Is that all?

The moment the announcer called out Calien's name, a low ripple stirred through the crowd, spreading like wildfire.

Whispers turned into hushed exclamations, and then into overlapping murmurs full of recognition, awe, and a fair bit of nervousness.

"Silverhart…"

"That's the Silverhart heir, isn't it?"

"Yeah. That's the young master of the family that guards Silver Blade City."

"The lineage of the City's Protectors..."

"Mana Knight blood runs through that boy like a river."

"If he can't pass, then what does that mean for the rest of us?"

Dozens of similar voices flared, their words folding and tangling across the square, until the buzz of the crowd was a continuous murmur.

Some students looked at Calien with admiration, others with envy, and a few with hope—desperate to believe that a scion of the Silverhart bloodline could weather the trial ahead.

Because if he couldn't, then what hope did they have?