Sieg was a very interesting person.
In a lot of ways, Sieg was everything that Davi was not. His mana was soft and gentle, yet he was a Mutant; he was quiet and soft-spoken, but not in the same way Davi was. Sieg would actually show emotion, even if it was just the way his finger twitched or the scales along his flesh flickered. Then, of course, there was the boy's raw and unnatural beauty.
Without a doubt, it was brought on by the Mutant he was slowly becoming. Of this, Gray was confident. Surrounding Sieg's flesh was a low-level enchantment, one that made all eyes drawn to him and want to bask in his beauty. Sieg was literally too good-looking.
Even Gray could tell the enchantment was having an effect on him in a very subtle way. Perhaps not romantic in nature, but he could feel thoughts that weren't his coming to the surface. It made sense why Sieg wore such an ugly mask to hide his face now.
He had left the pretty man behind in his room. Sieg was in a foul mood after the first exam ended and seemed quite angry at his brother. Gray decided it was best to let him cool off, and so that was how Gray found himself wandering the halls, heading up dozens of flights of stairs. There was someone specifically that he wanted to see.
The entire stadium was round, with each floor looping around, and flights of stairs that went upwards. The first floor was the arena where all the exam-takers were. The second floor was where the Knights would go to sit in rooms and watch the matches. The third floor was where Magical Mutants were stored and given the opportunity to join a Guild if they demonstrated sufficient skill. From there, the floors would jump with nothing on them until the second to last floor, where the captain's thrones were. Above even them, on the last floor, a single Knight could be found. One who had also been eagerly watching the exams take place.
Gray found her all the way up at the top. She wasn't near the balcony, so anyone down in the arena wouldn't be able to look up at her like they could with the others. Instead, she was in the center of the room, with a series of mirrors set up that reflected the scene below, allowing her to see.
As always, she was quite beautiful. Even more so than Sieg. Long flowing silver hair fell down her back, and her eyes looked as if they were a pair of moons. Unlike typical Knights, she didn't go with an armored look and instead had on white silken robes, with various black ribbons tying them together, and a long pointed hat. It was a very witch-like costume, and beneath her, a strange glass-looking staff resided. It floated off the ground and was turned to the side, allowing her to sit upon it. Her feet kicked out every now and then, and her eyes were dull and tired-looking, yet a gentle smile remained on her face as she stared at the mirror.
Gray dropped to a knee before her and bowed his head forward. She wasn't the strongest person in the Arcane Knights; that honor went to Father, but she was still far above his level. Formerly, she had been known as the Moon's Reflection, but she had recently gained a new title.
"Captain Evelyn Lunar," Gray began, using her real name, and not her title, since he hadn't been informed what it was. "How are you doing?"
Evelyn's lips curled up slightly, and she let out a soft hum. "Stone Bull, you know that I'm not a captain anymore. I stepped down as the leader of Hydra Storm."
Gray chuckled and shook his head. "You're still the captain in my eyes." Evelyn was the reason Hydra Storm didn't have a vice captain. She had been the leader of the Guild and, in only a year, caused it to rise through the ranks rapidly. For a little while, it even looked like her Guild might reach the number four slot, but that all stopped when she suddenly stepped down. Dye, the Vice Captain, was forced to take over the Guild, and sadly, he was a very picky man. So picky, in fact, he refused to let any of his guildmates fill in the vice captain role.
Evelyn tilted her head to the side. "Well, you can still call me that if you want, but it won't change the path. I'm no longer in any Guild anymore. I can hardly be called a Knight." She giggled.
"You're wrong." Gray's fist clenched tightly at his side. "You're the closest thing to a real Knight! The king himself gave you a mission!"
"An impossible one." Evelyn sighed. She softly flipped her hair, and the staff she sat on rotated, allowing her to face Gray. "Enough about that, though. Why'd you come to see me?"
