"Maizey Shigaraki. Age twenty-one. I'm here to enter into the Magic Knights exam." The man gives me a questionable look. "Magic type?" He says blandly. I nod. "Fire magic." I respond. "Grimoire please." I nod, summoning my black and red grimoire. He examines it, then nods. "Alright. Go on in. You're number one hundred and thirteen. Good luck, shortcake." I ender the colosseum and notice that there are a lot less contestants than I expected. Usually around this time of year, there are thousands of young men and women dying to be apart of this competition. To be accepted into one of the squads.
"Saddening, isn't it?" I hear a voice from behind me. I turn to see a beautiful women with blonde hair. I stay silent. "Because of the war, barely anyone dares to join the magic knights. Especially with all of the tragedy a few months ago. Most citizens lost all hope after the incident with the Heart Kingdom." I wince. "When tragedy strikes, the ones who fight despite the fear the have, those are the most valuable soldiers." The woman smiles. "I am captain--"
"Charlotte Roselei. The Captain of the Blue Rose Squad. It's an honor to meet you. I am Maizey Shigonashi. " I lower my head and bow. She doesn't recognize me. She wouldn't. Captain Charlotte smiles and nods her head. "I look forward to seeing your performance." I smile shyly, my cheeks heating up. "Thank you, I take pride in having the opportunity to do so."
The exams are not hard. Simple tests to see what kind of power we harness, Broom flying, aura storation, the things I learned in grade eight. By the time the exam was almost over, everyone around me looked exhausted. I was feeling fine. I've spent years learning how to not over-exert myself to protect the queen. To store power while also delivering one powerful blow. I had a feeling that seeing who could harness their power was the point of those challenges. There is no way that the captains would be this desperate, even if there was a war going on.
"Ahem, your attention please." I look up at the stage to see a black haired boy, Yuno, the new captain of the Golden Dawn. He looks rather uncomfortable. "There is just one more challenge, and I want you all to know that it will be the most difficult yet. I want you all to know that you've all worked extremely hard to get here. But, I know that some of you are tired--"
"Tired doesn't even come close. Most of these dumbasses are put out. It's sad." Another figure emerges from the stage. A tall, bulky man walks forward, holding a katana behind his back. Whispers burst as he steps in front of Yuno. "I'm gonna give you all one chance. Anyone who wants to leave now, can leave. No, you don't get to know what the challenge is, and no, if you choose to stay you may not be able to leave after you do know what the challenge is. I don't know if any of you know this, but we're in a war right now. That means we need the best, and only the best. We're not taking it easy on anyone. You have one minute to decide. You time starts now." I look around to see what everyone was thinking. Whispers and murmurs erupt around me. Do you think he's serious? There's no way it can be that bad. What's the challenge going to be? Surely they can't kill us, right?
"Thirty seconds." The man says, irritably. Slowly, other contestants start backing up and leaving. Then more. Then almost everyone. There were 234 contestants who entered the exam. After the mans proposal, there were about fifteen of us left. I shake my head in disgust. How could anyone actually leave like that. "Cowards." I mumble. A man standing next to me shakes his head. "Hey sweet cheeks," He smirks. "you don't have to act so brave. You're too little to be here. Why don't you do yourself a favor and leave while you still have time." I look over at him. I smile, looking him up and down. "Your fly's unzipped, you misogynistic hard ass." I say, a little louder than expected. Despite the tension in the room, the other contestants laugh. I turn my head back towards the stage, ignoring the dirty look the man is giving me.
"Now that we've narrowed it down, we can continue. Get on with it, kid." The man ruffles Yuno's hair and returns to his seat with the other captains, hidden from our vision. Yuno scowles as he clears his throat. "The final challenge, contestants, is a battle. Every year for exams, contestants partner up and battle each other to display their power, but this year is different. Not only will you be battling your partner, but you will also be battling one of us, your very own captains." Suddenly, eight people emerge from behind Captain Yuno, and stand beside him. All of the captains. Behind each captain, two members from each squad accompanied them. I looked at each member. Before I could finish examining them all, I hear--
"HEY! MAIZEY! IS THAT YOU? YOU'RE TAKING THE EXAM? OH THIS IS GOING TO BE GREAT TO WATCH!" I close my eyes and look down. I don't have to look up to see who's greeting me this way. It was none other than the bane of my existence, yet the sweetest person ever, Asta. He's standing behind the big man from earlier. The man harshly covered Asta's mouth and signaled for Yuno to move on. Yuno clears his throat. "Aright. Partner up and let the games begin.