Chapter Seventy: Rankings

Hughes, moving swiftly, cared little for what others might think. All he wanted now was to get out—he had no desire to linger another moment in this death-trap of a secret realm assessment.

He could see the swirling portal growing ever closer, and glanced back at the handful of apprentices he’d deliberately left behind. Since the vitality potion was described as so precious, Hughes naturally didn’t want too many people to know about it; otherwise, he’d only find himself with more trouble. He’d already made enough enemies in this secret realm—best not to add to the list.

Striding forward, Hughes leapt into the vortex. Just as when he entered, a flash of white light enveloped him, and in the next instant he found himself at the exit.

Emerging from the swirling gate, Hughes saw that the old man who’d been there before awaited him still. He looked around: there was no one else. He must have been the first to return. The old man said nothing, only extended his hand and gazed at Hughes in silence.

Hughes, understanding the gesture, placed his badge into the old man’s hand. The old man glanced at it, then pocketed it without a word.

“All right, you can go now,” the old man waved his hand, signaling that Hughes was free to leave.

“That’s it?” Hughes found it a little odd, but didn’t ask any questions. With a respectful bow, he took his leave.

Once out of the assessment area, Hughes made his way to the dining hall. After a day and night without food—and with the added exhaustion of battle—he was famished. Although breakfast hours had long since passed, one could always buy a meal for the right price.

At this hour, the dining hall was nearly deserted. Hughes spent a few gold coins to order a generous amount of food and dug in heartily. The slow, spreading fullness made him feel much better. As he ate, his mind drifted back to the academy’s assessment. The whole thing had felt rushed—nothing seemed properly prepared before it began. And it was clear the academy intended for the third-level apprentices to fight amongst themselves, selecting just ten people in the end. But to what purpose? That remained a mystery.

After his meal, Hughes headed to Lindsay’s shop, only to find Lindsay leisurely drinking tea and reading a book.

“You seem to be enjoying yourself,” Hughes commented, entering and pouring himself a cup of tea before sitting down.

“What else could I do? The whole academy is deserted; you’re all off at the assessment. We’re not allowed to leave, and no one’s here to buy anything. What am I supposed to do?” Lindsay replied with a resigned shrug.

Hughes eyed Lindsay’s complacent demeanor and thought it might do him some good to throw Lindsay into the assessment himself.

“Hey, why are you back so soon? Did you finish the assessment already?” Lindsay suddenly realized Hughes had returned and looked at him in surprise.

“Just got back. The assessment’s over,” Hughes replied, sipping his tea and recounting the events inside the secret realm, hoping Lindsay might have some insight.

“I don’t know anything about that, so how could I help you?” Lindsay spread his hands helplessly.

“I’ve been in the Shadow Ring for years, and the academy has never held an assessment like this. I don’t know their reasons, but I’m certain it has something to do with the current lockdown,” Lindsay declared after a moment’s thought.

“You might as well have said nothing,” Hughes said, exasperated; such a conclusion was obvious.

“But according to your account, this assessment was definitely odd—especially those ten bottles of vitality potion. I bet the Shadow Ring had to empty out a third of its reserves!” Lindsay clutched at his chest as if the loss was his own.

“All right, I’m off. I’ll bring you the potions in a few days,” Hughes had had enough and decided to leave.

Back in his dormitory, Hughes resolved to get some real sleep. After washing up, he lay in bed thinking about the vitality potion, and soon drifted into dreams.

It was evening when Hughes finally woke, groggy, to find it was already past six.

“Wait—Billy!” The name suddenly came to him. Fumbling for his messenger bracelet, Hughes tried to contact Billy, but waited in vain for a reply.

“Could something have happened?” Growing anxious, Hughes tried several more times, but still received no response.

Sensing something was wrong, Hughes rushed to Lindsay’s shop.

“Lindsay! Any news of Billy?” Hughes burst in, demanding from a bewildered Lindsay.

“Billy? The second-level apprentice assessment isn’t over yet. Why the rush? Is something wrong?” Lindsay answered calmly.

“It’s not over?” Hughes was taken aback; he’d thought Billy’s assessment would have ended quickly, only to find himself worrying needlessly.

“When does the second-level apprentice assessment end?” Hughes asked, curious.

“How should I know? The academy hasn’t said anything.” Lindsay returned to his leisurely retirement in the shop.

Relieved there was at least no bad news, Hughes returned to his dormitory and began to meditate.

During his meditation, he found himself once more in his sea of consciousness, gazing at the mental sigils he had half assimilated. The tenth sigil was already a third assimilated.

“Can I use the chip here?” Hughes wondered, looking around his sea of consciousness.

“Chip, analyze how long it will take me to fully assimilate these mental sigils,” he commanded.

“Beep! Estimated time: 97 days!”

As soon as Hughes finished speaking, a blue light screen appeared before him.

“It really works!” Hughes was surprised the chip’s abilities remained accessible even here.

After meditating to his limit, Hughes grew bored and spent some time brewing more potions. He kept himself occupied well into the night before finally drifting off to sleep.

The next morning, Hughes tried contacting Billy again, but still received no response.

With the second-level apprentice assessment ongoing, the entire Shadow Ring felt as though it had fallen into a deep slumber—quiet and lifeless.

Wandering through the vast academy, Hughes saw almost no one. After the third-level apprentice assessment, most were either recuperating or tracking down rumors of who might have obtained the vitality potion.

Hughes found himself visiting the library less often. He hadn’t forgotten his agreement with Milan, though in the end he’d earned his points on his own. Even so, he’d benefited earlier, and with a batch of potions to deal with, he spent most of his time in his room, concocting various brews.

Suddenly—bang, bang, bang! A loud knocking startled Hughes mid-brewing, causing his hand to slip and a burnt smell to waft up. The potion in his hands was ruined.

With a rueful glance at the test tube, Hughes set it down and went to open the door.

As he quietly opened his dormitory door, Hughes saw that his visitor was Milan, the one who’d proposed a partnership during the secret realm assessment.

Milan, standing at the door, was not dressed in the academy’s standard wizard’s robe, but in his own clothes. The ornate patterns combined with his handsome features made Milan’s noble bearing especially pronounced.

“Hi, Hughes! May I come in?” Milan smiled, gesturing toward the room.

“Of course.” Hughes stepped aside, allowing Milan to enter.

“I’m here about what happened in the secret realm assessment,” Milan admitted, a little embarrassed. He’d originally hoped to recruit Hughes for his team, but instead had been saved by Hughes several times—a fact that left him somewhat ill at ease.

“We can still work together,” Hughes said, pouring Milan a cup of tea as they sat down face-to-face.

“Really?!” Milan was so excited at this that he nearly leapt to his feet. He hadn’t expected Hughes to still be willing to cooperate.

“Yes, I’ll work with you. But I do have a few conditions,” Hughes replied, looking at Milan’s eager face.