The exam takers gathered at the courtyard located north of the island. Those that accompanied them sat on the bleachers near a guard tower. Shuja and Cirona sat at the highest level so they could get a better view of them. There was a thick forest blocking their view of the ocean, and they were sandwiched between it and the imposing cathedral. In the middle of the courtyard was a giant gem guarded by ten paladins. And floating above the gem was a demon wearing a white robe. Her horns were pure white, and her red feather wings stick out from her back.
The nobles were speechless to see her flying. They were in awe of her beauty and terrified by her power. Everyone could feel it, and so can Sun. Her mana leaked out of her and was pushing everyone to the ground. "Look on the ground!" She yelled. "There are yellow circles all around the courtyard. You are to stand there until further instructions."
The nobles did as they were told. They stood on a yellow circle and waited. And waiting. But nothing else happened. After ten minutes, one of the nobles got tired and sat down. The demon shot an arrow made of mana from the palm of her hand and it landed next to the sitting noble. "I didn't tell you to sit down!" She yelled.
Everyone's body jolted because they didn't know that the exam already began. The nobles stood in place for hours on end. Nobles were trained to become strong-willed leaders, both in combat and in administration but many gave up before the first hour finished and many more continued to lose their will as minutes goes by. Sun stood calmly in place. Sun found this exam easier than expected after his harsh training under Pagasa's watch. But most nobles were not so strong-willed. This is the church's attempt to cull those unprepared to carry the burden of the crown over their heads, no matter how heavy the title may be.
Borvo was beading sweat from his head to his belly. His legs began to shake after standing for hours, and his will to carry on continued to melt as he watched those around him leave from the pressure. The only thing keeping his feet on the yellow circle was the chance to lead his people to a better future. He gritted his teeth and closed his eyes and concentrated.
Sun admired Borvo's determination, but he was concerned about him as well. How long will he last, and when will this exam end. More than half of the people in the courtyard were on the ground or have left entirely. And has only been three hours.
Most of the remaining nobles were hard-boiled. They had physiques of warriors. Sun could tell that they have more than enough to pass this part of the exam. Meanwhile, nobles like Borvo have mostly fallen with a few stragglers hanging on. Then finally, after three more hours with no one giving up, the demon landed on the earth and clapped her hands producing and thunderous sound. "Those that are still standing may take a sit!" She yelled.
Sun counted the heads. There was fifty left, which seemed a lot until he compared to the numbers of nobles missing. The courtyard was filled to the brim with people before but afterward, barely one-ninth of its nobles remained.
The paladins around the gem walked towards each of the remaining nobles and gave them a piece of paper with instructions to find an object. "Before we proceed to the Crystal Baptism, you must go on a quest to find the boon written in your paper." The demon said. "There's a hint written on the paper to help you on your search.
And before I send you on your way, I must inform you of the rules of the game. Number one, taking the item by force, will result in expulsion. Number two, breaking the item will result in expulsion. And number three, fighting between nobles is prohibited and will result in expulsion for all parties involved. Once you find it, you must bring it back here and present it to the gem and paladins. Now let the exam begin!"
Most of the nobles quickly ran out of the courtyard with their attendees, while some stayed and sifted through the paper. Borvo and Sun were some of those people. "So what does your paper say?" Sun asked.
"I have to look for a rainbow-colored stone. And the hint it gave me is that I must follow the cries of the sea."
"Sounds easy enough. Just search the shores."
"Seems like it. How about you?"
"I got the Black Stone of Egad."
"The Black Stone of Egad is in this island!" Borvo was shocked, "What is that doing here?"
"Why? What is it?"
"It's a relic considered by dark elves. The Church must have received it as a gift, maybe. It's a giant black stone sculpted into the perfect cube. Its size varies from story to story, but it always averages out to about the size of a horse."
"Well, it says here that to find it, you must look in the deepest darkness where it hides. What do you think that means?"
Borvo turned to face the forest staring at the courtyard. "The forest reserved. Its given name is Nature's Dark Delight. Maybe it's the darkness the clue is referring to?"
"You sure, because I think an underground cellar or the catacombs would be the perfect hiding spot for the stone. After all, it's a holy item for the dark elves, and they live underground."
