"Miss Rae, let's follow after our senior?" A man stepped up toward the number one-ranker and gestured toward the gate.
The person in question, named Rae, reminded Arthur of a person he met a long time ago: Fey. They looked similar with their fully white hair, brows, eyelashes. This person was much more amicable as she smiled sweetly and nodded.
Arthur joined the group as they followed Linda toward the inside of the city. They passed through the gate that was of golden color and had the word 'East' engraved on top of it.
'So, there are other gates. This explains why there weren't 5000 students gathered in front of the gate.' Arthur thought as he walked through the building of the outer sides of the city.
With wide streets that had trees shadowing them, the city looked like a giant garden. The greenish colors of the trees and plants seemed inseparable from the red, grey, white, and black bricks of the buildings. There were fountains between every few buildings that had kids playing around them.
As the students passed, the kids looked at them with awe as some of them pointed at others and whispered. Arthur smiled lightly at their antics. These were the children of blacksmiths, potion masters, runes masters, and other people who had resided in Jerano after the college invited them to work here.
After walking around the city and allowing the students to be amazed by it, Linda led them to a giant building that looked like an ancient castle. It had a rose window above its archway that reflected light in brilliant colors.
The students went through the passageways until they reached a yard. Even with a hundred students, the yard was gigantic. This was a given since the island itself had a large land coverage. The building itself looked like a stadium, making the purpose of it all more mysterious.
"Senior, what are we doing here?" Asked the man who was talking to Rae earlier, the second ranker. Arthur found him to be familiar, but couldn't exactly remember who he was.
"Young ones are hasty," Linda chuckled. She looked around as if to make sure everyone was here before beginning her explanation. "You must know that students at Jerano College hunt regularly, right?"
Most of the students nodded. Linda spread her arm toward one of the archways that were securely shut. It was also a part of the building, but it was in a different direction than that they arrived from.
"We do that here, through pocket dimensions. Some of you might know them as Dungeons. Our college found a way to control these dimensions and set the 'rules' for them, allowing them to be great testing grounds."
"You mean…" Rae raised her eyebrows with a grin as she took a step forward.
Arthur's interest was piqued. If dungeons could be controlled, then didn't that mean someone could have something similar to a storage artifact, but with the extra feature of allowing life within it?
His family could hide safely in such a dimension and even his goblins could accompany him where ever he went. Kira wouldn't be required to be left behind anymore and can stay with him.
If such a storage artifact can be created, Arthur wanted it. The possibilities are endless with such a rune. And if such a rune existed, didn't that mean…
'Given enough mana, you can create a world.'
Arthur's heart raced. He remembered the last fragment of the Art of Creation. Once practiced to perfection, it would give you limitless mana. This was no longer the realm of humans.
'This is the work of gods.'
Such a notion was incomprehensible. Terrifying, even. There no longer ranks or borders, this was straight up omnipotence.
'All runes in existence combined with infinite mana.' Arthur imagined. 'Isn't that godhood?'
"Your next test will be in a dungeon. You must survive for ten days or reach the goal. A friendly reminder from your senior," Linda nodded at Rae with a smile and explained. Then she winked at them and gave them some advice. "Rarely do those who wait manage to pass."
The tension rose in the air. Ten days? None of them imagined the second exam would take so long. The second test was always a mystery because it would be different for each year.
It seems that they gave different rules for dungeons each year. Linda proceeded to explain the rest of the rules.
"All of your artifacts would be taken away when you teleport into the dungeon. Remember, only a thousand of you get to pass. That means a 20% passing rate. Make sure to do your bests to reach the goal. None will die, so don't worry."
"What's the goal?" A student asked.
"You'll arrive on an island that is filled with danger. None of your artifacts will be available and would need to reach a different island. How to get there is up to you." Linda said before she started walking toward the doorway.
"Please make a line according to your number." Linda stood by the locked door as she gripped the handle of the latch. "And I wish you the best of luck." She pulled hard and the door opened with a bang.
Chaotic mana filled the surrounding as strong winds followed. The robes of the people around started fluttering and Arthur's simple white shirt was the same.
Rae, excited and energetic, bolted toward the portal. The second ranker paused before following after her. One by one, they started disappearing into the portal as the remaining ones grew anxious.
"Don't worry, you'll start at the same time." Linda chuckled. The expression of the rest turned from anxious into relieved into resolute.
Finally, it was Arthur's turn. He walked briskly into the portal as he felt his artifacts disappear. However, his subspace was untouched as it was considered a part of his ability.
The next moment, Arthur found himself standing on sand. He looked around and saw a greenish sea colliding with the white sandy beach.
He was on an island with the sea on one side and the forest on the other. The sand was cool under his feet as he started walking toward the sea.
The sea's color was ominous, so Arthur didn't dare to touch it. He found a tree's branch on the ground and threw it into the water. Sizzling sounds came from the branch as Arthur saw that it dissolved into ashes.
Arthur looked around and saw that there was another island a far distance away, making it appear like a dot on the horizon. That was the goal.
As he was still studying the surrounding, Arthur heard a whistling sound as someone emerged from the trees. The newcomer looked around and spotted the island as Arthur used his stealth rune to hide.
The man directly flew in the air as wind surrounded him. Arthur watched with amazement, slightly anxious, as the man soared across the skies using his winds.
When the man reached a distance away, strong winds appeared as it started pushing him to the side. As he was busy steadying himself against the strong winds, a wave of acid rolled over. Arthur watched as the man struggled before falling into the sea and disappearing.
His heart felt cold. Luckily, this was simply a test and the man wouldn't die. However, there was something gory about seeing a man fall into acid.
"Well, let's learn from his noble sacrifice and take it slow." Arthur sighed.
"Sounds like a plan, but how do we cross over the acid?"
"I don't know yet. Maybe there's…" Arthur answered before he stopped midsentence. He turned around and saw someone standing a few meters away. It was Rae who was looking at him with interest.
"That's a nice skill you have there," Rae said as her eyes glowed dangerously. "Maybe there's what?" Arthur realized she was talking about his stealth.
"Maybe there's a special way inside the island," Arthur said as he took a step back. Rae laughed as she nodded.
"Don't worry, I won't gain anything by wasting my time." With those words, she disappeared into the forest.
Arthur didn't like this person. Despite her outgoing and easy personality, she felt dangerous. As if she only wanted a reason to attack you or go wild. She was like an untamed beast who was finally allowed to play in the jungle.
'How did I not sense her approach?' Arthur admitted he was distracted by the man's failure. However, he would still notice in usual cases. 'Is it her ability?'
He has never seen her fight or use her ability, but Arthur knew she was strong. Somehow, everyone that looked like that shared that trait. Arthur decided to head deeper into the forest to look for possible clues on how to leave the island.
Principle Henrick said it was about adaptability and wits, so it seems this test will take a while. Judging from the fact that all of the students should be on this island and how long its beach stretched, it must be massive.
There must be a way to cross the acidic sea and it would need students with critical thinking to come up with a solution.