After a few hours in a carriage with people who would be competing with her for the best Commander position available at the moment, Nova felt the speed of the vehicle slow as the people outside the carriage spoke louder.

"We're here." The High-level Mage outside the carriage said, adding to the excitement of all four applicants.

There were currently three vacancies for battalion leader commanders in the province. One of the four would be sent to the capital to serve differently, something they weren't that interested in.

Going to the capital could be considered the best scenario, but there was a big difference between going to the capital to command a battalion and going to serve some nobleman or member of royalty.

As much as there were advantages to the former, most soldiers, and these four were no different, preferred to have fewer opportunities but the freedom to command their own group.

As such, this was a competition to see who would get the best rank and avoid being sent to the capital.

The worst performer of the three would have to be sent to serve someone else or be part of a group led by another Mage!

While the four were feeling anxious, the strongest man of the group, who had traveled with them in the carriage, got out of it and said loudly. "All right, young Captains, let's begin your test.

You've already taken an ascension test once and know how we do things. My group and I will remain in strategic positions around this area to help you if necessary. However, we will interfere as little as possible," He said as the other High-level Mage threw silver necklaces at the four.

As the four put on these necklaces, devices that could alert these supervisors if one of them was in great danger, the main supervisor continued to speak. "Your job here is simple. Hunt down compatible beasts and absorb the best pentagram you can.

While in the area, you must guard the bodies of any creatures you kill and any resources you collect or find. All of this will be part of your score in this test to become a Commander."

The other High-level Mage said. "This test doesn't have a time limit but try not to make your hunts too long. Whoever gets the 'same' score will have their rank determined by how long it took them to get back to us. If you all get the 'same' result, but one takes 6 days, another 9, another 7, and another 11, the one who took 6 days will be the best placed.

You should also avoid confrontations with beings that are too weak or incompatible with you. They will be worth very few points, and some may even lower your final score".

Their purpose was to hunt pentagrams, so the rules served to prevent one of them from killing beings recklessly just to collect points. The army would only give value to those who really had challenges, so it wouldn't be enough for one to have more fights to get more points.

Everyone already knew the rules and nodded in agreement, saying they understood how they would be judged.

"All right, this is the beginning of the test. Don't come back until you have completed your goals in this area. Now go!" The strongest said before sending the four off in different directions.

...

While Nova's group started to hunt for pentagrams in the forest, Vicente was near the area, still at Sarah Mercer's side.

Days after leaving Ironcrest, Vicente had decided not to eliminate Sarah Mercer for the time being. He wasn't going to release her just yet, but the risk to her life had been greatly reduced.

Ever since the black-haired woman had awakened from her coma and learned what had happened to The Faceless Ones, they had been traveling together to Long Bay Correctional Facility.

Today, they were about to reach their destination, which was only 20 kilometers away from the Wolfrior Forest, where Vicente would soon be hunting his next pentagram.

As the two made their way to this royal detention center in this province, they spotted the place they were headed for early this afternoon.

They saw a large mountain about a few kilometers from their position, which had practically no vegetation on it, being mostly a large bare rock.

But around this mountain were a number of small buildings, zones separated by railings with observation posts here and there, and men positioned over an area of more than 50,000 square meters.

"Long Bay Correctional Facility... I never thought I'd end up in a place like this." Sarah commented as she saw the worst nightmare of criminals like herself.

Long Bay Correctional Facility was the final destination for lawbreakers in this province. It was the highest-level facility in the area, where all those sentenced to long terms of imprisonment were sent.

This place housed murderers, corrupt people, thieves, rebels, traitors, etc. Every type of criminal that could exist in this province would eventually be sent to this place to serve their sentence.

With few exceptions, even those sentenced to death would come to this place before their execution, spend time here, and even be executed here.

Given the importance of this facility, the security around it was better than anywhere else in the province, with many royal soldiers and mechanisms to make invasions or escapes difficult.

Vicente heard his temporary traveling companion's comment and joked with her. "Did you think you'd come here escorted by the army?"

She looked at him but didn't disagree. "Yes, if I fell into the hands of the army one day, the Martial Court would probably send me here... And that would be the end of me.

There's no escape from Long Bay Correctional Facility. That's why I'm telling you again, Cesar. Give up this absurd plan. If you continue with your plan, we'll both end up trapped in this place.

Once inside that stone mountain, escape will be impossible. We'll have to settle for spending the rest of our lives in such a place!"

There were few eternal punishments for transgressions in the Seidel Kingdom. However, once you enter such a facility, it would be almost impossible not to commit new crimes within the prison.

Places like Long Bay Correctional Facility were extremely chaotic. Living in such a prison without getting into more trouble would be very difficult.

From then on, new punishments would pile up on top of the old ones, eventually leading to almost all inmates living in units like this for the rest of their lives!

That was one of the big problems with entering one of these prisons!

"Besides, the infighting here is even worse than in the outside world, Cesar. If we fail in this suicide mission, we might not even have to worry about being locked up for the rest of our lives. Unprepared people could die in this place in a matter of weeks!"