Ezra’s eyes opened suddenly, his vision snapping back into focus as the familiar ceiling of his tent came into view above him. The fabric moved slightly from the wind outside, the faint creaking of the frame reminding him where he was.

His eyes narrowed immediately.

A quiet breath left his lips, then he sighed.

The memory came back.

After taking the heat stimulant pills, he had slumped on the ground without realizing it.

"I fainted..."

He muttered to himself; his voice low as he frowned slightly.

Again.

He pushed his body up slowly, feeling the stiffness in his arms as his muscles protested. His gaze dropped to his hands, noticing the bandages wrapped around them, clean but firm, showing that someone had taken the time to treat him properly.

"You are awake."

A cheerful voice came from his left.

Ezra turned his head without surprise because he already knew who it was.

"Didn’t expect you to be the one resting on a bed," Ezra said calmly, his face still expressionless.

"Hehehe..."

Veda laughed lightly, sitting nearby.

"The Kalian was a Meister rank opponent, so it was really hard for me," he replied, his tone relaxed, though there was a hint of exhaustion hidden beneath it.

"Hmm."

Ezra gave a short response and shifted his gaze forward.

That was when he saw them.

Nickolas, Tracy and Linda.

She lay still on the bed.

Bobby stood beside her, along with two other members of the medical team, carefully observing her condition. Their movements were slow and focused, their expressions serious as they rechecked her wounds and breathing.

Mariam stood close to them.

Her eyes were swollen red, she had clearly cried for a long time.

Even Bobby didn’t look well.

His posture was unsteady, his shoulders slightly lowered, as if he was forcing himself to remain standing. The tiredness in his eyes was obvious, but he still continued working, discussing something quietly with the others.

"He took care of all of us who were injured without sleeping or eating much," Veda said, watching Bobby with a proud look on his face, like a father watching his son grow into a man.

"Ehh..."

Ezra stared at Bobby for a moment, observing the way he moved, the way he spoke, the way he still worked despite how exhausted he looked.

"You must be proud," Ezra said, turning his head back toward Veda.

Veda didn’t deny it.

He simply smiled.

Ezra leaned back slightly on the bed, resting his head as silence settled between them, but...

Ezra could see it.

Even with that smile...Veda wasn’t fine.

"We lost people, Ezra."

Veda’s voice came out low shaking slightly.

"Yeah," Ezra replied, his eyes lifting toward the tent ceiling again as the image of the three boys among the five assigned to his side flashed through his mind, their deaths replaying quietly in his memory.

"If only I was stronger..."

Veda’s hand tightened. His brows twitched.

"I could have saved more people," he said, his voice carrying a weight that wasn’t easy to ignore.

Ezra turned his head and looked at him staying silent for a moment, then he spoke.

"You are a good person, Veda."

Veda froze.

His eyes widened slightly. He didn’t expect Ezra to say something like that.

Then...

A smile spread across his face. Bright, too bright for someone who was blaming himself a moment ago.

"Are you trying to cheer me up?" Veda asked, leaning slightly forward with a light in his eyes.

"Huh?"

Ezra stared at him plainly.

His mood changed too fast.

Ezra narrowed his eyes slightly.

"Don’t worry, Ezra," Veda said, pointing to himself with a small grin. "I’m just sad and frustrated, but that only shows I still have a long way to go before I reach my goal."

His smile widened again.

Ezra didn’t reply, he just looked at him for a moment longer, then turned his head away resting.

Later that day...

Both Ezra and Veda left the recovery tent.

Veda didn’t waste time.

He immediately gathered everyone who could still move and assigned tasks, his voice steady as he directed them to dig graves for those who had died. The sound of shovels hitting the ground began to echo softly across the area, although the mood of everyone was heavy, but no one delayed instead they all worked, using it to chase their sorrows away.

After that, he planned for the Scholar’s Bow, to be held once the remaining injured regained consciousness, so the fallen could be sent off properly.

At the same time, the rest of the group worked on cleaning the castle, removing broken structures, gathering usable materials, and preparing to leave, since the fourth week was already coming to an end.

Later, Veda went to check the rankings for the third wave, but nothing appeared which didn’t surprise him since the wave had ended, there was no longer a need for points and with that, no more need for ranking.

Minewhile... Ezra moved to his side of the castle; the place looked different now.

