Vernon had studied late into the night, allowing himself only the minimum rest he considered necessary.
Because of that, he had been awake long before sunrise.
From the small desk by the window, he watched the city slowly stir to life.
The floating spheres that illuminated the streets during the night were descending now, drifting gently back into the stone housings embedded along the roads and walkways. One by one their glow dimmed as the morning sun crept over the rooftops.
Lumen Dusk looked different in daylight.
Less mysterious.
More alive.
Behind him, a low groan broke the silence.
Vernon didn't turn around.
Bruce had started stretching on his bed, joints popping as he twisted lazily beneath the blanket - his usual morning routine.
"Bruce," Vernon said with a quiet sigh.
"Could you be a little quieter?"
Bruce lay there staring at the ceiling for a moment.
Then he yawned.
Not a normal yawn.
A long, exaggerated one that sounded closer to a bear announcing its presence in the forest.
Vernon closed his eyes briefly.
He didn't even bother looking back this time.
"You should start getting ready," he said calmly. "We need to head out in about an hour."
"Huh?"
Bruce rolled his head toward him.
"To where?"
Vernon blinked.
Then slowly turned his chair.
"To apply. Obviously."
Bruce shot upright like someone had pulled a string.
"AH I Forgot. Why didn't you wake me up earlier?!"
"You're impossible to wake once you fall asleep," Vernon replied as he stood and stretched his arms above his head.
"It's like your ears stop functioning entirely."
Bruce frowned.
"Excuses. I always wake up when someone wakes me."
Vernon turned sharply.
"Only when it's Dad."
Bruce paused.
"...That's different."
Vernon didn't comment.
Instead he began stacking the papers scattered across the desk - notes About the Third Circle, Deconstructed formulas, quick sketches of Different appliances for mana control.
Bruce leaned over slightly, peering at the pile.
"You were studying all night again?"
"..Just touching up.," Vernon muttered.
Bruce scratched the back of his head.
"You worry too much. It's just an entrance test."
Vernon slid the final sheet into his notebook.
"Preparation prevents failure."
Bruce hopped off the bed.
"Or you could just pass."
Vernon paused for the smallest moment.
Bruce said things like that so casually.
As if success were simply something that happened.
Vernon closed the notebook.
"Perhaps."
Bruce slung his bag over his shoulder.
"Should we go early?"
By now sunlight had fully broken through the window, filling the room with pale gold light.
Vernon nodded.
Vernon put his notebook into his pouch, "I've packed my notes, we can leave."
Bruce rummaged through his bag.
"Wait."
He pulled out a small pouch and shook it lightly.
Coins clinked inside.
"Was there no breakfast service here?"
Vernon glanced toward the door.
"They said it starts later."
Bruce grinned.
He tossed the pouch once in his hand.
"Let's go eat something before we head to the admissions test."
The streets of Lumen Dusk were already alive by the time they stepped outside.
Morning light spilled between the tall buildings, catching on glass windows, polished metal railings, and the faintly glowing runic lines embedded in parts of the stone roads. The floating spheres from the night before now rested in small circular housings along the paths, their light dimmed as the sun took over.
People moved everywhere.
Students in robes, craftsmen opening shop doors, armoured figures passing through the streets with purposeful strides. The smell of fresh bread drifted from somewhere nearby.
Bruce immediately turned his head toward it like a hunting dog catching a scent.
"You smell that?"
Vernon had already started walking.
"Yes."
Bruce followed quickly.
"And you didn't think to mention it?"
"I assumed you would notice."
Bruce grinned.
"Good assumption."
They turned a corner and found the source of the smell almost immediately. A small food stall had been set up along the side of the street, steam rising from a flat metal cooking surface while a man worked quickly behind the counter.
A small line had already formed.
Bruce leaned slightly toward Vernon.
"Worth it."
They joined the queue.
While Bruce watched the food with intense focus, Vernon's attention wandered.
Even this early in the morning, the city was full of movement. Groups of people walked past carrying scroll cases, weapon racks, or toolboxes filled with small metallic devices.
A pair of students passed nearby wearing robes marked with the same crest they had seen yesterday.
Vernon's eyes followed them.
They looked relaxed.
Confident.
Like they belonged here.
Bruce nudged him suddenly.
"You're staring."
Vernon blinked.
"I'm observing."
"Same thing."
The line moved forward.
When it was their turn, Bruce pointed immediately.
