I feel cold and numb, and I am tired of walking through this snowy void. I know the Old Man said it would take a few hours, but it’s already been three hours and I still don’t see a fort…or anything for that matter. Mallorc holds his hand up to have me stop and quickly draws his sword. I see a white flash from the corner of my eye cut in half by a swish of the Old Man’s blade, red dying the snow around our feet as a long ferret-like monster’s corpse lies wnearby. I can still see tension on Mallorc’s face, so I lower my monk’s spade into the first form, waiting. I feel the pressure pulling my nerves taut until I see five flashes coming at us from different directions. I turn quickly, twisting my weapon through the full first form of Stem and Petal Strike. I feel resistance across the blade as it bites into the neck of the monster attacking from my blind spot. It falls at my feet—the first monster I’ve ever slain—excitement bubbling in me as I finally make practical progress to my adventuring goals.

  That excitement is broken by a sharp pain in my hamstring as I am brought to the ground by another monster waiting for a moment of distraction. I feel the wind whip around Mallorc’s blade as it beheads the monster, leaving me covered in both of our blood. He surveys the area once more before sheathing his sword. He kneels down to look my wound over before pulling a flask from his belt, my mana sense catching an abrupt flash of mana flooding the object before he hands it to me. I take a big gulp of the hot herbal tea and feel the mana flood through my veins as the pain in my leg quickly fades. I look back at the spot to see the skin is slightly scarred but no longer bleeding. I hand the flask back to the Old Man, seeing him also take a drink from it before replacing it at his hip.

  He smacks me on the back of the head. “Don’t celebrate a win until the battle is over. I didn’t think that is something I’d have to teach you.”

  “I’m sorry, Master. That was the first monster I’ve ever killed, and I got lost in that accomplishment.”

  He nods a little, the chastisement fading from his face. “Don’t forget to grab its core, then. Everyone should have a trophy from their first kill.”

  I smile at that and take the dagger he’s extended down to me in offering. Pulling it from its sheath, I slice the monster open, finding a small orb sitting where you’d expect to see its heart. Cores can be worth something if sold in the city, but as things stand, it doesn’t make sense to harvest all of the cores from these monsters, as their size and relative weakness means they won’t be worth too much. Money aside ,though, the pride I feel holding my first core washes away my mental exhaustion, and I’m prepared for the next leg of the journey.

  I hop to my feet, place the core in the robes inner pocket, and replace the monk’s spade at my back, ready to go. The Old Man smiles and nods his head in the direction we’ve been heading before moving at a slow jog. I am slow to follow, surprised by the increase of pace, but I soon fall in behind him as we slog through the dense snow.

  After what feels like miles, I’m ragged and heaving deep breaths. I call after Mallorc, “Master! Slow down! I need to take a break.”

  I hear his laughter cut through the windless tundra. “Camden, we are only five minutes away. Keep up, boy!”

  Looking around, there are still no buildings on the arctic expanse. Unsure if the cold has gotten to his head or if I am somehow going blind, I continue following him—cramping pain biting into my unconditioned sides. One thing this expedition has taught me is that I am not in as good of shape as I thought. All of the physical combat training I work on is focused on quick bursts of strength and speed, with nothing improving my overall stamina. I definitely need to build some running and general conditioning into my routine.

  The five minutes come to a close as Mallorc’s jog comes to an abrupt stop. I came to stand next to him, taking in our surroundings and seeing a vast, empty expanse around us. I look at him expectantly, but he just remains there, watching me.

  “Well?” I eventually ask breaking the silence.

  He chuckles. “Well, Cam. What do you think about your new home for the next few months?”

  “Ummm. There is nothing here. Old Man, please tell me you’re not just planning on leaving me out here and having me fight my way back as some form of delayed training. I’d really prefer not to die here.”

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  “I’m not leaving you out here to die. Boy, you really can be so dramatic. Pull out your Status Card and run some mana through it.”

  Shaking my head at the unnecessary comment about how dramatic I am, I do as he says. As soon as the mana touches the Status Card, it starts to glow, and a segment of the ground in front of us begins to lift, revealing a poorly lit hallway similar to the one back at the tea shop. Mallorc ducks through the entrance and I follow a few feet behind him. Once I’m about five feet into the tunnel, I hear the door close behind me. The majority of our light disappears, leaving us led only by the dim light of old glowstones. The Old Man’s silhouette and dull footsteps continue leading me forward through the tight hallway until we come across a giant, heavily decorated wooden door adorned with a gold handle and matching accents.

