St Chaos Healer

Ch 57 - The Royal Academies

"Get off the platform, now," commanded Head Mage Sigurd, his voice booming through the chamber. We were initially taken aback by his sudden order, but it became clear from his expression that he was dead serious. As we made our way down from the platform, it felt as though we were being herded like a group of grazing sheep.

As exemplary candidates, we had expected to be treated with a certain degree of respect and admiration. However, all of that quickly dissipated as we were forced to obey Sigurd's every command.

We started getting down from the platform and watched the grandmasters who were still arguing with each other.

It was disheartening to see how quickly the grandmasters had descended into bickering amongst themselves. What should have been a solemn and revered occasion was quickly turning into a farce. The grandmasters were supposed to be impartial judges of our abilities, yet they were acting like children on a playground.

As I watched the grandmasters argue and fight amongst themselves, I couldn't help but feel that the entire ascension ceremony was a hoax. I had been so excited when I heard that they were coming to judge us, but now all of my excitement had evaporated into thin air. It was clear that they were not going to take this ceremony seriously.

Once all the candidates had stepped down from the platform, Sigurd approached it and knelt down, placing his hands on the edge. The floating doll fortress began to glow once again, and Sigurd's hands started to sink into the platform tiles as if they had turned into quicksand. We watched in awe as his arms sank deeper and deeper until only his biceps were visible.

In an instant, a strange buzzing sound filled the air and the large platform tiles began to glow. The grandmasters, who had been bickering moments ago, fell silent and turned to look at Sigurd with intense interest.

The tiles of the platform began to move in a strange zigzagging pattern, with the large circular tiles shifting inwards, gradually decreasing the size of the platform. They piled on top of one another to create a complex structure that none of us could have imagined.

It was like watching a deck of cards being shuffled before our eyes but in a big way. The tiles broke into even smaller pieces and then re-stacked themselves, forming new shapes and structures in the blink of an eye.

All of us candidates watched with awe and amazement as the platform transformed into an entirely new structure.

As the final arrangement took shape, we saw that the platform had been transformed into an arena-like structure with bleachers and uncovered stands made of stone planks providing seating for spectators. There were nine such bleacher stands arranged in a circular pattern, surrounding a large open space in the middle that resembled an arena.

In each of the nine stands, there was a big marble throne with the insignia of the respective royal academies, adding an air of grandeur to the entire setting.

Sigurd, the head mage, had managed to transform the platform into a new arena within a few minutes. The grandmasters were amazed by the new structure and were eager to see it up close. Grandmaster Pierre was the first to approach the new arena.

"Your architectural skills never cease to amaze me, Head Mage Sigurd," praised Grandmaster Pierre as he examined the arena with a look of awe.

Sigurd smiled in response to the compliment. "Grandmaster, Pierre praised me too highly."

"Well if you ever want to look for a new job, I am certainly looking for an architect of your caliber," said Pierre with a wide smile.

"You certainly jest Grandmaster Pierre. This old bone that he needs will be a good rest once I retire from duties in the few years to come. But if I ever wanted to look for a new job, I would certainly contact you."