Seth made it, barely. But he made it.

As the doors closed behind him, the fifty-something group of youths slowly advanced through the bad-lighted passage. The instructor’s voice echoed in the back, stating the rules of the assessment and making sure that all of them understood that trouble-makers wouldn't be tolerated.

There weren't a lot of rules Seth should be worried about. But it wasn't bad to be warned of them a few times, no one would like to find themselves rejected for forgetting such a trivial thing.

After some minutes, Seth was forced to squint trying to adjust to the sudden change in brightness as they exited out of the dark, long passage. Only when the blinding glow subsided was he able to make out the details of the hall they were in, and he had to admit he found himself surprised by the view he found ahead.

This is surely unexpected, he thought, looking around.

The brightly lit area was an indoor, wooden-floored arena with many rows of standard theatre seats around. While most of the seats were empty, the tense atmosphere was nearly palpable as everyone’s attention fell on the two people standing at the centre of the arena. On their auras, specifically.

On one side, with a slightly lower stature, stood an old man with a jagged scar running down from his forehead to his collarbone. A heavy-looking warhammer rested on his right shoulder, shining with a silver-white lustre as the light from the aperture above reflected itself against the cold steel. He looked a long way ahead of his early fifties, but with his thick arms and bulky figure, there wasn't really a point in worrying about him collapsing by the sheer weight of the human-sized warhammer.

The old man looked at the fifty-something group of candidates and raised his warhammer. Pointing toward the pair of twin instructors that had guided them there.

"Okay, little donkeys. The twins had probably already informed you all about the rules of the assessment. So, I will skip that part. Now,” an aura started to spread from him, making the very air grow heavy. “All the issues of the Ranking Competition are leaving us with little time to rest and a lot of work to do. So, I will not tolerate any misbehaving from some hot-headed kids.

“I’m Richard by the way, the examiner of this hall,” he said, pointing at the slender man on his side. “And he’s Vincent, one of the novices from Sacred Church that had come to give us a hand with the assessments.”

The middle-aged man didn't seem to be in the mood to go in-depth into the topic. He took a few steps back to the other side of the arena and began calling out their names one by one, splitting the group in two; half with Richard and the other half with the slender guy from Sacred Church.

Seth’s expression grew sharper as he studied him.

The young man wore a loose golden robe that reached all the way to his ankles and had the symbol of the Sacred Church, a golden sword, embroidered on the right side of the chest and both sleeves. It was the exact, same attire the people from the Sacred Church used for their low-level members. Seth wasn’t a fan of flashy clothes, but he had to admit they suited him perfectly. The long, blond hair reaching his shoulders, those pair of sky-blue eyes and his fair skin made the entire attire look… splendid.

And slightly feminine, Seth added in his mind.

Anyway, he only looked to be a few cycles older than him, and, from his aura alone, Seth could easily imagine how much stronger he was.

“As Richard had said, I go by Vincent,” he gave them a short salute, “Vincent Flamirith, from the Flamirith Family.”

There was a slight reaction from the crowd to the mention of one of the few native families that still lingered in Darkhold City, even Seth couldn't but raise his eyebrows in surprise. Though not with the same flavour as the rest of the guys in the group.

He had never really paid attention to the forces that ruled the Darkhold City, at least those that weren't the Sacred Church or the Adventurer Guild. He had better things to take care of rather than bother with them.

While they could only be considered as mere, distant branches, they were still two of the most influential institutions one could find in the entire Southern Border. Which spoke by itself of the reputation, might and repercussion they had in everyone’s everyday life. It was only natural that Seth knew a bit about them, especially him who literally resided in a building meters away from the Eastern Temple.

On the other hand, the few native families that still existed in Darkhold City, like the Flamirith Family or even the Akura House were nothing in comparison. And their influence, outside the borders of the city, was practically nonexistent. Shadows of what they had once been.

Of course, that was only when comparing them with mammoths like the Sacred Church or the Adventure Guild. They were still monsters in Seth’s eyes, out of his league… or so they believe.

Today, he would see with his own eyes what a real member of a renowned household could do. And the mere thought of it made his blood boil with expectation.

“We don’t have much time to go with the usual 1vs1 and aspect examination, so we will skip the last one and directly go with 1vs1 and then I will decide if you pass or not.” As he said so, Vincent took a notebook from his pocket. “Okay, the first one will be… Olivia Drogodrik!”

