-Gloriana Mengral Point of View.
"Impossible."
It was not Gloriana's voice that uttered those words.
She looked to her right and left side.
Her friends.
They simply could not believe it.
Everything they saw was impossible to believe, yet it happened so fast that they were barely now reacting.
It happened the same way with the other cadets, it was a similar reaction: they were confused, surprised and unable to assimilate what they had seen in front of their eyes and everything that had happened.
There was silence.
An overwhelming silence that no one dared to break.
But...
"Cadet Asher... 0/100 points."
It was Oriana's voice that broke the overwhelming silence in the room, as all eyes were fixed on her without even blinking.
Simply no one could believe it.
How... how was it possible that the cadet whom almost everyone admired for his incredible talent, intelligence and strength... was the one who scored the least points, the one who endured the mentality assessment the least?
A simple answer popped into everyone's mind:
"The best of the whole first year... he is mentally weak, his only weakness is his mind."
That was the conclusion all the cadets came to.
However, Professor Oriana's voice continued.
"Well, this is... All right, next."
"..."
At first, Professor Oriana sounded extremely worried, as if she already knew Asher's results.
Everyone looked at her.
Their faces in disbelief at what had happened to the best cadet of the first year.
That cadet they had recently begun to admire.
Not only for his talent and other qualities, but also for his beauty and how handsome the girls found him.
Cadet Asher was a role model for many, while others thought...
"Someday I'll surpass him."
"I'll be better than him."
Words like that were popping up in every cadet's mind.
Gloriana thought and said to herself:
"I expected that already, but... I didn't think it would be so..."
There her thought ended.
There was no doubt about it.
The best cadet was the mentally weakest, the cadet who couldn't stand to see painful memories for even a minute.
While the others held out for up to five minutes, Asher only lasted half a minute, exactly 38 seconds.
It was so short.
So little that several cadets were shocked.
Gloriana was simply submerged in thought:
I must go.
He could be in trouble.
He needs company.
I must go see him.
However, she refrained from doing so.
Although she was so worried, as she looked at her sister Oriana, she also seemed to be in the same thoughts, however, right now they were in the middle of the evaluation.
It was mandatory to at least complete the first part of the last evaluation.
However, they couldn't leave it that easily.
And then...
"Next."
It was his turn.
He quickly walked to the pillar and instantly closed his eyes, blocked his thoughts and let his mana out.
He had to get this over with as soon as possible and go see Asher.
Without a doubt, he had now realized that he really cared about Asher.
His concern was now at its limit, and he had to go to be by his side.
Then, the pillar glowed, and she was immersed in false memories that the pillar gave her.
***
-Scene change.
"89/100."
"58/100."
Those were Gloriana's results after finally finishing the assessment.
She instantly looked at her sister and she nodded without hesitation.
Her look meant a few simple words:
"Tell me if there's a problem and I'll go right away."
Gloriana read her sister's expression, then left the training section, heading quickly to the medical section where all the evaluation cadets were, including Asher.
Tap. Tap.
He ran.
He passed through several places, hallways and rooms, and finally reached the medical section.
"Quick, I need another healer here!"
"It's urgent, the cadet's mental state is serious."
"I need another healer."
Those were the cries and words of the healers present, attending to several cadets.
More and more were arriving, approximately every ten minutes.
However, Gloriana searched for a particular bed, checked each one, and finally found it.
She looked at the healers standing around Asher as magic imprinted itself in her head. Healers specialized in healing any wound, no matter what it was, but they succeeded, of course, except for death itself.
Their healing magics were aimed precisely at Asher's head as blood flowed from his nose.
"He's all right, isn't he?"
A healer looked at Gloriana and instantly nodded.
"He's fine, but his mental state is quite low. He should rest for at least two full days."
The results were obvious, and Gloriana had more or less expected this.
Despite her concern, she relaxed a little more and then stepped back so the healers could continue their work without interruption.
"Well, that's just fine."
"It's just his mind that's unstable, but he's fine," she repeated to herself with each passing minute.
Although the healers were still there, after a few minutes they left Asher, and one of them spoke up.
"You must be worried, right, cadet? Don't worry, he just needs rest and will wake up in two days."
"Thank you for the good news."
"You're welcome. Try not to disturb him or try to wake him by force, but you may accompany him."
Gloriana nodded, took a chair that was nearby and placed it beside the bed where Asher lay. Her gaze was fixed on Asher's face.
At that moment, he looked as he always did, as if he was sleeping peacefully; however, Gloriana knew that was not the case.
In fact, his mind was very weak.
Nevertheless, Gloriana wondered one thing:
"What did he see in the false memories that left him in such a state?"
Her thought was clear: exactly what kind of past did Asher have?
Of course, there were also the other memories that the pillar invented that were not related to the cadet's memories or his past.
