Ezra looked at Vera quietly after hearing everything she explained, then his gaze slowly shifted toward the snow gathered on the ground beneath their feet.

Cold wind moved through the training grounds, brushing against the hood covering his head while his mind processed each of her words carefully.

"It obviously won’t be easy getting into the Royal Academy, right?"

He finally asked.

"Yes."

Vera answered immediately.

The amused smile she carried earlier disappeared, turning into a calmer and more serious expression.

"It isn’t easy at all."

She adjusted her sitting posture slightly, crossing one leg over the other again while resting her gloved hands against the bench.

"The Royal Academy only accepts children from the Royal Family, Duke families, Counts, Viscounts, High-Embers, and Low-Embers families that are officially permitted to apply."

Snow drifted down quietly between them.

"What normally happens..."

Vera continued.

"...is that lowline nobles rarely gain access because the available slots are usually reserved for the mainline children of each family."

She glanced sideways at Ezra.

"But because of the Trial of Steel we just went through..."

Her eyes narrowed thoughtfully.

"I think there’s a high chance the top ten candidates will receive the ten allocated slots for the Royal Academy."

Ezra listened silently.

"Of course..."

A teasing smile slowly returned to Vera’s face.

"You still need to rank among the top ten first."

She leaned closer slightly.

"But I’m sure you’ll manage that somehow."

Ezra looked at her without replying.

Then...

The speakers placed around the entire base suddenly came alive with a sharp static sound.

Both Ezra and Vera instinctively looked toward the direction of the nearest speaker.

"Good morning, Children of Ash."

A firm female voice echoed throughout the base.

"You will all be given two weeks of rest and recovery before the Tenth Trial commences."

The voice paused briefly.

"I wish you all good luck."

The speakers shut off afterward and silence returned to the snowy training grounds once more.

"Two weeks of rest..."

Ezra muttered while staring at the speaker mounted high on one of the walls nearby.

"Well..."

Vera stood up slowly from the bench.

"I think that’s all I can tell you for now."

She dusted the light snow off her clothes casually.

"Oh."

She suddenly turned back toward him.

"I already have the perfect idea for the favor you asked me to help you with."

She placed both hands behind her back.

"I’ll tell you the full plan another time."

A small smile appeared on her face.

"Bye."

Vera turned and left.

Ezra watched her figure disappear slowly through the falling snow before finally standing up himself.

At least now...

He had gained the information he needed.

But because of that information...

There were now even more things he needed to rethink about his future after the Trial of Steel ended.

The days passed quietly after that.

The atmosphere around the base remained calmer like before, though traces of tension still lingered beneath the silence.

Most of the candidates remained focused on recovering mentally and physically from the Eighth and Ninth Trials.

Around the middle of the second week, almost every injured candidate had finally left the infirmary, though not all of them were fully healed yet.

Some still walked with bandages wrapped around sections of their bodies and others moved slower than before because of lingering injuries.

Meanwhile, the candidates who only suffered lighter damage during the trials had already returned completely to normal.

During that time...

Ezra met Vera several more times inside the library.

Mostly at his usual reading spot.

The two discussed the favor Ezra requested from her after paying her back with information regarding the use of polymers in gun creation.

And just like that...

The second week ended.

Every candidate woke up early that morning wearing the full Ashenlocke military uniform properly.

Boots echoed loudly across the corridors and hallways of the base while groups of candidates followed behind two guards leading them toward the location of the Tenth Trial.

"So..."

Nickolas rubbed his black gloved hands together while walking.

"It finally begins."

"Idiot."

Tracy immediately teased him.

She raised a brow.

"Shouldn’t it be ’finally ends’ instead of ’finally begins’?"

Nickolas clicked his tongue.

"You know what I meant."

"Hehe... Hehe..."

Veda suddenly wrapped an arm around Nickolas’s shoulders while smiling brightly.

"It’s honestly good seeing everyone alive."

His voice carried genuine happiness.

"Now we just need to survive this final trial..."

He raised his fist slightly.

"And we’re safe."

The members of his group smiled back at him with matching energy.

Even after everything they experienced together...Their bond had clearly grown stronger.

Ezra walked quietly at the side of the group, simply observing them, then Linda, in the middle of the group’s cheerful noise and lively conversation, slowly walked toward him.

