I worked through the test one question at a time.
History. Geography. Coalition law. I knew those sections by heart. My pen scratched in short bursts, stopping only long enough to flick to the next line.
[Insight] triggered at each question, the answers appeared before my eyes, vivid enough that I could jot them down with full confidence. A few minutes in, I had already cleared out all the history questions.
Geography wasn't any different. Primarily, the questions centred around the current landscape of the Human Coalition, bordering territories and the lands that had already been taken by the Demonic invasion.
The geography books I had read contained everything I needed. As I scribbled down the answers, I made sure to include anything relevant.
Coalition Law was by far the easiest of the three. It was simply a list of laws that defined every action required by the coalition. There weren't a lot, and at most, the questions asked for a brief explanation or sometimes even an application. Neither of which was a challenge, as [Insight] easily carried me through it.
By the time I was done with those three sections, I heaved in a breath and looked up.
A few clocks floated over the field, translucent circles with hands that ticked without sound.
'Half an hour'
That's how much time it had taken me to finish three sections. Counting out the questions, I had likely answered around thirty.
'Twenty more. Just twenty more.'
I turned the page.
[Demon Classification]
[Basic Tactics]
[Basic Mana Theory]
My pen slowed.
Demon Classification wasn't too difficult. But the books I'd read hadn't gone into great detail. From my own perspective, I likely had the basics down, but I didn't know anything too impressive.
I hesitated but answered a few that I was sure of.
Next, my eyes flicked to the Basic Tactics section. I hadn't read anything on these. But I had played through my fair share of this war. And I could perfectly recall the real-time solutions players had come up with to tackle hordes of Demons.
I wrote what I could about formations and strategies, adding a touch of personal experience. Unfortunately, that was my limit, but I hadn't yet completed fifty questions.
'I need two more.' My thoughts spiralled, and I turned to the Mana Theory questions. I didn't know enough. No, rather, I barely knew the minimum.
At best, I could use [Insight] to try to answer the question. But that was it.
For a few seconds, I just stared at one question, jaw tight, and eventually I scribbled something down.
'Not perfect.'
But correct enough to stand.
I wrote it and moved on before doubt could root.
The next few went the same way. I grabbed what I could. I avoided what I couldn't. I took the gamble only when it was a calculated one, not a desperate swing.
I looked up again.
An hour had passed.
As I did another mental count, I was sure of it. 'I am done with fifty.'
My hand hovered, pen tip poised over the next section.
And Viktor's voice flashed through my head.
Do not hold anything back.
I hated how true that was.
If I sat here and protected myself, nobody would reward me for being careful. The Academy wasn't looking for safe. It was looking for worth. Yet if I took the risks and got the answers wrong, I could very well be penalised.
At the end, the only logical answer was to make educated guesses. A play on words, so to speak. But only for the questions for which I already had some inkling of an answer.
By the time my pace finally slowed, it wasn't because I ran out of questions. It was because I hit the edge of useful effort. Past that point, mistakes would creep in.
I was sure I had done my best. There was no need to hesitate to put the pen down.
I leaned back and let my shoulders drop.
My heartbeat thudded against my ribs. I could feel a jolt of pain throbbing in my head, and a deep ache pulsing through my legs.
I rested my forehead on my forearms and took a gentle breath.
'Need to rest'
Whatever happened next was lost on me. All I could recall was that about twenty minutes later, I snapped awake.
Pasadin moved and cleared his throat as he hovered down to the ground. "Your time is up."
No warning. No countdown.
He lifted one hand, and the wind snapped through the classroom like a blade.
"Pens down."
Pens ripped out of fingers all across the room. Mine vanished from my grip before I even thought to react, flung into the air like it had never belonged to me. A chorus of surprised noises broke out, chairs scraping, hands reaching for nothing.
Then the papers rose.
Every sheet lifted cleanly, corners fluttering, drifting toward Pasadin in neat lines like a flock pulled by a magnet. They stacked into perfect piles in front of him without a single page out of place.
Pasadin smiled, calm as ever.
"Congratulations," he said. "You have completed the second phase."
But his gentle words were lost on us. After all, I was sure most of us could barely fight through our desire not to pass out.
'Perhaps that's just me', I smiled wryly.
"The results will be marked within one or two hours," he added, voice mild. "At most."
People shifted in their seats. Eyes started flicking sideways. Shoulders tightened. You could feel the anxiety leak out of everyone and soak into the air.
Pasadin watched us shift anxiously and chuckled.
" But the test is not over."
That sentence alone hit like a punch in the gut.
A few people made strangled noises. Someone swore, louder this time. A tired laugh came from the back, thin and brittle.
The air thickened.
From behind the rows of the makeshift classroom, Aluis reappeared and stepped forward.
He reached the front, raised one foot, and stomped.
One sharp impact.
Magic reverberated through the earth.
The classroom vanished.
Desks and chairs sank into the ground like they'd been made of sand. Rows collapsed. The floor smoothed back into open stone. The world snapped back to the bare testing field under the cold sky, so fast it made my stomach lurch.
"Look sharp. It's now time for your last and final phase of the test."
Aluis lifted his hand and a ring formed in the centre of the field.
Stone rose. A circular plateau pushed up from the ground, clean-edged and elevated.
Aluis faced us with a smile.
"The first phase tested endurance and decision making under stress", he said. "The second tested whether you can think while exhausted."
"The third phase tests whether you can do more than survive."
He gestured at the platform.
"Each candidate will spar," he said. "Against me"
Aluis paused, letting the weight of his words settle.
"This phase exists to allow exceptional candidates to show their practical ability," he continued. "If you impress me, you will pass directly regardless of your written test scores."
Pasadin carried the stack of papers and stepped forward, "Of course, if you are confident in your written examination," he said, "you may abstain. You'll find the results when I am done checking."
A handful of candidates sighed in relief.
"However, there are no negative points for abstaining," Pasadin added.
'Which means the only way my chances could go were up.' I picked up on it quickly.
Aluis lifted a list in his hand.
"The order of the spar will be randomly selected from the fifty candidates present here. Once I call your name, walk to the front. Then, decide whether or not you'll partake. Is that clear?"
Everyone replied with a firm nod.
He looked down. The pause was small, but it felt like the entire field leaned in.
Then Aluis spoke the first name.
"Kai Ashcroft."
My eyes widened, and I reacted before my mind did. 'The protagonist of Advent?'
I whipped around at the sound of that name, eyes darting through the crowd to spot the name.
A lean boy stepped out from the crowd. Ashen grey hair, golden eyes. A slight ferocity to his appearance.
'No. He's far younger than I remember. The Kai Ashcroft in the game was older, already a third year when the game started.'
I scanned him from head to toe, and I was sure he was exactly the Kai Ashcroft that I knew, but if he was just joining the academy, did that mean that the world I was in was three years away from the events of the game?
I pushed aside my thoughts and focused on Kai again.
He looked tired like the rest of us. But there was a steadiness to him that didn't match his age. He moved deftly, with unnerving agility.
Kai climbed onto the platform and faced Aluis.
For a moment, my eyes locked onto the scenario in front of me, and a different curiosity arose. How strong was the protagonist from the story right now? How did I currently fare against an existence later regarded as the epitome of Martial talent in the game?