Empty.

The five who were always their playing cards, greeting him when he entered and fighting amongst themselves, were gone. Three dead while the remaining two – worked with the rest on the other side of the castle.

Ezra moved to the barricade on the castle, looking at the battlefield in front of him.

The bodies of the Kalians were gone, then he remembered before he fainted...

He had seen the last one he killed... Its body turned into dust.

"There’s more to these monsters..."

He muttered quietly.

The battlefield itself was in ruins, the ground was uneven, traps had left marks everywhere, broken wood, shattered mechanisms, and scattered debris covered the area, also the top floor of the castle where he stood was disfigured badly.

He began cleaning.

Dragging broken parts aside, removing what remained of the destroyed catapults. He cleaned the floor and the battlefield, then rearranged the camp fire and his tent while for the traps, there was no need to reset them anymore since the third wave had ended and with the agreement between the leaders, there was no need to prepare for another group attack.

Weapons didn’t need restocking.

So, for now...

It was over.

The day passed like that, even with the sadness pressing on them, the group continued working, moving because they had to and like that, the next day came.

Most of the unconscious members woke up.

Nickolas and Tracy, both being amongst the people to regain their consciousness, but...

When Tracy saw Linda still lying on the bed, unmoving, hearing about what happened to her that made her to be in this stage...

She broke.

Tears streamed down her face as she rushed to her side, her voice trembling as she called her name.

Bobby reassured her that Linda was stable and breathing fine. Meaning she won’t die, but she had lost a lot of blood, her Cognis wasn’t a level where it could recover the lost blood although, if not for her quick use of Cognis to slow the damage...

She would have died.

"She will wake up," Bobby said. "But not soon."

That evening...

After almost all the people unconscious had woken up, they held the Scholar’s Bow.

The atmosphere was a bit heavier than before, with some crying openly, others clenched their fists, teeth gritted holding it in, but after the ceremony, no one remained affected by the emotion of losing close friends and relatives.

The remaining days passed more quietly although the pain didn’t disappear, but they continued their lives moving forward slowly.

Henry’s group arrived later with a few members of his group, his group also suffered from the third wave, but they also moved on strongly.

Veda had to fulfill the agreement they made earlier, when Linda went to negotiate for the farming of boulders.

He made Veda agree to a one-on-one spar.

In Henry’s eyes, if he beats or draws the fight long, the board watching could evaluate his strength higher, increasing his rank. This was why he also agreed on the request Veda asked when he called all the leaders for a meeting.

Everyone from Veda’s group gathered excited and curious although Tired—but still eager to watch.

Only two didn’t go.

Tracy, who stayed with Linda and Ezra, who had gone into a cycle of spending his time in his tent, resting and studying during the passing of the days.

The fight began.

Henry wasn’t weak.

He was known for his skill in hand-to-hand combat, a Full Alchemist in the Novice rank with high Cognis.

Some of his people expected him to give Veda a proper challenge, but...

The fight ended quickly, too quickly.

As the person refereeing the spar dropped his hand down, commencing the fight...

Veda flashed in a blink, in front of Henry, fist up...

Boom...

One punch.

That was all it took.

The entire crowd went silent, especially Henry’s group.

After the fight with the Kalian...While circulating his Cognis...Veda noticed something pleasing to him.

His level had increased now closer to Meister rank and his physical abilities without the enhancement of Cognis had improved a step as well.

Henry’s group left in shock and just like that...

The day passed, then another and with that...

The Fifth Trial ended.

***

All groups exited through the six doors, returning back to the hall where everything had begun.

Noise filled the space, voices overlapping each other, movement everywhere.

Many of the children were injured. Bandages wrapped around arms, legs, and torsos. Some were unconscious, being supported by others.

The number of candidates had reduced.

A lot.

Making this trial to the one with the highest numbers of lives lost.

Everyone stood still, their bodies aligned almost instinctively as they faced the podium, because the moment they stepped into the hall and saw Raymond and Kyle already waiting, they understood that something important was about to be announced.

No one spoke again.

The noise that had followed them in, slowly died down, replaced by a quiet tension that spread through the hall like something unseen pressing against their skin.

Raymond stood there.

Straight and unmoving.

His expression did not change, his eyes calm and cold as they swept across the gathered candidates, and that alone was enough to make many of them straighten their posture unconsciously.

