURN THIS EMPIRE TO THE GROUND! I SWEAR IT, I SWEAR!”
The boy put on quite the show but it was for naught as the guards swiftly dragged him out without even a reaction from the senior.
The senior climbed the stairs and disappeared. Leaving the room dreadfully silent, every participant still replaying the scene in their mind.
The passing participants felt shame and embarrassment for the boy, while the failed ones hoped the boy’s words would get through to the senior. Lilith was expressionless, however, as a similar scene occurred during her previous life. She could not blame the boy.
It is indeed unfortunate to be rejected by the world. While being rejected usually meant having boring, slave-like lives, that was not always the case.
It is entirely possible to gain strength and power while being rejected, it was only harder by miles. Lilith believed that the boy could eventually grow strong if he sticks to his ambitions…
What caught Lilith’s attention was the senior’s true colors, though. She was sure the others were attentive to this change as well.
“How interesting. After realizing the boy was talentless, the senior lost his polite and friendly attitude in a breath. I knew a negative stigma was branded onto the talentless but I had never seen it so blatantly.”
Lilith thought to herself. Previously being the son of nobility, she had never been discriminated against and, since always being surrounded by class fighters, never had many occurrences with talentless humans.
“Who knew the discrimination was to this extent.”
Lilith built resentment and disgust in her heart for the senior but also knew this was the world she lived in. The talentless were weak, and the weak must obey the strong.
Before long, loud taps could be heard from the pillar of stairs. Quick, light taps.
They came from a tall woman with a curvy stature. Her slim bright eyes flashed with indifference. Her long hair was golden and draped down past her shoulder and down her back. Her expression stern as she quickly stepped down the stairs with elegance and professionalism, 3 others followed behind her carrying silver platters which held cups.
“Celeste Afra is my name. Senior of the Azure Stone Empire. I’ll be the one hosting the second part of your ceremony.”
The woman held a professional tone when she spoke to the youngsters, they had reflexively gathered around her once she announced herself.
Lilith noticed the woman was holding the same strange book the previous senior had.
“Servers?” Celeste gestured behind her toward her 3 followers.
“Yes, lord.” They said in unison.
They left her back and made their way to the youngsters, handing each one a cup from their platter until it was empty..
Lilith took one and thanked the server. The cup was filled with a transparent liquid the color of a rose petal. The heat caused steam to lift from the cup and dissipate into the air.
The servers made their way back behind Senior Celeste.
“The cup is full of tea, drink it to warm yourselves up. I’m sure your bodies are still a bit frigid.”
The youngsters examined the liquid and drank it.
“Mmmm..”
They said in satisfaction.
“So good.”
Celeste's expression was still stern watching them drink.
Lilith examined the cup and liquid. The cup was a typical glass cup but the liquid looked unique. Sniffing the drink, she realized what it was.
“This is indeed tea. More precisely, Silver Cardinal flower tea. Grown near the ponds of World Essence, the flower has a sweet strawberry-like smell to it. It is very useful for stabilizing body warmth after the submersion. Its primary use, however, is more apparent in the second part of the ceremony.”
Lilith drank the tea. A sensation engulfed her chilly blood, warming her up.
Celeste spoke up loudly.
“Guards, return the failed participants to their villages. Thank you all for participating. Any disruptions like your friend’s will not end so kindly with me, so please exit quietly. The cups and clothing are yours.”
The guards made their way over to the failed group and escorted them out swiftly. In fear of Celeste’s stern tone, none put up much of a fight before leaving.
After the participants and guards left, Celeste began to speak once more.
“I applaud you for passing the first part of the ceremony but your tribulations do not end here. In this part of the ceremony, I will be examining you and determining what class (1) you all fit in.”
The group whispered among themselves excluding Lilith, Celeste sharply raised her hand, silencing them.
“There are no rules in this part of the ceremony. Simply follow my directions and you will move on. You can not fail, so no need to worry yourselves. Follow me and we will begin,”
Senior Celeste turned away and made her way to the stairs. The servers took the youngster’s glasses and left.
The participants followed behind Celeste as she climbed the stairs, unsure of where she was leading them.
1-a Class is simply a category for humans with talent. A Class is usually predetermined based on DNA and individual anatomy. For example: A naturally frail person typically cannot be a Warrior Class, A naturally buff person typically cannot be a Support Class, etc…