On the battlefield, in the face of death, the army functioned as a whole, abandoning the individualistic to meet one common goal. Victory. Nearly forgotten was the fiery nature of each soldier, who was violent by training and nature. No excuses were given to the cavalry that led the front lines and nothing could match their temper. It was what allowed the fighting fanatics that thrived on being on edge their will. No passive individual found themselves in the barracks with excused killing machines. Pure passion in the brutal slaughter was the underlying motivator in armies.

Alas, it was a powerful one. I prided my own forces on that principle. The dance of black blood and red was a mixture of the lullaby of death hallows.

Therefore. There were rules that went unsaid amid any group of warriors, fighters, and soldiers. Don’t pick fights. Don’t look at anyone funny. Mind your own damn business. Focus on the objective.

The facts were straight and narrow. Most wouldn’t bat an eye at betrayers of these unspoken rules getting killed on the spot by more experienced veterans. This persisted anywhere you went, not just Hellion. I knew that much.

I kept my eyes forward, only focused ahead of me, paying no attention to the passing stares of others eyeing us up. Jamie followed closely behind me, using my body as a shield against the masses of humans in the arena.

There was no organization in the groups. Yet, small groups started to form. They talked amongst themselves, trying to solidify their ranks with others. The weakest fighters wasted their time boasting about their combat experience or shivering in the corner. Moreover, the humans that seemed stronger remained calm and relaxed, floating around the arena with one or two people by their side.

The same unclear voice from earlier, projected around the arena, “PLEASE FIND YOUR GROUPS USING THE LABELS PROJECTED ABOVE THE ARENA”

A shift in mana revealed illuminated words placed in different sections of the arena. It was a four-layered spell from what I could tell. Given the circumstances; it was an impressive magic that I had never seen.

“Combat exams are over here. Potions exams are on the west side of the arena. I assume you’ll be taken somewhere else though,” I turned over to point Jamie in the right direction.

He nodded, leaving to his designated area, “Good luck then.”

Time to get started. I sighed, heading over to join the group formed under the combat arena. I slipped through the center of the crowd to settle on the sides of the group, resting against the wall of the arena.

I had no interest in getting involved in the social politics that naturally occurred in these situations. Frankly, it was tiring and unnecessary for what I wanted to accomplish. Information was my top priority.

No need to take this seriously, just enough to get placed in a position where I could observe ARC the most.

Amid new fighters, the process of ranking could get cutthroat. I was an onlooker in the past, but it wasn’t uncommon for power-hungry fighters to challenge my generals, Dagon and Adbeel. No one dared to challenge me, not liking their favors against a twelve-meter dragon.

The Demon King’s prized draconic son. His most fierce warrior.

Former.

Of course, this time that wouldn’t be the case.

Soon there was a variety of people that made up the participants. Distrusting eyes jumped all around and some teamed up with small groups to judge the competition. Though, there was a select that decided to stand separated from the initial crowd.

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“Funny running into you, Asta.” A voice spoke. I peered around to my side, trying to locate the speaker.

“Up here. Hello!”

I looked up at a hanging head leaning over the balcony from the stands. Familiar golden curly hair hung down and clear blue eyes smiled down.

Strange. I didn’t sense him coming. Did this human just appear from thin air? More importantly, how did he get in?

Edwin still had his cloak on, which covered his face and body. I peered up with a questionable expression.

“Leave me alone.” I mouthed, pushing myself off the wall to walk away.

Edwin frowned, cupping his hands and yelling down, “Hey, don’t walk away!”

“Why are you even here? I don’t think they were letting spectators in.” I commented, looking up at him.

As I moved further away from the wall, I was able to now see an older man standing behind him on the stands. The man’s arms were at his side, standing tall behind Edwin. We made eye contact, both our stares trying to pick apart the other.

It was a guard. I returned my attention to Edwin, who continued to blabber to me with his hand cupped in his hands.

My eyes narrowed. Just who was he?

“Hey, hey! Where’s Jamie?” He yelled down, peering around at the other groups.

I pointed to the west side of the arena, “West. He’s in the potion exams. I doubt they’ll stay here.”

He exhaled, crossed his arms, and nodded, “Yeah… They’ll probably be moved to a potion lab after the opening ceremony.”

