Chapter 28 - The Only Apprentice
Fifteen people. In the end, only fifteen had managed to complete the selection test. Out of nearly fifty participants. And strangely enough, among those final few, Tave stood alone as the only Gaia Apprentice.
This, of course, did not go unnoticed. In the chamber where the survivors had been gathered, the other fourteen occasionally cast glances his way. Whether it was admiration for a Gaia Apprentice capable of defeating a Tier 3 Monster, or suspicion that he somehow didn't belong, was unclear. Though judging by the sharpness in their eyes, it leaned more toward the latter.
Then the door at the back of the room creaked open.
A man entered clad in black armor, streaked with subtle traces of red along the plating. His long black hair was pulled back in a tie, lending him an air of authority. The room shifted instantly.
All the candidates rose to their feet and raised their hands in a formal salute.
"By steel and flame, we stand ready, Commander!"
Tave followed without delay. Whatever memories remained of the original Tave, some instinctive sense of military decorum still echoed in his mind.
The man who had entered was a Knight Commander, one of only two in all of Deadbay City. A Gaia Champion, no less. His level was to be somewhere in the fifties.
He looked to be in his early forties, clearly younger than Tave and Lily's father, who also held the rank of Gaia Champion. But this man had not climbed the Knight Order's ranks through connections or privilege. No, everything about him, the gaze, the posture, the silence, marked him as someone who had ascended through talent alone. A prodigy.
The Commander said nothing as he strode past the saluting knights, his face a stoic mask. Reaching the front of the room, he turned, stood still for a moment, and then gave a single nod.
Everyone sat down.