The golden eyes glow brighter, and it feels like pressure is pushing down on us through the screen. Yellow threads of divine energy even leak into the room straight through the mana shielding, and I see other applicants start to sweat and shake. The gravity in the room increases slightly, and the Director continues to speak. "It appears our stage 5 simulation room has been prematurely terminated... This was not within our expectations... There have been many oddities popping up lately...." The pressure increases, making the room rise in temperature, the air thickens, and the gravity multiplies again. All applicants fall to their knees, holding their hearts, struggling to breathe. I barely would have noticed it if it wasn't for their reactions. After plunging deep into the aura of the green serpent for days on end, allowing its divine energy to tear my body down and saturate every cell in my being repeatedly to farm its energy; the light tendrils of yellow energy that fill the room feel like nothing more than someone turning the temperature up by a few degrees. I send a telepathic wave into Emrie's head, and we both fall to the ground to play the part. A ripple of minor amusement comes through the yellow energy. There's a pause, and I feel a ripple of anger come through the divine energy that leaks through the walls of this room. "In addition to this, I will be choosing four of you to train exclusively with me, and become the new future A-Class hunters in the 8 Great Regions. Due to the increased nature of high-grade dungeon breaks out in the Dark Continent these past months, I've decided to double the number of fighters at our highest rank of Military Power. Other nations to our north and south will likely be doing the same, so we must match them in strength." I think about his words carefully, and realize he's lying straight to all of our faces. There were some dungeon breaks last month during one of the surges, but my doubles and army members handled all the severe ones personally with ease. The real reason he wants to train more A-Class hunters is to strengthen his own military power in order to handle me, the Flame Emperor, as a growing threat in the Dark Continent. While I think this over, three figures walk onto the outer edges of the video screen, and at the same time, the growing pressure of yellow divine energy in the room subsides. A few of the applicants cough and gasp for breath. I stay down on the ground for a few seconds before standing and looking back up at the feed, then tell Emrie to do the same. I watch the three figures on the screen surrounding the Apex Regions Director activate white light from their hands. I'm nearly certain these are healing skills, most likely the same [Soft Heal] skill as Nat and the battle healer in the room. Ember's words about the Director most likely needing treatment for a sickness come back to me, and I come to the conclusion that he's probably right... Using this Divine Energy seems to take a lot out of him. While he's being healed, the mysterious man speaks again. "I've contacted all of your Regional Directors, as we will be having a congratulatory ceremony for all of you. Your future contracts will be negotiated with any region that desires your work. It shouldn't take more than a few hours to have all of the Directors with us to begin the event." My heartbeat speeds up at this statement. The ceremony itself isn't what makes me nervous, it's the fact that it's going to take a few hours for all of the Directors to arrive. The Lich King mentioned that his limiter, holding in all of his mana control, will only last an hour. If this is the case, there may be a major issue in hiding the identity of Emrie Carter. If he's exposed, then my identity of Ray Anderson will be far more suspicious by association. It isn't out of the range of possibilities to just leave right now back to the Crimson City and forget investigating any further. However, the Director's words of strengthening their forces and creating more A-Class hunters is something I still want to learn more about. My mind races for more ideas to get us out of this new situation, but the Director speaks up again to disturb my train of thought. "While we wait, I'd like to speak to each of you individually. I will give you all time to rest, but I have a few questions for each of you and would like to hear your personal thoughts on the results of the exam this year." If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it. The three healers leave the Director's side after this statement, and a very light flow of yellow Divine Energy comes back in through the room. It isn't nearly as strong, but a door opens beside Rodrigo, and it's clear that down the hall that it leads, the intensity of this heavy pressure in the air will get stronger. Without warning, the video above the room cuts off, and Rodrigo speaks up, looking down at his silver tablet. "Alright, looks like we're going up the list in order starting with you." He points at Mack, the battle healer in 12th place on the leaderboard. He nods and walks through the open door without hesitating. We're all left to stand in silence as the door closes, and the 11 of us are left in the empty mana shielded room with Rodrigo. No one wants to speak up, and many of the applicants are still shaken by the immense pressure they were exposed to moments ago. I even see Marcie, Nat, and Dane a bit shaken up by the events that just took place. About 3 minutes later, the battle healer walks back into the room, and Callum is called by Rodrigo to go through the door for his meeting next. My eyes widen when I see a golden collar around the healer's neck, and a new buff beneath his status called [The Sun God's Curse Mark] burning with golden yellow soul energy on his status. My heart rate speeds up with a mixture of excitement, curiosity, and a hint of fear as well. When Callum comes back into the room a few minutes later, these emotions only grow because he too has the curse. Both of the Veridian applicants that passed with a single red fragment come back with bright smiles on their faces, and golden collars to match them. As I smile and walk by, we meet eyes, as Rodrigo is the A-Class hunter that managed to get me into these exams. His aura emanates worry and is filled with uneasy nerves.