At the outskirts of the capital of Dorono, there existed two arenas managed by a pair of siblings, Evan and Every.
Currently, Evan was hosting a sword tournament in the first arena while Every was hosting a spear tournament in the second.
Each arena measured thirty feet in diameter, and both were distanced from each other such that the noise of one wouldn't interfere with the other.
On this day, however, the two crowds blended when two specific contenders appeared.
"AND FOR OUR SECOND CONTENDER, WELCOME BACK OUR YOUNGEST CHAMPION—[AIR] OF THE SWORD!" Evan stimulated the crowd as a pink-haired kid with scarring entered the first arena.
The crowd roared with excitement and approval, and the pink-haired kid nodded at their opponent as they swirled a longsword with one hand.
Meanwhile, at the other arena…
"OUR SECOND CONTENDER—EVERYONE, WELCOME BACK OUR YOUNGEST CHAMP—[WINSTON] OF THE SPEAR!!" Every invigorated the crowd as a lightly armored, golden-haired kid with freckles entered the second arena.
The crowd erupted with whistles and roars, and the golden-haired kid smiled as they readjusted their grip on their glaive.
"AND NOW!! WITH BOTH CONTENDERS PRESENT—LET THE MATCH BEGIN!!" Evan and Every roared simultaneously.
=====
From afar, on a hill overlooking both arenas, a group of hooded figures gathered to observe the tournaments transpiring below them.
"Impressive," one of them remarked, watching the pink-haired kid parry and counter the attacks of their much older opponent.
"Not bad," another commented, observing the golden-haired kid evading and maneuvering their glaive against their also-much-older opponent.
Then they all watched as the pink-haired kid skillfully feinted an attack before redirecting their sword and poking its blunt tip into their opponent's chest, swiftly ending the match.
And almost at the same time, the golden-haired kid confidently rushed forward with his glaive, deftly sliding its blunted end across the length of their opponent's jabbing polearm before striking the other roughly across the collarbone and chest—causing the opponent to shout with pain and surrender.
A ruckus of cheers exploded from both crowds, and the group on the hill cheered as well.
"Is this why you wanted to keep an eye on this year's Branch Trial?" one of them asked the youngest of them. "Because of participants like these, [C]?"
[C] grinned.
"Exactly," [C] said. "As future Royal knights, it's our duty to assess the future generation of the Branch knights to ensure they can keep up."
"Bullcrap," the others immediately countered. "You just want to kill time before our departure."
[C] burst into laughter, chuckling as he peered down below where the winners were being praised and congratulated by the crowd.
"Seriously though," [C] grinned, watching the winners with interest, "We'll encounter them more in the future, so why not welcome them [now]?"
And yes, [C] thought as the others discussed amongst themselves, what better way to kill time than to mess with Trial participants?
…The pink-haired winner [especially] seemed susceptible to teasing.
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"Good work, rascals," Evan and Every chuckled as they tossed me and Winston each a pouch of our winnings.
Evan and Every were both round and heavyset people in charge of the tournaments that Winston and I one day chanced upon while exploring the capital.
At first, Winston and I questioned the legitimacy of the tournaments since the arenas were in an isolated part in the outskirts of the city. Our doubts lessened, however, when the outraged siblings showed their papers sealed by the city itself.
"Land [here] is expensive, you imps!" Evan hotly shouted when questioned about why the arenas were located so suspiciously. "This was the only place we could afford, so—pah! Don't give us those pitying looks!"
"Enough with the questions!" Every growled. "Are you two entering or not? If not, be on your way!"
"What kind of tournament is it?" we asked, intrigued.
Evan and Every then explained the first arena held sword and wrestling tournaments, while the second arena held spear and archery tournaments, depending on the day.
The rules were simple for the sword and spear tournaments: using the weapons and armor provided, knock your opponent out of the arena or use force to make them surrender.
And for the wrestling tournament, whoever wrestled their opponent out of the arena or made the other submit, won. Likewise, for the archery tournament, provided a handful of arrows, whoever shot the most given targets won.
On that specific day, Evan was hosting a wrestling tournament while Every was hosting an archery one. And since entering was free, and anyone could join regardless of age…
"We'll enter," Winston and I spoke simultaneously.
Thus—I soon dominated the first arena while Winston dominated the second, causing our popularity to skyrocket in a period of two weeks.
And since the number of bets wagered by the crowd skyrocketed as well…Evan and Every soon became very friendly.
Thus why—at the present—I returned my pouch and shamelessly demanded for the umpteenth time, "Give us news about the Branch Trial."
"You—you rascal! Quit asking! We got nothing to say!" Evan hotly shouted, tossing the pouch back.
"But you always brag about your connections, including your connections within the guilds of the capital," I said, tossing the pouch back. "Surely you or Every know something about the upcoming Trial? We'll accept any information—even a small hint!"
"I'll not be bribed…!" Evan growled, though he hadn't tossed the pouch back.
"I'll give mine as well," Winston said, tossing Every his pouch. "And if you tell what you know, we promise to work even harder for next week's tournaments. Right, Air?"
