After the initial written exams, and the interview, Reiki was now able to take himself a step further towards this new world and new life. After getting excused from the short interview about his condition and backstory, Reiki sighed to himself. He had some time by himself, until Sapphire appeared by his side once again a short while later. That was something that wouldn’t look like it would change for a while.
Some of the surrounding adults, staff and adventurers alike, realised how oblivious he was to the fact that she had her eyes set on him the entire time they chatted; her saviour from her kidnapping just a handful of days earlier. During their walk from the interview, she kept her hands clasped behind her back. The back of one in the palm of the other, as they covered the quiet distance to the training grounds; the place chosen for the physical aspect of the entrance exams. As he followed her, he felt the curious stares of some of the other students who were out of class alongside the warm breeze on his face.
‘I still find it interesting that you can move so fast yet have no affinity for any magic we use.’ She said, her eyes with the occasional flick between him and the route ahead. ‘I know I’ve seen it, but it just feels weird knowing that you not only can’t use magic, but don’t have Mana either.’
‘I… I know.’ He replied, his head dropped in response. ‘... I wish I could, but I think we should keep a lid on the topic. I hope the last bit of my entrance exam is better than the written responses.’ He added, his eyes with a glow like the first stars appearing in the twilight sky.
As they approached the doors, Sapphire’s eyes dropped and her ears lowered to a noticeable angle. He noticed this but didn’t know what to make of it. He knew some things about animals using their ear positions to represent certain behaviours, but he didn’t know if they applied to Sapphire’s native race. Until now.
A Beastal guy with ears as pointed as hers, but their colour along with his hair vibrantly different, walked around the corner. As the older-looking Beastal turned towards them, the wolf-girl slunk behind Reiki and placed a clenched fist against his back, as if she had attempted to avoid the new guy’s gaze.
‘
‘
Reiki opened up a Telepathic connection to Sapphire as the boys, of their various but close-nit appearances, started to edge closer to her.
[Saph, I don’t understand what they’re saying, but are they, like, bullying you?] He projected with a subtle ping to her, feeling her fists jolt a little against him.
He fought to get a glance back at her. Her action caused his ears to hear a soft rushing of blood as he felt his patience running thin.
[...Y-Yeah.] She replied with her thoughts, her teeth gritted a little as her forehead then pressed into the back of his right shoulder. [They’re speaking Rampani and it’s been an issue ever since…since…] Her mental voice started to change and grow softer, a faint flurry of colours blurred across his mind as she experienced the memory.
She was interrupted by an odd sensation in her head, causing her to jerk her head up a little. She hadn’t realised recalling the memory had left a wet patch on the back of his top. However, her head felt like she was getting a massage from inside. Reiki had moved in small degrees of movement to put him between them.
Sapphire was pleased that he was being protective of her. Her face blocked from his view, she was glad that his position hid her blush. After a short while, they eventually noticed how he was always standing in a position that kept her
‘
Before Sapphire could warn him, the other guy raised the glove ready to slap him. But a hand reached out and grabbed the boy’s wrist. The tightness caused his grip to release the glove.
‘I was going to let it slide, but I don’t think Madam Aerys would approve.’ Came a strong, feminine voice Reiki recognised, with a flurry of hair entering his vision.
‘Tch.’ The boy said, his teeth gritted and a built-up tear threatening to drip from his left eye. ‘
As they left, the intervening party turned to look at Sapphire behind Reiki. With Sofya and Markus over by the wall, Reiki quickly recalled his memory at superspeed. Before him was none other than Ephyr herself.
‘It’s nice to see you again, Reiki.’ She said, a subtle but strong tug of her lips as her eyes glistened like a warrior’s spirit was waiting to explode. ‘I should have expected to see that noble bump into you…’ The light in her eyes dimmed as she continued to talk, her posture relaxed enough for it to be noticeable to both teenagers.
Reiki was still shocked as to why she was there. He did relax after he noticed her face, but he was curious about something. Sapphire beat him to it by asking her question first.
‘Uhm, who are you?’ She said, her voice crescendoed as she stepped back out to his side. ‘I don’t think I recognise you.’
