"Thank you, everyone, for coming out and supporting the Iron Academy's first-ever entrance exam!" Rathe stood proudly for all to see, atop an arena made of something similar to concrete. "I know many cultivators have come from all over to witness this and some even wanted to join in. Sadly, entry is only currently available for the citizens of Iron Town. The good news is that anyone is welcome to settle here and join us! We'll talk more about that later but first, who's ready for the testing to begin?"
The crowd roared, excited to be a part of something new that was rarely seen in the border territories. Cultivators from many of the surrounding territories had flocked to see the tournament and assess the potential growth of the Iron Territory. Vloz was the one responsible for this thanks to his recent visits to many neighboring territories. Though he focused on uprooting many bandit groups to steal their cultivation techniques, he also made sure to invite all territory rulers and major traders he could to the big event.
For that reason, the stadium was filled to the brim with both beast and human cultivators. Most wouldn't want to outright join Iron Town, but they would definitely spread its name and possibly interact with the Iron Territory in the future.
What surprised the visitors the most, was the arena itself. Luckily, the gorillas were able to finish the Iron Academy Arena just before the first equinox arrived. The arena was very unique because it wasn't built up but dug out of the ground and then reinforced with the new cement mixture that Vloz had bought off of a human trader during his time away.
First, they dug out the many seats and stairs to access them all and then dug out tunnels and rooms below the seats that allowed people to walk from one side to the other without too much difficulty. At its center, there was a slightly raised circular platform thirty krin wide, with a few steps of stairs on sides. There were also some lower rooms accessible from the arena's center with an opening in the wall to give a view of the stage and were occupied by all of the future students of Iron Academy.
Many of the visitors toured the arena, in awe of what the gorillas had created. Some would try to enter closed-off areas or try to sneak into the lower rooms to get a better view, that is until the lynxes, who were in charge of security, would electrocute anyone that acted after receiving a warning.
The visiting powers took note of the Iron Territories capabilities and decided to revisit the territory when they would be able to have an audience with the gorilla clan.
"Alright, bring out the magicite!" yelled Rathe.
From the lower tunnels, Hurdo walked out with a massive piece of magicite being held above his head for all to see. It was over one krin wide and almost two krin tall and stole everyone's attention, especially the visiting cultivators. Hurdo set it down on the stage's center and returned to the tunnels without saying anything, letting everyone focus on the crystal and Rathe.
Continuing to bask in the attention of the world, Rathe pointed to the lower levels of the arena. "Now will all future students please exit the waiting rooms and stand in the pit."
Soon, dozens of youths from the many tribes and clans of Iron Town exited the lower tunnels and stood inside the gapped area between the crowd seated above and the raised stage. Everyone could see the mix of emotions among the students with many being nervous, afraid, or lacking confidence. All of the young cultivators looked at the magicite at center stage, curious to know where they would stand in the ranks.
"Remember, today is only the first day of the exam and we will only be testing the novices. Tomorrow we will test the young adepts and hold the tournament's award ceremony. For now, we will begin testing everyone one at a time and you will be judged by the strength of your essence affinity; that way we can determine what class you'll join. Any cultivators with early, low, or mid affinity will be a part of the regular class and anyone with high or peak affinity will join the advanced class and have a perennial instructor. Now, who wants to go first!" Rathe stared at the many youths with a big grin.
"I will," said Karos as he ascended the stage steps.
Everyone waited patiently, curious to see how the first student would fare. Karos wasn't nervous by any means and casually placed his paw on the magicite ore in front of him. Almost immediately, the magicite began to glow bright blue and almost looked like it was vibrating from the potent lightning essence that filled it.
"Peak lightning affinity!" Rathe's judgment boomed out across the audience, who was mesmerized by the entrancing light of the magicite.
After hearing Rathe's judgment, Karos removed his paw and stepped down from the stage as if nothing happened. The crowd was surprised to find a peak affinity cultivator so quickly and grew anxious to see more. In the pit, most of the youths froze and hoped that they wouldn't have to follow someone with peak affinity and get overlooked.
Rathe noticed the students' nervousness and yelled, "Don't all come at once now! As soon as someone steps down, someone else should immediately take the stage, got it?"
In response, a few youths stepped forward from different sides of the stage and waited their turn to test themselves.
It began to go by very smoothly, revealing many mid and low affinities and a couple of high affinities from time to time. After almost half of the youths had been tested, Karos remained the only peak affinity cultivator.
Then, Yeter ran up the steps and claimed his spot in line. During his turn, the magicite glowed yellow and grabbed the spectators' attention. Yeter was determined to be the second one with peak affinity but had his dreams shot down by Rathe when he was labeled for only high affinity.
Disappointed in himself, Yeter left the stage and looked for Oli. He knew that he wouldn't be able to change his score, but he'd feel better after Oli went up and became the second to have peak affinity.