The sun was just starting to rise when the bell rang across the academy grounds. It was loud and deep.
Everyone knew what it meant.
The trial was over.
The rankings were about to be shown.
Examinees began to gather in the main courtyard. They didn't rush. They walked with slow, steady steps, some limping, others with torn cloaks and dried blood still crusted on their respective robe and armor.
Though their wounds had been treated with salves and healing prayers, the weight of the trial still clung to them.
No one spoke.
Not out of fear, but fatigue.
They had all survived the goblin culling. Four hundred to six hundred kills each. The trial was over. The blood had been spilled. Now came the judgment.
At the center of the courtyard stood the Ranking Pillar, a tall slab of black stone veined with faint silver light. It pulsed softly, as if sensing the presence of those who had earned the right to stand before it.