"Two of whatever that is."
The vendor barely looked up.
"Three copper."
Bruce dropped the coins on the counter.
Moments later they were handed two folded pieces of warm flatbread filled with sliced meat and vegetables.
Bruce took one bite.
Then another.
Then another.
"mmmmm~ ...Oh that's good. I think I'm getting addicted."
Vernon ate more slowly.
It was simple food, but warm and filling.
Bruce finished his halfway down the street.
"That was definitely worth waking up for."
"You didn't wake up for it," Vernon replied.
Bruce shrugged.
"You don't see the bigger picture."
They continued walking.
The buildings gradually began to change as they moved deeper into the city.
Small shops gave way to larger stone structures. Streets widened. The crowd became thicker, with more and more people moving in the same direction.
Many of them were young.
Some carried swords.
Others wore robes lined with faint glowing threads.
Most looked nervous.
Bruce leaned closer to Vernon.
"Look."
Vernon followed his gaze forward.
The academy grounds had finally come into view.
A massive stone wall stretched across the horizon, broken only by a towering entrance gate where a steady stream of people was gathering.
Beyond it, enormous structures rose into the sky.
One side of the grounds looked like a fortress of training arenas and tall observation towers. Wide courtyards filled with weapon racks and stone platforms could already be seen through the open gate.
The other side rose in elegant towers of glass, metal frameworks, and rotating rune structures that hummed faintly even from a distance.
Two academies.
Standing side by side.
Bruce stopped walking for a moment.
"...They are bigger than I thought."
Vernon said nothing.
He had already begun scanning the crowd gathering near the entrance.
Applicants.
Hundreds of them.
Maybe more.
Some stood confidently in small groups.
Others paced nervously.
Weapons clinked softly as people shifted their weight.
Bruce stretched his shoulders.
"Looks like everyone had the same idea."
Vernon nodded slowly.
"Apparently."
Bruce glanced toward the two enormous academy complexes.
"So."
He turned back to Vernon.
"Which one are you going for?"
Vernon looked at the towers of machinery and rune-lit structures rising into the sky.
Then briefly toward the arenas on the opposite side.
His answer came without hesitation.
"The engineering academy."
Bruce grinned.
"Good."
He cracked his knuckles lightly.
"Because I'm definitely going for the punching one."
Vernon sighed quietly.
"...Of course you are."
Bruce started walking again toward the gate.
The crowd shifted as more applicants arrived behind them.
At the entrance, several older students and instructors stood waiting, watching the gathering mass with calm expressions.
Bruce stopped just before the gate.
"Well."
He rolled his shoulders once.
"Here we go."
Vernon looked up at the towering academy structures one last time.
Then stepped forward into the other direction.
The admissions tests had begun.
「 Admission Tests
Practical
Theoretical
Physical
Grade based entry 」
"Anyone can enter."
As long as you have the aptitude, strength, talent or knowledge to back it.
Vernon had the theoretical test first.
Bruce had the physical test first.
When they said physical examination, he imagined an arena. Maybe a tournament platform or a massive training hall filled with spectators.
Instead, the testing ground looked almost... ordinary.
A circular stone platform sat in the centre of a wide courtyard, worn smooth by years of combat practice. Tall pillars surrounded the area, each etched with runes that faintly hummed with mana.
Containment barriers.
Bruce guessed they were there in case someone got a little too enthusiastic.
Around the platform stood instructors and older students watching the applicants one at a time.
Some tests ended quickly.
Very quickly.
One boy had charged forward swinging wildly and was disarmed in less than three seconds.
Another had tried casting something complicated only for an instructor to tap his shoulder with a wooden practice blade before the spell finished forming.
Bruce watched with growing interest.
They're not testing strength.
They were testing something else.
Movement.
Control.
Judgment.
Once Bruce turn came he stepped onto the platform and rolled his shoulders once.
Across from him, the instructor drew both short swords with a smooth motion.
Bruce took out his weapon from his bag.
The sickle-shaped blade caught the sunlight as he lifted it. A chain slid free from the base of the handle, spilling across the stone floor in a loose coil until the dagger-weighted end settled with a soft clink.
A few nearby students leaned forward.
The instructor raised an eyebrow.
"You are quite the unique one - huh."
「The weapon Bruce had forged looked like the Kusarigama.
The kusarigama is a weapon of contradiction.
Some would say its basically impossible to use.
