The first exam had been created to test the skills of all the Knight-wannabes. It had lasted for a single hour and forced people to do battle with each other in order to determine the type of magic everyone had, as well as the tactics in battle they would use.
For many, it had been a nerve-wracking experience, and a lot of the exam takers found themselves being filled with despair once they ended up losing.
The second exam, the test of knowledge, by comparison, should not have been as bad, yet somehow it was and might have even been worse.
All it was was a single piece of paper asking one question. 'In one word, describe what an Arcane Knight is.'
Many of the exam takers gave Pretty Face an odd look, but she wasn't paying attention. She was lying down on the desk, holding her phone above her face, and kept chuckling as she watched funny cat videos. The blue status screen that floated in front of everyone kept counting down.
Davi gave a casual shrug and picked up his pen. He brought it down on his paper and wrote something, and then rapidly covered the page with both his arms when several people all looked back at him.
"No cheating." Pretty Face lazily called out. "Eyes on your own paper."
That finally kicked everyone into gear, and more people started to write. It only took a moment for everyone since it was literally one word. In less than a minute, over ninety percent of the class had finished and had their paper flipped over. Olivia was one of the people who hadn't finished yet.
Her eyes stared down at the page in silence, and she traced it up and down, trying to make sure there wasn't some hidden secret that would reveal the real test. She even attempted to force mana into her eyes to see better, but the page did not change. As far as she could tell, it really was this single question.
"In one word, describe what an Arcane Knight is," Olivia muttered. She bit down on the pen and tapped her finger on her desk. "How can I describe them in only one word?"
Davi nudged her. "Just put something down." He said flatly. "Does it really matter?"
"Of course it does! This test couldn't be that easy, could it?" Olivia bit down harder on the pen, cracking part of it. "Do I call them heroes? Warriors? Nobles? Sexy? Honorable? What would the captains want us to put down?" She glanced back at Davi, and he suddenly covered his paper again and shot her a sour look. "I'm not trying to cheat off of you!"
One word.
Describe the Knights in one word…
Saviors, protectors, defenders, shields, swords, strong, amazing, powerful, incredible, loyal, super, divine, grand, killers, hunters, explorers, healers, and so many other words could be used for them. Yet she needed to figure out one way to describe them? What answer did Crow want, though? She tried to think about what she knew about Crow and kept coming up blank.
Unlike Father and Dark Star, Crow was relatively new to being a captain. He had only started leading Umbra Morits last year. As the vice captain, he had an impressive record, but she couldn't remember anything he said or did after becoming a captain. In fact, he seemed to have become a lot lazier, no longer going on missions or quests and just sending his people to do it for him.
One thing she did know about Crow was that he was the only captain who wasn't from one of the Branch families.
Father, Grampa Green, and Dye were from the Helios family; Dark Star came from the Saturen family, Myth was from the Jupitari family, and Gorgon was from the Marsian family. Crow didn't come from any of the Noble Branch families but instead came from a low noble merchant family. The previous Captain of Hydra Storm had been from the Lunar family, and so all five of the biggest houses had a Captain, but after the former Hydra Storm Captain stepped down, no Lunar family member was in charge of any of the Guilds.
The Nobles sought a Lunar member to assume the Umbra Mortis position. Since Crow was the vice captain and had received his captain's approval, the king appointed him to the role instead. This caused some outrage, but for the most part, it died down.
Also, it went without saying, but the leader of Phoenix Flight wasn't a member of the Branch family, and in fact, the current captain wasn't even a noble. The rumor was that she had been sharpening a sword, and the previous captain slipped and fell onto her blade and accidentally sliced his own head off. The other rumor was that the current captain actually brutally murdered the last one.
She had been placed on trial and, instead of being sent to Nightshade, willingly chose to take up the mantle of Captain of the Phoenix Flight Guild and has been the leader for the past two years.
So with all of that in mind, if this was indeed Crow's test, what answer was he seeking? What sort of captain was Crow? What kind of Knight was he? What morals did he hold? What was he looking for in the next generation of Knights?
Davi elbowed her again. "Seriously. Just answer."