Perhaps it wasn't really Asher's past that he himself saw, but that could also be the case.
It was one of two options.
Gloriana wasn't sure, but it was one of two things.
"Haa..."
He sighed heavily as he relaxed and leaned his back against the chair.
"Gloriana."
A voice echoed next to her, and then she turned her head.
The others were there, looking at her, and at the same time watching Asher's condition. Then Luna spoke.
"He's fine, isn't he?"
"Ah, yes, he's fine, but he'll wake up in two days."
"Haa... What a relief. We were all worried."
The others also sighed as they looked at Asher.
It had already been an hour since the evaluation was over, and all the cadets had left. Of course, most were in the medical section along with Asher.
However, the others were fine, as were Emilia, Luna, Grey, Freddy and Julian. All of them were fine.
"This was unexpected," Grey said, and Freddy followed suit.
"I never thought Asher would be mentally weak."
"I think the same thing," Julian added.
Emilia then stepped up and spoke as well.
"They're right, but... Sometimes it's normal for those with great talents, they are weak mentally."
Although it was true and Emilia was absolutely right, the others nodded, concluding Emilia's words.
No matter how the others saw it, the answer as to why Asher was this mentally weak was obvious, though also strange.
Everyone wondered:
Why is he weaker than the others?
Even weaker than the cadet who scored the lowest score of only 6/100.
Asher was the weakest, with 0/100 points, Oriana claimed. After all, Asher only lasted 38 seconds before he collapsed and could not continue.
Of course, they knew that everyone has something they are not good at.
One example is Asher, whose weakness is his mind.
On the other hand, some are not talented, while others are. Some are mentally strong, others are not.
Thus continues the story of each person, all different.
"Now all that's left to do is wait, right?"
"Yes."
They all nodded.
During these days, they would be by Asher's side, come what may.
***
-Scene change.
-Oriana Mengral's point of view.
Staring at the ceiling of her office, Oriana let out a long sigh.
It had already been a day since the evaluation was over and the credit points were handed out.
A total of 500 credit points were awarded to each cadet.
The points are delivered together with a clock-like device, called "Information". This clock-like device displays some data, such as:
--Information--
--Credit points: 500.
In addition, it showed the cadet's gender, name, current date, time, date of birth, height, weight and in which circle he was currently located.
In short, it contained each cadet's personal information.
This watch incorporates the most advanced technology available today.
It is exclusive to the Laosa Academy and other academies of similar status. Of course, it is also available to the royal family, the ten great families, the mage towers and the twelve great guilds of the continent.
It was a watch with the highest technology in existence.
"It's all done," he muttered as he held his gaze blankly.
Oriana was absorbed in her thoughts.
She couldn't stop thinking about the previous day.
"What did you see?"
It was the thought that troubled her the most, one she never got an answer to.
Of course, she wouldn't ask Asher. That memory, whatever it was, was not to make him relive it.
Once the cadets saw those false memories that the pillar created, they were etched in their minds, and the only way to remove them was to simply not think about them and go on with their lives as usual.
If they remembered them, it would be difficult to erase those memories.
Still, they all knew what to do, were instructed and received explanations.
"Well, he's in good condition."
"It's not important for now, so it's best to put it aside."
Oriana had work to do.
Therefore, she was not to put it all aside.
Although it was not a school day, but rather a day off for Oriana, her work was also waiting for her in her office.
She straightened up and picked up some papers.
Since the day she received information about the dimensional rift from the principal, all the teachers were given a brief summary of what was going on with the rift.
However, it was not very detailed. Principal Wilbek was the one who received all the information, as did the ten great families and the royal family.
They all had clearer information. Although Oriana was part of the royal family, she currently held the title of "teacher" at the Laosa academy, and her access to information was the same as the other teachers.
Although it was unfair, she didn't mind too much.
Knowing more details about the dimensional rift would cause her mental state to decline and worry to increase.
He fixed his gaze on the summary about the dimensional rift. He read it and, after a while, finished.
"Currently nothing has changed."
"It looks like everything is fine for now."
After all, the disasters that the dimensional rift will trigger will begin in 6 years.
If it opens in the next 8 years, the disasters it will cause will start in 6 years.
Therefore, there should not have been any problems yet.
"When will they reveal this information?"
In fact, the dimensional rift will open in less than a decade. Of course, all people will know, and information about the rift will be revealed at some point.
However, for now, everything was to remain hidden and not be revealed to the world.
The consequences of revealing this information would be devastating. Better to keep it hidden for the time being.
Oriana stretched and tried to relax.
It was nighttime and she was exhausted. Slowly, she closed her eyes.
Today was a very tiring day and yesterday was even worse. Tomorrow would be better, though, because Asher would wake up sometime the next day, and that was what Oriana was looking forward to....