A soft haze of morning mist clung to the grounds of Nexus Academy as dawn's first light spilled across Main Field. The metal spires of the faculty towers glinted with dew and the grass underfoot shimmered in the early rays. A crisp breeze carried the tang of wet earth and promising a clear, cool day perfect for a test of endurance and skill.
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By 7:00 AM, six hundred students had already gathered and all of them were lining the perimeter of the vast circular arena. Clusters of uniformed boys and girls buzzed with nervous excitement, voices rising and falling in waves.
Everyone who has been selected to participate in this year's Midterm Examination was here. First year novices talking with their known third and fourth year veterans. Strangers forming uneasy alliances under the watchful eyes of supervising professors and amidst them. Ryker stood alone as he was scanning the crowd.