Olivia gave a brief nod, and she took a deep breath. She went to mark her answer down but stopped when Pretty Face's voice rang out through the classroom. "You know," the woman said slowly. A smile was present on her lips, and her eyes scanned each exam-taker slowly, not lingering on any of them. "I heard this year, Crow is being very picky. This test lasts an hour. There's still a lot of time left if any of you want to scratch out your answer and change it. I can say for sure, after using my wind to see everyone's answers, not a single person gave the response Crow was looking for." The woman cocked her head to the side. "What a shame. Oh well!"
There was a moment of silence followed rapidly by the sounds of pages being turned back over. A lot of answers were scratched out, and people began to give new answers. By now, everyone had an answer on their page, save for Olivia. Her teeth bit down harder on her pen, cracking it worse, and she kept staring down at the blank page.
Most of the exam-takers were changing their responses. Not everyone, though. The silver-haired boy, Cain, was now asleep, not bothering to change his answer. Next to him, Bruno sat using both his pen and Cain's to drum away on his desk. His answer was massive and took up most of the page, simply saying the word 'Bros' in huge bold letters. Across the room, Ken Yuan had summoned Yujin. Her familiar was tiny, barely the size of a small kitten, and she was using a piece of string to play with him as he chased it around on her desk. Ash somehow got stuck next to her and looked extremely annoyed and had already scratched his answer out four times now.
It was Davi that got most eyes on him, though, when he stood up. Everyone stopped what they were doing as he took his paper, and then, to everyone's surprise, he began to fold and bend it, twisting it until it took on the shape of an airplane. Even Pretty Face seemed caught off guard. It only got worse when he threw it across the room, and the paper plane flew directly into Pretty Face's outstretched hand.
"I don't wanna change my answer, so I'm just going to head out now, okay?" Davi asked, walking away from the desk and towards the wall.
Pretty Face blinked before snorting. "I mean, sure, anyone that wants to can stop if they want. Good luck getting out, though. This room is a simulation and has no doors, just walls, so it's impossible to—"
Shards of stone exploded everywhere as Davi rammed his fist into the wall. He punched a massive hole through it, large enough to let him walk out.
"Okay, ya freaking jackass, I guess you can just fucking blow the wall up." Pretty Face sighed. "You're lucky this is just a simulation and not a real classroom; otherwise, you'd be disqualified for that." The woman said, letting out a huff.
Davi was about to leave but then stopped and turned to look back at the classroom of exam-takers, most of whom were still staring at him. His eyes locked onto a single one, the only person who was glaring at him. "Hey Rowan, don't forget." Davi gave a slight smirk. "We're having our duel soon."
"A duel?" Someone in the crowd asked in shock.
"Yep." Davi turned away. "I don't really know who he is, but Row claims he's important, so I guess you can all look forward to when I take him down."
If Davi hadn't had the captain's eyes on him before, he was confident he was about to now. By declaring something like that, it was bound to cause a lot of people to want to come and see the fight between him and Rowan, and wherever the people went, the captains' gazes would follow. Unlike the first exam, it would also just be a one-on-one match. The captains, all of them, would be forced to watch him and see what he could do, whereas in the first test, there was a chance none of them had even seen him take down Rowan.
Of course, this plan could backfire if Rowan disagreed and called the fight off, but he knew the man wouldn't. As if on cue, Rowan let out a loud laugh. "Are you trying to make me scared or something?" Rowan taunted. "Do you think I'll suddenly call off the fight because you let everyone know about it? You're an idiot! All you're doing is showing your cowardice! Everyone can come and watch if they want! I'll give them the show of a lifetime when I defeat you!"
It was just like fishing, Davi couldn't help but snicker. Throw out some bait, and they do the rest. Now all he had to do was win the fight later tonight. Everything was going well. Above all else, though, he knew for a fact that at least one captain would be there to watch the fight up close.
Davi left the room, and he wasn't the only one to do so. A few other people who hadn't changed their answers also stood up, gave their paper to the Pretty Face, and walked through the hole Davi created. Among them were Cain, Ken Yuan, Bruno, and a few others.
Bruno gave his paper to Pretty Face and then made his way over to Olivia. He placed his hands on his hips and looked down at her. She still hadn't written a single answer. Time was still ticking, and there was plenty of time, but she was the only one who hadn't even tried yet.
