Arc 3: Choosing Reality by Embracing Life
Road to a Hero:
Three chances in another world
Chapter 1: The Knight's exam begins
After the events at the mansion, the group goes to an inn for knights outside the Royal Castle. They spend the night there, awaiting the next day for the Knight exams the begin. After their month of training, they've tagged along with Edward to the Knight exam. The Knight exam is only held when there is no air to the throne of Walgonia and one needs to be decided, so by gathering the continent's best leaders in one place they hold an election with other nobles and knights voting. But just before the main event, the Knight exam is held to showcase the country's best yet-to be knights to decide who seems more capable, and as a bit of fun as well. But for the participants, if they make it past the first two challenges and make it to the third, then they're automatically made knights once the ruler has been decided.
Gray: “Edward, you’re up early.”
Edward: “Could say the same thing for you, I was getting ready for tomorrow so I don’t have to do it later.”
Gray: “Can you explain the whole exam thing for me, I know everyone else knows about it but I’m still in the dark.”
Edward: “Yeah, of course, Walgonia was founded on the coming together of people, so when the ruler dies, every kingdom gets a chance to be voted ruler. Walgonia, Valatrocitus, Ravoria, and Athens. Though Athens is currently having issues with a civil war, they didn’t want to become a candidate. The candidates will choose three to five people whom they see as worthy of showing to the Lords. Though the rules say they can’t be over eighteen and cannot be a knight already. Usually, you become a knight by taking a physical and physiological exam, though this one is special and only held when a new lord is chosen. Since Kioshi was the one who killed Azalea, she got to pick four fighters. Valatrocitus had to pick three and Ravoria had to pick one."
Gray: “Yeah it did, thanks. Are you doing okay? I know Al was close to you… and now he’s gone…”
Edward: “He was an old man so I knew he would pass soon, though that doesn't help it. But I will be fine, you should get some more sleep, so you can be fully healed and rested.”
Gray: “Okay… make sure you do the same.”
Edward: “I will.”
Gray: “Oh, before I do that…I’m sorry for arguing with you yesterday I know you wanted to help him… I was just injured and scared I should have come with you.”
Edward: “Well you were making the right decision, I was going off emotion which a Knight should not do…I was in the wrong, and if you didn’t leave me, you would have not found…What did you name her? Oh yeah, you would not have found Dema and flown to save me. Thank you for that. So go to sleep I’ll do the same soon.”
Gray: “Alright then…night.”
Edward: “Night.”
Gray walks back to his room, noticing Soku standing in the hallway.
Gray: “What are you doin' up?”
Soku: “He’s lying yah know.”
Gray: “What?”
Soku: “Edward, I can tell by the sound of his voice and that look in his eyes. I had to get good at telling if somebody was lying with all the trading I had to do, and he was not taking Al's death well. He’s suppressing it, he’s gonna explode with all that emotion if something goes wrong.”
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Gray: “Look…just go to bed, if he needs to let that emotion out then he’ll do it.”
Soku: “Alright.”
They go to sleep, wake up the next day to get dressed, then walk to the castle, and it's grand in scale. It's a bright clean white with massive doors in front, though they went in a back entrance. The halls are filled with people in knights' armor and suits, but the others push through without care, though Rosemary is a bit embarrassed.
Gray: “So this is the inside of a castle…AWESOME!”
Soku: “Yeah I never expected to be inside the castle, I always assumed I would just have gotten caught stealing and executed shortly after.”
Opheilia: “It’s so pretty!”
Rosemary: “Where’s Edward, I didn’t see him when I woke up.”
Gray: “Well Musashi told us to just walk in here, so I guess he’s with Edward.”
Soku: “He seems to be taking Al's death poorly.”
Rosemary: “Well I don’t know about that.”
Gray: “Yeah… Soku thinks he's just holding it in, might not be the best thing to do in the long term.”
Ophelia: “I hope he’s doing okay.”
Rosemary: “Me too.”
