Everyone was shaken up by what had happened. Though the exchange had been short, it still showed them how easily they could have died. So when they came out of the dungeon, they came out with a new mindset, a new fear for what could kill them.
When they all walked out, the wyvern had indeed been dealt with. The instructors rushed to them, helping everyone however they could. They had even called for backup to help them.
Riven sat outside, his head bowed, looking at the floor. Noel walked up to him and took a seat at his side.
"I’ve met shitty people, but after today, I know that some people aren’t meant to have lives. To be able to blame you after a sacrifice like that, then they should all just die," Noel said.
"Oh? They blamed me? What exactly did they say?" Riven asked.
"It was that dude with the prince and princess, as well as your fiancée. They said you ran out, you escaped for yourself and the wyvern chased you by chance," Noel said.
"I see. As stupid as that sounds, I understand why they would say that, and honestly, I don’t care right now. We almost died, getting out of there alive was more important. Let them say what they want to say, I’ll change their minds soon," Riven said.
As the both of them spoke, Lance suddenly walked up to Riven, his gaze cold as the winter. He stood there in a threatening pose, his hand on his sword.
"I’ve met a lot of people like you, people who only think about themselves, and so far, I find you the king of despicable," Lance said.
"I think I told you to stay away..."
"Noel, that’s enough," Riven cut his brother short. "The more you speak to him, the more you validate him. He thinks he knows me from one experience, then let him keep believing that," Riven said.
Lance frowned and tried to pull his sword, but before he could even do that, Riven had already got on his feet, his sword at Lance’s neck.
"I’ll tell you this once and one time only—if you ever draw your blade at me, I’ll make sure that you never draw it again," Riven spoke, his tone cold and murderous.
Lance looked at the sword at his neck. There was nothing he could do right now, but this still made him angry. He was the chosen one, the one blessed by the goddess Lumis and given the system and all. How can there be someone his age stronger than him?
He reluctantly took a step back, his eyes still burning in rage. He would surely pay this back in full, no matter what.
"This won’t be the last time we meet," Lance said and walked away.
After their exchange, the instructors started the next process, and that was eliminating based on scores. The man that spoke at the beginning of the exam came out again.
"Now, the strips on your hands are also capable of giving you your results. There are no positions, no grades. All you will see is a green light if you have managed to pass, and red light if you have failed. If you have failed, you are to ensure you return the strip and all its content to us.
If you try to make off with it, it will trigger a self-destruct that will raise off your entire arm in the process. For those that pass, you will return with the strip and head to the academy in three days for the next exams.
Also, the contents that you have gathered inside the strip are considered rewards for you passing, so you can take them and do whatever it is you want with it. Now, without further wasting of time, your results will come in now."
Riven realized that these instructors refused to explain to the others about the wyvern, as if it wasn’t something serious. Riven felt that was wrong. The fact that someone had died inside there—the son of a marquis killed himself inside there—and they aren’t doing anything.
Everyone literally saw a bone wyvern fly out, and yet they didn’t explain it to them. Maybe it was because more than half of them were heading back home and they didn’t want to stress themselves for people that didn’t need to know the explanation, since they wouldn’t be here.
As Riven was deep in thought, his strip projected a green light that pulled his attention.
"Oh, you passed as well," Noel said behind him, showing his green light to Riven.
"I guess I did," Riven said with a soft smile on his face, but then he turned his attention back to the other people, seeing what would follow after seeing their failures.
And soon, the cries, the yelling of disagreement, and the shouting of unfairness filled the air. Some walked away peacefully, tears in their eyes and their hands clenched, while some roared in anger, yelling about how this was rigged to favour the nobles and not the commoners.
Despite the fact that the commoners that had come for this exam were almost twice the number of the nobles, a whopping sixty to seventy percent of the people that passed were nobles, and even amongst the commoners, twenty percent were from knight families.
’I guess that’s to be expected. Commoners never had the resources and talents of a noble. In this world, bloodline and money make a huge difference.’
After the elimination, an hour passed with yelling and tears, but soon after, everyone that had failed walked away, leaving all those that passed.
Liana, Sophia, and Mia looked at Riven after everyone that failed left, their faces twisted into frowns, and then they looked away.
"They really hate you, bro," Noel casually said.
"Yeah, and after what happened today, they are sure to hate me more," Riven responded.
"I still can’t believe the narrative they chose to carry was that you ran away," Noel said.
"It is what happens when people see you as trash."