Some would go as far as to say its useless. 」
But to someone like Bruce who looked for freedom in a weapon this was the closest thing he could make to achieving that goal.
"I'd like to say i have a good eye for these things." Bruce said with a smirk across his face.
Some of the applicants snorted behind the railing. Others leaned forward.
The instructor gave a small nod.
"Rules are simple," he said. "Twenty-five exchanges or a clean hit. Either one passes you."
Bruce tilted his head.
"what if I keep going?"
The instructor's mouth curved slightly.
"Two minutes thirty seconds is the limit."
Bruce rolled the chain once around his wrist.
"That sounds fun. But will you be fine?" Bruce said, "You have just two wooden swords, while i have metal."
The instructor raised one sword lazily.
"Pfft.. Begin."
Bruce moved immediately.
Not forward.
The chain unfurled.
With a flick of his wrist the counter-weight dagger shot outward and began circling him, the chain humming softly through the air. It wasn't fast yet-just enough to feel the weapon.
The instructor stepped forward.
Exchange one.
His right blade cut diagonally toward Bruce's shoulder.
Bruce reacted without thinking.
The sickle rose.
Clack.
metal struck wood.
But the wood didn't even chip.
At the same moment Bruce's wrist rotated, sending the chain's orbit widening.
The iron weight swept low toward the instructor's ankle.
The instructor simply stepped over it.
Second sword came in.
Bruce leaned back, the blade passing inches from his chest.
Exchange two.
Bruce yanked the chain.
The counter-weight dagger snapped upward.
The instructor tilted his head slightly and deflected it with the flat of his blade.
Exchange three.
Bruce's eyes lit up.
Fast.
Good.
He spun the chain faster now, letting the weight carve wider arcs around him. The weapon felt alive-unpredictable, but responsive.
Like swinging a tail he didn't quite understand yet.
The instructor watched carefully.
Bruce stepped in.
Unexpected.
Most kusarigama users stayed at distance.
Exchange four.
Bruce's sickle darted toward the instructor's wrist.
The instructor parried easily.
But the chain was already moving.
Bruce jerked his arm.
The weight shot past the instructor's shoulder.
Miss.
No.
The chain wrapped the instructor's blade.
For half a second.
Bruce pulled.
The instructor didn't resist.
He stepped forward instead.
The chain went slack.
Exchange five.
The instructor's second blade tapped Bruce lightly in the ribs.
Bruce hopped back.
"Point," the instructor said casually.
Bruce laughed.
"Oh that's tricky."
< He's reading my attacks so easily >
Murmurs rippled through the watching applicants.
Most students had already been disarmed by now.
Bruce spun the chain again.
< Then.. ill pick up the pace >
Faster this time.
Dust lifted from the ground as the iron weight skimmed the dirt in a widening circle.
Exchange six.
The instructor stepped inside the arc.
Bruce's body reacted before he thought.
His sixth sense screamed.
Left.
He twisted.
The first blade slid past his shoulder.
The second stabbed low.
Bruce jumped.
The iron weight snapped upward from the ground.
The instructor knocked it aside again.
""
Exchange seven.
Eight.
Nine.
The rhythm began to build.
Steel and wood clacked again and again as Bruce flowed around the instructor's pressure.
The instructor advanced steadily.
Bruce retreated.
But not randomly.
Every step dragged the chain into new angles.
The iron weight ricocheted off the dirt.
Skidded.
Rose.
Once it slammed into the stone boundary with a sharp crack and rebounded wildly toward the instructor's head.
He casually knocked it away.
Exchange twelve.
Bruce's grin widened.
< This is fun. >
His movements grew wilder now-not sloppy, but instinctive. He let the chain whip around his body, sometimes guiding it, sometimes letting momentum decide.
The instructor's eyes sharpened slightly.
Bruce wasn't using formal technique.
He was learning mid-fight.
Exchange fifteen.
The instructor suddenly accelerated.
Two quick slashes forced Bruce back.
Three more strikes pushed him nearly to the edge of the ring.
Gasps came from the watching applicants.
Bruce's chain tangled briefly around his own arm.
His first mistake.
The instructor struck.
Bruce dropped low instead of untangling it.
The blade passed overhead.
Bruce rolled.
The chain ripped free as he spun.
The iron weight flew blindly behind him-
-and wrapped around the instructor's rear ankle.
Exchange eighteen.
Bruce felt the tension instantly.
His eyes flashed.
