"But that was because it was still wartime back then. The academy needed to train students' combat awareness from a young age, so they used that method."
"But now the human-dragon war has ended. If we continued using Black Armor sparring, it might affect the current peace between the two races."
"So the academy changed the exam rules."
"Does everyone understand?"
"Understood, teacher!"
The end of the human-dragon war had been announced within dragonkind a long time ago.
Noah had even heard that the history textbooks for the next batch of students would be drastically revised.
'Eh, poor juniors.'
But Noah still felt a little regretful.
'With the war over, doesn't that mean I will never get to see that legendary strongest human?'
If she couldn't see him, she wouldn't be able to cross blades with someone that powerful.
'Truly... a pity.'
"The exam will begin in fifteen minutes. You can use this time to freely form teams."
Since it was a two-person team, the two besties naturally chose each other.
Skipping the time to find partners, the two little dragon girls used the chance to discuss tactics.
"One C-rank beast is worth 10 points, one B-rank is 30 points, and 100 points passes the exam. That means we only need to defeat ten C-ranks, or four B-ranks," Helena said.
Noah nodded, but her expression was slightly heavy.
"What is it, Noah-chan? Do you have another idea?"
"Mm... I checked some information about Nightmare Moon Forest before we came. Although people say it's full of dangerous beasts, most are C-rank. And it's not like they're everywhere you turn."
"The lower the rank, the weaker they are, but also the better they are at hiding."
"If we target low-ranked beasts from the start, we'll probably waste most of our time just searching."
"On the other hand, A-rank beasts are generally huge. Even if they're rare, their tracks are obvious."
"So my idea is... prioritize an A-rank beast. If we succeed, we instantly have a 50-point advantage. Then we'd only need two B-ranks to pass."
After saying her thoughts, Noah looked at Helena.
"What do you think? If it feels too difficult, we can still take the safer route with the lower ranks."
Helena's plan was conservative, the kind most students would use.
Noah's plan, as she said, was more difficult, and placed higher demands on both of their abilities.
That was why she asked. If it was too hard, they could just play it safe.
But after the incident in the Far North, the little honor student had grown a lot.
Before, she would've just dragged Helena along to find an A-rank beast without hesitation, not bothering with weighing risks.
Helena lightly bit her soft lips, hesitated, then said, "Then let's do it your way, Noah-chan. We'll go for an A-rank first, get the point advantage."
Noah's eyes lit up, "I thought you wouldn't agree."
"Of course I would."
Helena squinted and smiled, "I know you've been waiting for this exam for a long time. Compared to just passing, you care more about how much it challenges you. So... it's fine to take a risk. That's what makes it exciting~"
The greatest fortune in school life is having a friend who understands you.
Helena always knew what Noah wanted deep down. Her little bestie always chased higher standards and tougher trials.
And Helena was willing to run wild with her.
"Then... thank you, Helena," Noah said sincerely.
"No problem. Let's head to the entrance."
"Okay."
The two besties went to the forest entrance.
While waiting for the exam to start, Noah was pulled into her ancestor's consciousness space.
["What a sappy friendship. Gross."]
The silver-haired beauty sat on the water's surface, long tail curled slightly, resting at her side.
"Mm," Noah's reply was cold and curt.
Her ancestor still couldn't comprehend things like friendship or bonds.
After all, a proud sovereign didn't need such things. That sort of chuuni remark was the ancestor's own words, not Noah's.
So Noah didn't expect her to understand her and Helena's relationship anytime soon.
Fine then, whatever the old aunt said was whatever. Noah wasn't going to argue.
["Hmph, how come the older you get, the colder you act?"], the ancestor complained.
["The price of growing up."]
["...Please don't say something that sounds so profound with a child's face."]
Noah shrugged, ["You didn't pull me here just to complain about me, my friend, and my baby face, did you?"]
The ancestor shook her head, ["I wanted to tell you, this exam is very close to the ancient dragons' coming-of-age rituals."]
["And your strategy just now was good. I like it. Step-by-step, picking off the small fry for points, that's boring."]
