<h4>Chapter 220: All hail Lord Yggdrasil!</h4>


    After breakfast, all the cadets assembled in the za before the academy building. They wore their full uniforms with green robes draped over them. The za was paved with exquisitely patterned tiles, the design resembling beautiful runes etched in stone. Guided by sergeants, the cadets formed the same three lines as earlier, facing a five-storey building of red brick. A broad staircase rose before them, leading directly to the first floor. At its top was a wide tform, like a grand ceremonial entrance to the academy building.


    From within the academy building, the principal emerged. d in a golden robe, he stepped onto the tform with measured pace. He was a tall man, well over six feet, broad of frame despite his age. A long white beard covered most of his face, and equally long white hair fell to his shoulders, lending him an almost ethereal countenance. Yet his presence was anything but gentle... an invisible weight pressed against the soul of everyone present, even from several metres below.


    More than thirty professors, healers, and staff followed him, taking their ce behind. They wore robes of indigo, teal, and white respectively. Though their presence paled beside that of the principal, Eleanor could sense they too possessed formidable strength.


    The moment the principal appeared, the sergeants gave him a military salute. Among the cadets, some mirrored the gesture, others did not. The guidebook had made the custom clear... when encountering the principal, cadets were to continue their current task if one was assigned; otherwise they were to stand respectfully until he passed. Only when summoned directly were they to salute. The divided reaction reflected this rule.


    The principal took no notice of it. His gaze swept across the rows of cadets before he spoke, his voice deep andmanding.


    "I am Professor Aurelius Halveth Draconis, your principal. Once again, the time hase for a new generation of cadets to begin their primary term." He smiled faintly as he continued, "Ascendance Academy of Midgard has stood for more than a thousand years. Since its founding, it has witnessed the rise of countless young ascendants."


    The cadets listened in silence, as though entranced.


    "I will not burden you with a long speech," he went on. "Instead, I shall wee you to the academy. May these two months of training, learning, and adaptation forge you into ascendants who will bring honour to this Academy."


    A roar of apuse burst from the za, the cadets cheering with thunderous voices. Professor Aurelius raised his arms, and at once the noise ceased.


    "As primary-term cadets," he dered, "you begin your path within these walls. But remember... study here is not only cultivation, not only strength, techniques, or artefacts. True strength is not merely power... it is the will that arises from the heart. That is what makes one ascendant greater than the rest."


    He raised his voice, resonant and clear. "Though the paths of cultivation diverge, all roads lead to Lord Yggdrasil. The sacred gift granted to you on the day of your birth, by the Great World Tree of Positivity, shall one day usher in prosperity. It is for this purpose that Ascendance Academy of Midgard was founded."


    His tone softened slightly, though it lost none of its gravity. "So... fail, if you must. Make mistakes. Feel helpless. These are parts of learning. But I promise you this... three months from now, when you walk out of these doors, you will not be the same. You will leave as a stronger, better version of yourselves."


    Then, Professor Aurelius raised his right hand and pointed his index finger towards the sky. One by one, the professors behind him did the same. The healers, officials, and sergeants followed, each arm lifting until the entire assembly mirrored the gesture.


    "May Midgard live forever!" Professor Aurelius thundered. "All hail Lord Yggdrasil!"


    "All hail Lord Yggdrasil!" came the answering cry, the za shaking as professors, staff, sergeants, and cadets roared as one.


    ***


    It was arge hall filled with capsules that resembled advanced VR pods. Under the sergeants’ direction, all one hundred cadets assembled here, on the ground floor of the academy building, for their initiation ceremony. ording to the guidebook, this was to be the firstpetition between cadets... a trial designed to rank them early. Professors from the various departments would evaluate performance and extend invitations to those they deemed worthy. A cadet might be chosen by several departments, or none at all; ultimately, the choice of departments would rest with the cadet.


    The ranking itself carried reward... points granted to the top ten performers. Yet the guidebook had warned that each year the professors designed a different trial, its nature never revealed in advance.


    The chief sergeant stepped to the front of the hall. His voice rang out, sharp and authoritative, "Each cadet will select a capsule. Enter when instructed."


    One by one, the cadets approached. Eleanor walked up to the nearest capsule, following the sergeant’s words. On its surface was a round red button. She pressed it, and a holographic disy flickered to life above the pod. Raising her wrist, she touched the device on her wrist to the projection. A clear tone chimed in response.


    "Wee, Cadet 10156659. Please enter the space capsule," intoned a mechanical voice as the lid hissed open, revealing the interior. The inside was soft, padded, and shaped to cradle the body, with a semi-circr hollow prepared for the head.


    Eleanory down. At once, the lid closed, sealing her in darkness. A second padded arc descended gently, enclosing her head entirely. The ckness was absolute... until, without warning, a ze of white light struck her eyes. She squinted, blinking for her vision to adjust.