‘I’m Ruebyssa, Ruebyssa Cryfield the Third.’ She claimed herself to be, as she turned towards the two of them. ‘I’ve transferred over from Hibel, due to the recent slave trade issue there. Please, call me Rue.’ She added as she curtsied towards them, with an elegance Reiki had only heard of from his sister discussing romance novels with her husband.
‘Well, it’s nice to meet you but my friend here has something to get to.’ Sapphire stated like it was a matter of fact. ‘There is a slot the headmaster himself has suggested for him to take part.’ She added while she glanced at the empty entrance with a pointed finger towards the training arena, surprising him by not grabbing his arm like he was expecting from the anime he’d watched.
‘Y-yeah, what Saph said.’ He got out after a second of silence. ‘Um… I’m Reiki. Reiki Honokami. This is my friend, Sapphire.’ He added, with the thought of introducing himself and Sapphire to the woman.
‘I see.’ Rue said before her eyes took on a soft glow, a glint similar to stars appearing in a reflection of a lake. She hurriedly reached into a small bag on her waist that blended into her ensemble and extracted a letter. ‘If I may ask, are you the… “ray-key” that my cousin spoke of?’ She asked as she unfolded it.
‘Uh, who’s cousin told you about me?’ His face took on a shocked expression, whilst an attempt to recall who would blab about him. ‘Wait… Let me think…’ He tried to narrow it down, index finger and thumb on the forehead, but the list of people who knew him was very small.
An even better chance was about to be thrown his way; Rue looked like she was going to tell them anyway. That tiny raise of her lips on the right side.
‘Well, I bet you’d be surprised if it was the Princess herself.’ Rue said, her hand raised as her thumbnail itched her index fingernail while looking away from him.
‘As long as she hasn’t told you too much, that’s fine with me.’ He replied, letting a sigh of relief escape his lips.
He didn’t even register her movement freeze after his head tilted downwards. Sapphire placed a hand on his back, pushing him past the cousin of the Princess. While they walked past her, Sapphire whispered to her as they passed. With him unable to detect her voice as his mind was preoccupied with combat ideas that he might apply for this physical exam.
‘So that you know, he’s a bit sensitive about his image outside of his friends.’ She white-lied to Rue, whose eyes lowered as they continued past her.
As they left her behind, she took a deep breath, then followed after them from a distance. Wanting to know more about his situation to be told about him by her cousin, she decided to keep an eye on them.
‘I wonder what he’s so special for then?’ She thought to herself, as they stepped into the preparation area ahead of her that led to the lowered section of the arena. ‘Guess I’ll learn after watching him.’ She added as she found her way to a section of the seating that was usually hogged by nobles.
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As Rue left them alone, Reiki found himself with Sapphire in a room with less than half of the people from the written exams present. He convinced himself that he was okay after the written exams. Due to his lack of an “Analyse” or “Identify” skill, discovered during a brief moment to check his skills window, he didn’t know whether any of the items and armour on the wall were better than others.
‘Just remember, they’re seeing how good you’ll be under a bit of combat pressure.’ Spoke Sapphire, as she looked over the wall with him. Her eyes had the occasional drift to check on his face. ‘Usually, they have some of the more advanced casters go last so that they don’t have to worry about too much damage for the arena. I checked the listings and nobody has a tag to warn the Scholars about how strong they are, so you may be going last.’ She added, then chuckled to herself for monologuing again. ‘Sorry, I don’t mean to talk like that. It’s usually not like me.’
Her head turned away from him as if to avoid him looking at her erubescent cheeks. But it didn’t stop him noticing her tail sway in a vigorous manner, as well as her ears halfway between an alert and embarrassed position.
‘… I think it suits you.’ He tried to whisper to himself, but her furthest ear twitched as she registered his whisper.
After a minute of comfortable silence, with him not spotting her face become flushed, he made his choice from the wall. Eventually, he picked a pair of arm braces, a red shirt that seemed to shimmer a variety of colours and a thick pair of leathery pads for his shins. He liked the red shirt because it reminded him of that blocky game with the enchanted armour effects. However, it was much more subdued and wasn’t immediately noticeable. Almost like it was a single thread interwoven across the fabric itself.
