Oliver was standing alone at the meeting point. He got there a few minutes early and it seemed like the examiners and William had yet to come. Honestly, he felt very ashamed to have left the money home. If only he could turn back time...
Finally, he saw William coming and the two examiners were not too far behind him.
"I am very sorry! I forgot the money home... Could I bring them tomorrow? I promise I will!" he said when examiners arrived.
"You don't have to come tomorrow just for that. Wouldn't it be easier to ask a servant to go and bring them?" asked one of the examiners.
"Well... I don't have servants..." responded Oliver awkwardly.
"Oh, I'm sorry I didn't think about that. It's perfectly normal for kids as good as you to not bring their servants along." said the examiner. It was only the kids that needed support and that weren't confident that brought their servants along. However, he had got the second highest marks until then (and that was the last day of the examination, when no one but the Duke's son was expected to come). What important and influential family could Oliver be coming from to dare come on the same day as William? He sure had to be some big shot going low profile for the exam! The examiner tried to think of another way: "Ok then, you can bring the exam money whenever you want. In two days the final results will be announced and that's when the students who were accepted will have to submit the registration papers. You can bring the money then."
"Ok. Thank you very much! I appreciate it a lot!" burst out Oliver. The people from the capital might not be as bad as he had heard, he thought to himself.
"Very well then, with this matter settled, we can commence the practical part of the examination. First, your combat capabilities will be tested. You will each fight a martial arts master. Don't worry, you will not be hurt. He start with simple attacks and increase their complexity and the force he uses in time. If you cannot resist at least 3 minutes, this trial will be marked as failed. However, if you last 15 minutes, you will be awarded the black belt and you will be allowed to choose if you want or not to attend the martial arts classes, without being penalized if you choose not to. Also, although it has never happened before, there is another rule that says that if you last 30 minutes, you can request to receive a personal trainer from the best in the Kingdom. Is everything clear?" asked the examiner at the end of his long monologue.
"Yes!" both William and Oliver responded.
"Perfect! The martial arts masters have arrived! Good luck!" said the other examiner.
The boys wanted to say *Thank you*, but the exam had already begun. William was used to this. He had been training like this since he was 3. He was sure to get at least the black belt, but he was aiming for the title of master. Given his aspiration, he fought like he was out for the kill.
Oliver on the other hand had never fought in this way. He had fought with wolves and snakes that threatened the village, but never had he fought a human before. It was very interesting! In the first minute he was in continuous tension as he couldn't predict what was going to be the next attack. However, he soon realised that the moves had patterns and that they weren't just crazy attack without any sense. At the same time he observed William and how he moved. He was good! And not was he only defending, but he was also attacking. Oliver he realised he now had a chance to learn. He observed how his attacker moved and realised how his muscles contracted and relaxed based on how he was going to attack and where he was aiming. Thus, he learned to predict how he was going to be attacked. By now, 3 minutes had passed and he knew that he had passed this trial, but he decided to keep on getting better. He was doing pretty good on defending, because he had experience with wild animals that were faster than humans, but he was trying to figure out how to strike back, without aiming to kill his opponent. Given the new objective, he started to strike back with the same attack that he was attacked, but his opponent was able to avoid the attack easily. Well... he wasn't a master for nothing...
William also saw Oliver fight. It was clear that he had not been thought before, and knowing his background, William was sure of it. Given that reason, he thought that Oliver might not last 3 minutes, but he did. Not only that, but he started to do better and better. At some point he even started attacking. It was as if he was learning on the spot, but that was impossible, right? As he wanted to observe more, his opponent's attacks got faster and stronger. It was harder for him to watch Oliver at this point, but he had his own goal: he wanted the title of master. He fought and fought and passed the 15 minutes. However, his opponent was not ready for what was coming next. He started to strike back with everything he had... and it wasn't anything to laugh at. William was extremely good. His opponent went completely on offensive by the 19th minute. The examiners were watching in bewilderment. Sure... he was The Duke's son and was expected to be the best student in the history of The Academy, but this was more than anyone had expected. Not much later, a little bit after 22 minutes, he defeated his opponent. How that was possible, no one knew. It was unheard of before, but it happened right in front of their eyes, so they had to write down the final results.
