The only redeeming candidate in his castle was Mira, the daughter of a 4th Star Archmage. She had twin elder siblings who were both Rank 9 mages.
She was the best among all the candidates here and that was the reason he befriended her and drew her closer to his side. Both of them became the de facto leaders of the castle, and she was responsible for the overall organization, with Andar giving directions from the background.
As the daughter of an Archmage, she needed to be seen as a leader and Andar had no problem with making her his partner, with her talents, she could go far as a Mage.
“The target this time is the Heavenly Fate Meditation Arts which can only be collected at the wrist of the Chained god. There are only twelve spots available. This map is the shortcut through the clouds, are you sure you have memorized them?” Mira queried; she refused to be baited by Andar, for she had come to realize that beneath his silliness was a biting cold intellect that reminded her a bit of her father, who was an Archmage.
Andar sighed, “This map holds less than a thousand points of interest. For people like you and me, placing all this in mind is not an issue. So the real question you want to ask is if I’m prepared.”
Andar stood up and cracked his neck, and Mira followed, “We would face steep competition from those that want a Heavenly Fate Meditation Art, so I need to know your head is in the game.”
“I am, was that in any doubt? Yet I still find that I am still dissatisfied with this plan.”
Mira frowned, “We have gone over it dozens of times, it is as foolproof as any. We both have Spirit Bodies that make our physique stronger than anyone else and unlike others, we can manipulate Aether even without any Meditation Art, we would crush the opposition. The plan would work.”
“Oh, there is nothing wrong with the direction of the plan, it is a fantastic one, I only care about the destination. I have been thinking, why don’t we go for the greatest prize of all?”
Mira paused in shock before she burst into laughter, “Hahaha… Do you want a Supreme Meditation Art? That is impossible.” She stood up from the bed and began walking towards the door, Andar walked beside her and her two minders followed.
They were sixteen-year-old boys, but they had the bodies of a warrior in their prime, their leonine movement holding shocking power and flexibility, although they were for all intent, mortals.
They had been specially trained from birth to be the protectors of Mira, and they would give up their lives without a thought if they considered it necessary.
“Tell me again why it’s impossible.” Andar countered.
Mira sighed, “Notwithstanding the fact that reaching the wrist of the Chained god would be a monumental feat, that would even stump a mage! Yet we as mortals are planning to do so, you would have to go beyond that and get on the hand of the god! It is quite impossible for any mortal to touch a god, you would have to be maybe a Rank 6 Mage, also the Chained god is not just any other god. He is THE GOD! The first god birthed by the universe.”
Andar smiled, “Yet, with all that, what if we made it.”
She frowned, “I have heard of foolish arguments and beliefs in my life Andar, and here I was thinking you were a smart boy. No one has mastered a Supreme Meditation Art. It is purely a theoretical concept created by the Mage Supreme after he became a Mage Supreme! It is the absolute peak in all of creation. It was meant to be an unreachable goal, Andar. My father told me it was just a joke being played by the Mage Supreme. It would be like expecting an ant to lift a damn mountain.”
Andar smirked and whispered in her ears as he hurried past her, “But, what if…”
They reached the other candidates and Andar began to mingle with them, a smile here and a laugh there, he quickly gathered the crowd around him, and the tension began to break away, as Andar’s shining presence seemed to break apart the weight in their chest.
Before long there was laughter in the crowd, and Andar headed to the front and stood before the door and all eyes followed him, it was almost impossible to look away. He turned and looked at the rest of the candidates, Mira looked at him with arms folded, his antics always served as a surprise to her, and his showmanship antics were a bit frustrating, but she could not deny their effectiveness.
“In the upcoming moments, these doors would be open,” Andar began speaking and the crowd went silent,
“For all of us here this is the start of our dreams, and it is a glorious one. Yet, not all of us will make it,” he smiled, “I know I will make it, but I don’t know about the rest of you.”
Someone shouted from the crowd, “Keep dreaming Andar!” the crowd erupted in laughter.
Andar nodded at them, “We are all in this together, and all of us here… we don’t stop until we reach our limits… I don’t care who we were before we got here, but after living with you guys for this entire week, I’ve not seen a group of people driven to do hard things like you all. We are now family, our drive and our ambition hold us together. With that in mind, I dub the candidate of this Castle, Limit Breaker, let it signify to all our resolve!”
A whisper went through the crowd and it was carried up by all, “Limit! Breaker! Limit! Breaker!…”
There was a rumble behind Andar and the gate began to slowly open. Mira walked up and stood beside him. After eyeing him with annoyance, she turned to the riled-up crowd, “Silence.”
The crowd went still, she had imbued Aether in her words, Andar also did the same, it had become an unconscious action from both of them, and everyone else could not help but follow them, their presence blinding.
“You know the plan, follow it. Formations, everyone.”
The 330 candidates arranged themselves in rows of ten, making each row hold 33 people.𝙣𝒗.𝒎