"Okay. This is it. You can do it." Olivia placed her hands on her face and gently slapped at her cheeks. "You got this, Olivia. This is the final test."
"It's not the final test, though." Ken raised an eyebrow. "It's just the third one. There's still one after this."
"Ms. Olivia is correct," Irene spoke up. The blind girl kept a hand on Olivia's sleeve, holding onto it. "While there is technically one more test after this, the test of the Soul is very different. The first three tests are the only ones the captains view, which they use to decide on what members they want to recruit, while the test of the Soul exists to see if you're worthy to be a Knight at all. This test is also used to make sure no traitors try to enter the ranks of the Knights. People from all over the world crave the power that Haru's mana can provide, and so naturally, soldiers from other lands will be sent by the masters they serve to try and steal that mana for their homeland. The test of the Soul helps place a wall, one that makes sure an event like that won't happen."
Ken grunted and folded her arms. "Then why not have that test happen first? Why have the first three tests happen and then test someone's loyalty? Do it from the start."
"That's a good point, bro!" Bruno let out a loud laugh. "Why don't they do it at the start?"
"The only one who would know something like that is the king himself." Ash sighed. "He's the one who decides how the test of the Soul works, and his word is law."
"This is why I'm an anarchist." Davi chimed in. "Laws are stupid."
"Oh wow, the tax evader doesn't like laws. Who saw that coming?" Ash face-palmed.
"We gonna throw down or what?"
"Stop asking that!"
"...No."
Olivia couldn't help but smile as she looked back at the group she was with. It was shocking to see how large it had gotten. Davi and Bruno being with her didn't surprise her, but Ash tagging along was a bit odd. Even weirder was the fact that Ken and Irene had come with her as well. All of them had made their way to the arena and were now waiting for the third test to begin.
She had changed out of the gown she wore the night before and was now wearing a mostly generic outfit. It was a simple long-sleeved white shirt and black pants that fit her better than the clothes Gray had given her. Davi was still rocking the all-black fit, while Ash wore an outfit similar to hers, featuring a white button-up shirt and black jeans. Bruno wore shorts and didn't bother with a shirt. Irene and Ken were in the same outfits they were yesterday, Irene wearing her long and elegant dress, while Ken was in her robes.
Olivia was content for the most part. Even if she didn't do that well in the last two exams, she had more fun now than she ever had in her life. For the first time since her father left her behind, she felt an actual connection. Davi and Bruno were her friends, and Irene might also count amongst them. Ken and Ash were no longer yelling or picking on her.
Life was good.
"Boys and girls! I hope you're all excited because this is it!" Olivia perked up when she heard the voice, and she looked to the sky, finding Pretty Face flying around. The beautiful woman had her wings outstretched and was spinning her microphone around on the tip of her finger. The crowd below cheered and hollered, everyone excited for what was about to happen.
Olivia took a deep breath. "Is everyone ready?" She asked.
"Of course, bro!" Bruno announced.
Ash nodded his head. "This is my chance. I'm going to show them all. Here and now."
"Let's just get it over with." Ken yawned tiredly into her open palm.
"I am excited." Irene cheerfully responded and gripped Olivia's hand. "Hopefully, it'll be a team match or something akin to that, and we'll end up together, Ms. Olivia. You are very kind."
"Davi?" Olivia turned to look at the final member of the team. He had remained silent and instead stared up past Pretty Face and even the captains, looking to the top of the stadium. "Is something wrong?"
Davi shook his head and looked back at her. "Yeah, I'm ready for this test. Good luck, Olivia."
Pretty Face let out a cheer into her mic, which boomed out across the crowd. "No rolls this time; we're going straight into the second-to-last test! Created by the one and only Dark Star! Let's give it up for the test of Courage!"
The test of Courage was sort of like the test of Skills. It varied greatly each year, but in most cases, it would involve a monster or a dungeon, usually having some sort of combat related to it. Dark Star looked carefree and casual, but most people knew that the old woman was the strictest Knight that could be found. Her Knights were treated like soldiers and worked as a combined force, allowing them to excel in war-based combat. It was likely one of the reasons Gray had been so strong and had a spell related to summoning golems, since he would be used to controlling small forces.
The arena began to rapidly shake, and the floor glowed. The simulation started to boot up, and people struggled to stand as the floor became unsteady. There was a bright flash, but this time Olivia was ready for it and covered her eyes. When the flash died down, she slowly removed her hand, ready to see where she had been sent this time.
Like everyone else in the arena, she became instantly confused when she saw that she was still standing in the sandy colosseum. Mutters went through the crowd, and people looked around, unsure of what was happening. The floor had stopped shaking, and the lights were out, but the simulation had seemingly not started.
Laughter pierced through the confusion of the crowd, and everyone looked up to see that Dark Star was no longer seated on her throne. The other seven captains were giving the old lady odd looks as she now stood on the railing and looked down at everyone. Her laughter was deep, and she puffed her entire chest out. It took her several seconds before the laughter finally died down, and she looked back out at the crowd of onlookers.
