When the white light faded, Rod found himself in another vast hall.
It was dimly lit — the glow came not from flames but from copper lamps hung high above. Desks, shelves, and half-toppled piles of books filled the room, giving it a cluttered, chaotic feel.
At one end stretched a long table where a queue had already formed.
A middle-aged man hurried over."Your Grace, is this the last group of new students? Why so few?"
The Archbishop replied curtly, "Something happened in the Upper City. I brought those whose inner flame has already been lit. The rest are yours to handle. I must relocate the others to safety."
The man hesitated. "Is it because of the Black Tide?"
The Archbishop's expression darkened. "Not entirely. The Silver Oath has been breached. The High Priest has gone to contain it. You won't be affected. I'm leaving."
He vanished in a flash of light, leaving only a ripple in the air.
The middle-aged man looked deeply troubled, but as soon as he turned back to the students, he forced a cheerful smile.
"Follow me, everyone! Over there is the Machina Institute's checkpoint. They'll examine your soul pattern and sequence, then assign you to the proper faculty."
He led them to the back of the long line, talking the whole way — explaining academy rules, achievements, and the institution's glorious history.
From him, Rod gleaned one crucial fact:
The Kinworth Academy had been founded by the Kinworth Society, an organization originally dedicated to researching the origin of the Black Mist and ways to dispel it. Over time, it became the kingdom's highest academic body, consulted by the Royal Council before nearly every major decision.
"If I ever need to decipher that strange script again… maybe the Kinworth Society could help," Rod thought.
But right now, his greater concern was the inspection.If it revealed something forbidden — or something wrong — his fate might mirror that of the boy who'd been burned to ashes not long ago.
Anxious thoughts filled his head as he drew closer to the testing circle.
It was a wide, disk-shaped device. The examinee stood upon it and placed a hand on a crystal sphere atop the table. Symbols then appeared within the crystal, which the examiner recorded and interpreted.
The process wasn't exactly smooth. Sometimes the sphere responded sluggishly; sometimes the words it displayed were so obscure that the testers had to consult stacks of thick reference tomes before confirming the result.
At the moment, one girl had been standing there for quite some time.
Wayne grumbled behind him, "These contraptions from the Machina Institute—never reliable. Always breaking or lagging."
…
At last, the crystal lit up.
"Subject: Annawista of Wengburg. Sequence: Soulflame. Soul Attribute: Lunar Radiance. Category: Long-Range Combatant. Faculty Recommendation: First Academy, First Department. Salary Rank: Special Grade."
A murmur of awe swept through the crowd.
Annawista was a tall girl with flowing dark hair. Her face remained calm, almost bored, as if she'd expected such a result. She stepped down without glancing at the others' envious stares.
The next test came faster.
"Subject: Redbee of Thousand Lakes Town. Sequence: Starfire. Soul Seeds Ignited: Two. Types: Iron Body and Undying Flesh. Category: Frontline Combatant. Recommendation: Second Academy, First Department. Salary Rank: Second Grade."
More gasps followed.
Redbee descended from the platform smiling brightly, escorted away by a waiting attendant.
Rod leaned toward Wayne. "What exactly is a 'Sequence'? And how are the academies divided?"
Wayne explained carefully, eager to show what he knew.
"Kinworth Academy has three main Academies, each with ten Departments. Their focus and teachers differ, but the First Academy, First Department is the most prestigious — you can tell from the salary grades.'Special Grade' pay means you're among the best."
He lowered his voice. "There are also two types of Fire-bearers.
One: those whose entire soul was ignited during the trial, revealing a complete Soul Attribute. They're called Soulflames.
The other: those who only awakened fragments — Soul Seeds. With training, they can ignite more seeds, each granting a new ability. Those are called Starfires."
Rod nodded thoughtfully. "So which is stronger?"
