127 Bitter Memory

<<WARNING: Sensitive readers might what to skip this chapter>>

As the sound of the massive wooden doors slamming shut echoed through the field, all the young people fell quiet. The same old mage who had spoken to them at the bottom of the mountain stood on a small podium in front of the student.

"Congratulations on making it this far," his deep timbered voice rang out.

"Making it this point means you young men and women are qualified to take part in our assessment tests. The top fifty will have the honor of joining one of the top prestigious magical school in the Lower Realm giving you access to the best cultivation resources available."

The buzz of excited chatter broke out at the mention of cultivation resources, most of the people standing in the crowd came from middle to lower class families in the Lower Realm they had little to no access to cultivation potions and pills.

Cultivation resources were extremely expensive, only noble families could afford them, and even then only the children who had the most potential were given these resources. To these young teenagers entering Damonia would be a dream come true.

With each increase in rank a mage's life span was extended, and while these bronze class citizens of the Lower Realm were limited to only reach Knight of the 12th class, they could still extend their lifespans by three to four hundred years.

Compared to a stone class citizen who only lived for seventy or eighty years, three hundred years was very attractive. The youngsters standing on the field were also destined to enter the higher ranks of society in the Lower Realm, once they graduated they would either enter government and become a ranked official or go on to start their own businesses or even join the mercenaries guild, and for those like Raven who had a dual affinity, she could marry into one of the noble families.

As for those silver class citizens, if they were young enough and advanced to Bishop of the 1st class, they would automatically be transferred to the Mid Realm, gaining a lifespan of seven to eight hundred years.

Cultivating in the Lower Realm with its mediocre Qi without cultivating resources severely limited a person's ability to advance, especially once a mage reached Knight of the 5th class. Jayde has been extremely fortunate to run into the fire spirit and Yinxin which had propelled her way beyond her peers in terms of cultivation.

Fiery determination and greed lit up the young people's eyes as they thought about the cultivation resources that would be made available to them if they entered Damonia. You were talking about a life or death situation for them.

Each one swore they would do anything to be within the top fifty youngsters selected. Except for Jayde's group, everyone started looking at the person next to them as if they were facing their worst enemy.

The old mage on the podium smiled as he saw the ferocious looks on the youngsters' faces as his words sunk in. That's more like it, he thought. Turning these tame puppies into ferocious beasts was his main duty. Only the strong survived on Doha.

Uh-uh, this is not good, Jayde thought as she noticed the change taking place within the youths around her.

"Watch yourselves," she whispered out the corner of her mouth to the trio standing next to her.

Raven, Nova and Ash hearing Jayde warning snapped out of their own daze when they heard Jayde's warning, they had been daydreaming about how much those resources would change their lives. Glancing around they were shocked at the vicious looks they were receiving from the people around them.

Warily the three straightened up, while not making any overt aggressive moves, they all became alert to any danger.

Amateurs, Jayde thought as she took in the change around her. She had already figured out what the old mage was up too. When it came to physiological games, Jayde had been trained by the best in the Federation

She had already worked out that the magical school was trying to create divisions between the youths, sowing discord to prevent them from teaming up.

Hmph, she snorted to herself, compared to how the Xi Corporation did it — these old guys were amateurs. Just thinking of what the Xi Corporation had done to her and the rest of the children from her batch made her want to rend and tear things.

When Jayde was six years old, the caretakers at her facility had brought the children to a large room filled with small cages. Inside those cages were various types of puppies and kittens. Each child was then told they could choose a kitten or puppy for themselves. It was a gift from the Xi Corporation for their excellent achievements.

Warily each of the children had been nervous when they entered the room, but once hearing that this was a reward they had earned they had been excited. Xi Corp had been a master of the carrot and stick approach.

Each child had rushed to view the cages, it had taken the whole day for every child to choose their pet. Jayde had selected a tiny calico kitten with emerald green eyes just like hers. The caretakers had them given them instructions on how to look after their new pets.

Jayde and named her kitten Cocoa after her favorite treat — chocolate. For two years she and Cocoa had been inseparable. All the children had bonded deeply with their pets. The friendship between children was severely frowned upon, although that didn't stop the children from forming secret friendships. With their animal companions, they were allowed to express their affections, it was even encouraged.