  Mallorc looks back at me before nodding his head forward. “Are you ready for The School?”

  “Well since I know nothing about it other than I will be training here…no. But seeing as I have no other options, let’s get the show on the road.”

  He shakes his head with a small laugh before he pushes the door open. Bright light floods the hallway, and I’m temporarily blinded. As my eyes adjust, my mana sense flared wildly. Everything in this room is flooded with mana, and I’ve never experienced anything like this before. The hallway opens up into a cavern at least a few square miles wide, with ancient buildings forming a small town. Through the mouth of the cavern, I see a frozen sheet of ice letting sunlight magnify into the space, brightly lighting it. There are around a hundred individuals mulling between buildings, wearing similar robes to ours and carrying a variety of weapons. I’m most surprised by the number of beasts and monsters that seem to mill and fly about the space, unconcerned with the humans in their presence. After too many seconds, I notice that my mouth is actually agape in awe and I close it quickly in embarrassment. I look to Mallorc and see him watching me, eyes gleaming and a nostalgic smile plastered on his face.

  He speaks up with more levity and joy in his voice then I’ve heard since Sowing Day. “Cam, welcome to The School!”

  Unaware of what awaits me for the next few months, I am able to forget about the devils—if even for a few minutes. Lost in the beauty of the surrounding magic and hopeful for my potential to grow stronger through this training, I eventually notice a solitary man heading up the main path toward us. His robe is royal blue with gold trim along his collar and sleeves. I notice a pair of gold glasses resting on the bridge of his nose, and though he gives off an ancient aura, he looks like he couldn’t be older than thirty.

  When he is only a few feet away he greets us. “Welcome! Welcome to The School. I take it that you are here to be trained for your class, and since the gate allowed you in, it must be quite unique. My name is Sagaryn, but you can call me Professor Ryn or just Professor for the duration of your...” Once his gaze falls on the Old Man, he stops mid-sentence. “Stay. Mallorc, is that really you? I wasn’t expecting to ever see you back here after you were failed out for your mischief.”

  Mallorc grimaces at the painful reminder. “Yes, Professor Ryn, it’s me. I’m bringing my disciple here to train under you all. I never did plan to bring Camden here, but I’m not left with many choices. I don’t imagine word has made it here yet, but the devils are breaking through the portals—the war has started again.”

  I expect to see surprise flash across the Professor’s face, but instead I see a grim sadness. “You’re right that word hasn’t made it here yet. We had an oracle student predicting this, but they are still too new to their power for us to know when it would happen.” He releases a deep breath and turns his attention to me. “Very well—Camden I take it. What is your Class and what is your training progress so far?”

  I look at Mallorc, who gives me an approving nod. “Tea Sage’s Apprentice and I just started my Inheritance so I am still at Low Tier One.”

  The Professor turns his attention to the Old Man. “Just because we took you in at such a low level, you think we will do so for everyone? I told you when you came to us that we were making an exception for you.” He turns back to me, “Listen kid, we don’t generally take anyone below Middle Tier One. We need to know that our students have their own drive for self-improvement, because for the most part this is a self-study place of learning.”

  I could feel frustration radiating off Malloc as the Professor spoke down to me. “Listen, Sagaryn. Give him the test like you did me and then start training him rather than giving us this whole farce. If you didn’t hear me before, there is a war going on, and I need to get back out there to save people from DYING!”

  Sagaryn pauses before making small humming sound. “Really wasn’t expecting for you to advocate for The Test, but if it’s you asking for it, Mallorc, then I am okay giving it to the kid. I mean, you almost died from it, so I’m sure you wouldn’t call for it if you didn’t think your student could handle it.” He clicks his tongue in a loud tsk. “Follow me, Camden. We will take you to the testing arena.”

  I rapidly look back and forth between the retreating figure of Sagaryn and Mallorc. I don’t want to do anything that almost killed the Old Man. “Um, do I have a say in whether or not I take this life-threatening test?”

  Mallorc storms after Sagaryn. “No! Now come on, Cam!”