I raised my eyebrow.

Is that so?

“Yeah. I guess.” I replied, unsure how to feel about this situation.

The man behind him leaned down to Edwin, in a whisper, “It’s almost time. We must leave.”

Hm. I watched as Edwin nodded, looking back over to me.

“I’ll see you later! Enjoy the opening ceremony!” He waved, disappearing in a flash.

Teleportation magic. Fuck. That explained why I never sensed him. The man didn’t want me to know they were there. A mage and a high-level one at that. If I weren’t careful, my plan would be ruined. I could be exposed.

But it was too late to pull out at this point.

Trumpets sounded throughout the arena, and colorful streams of magic were shot above, gracing the sky. Another voice sounded.

“[WELCOME TO THE 23RD ANNUAL KINGDOM ARMY EXAMINATIONS! WE WOULD LIKE TO WELCOME YOU TO TRANE, AS MANY OF YOU WILL SOON SERVE FOR THE PROTECTION OF THE HUMAN RACE!]”

A platform appeared in the center of the arena, hovering over the contestants in a spectacle. It was a grand entrance, to say the least.

A woman sporting golden armor, walked up to the edge of the platform with her hands outstretched, “Welcome to the examinations. As second in command of Trane’s royal protection force, I look forward to viewing your performances.”

Another human stepped up, this one exuding a large amount of mana that could be felt in waves throughout the arena. He was a younger child, no older than seventeen, “Welcome. I’m a mage of the royal tower. I’ll be keeping my eyes on the magic examinations.”

An impressive feat for a human at that age.

I made a note never to run into him. There was no way to conceal my demonic energy in the face of high-level mana users. Plus, I would not be surprised if he saw right through the transmutation magic that permeated throughout my body in this form.

A familiar head of golden hair walked up to the edge of the platform, followed by a man decorated in a formal uniform. Dressed in imperial attire, adorned by jewels and golden plated decor, stood Edwin.

He cleared his throat, “Welcome to the examinations. As crowned prince of the Kingdom of Trane, I extend the royal family’s gratitude to everyone here. Please continue striving for the stake of the kingdom and protection of humanity.”

My jaw dropped.

Now, I figured he was an important noble. But the prince? I scoffed. This explained so many things.

“We have something in common then,” I muttered under my breath.

Unfortunately, befriending the prince meant I could say goodbye to flying under the radar. Connections were powerful and dangerous. It was tough luck that the leech ended up being one of the most important political pawns in the kingdom.

You couldn’t change what had already been done. I’d have to play my cards more carefully and decide what I wanted to do.

Unlike princes in Hellion, it seemed like royalty here was spoiled. The difference was that being royal here meant the highest level of protection. Being a prince in Hellion, you need to be able to protect yourself to the highest degree.

It was a show of power to the King for his lineage to stand tall in the face of enemies. Anyone less capable was discarded or killed, named a disgrace to the Morningstar bloodline.

As I said before, it was simply just a separate way of life. A bloodier one.

Another trumpet sounded, signaling the end of the announcements.

The crowd cheered. Swords and loose magic were sent into the air in celebration, bouncing off a magic shield around the platform. The figures on the stage made one last bow before they disappeared entirely with the floating platform.

With that, groups were hurriedly rushed into other areas. The combat examinees stayed, waiting for the others to leave so that they could use the arena to test.

A group of soldiers walked out in imperial dressings. The one in the middle approached the group, his voice amplifying above the small conversations that were being had among the examinees.

“Attention!” His voice echoed, causing the chatter to fade into dead silence. The man had an aura that screamed experience and business. A born leader in the flesh.

I smirked.

“I’ll be your lead examiner. Beside me are the soldiers that will help me in deciding if you belong here or if you’re a fool.” he exclaimed, holding authority over the crowd.

Surely, I was a fool. But in a different sense.

I gave the human my attention.

He raised his hand, a gun pointed in the air.

“Your first task is to run. Fucking run till I tell you to stop.”

The gun fired, sending the mass of combat examinees into a collective sprint. I chuckled, getting up to lightly jog after the fleeing herd.

“Anyone who stops fails.”

“So, you better not fucking stop.”

[ EXAMS START]