Gray slowly rose to his feet and folded his arms. "Your little brother is taking the test this year, is he not?" Gray asked. "Unfortunately, I wasn't able to see his match since Mr. Sieg was insistent on hogging the TV screen…"
"Mr. Sieg?" Evelyn tilted her head to the side.
"Oh, nobody important; don't worry about it."
Evelyn's smile returned, her eyes sparkling a bit. "I just found the name fascinating. Someone I used to travel with had a brother named Sieg." She softly tilted her head and tapped her chin. "Answering your earlier question, though, yes, my brother Cain is taking the exam this year. Sadly, he didn't pass his exam, though."
Gray winced. "Yeah, that figures. I assume another Noble Branch member took him out?"
"Something close." Evelyn shrugged her shoulders. "Not a Branch, but something similar."
"Well, it must have been sad for you." Gray sighed. "Watching your little brother lose."
Evelyn shrugged again. "Eh, I wasn't really watching his match."
"Seriously?"
"Someone else caught my eye." The girl's eyes seemed to sparkle again, and she looked back at the many mirrors that floated around her. "A familiar face." In the reflection, she saw a young man—one with a terrible burn mark across part of his face and dark black hair.
Gray rubbed the back of his neck, very confused. "Alright?" He tried to peek at the mirrors, but whatever Evelyn was seeing, he didn't get to view, as the glass was glowing with way too much mana. "Well, I just wanted to check up on you and ensure you're doing well." He turned away after giving another nod. "If you need anything, let me know and I'll come running."
"Of course." Evelyn didn't pay much attention to him, though. Instead, her focus was still on the mirror.
Gray felt a pang of jealousy, but he didn't say anything. Instead, he stepped forward, about to leave, but then he stopped. He glanced back at the woman who had long since stolen his heart. "Oh, one more thing. While I'm here, if I might be so bold as to ask, what is your new title?"
Evelyn looked away from her mirror, caught off guard by the question. Her smile was gone, and her head tilted to the side once more. She seemed to debate the question for a moment in her head before finally answering. "My title? The one that the king gave me after I stopped being captain of Hydra Storm?" Gray nodded. Evelyn's answer was soft and bleak. "Dragon Slayer. My new title is the King's Dragon Slayer."
The King of Estiria had given her a simple goal. He just wanted her to defeat and slay a dragon.
***
"Finally! There you are! Where have you been?" Olivia asked, clearly exasperated.
Davi stepped out of the doorway and back into the open field that was the exam area. He lazily shrugged his shoulders. "I told you, I went looking for a sword." He responded in his usual flat tone.
"Did you find one?" Olivia asked. She looked him up and down. He didn't have a sword at his belt, but then again, he'd just stuff it in his vault if he did find one.
"Yeah, someone let me borrow their sword." Davi nodded. "I just needed to help her with an issue. She wants it back after the match with Rowan, though, so I'm still going to be down a weapon for the last two exams."
"It's better than nothing, I guess." Olivia nodded. "If we're lucky, we'll be able to team up again, and I can make you a blood knife to use or something."
"Could you make me a blood sword?"
"Don't have that spell." Olivia shook her head.
"Can you make me a blood dagger, but make the handle bigger and the blade longer and thicker?" Davi asked. "I'm able to mold my shadow armor to make parts of it change. Can you do that?"
Again, Olivia shook her head. "I was able to change my blood hawk spell into a blood snake spell and give it wings only because the type of snake it was is called a Hawk-Snake. When you try to cast a spell, it uses your intent, and while that intent can change, the more you try to alter and shift it from what it should be, the more erratic the spell will turn out. I've made plenty of knives and have seen them in action, so in my head, I have a good idea of what a knife is and should be. I can alter my knife shape and design, but if I do it too much and my subconscious decides it isn't a knife anymore, the spell will break or explode. The snake I made eventually popped because it was also unstable due to the intended use being a hawk and not a Hawk-Snake."
"Magic sucks sometimes, huh."