"You're all shocked, aren't you?" The woman gave a crooked grin, showing a mouth full of missing teeth. "I bet you all thought you'd be sent away! Nah! Not this time! We're going to be doing things a bit differently for this exam! See, I've seen most of you in action during the first exam, and I have to say, you're all utter dog shit! I'd sooner kill myself than have any of you freaks serve on my team! Not a single one of you even stood out to me." Her words kept their cheerful tone, and she chuckled after every sentence, but there was a look in her eyes. An unsettling one that stared daggers down at the people below. "Since I'm so nice, I decided that you're all going to get one last chance to prove yourselves. You all want to be Knights, right? Well, why don't I show you what it's like to be a Knight? Good luck!" The old lady then turned around and walked back to her throne, taking a seat.
A stunned silence filled the arena, and it was only broken when Pretty Face cleared her throat and began to speak once more. "R-Right. As Dark Star just said, this test is going to be different from the last two and won't involve a simulation. In other words, you'll be put in real danger. If you want to back out, now is the time to do so. In a moment, you'll be given the quest! Please read what it says carefully and await further instructions!"
The silence of the crowd ended as people began to murmur in confusion, clearly unsure of what was happening.
"Can she just do that?" Olivia asked in shock.
"She's strong; the strong make the rules." Ken snorted. "She can do whatever she wants."
"I honestly don't care what the test is," Davi spoke up. "This sounds kind of interesting, though. The simulations were getting boring and lacked danger."
Olivia went to retort, but she was stopped when a flicker of blue appeared in front of her face. She wasn't the only one, either. Everyone in the arena all had the quest screen form before them. Text began to fill the box in quickly, and she read it, taking it all in.
'Warning: This test may result in physical or mental harm, and possibly even death. If you wish to back out, please tick the box at the bottom. Backing out will be an instant forfeit. Quest: Participate in an official Arcane Knight quest. You will be following the guide of a Guild member and placed into teams of four. You will be assigned a team role. Find your teammates by following the thread of mana. When all four of you come together, wait for your guide to come find you and take you on the official mission.'
At the bottom were two boxes. 'Do you wish to participate? Yes/No?'
Olivia clicked the 'yes' box, as did everyone else in her group. She imagined a majority of the people would accept this mission even knowing the danger. As soon as she hit the confirmation, the metal bracelet she had been given yesterday began to glow, and a faint thread of glowing mana seeped out of it. It stretched out, three lines shooting out, which would be her teammates. One of them connected her to Ash of all people, but he was the only one in the group that the line went to, which instantly pissed her off since that meant she wouldn't be in a group with Davi, Bruno, or Irene.
Ash seemed just as ticked off and gritted his teeth. "Are you freaking kidding me?" He spat out. "I'm on useless Olivia's team?"
"I'm not thrilled about this either." Olivier sighed.
"I'm not on anyone's team here." Bruno blinked down at his bracelet, which had three lines extending outward toward the crowd. "Guess I'm gonna be working with some new bros."
Ken raised her arm and stared down at the thread, which went to Davi's bracelet. "I wanted Olivia, but I guess you'll do." The smile she gave was like a predator, and Davi debated ripping the bracelet off of him to get out of it, but he suspected it was too late.
"What about me?" Irene asked innocently.
Olivia took Irene's arm and glanced down at her bracelet. "Your three lines are going west. I'll help you get to your teammates." She offered.
"Thank you, Ms. Olivia; you're so nice!" Irene beamed.
Ash huffed and stuffed his hands into his pockets. "I'll come with you, and after we drop her off, we can find the last two of our teammates. Hopefully they're not as useless as you are."
Olivia gave the boy a deadpanned look but held her tongue. Bruno gave a wave and was already walking off. "I'm going to go look for my new bros, bros. This bro will see you bros later!"
The group soon broke apart, leaving just Davi and Ken standing behind. "Should we go look for our two teammates?" Davi asked.
Ken shook her head and folded her arms. "No. They can come to us. We're the dominant ones here; it is their job to find us. Naturally, it goes without saying, but I'm going to be the one in charge of this little group, got it?" Davi shrugged and looked away. Ken gave him the side eye and let out a small sigh. "Are you good, by the way?"
"What do you mean?" Davi asked. Ken reached out and pressed her palm into his stomach. He winced and pulled away. "Ouch." He said flatly.
"I thought so." Ken nodded. "You're still banged up from your battle, aren't you? You have no recovery magic."
"I'll manage. I've been a lot more hurt than I am now; no need to worry for me."
