Chapter 23 — The First Step
The moment Zero crossed the gates, the noise of the city disappeared.
Not gradually.
Completely.
It was as though an invisible wall separated the examination grounds from the rest of Virel. The bustling markets, the rolling wagon wheels, even the distant conversations that had followed them through the eastern district—all of it vanished, leaving behind an almost unsettling silence broken only by the measured footsteps of thousands of candidates walking deeper into the grounds.
The path beneath their feet widened into polished stone, stretching toward an enormous open plaza surrounded by training fields, observation towers and long stone buildings whose architecture favored function over grandeur. Everything had been built with purpose. Nothing felt excessive.
Zero's eyes moved slowly across the surroundings.
The towers.
The walls.
The soldiers stationed above them.
Even before reaching the plaza, he counted four separate vantage points capable of overlooking nearly the entire approach.
Not for ceremony.
For control.
"They built this expecting problems," he said quietly.
Klaus looked around before following Zero's gaze toward one of the towers.
"You mean attacks?"
"No."
Zero watched an officer speaking to a pair of soldiers before they immediately separated in opposite directions.
"People."
The plaza was already filling.
Candidates naturally spread across the open space, though not randomly. Some gathered in familiar groups from the same villages, while others deliberately stood alone, quietly observing everyone around them.
No one announced themselves.
No one challenged another.
Everyone was measuring.
Zero noticed a broad-shouldered youth carrying a massive iron greatsword. The weapon was impressive, but the young man's attention never left the people around him.
Nearby, a girl wearing faded travel clothes leaned against a stone pillar with her eyes closed, one hand resting on the hilt of an ordinary sword. She looked asleep.
Zero doubted she was.
Across the plaza, another candidate smiled warmly as he introduced himself to anyone willing to listen.
Within minutes, he'd already learned more names than Klaus had.
Interesting.
Strength wasn't the only thing gathering here.
"Looks like we weren't the first."
Bren appeared beside them carrying the same weathered spear, offering Klaus an easy grin before looking around the plaza.
"I don't think anyone expected this many people."
Klaus followed his gaze.
"How many do you think there are?"
"Three thousand."
"Maybe more."
Klaus nearly choked.
"Three thousand?"
"And only a few hundred will leave Virel."
Bren said it matter-of-factly.
Not cruelly.
Simply as reality.
The words settled over the small group.
Three thousand.
Zero let his gaze travel across the endless crowd once more.
Three thousand people.
Three thousand different villages.
Three thousand lives converging at the same place.
By sunset tomorrow...
most of them would already be walking home.
A deep bell echoed once.
The conversation throughout the plaza stopped almost instantly.
Not because people had been ordered to stop.
Because every candidate understood the examination had begun.
The soldiers lining the plaza straightened simultaneously.
A pathway opened through the center of the crowd without anyone asking for it.
Someone was coming.
An elderly man walked calmly toward the raised platform overlooking the plaza.
Zero recognized him immediately.
The old man from the carriage.
He still wore the same plain crimson robes, his silver hair tied neatly behind his back. There were no ornaments marking his position, no weapon hanging from his waist, and no visible aura pressing against those around him.
Yet the atmosphere shifted simply because he was there.
Authority did not always need to announce itself.
Sometimes...
it was accepted long before words were spoken.
He stepped onto the platform without assistance and allowed his gaze to sweep over the sea of young faces before him.
For several long seconds, he said nothing.
The silence itself became part of the examination.
Some candidates shifted uncomfortably beneath his gaze.
Others stood straighter.
A few lowered their eyes.
Zero did none of those things.
He simply watched.
The old man's eyes passed over him without lingering.
Then, at last, he spoke.
His voice was calm.
Not loud.
Yet every word carried effortlessly across the plaza.
"Three thousand one hundred and forty-two."
He paused.
"That is how many candidates stand before me today."
No introduction.
No greeting.
Only a number.
"When this examination concludes..."
"...less than two hundred of you will continue to the Imperial Capital."
A ripple passed through the crowd.
Not panic.
Calculation.
Everyone had known the odds were poor.
Hearing them spoken aloud made them real.
The old man continued.
"Some of you believe strength will carry you."
His eyes moved across the crowd.
"It will not."
"Some believe talent alone is enough."
"It is not."
"Others believe your family name..."
For the first time, the faintest trace of something resembling amusement crossed his weathered face.
"...will open doors."
"It won't."
His expression returned to calm.
"The Empire has no shortage of powerful people."
"The Citadel has no interest in collecting them."
He allowed another silence to settle.
Then spoke the sentence that seemed to reach every corner of the plaza.
"Power can be taught."
His gaze remained steady.
"Judgment cannot."
No one spoke.
No one moved.
Even the wind seemed to have paused.
The examination had not truly begun yet.
And already...
Zero understood that whatever awaited them beyond this plaza would not simply measure who was strongest.
It would measure who deserved to grow stronger.
The silence lingered for several heartbeats after the elderly examiner finished speaking.
No applause followed.
No cheers.
Even those who moments earlier had carried themselves with quiet confidence now seemed lost in thought.
"Power can be taught."
"Judgment cannot."
The words settled over the plaza like invisible weight.
Then, without another word, the old man stepped away from the platform.
It wasn't the end of his speech that drew everyone's attention.
It was the fact that he offered nothing more.
No encouragement.
No reassurance.
Only the expectation that they would understand.
Movement slowly returned to the plaza.
Not all at once, but in ripples.
Thousands of candidates began speaking again, though their conversations had changed. The careless excitement that filled the city streets earlier that morning had disappeared, replaced by quieter voices and measured glances.
People had stopped looking at the examination grounds.