"Bro." Olivia looked up, and Bruno flicked her on the forehead. "Don't be dumb. You got this."
Olivia rubbed the top of her forehead and frowned. "I know. It's just…" She glanced down at her blank page. "I'll get it done." She forced a smile and looked back up.
Bruno nodded his head, and he turned and walked toward the hole in the wall. He let out a whistle when he saw it. Sometimes he forgot how crazy strong Davi was. The man was a serious powerhouse. The wall was extremely thick and made of solid stone, yet Davi's single punch had blown it to bits, and beyond it was a blank white void, nothing.
Taking a deep breath, Bruno stepped forward and felt a weird spinning sensation go through him. The next thing he knew, he was back in the arena. Only around a dozen people had followed Davi out.
Davi stood in the center of the arena, and he looked around. Up top, all the captains were gone, likely dragged into their simulation. A lot of the Arcane Knights were gone as well. Most likely, they went into the back to wait for the test to end. There was one reason he had decided to come out so much earlier, though.
He had felt 'her' mana.
Davi glanced up even further past where the captains were. He didn't see anything. A moment later, he was forced to turn away when someone spun him around. Davi blinked as he came face to face with Ken Yuan.
"Hey!' The red-haired girl announced.
"Hey?"
"We need to talk!"
"Do we now?"
"Yep!" Ken grabbed Davi by the wrist, and she began to drag him toward one of the doorways that led into the backrooms.
"Help," Davi said in his typical emotionless tone. "I'm being kidnapped. Send help." No one helped him. Ken dragged Davi completely out of the stadium and then pressed him against the wall. She kept her hands on his shoulders and stared into his eyes. "...So, we gonna kiss or what?"
"What do you know about dragon chi?" Ken asked.
"What the hell is chi?"
Ken sighed and closed her eyes. "Dragon mana."
Davi gave a nod of his head. "Why do you want to know?"
"I told you during the first test, didn't I?" Ken huffed and let go, slowly folding her arms. "That snow-haired girl you seem fond of. The chi of a dragon is clinging to her. Do you know how something like that happens?"
"Do you?" Davi asked flatly.
Ken's eye twitched. "My Han, you're useless." The woman glared back at him. "No, I don't know how it happens. That's why I'm asking you. Old man Feng would never tell me." She growled. "The only reason I know what dragon chi feels like is because the elders of my sect would whisper about it behind his back. That led me to the conclusion of what it is. It's a curse." Ken stated. "Old man Feng came in contact with a dragon, and it cursed him. The curse lingers deep in his core and has taken root. That snow-haired girl has something similar, though, with how young she is, I doubt she knows that she's been cursed. It's why she can't create blood and instead has to use her own. Feng was the same. Both of them have been cursed by a—"
"You're wrong." Davi casually brushed past Ken and didn't look at her. "They're not cursed."
"They're not?"
"Did this Feng guy ever say he was cursed?" Davi asked.
"Well, no?" Ken frowned again. "That's just the conclusion I came to. Feng rarely talked about it."
"It isn't a curse," Davi said again. "It's something different, and I'd rather you not bring it up at all, okay?"
Ken's look changed again. "Why is that? She's special, right? Or at the very least, she's unique because of the chi she has. Wouldn't you want word of that getting out? It could help improve her chances. Unless you're afraid of what would happen if the captains found out?" Ken's smirk returned.
Once more, Davi shook his head. "The captains wouldn't care. It isn't them I'm worried about. It's someone else. Also, Olivia's mana isn't as special as you think. Many people possess mana that contains traces of a dragon, just as many can have the mana of an elf within them. It's rare, but not unheard of. Case in point, that Feng guy you mentioned. She isn't the first person I've seen with mana like that, and I doubt she'll be the last."
"So then what is it?" Ken demanded. "Why do you look at her the way you do? I've seen your look plenty of times! It isn't one of love or kinship. It's the same look the people of my sect would give Feng! A look of utter hate. It's deep in your eyes, but it was there. I saw it. So why? Why do you keep her around? Why is she your ally?"
