Chapter 593: Sophia's Speech
Silence followed her words.
Sophia let the silence sit for a moment, her gaze sweeping slowly across the trainees standing before her—the ones who had passed, the ones who stood taller now, even if they didn't fully realize it yet.
Then she spoke again.
"Becoming a trainee…" she began, her voice steady, "…doesn't end when you get into the ranks."
A few brows furrowed.
Some exchanged glances.
Sophia tilted her head slightly.
"You just stop being called one," she continued. "That's all."
A faint ripple of quiet amusement passed through the lines.
"But the learning?" she added. "That doesn't stop."
Her gaze shifted briefly—toward the line behind her.
Toward the examiners.
"Ethan told us something," she said. "During training."
A few heads turned instinctively toward him.
"He said that after he passed…" Sophia continued, "…he almost died on his first mission into the forest."
There was a shift in the air.