Now...
they were looking at each other.
Zero noticed it immediately.
The examination had already begun.
No official had announced it.
Yet every candidate was unconsciously judging everyone around them.
Who looked confident.
Who looked afraid.
Who carried expensive weapons.
Who traveled alone.
Who appeared too calm.
Interesting.
The Empire hadn't needed to tell them to compete.
People did that naturally.
"You noticed it too."
Klaus had followed Zero's gaze.
"They're all sizing each other up."
Zero nodded once.
"They're looking for threats."
"And allies?"
"Mostly threats."
Klaus laughed under his breath.
"...That sounds about right."
"Looks like the speech scared half of them."
Bren wandered over, balancing his spear across one shoulder as though this were nothing more than another hunting trip.
"If that's all it takes," he continued with an easy grin, "they probably weren't getting to the Capital anyway."
Klaus shook his head.
"You make it sound simple."
"It isn't."
The smile remained.
"But worrying never helped anyone pass an examination."
He glanced toward the gathering crowd.
"My village sent eleven people."
"I'm the only one who made it here."
There wasn't pride in his voice.
Only acceptance.
Zero looked at him.
"You've failed before?"
"My brother did."
Bren answered without hesitation.
"He told me something before I left."
"What?"
"'Don't compete with everyone.'"
Klaus frowned.
"...What does that mean?"
"It means three thousand people are standing here."
Bren pointed lazily across the plaza.
"You don't need to beat three thousand."
"You only need to avoid becoming one of the ones sent home."
Zero filed the advice away.
Practical.
His attention drifted elsewhere.
A boy dressed in finely tailored crimson clothing walked confidently through the crowd, two attendants following several paces behind despite candidates supposedly entering alone. The attendants stopped before reaching the plaza, but not before carefully brushing dust from the boy's cloak.
Several nearby candidates instinctively stepped aside.
Not because they had been asked.
Because they recognized him.
"...Who is he?" Klaus asked quietly.
Bren's expression changed almost imperceptibly.
"Lucien Ardent."
"You know him?"
"No."
"But everyone in the southern cities knows the name."
Bren kept his voice low.
"His father commands one of House Ignivar's elite knight regiments."
"The Ardent family has served the southern frontier for generations."
Lucien didn't acknowledge the crowd.
His posture remained straight, his expression unreadable as he passed.
Confident.
Not arrogant.
As though he had expected to be here all along.
Zero watched until the young noble disappeared into another section of the plaza.
No wasted movement.
Disciplined breathing.
His boots showed fresh wear despite their quality.
He trained.
Frequently.
Interesting.
A loud laugh echoed from another corner of the plaza.
The source was impossible to miss.
A towering young man with broad shoulders and skin darkened by years beneath the sun was happily eating what appeared to be his fourth meat skewer since arriving. An enormous axe rested against one shoulder, large enough that most candidates would struggle to lift it.
"You worried?"
he asked another candidate between bites.
"You should eat first."
"Everything's easier after eating."
The smaller boy beside him stared blankly.
"...Is that really your advice?"
"It's worked every day so far."
Several nearby candidates chuckled despite themselves.
Klaus couldn't help smiling.
"I like him."
"You would."
Zero's answer came without looking away.
The giant laughed loudly again before offering half his remaining food to a complete stranger.
Most people would dismiss him immediately.
Zero didn't.
Despite the easygoing attitude...
his eyes never stopped moving.
Every entrance.
Every exit.
Every soldier.
He was pretending not to pay attention.
He noticed more than most.
Someone else caught Zero's attention.
Not because they stood out.
Because they didn't.
A young woman leaned quietly against one of the stone pillars surrounding the plaza, dressed in simple grey traveling clothes that would disappear into almost any crowd. Her sword remained sheathed at her waist while a worn leather satchel rested against her feet.
She appeared asleep.
Yet every few moments...
her fingers tapped lightly against the sword's guard.
A rhythm.
Waiting.
Listening.
Without warning, her eyes opened.
Clear amber met dark crimson.
She had noticed him watching.
Neither looked away.
Several long seconds passed.
Then...
she smiled.
Not warmly.
Knowingly.
Before closing her eyes again.
Interesting.
Very interesting.
"You've already found competitors?"
Klaus followed Zero's gaze before spotting the girl beneath the pillar.
"Competitors?"
Zero shook his head.
"Observers."
"Huh?"
"She's watching everyone."
"So are you."
"...Exactly."
Another bell echoed across the examination grounds.
This one shorter.
Sharper.
Imperial soldiers immediately moved into position along the broad avenue leading deeper into the complex.
The conversations stopped once again.
An officer stepped forward, his voice carrying clearly across the plaza.
"The first trial awaits."
"No candidate is permitted to return once you pass through these gates."
"If you wish to withdraw..."
"Do so now."
Silence.
Three thousand candidates.
Not one moved.
The officer nodded once.
"As expected."
He stepped aside.
Beyond the newly opened gates stretched a vast expanse of woodland enclosed within the examination grounds themselves.
Ancient trees rose toward the morning sky, their dense canopy swallowing whatever lay beyond the first few hundred meters. Stone watchtowers overlooked the forest from above, but even they failed to reveal its depths.
The path ahead disappeared into green shadow.
Lucien Ardent walked first without hesitation.
The giant hefted his axe onto his shoulder with an excited grin before following.
The young woman beneath the pillar opened her eyes one final time and silently melted into the crowd.
Bren adjusted his grip on his spear.
Klaus took a slow breath.
Zero looked toward the forest.
The examination had finally stopped talking.
Now...
it would begin.
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Sorry guy's the chapter is quite long