The Asshai's Bloodmage

 In the Garden of Beasts, the day had barely begun and many people were in front of the tower waiting for the last test to begin. There were already 140 people and some would try to retake the test one last time to improve their positions, others were there to analyze their future rivals inside the tower and obtain information about them, while others were just waiting to see their results, eager to gain some additional benefits by entering the tower. Among them was a 25-year-old oriental man and his 18-year-old younger brother, the two looked very similar, but no one could see it since they both wore masks. Called the Yun brothers, they had arrived in Asshai less than a year ago from Yi Ti while following a caravan of shadow men who crossed the dangerous Shadow Mountains.

Since then, they had been waiting for the opportunity to take the test in the Garden of Beasts because they both wanted to learn the art of taming that the Tower was famous for. The reason for this was that the boys' father had gotten his hands on a pair of dark lizard eggs. Very different from the tamed and altered lizards that were used in Asshai and Yi Ti to pull carriages, the shadow lizard was much more agile, venomous and wild. The father hoped that his sons could learn to control these two creatures so that they could use them as a way to gain more power and influence in their homeland. The elder brother Yun Hai had obtained a huge score by having two affinities and being a master in the way of the sword, but his younger brother Yun Zhe only had one element and was not considered a master in martial arts.

In order to try to change the younger brother's chances, Yun Hai put all his savings into giving his brother a stronger body through alterations. He also sold his armor and used all his money to get an artifact in his hands. With this and the shadow lizard egg, despite not having any taming techniques, he hoped that his brother would pass without any problems after retaking his test today. While they were waiting together for the test time, a skinny figure wearing a familiar blood red mask approached them. This little guy took the test on the same day as the brothers and since then they had become a little closer despite being competitors. Yun Hai didn't really like the talkative shadow man, but since he always talked too much and sometimes gave away valuable information, the Yun brothers decided to maintain their friendship.

"Yun Hai, Yun Zhe, do you see that boy in the white robe? It's Little Liu, but don't call him little, okay? He's only 11 years old and has the special physique of purity. This year he'll probably take first place on the tower's best list."

Yun Hai looked at the boy who was undoubtedly the youngest child to live in Asshai publicly. His body was so special that it was unaffected by the effects of the city's environment that caused children to get sick and die. He was very short, even for an 11 year old, and according to the gossipy Ashilan, the physique of purity was a mix of the Light and Holy affinities. Beside the boy were his father and mother, who were around 30 years old. They both also had magical talent and were entering the tower with their son, which would be quite rare, but not confirmed yet.

No one dared to approach them, so he asked Ashilan about the other two special physicists, but not even he knew much. This information was sealed within the city and few knew who they were. He only knew that the two were part of a larger group that would be joining the Garden of Beasts with them this year. When he was about to speculate more about the two physicists, a group of 20 people entered the gates and began to approach the tower. Due to the distance, it took a while for everyone to see who the newcomers were and soon a buzz began among the participants. Ashilan wasted no time and went to another group that was making a big scene and it didn't take long for him to return with the information.

"It's them! The two special physicists belong to this group!"

Looking at the group, Yun Hai saw a man walking in front. He was wearing red clothes, a red mask, a crow with red feathers on his shoulder, a black cape on his back, his hair was long and silver, and even behind the mask that covered his nose and eyes, one could still see an unusual red color in his pupils. Following behind him, all 20 of them had armbands on their arms that were colored gold and red. The armband had an eye inside two overlapping triangles, but the shape of the eye was different from a normal eye, it was as if a golden ring formed the pupil. He then said:

"I know that symbol, I've seen it before." Yun Hai said.

As soon as he said this, the gossiper Ashilan couldn't help herself, pulling at his cloak.

"Where? How? Who are they?"

Yun Zhe started laughing at the boy's obsessive curiosity for secrets, while Yun Hai explained that the symbol was plastered all over the Sage Store, a new and very popular store that opened this week, and that the symbol was also on the message painted in blood at the port. They were called the Order of Sages.

"Damn, how did I not know about this? Is this insane group going to join the Garden of Beasts?"

Unable to hold back, Ashilan went off again to spread the gossip to other people he had already become "friends" with. While Yun Hai was just worried, the chances of his brother joining the tower decreased again.

***

There were a lot more people than Rafael thought, including his group there were almost 160 people. This gave him a new idea about all these people gathered, but he left it for after the test. And when it was 6:00 am sharp, the chance to retake the test began. He paid for the test for the only one who hadn't taken it yet, his blacksmith. Most of the other members decided to pay to try the combat test again.

To ensure that there was no cheating in the counting of points such as "borrowing artifacts", people with artifacts and pets had to count them again to prevent them from being lent to those who had low scores.

It was not against the rules for you to lend or give away your artifact, but it would affect your own score if you did not have another artifact with you, so no one took the risk since there were benefits for the best who would join the tower. There were few starting the test from the first phase and we were soon happy because there was one more who passed the test, the blacksmith only had an affinity for fire, but for me it was enough, I had already made some changes to him, since he was a direct subordinate of mine like Jhon. So he would earn some points for that, not to mention that I realized that most of the people here in our group with an affinity were also the few people who persevered until the end in the Asshai'i classes with Aisha.

Perhaps this is the restriction on how far one can go in this language. Of course, this could be an exception for the shadow men, or perhaps it was their mysterious tattoos on their bodies. Salim kept this a secret, but he did reveal a thing or two about the dyes being magical and used for protection. The blacksmith was old and had never cultivated his soul, so his score was low. He didn't gain many points in magical knowledge either. But he did gain good points in alterations and fought to a draw using a huge hammer. He already had great strength before this due to his profession, and his alterations were all in this area as well. Now all that was left was to wait for the results.

When it was almost 11:00 in the morning, the Master of Beasts himself appeared, with all the disciples of the tower and his wife at his side. He began a speech saying that his tower was a place where one could learn magic with low risk and low cost, and most students were only required to stay for 5 years after signing the contract. He then stated the rules, which were not to go where you were not authorized, not to share private knowledge, not to kill other disciples of the tower, and to complete at least 1 mission every month. Then he listed the benefits, the disciples would gain one free knowledge upon joining and another private knowledge. Each of them had different values ​​within the tower and could only be purchased using points obtained from missions and tasks completed inside and outside the tower.

The free knowledge was yours to do with as you wish, and the private knowledge you could never trade, sell, or lend to anyone due to the restrictions of the blood contract. Normally the tower would only accept 100 new members, but this time they would make an exception allowing 120 to pass and in 1 month they would eliminate the 10 weakest and least talented permanently. This would only happen due to the high amount of high talents and the lack of manpower in the tower. In addition, the 5 best students of each recruitment would earn additional rewards, but this time it would be the 10 best. Thus ensuring many benefits for more people. At that moment, everyone celebrated and began to look forward to the list, so the disciple who introduced himself as Genesis began to speak the names of those who passed, following the order of the most talented.

Number 1 Zhang

Number 2 Jhon

Number 3 Liushiam

Number 4 Rafael

Number 5 Zaya

Number 6 Vitarys

Number 7 Omar

Number 8 Yun Hai

Number 9 Jack

Number 10 Elowen

Number 11 Liza

Number 12...

The moment the list came up, the Yun brothers' eyes became serious, and it wasn't because of their positions, but rather when they saw a familiar and peculiar name from their homeland in position 1...

***

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