NOVEL NEXT Chapter 370: The Final Test
Ren exhaled slowly. "Well, I believe it's time to take our leave."
"Yeah." Thorn nodded frantically, not taking his eyes off the ground below. "Let's get out of here."
Just as the mercenaries surged towards them, unsheathing their swords as they attacked, Ren simply stretched his hand on both sides, touching Thorn and Lilith.
"Heh."
With a chuckle at the futile efforts of their attackers, he teleported away, leaving behind an empty branch for the mercenaries, who arrived half a second later.
There was a soft whoosh of displaced air as they reappeared beside the massive gate through which they had entered the testing grounds hours ago.
"That was easy." Thorn said, almost like he couldn't believe it. "The final battles were always tough. Now, I'm getting suspicious."
"Don't jinx it." Ren muttered as they walked out of the gate, and into the space just beyond the walls.
Standing before them was the same clerk who had handled their registration. He sat beneath another wooden pavilion that had not been there when they'd left, legs crossed, as calm as if he'd never left.
A steaming cup of tea rested on the table beside him. His head turned at their approach, and he stood, brushing snow off his cloak.
"Congratulations." He said simply, voice flat as if this was just another Tuesday. For him, it probably was. "You have completed the examination."
Two guards flanked him now, each in silver armor marked with the sigil of Carthage, three towers within a ring, gleaming even under the weak mountain light.
"Follow me."
Without another word, he turned, and they obeyed, walking behind him through a smaller tunnel carved into the mountain wall to the left of the chamber.
The path was lit by flame sconces, their orange glow illuminating the dark corridors.
The further they walked, the warmer it got, the temperature slowly rising, until there was not a single hint of cold anymore. This was the thing that made Carthage one of the places to be. The temperature.
It was like a city made of summer in a land of extreme winter.
They followed the corridors before arriving in a circular chamber that was lined with stone benches and a low table in the center.
The ceiling arched high above, and glowing veins of crystal ran through the rock. The clerk motioned for them to stand before the table.
"The test has ended." He said. "But one small matter remains."
He stretched his hand towards them. "The fragments."
"Oh." Ren retrieved the fragment with him and Lilith produced the other two. They handed it to the man.
After collecting it, the clerk laid them gently onto the table. With a soft snap, he pushed them together. The fragments fused with a shimmer of red light, and the ruby glowed once before the light dimmed, showing the sigil of Carthage.
Then, in a flash, it crumbled to dust, reforming into a small, metal badge bearing the same sigil.
"This is a badge of citizenship. It grants basic rights within the city. However…"
He held the badge up, just out of reach.
"There is only one spot to fill. Only one of you may receive it. The others must leave. You may choose who enters."
Silence followed. Thorn blinked, and Lilith narrowed her eyes.
Ren stared at the clerk, remaining calm. This was not the deal they had fought for, and just because they wanted to enter the city, that didn't mean he had to take it.
"No." He answered firmly. "We all enter, or none of us enters. With us, it's all or nothing."
He didn't need the test to get into Carthage, but moving incognito would make their work harder. Either way, the three of them had to stay together, or they might never get a chance to claim the Primordial Flame.
There was a pause as the clerk stared at him, eyes cold.
"You understand the decision you're making?" The man asked.
"Yes."
"And the rest of you are okay with it?" He looked at Thorn and Lilith.
Thorn shrugged. "I'm not the one in charge."
"I see." The man nodded.
A pause. Then, he smiled faintly, as if he had been waiting for that.
"Very good."
He reached into his coat again, pulling out two more identical badges. "Then welcome to Carthage."
Ren took his badge slowly, eyes narrowed.
Thorn grabbed his own, still stunned. "Wait, so what would have happened if we'd picked just one of us?"
"The chosen would be allowed entry." The clerk said. "The others would have been turned away. And your choice would have told us even more about you. Things the exam didn't reveal to us."
Thorn frowned slightly. "So, this test was about unity?"
"Correct." The clerk said, nodding. "The council values strength, yes, but they also value loyalty. And you all have displayed tremendous loyalty to each other. It is to be commended."
Lilith hummed. "So we passed because we were loyal to each other."
"You passed because you acted like a team. Welcome to Carthage. Your loyalty, tested under pressure, makes you a less volatile variable."
The clerk stepped aside, gesturing to the large wooden doors behind him that led further into the mountain. "Go on. In there, you will meet those who would show you your new lives."
Ren stood with a nod, saying nothing.
Loyalty? Fuck off. That wasn't what the council was testing.
The council was trying to see if the companions could become weaknesses to each other. To see if they could control one person with the other. And they had their answer.
They now had three new citizens they could use against each other if they ever grew to be a threat.
And so, Ren simply nodded, keeping his thoughts to himself. "Thank you."
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Deep within the forest, far from the path that Ren and his group had taken, the eastern mercenaries were still moving silently.
Though the final fragment had been seized from them, none of them looked tired or defeated.
Then, without warning, the world shifted.
A light shimmered above them, warm and golden, parting the branches. Even the very air froze. They looked up in unison.
A man floated there, the upper half of his face hidden behind a silver mask. His robe was dark, woven through with strands of gold that shimmered like starlight. Mist trailed from him, evaporating before it touched the ground.
"Well done." He said, voice deep and strange, like wind echoing through a canyon. "You have passed my test."
The mercenaries froze. No one reached for a weapon, for they knew they were standing before a Rank 9 Knight, the pinnacle of power. An elder of Carthage.
"You have proven yourselves to me." The masked man continued. "From this day forward, you are citizens of Carthage. You will enter not as petitioners... but as my disciples."
His eyes glowed beneath the mask. The light above them folded inward like a flower closing, and the masked man vanished.
None of the mercenaries spoke for a long time.
Then one of them, the leader, smiled faintly.
"I suppose we took the right path after all."
He turned back towards the north, where the great mountain gates of Carthage waited in silence.
They began to walk.
Together.