A World Of Decree: And The Seven Laws

With so many questions scavenging through Atlas's mind, the voice proceeded to finally explain the situation he was faced with, "You are all here because you believe you are worthy candidates for our school. However, only a select few of you will pass the upcoming trials, while the rest will either be eliminated or disqualified from the exam. I should also mention that there is no written exam this year, we have decided to not include a written performance evaluation and individually look at your achievements from your previous 10 years of academic work. As you can imagine, if you are standing here today, then you are already in a better position than the other 50% of the students who failed to get the invitation. Now, for your first stage in becoming a Princewood student, you will be faced with a trial against the ones you have grown up with through many years of your life by facing students from your hometown."

Instructions were filling the student's heads as the Grandmaster continued to speak. It was all starting to make sense to Atlas, however, still having no possible explanation of how they got to this mysterious field in the first place.

The voice continued, "You are now standing in one of the hundreds of Princewood Academy training zones. You are all located directly in the middle of a circular field, which has a diameter of exactly half a mile. Throughout this field, 60 metal rods are placed randomly with a black ring attached to the top. Your goal is to collect three rings and bring it back to where you currently stand, there you will see a golden box with a blue sphere imprisoned on top. Once you have three rings collected, you can place your right hand on the sphere and raise your rings in the sky with your left, then proceed to say your full name to complete the 1st stage of the entrance exam. Don't worry, it isn't as easy as you think, but that's for you to figure out."

As the grandmaster finally got to the rules. The rules were as follows: Every ring you collect has to be placed in a visible spot around your waist for other opponents to see. Anyone can grab and steal the rings off another but cannot have more than three rings at a time on them. If a student is in any sort of contact with four rings they are immediately disqualified. Any magic can be used for stealing, movement, or combat to help you and your success during this stage.

The Grandmaster had one more thing to add before his departure, "Oh and one more thing, if anyone was paying attention to detail, then you would have noticed that there are only 60 rings. There are 126 of you here today, and if only three rings are distributed per person, then only 20 of you will pass this stage. As always, Good Luck, and let the first stage BEGIN!"

Atlas immediately looked at Clouse and signalled to a direction through the wheat field where no one else seemed to enter through, "That way, let's go."

Clouse nodded in agreement and they both dashed off into the thick forest of golden wheat leaves in front of them.

Running through the field with the wheat smacking them both on the face with every step made it hard to see anywhere they were going.

Fairly soon, the air seemed to thicken with every breath being harder to take. This was the catch the grandmaster mentioned, not even a few minutes into the field and Atlas was already struggling to breath. With just a few turns and nothing in sight, Atlas remembered that Clouse had a form of asthma, unaware of how breathing in this climate tortured his lungs with every step.

Clouse was struggling to stay alert, with his eyes slowly closing from the unfamiliar air that surrounds him. The air caused him to gasp in exhaustion, restricting his movement any further into the field. Right before Clouse collapsed to the ground, Atlas ran up to him, trying his hardest to provide any help he could, holding Clouse like a mother holds her newborn child.

There was nothing he could do, they both knew could see that quite clearly. Seconds before Clouse became unconscious from lack of oxygen, he was able to muster out one last breath of hope in a scathed, rusted voice, "Atlas. W-*cough,* Win. Please, you need this more than me. It's true I was never meant to be a fighter, but you were, Atlas. Fight forward, unleash your true self, this is where it matters now…" He paused for a moment while trying to get a hold of one more breath, "To think I would lose from su- *Cough,* such a stupid reason. But It's better for me to go now then later. I hope to see *Cough* you. At Princewood..."

With his last breath being stolen from him, Clouse was unable to breathe, lying on the ground with a satisfied look on his face.

Atlas didn't know what to do, with guilt covering his face, and a loss of hope creeping into his consciousness. Before he even had a chance to respond, a bright light shined on Clouse from the sky as his body began to disappear. Atlas knew he was still alive, he could tell from Clouse's calm, yet unwounded face.

Atlas figured out this must have been some type of emergency protocol for the fallen students. Now there was no other choice other than victory. However, even with Clouse gone Atlas remained unalone, with his friend's and family's trust by his side there were no obstacles that would challenge his hardship in this exam.

With no time to waste, Atlas brustled through the mysterious field in front of him with his hands pushing away the tall leaves with every step. Scratches began to form on his palms and arms, but that was the least of his worries. He fought through much more worse things in the past.

His breathing started to get more adjusted to the environment as Atlas began to contest through the heavy air. His lungs slowly began to breath at a steady pace, with his ribcage expanding and contracting normally. Not even five minutes have passed since the start and a boisterous voice pierced the dusty air,

"Rina Ambrose. 19 spots remain."

