4
1207 Words
Serhan Tasci sat in the classroom and poured over the fragile pages of parchment.
Not that they were old despite trying to appear ancient.
They were forgeries made for this exercise; the ink still had a smell that gave the game away. If they were as old as they appeared, they wouldn’t have such a metallic scent.
Serhan was in the middle of his Tier 15 practical exam in one of the Republic’s best academies.
He didn’t even know exactly which academy he was testing for, but the initial Tier 15 academies numbered only a dozen. All of them were good, and if he graduated from any of them he would qualify for admittance into Evermore Academy, the highest of education.
If he failed to discover the answer to which school’s test he was taking, his academic career would end here, like ninety five percent of his schoolmates.
The weeding out of students, first as they Tiered up, then through decades of academic rigor, was how the Republic found the best of the best to nurture.
The academies were a comprehensive learning environment, and anyone who made it as far as he did was considered truly elite. Any company or political movement would salivate at the thought of roping his classmates in, but Serhan had bigger dreams.
He wanted to graduate from Evermore. Even qualifying for Evermore was sufficient to have one’s career prospects set for life, but once a millennium, someone would graduate and become a living legend.
The Everborn. Stronger, smarter, better. Only Gladiators could be considered their peers or superiors, and there was only one Gladiator Maya. To be Everborn was to be a national hero, beloved by all and given everything they ever needed or wanted.
And Serhan wanted.
He studied harder than his classmates, practiced when they goofed off, challenged himself when they accepted mediocrity.
Serhan’s Talent made every one of his skills more powerful and had set him apart ever since he first Awakened. The resources he earned through his academies had only pushed him further ahead of his peers.
That was the point, after all.
Round after round of culling the students meant those who kept improving would be able to move to higher Tier academies, where the training got better with more, higher Tier resources.
He just needed to figure out this test.
It took him nearly a week and three false starts, but he eventually found a permutation cipher hidden in the whitespace of the document, and after running it through a translator to convert it into Republic standard, he got his message.
A simple date and time set for three years from when he got the task and a name. Blue Stone Academy.
He had his ticket and knew his destination.
Or at least the name.
The Tier 15 academies weren’t public in their locations. Even their names were little more than rumors, but he had at least heard of Blue Stone Academy. If said rumors were correct, he was accepted into the third-ranked academy of this bracket.
Not as good as he wished, but better than he hoped.
He had started at one of the worst Tier 1 academies in the Republic and clawed his way up the ladder, until the third out of fifteen offered him a position.
When Serhan entered Evermore, they would then know their blunder. The schadenfreude he would taste would be sweeter than any victory champagne.
Tian Hai sat in the pressure room and endured.
He had dealt with far worse during his training to become a Dao Child.
When the pressure let up, he looked at the army leader in front of him, who panted.
“Dao Child, we can’t continue. Our willpower is insufficient for your needs.”
Tian Hai frowned but got up. “Imbeciles. Return to your rooms, recuperate, for you shall need it in the morn.”
As Tian Hai swept away, he clenched his fist.
He was surely one of the greatest water mages in the Sect, perhaps the entire Realm. His Silver Carp bloodline, Flowing Water Revelations, even his Talents all supported that simple and unassailable fact as his simple birthright. The Sects had seen that within him, and supported him all the more, with rare treasures and powerful skills. He had surpassed the might of others ten times his age, meditating upon the nature of water since before his grandfather had been born, learned the secrets of the Elders, and been clothed in treasures with majesty unmatched.
Yet, the Drowner approached. The man who dared to challenge Tian Hai for his title. His blood may as well have been mud to Tian Hai’s purest spring water, and he was more a thug than a true artist of water. He was a mockery of the millennia Tian Hai had spent truly mastering his craft, lacked the elegance inherent to the element.
He dared to challenge the heavens, and Tian Hai was prepared to show him the folly of his challenging the Dao Child of Rushing Streams. Other Dao Children had fallen to the Drowner, but he would not join their ranks today. The Imperial would regret his challenge, and Tian Hai had spent many years preparing himself to withstand the crushing pressure the Drowner relied upon instead of proper technique.
But, then again, that should have only been expected from a young master. They thought that simple power and sheer stubbornness was sufficient to overcome the inheritance and right to victory the Dao Children carried from birth.
Tian Hai flew into space around the moon and tore a small hole through the veil, trying to see if the Drowner was nearing.
With no ripples in the flowing streams of Chaos indicating the monster was approaching, he returned to his meditation room and steadied himself. The Drowner was a capable combatant, no matter his personal feelings on the barbarian. It would not do to bring anything but his best against the man.
He was interrupted not long thereafter by a soldier flying to his balcony, pulling him from his meditation, “Dao Child! The Drowner was just reported as back in the Empire, he has turned tail and fled!”
Tian Hai scoffed, “As to be expected of the barbarian. He must have learned who he would be facing and preferred to turn tail and flee than to face this one in honorable combat! I must teach him proper respect the next time we meet upon the fields of battle! Rejoice, for your Dao Child has turned back the wrath of the Drowner!”
As the soldier left, leaving Tian Hai alone with his thoughts once more, he allowed himself a smirk. Clearly, the Drowner must have been wiser than he’d given him credit for. He’d restrained himself to fighting only those who were too weak, giving the illusion of strength, yet turning tail once he foresaw true resistance. Undoubtedly, when they met upon the fields of battle next, Tian Hai would emerge firmly victorious. He should feel triumphant, secure in the knowledge that today’s fight would have been an utter farce, his own millennia of skill firmly capable of outmatching the brutish, unrefined techniques of the foreigner.
So why did he feel relieved?
- Writer