["If you're going to eat, eat big. That's what a descendant of mine should do."]
["But..."]
The ancestor's tone shifted, suddenly serious.
["An exam so close to real combat will bring many uncertainties and unexpected events. You must make your own choices and judgments. I cannot help you."]
["Even though your rate of gathering Primordial Power has improved, you're still far from completing me."]
["And in a place this far from dragon territory, if you use Primordial Power, the minions of 'Ultimate Fear' could sense it."]
["So—"]
Noah nodded, ["I know. Just stay quiet and watch me."]
Actually, the ancestor knew this brat's nature. Even if she didn't say anything, Noah wouldn't let her help.
Her whole speech was just to praise the girl's "go big" strategy.
But direct praise wasn't her style as the Original Dragon King, so she had to tack on all the extra stuff...
Ahem!
["Then go, face it head-on, child of the Silver Dragons! Face your destiny!"]
["...It's just an exam, stop blurting out such cringy chuuni lines!"]
———
Fifteen minutes later, the promotion exam officially began.
The little dragonlings entered Nightmare Moon Forest in pairs.
For safety and pacing, the academy had prepared a simple map for everyone.
Though not detailed, it marked which areas had beasts of different ranks.
"Green... yellow... red? Does that mean from low to high rank?", Helena asked, staring at the colorful patches on the map.
"Probably. Green has the most, red the least."
Judging by the teacher's words earlier, "numbers inversely related to difficulty", these colors clearly indicated beast ranks.
Noah didn't mind this way of dividing.
It even reminded her of years ago, when her dad helped her prepare for the academy entrance exam.
Back then, her dad also had her use red, yellow, and green markers on the study guide index: red for "don't understand at all," yellow for "kinda understand," and green for "fully understood."
Looking at the three colors on the map, recalling those little memories with her dad, Noah couldn't help but smile faintly.
But soon, she straightened her thoughts and pointed at a red-marked area.
"Let's go here first. It's where A-rank beasts appear, and nearby there are yellow areas too. If we succeed against the A-rank, we can hit B-ranks close by."
"Mm, okay."
Though young, Noah was always top of her class in theory and practice.
So Helena naturally followed her lead.
Not that the little sea dragon girl was just coasting, she and Noah trained together all the time, their teamwork was seamless.
Unlike most dragons who awakened fire-element magic, the two besties were lightning and water.
Noah's lightning magic was the offense, Helena's water magic the control.
Not only that, in combat class, Noah's slightly aggressive style often needed Helena's reminders to rein her in.
And the honor queen only listened to her bestie, never to any other partner.
One of their combat instructors had even written in their evaluation: Noah was like an indestructible sword, and Helena was the one who wielded it.
That was also one reason why Noah dared to challenge an A-rank beast in the exam.
She believed in their bond. It would carry them through.
Following the map, the two passed through shrubs.
The map marked this area as C-rank territory. Other students were already searching there.
But by the time Noah and Helena left, they hadn't seen a single beast.
"Looks like you were right, Noah. Even though C-rank beasts are the most numerous, actually finding one isn't easy."
Helena crouched in front of some bushes, parted the grass, and found a footprint in the soft soil.
"The weaker the beast, the better it hides. Their traces are hard to find, you were right about that too."
Helena stood, looked around, then called out to two nearby girls.
"Kristina~ come here~"
This was the girl who'd placed in the last essay contest. Very shy, very kind, and on good terms with Noah and Helena.
Hearing Helena's call, Kristina and her teammate came over.
"What is it, Helena?"
"There's a footprint here. Judging by its shape and depth, it was left by a Barefoot Mole. You two can follow the trail."
Kristina blinked her pretty eyes, "Aren't you two going after the mole?"
Helena smiled and shook her head, "We're planning to go straight for an A-rank beast."
At that, the girl was a little stunned, "Going straight for an A-rank beast..."
Before she could finish, Kristina noticed Noah standing quietly at the side.
At once, she understood, "Ah, so you're paired with Noah. Then it makes sense."
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