‘Oh, nobody really picks the shirt due to its unique enchantments, but I think it suits your eyes.’ She’d said, her cheeks not as flushed as earlier yet still had a faint glow. ‘I’ve rarely seen some enter with just armour, but I’ve noticed a few guys and girls like you in here already. So I think something is different this year.’
‘You think so? It even has this really cool effect on it.’ His love for the fantasy elements lets his lips curl upwards out of joyous habit. This didn’t escape her eyes and she found herself enjoying her time with him more than she thought.
After several minutes of just idle chat in the room, Reiki was left to sit on the bench for his designated slot. Sapphire had to wish him well, holding herself still for a few seconds before leaving him. With his unique control over his abilities, like a switch, he had no idea what was going through her head. She wasn’t used to someone with a natural ability that was so rare amongst the people of the empire, so her thoughts naturally stayed on the surface.
‘Gah, why do I want to give him a good luck kiss all of a sudden? It’s not like I like-like him… do I?’ She mentally quizzed herself, as her cheeks flushed once again while her ears lowered sideways.
Luck was there for her, as he didn’t have his Telepathy active at that moment. She noticed it was twice in the fastest time ever, as she entered the seating for her usual class to watch his upcoming match. She hadn’t recognised the now matching outfit of her class on Rue, who was two rows back from her. Luck was on her side, as her classmate from earlier came over and spoke to her.
‘I need to talk to you.’ A voice came from her left, which made her ears shoot straight up.
‘Oh, Elysia! I’m sorry I ignored you earlier!’ Saph almost yelled as they got into a small chat. All while a test commenced before them as swords and a shield clashed. ‘What do you want to talk about?’ She replied as a bead of sweat dripped down her face, out of sight from her friend.
Back in the prep room, as Saph had called it during an earlier monologue, everyone had been chatting in their small groups about their prowess or their recent activities. Now, the surrounding room was half-empty when the call for his group was brought forward a few groups early. It was interesting to him, to learn that there were four groups for each year of entrants. First-year students and entrants were part of the Alph, Beyt was the next year and Tria was the third-year entrants. He couldn’t remember anything higher, but he guessed that higher years were for those who wanted to further enhance their skills and knowledge.
‘Group Alph-Four, can you get yourselves ready, please? Your group will be going up next.’ Spoke an Elvan-looking Scholar in Reiki’s section of the room. ‘The order for this year’s line-up has been inverted on a special exception by the Headmaster, so we’ll be going from group four to group one.’ The Scholar stated louder, as their voice echoed off the stone walls around the room.
The remaining groups all looked confused at this statement. Murmurs filled the room about this unorthodox procedure for the Combat Training exam.
‘Um, excuse me…?’ Reiki said, his voice catching as the Scholar looked over at him with his hand half-raised, but enough to be noticed. ‘I’m sorry, but it might be because I’m here. I was granted a session slot by Headmaster Orinko himself.’ He said, his voice wavered while he kept an awkward but straight face.
Students close to the entrance into the arena had confused looks on their faces because of the volume of the voices in the room. Two nobles in the room glared at him as the sound subsided. The raised voices were shushed by a fast-waving hand from the Scholar. His left eyelid twitched and his lower lip trembled as he lowered his gaze. The tremble was so small that nobody but a young Demon kid looking his way furrowed their brow, both in pity and sympathy.
‘Can you explain why he chose to reverse the order for this year's entrants?’ They asked, and for the first time in his life, Reiki felt a warmth of resilience and strength coursing through his body and mind.
‘You'll just have to wait and see.’ He stated, his face kept in as neutral a state as he could muster.
Inside his mind, he screamed at himself for allowing himself to act so cocky. He felt embarrassed beyond belief at such a corny line too. On the edge of his peripheral, he couldn't tell what was happening but some people had huddled together to discuss something. He beat them no mind though, as the final person’s exam from the Beyt group left the arena. It didn't take long, but the sounds entering his current area allowed him to imagine what the battles were like.
The sounds of gusts of winds, the crackling and roar of large fires, and booms of explosions varied but he could tell there was an almost equal number of element users. There were only two quiet matches with the sounds of thunderclaps; a high chance of fists and limbs clashing and connecting out in the arena itself.
