It was 7 in the morning.
Mara slowly opened his eyes.
He still looked sleepy. His eyes seemed heavy, as if it had taken him a long time to fall asleep the previous night.
A moment later, Mara got down from the bed and looked at his face in the large mirror beside him.
Then he quietly said to himself,
"That dream from last night made my condition worse than death…"
"Let's see what happens today."
A moment later, Mara walked into the washroom.
At 7:20, he finally came back out.
He looked into the mirror once again and laughed lightly.
"I will uncover the truth about my family…" he said confidently.
But suddenly, the smile on his face slowly faded away.
In a quiet voice, Mara muttered,
"I wish Atura had also been selected…"
Mara picked up his bag and wore it over his shoulder.
Then he slowly turned around.
A feeling of disappointment could clearly be seen on his face.
"Can I go to the Red Moon once again…?" he whispered softly.
Suddenly, Mara heard a knock on his room's door.
He slowly walked forward and opened it.
Standing outside were Artha and Vikar, both carrying their bags.
Artha smiled and said, "Come on, brother. Let's go to the Ashram."
Mara nodded lightly. "Yeah, let's go. Today our banner will finally be displayed."
"And maybe we'll also learn more about our ratings, spirit colors, and even atoms."
Hearing this, Vikar sighed and said, "Whatever happens, the Ashram still feels boring to me."
The moment he said that, Mara and Artha both started laughing.
Mara then closed the door of his room, and the three of them silently began walking forward together.
Mara, Vikar, and Artha slowly descended the stairs of their building.
After reaching the ground floor, the three of them turned left and continued walking down the road.
As they continued walking, Artha suddenly showed something to Mara and said proudly,
"Look, brother. My father gave me this watch. I wear it every day."
The moment Artha said that, Vikar suddenly snatched the watch from his hand.
Seeing this, Artha immediately became angry.
"Give my watch back!" he shouted.
After saying that, Artha quickly reached his hand forward to grab it back from Vikar.
But Vikar suddenly began running away laughing.
Artha immediately started chasing after him.
Meanwhile, Mara calmly continued walking forward at his normal pace.
Vikar was running the farthest ahead.
Because he kept looking behind while running, he suddenly crashed into someone standing in front of him.
That person looked strangely calm.
The moment Vikar raised his eyes and looked carefully… he realized it was Ajina.
Dark marks could be seen around Ajina's eyes, as if he were extremely exhausted and hadn't slept the entire night.
Suddenly, Vikar excitedly formed a cross shape with his hands.
Seeing that, a strange smile appeared on Ajina's face.
Without saying a single word, Ajina quietly stepped forward and continued walking ahead.
Vikar and Artha kept staring at him suspiciously.
Ajina eventually walked past them completely.
At that moment, Vikar turned back and loudly shouted toward Mara,
"Hey Mara! Hurry up, or sir will punish us today!"
Mara immediately shouted back,
"Yeah, I'm coming!"
The next moment, Mara began running and quickly passed beside Ajina.
Ajina silently watched Mara for a few seconds.
Then he looked forward again and quietly muttered,
"If Namiya's suffering and this selection had never happened…"
"I would have made Mara's spirit my own."
Mara, Vikar, and Artha quickly ran ahead together.
Meanwhile, Ajina also continued walking forward on his own.
Inside his mind, he quietly thought,
"I need to find a peaceful place…"
On the other side, Mara, Vikar, and Artha moved from the muddy road onto the main paved road.
Suddenly, Vikar stood near the roadside and raised his hand toward a horse carriage approaching from the front, as if trying to stop it.
A few moments later, the horse carriage stopped right in front of Mara, Vikar, and Artha.
Vikar immediately said to the driver,
"We want to go to Vilina Ashram."
After that, the three of them climbed into the roofless horse carriage and sat down together.
After some time, a few policemen standing on the road raised their hands to stop the horse carriage in which Mara, Vikar, and Artha were sitting.
The carriage driver immediately brought the horse carriage to a halt in front of one of the policemen.
That policeman was wearing black sunglasses and a dark blue uniform.
With an arrogant expression, the policeman stretched out his hand and coldly said,
"Tax."
The carriage driver quietly took out some money and handed it over to the policeman without saying a single word.
A few moments later, the horse carriage began moving once again.
After traveling for some time, they reached a rough dirt road filled with countless cracks and holes, as if it had been abandoned for years.
The horse carriage struggled to move forward across the damaged path.
After enduring several difficult moments, they finally managed to pass through the broken road.
Mara angrily said,
"Who made so many holes in this road?"
Vikar casually replied,
"There was negligence during the construction."
"Don't you know? Roads are in this condition almost everywhere."
Hearing that, Mara looked toward Artha in surprise and asked,
"What kind of tax did that policeman take earlier?"
Artha calmly answered,
"He collected a road tax from the carriage driver for using the road."
The moment Mara heard this, he became furious.
"How many taxes do these people even take?" he shouted.
"Tax on food, tax on houses… taxes everywhere!"
"How is an ordinary person supposed to survive like this?"
"We should protest against this!"
The carriage driver suddenly laughed and said,
"We cannot protest."
"Because even if we file a case against them, the police will simply create false evidence and win the case anyway."
Mara immediately asked,
"What kind of false evidence?"
The driver replied calmly,
"They make all kinds of excuses…"
"Like saying there are too many passengers inside the carriage…"
"Or claiming the carriage is damaged."
Mara frowned and said,
"But that's completely wrong."
The driver let out a tired sigh before speaking again.
"All the leaders here are selfish."
"You boys are from Vilina Ashram, right?"
"The four people working there are leaders from different states."
"They may give great speeches and teach noble ideals…"
"But most of those words exist only for show."
"Nothing more."
Just then, Mara noticed the board of Vilina Ashram standing ahead in the distance.
As the horse carriage approached the Ashram, Mara immediately said to the driver,
"You can stop here, uncle."
The driver pulled the reins, and the horse carriage slowly came to a halt.
Before they got down, the carriage driver looked at Mara and quietly said,
"If you truly wish to become a king… or enter politics…"
"Then you must either defeat someone in battle…"
"Or earn the approval of the people."
He paused for a moment before speaking again.
"Although… most rulers here are chosen through battles anyway."
Vikar handed some money to the driver.
After stepping down from the carriage, he confidently said,
"If I ever become king… I'll change everything."
After the horse carriage left, the three of them slowly looked toward the Ashram grounds.
But the moment their eyes fell upon the banners hanging there…
their expressions suddenly changed.
There was no banner carrying the name of their class.
Seeing this, Mara, Vikar, and Artha were completely shocked.
A feeling of disappointment instantly spread across their faces.