"Generally, Soulflames are considered superior. Scholars say a Starfire's fragments can never surpass a complete soul. But after Lord Alan appeared, that belief changed — he's a Starfire who ignited nineteen soul seeds, breaking every record. He's my hero — the First Knight of the Order!"
Before Rod could ask more, the examiner called,"Next — Rod of Redstone Village!"
Rod drew a steady breath, stepped onto the platform, and placed his hand upon the crystal sphere.
A long silence followed.
Then faint, dark letters appeared.
The examiner frowned, rifled through his pile of dusty tomes, and eventually unearthed a massive, cobweb-covered volume.Adjusting a monocle, he squinted at the tiny print.
"…Dim… dark-colored… gluttonous… devours… digests easily… chews… what on earth—?"
He tugged at his hair in frustration before finally jotting something down.
"Subject: Rod of Redstone Village. Sequence: Starfire.Soul Seeds Ignited: One.Type: The Black Glutton's Bowl.Category: Combat or Support (uncertain).Faculty Recommendation: Third Academy, Tenth Department.Salary Rank: Ninth Grade."
The moment he finished reading, the hall erupted in laughter.Loudest among them was the red-haired Hablin.
"Hah! The Black Bowl! Did you hear that? I've never heard such a ridiculous soul type. Congratulations, you've made history, friend!"
"I'd bet a hundred crowns no one in a century will share that soul seed!"
"Silence!"
The middle-aged instructor strode over, scowling.
"He will stand beside us on the front lines one day — he'll defend our homeland as we all do! Who are you to mock him? Remember this: never turn your blades toward your comrades. Those blades are for the filth that lurks in the Mist."
Then he softened, turning to Rod.
"Don't lose heart, lad. One seed is only the beginning. Remember Lord Alan — with study and training, anything is possible."
Wayne whispered, "Ignore that idiot."
Rod nodded meekly, but inside he exhaled in deep relief.
—He was safe.
After all that turmoil, he had finally passed through.From this moment on, he was a student of Kinworth Academy.
With that identity, even the Office of Inquisition would think twice before acting.For now, danger had receded—at least a little.
"Maybe…" Rod thought, watching Wayne step nervously onto the platform,"it's time I learned how to live here properly."
…
Wayne's test finished soon after. He, too, was a Starfire, with a single soul seed — Guardian Crystal. Not particularly powerful, but respectable.His pay grade matched Rod's: Ninth Grade, Third Academy, Tenth Department.
Hablin, by contrast, was classified as Soulflame — his attribute, Gaseous Manipulation, earned him a Third-Grade salary and placement in Third Academy, Second Department.
He couldn't stop running his mouth, mocking them endlessly until an instructor caught him mid-boast and docked him before classes had even begun.
Wayne found that hilarious. Rod, on the other hand, regarded him like a buzzing fly — an annoyance, nothing more.
The golden-haired girl, Cassandra, was also placed in Third Academy, Tenth Department, with two soul seeds and a Third-Grade salary. That alone crushed Hablin's earlier taunts about their department being a "trash heap." Wayne's spirits lifted considerably.
For most students, it was a joyous day.The terror of the final trial faded beneath the thrill of admission.
When all tests were complete, they boarded a massive carriage that rolled through the inner gates — toward the legendary Kinworth Academy itself.
It was enormous, spanning an entire district of the Lower City: teaching towers, dormitories, refectories, libraries, training grounds, observatories, medical halls, gardens, fountains — everything one could imagine.
The academy, built with the kingdom's full might, was said to have been too large to fit in the Upper City. Yet its defenses and prestige rivaled even the royal district, second only to the Sacred Flame itself.
And the students' benefits were extraordinary.Even at the lowest pay tier, Rod would receive forty-two silver marks per week, plus rations and supplies — no tuition, no book fees, no housing costs.
A student who earned wages instead of paying them — that, in this kingdom, meant everything.
"Maybe," Rod thought, for the first time allowing a faint smile to form,"I really am safe."