Satoshi was seated on a chair in a large room within the inner complex of the Palace Museum. He had walked past this room many times during his stay at the palace Museum, but this was his first time actually entering it.
A couple of steps in front of him was a long table, and seated on the other side of that table were four elderly men. These four men were the elders from the Universal Council of Elders, and they were responsible for the interview section of the Academia Scholastic Trials.
Several days had passed in a flash and right now was the last phase of the trials, the interview. Satoshi still felt like he was in a dream for the last couple of days.
First off, the first three days of the trials were the written test. The envoys from the Universal Council of Elders had magically repurposed the huge squares of the Palace Museum into a venue for the written test.
Tens of thousands of participants were evenly spread among the three squares for the written part of the trial. The entire air space above the squares was covered by mechanical and magical firmaments that acted as both protection from outside interference and the weather.
The whole square itself was then further reinforced with multiple formations that sealed sound and visual transmission from outside from leaking in. The spectators could only watch the participants within the square, but those inside wouldn't be able to see outside whatsoever. The entire perimeter of the square was also lined up with multiple elders supervising the trials.
Long story short, it was quite a spectacle.
The applied study part was also equally nerve-wracking. There were as many skills and techniques as one could think of demonstrated in front of sets of jurors.
From understated skills such as Satoshi's enchantment inscriptions to flashy combat magics, were relentlessly displayed one after the other. Luckily, the envoy of elders from the Universal Council of Elders was numerous, if not it would take them a very long time to test all these participants.
Today was the seventh day of the trial, after waiting all afternoon, it was finally Satoshi's turn to face these elders. Even if he had waited for a long time, now that he was facing these elders, Satoshi could feel that he wasn't the slightest bit ready.
The four elders had been talking among themselves after the introduction they gave when Satoshi entered the room. They were analyzing sheets of data and information from a computing terminal, whose screen Satoshi could not see from where he was seated.
"So…Satoshi Ishida, 21 years old from the Province of Mhasgara." suddenly one of the four elders spoke.
This particular elder had a robust build with a bald head but a thick set of brows and a beard. His very manner commanded respect, and from the look of it, he was the leader among the four.
"I didn't see any record about the history of study from any prep school or vocational institution." the elder said to one of his colleagues.
"There isn't any." An elder with a kind complexion confirmed.
"Okay, that is very rare…what about the result of the written test?" The lead elder asked.
"310 out of 550 average. We could say, he barely passed." Another elder that looked the youngest among them answered this time.
"The applied subject part showed a very high proficiency on inscription technique but only up to the cusp of beginner level."
"I see…in short not entirely terrible, but also nothing special. What is the academy of choice?"
"The Daojia Institute."
It was the last elder that hadn't spoken that answered the question, and when he did the other three elders looked at him.
"Really now…what a coincidence is this." The lead elder said.
"Hahaha, Master Fang, I guess this one would be up to your decision then." The youngest one spoke.
"Aspirant, this elder is Master Fang of the Daojia Institute. Since you applied for Daojia Institute, and Master Fang happened to be here it will be appropriate for him to decide." The kind-looking elder told Satoshi.
Satoshi was quite surprised by the sudden development, he never thought that among the hundred elders present, he would be met by one from the Daojia Institute. Even though Satoshi didn't have a prior relationship with said elder before and the coincidence couldn't be considered good or bad, Satoshi shouldn't be too nervous by this normally.
But this particular elder had been eyeing him intensely ever since they began the interview, and it gave Satoshi a bad premonition.
"Greetings, Elder Master Fang, Aspirant Satoshi pay his respect." Satoshi greeted Master Fang with an academia custom.
Master Fang only looked at Satoshi with no change in expression. "At least you got some manners."
Satoshi was surprised by the cold remark. He didn't know what he did to invite the ire of the elder.
"Twenty-one years old with no prior study history whatsoever. And these meager scores no less. Now you think you would be able to join the Daojia Institute…I wonder what could possibly give you such an impression!"
Satoshi now knew what might be the cause of Master Fang's animosity.
