A few moments earlier.
Although Yuniko had separated herself from Clair, it seems that fate had intertwined, resulting in her becoming Clair's partner.
Even now, Yuniko did not feel any emotions from Clair. It was at that point that Yuniko was confused about whether her powers had stopped working altogether, but she could feel the anxiety of the two girls in infront of her.
[Open the door....]
"How do we do this? Clair, how--"
CREAK!
It had not been a second since the round had started.
Clair opened the door and stepped out of the floor.
Clair was the first one in the entire tower to win the first round, and she did it even before the rune artefact even announced.
"Come Yuniko"
In the control room.
Mrs Candace had a surprised look on her face. She had never seen such a thing happen in any of the exams.
"Ho ho ho, you can expect such things from the House of Holy. Their minds truly transcend ours even without any attributes." Old man Klein scoffed.
Alfred, who was the most reserved of the professors, could not hold his amusement.\
"A monster is coming to the Academy, Mrs Candace. Be ready," Alfred addressed Mrs Candace.
"I suggest she's more than a monster, Alfred, she's a devil." Mrs Candace imagined Clair with large horns growing out of her beautiful, blue-haired temple.
***
Dorian and Wallace had shamed Simon and Harry. Simon and Harry had everything they needed to win the first round, but it was their own abilities that opened the door.
Wallace asked Dorian, "If we both were to punch the door, we could have certainly won the round, or you could have teleported with the key to make them lose."
Dorian responded: "Yes, but look at these guys, do you think they can think rationally for the next round or the round after that? I could certainly have disqualified them for touching the key with my attribute, but it's not fun", Dorian bore a serious expression as he said that.
Simon and Harry were sweating profusely; they would have ramble on about their superior mindsets and tease Dorian, but it was their own powers that made the other team win the round.
"Snap out of it, Harry. There are still two rounds. We will certainly win the next round. We know that the errand boy has a switching places attribute." Simon whispered to Harry.
"Yes, but Wallace. We don't know what attribute he has," Harry whispered to Simon.
Wallace was trying his best to intimidate Harry and Simon. Wallace was puckering his face and squinting his eyes. It was certainly the face a prince, who was trying to look intimidating, would make.
"What kind of faces are you making?" Dorian was trying to hold his laughter.
Though Dorian was trying to hold his laughter, he looked scary to Simon and Harry. Simon was shaken by a single punch; even if Dorian stared at him, he would be scared. Simon has learnt to be scared of Dorian. He was a noble from a young age, his family having lived in a completely different world from the common folk, and he had not experienced any forms of trouble with money.
[Everyone in the tower has completed their first round. It is time for the next round to start.]
The young girl's voice resounded from the rune artefact in the wall of the tower.
[For this next round, you will be handed two candles]
From above the floor in the next room, a hole opened two candles.
[Please select a candle]
Simon and Harry immediately went over to inspect the given candles while Dorian and Wallace remained composed. They began to touch the candles and smell them.
'If it were selecting the best candle, they would not let us choose'
"They're the same Simon, but this one feels a bit more like a candle. I'll select this one"
"No, I think this one feels more like a candle. Select this one, Harry."
They argued with each other. It was the accumulation of the frustrations that they were going to lose. Though both Simon and Harry had strong attributes, it was not the strongest attribute, but the strongest Ascenders.
This was the largest entrance exam in the best Academy on the entire continent. Even the nobles dreamed of being admitted to the Canon Academy. It was such a large entrance exam that even the king's grandson had to partake in the exam.
Simon and Harry began to grit their teeth against each other. The common thought among them was 'if only I had a better partner'.
Wallace pointed at Dorian: "Maybe we should go and grab a candle, they are going to break both of the candles"
Dorian shrugged and casually went over to grab the candles. He whistled and cracked his bones while walking over to Simon and Harry.
"Whatever, Harry, pick your candle. That madman is coming; we must win this round. Remember, our families have been allies for years now. If we both pass through this round and the next round after that, we will have fame for defeating the prince.
Think about the possible opportunities we would receive. Even if the king weren't able to interfere, if we eliminated Wallace, there would be conflict with all families and houses."
"You're right, Simon. Maybe we can uplift the name of our families and gather more supporters if the royal families stop our business and guilds," Harry exclaimed with happiness.
'Maybe they're not stupid after all. It seems I have misjudged.'
"What are you looking at, Errand boy? You think your little punch would scare me? You think you'll win this round? Haha"
'Never mind'
Dorian did not pay attention to Simon but simply went over and picked up a random candle.
[The two candles are different from each other. They look the same, but they are different.]
Suddenly, both the candles lit up and started to burn profusely. The candle with Dorian and Wallace changed colour and turned black, while Simon and Harry's candle turned white.
[The last candle to extinguish will win this round. Please understand that if you hurt or injure your opponent physically, you will lose this round.]
The candle that Dorian and Wallace had in their hands was burning at an incredibly fast rate. The black candle had a bluish flame which was eating at the wax, at least ten times faster than the white candle.
"Harry, we've won this round. You hear that errand boy, and the royal prince. You will lose this round. We've officially won this round, haha. We will be admitted to the Academy while poor little errand boy will be sucking---"
Dorian and Wallace looked at each other. Their expressionless faces were transforming. Both Dorian's and Wallace's lips were turning upwards while they were biting their tongue. It seemed as if they had seen the most amusing thing in their entire life.
What soon followed was their combined laughter. This laughter carried sinister intent and maniacal laughter.
What followed next was a snap that echoed through the room.
Simon and Harry had their mouths wide open in shock. The person who was infront of them stared at them for 5 seconds, and next, another snap was heard.
The candle that they had had returned extinguished.
[Congratulations, NPC. You've won 2 out of the three rounds, congrats on passing the next round.]