‘Come on, I should be able to handle this.’ He thought to himself, as the sound of a metallic clunk was heard, followed by a crescendoed whistle. ‘What is tha–’ His thought was cut off by the most impeccable timing.
The room was immediately cast in a faint cloud of smoke after a frightening sound of something being embedded into the wall. Reiki’s body shook the most out of everybody left in the room. His eyes locked on the metallic object that had impaled the wall just a metre or so from where his right side would have been. Nobody had noticed him slide over to the next waiting bench by the wall from his previous place with his ability.
Reiki felt his heart pounding in his chest as he stared at the metal projectile that had almost hit him. His racing heart made the blood pulse through his ears at a deafening volume, but it didn’t last long. Something fast entered the edge of his vision. He didn’t move, but his eyes locked with a Demon lady with a slight build-up of liquid in her deep amethyst eyes that contrasted against her dark, deep-tanned skin.
‘I’m ever so sorry!’ She stammered her words, her voice shaking, as she held his shoulders with a gentle grasp. ‘They surprised me with such an overwhelming power that I ended up letting lose a stronger swing than usual.’ She monologues him with her accidental rambling, her hands letting go after her fast-roaming eyes finished checking that he was okay. ‘I’m just glad it didn’t hit anyone… Forgive me, I must take a seat myself. Both our training swords broke.’ She said, her voice descending to what sounded like a more natural tone to him.
She quickly raised herself to her feet, patting her short jacket down, as they both sighed in relief. But in mental and physical forms for him. He hadn’t said a word but guessed the blow had been powerful. His emotions flipped, his eyes lighting up and his arms no longer shaking from the shock, when he noticed a similar sheen-like glow on the broken blade. It was almost the same as the one on his enchanted shirt, but a bit more fluid.
‘That was quite the blow…’ He thought as he tried again to get any kind of analysis or identification window to show up for the broken blade.
…All he got was a headache from focusing on it.
‘Ow… Guess that answers that question.’ He added, as his left hand reached up to grasp the part of his head that felt sore. ‘No “Analysis” skill for me. I’d better get ready for my turn.’ With a deep sigh, and a long breath in and then out, he steeled his nerves and let his face feel neutral.
The upper area buzzed with a mix of seated groups and clusters of standing students and teachers. A mysterious air lingered after the intense match, whispers darting through the crowd like elusive shadows. The woman from earlier could be seen from his position on the other side of the room, in the adjacent waiting area. Her sword sheathed and slung across her back like a victorious prize. He couldn’t quite make out their voices over the thrum of the students who chatted between themselves. On the other side of the room, the conversation was focused on his upcoming physical exam.
‘Why do I have to stand down for this one?’ Said the woman, her voice lacking its earlier concern and warmth.
‘I know you’d like to test your metal against him,’ Headmaster Orinko said, his voice cheerful yet collected. ‘But I think Markus here should take centre stage for this one.’ He added, with a deliberate and slow wink to the woman.
‘Don’t worry, Miss. I’m sure you can handle the others.’ Markus said, butting into their conversation with a gentle rest of his free hand on her shoulder, the other on the hilt of his sword. ‘I’ve seen a bit of the aftermath of how he survived a kidnapping and what he can do on low energy. So I know what I’m up against.’
Her shoulders dropped by a small margin, but enough to be noticeable as a long sigh escaped her lips. Without a word, she kept her arms crossed but lowered, like her shoulders, as she stepped out of the waiting area.
‘I hope to see what you’re currently made of, young man.’ Markus thought to himself, as the signal for the two of them to enter the training arena went off; a flash of steam created by a Scholar of Water and a Scholar of Fire. The red ball of flame clashes with the smaller ball of water in midair, not only producing the sound of a soft boom, but a flash of mist, or steam, that got everyone’s attention.
With his sight focused on the arena, Reiki switched his tops around at Superspeed and then stepped out at the same time as Markus. The various races watched on, wondering why the kid with the enchanted red shirt was going up against someone gaining a bit of popularity at their local Guild.
Safe to say, they’re in for a surprise. Especially when Sapphire knows what he might be capable of.