The cold air carried the sounds of boots crunching against a few snows on the stone tiles while candidates from different groups talked loudly around them.

"Hey..."

Linda called out awkwardly. She looked completely uncomfortable approaching him alone.

Ezra turned slightly toward her; one brow raised.

"Yeah?"

His tone remained calm, but the look in his eyes clearly showed he was wondering why she suddenly came over quietly like this.

"Argh... how was your... no..."

Linda immediately stumbled over her own words.

Her fingers twitched restlessly at her sides while she avoided direct eye contact for a moment before finally forcing herself to look at him again.

The closer she got to speaking properly, the stiffer her face became.

"I..."

She inhaled once.

"I wanted to say thank you."

The words finally came out.

Even after saying it, her expression looked painful, almost like she had swallowed something bitter just to force those words out of her mouth.

Ezra stared at her for a second.

"A thank you out of nowhere..." He folded his arms slowly. "That’s surprising."

A faint smirk appeared on his face.

Linda’s brows twitched immediately in annoyance after seeing that reaction.

"So, I guess you two..."

Ezra glanced briefly toward Nickolas, who was currently laughing while Veda locked him in a headlock playfully, then Ezra looked back at Linda.

"...were finally able to understand the kind of mindset you need if you actually want to help Veda properly."

His voice remained steady and calm.

Linda clicked her tongue lightly.

"Yeah... yeah..."

She looked irritated now.

Mostly because Ezra had been completely right about her and Nickolas’s shortcomings from the beginning.

The more she thought about it, the more annoyed she became.

"I..."

She opened her mouth again, wanting to continue talking.

But...

"That’s enough for me."

Ezra clapped his hands together once softly. The sound interrupted her immediately.

"I’ve already accepted your thanks."

He adjusted the gloves on his hands casually.

"So whatever else you wanted to say isn’t really my concern anymore."

And just like that...He walked away from her.

Completely naturally.

"Tsk."

Linda clicked her tongue harder this time.

Her eyes narrowed sharply while staring at Ezra’s back.

"This prick..."

She folded her arms tightly.

"I was only trying to tell him what I think now, and he just walks away like that..."

She looked genuinely irritated.

"Is he serious?"

For a few seconds, she kept glaring at him as if trying to stab holes into his back with her eyes alone, but eventually...

She sighed in frustration and turned back toward Tracy and the others.

Ahead and behind them, the voices of candidates continued filling the cold air while everyone walked toward the location of the Tenth Trial.

Surprisingly...

The mood around most groups felt lighter than before.

Excitement, relief and expectation.

Those emotions mixed together in strange ways, even though nobody openly admitted it...

The thought that this was finally the last trial eased part of the pressure buried deep inside their hearts.

"Ahhhh..."

Keith suddenly collapsed dramatically onto Bale’s back.

"Why the hell are we still walking this long?"

"FOOL!"

Bale nearly lost his balance from the sudden weight.

His body dipped forward before he quickly regained footing.

"Get off me!"

"You know..."

Keith spoke lazily while hanging on Bale’s shoulders like a dead body.

"...I’m one of the lightest people in this place."

He paused dramatically.

"No..."

He corrected himself.

"One of the lightest people in the world."

He nodded proudly after saying that nonsense.

"So please carry me."

His sleepy eyes remained half-open while speaking shamelessly.

"Why would I waste energy doing that?"

Bale grabbed Keith’s arm and tried dragging him off while continuing to walk.

"Just use Cognis and strengthen yourself."

Keith yawned loudly.

"That sounds troublesome."

"Get off him, lazy ass."

Fay immediately walked over and kicked Keith off Bale’s back without hesitation.

"Argh!"

Keith crashed onto the snowy ground, outside of the corridor they were walking in dramatically, then he purposely laid there completely flat without moving.

"Get up!"

Fay shouted immediately.

"They’re already leaving us behind, Keith!"

A few girls nearby joined her, trying to drag Keith back onto his feet, but Keith suddenly wrapped both arms around the ground like his life depended on it.

"Noooo!"

He shouted dramatically.

"If nobody carries me..."

He tightened his grip harder against the snow-covered path.

"...then I’m not moving!"

The ridiculous scene quickly caught the attention of nearby candidates from other groups.

