— Waiting Area —
Everyone gulped as they watched Valery's resolve strengthen. Malik glanced at Rurik. He didn't seem moved at all. The man clutched the hammer, ready to bathe it in his opponent's blood.
Lucien smiled and nodded in respect. Sarah looked at him as if he were mad. "Isn't she your wife? Are you not scared for her life at all? Look at that big hammer he is waving around without an ounce of restraint. He could kill her!"
Lucien snorted with disapproval. "I suggest you let me worry about my wife, and you stay out of Royal business."
Sarah growled at him, her glare seemingly piercing through his skull. Malik grabbed his sister's arm and shook his head, making Sarah back off. "He is right." He whispered. Sarah shot a surprised and betrayed look at him. "Before you say anything, I don't agree with his attitude." He took a quick glance towards the screen, specifically at Valery. "But look at her face. It's obvious this is what she wants. This is her dream that she is fighting for right now. She doesn't care if it costs her life, so we have to respect it."
"But…" Sarah paused, realising she didn't have a valid argument. Her brother was right. What right did she have to stand in the way? She barely knew her. 'Why the hell do I care anyway?!'
Ellion started dancing around them, a goofy smile on his face. "Cheer up, everybody! Valery is the baddest girl I've ever known – aside from someone else that shall not be mentioned."
Lucien shot him a mad glare while Ellion pretended not to notice. "Point is, she isn't going down without a darn good fight. Let's all cheer for her right now. Valery! Valery! Valery…"
Ellion slowly stopped, realising no one was with him. Lucien looked at him as if he were stupid. Malrik looked around, a little disgusted by everyone who was still murmuring insults at her. He took Ellion's hand and started screaming. "Valery! Valery! Valery!" Ellion smiled at him, joining in on the chant. He started jumping around, pulling poor Malrik across the room.
Sarah gave a tired sigh at their antics before joining in. 'I am not about to let these two idiots show me up!' was her excuse…
— Test Arena —
In the arena, Valery and Rurik could hear the chants of Malrik, Ellion and Sarah. Valery gripped her bow, their shouts giving her newfound strength. Rurik turned around, impressed. "You have loyal followers, just what a future queen needs."
"I don't wish to rule over anything, nor do I wish to have any followers. Those are just new friends who have put their trust in me. I won't fail." Rurik snorted before bending down into his fighting position.
"Very well then, princess. Let's see how far these friends of yours can take you." Not even a second later, the two dashed towards each other. Valery shot a few arrows while Rurik continued absorbing their impact, building up his power as the arrows fell helplessly to the ground. Rurik then lifted his feet, channelling his power and stomping on the ground, sending everything flying and making it shake. A wave of shockwaves generated outwards towards Valery.
She was sent falling onto her back, groaning a bit before getting back up. She glanced at her sword and shield still lying on the ground. As Rurik continued charging towards his opponent, hammer raised into the air, Valery's shield started moving. It rammed itself into Rurik's legs, tripping him.
Valery smirked before quickly shooting an arrow towards him. Rurik grumbled before channelling his remaining stored energy and slamming his hammer to the ground. Another shockwave reverberated outwards, stopping the arrow's momentum. Valery covered her face, struggling to stay on her feet against the shockwave.
She noticed Rurik get up, preparing to strike. However, this time, he noticed her shield whip back around, heading for him again. He raised his shield, and although he was able to absorb its impact, Valery was able to duck beneath his feet and backflip away safely. Valery sighed before charging forward again. Her sword flew into her hand, and she jumped up.
Rurik smiled. "It's useless, every strike you deliver to me, I'll absorb it." He raised his hammer into the air, ready to block. "And I'll strike back with even greater force." Valery swung, but before it could hit, the sword rebounded backwards. Taking advantage of the stunned Rurik, Valery quickly channelled magic to her feet and struck him on his chin.
Rurik stumbled back, rubbing his chin. However, Valery gave him no time to recover as she jumped forward towards him again. Rurik lifted his shield, ready to block again. Unbeknownst to him, something was slowly rising behind him. With all her strength, Valery swung her sword at his shield, a loud echo ringing out before the impact was again absorbed into the shield.
