RotDG Chapter 59: Candidacy

Cecil just stared uncomprehendingly at the scene that played out before him. 

After an intense battle where Eli had looked like he was on the verge of dying numerous times through, the young boy had finally emerged victorious. And now that it was all over, he also successfully tamed a greater spirit. 

Even though he was a [Healer]... even though he was barely thirteen years old… he had somehow outperformed everyone in his class. No— he had outperformed everyone who had ever taken this elective on spirit summoning before.

This was an accelerated exam that nobody had dared risk taking in the history of its offering. Of course, Archdeacon Emmett had only ever started offering it about a decade or two ago. Cecil wasn’t sure about the exact timeframe, but even then, it didn’t really matter at the end of the day.

Because what Eli accomplished today had stunned everyone in his class to silence. Even though there were dozens of other students in attendance at the audience, nobody even said a word. 

Not Claudius, not Dustin, not Roland, not Cecil. They all just sat there in silence. 

Only Julie was even moving, but she was just glancing around in confusion, trying to understand what was happening. She eventually turned to the elf and spoke up, breaking the silence.

“Wait, so was that it?” she asked, blinking a few times. “I’m confused— what just happened?”

Cecil hesitated as he glanced between her and the young boy in the arena. He opened his mouth to explain. But before he could speak up, the barrier that was surrounding the arena collapsed.

Archdeacon Emmett strode forward, entering the arena with a smile on his face. Even though this was something that had never been done before under his supervision, he barely looked surprised. Cecil’s eyes flickered when he noticed that.

Eli turned away from the spectral sentinel— which simply rose to its feet— before facing the approaching elderly man.

“Congratulations, Mr Eli,” Archdeacon Emmett said. “For your stellar performance and being the first of my students to ever complete this accelerated exam, I assure you, you will be awarded the top grade in the entire class. And I will offer the Headmaster of the Holy Academy my personal recommendation for you to be considered to become a Divine Scholar.”

A susurration washed over the class when they heard that. Cecil perked up, and Claudius practically jumped to his feet.

“What?” the prince exclaimed.

But he was completely ignored as Eli just bowed his head in response, smiling back at the elderly man.

“You’re too kind, Ardchdeacon Emmett. I only have you to thank for this opportunity to allow me to prove myself to you.” The young boy spoke simply as he glanced back at his spirit.

“Indeed,” Archdeacon Emmett said in response as he drew back. “Now come, let us discuss the benefits and drawbacks of having a spirit—”

The two of them spoke as they left the arena as the rest of the class stared on. All the while, Cecil couldn’t help but try to wrap his head around the lack of surprise coming from the elderly man. It was almost like Archdeacon Emmett knew something more about Eli.

But as much as the elf thought it over, he couldn’t possibly figure out what this thing could have been… however, after witnessing the royal duel and seeing the mastery over magic and now this, he was now determined to find out.

***

Name: Nox (Eli)

Race: Human

Rank: Silver - Level 26

Class: [Soulfire Healer]

Class Skills: [Greater Holy Fireball], [Lesser Domain Of Light], [Heal], [Holy Fire], [Basic Light Magic Conjuration], [Boon Of Vitality], [Aura Armor Of Light], [Boon Of Strength], [Purifying Touch], [Lesser Poison Resistance]

Titles: [Returning Death God], [Velmond’s Blessing], [The Bloodied Blade]

Title Skills: [Remembrance Of The Fallen], [Death Magic Supremacy], [Basic Blessing Of Life], [Aura Blade]

General Skills: [Spirit Summon: Vorth the Spectral Sentinel], [Elemental Magic Proficiency], [Quick Dash]

Attributes:

[Strength: 90]

[Speed: 91]

[Magic: 612]

[Vitality: 114]

[Dexterity: 98]

Free Points: 19

As much as I wanted to speak with Vorth to catch him up on what had happened since we last saw each other, I knew that this conversation was better had in private, away from the school grounds. So I dismissed him for now, sending him back to the spirit world as I discussed the results of the accelerated exam with Archdeacon Emmett.

“What you’ve done here today is unprecedented, young Eli,” the elderly man said as he led me to his office. “I’m certain you’re well-aware of this.”

I just nodded, stepping into the room as he shut the door behind me. He continued as he stood a seat.

“That is why I will be giving you a direct recommendation to be considered a part of the Divine Scholars. While my word alone is not enough to get you accepted, I can get you an interview, which is more than most potential candidates are even offered at this point in the academic year.” 

“Oh?” I raised a brow when I heard his explanation.

Archdeacon Emmett nodded. “Indeed, you must understand that as members of the faculty, we are only able to recommend three Initiates to join the Divine Scholars. That is why we cannot be… generous in our recommendations.”

“That’s understandable,” I said, before bowing my head to him. “I truly appreciate all the opportunities you have given me, Archdeacon. From enrolling into the Holy Academy to this, I cannot thank you enough for doing all this for me.”

“Nonsense,” he said as he waved a hand dismissively at me. “You opened these doors yourself. And based on your performance today, I would say that you are the most deserving student of all the Initiates to be a Divine Scholar. In fact, I’d even go as far as to say that you should be The Headmaster’s Honored.”