Davi reached out and placed his hand on the wall next to him. Gently, he pressed down, and the wall filled with spiderweb-like cracks as his strength seeped out. "It isn't the fact that she has the mana of a dragon, which is clinging to her heavily. Instead, it's the type of mana it is in general that I despise. Just as there are a dozen different mages, so too were there hundreds of different dragons, all with their own type of mana. The mana that clings to her is something I've felt before. She doesn't just have the mana of a dragon; she has the mana of 'the Dragon.'" The one that had ruined it all. The beast of fire that plunged him into an age of ice. "I'm going to slay it. No matter what. And I'll use her to reach that goal."
Olivia Lot was his bait.
***
"Less than five minutes left." Pretty Face called out. "Though I guess it doesn't matter if it's just the two of you, now does it?" The woman giggled.
Only two people remained. By now, everyone had either given up or decided that their answers were good enough and turned the pages in and left through the exit Davi had created.
Naturally, Olivia was one of the few who remained behind. She wasn't the only one, though. All the desks had closed in together, leaving just her and the final member shoulder to shoulder.
The second person to remain was another girl, though unlike Olivia, she seemed remarkably calm. The girl wore a long white gown, along with a white fur coat that hugged around her body. She had blonde hair that was tied back into a flat ponytail, and she smelled heavily of money, having two large diamond earrings that hung off each ear. What stood out the most about her, though, at least to Olivia, was the woman's voice.
The blonde-haired woman was humming softly to herself, over and over again, while she kept her pen on the page. Her eyes were blank and lifeless, having no light in them, and were the total opposite of her voice, which was serene and graceful.
Olivia couldn't help but glance down at the other girl's paper since it was right there. She wasn't shocked to see scribbles on the page. This woman was obviously blind and a noble, so it was very likely she had never learned to write for herself since she'd have servants that would do it for her.
Despite how rough the lines were, there was an almost beauty to it. The blind woman kept trying. Again and again, her fingers clutched her pen, and she'd try to scribble something, only for her hand to awkwardly fumble. It wasn't perfect, but she was doing her best.
"How is yours going?" Olivia jumped when the woman finally stopped humming and spoke.
"What?" She asked stupidly.
"Your paper." The woman didn't look at her and instead kept staring off into the distance, but a smile was on her lips. "Have you finally figured out what you wanted to say on yours?"
Olivia glanced down at her blank page and winced. "No, not yet."
"Really? You've had so long?" The woman let out a soft giggle. "That's so shocking. I had my answer in my head since before the test started, yet I can't seem to figure out how to write it. I know what I want to put down, but I can't do it." She said almost sheepishly. "The pen feels awkward in my hands, and they keep shaking. I wasn't always blind, so I have enough skill to know I'm screwing it up, but years of neglect and laziness have left me with no way of recalling the correct shape of the letters."
"One more minute." Pretty Face called out.
Olivia gave a small nod. "What are you trying to write down?"
"Irene."
"Irene?"
"It's my name." The woman said, tapping her chin. "I'm Irene Lunar. I was told by the person sitting next to me earlier that we needed to describe what a Knight is in one word. Irene is perfect to describe it correctly! After all, that's who I am, and I'm going to be a Knight!" The girl beamed.
"I-I guess that's a good answer." Olivia laughed. Her fingers tightened around her pen. "Um… D-Do you want me to write it?"
Irene tapped her chin again. "That would be helpful. I guess I didn't think about asking someone else for help. Would you mind?"
Olivia smiled, and she slowly wrote out the word 'Irene' onto the blonde woman's page. Her handwriting wasn't the best, but it would do the trick. "There. Hopefully, they like that answer, Ms. Irene."
Irene's smile grew. "Thank you! And what's your name?"
"Olivia. I'm Olivia." Olivia turned back to her own page and took a deep breath. She'd just copy what Irene did. Her name would be a good enough answer. Slowly, she placed her pen on the page-
"And that's time! Papers down!" Pretty Face called out.
"Huh." Olivia blinked and then felt her stomach flop. Her page flew forward, still totally blank, being carried by the wind alongside Irene's, and it landed straight in Pretty Face's hands. "No! Wait, I didn't put anything on mine yet!"
"Alright! The second exam is now over!"