Just as they wrote down William's shocking feat, they heard sounds of an intense fight still going. Who could it be fi... Wait... They did have another examinee, but they forgot to watch him after the first 3 minutes. He didn't look like he knew what he was doing then and they got too absorbed in watching William. However, Oliver was beating his opponent like he had been doing this since birth. When had he become so good. Cloud it be that he was faking it at the beginning? Anyway, a few seconds after the clock showed that 24 minutes have passed, Oliver was standing victorious next to his opponent's fainted body. Oliver could not be just anyone. He must be some bigshot in disguise. Maybe he was some count's son. That count was sure lucky!
"B-both of you have done splendid! This is a first in the history of The Academy. Congratulations!" said both examiners. They were more than excited. However they had to calm down and proceed with the examination. "Next, you will have to do this obstacle course. You have to at least pass the first third of it. Climbing the volcano wall, passing the lava lake and The Snake Forest is optional. You have one hour. We will observe you to see where you are at when your time is up. The dangerous tracks have experts overseeing them, so, should anything happen, you will be safe! Are there any questions?" the examiners asked after presenting the next trial.
"Only one: when we finish, are we supposed to come back?" asked Oliver.
"It would take to long and it would be too tiring for you. Someone will pick you up and bring you back. You will rest on the way back, have a snack and something to drink, and then, if you passed, you will have the last trial." responded Oliver's examiner.
"Ok. Thank you!" he said back.
"If there's nothing else, good luck and see you in two hours!" said the examiners. The exam was actually different from what they had told the two boys. They were supposed to do half of the part they were told that was mandatory to pass. The other parts were actually used only in international competitions hosted by The Academy. But since they saw how good the two boys were, they decided to step it up one bit. However, they will assess the two boys by the normal standards and won't penalize them if they are able to do the minimum required for a normal entry exam.
The time that had passed was 49 minutes when Oliver was waving from the end of the route. After another 4 minutes, William arrived as well. The two had not only passed, they had actually broken world records and didn't even know it... Well, the examiners weren't going to tell them that. They were just going to prepare the next trial for the moment when the boys arrive. By now, they weren't even shocked by the achievements of these boys. They weren't your everyday examinees.
Oliver and William had a tasty fruit snack and some cold water and were ready for the next trial. On the way back they chatted a lot and got really close. Oliver was happy to have made his first friend in the capital and, probably, at his future school, but William didn't know what to make of it. He had never opened up to someone before because he couldn't believe that people were genuine with him. With Oliver, however, it was different. Believing that he could have made his first real friend he said:
"Oliver, does this mean that we are friends?"
... a moment of silence...
It was awkward. To ask such a thing was quite weird, but Oliver realised fast that it would be a bad decision to laugh or to not say anything, so just as William was getting red of embarrassment because of what he just said, Oliver responded:
"Of course we are friends!" and did a fist bump with him.
The uncomfortable moment had passed and soon after they arrived back to the starting point. There they met the examiners that were ready for the final trial of the practical exam. They had to identify rocks, do some chemical reactions, build some mechanisms, play an instrument and paint the scenery in front of them.
In 2 hours they were done with everything. They both got perfect scores for all of them. At the end of the day, they were sure that they both passed, so when they parted they just said that they will meet in 2 days hoping that, starting then, they will be classmates and hopefully, even roommates.
Oliver ran home and it didn't take him long to get there. As soon as he arrived he gathered everyone and told them everything that happened. The whole village was in tears... tears of joy.
On the other hand, after William arrived home, remembering how much fun he had today talking with Oliver, he felt the need to tell his parents about his day, but as he opened the door he felt the need to shut it back... His parents had thrown a ball to celebrate his success. Although they might've thought that they did him a favor, he didn't like being around fake people that only praised him, hoping to get closer to The Duke. It was going to be another night that he will smile until his lips will hurt and pretend he doesn't understand the hidden intentions of the guests...