The Ascendant Wizard-Chapter 119 - 19 - The Deadline

It was the date that the professor had mentioned, the next class she had with Varra. The past few days didn't have any classes; it wasn't every day that they would do one; it was mainly whenever one of the Wizards was free or felt like doing it.

She could only guess that this was some sort of task for them, much like apprentices got tasks; they probably got rewarded for teaching a class. However, that was just a guess; she had no way of confirming it until she became a Wizard or asked one.

She didn't plan to ask one.

Regardless, she woke up early to get ready for the classes, getting dressed and using the public shower.

'I'm glad I found this place.'

The first day here, Morena didn't shower because she didn't see one in her room, but after exploring for a while, she found out that the Tower actually had a massive public shower area that was split into male and female. Each room in the shower was seemingly enchanted to ensure privacy.

The water was also able to be produced cold or warm, which was amazing; something Morena hadn't seen in this world yet.

With a quick shower and changing into clean clothing, she made her way over to the classroom to wait for the teacher. Along the way, she came across the others, mainly Elara and Liri, who had woken up early as well.

Ren hadn't woken up yet; the boy probably overslept again because he stayed up late. Elara would never allow herself to do that, even if she woke late.

"Morning, you two."

She said in greeting as she walked past them.

"Morning, Morena."

Elara replied as she caught up, and Morena could make out the faintest mumble of words from Liri, most likely a greeting as well, but she couldn't hear it clearly.

While the group had gotten much closer over the past few days, the girl was still extremely shy; she rarely spoke out or up, and she more often just went along with whatever Elara said.

Elara didn't even seem to notice it since she was so used to people following her.

"Today is the deadline, are you ready?"

Elara asked Morena.

"Of course, we're all ready, aren't we?"

Morena wasn't even concerned about the test in the slightest. She had already sensed elemental energy before even getting the test, so that was never her concern.

She had even gone beyond that and already started to form her Matrix. Given a few more days, she was sure that she could fully form it and step onto the level of an apprentice.

That would put her so far ahead of her current peers that it would be a good head start to make up for her lacking aspects.

"How many people do you think will fail today?"

Morena hummed as she thought about the girl's question. It was a good one, and the teacher did say that they would be kicked out if they couldn't accomplish it.

But could she really do that?

It seemed like the Tower needed people, and while they had a lot, if they were to just kick out a bunch of people in one go, surely it would put a massive dent in their roster?

Plus, the likelihood of these people going and joining another place that accepts them could prove disadvantageous for the Tower. Growing another force was never good.

But perhaps she was too shortsighted, perhaps she didn't understand the true power or intent of the Tower, and they didn't care about such people.

She didn't want to risk it.

"Probably not a lot, but definitely a few."

The Tower wouldn't have taken in useless people to begin with; anyone they took in could, at the very least, start sensing elemental energy given enough effort.

So if anyone did get kicked out, it would be because of a lack of effort, not a lack of capability.

As they chatted a bit more, they finally arrived at the door of the classroom and entered; a lot of other people had arrived ahead of them, some nervous and others proud.

But she didn't bother to interact with them and just took a seat near the front of the class, Elara and Liri sitting near her; they even saved a seat for Ren since the boy would get here soon.

And just as they had predicted, the boy came rushing into the class a few minutes before it would normally start, panting and fixing his clothing.

"Just woke up?"

Morena chuckled as the boy rushed into his seat, turning red in the face as he lowered his head.

"I overslept. I couldn't sleep because of all the worry."

"What could you be worrying about?"

Elara chimed in with a raised eyebrow.

"What do you mean, what? Obviously, the class? What if she kicks me out even though I could sense energy?"

"Idiot. Why would she do that? The requirement was just to sense energy, not how good you were at it."

Elara sighed and shook her head, clearly baffled by the boy's stupidity.

"S-she's right, Ren, don't worry, you'll be fine!"

Liri chimed in with her soft voice from the side, earning a glance from Morena.

Hearing the reassurance from the two, the boy finally felt a bit calmer, but he was still extremely worried; Morena could see this, so she just gave the boy a pat on the shoulder.

"Don't worry too much."

She didn't bother saying much as she noticed the class had started and the teacher had just about arrived. Walking through the door, Varra's presence caused everyone in the class to go silent before she even said anything.

With a glance, Morena could feel her presence, her gaze, being cast over them one by one. She felt as if she was being peered into, as if her entire body was stripped bare in front of the lady.

It felt odd, and she didn't like the fact that she couldn't hide anything in front of the Wizard; it was definitely something she would have to look into.

She couldn't risk having her secrets exposed to every Wizard she came across, especially when she started experimenting more with the path of a Wizard and collecting information for the AI to use.

Morena noticed her gaze lingering on her for a moment longer than the others before moving on once more. It wasn't a shocked gaze; she didn't see anything like surprise on her face, but rather as if she was thinking.

'At least she didn't react oddly.'

Morena was glad the teacher didn't make a scene or find her progress strange; perhaps she wasn't as special as she thought, and others before her had done similar things.

At the very least, that's what Morena wanted. She didn't want to stand out as someone special, she didn't want to draw attention, she didn't want to have the envy of others on her.

As they said, the tallest weed is the one cut first; she was no more than a weak, common weed. She wouldn't stand out until she had some strength to stand on.

"Good, I see most of you have at least accomplished the task I've given you. However, some of you have failed."

Her voice rang out in the silent classroom like a bell; everyone who heard it had a mixture of emotions. Those who had sensed energy before had a quiet sigh of relief, while those who failed to sense it ground their teeth in silence.

"If you've sensed energy, raise your hand."

She didn't need to ask them to do this; she had already sensed those who had, and she just did it so that they could tell how much had and how much had failed.

Most of the people in the class raised their hands after she had said this: Ren, Liri, Elara, and, of course, Morena as well. However, with a glance around the room, Morena could see about three people who hadn't sensed it yet.

Three out of the entire class, it was an extremely small number in the grand scheme of things, but if one thought of it the other way, the fact that these people could've also sensed it with enough effort, that number becomes much worse.

"Lower your hands. Now, those of you who haven't sensed it, raise your hand."

This was just humiliation at this point; it was already clear enough from those who raised their hand before and those who didn't, who hadn't sensed it yet.

Making them raise their hands now so everyone could stare at them was just to shame them, make them feel humiliated in front of all their peers. Morena couldn't help but shake her head at the thought, but she didn't bother much with it.

If it were her, she would hate it, but she didn't plan to get into such a situation.

Nonetheless, the three people raised their hands in slow hesitation, everyone shifting their attention to stare at the few that did.

"I'm sure you remembered that I said if you couldn't sense elemental energy by my next class, you would be kicked out. Yet here you are, unable to sense it."

She paused for a moment, then her next sentence came like a guillotine.

"Pack your things, and get out. Leave your badges and booklet; the Tower doesn't need people like you."