Nero stood in front of the mirror in the bathroom.
He was wearing a black shirt, black pants, a brown belt, and his black leather boots. Save for the last piece, all of the other elements were brand new. The colors contrasted very well against his pale skin, combined with his black hair, and exalted the glow of his turquoise eyes.
"It suits you fine.", said Sharmon behind him.
"Yeah..."
Grandma Lonia had gotten him brand new clothes for his second test.
"You can't show up wearing the same clothes as last week...!", she had said.
Nero felt very grateful towards his grandma. If he made it into the College... he would make sure to support her and give her a deserved retirement.
He grabbed his bag, which was a bit lighter than the previous week, and opened the back door.
"Thanks for the clothes, grandma. I'll be back as soon as I can."
"Take care, dear.", she said, standing at the door with her arms crossed.
The sun hadn't risen yet, and a chilly wind was blowing rather hard on them.
"And you, too.", she said, addressing Sharmon.
Nero turned to see what his reaction would be.
The sorcerer nodded.
"I will bring him back home safe.", he assured her.
Grandma Lonia smiled softly, and nodded back at him.
"Then, we'll be going. See you later!"
Grandma Lonia waved them goodbye until she lost them in the dark, then closed the door and started to get ready for another long day of work.
Out in the empty streets, Nero walked happily in front of Sharmon.
"Man, I can't wait for today to start...!"
A few houses were starting to turn on the lights to their houses, barely getting up. Some artisans, like the bakers and the smith, woke up before sunrise to get their respective fires going.
Sharmon followed behind in silence.
"What do you think it'll be about? I know we have no details, but if you had to guess, what would it be?"
The sorcerer took a moment to think.
"Improvisation."
"Huh?"
"The secrecy of the test implies the need for your ability to adapt to the unforeseen to be observed."
He took out his cane and pointed it at the boy.
"Second rule of combat."
"Oooh...", Nero thought, "be creative, huh?"
Sharmon nodded, and adjusted his cane to the left side of his belt.
"Be prepared for anything."
----------------------------------------
After crossing through near-empty Nycean streets, Nero and Sharmon made their way through the road across the forest until they stopped at the very gates of the College.
Unlike city and its suburbs, there was a noticeable amount of people at the entrance.
Participants, family members, friends...
There were a lot of faces Nero didn't recognize. Nero had missed out on nearly the entirety of the first day of testing, and so he had no idea who had made it to the second round, or what their capabilities were, outside Elanee, Silvy and maybe Owen.
I mean, he had probably made it to the second round, right? Otherwise he would've had no place at that table yesterday.
But, then... where were they?
"Um... excuse me...", said a very quiet voice behind Nero.
He turned and was met with a short girl dressed in a white, long, eastern attire. Her long, straight-laced hair was a strange tone of strawberry, darker than blonde, but clearer than bronze, and her skin was even lighter than Nero's, if that was even possible. A few freckles decorated her otherwise unblemished face. Her eyes appeared to be brown, but reflected a slight ocean green when light hit them directly.
"Oh, sorry, am I bothering you?", he asked her.
"Um... no... the officials over there will accept your papers...", she pointed her hand at the gates. The long sleeve of her dress covered most of her small hand, but Nero could see a pink-nailed finger peek out of it, orienting him.
A guard sat in front of a desk next to the open entrance and there was another guard standing next to him.
"Ah...! Thanks a lot for that. It looks like the same guys from last week. Are you here to root for a family member, or something?"
She shook her head.
"...I'm a contestant."
"Oh, I see. I kinda missed out on all the testing, so I don't really know who made it and whatnot...", Nero laughed, feeling a little embarrassed.
She nodded.
"I remember. You fell down from your seat, and were taken away..."
"...yeah. I'm all fine, now, though!", he said, pointing his thumb at his own chest.
She gifted him a soft smile, and another nod.
"...that's good."
"Then... I'll be talking to the guards now. What will you do?", Nero asked.
Come to think of it, he had no idea why she was standing around alone.
"...I'll go too.", she said.
Her voice was so quiet Nero almost had to ask her to repeat herself.
"Good morning.", said Nero, approaching the desk.
"Morning. Papers?"
"Yes... right here."
Nero handed the guard the document signed by ser Eldrich.
"Contestant... Nero. Accompanied by the familiar Sharmon... is that you?", he asked, looking up to the man.
He crossed his arms, but said nothing.
"Yes, that's him.", Nero hurried to answer.
The guard sealed his document and returned it to the boy.
"Alright. Go in. The participants are gathering at the auditorium. It's to the west of the fountain."
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He then looked at the girl who stood behind Nero. She was almost hiding.
"What about you, lass...? Oh, wait. You're contestant Luna, aren't you? Didn't I sign your paper about an hour ago?"
"Mm... mhm...", she nodded quietly.
"Well then, what are you waiting for? Go inside, don't loiter around here.", he said, pointing his thumb towards his back.