Ken held her hand up, silencing Davi. She pulled the gourd off her belt and uncorked it. "Yujin. Come on out." A small puff of fire blasted out of the hole, and it began to take shape. Yujin looked different from the last time Davi had seen him. Instead of an enormous lion, the spirit now looked like a tiny wolf. Embers fused together along his body, and he was barely a foot tall. His tail wagged back and forth, and he opened his mouth, spitting out a ball of fire. The small spark hit Davi, and he felt his wounds begin to seal shut as his body recovered. "There," Ken stated. "Flame Feel isn't a strong healing technique, but it should do the trick and fix your body up."
Davi flexed his arms slightly, lifting them up and down. His stomach felt a lot better, and he was no longer bleeding. His body had fully healed. "That's handy. Thanks."
"It is the job of a leader to take care of her slaves." Ken flipped her hair and smugly smirked.
Davi ignored the slave remark and poked his finger out at the flaming wolf, which floated in the air. Yujin began to lick his finger. "Is this the lion from yesterday?"
Ken nodded. "Indeed."
"Why's he a dog now?"
Ken placed her hands on her hips, and her smirk grew. "It's a technique he has. Your people call it Polymorph, but where I'm from, we call it Mask Creation. Yujin's full title is Yujin of a hundred forms. Unlike you and I, Yujin here is not made of flesh and blood. He is a spirit, one forged entirely out of fire. As such, deciding what he looks like is as simple as changing the shape of his fire. Yujin is an eagle, a lion, a wolf; hell, he can even be a fish if he wants. His weight, his height, his length, his body—all of it is his alone to decide. Sometimes Yujin can even be the mighty Ken Yuna." Ken placed her hand under the small wolf's body, and Yujin settled in it as she brought him up to her head. "He is free. As free as he wants to be. Isn't that right, Yujin?"
"I am here to help Lord Ken Yuan." Despite his small size, Yujin's voice still came out loud and booming. "I will provide her with the help she needs and ensure that she is kept safe." The wolf took root in Ken's hair as if it were some sort of makeshift nest. "She alone is my owner."
"That doesn't sound very free." Davi pointed out.
Ken's smile faded, and she looked annoyed. "Hey, I didn't force him to serve me."
"That's cool, but don't say he's free if he isn't." Davi hummed. "He seems kind of like your pet—"
Ken grabbed him by the collar of his shirt and glared at him. "Want to say that shit again?"
"Your breath smells awful. Do you know what a toothbrush is?" Davi made a face and wrinkled his nose, causing Ken to growl loudly.
She was about to ram her fist into his face but stopped when someone cleared their throat. "Please don't tell me two of my teammates are already about to kill each other. What a drag."
"These two aren't what I was expecting, Cain." A second voice responded.
Ken and Davi both turned and found where their threads led. Their last two teammates stood before them. The first was a slightly short young man. He had messy, spiky silver hair, and his eyes were a silvery blue, like the moon. He wore a black bodysuit for some reason, and a longsword hung off his belt. Bags were under his eyes, and his look was blank and emotionless, just like Davi's.
The second person was a woman, one who was quite well endowed, Davi noted. She was quite the looker with long red hair that flowed down her back. She wore silver and red armor that was clearly struggling around the chest area, and a flowing cape followed behind her. All along the metal of her suit were various symbols that looked like roses.
"And who the hell are you two?" Ken grunted.
The woman's smile just grew. "I'm Ruby, and this here is Cain. You're Ken Yuan, right?" The woman leaned forward, her eyes scanning Ken from head to toe. "You're the closest thing your backwater nation has to royalty, so I guess that puts you in the same boat as Cain and I, since we're of Noble blood. It makes me wonder, how did the three of us get stuck with a beaten mutt?" The woman's joyous smile faded, and her eyes, which held warmth, became bleak and cold as they turned to Davi.
'Fuck you, rich bitch, eat shit.' Davi kept those words to himself.
Ken let go of Davi's shirt and frowned. "The only mutt I see here is you," Ken said coldly, and she wiped at her nose with her thumb. "You smell like a bitch in heat. I'm not shocked with how lewd of a body you have."
Any positive feelings Ruby might have had for Ken instantly vaporized, and the biggest scowl formed on the woman's face. "I beg your pardon?"
Cain let out another sigh and sagged his shoulders down. "Our team has already devolved into infighting. Great. Why couldn't I have ended up on that ice mage's team?"
"He's right." Davi lifted his hand. "Let's stop fighting."
"Oh, the mutt is trying to order a noble around?" Ruby cocked her head to the side.
"I prefer being called a bird, actually—"
"That's funny." Ruby tapped her chin. "I don't recall asking the dog to give me his opinion."
"...Ken. Beat her ass." Davi nodded.
Ken smirked and cracked her knuckles. "Don't gotta tell me twice!" Ruby's eyes narrowed, and the woman looked like she was ready. But before the fight could break out, a quiet ding echoed out, and the blue screens once again appeared before the four of them.
'You have successfully found your teammates.' The screen read. 'You will now be assigned a team role.'