Is he okay?

[3rd person Pov]

"It can't be helped. Lest we seek to find a future of nothing we will have to disobey the decree of Loki. Theia was correct in her judgment to designate apostles."

Leading the conversation with a small gathering of fellow gods, Prometheus had already decided to present the trials designated to prove the mortals worth in preparation for becoming apostles.

Around the table, four other gods had gathered as they shared their thoughts about the matter. Though it could be said to be ironic that the god who had objected the most when hearing Theia's suggestion was now the one going against the rules of the world of the gods, the gods around the table were all aware of the situation at hand.

Something had caused the future to become blurred, and although no one could know the future for certain, oracles had still been able to at least see the outline of it. Now, that was no longer the case.

The matter of actions that were currently taking place on Tella was no longer within their reach, and they could no longer judge whether or not the future would end in survival or demise for the mortals.

So they had gathered here. Gathered to inform each other about the individuals they had chosen to carry part of their power, to receive their blessings.

Jack Frost, Asclepius, Virtus, and Coeus.

These four gods together with Prometheus would start the process of forging the mortals that would be needed to stand together with the Lightbringer.

The hero which the whole of the mortal world would have no choice but to depend on for survival.

****

[Arthur's Pov]

It was finally time. The day that I was dreading the most.

Though I had fought many hard battles and almost lost my life on several occasions, nothing scared me more than this. Because this challenge... was not something made for a mere mortal.

But when the words of my executioner rang out, I knew I would have no choice but to struggle.

"You may start the test now."

Looking down at the sheets of paper on my desk, I could only struggle and try my best to pass the midterm theoretical test.

'Theia... please guide me...'

****

[Sophie's Pov]

Looking at the man with his head lying on the table, it was hard to believe that this was the person who would save us all.

Nudging my side, Sarah was also having similar thoughts, even though she didn't know about him being the hero of the world.

"-Hey, is he okay?"

Not minding the fact that she was whispering to me, I just spoke normally. Because I knew that Arthur wouldn't be able to hear us in that state anyway.

"He is fine. It's just that he got a lot of extra assignments to complement the theoretical exam and he is not the best at studying. To be honest, he should just be happy that he got a chance to stay at the academy even though he botched the test."

"Oh. Well, the test was a bit tricky, wasn't it?"

With my brows rising, I had no idea who she was trying to fool by acting like this.

"You know, Sarah, all the scores have already been published? How can you say it was tricky if you scored 95 out of a 100?"

Though I had passed without all too much hassle, the test had still been pretty rough. But to hear the sophomore who had the second-best score out of all of us speak like that wasn't exactly comforting.

Even more so as the only student who scored higher was also sitting with us at the café, her silvery hair shining as brightly as ever.

"That's true, Sarah. You should at least try to understand their woes, even if the test was quite basic."

Not finding the energy to retort, I was just glad that Arthur wasn't going to be expelled even though he failed the test. To be honest, I did find it a bit weird that two of the sophomores managed to fail the test when the bar for passing was just 30 points. And yet, two of us had managed to fail.

One of them was obviously Arthur, but the other one had just left the room with a very sad-sounding 'kukuku...' and an upside-down smile on his face.

Thinking about it, I truly didn't know much about the man known as Peter. Or as he wanted us to address him... 'the Harrower'...

Something I did know about him, however, was the fact that he also sucked at studying, just like Arthur. It hadn't been just once or twice when they both had gotten punished by Mr. Brown for failing theoretical assignments, most often ending up with both of them beaten black and blue in spars.

Still, when taking into account that even the muscle-headed Brad and Bradley managed to pass, it was almost to the point where I felt they deserved it...

"Hohohoho! There's no reason to accept the woes of the losers, Adriana! In this world, there are only winners and losers, after all!"

Unable to contain herself, Anna had to take her shot, laughing haughtily into the back of her hand like some sort of Madam from a traditional drama. And just like that, Arthur had finally returned from the dead, gnashing his teeth at the irritating small girl in front of him.

"You! You barely even passed the test! You only got 31 points, damnit!"

"Ah! Is that someone who failed the test talking? I can't hear it over the sound of me passing the exam without a problem! Hohoho!"

"Argh! Just wait until tomorrow! Let's see if things will be so easy for you then!"

And so, their verbal game of cat and dog was well underway, not even caring about the fact that we were in a public space.

About what Arthur said about tomorrow; Tomorrow was the day when we would get assessed on our combat capabilities, and although he tried to make it sound like Anna would have a hard time, I very much doubted it.

All of the students had individual assessments depending on what kind of combat role they had. So, for example, I would likely get assessed on my ability to hold my own in close combat while Anna would get assessed on her proficiency in magic.

So, with how hard we had practiced these last couple of weeks, I didn't see a world where any of us wouldn't pass it with flying colors. At this point, I doubted that any of the other academies would have even one student as strong as one of us. In other words, we were probably the strongest people our age currently residing in Mensch.

****

[James's Pov]

"Cough!"

Supporting myself on all fours, another handful of blood exited my mouth and landed on the muddy ground beneath me. A result of forcibly continuing to draw in the corrupt mana from the dungeon I was in.

Even with the soul-crushing pain that came with it, I wasn't about to allow myself to stop absorbing mana as that was currently the only solution to all of the hurdles I was about to face.

Not just the fact that I needed a body that could keep on living, but I also needed more power to face those monsters in the form of humans.

It was hard to call it training, as all I did was slaughter magical beasts and then tortured myself by consuming their mana, but if nothing else, it was efficient. Though I had already begun to see signs of my body being unwilling to go on, I knew it was but another hurdle I had to step over.

The ability to absorb mana to a degree that should have never been possible for a mortal, an ability that I now recognized I had even before I became the apostle of Loki. The [Bottomless Vessel] that Zero had brought with him hadn't actually been anything new, it had merely been a new way to apply that very same ability.

Thinking back, my body had always been very receptive to the strands of mana in the air, and there had never been an issue for me to absorb it. It didn't matter if it was on my bed, in a dungeon, or through a mana crystal, my vessel had always been craving more.

Though I didn't know how or why I had this ability, I could only be glad that I did.

And after using it, I could positively say that Loki was wrong.

It wasn't just through the use of my abilities that my condition would worsen. Growing the mana reserves inside of me was also a very contributing cause. So, it was quite ironic that it was also the only solution I had.

In the end, it would be a kind of chicken race against myself and my own body to see who would give up first.

Would I be able to get past my limits before my body gave up? Would the help of Dr. Smith be enough for my body to last until then?

As of right now, I didn't know.

Also, I didn't care.

Because no matter what, I needed power.