Liliya Volkov was beginning to seriously dislike Levi Ironwood.She already hadn’t been fond of him from the start, of course, but that had been more of a professional aversion. She was ranked first in their year, so far ahead of the curriculum that her schedule was mostly post-graduate level courses. It was only natural that she didn’t have the highest opinion of Levi Ironwood. He was the dead last of their year, had been held back twice already, and more recently, he’d attempted to cheat the Ascension Trials.Most adventurers, both Institute and non-Institute trained, held the Ascension Trials in high regard. Not many people took them. It was considered a far more difficult and arduous path than simply taking the graduation exams. Adventurers, as a general rule of thumb, respected those with grit and moxie, and passing the Ascension Trials proved plenty of both.Conversely, attempting to cheat the Ascension Trials? That was an unforgivable act. A trespass upon hallowed grounds, a disfigurement of time-honored traditions. Levi Ironwood had made a big mistake doing what he did. In the past week, rumors had already spread far and wide, spilling out beyond even Institute walls and into the greater adventurer community itself. Liliya was fairly certain even the professors had reached out to their contacts and former students to put a black mark on Levi's record.Even if he did manage to graduate as an adventurer, he would find himself blacklisted. No party would take him, no guild would accept him. His future was effectively over. Even Winthrop had finally made a move because of it. She, like everyone else in the Institute, had heard about Winthrop’s fight against Levi, (...)