Arcane Academy: The Divine Extraction Legacy Chapter 1289: Lisa Grayback

Cielo slowly opened his eyes.

The strange illusion that had surrounded the applicants disappeared almost as quickly as it had appeared, and the examination field returned to normal.

For several seconds, nobody spoke.

The surviving applicants stood in silence as many of them were still trying to recover from the experience. Some were drenched in sweat, while others looked around in confusion as they tried to determine whether what they had experienced had truly been an illusion.

Cielo looked across the field before finally smiling.

"That concludes the second examination."

A murmur immediately spread through the remaining applicants.

Bon was among them, but his expression remained unusually serious...

Well, he was still thinking about what had just happened.

Cielo’s Psychic Arts were far beyond anything they had encountered... If such an ability could be used against an entire group of people simultaneously, then he believed that the Dawnblades possessed another power that the kingdom knew almost nothing about.

However, before Bon could think further, Cielo continued.

"Those who were unable to escape the illusion have failed."

Several applicants immediately looked around nervously.

Cielo then pointed to the people who had passed.

He had no idea about their names, but he had marked those people who were able to escape his Psychic Art.

Those who had been pointed out stepped forward while the others gradually realized that they had failed the second examination.

In the end, only around eighty additional applicants remained.

Ruth looked across the group, and a faint smile appeared on her face.

"Eighty."

Jericho nodded.

"That’s almost exactly what we needed."

Ruth and the others gathered around them as they also looked pleased.

They had originally prepared one hundred Philosopher’s Elixirs for this recruitment.

They did not need to use all of them immediately.

Having eighty successful candidates meant that they would still have twenty elixirs left as reserves. If some of the candidates failed to awaken their Arcane Path, or if they encountered another talented individual in the future, they would still have enough resources to deal with the situation.

Cecilia looked toward the recruits with excitement.

"There are quite a few interesting ones."

Her eyes moved across the crowd, carefully observing their bodies, movements, and expressions.

Darlene also nodded.

"I’ve already noticed several people with excellent physical potential."

Cielo smiled.

"And there are some with unusually strong mental abilities as well."

Just like that, the group, including Liang Shen and Ayaka, couldn’t help but assess these adventurers.

"That one over there has the posture of someone who has trained with weapons for most of his life. I like him..."

"And the woman beside him seemed to have trained as an Assassin. She might be suitable for Combat Arts..."

"We’ll have to see the result of their Elixir consumption before deciding that...

"Of course."

The eighty applicants had no idea what was being discussed.

They believed they had simply passed the recruitment examination and were about to become members of the Dawnblades.

None of them knew that they were standing at the threshold of something far greater.

The Dawnblades were not merely planning to train them.

They were preparing to transform them into Arcanists.

None of them knew yet, but some candidates would be suited for Dark Arts, while others might possess the potential for Summoning Arts or Mystic Arts.

Those with strong elemental affinities could enter Elemental Arts, while talented warriors could follow the path of Knights or Combat Arts.

There were also Alchemy Arts, Rune Arts, Beast Arts, Holy Arts, Psychic Arts, and Transformation Arts.

Each path required different talents.

The Dawnblades had no intention of forcing everyone into the same path.

They wanted to discover what each person was capable of becoming.

Ruth looked at the eighty successful applicants once more and smiled.

"Welcome to the Dawnblades."

The applicants immediately became excited... and none of them realized that, before long, the entire Farinas Continent might begin to hear about the revolution they were about to create.

***

Back in the original Human Realm, everyone had gathered around the enormous Formation Array that Cypher’s team had spent so much time stabilizing.

Above the formation floated the mysterious gate that connected their world to Valor Realm. Unlike before, the portal was now much more stable, and its surface no longer fluctuated violently.

Ruth’s group had already established a foundation on the other side, while Cypher and the other Time Manipulators had managed to reinforce the portal enough to make a proper crossing possible. Because of this, Kyle had naturally been the first person to volunteer.

"I’ll go."

Kyle stood in front of the formation with a serious expression.

"We don’t know what we’ll encounter after crossing, so I should be the one to investigate it personally."

Since his Avatars actually failed to cross, it was better for him to try, since he believed that it was only because of their incomplete souls...

Kyle looked around at the others.

"What?"

Magnus, one of the Immortals, shook his head.

"You can’t go."

Kyle frowned.

"Why?"

"Because you’re our leader."

The answer was simple, but it was enough to silence him.

Kyle was the core of their entire group. Countless people were relying on him, and the various factions cooperating with them had been organized around his existence. If something happened to Kyle in the Valor Realm, the consequences would be far greater than simply losing one powerful fighter.

Kyle, however, was clearly dissatisfied.

"I can protect myself."

"We know that," Denise said. "That’s not the problem."

Kyle’s expression became even more serious.

Everyone had already seen what happened when his Avatars attempted to enter the portal.

The Avatars had simply been shredded by the pressure of the passage.

"We can’t risk sending you through when we don’t even know what the portal will do to your soul," someone finally said.

"If something happens to you, the entire operation could collapse."

Kyle clenched his fists.

He knew they were right, but that didn’t make the decision any easier.

Then a woman stepped forward... "I’ll go."

Everyone turned toward her.

Lisa Grayback smiled calmly as she walked toward the formation.