Olivia snorted and turned away, leading Davi further into the arena. By now, the crowd had reformed, and all the food was gone. The break was about to end, and she didn't know where Bruno wandered off to, so she was glad Davi was back now. It felt awkward just standing around by herself.
"You made it back just in time." She nudged the man with her elbow and gave a grin. "I was getting worried you weren't going to show and tried to run off."
"I did think about it," Davi admitted, causing Olivia's smile to vanish. "I don't think it would end well for me, though. I'd rather just get all these exams over and done with. It'll be easier to figure out my situation once I know if I'm going to be a Knight or not."
"That's fair," Olivia hummed and looked up at the various captains. "We still have three tests that we have to take. There will be one more held today, and the other two will be tomorrow. We didn't do too well in exam one, so we need to lock in for the second one onward, got that, Davi!"
"Yes, Ma'am."
Olivia placed her hands on her hips and looked Davi up and down. "Try to smile more also, and look like a hero. You need to make the captains take notice of you. Use that handsome mug you were born with and—"
"You!" Olivia was cut off by a loud voice. The next thing she knew, someone was grabbing her by her shoulder and forcefully yanking her around. "You backstabber! How could you!" It was a man in grey robes, with black spiky hair and a katana resting at his side. His eyes were filled with anger as he glared at her. He was the Iron-Mage, the one she had choked out during the first round. His eyes were filled with hate and anger as he gripped her shirt and glared down at her. "I was there to protect you, and you did something like that to me!"
Olivia winced slightly. "It was just a simulation—"
"That doesn't make it better! You're heartless! What kind of cruel person does that?" The man growled.
The man's hand was forcefully yanked off of Olivia's shirt when Davi grabbed his wrist and squeezed down hard enough to cause the man to wince. "That's enough," Davi said simply.
The spiky-haired man glared up at Davi. "Do you know who this is? She's evil, I'm telling you. She might be pretty, but she's twisted on the inside! She's using you to keep herself safe!"
Davi opened his mouth to say something, but Olivia stopped him. She shook her head and pulled his hand away. "I don't need you to save me, Davi." After that, she turned to look back at the spiky-haired man. "As for you..." The look in her eyes caused the man to take a step back, and he winced. It felt like something was slowly coiling around him. "What I did was dirty. I attacked you while your back was turned. So what, though? Do you think the Knights who fight monsters every day care? Do you think they wouldn't attack a monster's back just because its guard was down around them? The rules were simple. It was a battle royal, a free-for-all. It isn't my fault that you were unable to understand that." She poked her finger out and jabbed the man in his chest. "Maybe if you were more careful, I wouldn't have been able to take you out so easily? Maybe if you didn't let your guard down just because you viewed me as a weak, helpless girl? I really hope that you don't become a Knight, because you're the exact person who always appears in the newspaper when a Knight does something foolish and pays for it with their life. So, how about you don't judge me and I won't judge you, okay? I did what I had to do to survive. It's not my fault you let yourself be prey."
She breathed heavily once she was finally done. She had gone off on a long rant and it made her chest hurt a little. Her face was flushed and she felt strangely angry.
It was just like when Garon had died. She didn't know what was up, but she knew she probably shouldn't feel this annoyed.
Since when did she get this emotional?
The man with spiky hair sputtered a bit, clearly caught off guard, and then he growled and turned around on his heels. "Y-you're insane! You better hope we don't see each other in a combat test again!" And with those words, he left, marching away.
"Was that too much?" Olivia asked.
Davi folded his arms and watched the retreating man in silence. Then he spoke. "I don't think I've ever been more attracted to you before this moment."
"Excuse me!"
Before Olivia could fully process that, there was a loud rumble, and the arena shifted once more. The tables of empty food began to pull themselves into the ground, and the sounds of wings flapping caused everyone to look up and find Pretty Face floating in the air. Her hands were on her hips, and she had a smile on her face as she stared down at the crowd.
"Alrighty!" Her voice came out loud and booming. "Break over! You know what that means, right?" She tilted her head to the side, her eyes sparkling. "It's time for the next test to begin!"