Atlas was appalled, his eyes widened in disbelief, not only had this meant that Rina had already passed, but the fact that no more than five minutes have passed and he hasn't even found a single ring. However, that soon changed when Atlas began to see a small clearing up ahead, and to his luck, it was an untouched ring on top of a steel metal rod just like the grandmaster explained before.

The ring stood fairly tall above the spoiled ground, with only the steel holding it up. The rod was identical to that of the gates to the train station, only now it was plunged into the crusty soil around it, waiting to be knocked down by any force applied.

As he approached the ring rapidly, he noticed his movement was slowing down, and not by his means, but something was off. Atlas looked down, noticing the ground quickly beginning to engulf his feet rapidly. With little time to think, a decision came to him as the soil was rising to his knees. Atlas knew panicking and crying for help wouldn't work, this was an exam to the best magic oriented school in the world, and every notion was made on purpose.

He thought to himself, If there are people watching, why in the world would they want kids to be panicking and scared for their life in the first stage of an entrance exam?

The soil was submerging Atlas at a moderate pace, slowly creeping up to his knee caps. Punching the dirt did nothing except tire him out. That is, until one of his punches he focused on made a dent into the soil. Ignoring his demise into the ground, and starting to focus his magic energy into the bottom of his feet was a cautious plan B he didn't truly believe would actually work. Avoiding all panic and staying patient, he noticed the ground beneath him slowly begin to dissolve into a pathway leading straight to his objective.

A simple, yet elusive test to see how to use your mind quickly, with your life in danger and no time to see possible outcomes. Atlas began to walk forward to the ring and quickly grab it off the top of the steel rod. The ring was around a foot wide, giving a solid grasp for the hand to carry.

Once the ring was no longer in contact with the pole, the pathway began to close and Atlas bolted out of the scene once more towards the wheat leaves for safety. A small popping sounds flew through the air as he snapped the ring off the pole, signaling it's obduction into the hands of a student.

Before clipping the ring on his waist by an invisible magnetic interference of his shorts and the ring, he turned around to see the soil rise from the ground all the way up to where the ring once was, and sinking back down with no sign of the steel rod. The soil settled on the ground and more wheat leaves sprung from the ground in sync with the others that were surrounding the clearing. The orientation made it seem like nothing took place just a few moments ago, with only more ground to cover for others still seeking the rings.

With no time to spare or waste, Atlas started running carefully through the field in search of two more rings. However, he was completely ignoring the announcer from before during this whole time. The voice stung through his ears, "Carly Flair, 2 spots remain. No more rings left."

Atlas stopped in his tracks as he thought to himself, no way, how did 18 people already pass? It couldn't have been more than six minutes… But I still have a ring, and no one can pass unless they have three. This is bad, I have to engage physically.

Time couldn't be wasted, Atlas still had a chance, and with that hope he turned around and started sprinting in the direction he originally came from. With the air still being thick, it didn't take long for Atlas to begin to slow down and catch his breath. He was adjusted to the thick air, but sprinting fast caused a massive spike in his heart rate, forcing him to slow down and breathe carefully. Atlas was practically walking already with the energy he had left until he heard faint screams up ahead; the type you might hear when entering a dark bas.e.m.e.nt or a simple toe stub on hardened furniture, it was hard to tell from far away.

Atlas approached with caution when he saw the clearing where all the students took their beginning leads into the marsh. Hiding behind the wheat leaves, he saw countless students gravely injured and unconscious with the bright light covering them. It was the same one that came to Clouse when he was on the brink of serious lung failure.

In the middle of all the students and lights, was David, holding up a kid by his loose shirt with two rings attached to his waist. David on the other hand, had three.

Without thinking or even scanning the scene for safety, Atlas stepped up with anger, "What in the hell do you think you're doing!"

David dropped the kid and slowly turned towards Atlas's direction with a terrifying smile on his face. "I have been looking for a little worm since the start of this dumb exam. And it looks like that little worm has finally come out," David howled in excitement.

Atlas noticed that David already had three rings around his waist, "Why are you doing this, you can pass the stage, why are you hurting people? Does it bring that much joy into your pathetic life?"

David was surprised to see Atlas like this, but still kept his smirk, "I do it because you are all weak. Magic is everything in this world, and the strong will always come out on top. Do you seriously think no one is watching during these stages? The so called 'teachers' of this school are obviously examining us and seeing who is truly worthy to pass. I am simply showing them my strength and not letting weaklings like you, get through this stage."

David began to approach Atlas, using his magic to enhance both of his arms into pure boulders of muscle and veins. "Don't worry, I'm a little bored already of the worms I've stepped on, so I'll only break a bone or two for you."

