Capítulo 11: Chapter 8 I'm Safe (Please Recommend/Favorite)
When the white light faded, Rod found himself in another massive hall.
The light here was relatively dim, illuminated by bronze lamps instead of flames; the hall was filled with tables, chairs, bookshelves, and scattered items, appearing very disorderly.
At the long table on one side of the hall, a queue had formed.
A middle-aged man rushed over.
"Archbishop, is this the last group of freshmen? Why are there so few?"
"There was an incident in the Upper City, I've brought over the students who have already had their fire ignited, and I'm leaving the rest to you. I need to move another group to safety," the Archbishop said.
The middle-aged man hesitated before asking, "Is it because of the Black Tide?"
The Archbishop's expression darkened, and he answered tersely, "Not entirely, there has been a breach in the Silver Oath. The Main Priest has already gone there. You won't be affected, I must leave."
With those words, he turned into a streak of light and vanished into the sky.
The middle-aged man looked very worried, but as soon as he saw them, he put on a smile.
"Students, follow me. That's the Mechanical Research Institute's checkpoint, where they will check your Series and Soul Trait, and assign you to a college and department."
He led them to the back of the queue and kept talking about the academy's rules and regulations, occasionally interjecting with the academy's splendid achievements and long history.
From him, Rod primarily obtained one key piece of information.
Jinworth Academy was established by an organization called the Jinworth Society, which initially aimed to study the origins of the Black Fog and find a way to eliminate it.
Now, it has become the highest academic organization in Royal City, with a very broad range of research areas, and many of the Royal City Council's decisions are consulted with them before being made.
"Perhaps I can seek help from the Jinworth Society regarding the issue with the characters," Rod thought. But what worried him more at the moment was the issue of the test.
If he failed the test, or if it detected something forbidden, he might face utter doom.
The image of the young man who had just been burned to ash was vivid in his mind.
Amidst his worries, Rod quickly approached the checkpoint.
It was a disk-shaped device. Test-takers would stand on it and place their hands on the crystal ball on the long table, which would then display corresponding characters.
The examiner would identify them and record them.
This task wasn't going very smoothly. Sometimes, the crystal ball would respond very slowly, and at other times, the characters that appeared were very difficult to interpret, requiring the examiner to repeatedly consult various books and materials before confirmation.
And the current one had already been waiting for a very long time.
Wayne complained from behind him, "Those weirdos from the Mechanical Research Institute, creating such unreliable things."
——
Finally, the test result came out.
"Test subject, Anna Visita from Wenger Castle, Series, Spiritual Fire. Soul Trait, Moon's Radiance. Class one ranged combatant, recommended college and department, first college first department, salary grade, Special Level."
Around them, a burst of astonished murmurs rose.
Anna Visita was a tall, long-haired girl.
Her expression was cold, seemingly unsurprised by the result, she calmly stepped down from the device, indifferent to the envious glances around her.
Perhaps due to the previous delay, the next result came out rather quickly.
"Test subject, Red Hornet from Thousand Lake Town, Series, Starfire. Number of ignited Spiritual Fire Sparks two, Fire Spark types, Steel Body, Immortal Body. Class one combatant, recommended college and department, second college first department, salary grade, Second Level."
Around them, a small murmuring of awe followed as well.
Red Hornet walked down from the device with joy, and someone immediately led her to another side.
Rod quietly asked, "Wayne, what does Series mean? And how are the colleges and departments divided?"
Wayne explained earnestly.
"Jinworth Academy is divided into three colleges, each with ten departments. The focus and teaching resources differ amongst the colleges. But generally, the first college first department is the best."
"You can tell from the salary grade, anyone who gets a Special Level salary is among the top students."
"Fire Holders are divided into two types, one where the entire soul is ignited during the trial, showing the complete Soul Trait, these are called Fire Enchanting holders, or Spiritual Fire for short."
"The others do not have their entire soul ignited but have 'Fire Sparks' within their souls, which, through effort and training, can ignite more Fire Sparks, gaining a new ability with each Spark ignited."
"These are called Fire Enabling holders, or Starfire for short."
Rod said, "Oh, which Series is considered stronger?"
Wayne answered, "Spiritual Fire is generally considered stronger than Starfire. Scholars of Royal City believe that Spiritual Fire implies complete Soul Traits, whereas the Fire Sparks of Starfire are Fragments of Soul Traits, and no matter how many Fragments are obtained, they can't be stronger than a complete Trait."
"But after Sir Alan appeared, this view has been challenged, and the Starfire Series has gained attention. Although it is still not as valued as Spiritual Fire, it's a lot better than before."
"Who is Alan?"
Wayne's tone instantly became very respectful.
