Chapter 200: Chains of Fortune (1/2)

As Arthur sat there waiting for the exam to start, he thought about Yurirl who he has just met in a different identity. Yurirl was as serious as he was, if not more, despite trying his best effort to look unintimidating.

He smiled thinly as Yurirl, despite his strength, was still awkward at social interactions. It hasn't been long since they met and even less since they parted, but he found himself missing this person. There were certain people where you would click the moment that you meet.

The exam was set to start in fifteen-minutes and Arthur had to wait there amid the nervous tapping and shaking of the students. This was one of the many testing halls for the written exam and it was enough for a hundred people, with several meters between each student.

With how advanced technology and runes collaboration, Arthur wondered why these people preferred to test them in a handwritten test. It has been so long since he wrote something that his handwritten now looked like a chicken's scratches.

Luckily, as the exam began fifteen minutes later, Arthur realized that the questions were mostly multiple-choice-questions. He wrote his name and ID number as the one-hour long exam began.

The questions were basic and some of them required some calculations. For the ones he didn't know, like certain traits of monsters that he had yet to read in the Monster Theory textbook, Arthur simply left unanswered.

Luckily, he answered some questions that he knew the equations for. Before Arthur could realize it, he was done with the question that had some empty gaps between them.

The last few pages were optional and they were questions about extra topics, one of them being runes. In his time at Avalin Academy, Arthur read some books about runes. Most of the questions about runes were about how some runes worked, which Arthur had a general idea about.

Before he could reach the last question, the time was up and Arthur had to hand out his papers. Some students cried while others sighed in relief. Oliver walked over smugly toward Arthur as if he has just won the Olympics.

”I answered half of them!” Oliver said with a peace sign over his eye and his tongue out. Arthur had no idea where he learned such a demonic gesture but guessed it would work to anger his enemies to death.

Since he had confidence in his strength, Arthur thought of the written exam as a bonus credit only. They were led to another hall where they had to wait until a staff member came.

The woman from earlier made her entrance as she started calling out names to make sure that they were all here.

”From here, the real test begins.” She said with a smile. ”Follow me.” The students began following after her like lost ducklings as she took them to the other side of the building. She threw open a set of double doors as the crowd gasped.

The Chains of Fortune stood there grandly, merging with the ground as if it didn't exist. Thousands of chains circularly surrounded the flying city and Arthur saw endless buildings that were similar to their right beside them.

”You better prepare for you will need to climb them in half an hour.” The examiner said before she left them to their bidding.

”Let's pray that we won't fall,” Oliver said nervously.

”Don't you see those people on top of the flying boards?” Arthur pointed out in the distance. Oliver squinted his eyes but shook his head.

'How low is your perception?' Arthur wondered but his nose pricked with a foul scent before he could say anything.

Arthur frowned heavily as he looked west. He had felt the presence of an Ender in another building, not sure which. Even if he knew, he could do nothing to them right now.

'I need to keep my identity a secret, I mustn't antagonize them.'

However, this was a testimony that Sier was right. The Enders have arrived at Jerano and they are looking for the artifact that would allow them to birth the new world.

”Stand on the line, everyone!” The woman called out and the students spread on the line evenly. In front of the one hundred students were five giant chains secured into the ground. Each chain had two sides, making them able to carry one person at a time.

'A 10% passing rate.' Arthur realized. No matter how good you were in the written exam, you need to reach Jerano first.

Scholarship students would be tested differently with a different starting point. So, if Arthur was still in his former identity, he would pass this easily.

Even more, if Arthur wanted to, he could simply use his teleport rune to win this. However, most of those with this ability were descendants from the notorious traitor family, so this ability was rarely seen.