"Silly girl, just because you were able to land a hit behind my defences, you forgot about my powers again." Rurik raised his hammer into the air. Valery stared in fear at the hammer, knowing she couldn't escape this next strike. "And now by order of thy lord and lady, your mistake shall cost you your life."
Without mercy, Rurik swung his hammer; however, he suddenly stopped as two piercing sounds echoed out. Rurik stared at Valery in shock as she smirked. Valery glanced down to see blood already dripping from behind him. Rurik slowly turned back to see two arrows sticking out of his back.
"No, sir, you underestimated my ability," stated Valery.
Rurik dropped his hammer and tower shield to the side before taking out the arrows from his back. 'I see. That final attack was just a distraction. She intentionally let me absorb her attack's kinetic energy so that I would focus on the counterattack and let my guard down. Meanwhile, while all that was happening, she was using her ability to move the two arrows behind us and pierce me.' Rurik gasped as he suddenly remembered something. 'Those archery attacks earlier, while we were charging at each other. Those weren't just reckless attacks; it was preparation for this moment. And when she kicked me, she was getting me in range for her ability. She planned that far ahead.'
Valery finally finished catching her breath and slowly got up. "Your ability is formidable indeed, yet like all such gifts, it bears its flaw. You can absorb the kinetic force of any attack, but only in those places you have chosen. Consider—when I struck at you with my sword, I withheld the blow with my power, denying you the force you would have claimed, and in that instant, I kicked you in a different area, your chin. You could not absorb it, for you had already prepared your hammer to take the impact and absorb it. That, in turn, set up the range of my ability for my arrows laid out when we began this last round."
"And that last attack, you waited until the moment I had believed victory was inevitable and attacked."
Valery smiled and looked towards the waiting area. "A wise new friend of mine told me, an opponent who believes they have won and fully commits to an attack is when the defence is fully down. That is the best way to counterattack."
Rurik nodded. He walked over to his weapons and hoisted them onto his back. Valery turned back to him as he walked over to her. He stretched his hand out, which Valery graciously accepted. "Congratulations, you passed the test. As promised by the Lord and Lady of the Duskveil family, you will be permitted to enter the academy to follow whichever path you choose."
Valery beamed, happy she could follow her dreams. She ran up to the man and gave him a large hug, surprising him. Rurik simply stood there awkwardly. When Valery stopped, he gave a nervous cough.
"You should head back to the waiting area and await further instructions," he said, trying to sound as professional as possible. Valery thanked him before walking calmly towards the waiting area.
— Waiting Area —
As Valery walked through the door, she was met with loud cheers and chants of her name by everyone in the room. People who hated her before were now congratulating her and cheering her name. Valery chuckled as Ellion danced around her, chanting her name like he was casting a spell, a large goofy smile present on his face.
Malrik walked up to her with a smile. "Stealing my tactic, I see." Valery smirked and walked past him.
"I may have stolen it, but I believe I did it better." She strutted over to her husband as Sarah hoisted her arm on Malrik's shoulder.
"Show off," he whispered. Sarah chuckled and raised an eyebrow.
"Why are you smiling then?" Malrik tried to hide his smirk while whispering, "Whatever."
Valery beamed at Lucien, who was on one knee, bowing. "I believe someone owes me a kiss." She stretched out her arm. Lucien took her hand and planted a passionate kiss. He gently caressed her hand before standing and lifting her.
"When we get home, I'll tell the cooks to serve us the finest cuisine in Ragenbird." He spun her around as Valery giggled.
Suddenly, a mechanical voice boomed throughout the room, alerting everyone. "Attention everyone!!" Everyone turned to the screen above the door. Two dots above what looked like lips appeared on it.
Malrik gave a confused look before tilting his head towards his sister. "Is that supposed to be his face?" he whispered.
"How the hell should I know?" she responded.
"Can everyone hear me?" Shouts of confirmation rang out, making the face smile. "Perfect. Firstly, I want to congratulate everyone on their battles as well as thank everyone for coming. We appreciate all those who fought hard, and in case you didn't make it, we encourage you to try again next year." Malrik glanced at those with sad and upset faces. 'I guess they must have lost or something.'
"Secondly, I want to inform those who did pass their battle, what will be happening moving forward. Now, before I tell you, I want to remind everyone here that violent outbursts of any kind will not be tolerated, and you will be removed from facilities immediately should that happen." Murmurs and whispers immediately filled the room. People gulped nervously, sensing bad news.