Shuja's body shivered, "Oh man, I do not want to go back underground. Emphasis on the do not!" Shuja tugged on Sun's shirt, "You know how much we had to go through in those catacombs and sewage systems. I rather take my chances with the spooky forest in front of us."
Sun pondered about it for some time but ultimately agreed with Shuja. They split with Borvo and Cirona and headed into the forest. The forest's entrance was a wide iron gate covered by vines and weed. A few other nobles have entered the forest before Sun, looking for their MacGuffin. Sun wondered if they also had the same item, and the demon's rules echoed in his mind. If they have the same item, then a fight will naturally break down, which is against the rules. "This is a race," Sun told Shuja, "We got to run, now!"
Shuja grabbed his hand and placed it on her shoulders, "Hang on! We'll swing to it!" " Shuja pulled out her bow and shot her arrow into the forest.
"I can't believe you had that on you this whole time. And I don't think your shoulders will be enough." Sun wrapped his arms around her waist.
"Watch where you're touching!"
"Just go. They all left us in the dust already!"
"Fine, keep your arms tightly around me. We're about to launch in five, four," Before she could finish, they were both pulled by the mana rope and through the leaves and branches of the forest's canopy.
They landed on top of a tree. Their landing was rough and caused a thunderous sound to travel across the forest, letting its inhabitants know their presence. Sun and Shuja sat on one of the tree's largest branches. They released their mana like a web over the forest, searching for the large black stone. They saw many small critters around the forests and the other exam takers searching for their item. After over an hour, they found a heavy concentration of mana in the middle of the forest.
Its shape was a cube. Not perfect, but it was clearly the item they were looking for. "Looks like it could be the stone. And it seems like there are other people there." Shuja said.
"Two of them." Sun added, "They might be guarding the stone. We have to approach them with caution." Sun grabbed Shuja by the waist. "Now on onward, my beautiful steed."
Shuja punched him on the head, "Shut up!" Then she launched her arrows, and they used it swing across the forest until they arrived at the source of the mana. A large black cube sat in the of a clearing with two other people sitting by it.
There were humans; one was a man wearing a lavish red coat and hardened leather pants, and the other was a woman, possibly his fiance. She wore light clothes, more fitting to the island's warm weather. Sun wondered how the man could wear that coat during the summer. The two strangers waved at them with a big grin on their faces. They skipped on the grassy field towards them. "Oh, thank Titania, someone came." The man sighed in relief. "We need help!"
Sun extended his arm to keep them away. "Woah!" He shouted, "Personal space, man. And we don't even know who you are."
"Right, man." He winked at them. Sun and Shuja were not amused. "My name is Lo, and this is my woman, Kee."
"Ok," Sun said with a puzzled look, "My name is Sun, and this is Shuja, my fiance." He said with emphasis.
"Right! Now that we have that all taken care of, we need your help!" Lo took out his paper and read it to them. The couple has the same item as Sun and Shuja, which didn't surprise them. This was most likely done to further cull the group.
"And what exactly do you need help with?" Shuja asked.
"That's the darndest thing. We can't carry the stone. It weighs too much for just one person to carry. But why make it an item that we must bring back to the gem? Well, the answer is cooperation."
"Cooperation?" Sun asked, "What do you mean?"
"Well, I assume that you also have the same item as we do, seeing that you came here." Kee said, "And darling had the greatest idea, what if this part of the exam is about measuring everyone's ability to work together."
Sun and Shuja looked at each other, waiting for the other to speak up when another couple appeared. It was a large human man, seven feet tall. He had a scar under his left eye and a large chin pointing outward. And walking alongside him was an orc woman. She could barely reach the tall man's shoulders.
He looked quite intimidating until he spoke. "Hi, um hi. I, I mean, we look for, look for Black Stone of Egad."
Sun pointed at it, "It's over there."
The large man walked towards the stone. The Black Stone of Egad was large, but the man was tall enough to see its top, and his arms were wide enough to hug the holy relic. He tried to lift it over his shoulder, but he couldn't even move it an inch. "This is heavy," He said. "Might need more. More muscles and stuff."
The orc woman standing next to him rubbed his shoulders. "It seems not even you can carry it." She said. "How are we going to move this thing?" Lo heard her query, and he revealed a wide smile. Sun could not tell if it was a mischievous smile or a genuine relief, but they'll find it out eventually.