The Awakened Bridge tested an Awakened Player's Affinity for Divinity/Divinity Sustainability in a unique style. The Bridge was only as strong as the amount of Divinity stored presently and also the amount that could be gained in the future.
If one's Bridge was weak, it meant their Affinity and presence of Divinity wasn't high. Their Bridges would collapse because of this and they would fall into the chasm below, ending the Test.
Of course they wouldn't really fall. They would only reappear right before the Priest.
Aeric stared at the Bridge as his heart pounded hard within his chest. He himself didn't know at all what the goal of this Test was for, but he stepped forward, head held high and ready to do whatever it took the get to the other side.
As his foot touched the Bridge, it didn't waver. He placed another foot, and then another, and the bridge remained steady. No creaks, no cracks.
Step by step, Aeric walked across the ethereal span, his body moving confidently even though his mind was racing.
'So far, so good...' he thought. 'I'm nearing the end now.'
'That is unbelievable...' the Divine Priest thought as he watched him carefully, his eyes narrowing in contemplation. Aeric could tell that he was weighing that gaze, but he kept moving. When he reached the other side, the Bridge still stood strong, unyielding.
"I did it, didn't I?" he turned to the Priest. "I won the test."
"Hmm," the Priest murmured, an acknowledgment that spoke volumes. When the Bridge vanished, Aeric exhaled a breath he didn't realize he was holding. He had passed the first test, but not in the manner that he thought.
Normally, the Bridges were supposed to make a little creak along the line for most Awakened Players. But for Aeric's to make no creak at all, just perfectly letting him cross. How powerful would he have to be to accomplish that?
Curiouser and curiouser.
But there was more to come.
The Divine Priest stepped forward and placed his hand on the ground. With a gesture, a large mirror rose from the floor, its surface rippling like water until it stilled. "Now, the Mirror of Revelation," the Priest intoned.
The Mirror didn't look exceptional at all. It just resembled a conventional mirror, only that it did not have wooden edges.
'I guess that's what's going to... x-ray my body.'
"Face the mirror," the Priest ordered. "Stand in attention."
With gratitude, Aeric hurriedly wore his clothes while the Priest documented.
"I have reached a conclusion based on the tests," the Priest announced once he was done.
"Okay," Aeric said, buckling his shirt. "What's your verdict?"
"You are Awakened. In fact, you are even more Awakened than everyone else in this Institution."
Aeric nodded. "That's a relief to hear. So can I go now?"
"Which is where the problem lies," the Priest said, seemingly not finished earlier.
Aeric's eyes narrowed with some worry and his heart sunk a bit. "What problem?"
"You have questioned the order of things in this realm more than once. No one has ever been Classless or Skill-less after their Awakening. And no one has ever amassed as much Divinity as you have in your Divine Body. Your Affinity is so high that if it had shone inside that hallway, you would have ended up blinding the entire Daughters and teachers."
Aeric wasn't sure whether he was exaggerating.
"So you have left me no choice but to put you in my list for Suspicious Tampering of the Magical Order!" The Divine Priest declared, causing Aeric to recoil back in fear.
'What?'
"I could put you straight away into the list of certainty, you'd no longer be a suspect but a full culprit who has somehow found a way to tamper with the magical system of our world. A Hacker!"
Dum!
Aeric snapped backwards in fear once again. 'What! He thinks I'm... hacking the game?!!!'
"I will assume for your father and mother's sake that this is only a small misunderstanding and perhaps your Class is taking a bit of a time to allow itself for Declaration. So I'll give you the days of seven for it to reveal itself! Once seven days pass and there is still no Class to be Declared to the world, you'll leave the Suspect list and become a Felon! An enemy of the Divinity!"
Aeric was still shock, his eyes staring at the Priest who stared back with his cold, stern ones. "Am I understood, boy?!"
He nodded his head slowly. "Yes, Divine Priest."
"You have seven days, Aeric of Starlight!" the Priest warned. "Seven days!"