"I think there is a misunderstanding, Elder Master," Satoshi said.
"I didn't put down Daojia Institute because I thought I would be able to pass and attend the Daojia Institute, that is not up to me. I put down Daojia Institute because I think that it is the best Institute and the most fitting for me to reach my goal.
Whether I pass or not, I have no idea. That would be up to you, Elders. That's why I took the trial."
The elders were surprised to hear Satoshi's answer. The other knew that Master Fang purposely did what he does to provoke Satoshi, to see how he would respond. They didn't think that Satoshi would be able to give a perfectly neutral response, without hostility nor servility.
The kind-faced elder smiled faintly as he looked at Satoshi. Satoshi had a good impression of this elder, as it was him that informed Satoshi about Master Fang's identity.
"You have quite a lip on you kid, and what made you think Daojia Institute would best fit this so-called goal of yours?" Master Fang continued asking Satoshi.
"I believe it would fit me best because it has the Dual Divinity Path."
The three elders' ears perked up when they heard about the Dual Divinity Path.
Master Fang gave Satoshi a scrutinizing look and sternly said, "And what could you possibly know about this Dual Divinity Path?"
"Not much, but enough to convince me to choose the Daojia Institute."
Satoshi gave the other three elders a look and continued, "I also don't think it would be appropriate for me to say it here, considering the nature of the topic."
"Hah! What a joke!" Master Fang raised his voice.
"The Dual Divinity Path has been well known as part of Daojia Institute for a long time, what could someone like you, an outdated Aspirant, know that these Elders don't already know, what a bluff!" Master Fang retorted fiercely.
"Want to bet on it?" Satoshi calmly said in response, there was no change in his expression.
The four elders were all surprised by the calm confidence that Satoshi displayed. They never thought that in front of them would be any Aspirant daring enough to make a bet against one of the judging elders. Either this Aspirant was really confident in himself, or simply really stupid and reckless.
Master Fang scrutinized the changes in Satoshi's expression even further. He wasn't sure what to make of this audacious Aspirant in front of him. On one hand, he really wanted to accept the bet and watched Satoshi humiliate himself in front of these elders. On the other hand he really couldn't afford the risk of Satoshi really knowing some secrets about the Dual Divinity Path and letting these three other elders learn about them.
Satoshi suddenly gave a slight smile toward Master Fang, which startled him even more and made him even more unsure.
"If I may, fellow elders," The kind-looking elder interjected and broke off the lingering tension.
"Aspirant, you seem very convinced of joining the Daojia Institute, does this have anything to do with your affinity?"
Satoshi secretly sighed and thanked the elder in his heart. He really didn't know how to proceed if Master Fang called his bluff again back then.
"It doesn't have anything to do with my affinity, Elder," Satoshi answered the elder.
"Hoo..in that case, do you mind sharing with us about your affinity? As Elders, we are in a position to advise and recommend you to other academies of choice, so if Daojia Institute doesn't want you…we might be able to find you other alternatives."
Satoshi was genuinely touched by the kind elder's concern. He seemed to really care about the Aspirants instead of merely handling out judgement willy-nilly.
He really wanted to answer the kind elder and heard about his opinion, but when he recalled the result of his assessment several days before, Satoshi could only grimace at his inadequacy. It baffled Sepphira and Tellrog and even made Unsui pull his hair in frustration to this day.
As Satoshi was scouring his mind on how he should answer the question, the room was jolted by a series of impatient knocks on the door. The person didn't even wait for an answer before barging into the room, soliciting an angry response from the leading elder.
"Teacher Sepphira! We are in the middle of an interview and I believe you should already know that we are not to be disturbed!" The lead elder barked.
The person that just barged in stopped on her track and calmly looked at the elders. It was Sepphira. She had two envelopes in her hands that she lifted to show the preceding elders.
"Forgive me, but I have with me urgent news to inform the Elders before you make your judgment."
"What news?" Master Fang asked Sepphira.
Sepphiram looked at the confused Satoshi and gave him a mysterious smile.
She calmly looked back at Master Fang and said, "You will know after hearing the content of this letter."
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