"Dustan wins the seventh match!"
As Arius lay on the ground, his body recoiling from the pain as he groaned softly, he heard those words.
'No… no… did I lose?'
"Congratulations, Dustan, you will now advance to Alpha Class"
His eyes bulged and his heart tightened as soon as those words trickled into his ears. He clutched his chest as he felt the weight of shame descend upon him.
Shame… and something else.
—Dread.
'No… if I lost, then that means…'
"Arius Inkwell… you will be demoted to Beta Class. Work hard and you just might be able to rise back to Alpha Class."
'... I'm now a Beta?'
He couldn't believe his ears.
He, one of the Top 3 Apprentices in the whole Academy, was going to be a Beta Student?
How?
Why? It didn't make any sense!
'It's… it's a ploy, I'm sure of it…' Arius recollected the words that Ashfelt said to him. 'They were planning this from the very start… this awful plan.'