Two years to the date they were then told to bring their pets to the main hall. They were all informed that it was for a very special treat. Jayde still remembers how excited they were as they gathered together holding their pets, all dressed in their grey synsuits, smiling up at the caretakers.

On that day Jayde finally realized just what a hellish place the Xi Corp was. They were informed that for their 'emotional development' it was now time to get rid of all emotional attachments, and the method they came up with was to kill their beloved pets.

But to make it even more traumatizing, they were not allowed to kill their own pets, no the Xi Corporation was much more insidious than that. The had been observing the children for years and had already figured out which children had formed bonds, so they selected each child's best friend to kill their pets in front of them.

To make matter even more interesting, they added another stipulation. Should you give the animal a quick death you would be punished — fifty beatings with the pain-inducing stick plus two weeks hard labor. The child that could make the animal suffer the most would be awarded a gold card.

A gold card was a get out jail free card. You could use it anything besides gaining your freedom. It was a life-saving grace. If a child failed an assessment, they would be deemed "faulty goods" and subject to termination, if you had a gold card, you could use it to save your life, giving you six more months to train.

Jayde's roommate at that time had been her best friend, they had been together all their lives. Many of the children broke down, some even refused, but after the first child had his brains splattered by a blaster, the children quickly realized that to rebel meant death. When it came to Jayde's and SN1013 turn, Jayde was forced to go first.

SN1013 had chosen the cutest Pomeranian, whom she had named Chanel, Jayde had known that SN1013 adored little Chanel. With her synblade in one hand, Jayde had looked into those cute black button eyes and had immediately thrust her synblade into the base of the skull, severing the brain stem killing it instantly.

She hadn't cared that she would be punished, there was no way that she was going to torture some poor animal just because she was told to. To this day, she still remembers SN1013 grief filled scream. When Jayde handed over Cocoa, she had thought that SN1013 would repay her kindness by giving Cocoa a quick death, but SN1013 had glared at her with hate-filled eyes.

SN1013 took great pleasure in slowly peeling the skin off little Cocoa. Since the pets had been paralyzed they couldn't even fight back, only howl and meow in agony. Every time Cocoa had howled in agony SN1013 had thrown a gloating smile in Jayde's direction.

That was the last time that Jayde had ever cried. Looking into those gloating eyes, Jayde had sworn she would get her back, it took her fifteen years but on one of their black ops missions, Jayde had repaid SN1013 hundred times back for what she did to her Cocoa.

After all their precious pets were slaughtered the children were then made to store the pets away for two weeks, to allow the meat to rot. Their final test was then to eat the remains of their precious pets, on that day Jayde had felt as black ice had covered her heart and soul. Even years later when Lawrence befriended her, she had never allowed any human to get as close to her as SN1013.

Shaking her head to dislodge the painful memories, Jayde looked around her, the youths were getting aggressive, she could feel how charged the air was, anything could set off a huge brawl if something wasn't done to distract the crowd.

The old mage on the podium watch the youths beneath him. After years of doing the same speech, he was aware of just when the students were about to start brawling. Smiling he lifted his hands to gain everyone's attention.

"I am sure you are all excited to get on with the assessment?"

"Yes!" the crowd roared back.

"All right then, the assessment is easy, all you have to do it make it through our appraisal array," the old man said point to a large stone platform to his left.

[Isha was is an array?] Jayde pathed to Isha.

Isha had become used to the gaps in Jayde's magical knowledge, it was one of the reasons why he advocated for her to attend a magical school.

[An array is a set of specific runes set-up to create various magical structures. Similar to your protection ward, they can as similar to your protection ward or complex structures that can create a magical dimension.]

Jayde's eyes lit up with interest at Isha explanation. She really found this new world so interesting. Adding a mental note to learn more about these arrays, Jayde turned her attention back to the old mage up on the podium.

"All of you will now take a place on the stone platform, once everyone is ready teachers of Damonia will activate the array. Now make your way over the platform, no fighting, shoving or bullying will be tolerated."

Jayde found the last statement of the ironic, considering how he had gone to the trouble to sow discord among them all.

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Quote of the day:

"Happiness is an attitude. We either make ourselves miserable, or happy and strong. The amount of work is the same." -- Carlos Castaneda