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Home / Fantasy / Awakened in a Realm of Magic and Blood / Outside the Gate
Outside the Gate
Author: Emmanuel Feranz
last update2026-03-04 01:05:35

The gates of Ashwake House did not swing open often.

When they did, it was usually for deliveries, inspections, or discipline.

Today, they opened for the thirty.

Andrew stepped through without hesitation.

He did not look back.

The air outside felt different—not fresher, not kinder—just wider. The road stretched ahead in a thin ribbon of dust, cutting through Blackmere City like an old scar. Market stalls were already being arranged. Vendors shouted over one another. The scent of frying oil mixe
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  • A Bed Softer Than Stone

    After the meal finally ended, the atmosphere inside the dining hall became strangely quiet.Not because the candidates had run out of things to say, but because most of them were too full to speak properly anymore. Plates that had once been overloaded with food now sat nearly empty across the tables while several of the candidates leaned back in their chairs with exhausted expressions that somehow looked peaceful for the first time since arriving at Ashwake House.Eli looked especially dramatic.The boy had both hands over his stomach as if he had just survived a life-threatening experience.“I think I ate too much,” he groaned weakly.Andrew looked at him with complete disappointment. “That sentence should embarrass you.”Eli turned his head slowly. “I haven’t had the chance to eat too much in my entire life. Allow me this moment.”A few candidates nearby laughed quietly.Even Lyra shook her head slightly while hiding a faint smile behind her cup.Before the conversations could conti

  • A Meal Worth Remembering

    The courtyard slowly descended into noise after the final announcement.Some candidates looked relieved beyond words, others exhausted, while a few simply stood frozen as though their minds had not yet caught up with reality. The evaluations that had consumed Ashwake House for days were finally over.Thirteen remained.Only thirteen.Andrew stood quietly near the center of the courtyard while the defeated candidates began dispersing toward the outer sections of the orphanage under caretaker supervision. Some walked away with lowered heads, others with bitter expressions they could not hide no matter how hard they tried.One boy kicked dust angrily as he left.Another stared blankly at the ground as though he had forgotten where he was going.A younger girl from the lower tier quietly wiped her eyes while trying not to cry in front of everyone else.Andrew watched them in silence.Ashwake House had dangled freedom in front of all of them like bait.And now most of them were being force

  • The Battle That Changed the Rules

    The second-to-last match ended with a hard fall near the boundary line and a burst of relieved laughter from the winning candidate. The caretakers immediately moved forward to reset the courtyard, brushing away footprints and dragging aside the scattered dust left behind from the previous clash.But almost no one was paying attention anymore.The atmosphere had already shifted.Because only one match remained.Andrew’s.The candidates standing near the edges of the yard unconsciously leaned forward as the woman in green glanced toward the final pair.“Green pair,” she called calmly.Andrew stepped forward immediately.Across from him, the broad-shouldered young man holding the matching green ball also began walking toward the center of the courtyard with measured steps.The closer they came to one another, the quieter the courtyard became.Even Eli stopped muttering nervously.Andrew studied his opponent carefully now that they stood face-to-face without distance separating them. The

  • The Green Ball

    The excitement from Eli’s victory did not disappear immediately.Even after Bram walked away in humiliation, muttering curses beneath his breath while avoiding eye contact with the others, the atmosphere inside the courtyard remained tense and alive. The candidates had finally seen something important—rankings were not absolute. Skill mattered, yes, but timing, judgment, and composure mattered just as much.Eli himself looked like he was struggling not to grin too widely.Andrew found it irritating.Not because Eli had won, but because he looked so proud of it.“You’re smiling too much,” Andrew muttered.Eli looked at him in disbelief. “I just survived elimination.”“You survived because your opponent had the patience of an angry goat.”“That still counts.”Andrew could not argue with that.Near the front of the courtyard, the woman in green slowly rose from her seat, immediately drawing everyone’s attention back toward the representatives. The conversations died down at once.“The ch

  • The Right to Fight

    The next morning arrived colder than usual.A thin layer of mist hung over the Ashwake courtyard as the remaining candidates gathered under the watchful eyes of the caretakers. The air carried the scent of damp earth and burned wood from the kitchens nearby, but no one paid attention to it. Every pair of eyes remained fixed on the center of the yard where the representatives stood waiting.Twenty-six remained.The missing four had already become a warning no one wanted to discuss aloud.Andrew stood beside Eli in silence as the candidates were slowly herded into formation. Unlike previous mornings, there was no shouting from the caretakers, no sticks striking the ground, no insults thrown at anyone moving too slowly.Everything felt organized.Controlled.Which somehow made it worse.“Arrange yourselves according to your assigned tiers,” the woman in green said calmly.Her voice wasn’t loud, yet it carried across the courtyard with unnatural clarity.Immediately, movement spread throu

  • Return Before Sunset

    The courtyard did not remain tense forever.After Ronan’s calm order brought the confrontation to a halt, the gang gradually stepped back. The leader held Andrew’s gaze for a few seconds longer, measuring him in silence, before finally turning away with a dismissive motion.“Let’s go,” he muttered to the others.The five followed him out of the courtyard one by one. Their confidence had not disappeared entirely, but something in their posture had changed. The easy laughter from earlier was gone.They left without another word.Ronan remained standing for a moment after they disappeared down the street. His attention shifted briefly to Andrew, then to Eli, and finally to the girl near the broken crate.“You should leave this district,” Ronan said quietly to her.She nodded quickly, still shaken.Then Ronan turned and walked away without waiting for a response.Eli watched him go with a deep frown.“I still don’t understand that guy,” he muttered.Andrew didn’t answer immediately. His b

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