After 12 more days of grueling traveling, Eve finally delivered Raven the good news.
The piece of news he was so desperately hoping for graced his ears.
The best piece of news he could hear right after he woke up.
"We are close to Orient City," Eve informed.
Finally!
After such a treacherous journey.
For someone like him, who in neither his past life nor in the present one held any memory of leaving his nation, be it the Republic of Korea or the Ivory Kingdom.
This journey proved to be the most taxing thing he had ever done.
And his makeshift suspension barely helped.
And with the addition of Cardinal Mark, it was uncomfortable to say the least.
Not only was there another Cardinal, unfamiliar this time, watching over him, but he was simply unbearable to be around.
He felt like a homeroom teacher, silencing him every time he wanted to talk.
An actual representation of a demon.
He couldn't even research his mana conduit or the power system in general in front of him.
At least, he trained him quite efficiently in both types of combat forms.
He thought Eve was a good teacher until he trained for a few hours under him.
Mark was on a whole other level.
He understood exactly what he needed to improve.
He even helped him with his magic.
'I guess, experience combined with generational talent, does make one a good teacher.' Raven pondered.
Also, he was the former mentor of Eve herself.
He was bound to be an efficient and great teacher.
But it didn't come without a price.
It was hellish, to say the least.
To the point that he wanted to go back to Eve's training.
'I guess she did inherit the disregard for human life from someone.'
"Is there someone on my face?" Eve asked, feeling a curious gaze on her from Raven.
"Nothing," He answered, and looked outside the window of the carriage, "I was just excited to finally be back to civilization."
Of course, the boonies and small towns would not hold a candle to cities like Shelburg or Orient.
He never thought that a mere silhouette of a city could provide him with such an amount of relief.
"You do realize that, as a low-level, weak, and maggoty Arbiter, you would be spending most of your time out in the boonies?" Mark casually passed this remark, instantly souring Raven's mood.
Raven was stupefied.
What was the man's problem?
He pulled his head back inside and sat down on his seat silently.
Being with him for almost two weeks, he came to a stark realization.
He really couldn't stand this man's guts.
He was just very obnoxious to be around.
Just a few hours more.
…
'Whoa!' Raven gasped internally.
He could not believe his eyes looking at the city in front of him.
It was just baffling.
Whosoever noticed their carriage, they either froze in their spot or ran away shouting.
They immediately left everything they were doing and bowed down.
It felt surreal.
A city where everyone bowed to him.
Or rather, his sister and the other cardinal.
It was as if they were looking at their Gods themselves.
Well, it made sense since they were in the Holy State of Solis.
Like cattle, they surrounded their carriage and chanted their names like some sermon.
"Cardinal Eve!" "Cardinal Eve!"
"Cardinal Mark!" "Cardinal Mark!"
Honestly, it was very overwhelming for him, so he shut his window up and sat back down.
He was so lost in this experience that he had forgotten he was even traveling until the carriage screeched to a halt.
"We are here," The coachman shouted.
"Hah!" Raven stretched his body for a minute before he got up to leave.
"Finally-"
But he realized he couldn't get out due to the crowd.
Is this why the celebrities complained about their popularity getting in the way of their lives?
They were shouting their names, hoping to get a direct glance at their Cardinals.
The reverence and devotion in their voices scared him a little.
Was this normal for this world?
"Raven, hold your breath," Eve said, and he immediately obeyed.
He knew she wouldn't order him around needlessly.
Whoosh!
And the next second, they were in a completely different place.
His heart nearly stopped.
This wasn't teleportation.
They were simply that fast, and he just couldn't get used to that.
He opened his eyes to look around and found himself in a building that seemed a lot like a church's interior.
The interior was a vast, dimly lit hall of super-tall arches, with tall, stained-glass windows, washing the entire dim space in violet and blue light.
The drifting dust was visible in the light rays, floating through the empty prayer hall.
It had a small elevated stage for the priest to convey the teachings of their God.
The place had a damp, aged woody smell to it, probably from the creaking wooden benches in a line.
A proper gothic church ambiance.
"Are you ready?" Eve's word woke him up from his daze.
"Ready for?" He asked.
"The screening test," She answered, "It would happen in two days."
"I am." He answered, his attention constantly diverting to the church's interior.
"Don't gawk around too much," Mark opened his mouth, making Raven nervous.
The harbinger of doom had spoken.
"You will be living there until the test," Mark pointed towards something to his left.
He turned around, and only now did he notice that he was next to a downwards staircase, leading to some sort of dungeon.
Was it normal for a church to have a random stairway leading to a basement?
And it looked like a haunted staircase as well.
"Go ahead," He nudged at him, "Your peers are waiting for you."
Eve nodded.
"All the candidates are inside, waiting for the test," Eve said. "You should join then, unless you want my direct recommendation."
"No thanks," He immediately rejected her.
He had a first-hand experience with how much a nepo baby was treated.
He would be an outcast, even if he had the qualifications to be inside.
"Good," She nodded, "You can go ahead, since we aren't supposed to be making an entrance until the day of the test."
Phew!
It was finally time.
Tak! Tak!
His footsteps echoed through the tunnel, and he slowly made his way inside.
It only got darker and darker, until suddenly, two torches were burning on either side of the wall, and two men in metal armor stood guard.
"Cease your footsteps," They shouted, asking, "Are you here for the test?"
Raven nodded in affirmation.
"Show us the identification documents."
"Eh!?"