Some laughed openly, others shook their heads helplessly while walking past, even a few guards standing farther ahead glanced back briefly before looking away again.

Bale stopped walking completely this time.

He stared at Keith silently for a few seconds.

The veins near his forehead twitched slightly.

"...Why are we even friends with this idiot?"

Keith immediately raised a weak hand from the ground.

"Because deep down..." He spoke like a dying soldier. "...you all love me."

Bale eventually stopped walking altogether.

Snow crunched beneath his boots while he turned back to wait for Keith and the others.

A few members of his group continued moving ahead, already used to situations like this happening around Keith.

"Sir Bale..."

One of the main female candidates from his group walked closer toward him.

Her voice came out softer and low, since she’s a low voice talker.

Bale turned slightly toward her.

She glanced first toward the direction of Veda’s group, then toward Vera’s group farther ahead.

The look in her eyes became thoughtful.

"Now that we’re finally close to the end of the trial..."

She hesitated briefly before continuing.

"Who do you think will win the heir title?"

The wind brushed through the area quietly after her question.

Bale’s eyes slowly shifted toward the two groups again.

Among all the candidates ranked within the top five...

It had already become obvious after the remaining trials progressed.

Veda and Vera stood above everyone else.

The pressure they carried, their influence.

Everything about them naturally pulled attention toward the two twins.

The only problem was...

Nobody truly knew who would stand at the very top between them.

Especially Bale.

Because unlike the others... He was close to both of them.

Very close by blood.

I really don’t want to see either of them lose.

A faint sigh escaped from his mouth.

"I honestly don’t know."

He replied with uncertainty appearing clearly on his face.

Behind them...

"I SAID GET UP!"

Fay’s voice suddenly exploded loudly through the snowy pathway.

Smack!

Her fist slammed directly into Keith’s stomach.

Hard.

Keith’s body folded instantly before his eyes rolled upward dramatically.

Then...

He fainted on the spot. 𝕗𝕣𝐞𝐞𝘄𝐞𝚋𝚗𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗹.𝚌𝕠𝚖

Silence briefly spread around the nearby candidates.

Fay calmly shook her hand afterward like nothing serious happened.

"You two."

She pointed toward two boys from their group who stayed behind.

"Please carry this idiot."

The boys looked at unconscious Keith for a second before immediately nodding.

Clearly...

Neither of them wanted to argue with Fay right now.

They quickly lifted Keith together while the group finally resumed walking, trying to catch up with the others ahead.

After nearly an hour of walking through the cold pathways...

The candidates finally arrived before an enormous steel door.

The size alone made several people instinctively stop talking.

The surface of the door was dark silver, covered in large mechanical engravings and heavy lock structures connected across the sides like giant chains.

The pressure surrounding the place felt completely different from the rest of the base.

The two guards leading the candidates stepped aside afterward and joined the other guards lined up neatly along both sides of the entrance.

Raymond, Kyle, Freya and the other Chief Guards all stood at the center before the massive door.

Now that the candidates had finally arrived before the entrance of the Tenth Trial...

The reality of everything settled heavily into their hearts.

Some candidates unconsciously swallowed hard, while others became quieter, even those smiling earlier now carried more serious expressions.

Raymond stared at all of them silently.

Compared to the beginning of the Trial of Steel...

The change in these children was massive.

The energy flowing from their bodies felt sharper, more stable and more dangerous.

Even the way they stood had changed completely.

From what Raymond could sense...

Every single child standing before him now possessed enough strength to defeat ordinary Novice-ranked guards without much difficulty.

And the top-ranked candidates...

His gaze slowly moved toward Vera.

Veda, Henry, Felix, Priscilla, Nate, Gareth, Ezra...

The pressure around them felt far more intense than before.

So much that even Raymond himself...An Arcanist-ranked Alchemist...

Could faintly feel danger from them.

A proud smile slowly appeared on his face.

The other Chief Guards showed similar expressions as well.

They all felt the same thing.

These children...

Had truly grown stronger through the Trial of Steel.

"Let the Final Trial Begin!"

Raymond’s deep and cold voice thundered across the area like a heavy bell.

The next second...

The massive steel doors slowly began opening.

And immediately...

A wave of cold air escaped from the darkness beyond the entrance.