"That's right," I said, and the siblings fell quiet as we both stared at them intently.
…
"They're mighty persistent, I'll give them that!" Every finally laughed in concession.
"…Keep some for yourself, rascals," Evan humphed, tossing us a few coins before tucking the rest away. Then he cleared his throat before leaning in and whispering, "The Branch Trial… It may or may not be [already] commencing…!"
[…!]
"Now quit asking!" Evan barked, clearing his throat before striding away.
Every grinned and winked at us encouragingly before following her brother.
…
Winston and I looked at each other.
The official date of the Trial was set approximately two weeks plus two months from now.
But if we were to believe Evan and Every…
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"Maybe we're being judged on how we do in Evan's and Every's tournaments," Winston suggested.
"Possibly," I said, "Although…we have no way of verifying that unless Evan or Every—or the Divine Temple—confirms it… Which seems unlikely."
"Snacks?" Shelly offered as she placed several before us.
"Thank you, Shelly!" Winston and I both smiled as we reached for her freshly cooled tarts and cookies.
We were all in the small kitchen in the house we were staying at—an indiscreet house bordering the capital provided by Marchioness Cassandra, to be exact.
Winston and I were seated at a table discussing what the Branch Trial could entail while Shelly bustled in the kitchen adjacent us.
"Also," I added after gulping down a lime tart, "we can't overlook other possibilities—maybe the Trial involves something else besides the tournaments?"
Winston nibbled on a cookie as he thought.
"…I haven't noticed anything unusual while exploring the city, have you?" he finally asked.
I shook my head.
"I haven't either…" I said, frowning as our discussion faltered.
Lady Cassandra had warned that the Trials were crafty and unpredictable, thus why we arrived at the capital early, months before the official Trial date. She had advised us to use those months to glean whatever we could about the Trial beforehand to thus prepare ourselves.
But…doing so was proving quite difficult.
[…]
Hoping to find something I might've missed, I retrieved from my sleeve the tablet I received during the Trial registration, causing Winston to do the same.
Placing it on the table, we silently analyzed them.
Winston's tag had the number 06, while mine had the number 07.
Deeming the numbers insignificant for now, I focused instead on the tags' intricate seals.
Both seals were silver and had an escutcheon depicting curved branches coiled with worm. The motto at the bottom read, 'One with Branch,' and an owl and wolf supported the escutcheon from the right and left, rampart.
…
Other than recognizing it as the Branch Sect's infamous coat of arms, we knew nothing else about it. And since [all] records about the Branch Sect were kept strictly within the sect, with the only public information about them being that of secondhanded accounts…
Discerning any clues the intricate seal had, if any, was infeasible.
…
"What did the person ask you during registration?" Winston suddenly asked as I brooded with frustration.
"They asked for my name, and I gave it," I responded unenthusiastically. "Then they handed me this tablet and said the Trial would commence in three months, and to return to the temple—"
"And present the tag? And to always remember to keep it with you before then?" Winston finished.
"…Yes," I slowly said, realizing we were told the same thing.
Registering for the Branch Trial had been so swift and easy that Winston and I hadn't bothered to share or discuss our individual experience.
But perhaps we should have done so earlier…
"…Do you think the other registrants will be advised exactly the same?" I asked him.
He nodded. "Yes…though the only way we'll know for sure is to—"
"Find another registrant besides us?" I finished, grinning when he smiled with confirmation.
Until then…
"Let's not lose it," we told each other as we both secured our tablets back into the depths of our own sleeves.
Then we spent the rest of the evening helping Shelly in the kitchen, both optimistic.
"You two appear less troubled now," Shelly observed with relief after we ate supper. She clasped her hands together and said warmly, "I'm so glad!"
I smiled.
Hopefully things would continue like this and soon the Branch Trial would be deciphered. Then all that remained was for me and Winston to pass it.
Which we would.
I was certain.
Our path ahead was clearer than ever.
We just needed to tackle the Trial.
Nothing else would impede us in the meantime.
…
Right?
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I crashed into the dirt outside of the arena, the air punching out from my lungs as my sword flew from my grip.
"OH?! OHHHHH?!! THE CHAMPION AIR—OUR AIR HAS FALLLEEENN?!!!" Evan's voice roared, the crowd clamoring as I lost for the very first time.
A silhouetted shadow fell over me, and I looked up, my chest heaving up and down as my opponent stared down at me.
"WE HAVE A NEW CHAMPPPIIIOON!!!" Evan's voice roared in the background as I stared at my opponent.
"Is that all you got?" the opponent asked, their black eyes shimmering with amusement as they combed their fingers through their long, black hair, slicking it back.
Sweat dripped down my face, and the blood within me sloshed sluggishly as I recognized who they were.
"THE NEW CHAMPION—THE NEW CHAMPION IIIIIS——"
The third love interest in the game, Prince Lilith's future royal guard.
"—CCCOOOOOUUUU!!!!!"
[Cou.]