Elijah's victory in the combat trial still lingered in his mind as he prepared for the next assessment: maze navigation. Instructor Kael explained the rules:
"Each of you will navigate a complex maze, showcasing your strategic thinking and speed. The maze will be filled with obstacles, illusions, and surprises. You must reach the center within the allotted time. Which is thirty minutes." Kael said.
Ryker, still nursing his wounds from the combat trial, glared at Elijah. "You may have passed the combat trial, but you'll never survive this."
Elijah ignored Ryker's taunts, focusing on the task ahead which made Ryker's blood boil in anger but he kept it down because of Instructor Kael.
"Now inside the maze, are a lot of traps and fake illusions, but it is up to you if you want to fall for them. Then scattered around the maze are close to thirty magical stones there. With it, you can open the door that leads to the center of the maze which in turn would allow you pass this assessment." Kael explained.
The 100 applicants looked at each other as they listened to instructor Kael's words.
"Yes, that's right, only thirty of you will pass this assessment and the remaining seventy would go home." Kael smiled and then he clicked his hands.
Suddenly, Kael and the academy students were no longer in front of the applicants again and then in their place, was a dozens of walls built up separating the applicants from each other.
While also building a maze around them. Elijah found himself standing in a dark corner with lots of walls around him.
"Now where do I turn to?" Elijah asked himself as he slowly made his way to another path.
"No, not this way. I need to hurry up since the time allotted to us is thirty minutes." Elijah said as he met another dead end.
Elijah walked around the place and luckily for him, he didn't bump into any students on the way and then finally, standing in front of Elijah was a vampire that was just pacing around.
Elijah's body tensed as he looked the vampire. Then he wanted to turn the other corner when he suddenly heard his name.
"Elijah." The vampire called out and then Elijah turned around to look at the vampire that called him making him to suddenly freeze unable to move because of fear as he stared at the vampire.
Outside of the maze, the students along with Kael stood in front of the supposed door that was the exit of the maze.
"They do not know what they are going to encounter there." The lean student that Elijah had fought with said.
"Yeah, which makes me wonder why you didn't tell them anything." Another student said as he looked at Kael who had a smile on his face.
"Because if I did, they would have been more prepared and would know that it's fake. Or did I tell you guys in your time that heading into the maze, you would be met with your worst fear?" Kael said.
The students shuddered as they remembered their own assessment. When they had also being told to head into the maze then they encountered their worst nightmares there making them experience torture above torture.
They couldn't imagine what the applicants were going through right now.
In the maze, Elijah met with a vampire and he was about to head away when his name was called and naturally, he turned around to see the vampire making him freeze.
Looking at the vampire, images and memories flooded his mind at once. The day his parents were killed, this vampire was in their house that day. And he was the one to kill his parents.
The vampire was still wearing the same clothes he wore on the day he killed his parents and he had that same dangerous smile still playing on his lips as he looked at Elijah.
"Look at you, all grown up. When you escaped that day, I thought you would have run away and laid low but instead you chose to come here? Do you want to suffer the same fate as your parents?" The man asked as his eyes was now glowing red.
Seeing him, Elijah broke down. He thought that he had steeled his resolve that he would avenge his parents one day. But looking at the vampire that caused the murder, he remembered how powerful he was.
Making Elijah break down in tears as he knelt down on the floor while thinking of his parents.
"It's time for you to die Elijah!" The man said as he dashed towards Elijah and kicked him hard making him fly and crash into the wall but it didn't break.
Elijah still laid on the floor unmoving because he was still crying. And the man came again and lifted Elijah by the scruff of his shirt.
"You are pathetic and weak up till now, even on that day you couldn't help your parents, and now, you are unable to help yourself." The man said as he smashed Elijah on the ground.
"No, make it stop please. Don't kill me." Elijah mumbled to himself as tears kept on streaming down his face.
That was when Elijah heard a soft whisper in his ears.
"Fight back, it's not real. Don't lose courage son, my blessings are with you, mama loves you." The whisper said and Elijah felt a burst of energy coursing through him and his eyes was now glowing fierce red.
Then Elijah grabbed onto the vampire's hand and punched him hard making it burst into dust.
"No matter what, I will avenge their death and nothing or nobody would stand in my way." Elijah said as he made a turn and walked for five minutes before he came across a stone.
With a smile, Elijah made several turns with the stone as it lit up pointing to where Elijah should head to. After a few minutes, Elijah was now in front of the door and placing the stone on it, he came out.
"Well done, Elijah," Kael said, nodding. "You've passed the maze navigation assessment."
Ryker, however, struggled to find his way out, his anger and frustration palpable.
As the applicants exited the maze, Instructor Kael announced the final assessment:
"Magical resistance. You will face trials that push your endurance to the limit."
Elijah steeled himself, knowing the challenges ahead.
The magical resistance assessment loomed, and Elijah wondered:
Would he withstand the trials?
Coul
d he overcome his limitations?
The fate of his academy enrollment hung in the balance.