Loud cheering exploded through the arena, and once more, Davi plugged his ears, making a face. He really did hate loud sounds and blaring lights. They always set him off. Crowds like this just didn't do him any favors.
Pretty Face waited until the screaming had calmed down a bit and then resumed speaking. "The captains have heavily reviewed the first round of the exam! Many of you did well! Some of you… Well, you tried your best! Don't worry, though; you all still have three more exams to try and reach your goal! Will the captains take notice of you? Well, I guess we'll find out!"
Davi snorted softly. It was ridiculous how stacked these tests were against normal people. The captains would have their eyes on the nobles who did well in the first exam. Going forward, it was more likely that those individuals would have eyes on them rather than anyone who had lost or performed poorly in the first exam. The whole 'you still have three more chances' was basically a lie, unless you really stood out suddenly and got the eyes forced onto you. It was annoying that these tests were more like a popularity contest than an actual battle of skill.
Pretty Face's wings stretched out behind her, and once more her magic surged forward. She used the same spell she did last time, creating a large slot machine that began to spin. "We're going to go straight into the next round! Is that okay with everyone? No? Well, too bad!"
'Better to just get this shit over with.' Davi thought bitterly. 'I wonder how it'll be rigged this time?'
The machine stopped, and etched onto the mana-screen, letters began to form. Pretty Face's smile grew as she read them. "Ah, this one is next, huh?" She pointed up to the Captains, and her finger landed on Crow. "You can thank the captain of Umbra Mortis for this exam! The Test of Knowledge!"
Olivia let out a sigh of relief. "Okay, this is one of the tests that doesn't change as much every year and usually remains mostly the same. It's a written test, but the format changes every year. As long as we're clever, we should—yeah, never mind, you're cooked, Davi, I'm sorry."
"What's that supposed to mean?" Davi sounded genuinely offended by her remark, causing her to snicker.
Up top, Pretty Face snapped her fingers, and like the first time, the arena began to shake rapidly, and the sand glowed once more. The simulation was starting back up. Davi closed his eyes from how bright it was, and when he opened them, much like the first time, he wasn't in the exam arena.
He wasn't in a cornfield either, though. Olivia was also standing next to him, and she was in different clothes. So was he, now that he looked down at himself. Olivia wore a black skirt and a long-sleeved, red school uniform that lacked a logo. His clothes were the same, but he had long black pants instead of a skirt. All the other people taking the exam were also present, lined up, and instead of being outside with the sky above, they were now in an enclosed room.
It was long and wide, with wooden walls and various desks where they could all sit. Paper rested on each desk, along with a pen, and all the way in the back was an even bigger desk, which Pretty Face sat on. Her clothes had changed as well, to a typical teacher's suit, complete with glasses and a cup of coffee she clutched in her hand.
Pretty Face lifted a finger and wagged it. "Alright, kiddos, you've got one hour to finish the test before you. Go ahead and start."
The blue boxes appeared in front of everyone, containing a countdown, which kicked everyone into gear. Everyone began to take their seats at the various desks, and Olivia sat down next to Davi. She grabbed the paper and the pen and then turned them over but stopped when she saw the test.
Like all the other exams, the test would change every year, but the test of knowledge usually did involve something akin to this. A paper that you'd have to fill out in order to pass. Sometimes, it could be history questions, other times military tactics, or other combat-based quizzes. This year, it was a little different…
"What kind of question is this?" Davi asked, tilting his head to the side.
There was a single question. It wasn't a massive test, and it wasn't based on extensive knowledge anyone could know. Instead, Captain Crow had devised a test that asked a single question that anyone could answer.
'In one word, describe what an Arcane Knight is.'
That was the entire test that Crow had come up with.
"Well, this is an odd test." Davi couldn't help the slight smirk that found its way onto his face.
"Go ahead kiddos!" Pretty Face announced, her grin only growing. "Begin!"