He yanked.
The instructor hopped lightly, stepping free before the chain tightened.
But for the first time-
he had moved defensively.
The watching students erupted into whispers.
Bruce's grin widened.
Exchange twenty.
The instructor stepped in again, slightly faster now.
His blades flickered.
Bruce blocked the first.
Barely avoided the second.
The third tapped his shoulder.
"Dead," the instructor said.
Bruce ignored it.
The chain whistled overhead.
Exchange twenty-two.
Bruce suddenly rushed forward.
The instructor's eyebrow rose.
The sickle struck high.
Blocked.
But Bruce didn't care.
His wrist snapped downward.
The chain dropped.
The iron weight bounced once-
then Bruce kicked it.
Hard.
The weight shot upward from the ground at an impossible angle.
Exchange twenty-five.
The instructor twisted to avoid it.
For the briefest moment-
his guard opened.
Bruce's sickle darted forward.
Tap.
The curved wooden blade touched the instructor's chest.
Silence fell across the courtyard.
Bruce blinked.
"Oh."
The instructor looked down at the sickle resting against his robe.
Then he laughed.
A deep, genuine laugh.
"Well," he said, stepping back, "that was unexpected."
The watching applicants burst into noise.
Bruce scratched the back of his head.
"So... does that count?"
The instructor sheathed his short swords.
"You passed twice," he said. "Twenty-five exchanges."
He glanced at the sickle.
"And the hit."
Bruce's grin returned.
"...Can we keep going?"
The instructor studied him for a moment.
Then smiled again.
"Two minutes thirty seconds, was it?"
He raised his swords once more.
"it's already been more than that, forest boy."
Bruce blinked.
"How did you know."
The instructor smiled.
"If you get into the academy ill tell you."
"Huhhhh.. no fair just tell me! what if i wont pass?"
The instructor laughed, "With your skills it wont even matter what you get on your other tests."
Bruce returned to the spectating area full of thoughts and questions.
He spectated many more fights between students and the instructors.
Most fights really didn't last as long as Bruce's even those who had been trained from a young age.
In the crowd full of whispers, faint footsteps came from behind Bruce.
"Ahem.."
A voice came from behind Bruce.
But Bruce was studying every match to the point where his focus made him unable to hear anyone trying to talk to him.
"Examine?" The voice approached closer. "...Haha.. am i getting ignored..?"
They move around Bruce to take a close up look at his face.
"Hello..?"
Bruce froze.
"..ah." < A student? >
Bruce quickly apologised, "I'm sorry i was.."
"Ah! it's okay dont worry, you have incredible focus."
Bruce stared for a few seconds too long.
"Oop.. I forgot to introduce myself haha, My name is Kaelis."
"Nice to meet you, my name is Bruce."
Bruce extended his hand toward him.
He had seen merchants in Verdant Crescent doing this whenever they introduced themselves to each other.
Kaelis shook his hand firmly, "Pleased to make your acquaintance."
"For the reason i need your attention, we wanted to know if you wanted to join our martial arts club after you enrol."
Bruce blinked.
"But its not even guaranteed that ill pass?"
Kaelis stared at him for a second before laughing.
"You mean you don't know?"
Bruce felt a little awkward.
"If someone can do the full twenty five exchanges against the instructor they pass regardless of other grades on their other tests."
"Ohhh.. so that's what that instructor meant."
Kaelis turned around for a second, "Alright Bruce, i need to go. But my offer stands you can find us here actually, every day after 4pm. This area is where we train."
"Alright ill think about it thoroughly. See you later Kaelis!"
Bruce looked back at the match, but decided to go get something to eat.
So he left before Vernon could see and scold him.
In the other building Vernon had left the exam hall.
"Good thing i touched up on formulas before heading to sleep."
Vernon watched others leaving along with him.
Some crying.
Some devastated.
Some gleaming with confidence.
Vernon was quite confident too, but didn't let it build up in case of the worst case scenario.
Vernon let out an exhausted yawn, "I'm tired."
He looked toward the martial arts academy.
"I don't have to worry about that muscle head passing the physical exam."
Vernon cringed at the thought of Bruce's Theory written exam.
"Hah.. Lets just focus on my path first."
The sky was blue with minimal clouds, the sounds of surrounding examines filled the air.
Instructors shouting names.
People crying.
Boasting.
Laughing.
To Vernon it felt really different than Verdant crescent.. Not in a bad way.