But then Archdeacon Emmett paused as he tilted his head back.

“Unfortunately, to be considered The Headmaster’s Honored, a simple recommendation is not enough. Rather, your academic performance as a whole in all your classes have to be considered, before the Headmaster even chooses to review your candidacy.”

While I would have liked to become The Headmaster’s Honored eventually, since it would open up many opportunities for me. It was an achievement that most prominent members of the Church obtained during their time in the Holy Academy. For example, the likes of Zander Clay or Alric Shardlight, both of whom were the Grandmaster of the Templars and the Grandmaster of the Inquisitors respectively, were chosen as The Headmaster’s Honored in two out of their four years of enrollment.

But for now, I was quite content with being considered to join the Divine Scholars this early on into the academic year. Especially since it would open up a lot of extracurricular activities for me to network with the Holy Knights and the Inquisitors even before the year ended.

Shaking his head, Archdeacon Emmett changed the subject. “I will let you know when your interview to be a part of the Divine Scholars will be held at a later date. For now, I brought you here to give you this.”

I raised a brow as he slid a piece of paper my way. “What’s this?”

“It’s a certificate of proof that you have finished this class,” the elderly man said simply. “Now, you no longer need to attend my class, and if any other member of the faculty questions why you aren’t in my class during class hours, you can show them this.”

I stared at the certificate for a moment, processing what I was being told. Then a grin spread across my face as the realization that I would finally have some free time for myself now that I no longer had to attend my class on the Sacred Art of Spirit Summoning.

And I was going to absolutely make full use of this free time I had now been given.

***

The next day came, and I went about my day as usual. Since my class on spirit summoning was usually at the end of the day, I still had to attend all of my usual classes, before I could finally take advantage of my free time. But even though it was an ordinary day for me, there was something… different.

I could tell by the way that my classmates were looking at me that they regarded me differently than before. And when Lenn— a classmate I had never spoken to before— approached me to ask me a question, I realized why everyone was acting this way.

“Is it really true that you took down a greater spirit in a duel?” he had asked.

And he was not the only one who asked me a similar question. Of course, I remained truthful and said yes to all these questions. Which then spurred even more questions from them.

“But how?” they’d ask.

I wasn’t really sure how to explain it to them, but fortunately for me, Myrla was there to help me.

“He’s just a genius, that’s why,” Myrla said, nodding at me. “As expected from my rival.”

“Are you two even rivals at this point?” Kelton gave her a flat stare. “I mean, as far as I’m concerned, you’re not even in the competition.”

Myrla just glared back at him as I scratched the back of my head.

Throughout the rest of my day, not only did more and more students approach me asking me if the rumors were true, even those from other classes during our lunch break, but many of them had even asked me to show off my spirit summon.

Some of them wanted to see Vorth because they were skeptical of the rumors, while others just wanted to admire him. I decided to indulge them and summoned him to my side during my lunch break, which drew even more of a crowd towards me.

“No way, the rumors are true…”

“But he’s only thirteen! And isn’t he a [Healer] too? How did he do this?”

“Well, I heard he beat Prince Claudius in a duel. So maybe he’s some sort of battle [Healer]?”

I pursed my lips when I heard that last comment. That was not a rumor I wanted to spread around, because if it reached the members of the faculty, it could lead to me getting into trouble. But there was nothing I could do about it, so I just hoped that the full details of it became muddled as each person recounted a different story of how the duel went down. 

And while I was constantly pestered by my fellow students throughout the rest of the day, eventually though, I made it to my final period— which I had free to do whatever I wanted, since I no longer needed to attend my class on spirit summoning. That was when I bade farewell to Myrla and Kelton, leaving the campus behind.

But while they might have thought that I was going to just explore another part of Lux, I was actually leaving the premises of the city state entirely. I made my way out of the checkpoint gate, nodding at the guards stationed there, before returning back to the busy streets of Albus.

However, I did not summon Vorth just yet, despite being outside of the Church of Life, since I was still in the inner city of the Capital City of the Sanctus Empire. I didn’t want to take any chances of having my conversation eavesdropped on by any members of the Church, so I headed out of the inner city, making my way through the outer city too, until I finally exited Albus and found myself in the middle of a clearing in a forest as the sun began to set over the horizon.

I could still see the city in the distance, but I decided this was far enough, and I summoned my spectral sentinel to my side. Vorth emerged from a spell circle that shone before me, and I smiled when I saw him.

“Greetings, master,” he said, before he glanced around and saw that we were alone. He straightened and met my gaze. “Can we finally speak?”

“Yes we can.” I nodded as I waved a hand, casting a simple silencing spell around us to prevent any eavesdropping. “And there is a lot we have to catch up on.”

The spectral sentinel perked up when he heard that. He immediately leaned forward, giving me an excited look as he spoke up. “Of course, master! Please, tell me everything that’s happened since my passing!”

Even though he was a giant suit of armor, he was acting like a child. Or a puppy. But that was how he always acted. I chuckled at this sight as I began to recount the story of my new life.

“Well, let’s start with the basics, I guess. First of all, I go by the name of Eli now…”

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