The participants of the test were instructed to create a 35-foot distance between themselves and the flag, and they were going one by one.
It was clear that they would be there for at least an hour.
"Who's going to go first?" Nahwu asked. "If you don't step forward, one of the bracelets on your wrists will light up randomly, and you must come forward."
"I will go first!"
Unexpectedly, there was a fearless participant there.
Judging by his appearance, it seemed that he came from a noble family. Seeing his brave display, he must have already awakened his Force.
"Great. Go to your position," Nahwu said.
As instructed, the participant went to the predetermined position and readied himself. After everyone else had moved out of the way, Nahwu whispered to her own bracelet before they started.
“Introduce yourself and your number,” Nahwu said.
“My name is Alan Mossflower, 256!” Alan answered.
“Okay, then. Are you ready?” she asked, and the boy nodded. She smiled and began, “One minute, in three, two, one—!”
A projection of a one-minute timer appeared atop her head and the participant dashed forward.
"He's so brave to try it first," the boy with red hair muttered.
"Tsk!" Suddenly, another boy clicked his tongue in annoyance. "Just how ignorant are you about this test? Of course, he's brave. That's because he already awakened his Force. And it's not like the test will be hard. If anything, this will be the easiest group there is."
"What do you mean?" the red-haired boy asked again.
"It's a waste of time trying to explain it to you."
"Aww, come on, explain it to me!" the boy begged.
"HYAH!"
SWISH! SWISH!
The participant jumped into the air as two arrows flew past him.
"That boy is the son of the northern marquis, Lord Mossflower. Their Force style is very agile and swift. Look, he's even using a rapier," the other boy explained to the red-head. "A rapier user against a bow user, in this small space, who do you think will have the advantage?"
"Huh? What does that have to do with the test?" the red-headed boy asked again.
"You're hopeless. Of course, Lord Mossflower’s son will have the advantage! His agility and speed will overpower the examiner who can only fire so many arrows at this distance!"
"Is that so?" the red-headed boy asked, when suddenly, his eyes changed. "But I don't think so."
TWANG! SWISH!
CLANG!
Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.
Young Lord Mossflower deflected the arrow and ran even faster towards the red flag. However, even with the distance shortened, Nahwu didn’t stop firing her arrows.
Six feet, three feet—"HYAA!"
The boy’s rapier burst with Force as he jumped into the air, attacking Nahwu. He could have just run past her at that point, but he decided to show off—
But something unexpected suddenly happened.
STRUCK! CRACK!
The last arrow Nahwu shot flew back and hit the boy from behind, destroying his bracelet’s protection spell.
“GAH!” Young Lord Mossflower’s body was thrown forward—THUD!—and his face struck the flagpole after Nahwu scooted out of the way.
Everyone fell silent.
“My, so you have awakened your Force! You should’ve told me earlier. You pass!” Nahwu said.
“Pff—” Yvain couldn’t hold back his laughter. And because of him, everyone started laughing too.
“How dare you laugh at me!” Alan Mossflower rose to his feet with a face as red as a tomato, partly because he had just struck the pole with his face, and partly due to embarrassment. “Who started it?! I’ll remember your face!”
“Me,” Yvain raised his hand with a smile.
Alan pointed at him with anger bursting from within, his Force flaming upwards, “You—! You—!”
“Me. I want to try next, Your Highness Princess Nahwu,” Yvain said as he bowed politely. He then turned to Alan and nodded, “You are so strong, Lord Mossflower. How can you awaken your Force so soon? Please teach me your ways later, and congratulations on passing the test.”
Alan’s anger suddenly dissipated, and he immediately blushed at Yvain’s unexpectedly beautifu—prett—handsome face.
“Cough! Th-thanks,” he stammered, momentarily mistaking him for a girl before realizing his error. He watched Yvain go to his position and thought, “Later? He's so confident he can pass…”
Yvain caught a glimpse of Nahwu’s mischievous and competitive nature. The moment Alan Mossflower used his Force, she too employed her Force, controlling the arrow like a guided missile to hit him from behind.
Though there was no point in attacking him from behind so close to the flag, and she could easily defend herself from his Force attack, she still chose to surprise him.
Though he passed, he learned his lesson.
Princess Nahwu possessed a strong sense of justice. Judging from his master’s expression, she disliked this sense of justice combined with her ignorance and strict moral view.
Well, Yvain didn’t know the reason why his master was so concerned about her, but part of his mission here was to find out.
“I hadn’t introduced myself, but you already know who I am,” Nahwu looked at Yvain suspiciously.
“Oh, Your Highness, did you forget that you’re the only elf enrolling in this academy? Or, in any human academy for that matter,” Yvain said politely.
Nahwu chuckled, her eyes slightly narrowing, feeling that the boy seemed too sly for a 12-year-old. She instructed, “State your name and number.”
“Evan di Sator, 337,” Yvain said.
Hearing it, Nahwu raised an eyebrow. She clearly heard there were only a total of 336 participants for the test. But then, she remembered the commotion earlier in the morning when they squeezed in one more participant.
She asked around, and someone told her, “Probably someone bribed the staff to add another slot.”
Evan di Sator… he was the son of a very wealthy person who caused quite the murmurs at the front gate earlier. She remembered her conversation with Locan in the morning and realized that this family were indeed bad people.
Bribing to get their place into the exam was bad enough, now they were trying to curry favor with her?
“Please take care of me, Your Highness. Ah, maybe I should call you Senior from now on,” Yvain said as he summoned his longsword.
“No,” Nahwu frowned. “You don’t have the right to call me that yet.”
Yvain noticed the change in Nahwu’s expression and tone of voice the moment he mentioned his number. The boy held his smile.
Ah, Burn did a great job bribing his way into the academy indeed.
"I’m ready. Please begin the test," Yvain said, easing into his stance.
Nahwu ground her teeth. “One minute, in three, two, one—!”
The moment a projection of a one-minute timer appeared above her head, she released an arrow from her bow, shooting right at Yvain, when suddenly—
The boy straightened himself and opened his arms, readily accepting the arrow to his chest.
STRUCK! CRACK—CRACKLE!
The protection spell was destroyed in one go, while everyone present felt their jaws hit the ground. Even Nahwu herself widened her eyes in disbelief, and so were the examiners on their seats above.
“Your Mama told you to cheat because she wants you to use your brain. Use the most effective method, the easiest path for you. But when you see the opportunity to get stronger, take it instead of using the safer path.”
Yvain grinned. He muttered, “I wonder what the bonus prize is if I can awaken my Force today, Papa.”
High risk, high return.