"Then... have a good day."
Nero nodded at them both and the three walked past the open gates.
There were lanterns lit at both sides of the College's roads to help the trio make its way towards the fountain in front of the main building, where once again, the polite employee of the college told them where to head in order to find the auditorium.
It was the road opposite of the one Nero had taken to take the first test. They followed it and, after a short walk, the group found a building that resembled a small theater.
Nobody was in front of it. Nero looked at Sharmon and Luna, and they both returned the quiet stare to him.
...fine.
Toc, toc, toc.
Nero knocked softly on the wooden doors, but nobody answered.
He grabbed the handle, turned it, and...
It opened.
Nero peered inside, and saw people sitting and chatting among themselves.
"I think it's here. Let's go."
He stepped in first, seeing as nobody wanted to do it, followed closely by Luna and Sharmon, in that order.
The auditorium could host about fifteen hundred people, by the looks of it, so it wasn't as small as it looked on the outside. It was completely empty save for the very few people inside, and Nero wasn't sure if that made it look bigger or smaller.
It probably made it look bigger.
The walked through the narrow corridor between the wooden seats to the front, right in front of the scenario, where the people were.
"Oh, look who made it in time.", said a familiar voice.
It was Owen.
"And Luna, too...!", said Elanee in a delighted tone.
"Yeah, good to see you guys, haha...", laughed Nero.
Luna was half hiding behind him, but had nowhere to run, since Sharmon was standing right behind her.
"Um... hi...", she murmured.
"Girl's so shy it's almost cute," laughed Silvy, sitting a few places away from the group.
She was tinkering with some toy, which Nero guessed probably had some kind of weird ability.
Best not to ask her.
"Oh! You probably don't know these other people. This right here is Leah.", said Elanee, introducing him to...
...a black-haired girl.
She gave Nero a deadly stare and then looked away.
She hated him. She definitely hated him. He didn't know why, but she certainly, absolutely hated him. He was sure of it.
"I'm Marcus.", said a tall and slender boy, extending his hand to Nero. He had very short brown hair, and wore round glasses.
The boy shook it.
"Nero."
Marcus nodded at him with a polite smile.
Right, he already knew, since he had seen him perform the summoning.
"And I'm Khina!", said an energetic girl.
Everything Luna was, Khina was not, and vice-versa.
She was tall... almost as tall as Nero, in fact. Her skin had a stronger tan than Owen's, but was so pristine it seemed like it reflected the light. She wore light, sporty clothes -a sleeveless light green top, showing off her navel, dark green shorts, brown boots, fingerless gloves, and a rather big sword rested inside its sheath on her left, attached firmly to her belt.
Her hair was a short, wild, very dark blonde -almost brownish- and her eyes were a bright emerald green.
Her healthy figure was impressive. She had an undeniable tomboyish feel to her, but not so much that it took away from her charm.
If anything, Nero thought she was incredibly sexy.
"...yeah, nice to meet you, Khina.", he forced himself to answer.
"Pleasure's all mine! How're ya feeling?"
"...me? Oh, yeah. I'm all fine, now...", said Nero in an awkward laugh.
Damn it, he was getting way too nervous in front of her.
Fortunately for him, the door opened again, and more contestants showed up, and Nero had a hard time trying to learn their names, but despite his efforts, he was unable to remember all the names of the other forty nine contestants that had made it past the first round of exams.
The sun had already risen by the time the last ones showed up.
They were late, but nobody from the College had gone to pick them up, so it was kind of okay.
In fact, Nero was starting to feel like an idiot for having arrived so early.
...not like he would have been able to catch more sleep than he had, given how anxious he was.
Finally, after almost two hours of waiting, someone stepped up to the scenario from its back room.
It was ser Eldrich himself.
He was wearing a blue, shiny robe.
"Good morning to all.", he said with a warm smile.
"Good morning, ser Eldrich.", said the group.
Most of it, anyway.
Luna appeared to be so intimidated by the elder that Nero thought she was trying to make herself invisible on the seat next to him.
"Thank you all for coming here today. It looks like we're all here."
Silvy turned around -she was sitting at the very front-, and started counting.
"One, two, three...", she murmured.
"Oh, don't bother, lass. I have the registry right here with me, so I already know nobody is missing.", he laughed.
"Ah, alright."
Silvy returned to her normal position on her seat.
"How is everybody today?", asked ser Eldrich.
"Good."
"I'm fine."
"Sleepy..."
He received a lot of different answers, in different tones, at different times.
"Better...?", he asked, looking in Nero's general direction.
"Yeah...", he said, with an embarrassed smile.
Sharmon sat right behind Nero, arms and legs crossed and alone, and said nothing.
He was staring at the old man dead in the eye.
Ser Eldrich returned a warm smile to him before addressing the rest of the contestants.
"Now, I'm sure you are all very curious to know what today's exam will be all about, so let's get right down to it, shall we?"
Ser Eldrich took a look at his list.