"The strongest of the Knight Order, the First Knight. He ignited nineteen Fire Sparks, breaking all past records, and he is my most admired hero."
Before Rod could ask more, his name was called from the front.
"Next test subject, Rod from Redstone Village!"
Rod took a deep breath, stepped onto the device, and placed his hand on the crystal ball.
After a long while, the crystal ball finally displayed a line of text.
The evaluator's eyebrows knitted together as soon as he saw the words on the Crystal Ball.
He rummaged through the pile of books under the table for a long time before finally pulling out a dusty tome.
Putting on a monocle, the evaluator flipped open the bulky volume and began laboriously searching for the information he needed in the fine, mosquito-like print.
"...Dim, darkly colored, gluttonous, easy to digest, absorb, chew... What the hell is this thing?"
It took the evaluator quite some time, and a few handfuls of hair pulled out, before he finally finished writing down his information.
"Test subject, Rod from Redstone Village, belonging to the Starfire Series. Number of Spiritual Fire Sparks kindled: one; type of Fire Spark: black glutton; combatant or support personnel (questionable); recommended department allocation: third institute, tenth series; salary grade: Ninth Level."
The moment he finished reading, a burst of laughter erupted from the surroundings.
The voice of the red-haired fatty Habulin was the loudest.
"Hahaha, black glutton, did you all hear that? It's the first time I've heard such a weird name; congratulations on adding another record to the Great Book Library."
"I bet no one will awaken the same kind of Fire Spark as you for the next hundred years."
"Shut up!"
A middle-aged man came running from the back of the line to stop their mockery.
"He will take the front lines with us and guard our homes just like we do. What right do you have to laugh at him? Remember, never point the blade at our comrades. That's reserved for those mutts in the Black Fog."
He turned and said kindly to Rod,
"Don't lose heart, young man. You have more than one Fire Spark. Think of Alan; as long as you work hard and train diligently, everything will get better."
Wayne also whispered in his ear, "Ignore that idiot."
Rod acted as if humbly accepting the advice, but inside he let out a long sigh of relief.
—He was finally safe.
The ordeals along the way were beyond words.
Starting now, he was a student of Jinworth Academy.
With such an identity, the Internal Affairs Court should show some restraint.
The crisis had moved away from him for the time being.
"Perhaps."
Looking at Wayne who stepped onto the testing device with trepidation, Rod felt a strong and wondrous emotion well up inside him.
"I need to find a way to adapt well to the life here."
——
——
The test finished quickly, with Wayne also belonging to the Starfire Series, having a single Spiritual Fire Spark of type Guardian Crystal, which didn't seem very strong.
He received the same Ninth Level salary grade as Rod and was assigned to the third institute, tenth series.
The red-haired fatty Habulin belonged to the Spirit Fire Series, with a Soul Trait of Gaseous Control, received Third Level salary, and was assigned to the third institute, second series.
After the test, the guy kept spouting nonsense by their side and mocking them, making Wayne's cheeks flush red with anger.
But apart from that, there were no other issues, and ironically, Habulin, in his overconfidence, was caught red-handed by a sharp-eyed Academy teacher and already faced punishment before even starting school.
Wayne was very happy about that.
But to Rod, he was just like a fly, hardly worth noticing from beginning to end.
It's worth mentioning that the blonde girl Kashan was also assigned to the third institute, tenth series, with two Fire Sparks and a Third Level salary.
This made Habulin's claim that "the third institute, tenth series is a trash heap" collapse under its own contradiction, and Wayne's mood improved.
For most, it was a joyful day.
The trials of the final test were overshadowed by the joy of entering the Academy.
After the test, they boarded a large carriage and arrived at the long-awaited Jinworth Academy.
This was a very, very large academy located in the inner city of the Lower City District. It covered an extensive area with specialized teaching buildings, dormitories, cafeterias, libraries, training fields, a broadcasting tower, an observatory, a medical center, and more.
There were also lakes, lawns, gardens, fountains, etc., within the campus grounds, with all the necessary facilities.
This was an establishment built with the Kingdom's full efforts, displaying extraordinary magnificence.
It was said to be located in the Lower City District solely because its large size couldn't be accommodated in the Upper City.
But within the Lower City District, its protection was hardly inferior to that of the Upper City or the Royal District.
Only second to the Holy Fire.
The treatment of its students was also considered luxurious. Rod, even with the lowest salary grade, could collect forty-two silver coins every week, receive a fixed issue of supplies, and didn't have to pay a penny.
Tuition fees, book fees, lodging fees were all irrelevant to them.
The fact that they didn't have to pay any fees and were still paid as students was extraordinary.
"Perhaps."
Rod thought optimistically.
"I am actually quite safe."
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