As the words echoed, a girl—who looked to be around Seth’s age, if slightly older—slowly made her way from the rear of the group. With her curly black hair barely reaching her shoulders, a pair of black eyes and gleaming dark skin—Seth had to admit she was a great, exotic beauty.

Stopping right before Vincent, the girl inclined her head slightly, cupping her hands.

Vincent returned the nod and cleared his throat, eying her more than necessary. “Let's begin, then.”

As he said so, both groups took a seat on the side as Richard, Vincent and their respective examinees positioned themselves on each side of the arena. No more words were exchanged afterwards.

Silence prevailed in the arena for the next two or three seconds, all the gazes were naturally drawn to the beauty of today's assessment. Seth wasn't an exception.

Olivia exploded in motion.

There were a couple of metres separating each other, but that didn't seem to bother her as Seth found her fist already in range of Vincent’s body; nonetheless, the novice didn't seem surprised by that. A simple step to the side was enough to make her miss.

Olivia didn't stop there. Twisting her body, the heel of her left foot came rushing to his face. A notch faster.

Again, that didn’t seem to be enough.

Vincent's hand blurred an instant before the kick connected, and with a sudden jerk of his wrist, it sent Olivia flying over his shoulder.

"I must say, your strength and mana control are quite decent, Miss Drogodrik,” Vincent said, his eyes sharpening all of the sudden as he gave the girl a broad smile. “It had been some time since I saw someone of your clan so far away from home, but it appears all of you are still as annoying as ever.”

Olivia only snorted as she raised her hands, “You’re not bad either, golden boy.”

There was a tinge of ridicule at the end of the sentence, clearly referring to Vincent's outfit. Though, Seth wasn't sure how she got the nerves to say that while looking at her attire.

Her plain, sparkling white robe wasn’t really that different when compared to Vincent’s one—even if it was a notch lower in quality and design. Seth didn’t know if the issue that the robe didn’t manage to conceal her slender (and well proportioned) body was on purpose or not, but neither he nor the rest of the males present were going to make a fuss about it.

He didn’t have much time to bother with his thoughts as Olivia’s subsequent action surprised him.

What came to Seth’s sight were a pair of murky green hands, like seaweed, radiating a vague repulsive aura that he couldn't quite describe in words. But Olivia didn't waste time, and, before Seth could finish analysing her aspect, another exchange began. Fiercer than the last.

“I never thought I would see a Wiccan this far away from the Cimmerian Forest,” Seth muttered, incredulous.

“Oh, you know about Olivia's lineage?” A slender, tall boy with the same pristine dark skin and raven hair but brown eyes asked in hushed tones. Taking a few steps in his direction. As though not wanting to involve the gaped guys around them in their conversation.

Seth thought for a moment, and then said.

“If you’re referring to the fact that there’s a slim possibility that one of her ancestors was a Wiccan or a distant relative of the clan,” he said, “then yeah, I'm fairly sure of that. ”

The guy was a bit startled by Seth's knowledge, “I didn't know there were people who know about them this far away from our homeland,”

Seth gave him a strange look, his acting skills as flawless as always. “You know, the information is in the Central Library and everyone could read about the Cimmerian Forest and pretty much everything about the rest of the continent. It’s just that barely anyone bothers with those things as we're in a quite insulated corner.”

Seth inspected him up and down, his kinship with her clear to the naked eye.“Anyway, by your looks, you should know much more than me.”

He nodded slowly, and when he opened his mouth to say something… a crashing sound reverberated through the arena. Looking back, they found Vincent had been blasted to the walls of the arena. Arms and legs on his sides, embedded a few inches inside the grey coloured walls.

“That was a surprise,” Vincent muttered, taking himself out of the wall as small pieces of stone and dust fell to the floor. Leaving a vague figure of his body behind, like when someone makes angels on the snow.

He didn’t seem to be hurt anywhere, though. Not even the pristine white robe was affected, aside from the tiny pieces of debris and dust attached to the fabric.

Seth frowned slightly as he looked in the opposite direction.

A panting Olivia stood, bent with both hands on her knees and sweating buckets. She wasn’t hurt, either. But in retrospect, the one who delivered the blow was in a worse condition than the one who received it.

Seth blinked, and there it goes my elite-Flamirith’s-vs-Wiccan battle analysis.