    When it cleared, she found herself standing in a forest. Towering trees rose on all sides, their trunks stretching high into a sky that glowed red instead of blue. The air was unnervingly still... no rustle of leaves, no birdsong, only silence pressing down. The ground beneath her boots was hard and rocky. She nced down... her academy uniform remained intact, as though she had stepped here directly from the hall.


    "It feels like I’ve been sent into another dimension... or another world altogether," she thought. "The trees block my sight... perfect ground for an ambush. I’d better prepare before anything happens. First, I should find a clearing."


    She took a few careful steps, testing her bnce, then struck at the air with quick punches to gauge her strength.


    At that moment, a voice resounded within her head, "You are currently in the tropical forest of Molgrath. A group of monsters has captured the Midgard stronghold here and turned it into their frontier. You and yourpanions have been teleported into this forest with the mission of eliminating the monsters and reiming thend. You must cross the river, enter enemy territory, and y the Troll King to recapture the stronghold. You may perform this mission alone or form a team at any time. Remember... points are divided equally among all team members."


    As the voice faded, a translucent screen appeared in the corner of her vision:


    [Status]


    Primary Objective: Kill the Troll King and recapture the stronghold.


    Secondary Objective: Eliminate the monsters.


    Team Members: 1


    Points: 0


    [Do you want to hide the status screen? Yes/No]


    Eleanormanded the screen away, and it vanished instantly. Alone in the red-sky forest, she closed her eyes and extended her spiritual sense. Relief washed over her... her power was functioning normally here. Yet her sweep revealed no trace of another cadet nearby.


    Then, faintly, she caught it... the sound of running water, trickling in the distance.


    Eleanor followed the sound of water, each step bringing it closer. After nearly ten minutes, she could hear it with her ordinary senses. But just as she advanced, she froze, every nerve on edge.


    From her right came the noise ofbat... shouts, shrieks, and the sh of struggle. Cautiously, she veered towards it, slipping from bush to bush, keeping low and never exposing herself for long.


    After two minutes of careful advance, the scene opened before her. A cadet was under siege... more than twenty goblins swarming her at once. Eleanor crept nearer, positioning herself behind a boulder for a clear view, yet remaining unseen.


    The cadet fought with desperate resolve, wielding a wooden stick, striking down goblins whenever she could. But numbers weighed against her. The creatures attacked in turns, rushing her in small groups so that none absorbed too much damage, while she umted cuts and bruises with every exchange. Surrounded on all sides, she could not rest, her defences thinning. At this rate, she would fall.


    Then the cadet turned to intercept a sudden strike, and Eleanor caught sight of her face. It was Maíra... the young miss of the Amazon n.


    Eleanor hesitated. Originally, she had intended only to watch, to study the goblins’ fighting patterns from a safe distance. But with an acquaintance caught in the fray, her resolve wavered.


    "She’s not on the brink of defeat yet. Let her treat it as training. These creatures are hardly the strongest. I’ll wait and observe their style a little longer," Eleanor reasoned, holding her ground.


    The goblins pressed their advantage with crude savagery. Some lunged for Maíra’s legs to drag her down; others tried to rake ws across her back when her guard was turned. They bit, wed, hurled stones, even flung dirt to blind her. Their shrillughter and mocking cries echoed through the forest as they harried her.


    Maíra fought back with fierce determination. She dodged, parried, blocked. Three goblins alreadyy dead at her feet. But she was tiring, breath ragged, each strike slower than thest.


    Suddenly, Eleanor’s eyes narrowed. Arger goblin broke through the throng behind Maíra, hefting a boulder above its head. At that instant, Maíra was pinned by three attackers to her front... she would never turn in time. Eleanor could see the arc the stone would take, where it would strike, how her skull would shatter...


    She exhaled sharply and let her instincts surge. She activated Mind eleration. The world slowed to rity. She traced the rock’s trajectory as if it hung in the air.


    Without dy, she activated her bloodline power, Overdrive! Her bloodline ignited, her body primed for violence.


    Passive instincts red alive... Bloodlust Instinct, Tactical Foresight, Killing Precision, Predator’s Awareness... weaving together in seamless harmony.


    Snatching a broken branch from the ground, she hurled it with uncanny uracy. It struck the goblin’s hand. The rock did not fall, but the blow spoiled its aim, sending it staggering aside.


    By the time the horde registered the disruption, Eleanor was upon them.


    Her assault was merciless. She had already dissected their fighting style, remembered their weaknesses. With foresight guiding every move, she struck only at killing points... throat, temple, sr plexus, the nape of the neck. One strike, one corpse. She knew well that each second of bloodline use would lengthen her recovery, so every blow had to count.


    Maíra, locked in a desperate struggle with another goblin, felt the sudden shift. The moment she killed her opponent and turned... the battle was over. Every gobliny dead at her feet.


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