The third trial required the institutions to team up. For this round, students from different academies were mixed together, bringing entirely different views, opinions, and deep-seated rivalries into the same groups. But that was the true essence of the challenge. Amidst all the pride, chivalry, and fierce competition, the judges wanted to see a simple result: would these young warriors be able to stand together during the simulation, or would they fall apart before the pending border war even began?
"The newly awakened dungeon's teleportation spheres have been opened up," Cassian spoke casually, stepping to the front of the pavilion and glancing at each of his students.
"For this trial, you are all required to fight alongside the very masses that want to see you fail. You are required to solve ancient puzzles you have surely never seen before in your lectures, and you will have to defeat the fierce guardians of the rune dungeon to gather the hidden relics. Are you confident in yourselves?"
"Yes, Your Highness!" The Crimson Vanguard roared back as loud as they ever had, the sheer volume of their voices rattling the wooden stands.
Cassian smirked slightly, feeling a quiet sense of pride in his operational unit. But just as the students began moving toward their assigned teleportation gates, Lucien subtly caught Cassian's arm, pulling him aside into a shaded corner of the staging area, gesturing for Sora to follow them.
"Sir Arden?" Cassian questioned, his eyebrows pulling together.
"The rune dungeon, Your Highness..." Lucien trailed off, his voice low as his ice-blue eyes darted carefully between Cassian and Sora's female glamour. "These specific runes..."
"Sir Arden, what is it? What exactly is going on with the layout?"
"This dungeon... it carries the ancient runes of the Moonborn race," Lucien revealed bluntly.
"What?" Cassian and Sora snapped at the exact same time.
"What is that supposed to mean, Sir Arden?" Sora demanded, his female disguise faltering for a split second as his voice hardened.
"How did you even find out about that?" Cassian chimed in.
"I am a prominent military figure myself, Your Highness," Lucien replied, ignoring the half-elf completely to focus on the prince. "I have my own intelligent networks across the capital as well. Therefore, it does not matter how I found out the information. What matters right now is that this elf absolutely cannot go in there."
"What!?" Sora squirmed, his knuckles whitening.
Cassian stepped between them, his face dropping into a flat, deadpan expression. "Sora was not going to participate in the trial anyway. So it doesn't matter."
"My Lord—" Sora started, his eyes widening.
"Sora, I thoroughly appreciate and acknowledge your hard work throughout these past trials, but that is enough now," Cassian interrupted, his voice turning cold and authoritative. "You cannot keep on endlessly exhausting your mana reserves like this; you will harm the child. You are pregnant, Sora, so act like it and take proper care of yourself. Not to mention that you nearly got hurt badly during the unexpected events of the second trial, so we simply cannot have a repeat of that."
"But Your Highness, I have become significantly stronger since then, and my internal mana pool has expanded!"
"It expanded for the child's sake, not for active fighting," Cassian corrected, crossing his arms. "Sora, you are sitting this one out. That is final."
"But I want to find out more about my roots," Sora argued, his voice shaking with a sudden, raw emotion as he took a step closer to the prince. "I want to know about the Moonborns—the bloodline that has been forcefully taken away from me and nearly erased from our history books. And besides, I do not think there is a single person in the Crimson Vanguard who can decipher the ancient Moonborn language other than me."
"Then someone else from another academy's team will do it," Cassian replied smoothly.
Sora glared at him, his jaw tightening.
"And since when does the Crimson Vanguard rely on their competitors to do the work instead of completely crushing them?"
"Since today," Cassian countered without a single blink. "They will need to learn to work with each other as the future warriors of this continent."
"Your Highness..." Sora sulked, his shoulders dropping as he looked down at the floorboards.
"His Highness is completely right, you little thing," Lucien chimed in, a mocking undertone in his deep voice as he looked down at Sora. "What if something unexpected happens inside the dungeon, the pressure drops, and you end up revealing your true identity to the entire capital?"
"Then I will take full responsibility for it myself," Sora snapped back, before turning his gaze back to Cassian with pleading eyes. "Just please grant me this one little favor, My Lord. I have never asked for much from you, have I? Please, Your Highness. If I can get into that ruin, perhaps I will find something truly valuable left behind by my kind... just this once."
Lucien let out a heavy sigh, turning his head to look directly at Cassian. Cassian stood perfectly still, his analytical mind running the numbers as he looked back at the knight.
"Sir Arden, what are the exact mathematical chances that Sora could get executed on the spot once his true identity is discovered by the high priests?"
"We both know it is a highly probable outcome," Lucien answered straightly, his tone turning serious. "And you would be severely implicated in the treason as well. But I could easily protect you, My Prince—just not him. In fact, I would have to frame absolutely everything on him in order to clear your name, of which I wouldn't mind at all. I would be glad to have him completely gone from your space. But the real question is... are you prepared to lose your mate and your first heir?"
"Sora just needs to tread carefully so that we do not reach that specific point," Cassian murmured.
Lucien blinked, a flash of genuine surprise crossing his face before he gave a dark chuckle. "You didn't say no. My Prince, you are truly heartless indeed, Your Highness."
"Yet you are still firmly glued to this villainous prince's side, Sir Arden," Cassian scoffed easily, before turning his full attention back to the half-elf. "You thoroughly know the cost of taking such a massive risk, right?"
Sora softly nodded, looking down at his boots. He nervously began fidgeting with the fabric of his uniform sleeves, chomping down hard on his lower lip.
"Are you completely willing to pay that cost?" Cassian pressed, his eyes locking onto him. "Even if it means losing your life and the child?"
A heavy silence hovered over the three of them for a long moment, the distant cheers of the stadium fading into background noise. Sora gulped down his fear, lifting his head back up to look straight into Cassian's eyes with absolute determination.
"I promise you with my life on the line, I will be careful," Sora stated firmly. "And if I am found out, then I will take the entire blame for deceiving His Highness and his subjects. I will clear your name."
Cassian looked at Sora for a brief second, calculating the variables, before finally giving a single, firm nod. "Very well then. Go and join the rear line of the Vanguard. But if something goes wrong, I will have Sir Arden execute you himself without hesitation."
Sora turned his head to look at Lucien, and the Knight Commander smirked down at him, his hand resting comfortably on his broadsword.
"Fair enough," Sora sighed, tidying up his uniform posture and smoothing out the fabric. "I won't disappoint you."
"Good," Cassian said, turning back toward the arena gates. "Then let us go."
*****