They walk into the main hall seeing multiple factions of Knights, all dressed in different attire. The generic silver with blue cloth for Walgonia, dark and spikey armor for Valatrosituc, and long silver glossy armor for Ravoria. At the end of the room sits Kioshi, Arthur, and the last candidate Elisabeth atop some stands, all head commanders of their kingdoms.
Gray: “It’s…indescribable.”
Soku: “Took the words right out of my mouth.”
Rosemary: “I was here once when I was a girl, and yet…it’s even more beautiful than I remember.”
Ophelia: “Ooooh.”
Everyone chatting hears explode when a brash man they can't seem to see begins screaming over them.
Announcer: “OK, NOW THAT MUSASHI'S AND KIOSHIS CHOICE OF CONTENDERS HAS FINALLY ARRIVED, NOW BEFORE WE BEGIN, ALL OF THE EXAMINES MUST GO INTO THAT ROOM OVER THERE, WHERE THEIR ARMOR, WEAPONS, AND OTHER THINGS THEY MIGHT NEED WILL BE HELD! EVERYONE ELSE WHO WILL BE WATCHING, WALK UP THOSE STAIRS, WHERE YOU WILL BE ABLE TO WATCH THE FIRST TRIAL!”
Gray: “I hate public spaces.”
Rosemary: “You can say that again.”
Soku: “I hate the whole knight thing, I’m only here so I can get some clout, I’m tired of living like a homeless person.”
Musashi: “Opheilia come with me, you’re coming to watch right?”
Ophelia: “Oh yeah! Let's go.”
Gray: “Oh hey Musashi, where's Edward?”
Musashi: “He was getting your armor and weapons Al had made for you. Edward should just be in the room with them over there;”
Gray: “Alright, gotcha! See yah later.”
Musashi: “Good luck to you all.”
Rosemary: “Thank you!”
Soku: “Yeah, thanks.”
They enter the room, seeing the other examinees that the other candidates picked There they see Julius, Roy, and Lloyd whom they had met at the dinner before the attack on the mansion. Then in the corner stands one woman by herself.
Gray: “That girl back there, she’s all alone?”
Soku: “Yeah the Ravorian Imperial army Is known for being full of themselves and overly confident, putting all their faith in their god.”
Gray: “Ravorian Imperial army?”
Rosemary: “They’re like Ravoria's version of the Levitation army, then there’s Valatrocitus' Dragon army.”
Gray: “So where’s our armor?”
Edward: “GUYS OVER HERE!”
Edward pulls out three boxes containing their things.
Edward: “When Al took your measurements, he had Musashi ask a blacksmith to make armor most fitted to your fighting style.”
Gray: “Nice!”
Edward: “For Gray, Some grey medium-weight armor, a black cloak that hides your presence, and a normal sword, For Soku, some light armor you can wear under your coat, then a short sword. And for Rosemary, some simple armor.
They put on the gear, with Gray grabbing some throwing knives and some flame crystals, and then everyone in the room looks to see the three candidates in front of a big door.
Arthur: “All right everyone, You all will go in the room group by group. After one group finishes the trial the next one will go in.”
Elizabeth: “Alright for the first group. Walgonia! Please enter through the door!”
Gray: “Of course, we’re first, the manner of things I guess.”
Rosemary: “Yeah, it does seem to be our luck as of late.”
Soku: “What do you think it will be?”
Edward: “Most likely something unfair.”
Gray: “Yeah seems so.”
The big doors open, revealing an arena, where all the others who were in the main hall, are currently sitting in the stands watching. They walk in, with the doors closing behind them.
Gray: “Um…I don’t do well when I’m being watched.”
Rosemary: “Yeah…”
Announcer: “NOW REALISE IT!”
The crowd shouts when another door opens, revealing an Ogre with a chain attached to its neck, though not like before when it was a demi-human, this is a real Ogre. It roars, pounding it's chest with anger.
Gray: “Dammit, well it is nostalgic, right Soku?”
Soku: “Yeah I guess.”
Announcer: “NOW BEGIN!”
END OF CHAPTER
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