Atlas was pissed like never before and knew he couldn't possibly let David win. However, before he could think of a strategy, David was sprinting full speed at him and slammed his fist right into Atlas's c.h.e.s.t, sending him flying backwards right onto the dirty soil. It felt like someone took a sledgehammer and hurled it straight into his ribs. The punch was so unguarded that it nearly knocked Atlas unconscious. Not only that, the thick air from before caused Atlas to get the wind knocked out of him. Making him motionless for a few seconds on the ground, struggling to grasp onto any sign of fresh air. Wheezing, Atlas slowly started to regain control, lowering his breaths to a shallow pace until the pain in his sternum began to slither away.

However, with Atlas's courage and will to keep fighting, he made the best effort into being able to slowly stand from the ground while gasping in exhaustion and pain. He looked up and saw David approaching slowly this time, like looking at a predator approaching his prey for the kill.

Atlas's quick reflexes finally decided to kick in and an idea clicked into his mind, it was a hit or miss that could mean everything if it worked, or cost him everything if it didn't. David was so close to Atlas when he finally managed to stand up. This was the moment that Atlas was waiting for, he knew that David always started his initial fights with his right hand. Atlas also knew that David's first punch always came from the side, similar to if he was trying to slam a door with a lot of force.

It was exactly like the punch that just sent him flying, but this time it was too obvious David wouldn't do the same thing again. A low punch to the gut is what Atlas was expecting due to his knowledge of seeing David in action for years, and his current status from the previous blow to the ribs.

As expected, when David came face-to-face with Atlas, a little prologue came before the gut blow from David, "Now lay back down to the ground, like the worm you are."

However, this whole time Atlas was acting a lot more injured than he really was to make David think he was an easy target. David began to motion his right fist down low and as he released the momentum he built up straight into his target. Atlas didn't know how he was able to move so quick but he felt more alive than ever before, magic surging through his entire body.

It was like the magic that Atlas had in his body was suddenly unleashed from a cage, sending immense strength reflexes throughout his entire focus of control, making him easily dodge to the right. In the nick of time, Atlas quickly dashed down low in the milliseconds that he had before David could swing once again.

Atlas detached the loose ring that he had around his waist, swiping it onto an opening on David's belt to bring his total ring count to four. Before Atlas could make another swift getaway David's second punch was already in motion. With his fingers crossed and no time to dodge another attack, Atlas closed his eyes and prayed for the best.

He waited a few seconds and realized that he wasn't in any pain and there was no abnormal impact to his face. He opened his eyes, only to be greeted by slightly hairy knuckles clenched together tightly, inches away from his face, motionless.

A darkish, cloudy light was beginning to circle David's body on the field, taking away any possibility of escape. David had no idea what was going on, he could move his face and mouth, but the rest of his body was completely paralyzed.

A voice came into play from the clouds, it was the announcer from before, "David McCormack, you have broken the rule of carrying more than three rings on you at a single point in time. You are hereby disqualified from the entrance exam."

David's face was nothing like before after the announcer finished talking. His face was that of a child that just got his lollipop taken away, no tears, just a blank canvas with nothing to hide. Eyes wide, mouth slightly open, and mind going blank. He never noticed what Atlas really did while he dodged his vicious attack.

The dark light was beginning to fade away with David inside, but before it could, Atlas rose to say some last words to a fallen enemy, "Magic does rule the world, but you don't need it to prove you're the strongest. You taught me something David, something you will never understand. What it means to have trust from your friends of your true passions and accomplishments. I feel bad for you, because you don't have any friends, that's why you pick on people that you believe are weak. But they are truly the strong ones, who have yet to reach their potential. Don't worry, you have already reached yours, and will never climb in this world, while the rest of us will. So long. David."

With nothing to say, and staring at the ground, David vanished with the darkness, perishing from the field like ash, leaving behind four rings falling to the ground. They made a soft noise while colliding with the dirt below as they fell from his vanished body. Atlas carefully managed to pick up three rings, proceeding to his exit that lies within the center of the field. The kid from before watched that entire scene from the sidelines and stopped Atlas before he could put his hand on the sphere.

"Hey wait up," the kid said with a friendly grin, "I just wanted to say thanks, you saved me back there."

"Don't sweat it, I did what I had to do - stand up for myself," Atlas said politely.

"Since we're the last ones, would you mind if I take that ring left on the ground? I have two myself but-"

"It's all yours," Atlas finished off their chat as he put his hand on the sphere and proceeded to state his name while the other student grabbed his third and final ring as well.

Atlas disappeared and the remaining student was left with the final words from the announcer that he would remember forever, "Atlas Bright, 1 spot remains."