[ Chapter Twelve - Admittance ]
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To pass this, you must find an Orb, bring it back here, and you will have passed the test," Professor Osman explained. He was about to continue when a hand was raised among the crowd of students. The hand belonged to a girl.
"Yes? What is it?" called out Professor Osman.
"Um, where will we find the Orb, Professor?" she asked.
"Excited, are we? I was just about to explain that. Is that all?" said Professor Osman. The girl quickly lowered her hand, her face flushing with embarrassment as she stared at the ground. Professor Osman continued as though there were no interruptions at all.
After a while, "Now," Professor Osman said, "there are four kinds of Orbs you can get: red, blue, white and silver; which is the rarest and hardest to find. Your ranking will depend on which Orb you retrieve, and that could give you a head start among others. You will find them within that forest!" Professor Osman pointed towards the dense forest a few feet away from them.
The forest was thick and shrouded in mist, which was noticeable below. Tall and wide trees stretched high, their thick canopies allowing only faint light to reach the forest floor. At the center was the entrance.
The crowd of students shifted to get a better look at the forest. When they heard Professor Osman speak again, their eyes turned back to him. "But before that! I want each of you to find a partner. Pair yourselves with someone you think could help you. However, if there's really no one, then that should be fine as well," he said, adding eerily, "Though I suggest you pair up. You never know what's lurking in there. Having a companion isn't a bad thing, you know? And you will only need to obtain one Orb even if there are two of you."
Almost everyone thought pairing up was a good idea. It was practical for handling tasks that might be difficult alone and an opportunity to get to know someone. Some students were already starting to find their partners.
Meanwhile, Ashran struggled to find a partner. This didn't bother him much; in fact, he felt he would do just fine alone. But just as he was about to give up-
"Excuse me? Do you mind teaming up?" said a young man, seemingly the same age as Ashran. He was tall, a bit taller than Ashran, and thin. Ashran was reminded him of a certain someone who was unlikely to be on the 'normal side,' but perhaps that was just his imagination. Shouldn't judge people too quickly.
Seeing no reason to refuse, Ashran accepted. "Sure," he replied. They introduced themselves and shook hands.
"I'm Ashran Archer, by the way."
"Great. And I'm Goyo . . . "
"Goyo?"
"Yes, Goyo Pindle."
Ashran thought it was a strange name. He wanted to laugh at it in a friendly way, but he refrained, knowing it might be rude.
To his surprise, Goyo Pindle said, "Funny name, isn't it?" as though he had read Ashran's mind and wanted him to laugh.
"No, I like it," said Ashran, smiling casually.
"You think so?" replied Goyo, looking puzzled. Then he suddenly blurted out, "Are you a continuing student?"
"Err—no, I'm not," replied Ashran quickly.
"Oh, we're the same then!" said Goyo, something about his mood lifting. "Good thing I found you. Well, you see, continuing students are hard to pair with. They are much better and might leave you behind. It's a bit hard to keep up with them. At least, that's what one of my friends complained about."
"I see. Let's help each other then," said Ashran with a friendly smile, and Goyo happily agreed.
A moment later, Professor Osman began talking again, "Has everyone found a pair? If so, we shall proceed!" he said hastily. "LISTEN UP. You only have half an hour to complete the Admittance, and if you pass the time limit, I'm sorry to say that you have failed. It doesn't matter even if you have the highest quality of Orbs; if you don't return within the time limit, then that's it. Come back next year." And he added, "Now, let's begin. I'll call your names one by one, and you shall proceed with the test immediately."
Professor Osman pulled out a long parchment and stared at it with a troubled look. ". . . Erhm -- Zeke, could you please announce this? Thank you." He passed the parchment to the student beside him, whose eyes had visible bags under them, looking as though he had pulled an all-nighter studying for an exam.
Zeke began slowly, "Step up when I call your name, please, and proceed with the test." He then read from the parchment, "Heach, Lowell! . . Rhory, Noonan! . . Raven, Stark! . . Ayva, Crandle! . ." and continued until the seventh, ". . . Ashran, Archer! . ." After the eleventh and twelfth names, ". . . Goyo, Pindle!" Ashran and Goyo made their way towards the dense forest where they would take the Admittance and find whatever kind of Orb they could.
"Got any idea what we might face in here?" asked Ashran as they stepped onto the ground, carpeted with moss, fallen leaves, and large twisted roots.
"My older sister told me about the start of her fifth year here. She once fought an Aberama Reaver, and mind you, those beasts were tough," said Goyo. "But still, she managed to get past them. I don't know how she did it, though," he shrugged. "She never told me."
"Why didn't she tell you?" asked Ashran.
"She said it's no use, the Admittance changes every year. But I knew, she just hated me, so that's why she didn't bothered telling me."
While they had been talking, they had wandered far from where they started. A few moments ago, they passed by some students also trying to find the said orbs, but now it was just the two of them, and it was eerily quiet except for the rustling of leaves and twisting branches. The mist that had shrouded the forest was now faint, allowing them to see their surroundings a bit better. When they turned left, they heard loud creaking of branches, and they saw empty cages hanging a few feet above the ground, swaying gently in the breeze.
"Isn't this getting creepier? What are those cages for?" mumbled Goyo, looking around the area.