It felt like being watched by something that could see through them completely.

"Congratulations to all of you... who survived the Fifth Trial."

His voice came out deep and steady, not loud, yet it carried across the entire hall without effort.

The words should have sounded like praise, but they didn’t.

There was no warmth in them, no comfort.

Only a simple acknowledgement that they survived.

That was all that mattered.

Some of the children lowered their heads slightly at those words, their minds flashing back to the battlefield, to the screams, to the bodies they had buried just hours ago.

Others stood still, their faces blank, as if they had already accepted everything that had happened.

"Like we said..."

Raymond continued, his gaze moving slowly from one group to another, lingering just long enough to make those he looked at feel exposed.

"The Trials will be coming thick and fast."

He paused.

The silence stretched.

No one dared to interrupt it, as he observed them.

Carefully.

Some looked worried, their brows slightly furrowed as they processed what that meant.

Some looked exhausted, their bodies barely holding steady after everything they had gone through.

Some had no expression at all, their eyes dull, as if they had already numbed themselves to whatever was coming next.

Many were still covered in bandages, some had blood stains that hadn’t been fully cleaned, others stood with slight limps, their injuries hidden but not gone.

Raymond saw all of it and yet...

His expression did not change.

"The Sixth Trial begins immediately tomorrow."

Silence.

Then...

A ripple, not of sound but of reaction.

WHAT!

No one shouted it, no one dared to.

But that word spread through them all the same, the shock visible in their widened eyes, in the way some of them stiffened, in the way a few clenched their fists tightly without realizing it.

A few quiet groans escaped here and there, quickly suppressed. Some exchanged glances, others looked down.

The weight of the Fifth Trial had not even settled yet and now...

Another one was already here.

Frustration, worry and fear.

All of it began to rise quietly among them.

Of course, out of the children, there were some who didn’t look bothered by the revelation.

"Ease yourselves."

Raymond’s voice cut through the atmosphere sharply.

Not loud, but absolute.

The tension that had started building was pressed down instantly, like something heavy had been placed over it.

"Although the Sixth Trial will start tomorrow..."

He continued; his tone unchanged.

"It is not a trial that must be completed immediately."

That only made things worse.

Confusion spread across their faces, some frowned, some looked up again, trying to understand.

What did that even mean?

Raymond did not leave them guessing for long.

"The trial is a tower-climbing challenge with ten floors inside."

As he spoke, a hologram formed behind him.

A massive tower appeared, towering high above them in the projection, detailed enough that it felt real.

The candidates’ eyes lifted toward it almost at the same time.

Some stared in silence while some swallowed dryly.

"On each floor..."

Raymond continued, his voice steady, each word clear.

"You will face illusionary versions of the top ten Gun Alchemists of Ashenlocke during their time as Novice alchemists and the top three, in their time as Binder alchemists."

A faint shift moved through the crowd, that statement alone carried weight.

The top ten.

"You will face them in the gun tradition of quick draw...Akai."

As the words left his mouth, the tension changed.

It wasn’t just fear anymore, pressure, heavy pressure mixed into their minds.

"Only four people can enter the tower at the same time."

Raymond’s eyes moved across them again.

"Which means the trial will continue for three weeks, with everyone taking turns to climb the tower."

Three weeks.

Some of them let out slow breaths, others tightened their jaws again.

There would be no rushing this time, but even with that, the pressure still remained.

"The tower is already placed in the training ground."

He paused just slightly, then finished...

"Good luck."

There was no encouragement in those words, just a statement.

Without waiting for any response, Raymond turned, Kyle followed immediately behind him.

The guards moved as one, leaving the hall in silence and just like that they were gone.

For a moment...

No one moved.

The weight of what they had just heard lingered heavily in the air while some processed their next step.

Then...

Movement returned.

Nurses entered quickly, their expressions focused as they moved toward those who were still unconscious or too injured to stand. They carried them carefully, their steps urgent but controlled, taking them toward the infirmary.

Around them, the rest of the candidates began to gather into their groups again.

Some discussed in low voices, some remained silent while some tried to act normal, but the truth was clear in their eyes. 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝚠𝕖𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝕖𝚕.𝚌𝗼𝗺

The Fifth Trial had not broken them...But it had changed them and now...

Without rest...

They had to prepare again because the Sixth Trial...Was already waiting.