The exam location is set within an independent building deep in Zone 7.
It is a circular hall entirely built from gray-white stone, approximately one hundred meters in diameter and over thirty meters tall.
The emblem of the Six-Ring Tower is engraved above the hall's main entrance, and two guards wearing council uniforms stand at the door.
The trainees arrive one after another, forming a long queue at the entrance.
Some speak in low voices, some close their eyes to rest, and some keep checking the time on their pocket watches.
Duke stands midway in the queue, his gaze sweeping over the surrounding faces.
He can sense that the factional divide is becoming more pronounced here.
People from the Golden Continent gather together at the front of the line.
Their conversation is unrestrained, occasionally erupting into laughter, as if they are at some fun event.
People from the East Coast stand behind them silently, not engaging in those conversations.