Ellion turned towards Lucien, who didn't seem worried at all. "Uuh, bro, this is good news, right?"
Lucien shrugged, unconcerned. "Whatever it is, I am sure it won't affect my place in the academy." He started beaming, laughing to himself like a maniac. Ellion gave him a side-eye. 'For once, I am not the weird one.'
"Silence!" A voice thundered from the screen. "I know you all have concerns, but hold them until you've heard what I have to say. This entrance exam was designed to measure whether you possess the qualities required to join this year's class. In other words, it was a test to determine who among you stands out as the best. Each of you faced different teachers from our academy—not to see if you could simply pass their challenge, but to evaluate how you performed during it."
The screen earned a crowd of confused looks after its speech. Whispers of confusion spread amongst everyone. Sarah glanced at Malrik, who had a serious look on his face. "Do you have any idea what she is talking about?" she asked.
Malrik sighed, thinking of the best way to explain it. "What the thing is saying is that it didn't matter whether we drew blood or whatever condition people were given to pass. What mattered was how we performed in battle. In other words, people who did pass the condition—in our case, drawing blood from our opponent—might not be given entrance into the academy."
Everyone gasped upon hearing this. Immediately, people became outraged and started shouting. Ellion gulped, scared for his life. Dramatic as ever, he shouted, "Wait, so what you're saying is that there is still a chance I might not get in. No, no, this can't be happening to me!!"
Valery and Lucien stood with not a hint of worry on their faces. They ignored all the chaos around them and continued seducing each other, like they were on a honeymoon. Malrik glanced around the room, seeing a few others like that too – not the seducing part. He deduced them to just being royals similar to the married couple. His eyes caught attention on a white-haired girl leaning on a wall in the far back, but it was quickly taken away as the screen started talking again.
"I want to repeat: none of you know yet if your place at Evergrove Academy has been confirmed."
Lucien muttered, "I do," under his breath with a cough, but was quickly elbowed by Valery.
"Within two days at most, you'll receive a letter at the address you provided during registration. If you don't receive one, it means you were not accepted. The letter will include the orientation date along with all the details for that day. I wish you all the best, and for those who are accepted, I can't wait to get to know each and every one of you."
As the screen turned off, reactions of different kinds broke out among everyone present. Some stupid people decided to demand acceptance from members of staff outright – this, of course, ended with them being kicked off the property. Some were arguing with friends, some making bets with them, and some (Ellion) were crying.
"Lucien!!! You have to help me. I'm not going to make it—I swear they're going to kick me out."
Lucien looked at him in slight disgust as Ellion dug his face into his shirt, staining it with his tears. "Relax. The only thing they'll kick is themselves for letting you in."
Ellion's face twisted into mock anger. "Oh, so now you have a sense of humour? Right when the hands of fate are strangling my future?!" He threw his arms in the air. "At this point, I should just start packing my bags—though knowing my luck, they'll probably kick me out before I get to the gate. Maybe they'll give me a consolation prize: 'World Record for Fastest Rejection.' I am cooked, I tell you, I am cooked!"
He and Lucien started arguing as they walked out of the gate. Malrik and Sarah glanced at them. "I hope he will be ok."
Valery let out a soft chuckle. "Oh, pay him no mind; appearances can deceive. He is more skilled than half within this hall—perhaps more." A shout rang out from beyond the doors—Lucien's voice, calling Valery's name. She sighed, then turned back to Sarah. "It seems I am needed, yet before I go…" Valery extended her arm with quiet grace. "I should like it if, from this day forth, we might call one another friends."
Sarah stared at it for a few seconds. She had never really had any friends growing up – her brother didn't count. Malrik gestured for her to shake it, so she did. With a smile, Valery ran off after Lucien and Ellion, while Sarah stared at her hand in a trance. Of course, Malrik had to ruin it…
"Ooo, someone's finally got their first-ever friend." Sarah quickly blushed in embarrassment.
"Shu-shut up!" she shouted before walking away. "Come on, we should get going, Kael is probably waiting for us."
Malrik nodded and followed after her. As they got to the door, Malrik turned back, feeling something warm brush past him; however, like a ghost, it was gone.