Leon leaned against the wall as he waited.

He was not the only one sitting there in the dining hall, far from it, there were entire teams and group of friends just waiting to hear if the people they were here to support made it into the games. There was a sort of frantic tension that seemed to boil the air in the hallway alive. He looked over at Fluffy who was standing next to him, her usual bored expression was replaced with one of rapt concentration as she stared at the door of the testing hall, where all the students had gathered to be examined by the people who would be the judges of the tournament.

They had been at it for over an hour now, and much to his surprise no one seemed to be getting bored with it, and no one as even making a sound, it was a lot more constrained than he thought this population was capable of, seeing as the majority of them were snobbish due to their status and station in life.

The door opened up and they all held their breath, excluding Leon, who unlike the rest of them was ready with this section to be over so he could get to the fun part of the tournament. It was either a mark of pride to be the first done with the test or a mark of shame, it depended on what place the person who had stepped out first had placed. These tests apparently were in such a way they could be graded at a glance, even though the test was actually quite intensive, add that to the fact that there was no humanly possible way to cheat, seeing as the test taker heard the question in their head and simply had to write the answer on the paper, and that each test was different and well it made it so that this was a point of pride.

The person who walked out was a fourth year from their own school, a tall man with blond hair and scruff who had to be either 18 or 19, he proudly smiled as the entire population of the dining hall looked over to the board.

It was an ancient thing, apparently constructed the year this school first held the tournament here. Made from some greying wood carved with intricate symbols, which seemed to have been inlaid with gold, the board would have been impressive at some time, but now was simply an old wooden board with some magical properties. As they watched a token, with the man’s name, which was apparently Argent Muran floated to the number one spot and affixed itself there, placing him in first, if only for the fact that he was the only one on the board at the time.

Apparently, there was some bonus for being the school that got first, seeing as the total points of the four competing schools were also displayed and the one for Grulik lit up and the number 10 wrote itself there, all others simply stayed at 0. Fluffy looked at it, “I thought it was only the teams that were in the tournament were the ones who got graded on a point system, what do the school’s points mean?”

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“A couple things,” a student standing next to them said, not taking her raven black eyes off of the board. “The school with the highest points gets to go first and select which teams they will be facing,” she said, “And at halfway there is a large party held for the holders of the most points, though this is often a target for, well sabotage by the other schools.”

Leon smiled, the lip curl of a lion looking at a wounded gazelle.

He really hoped someone was dumb enough to disregard his warning and try to sabotage Lira and Krya. They wouldn’t get far, and he would have someone to toy with…

The door opened again, and this time it was one of Aaron’s classmates who stepped out, she was a short little thing, with a wispish appearance, heightened further by her silver blond hair and silver eyes, she almost looked like something not physical. The first student out’s face dropped as everyone watched his piece slide down the board to make room for hers at the top.

“Damn fool, couldn't even hold it for one challenge.” the girl shook her head in disgust and disappointment.

“It doesn't mean he is actually at the bottom, ” Leon said, “He might have placed quite high, we simply don't know the location yet due to the lack of others being placed.”

“True, but if I know that dunce, and I do, he will be somewhere at the bottom if not dead last.” she said, “Well at least he contributed somehow by getting us those school points.” The same scene played out multiple times, over the course of the next hour as more and more people came out. Each time a different school placed first a single point was added to the school total. Grulik was in the lead by a margin of five, that first boost proving most beneficial to their totals.

The door opened and Lira stepped out, she had become quite proficient at walking on her new legs, they had added a good three inches to her height and had also made her hips wider, add this the cat-like grace she had begun to develop, where each step was a sway of the hips and a sensational motion. They all watched as she stepped out, the sway causing her robes to billow slightly, allowing more of her leg to be seen, or at least that was what Leon was staring at, apparently everyone else was looking at the board, which ultimately was a good thing seeing as it meant Leon didn't have to rip out anyone’s eyes.

He glanced at the board and watched as they all shifted down and she assumed the first position, displacing everyone by a slot. “Wow,” Aaron said, he had come out about twenty minutes earlier and was sitting somewhere near the middle of the board, and was quite proud of himself for this, much to Tilly’s Chagrin. As she walked over to him Leon pulled her into a hug, breathing in her scent and smiling.

“Good job,” he whispered, placing his chin on the top of her head, she smiled and turned around in his arms to watch the door with him, It took over an hour longer for Krya to come out, as it stood she was the last person out, and the second she stepped out every eye fell to her, slowly she walked down the steps, and into the hall, bringing with her a wave of murmuring. Her face was a mask, no emotion, there had been over thirty minutes between her exit and the person before her. They all looked at the board as the piece started to float up, and they all watched, it floated to the top, everyone from Grulik kind of already expected that she had gotten a reputation for being one of the most meticulous and best students in the school if not the best. But then the piece with her name on it froze as it neared the first place.

And it fell.

All the way down to the last place.

There was a shocked silence, even Krya’s mask cracked ever so slightly. Leon’s eyes shot over to where Emere stood, his face was plastered with a huge smile. “I - can’t-” Krya was staring at the board, her eyes wide, “There is no way-” Leon closed his eyes, slowly, the fire in them burning so bright that you could see them glow.

“Good,” he growled. “Good.”