"Contestant... Silvy, please step up."
She climbed the short stairs and stood in front of him on the scenario.
Ser Eldrich then opened a wooden box that was placed on a table next to him, took out a medal, and put it around her neck.
"Here you go."
"Huh...?", asked Silvy in confusion.
"Oh, don't be mistaken. This isn't a prize or anything, just something for you to hold for a little while. You can go sit. Now, contestant... Elanee, please step up."
He gave her a medal, too.
"Contestant Owen."
One for him as well, and Marcus, and Nero, and Luna...
Then, halfway through everyone present, he closed the box.
"Okay, now follow me."
Ser Eldrich stepped down and began walking towards the entrance.
"Wait, no medals for the rest of us?", someone asked.
Ser Eldrich stopped and looked curiously in the direction where he had heard that.
"Is something the matter?", he asked, innocently.
"I counted them! You only gave out twenty-five medals!"
"Yes, that is correct."
"What are they for?", asked the contestant.
"Oh, you will find out in just about a minute. Don't worry, you'll get your chance at one, too. Everyone, please follow me."
The grouped formed a line and walked behind ser Eldrich.
Classes had probably already started, as there were only staff members walking around the College roads and plazas.
Nero tried to see if he could peek into a classroom in the main building, but the blue glass gave him nothing to work with.
Ser Eldrich guided them through campus eastwards, towards the arena grounds, but instead of taking the north way, they kept going east, through a narrow road that headed straight into the forest.
A tall fence stood between them and the wilds, guarded by...
Several dozen college officials?
"Each one of these individuals will guide you into the forest. Good luck.", said ser Eldrich, before turning around and leaving.
"Contestants! Form a line, we'll assign you a guide one at a time!"
"What are they doing...?", asked Nero.
"The guides will split the contestants.", said Sharmon.
"Wha-?"
Nero turned to look at Luna.
She was trembling, and her face was paler than usual.
"Hey, don't worry," said Nero, trying to cheer her up, "everything will be fine."
Luna lowered her head and said nothing.
Damn it, it didn't work...
Well, it was understandable. Nero had Sharmon to rely upon; but she was on her own.
Come think of it...
"Hey, what are you good at? Can you defend yourself in there if you have to?", asked Nero.
"Next contestant!"
"Your turn, boy. Get moving.", said Sharmon.
"Ah! Yes, right away!"
Nero hurried to the guide.
"Good morning. I'll be your guide", said a man in his early twenties.
"Morning, thanks."
"Please follow me."
Nero turned around.
"Luna!", he called out.
She lifted her head and looked at him, rather startled.
"I'll see you later!", he smiled at her.
Then, a small smile slit her face a little bit.
She waved at him quietly.
Nero gave her a thumbs up before going on ahead behind the guide, followed by Sharmon.
"So... where are we going?", he asked the young guide.
"All contestants will being this test on their own.", he said, "so it's my job to take you to a relatively isolated location."
"Am I allowed to see other contestants? What am I supposed to do?"
"Don't worry, I'll tell you when we get there."
Nero spent some good two hours following the guide through hard terrain and making small conversation until they reached...
Well, Nero had absolutely no idea what was the place they had reached, it was just... somewhere in the forest.
And they hadn't run across anybody else, either.
"Here we are. Your test begins now."
"Alright. What's the test?"
"Very simple. You see the medal you carry?"
"Yeah."
The guide climbed a fallen tree that was so big that it reached the top of the living ones, and prompted Nero to follow him.
"You are to take it there."
The enormous forest could be seen from the top of the tree, and a building that looked like an ancient temple was located somewhere close to the center of it, surrounded by a circular stream and a few bridges. There were no trees around it, making it easy to spot from a high altitude.
"...that seems easy enough."
"Yes. All fifty contestants have to present a medal tonight at midnight. Those who fail to do so will be disqualified."
"Huh, I see... wait a minute, all fifty!?"
The guide nodded at him.
"The temple gates will open at eleven this evening, and will close at midnight. You will only have one hour to enter the temple, and you are not allowed to approach it before that."
"...so I have to bide my time here until nightfall, and then walk in and present the medal."
"Yes. Then, I wish you good luck."
"Wait a moment...! What about the other twenty five contestants?"
The guide looked at him.
"The ones who didn't get a medal...!", said Nero.
The guide smiled at him, turned around, and left.
...damn it.
So that was the test.
Nero got down and sat against the tree.
"Those who do not own a medal are given twelve hours to get their hands on one.", said Sharmon.
"And I have to hide until then... I'll be given one hour to present it tonight."
Sharmon leaned against an opposing tree and crossed his arms.
"Keep your wits about you, boy.", he said, "desperate people employ desperate measures."
Nero stood up.
"Let's not waste any time, then.", he said, looking at the sorcerer, "I want to find a good place to hide."
Sharmon nodded, and the pair began exploring the forest.
The second round of exams had officially begun.