The day of the exam arrived. Lucia stood amongst the other applicants in the training field.
Michael had instantly pegged the small, girlish looking boy as a contender. Although the rougher looking fellows seemed to dismiss the red-headed boy completely, Michael had taken an interest. Despite, the daunting task of entering a field full of contenders, the boy had strode in unhesitatingly. Michael found something haunting about his wild, green eyes. Though they shimmered a meadow green in the sunlight. The moment the sun dipped below the clouds, a sternness entered the boy's eyes. He reminded Michael of his father's old war buddies. Laughing and joking one moment, then falling into heavy silence when they recalled the war.
Michael felt he had a lot to prove as the son of a retired general. Everyone was expecting him to be just like his father. His father was renowned for his strength and conviction. Michael however, had come to believe brute strength was overrated. Intelligence on the other hand was much more important to him. Even, in the heat of battle, it was really a battle of wills. A battle of the mind.
As he looked out to the sea of muscular, burly-looking young men, he wasn't excited. As he titled his brown hair out of his face, he sighed. This wouldn't be much of a challenge at all. Then just as the doors were about to close, a final contender arrived. Chatter began rippling throughout the crowd. They all recognise the famous face. Michael stood to attention instantly.
"The crown prince?", Michael muttered, still taken aback. "Finally, something interesting", he smirked to himself. Michael observed his entrance. Either he was arrogant or confident, Michael surmised. The Prince doesn't need to attend the knight's academy to become a knight. Yet he entered anyway. To what end?
Michael could hear a few intimidated contestant gossip between themselves.
" Why'd he have to come here? Everyone knows he was taught by the Sword Saint himself", said one.
"I heard he was some kind of prodigy and that's why the sword saint decided to teach him. Either way, he's had an unfair advantage. He's probably looking to show the rest of us up", the other grunted.
Michael scoffed under his breath. They were already afraid. He looked at the Prince. He didn't seem all that strong. Yes, he had wide shoulders for a boy their age. And there was something about his aloof manner. He was handsome. Handsome enough to be pegged as a lady's man. But, aside from his deep, blue eyes sharply surveying the crowd, his expression was totally unreadable. He could be a tough one. It would be a game of wits after all. Michael smiled to himself as he made his way over.
The instructor, Peter, began to address the crowd. Peter was still annoyed to have been chosen for the task. Wasn't he overworked enough? Now with the Crown Prince here, all eyes would be on the exam. There'd be no time to slack off.
"There are three rounds", Peter began wearily, " The first day is endurance. The second day is battle tactics and last is one-on-one combat". Peter gestured to a number of targets that had been rigged up along the training field.
"As you can see, these wooden dummies are dressed in armour. This is a special kind of armour made from trilothian Ore, the strongest metal in the continent. You have until sun up to break through it. Only those who manage to make a mark on the dummies underneath will proceed to the next round."
Lucia was wholly focused on her target. She knew why they had chosen trilothian armour. She recalled the skirmish between various countries on the continent and the Talabat invaders. For the last 50 years, they had been sailing around the coast pilfering small villages. While they were no threat to the Empire, they had one pesky advantage that made them difficult to deal with. That was their armour. Trilothian was as hard as steel, durable and hard to get you hands-on. Aside from brute strength, the only way to break through was using mana. Neither was an option for Lucia.
Luckily, the instructor's words had suggested another possibility to Lucia.
'Only those who mark the dummy will make it through'.
That meant, potentially a person could pass without having to actually pierce the trilothian. In her past life, Lucia had fought against Talabat raiders. Since the armour was so strong it had a number of joints so the wearer could move. This was the best bet. But it would take a long time to loosen them enough to reveal the surface beneath. She would need to aim precisely at the same spot and hit it over and over. She couldn't use too much energy, otherwise, she might not make it. Lucia began to strike the metal breastplate joint.
A brawny young man looked down at Lucia to his side. Those little hits would never pierce the armour. Richmond came from a family of knights. He would have to show everyone how it was done. He let out a flurry of heavy blows down on the dummy. Blow after blow, there was no response. Maybe it wasn't hard enough? He tried over and over till he was out of breath. Still, the armour was far from pierced. Richmond clenched his fist. Was this even possible?
Richmond addressed the instructor. Peter looked up from his papers displeased.
"What is it?" He asked straining to hide his annoyance.
"I think there's something wrong with mine".
Peter exhaled and examined Richmond's dummy.
"Looks fine to me".
"Do you people even know what you're doing? I highly doubt a trained knight could break through this".
Peter suddenly stood up straight and his eyes narrowed. He drew his sword. His expression became serious. His hand moved like a flash. In an instance, he sliced through the trilothian plate.
Lucia caught the deadly blow from the corner of her eye. He was using mana, she discerned.
A number of other students glanced over. Peter thrust the sword towards Richmond.
"Instead of complaining, get to it or get lost", Peter added sternly.
A drop of sweat fell from Richmond's forward. He nodded reluctantly and continued hitting the dummy.
Michael watched the move carefully. He also recognised the use of mana. However, even though he could also use mana, it wasn't developed enough to cut through trilothian in one swing. It would probably take him a few hours to get through. He eyed the rest of his competition. Some had realised the true test of this round. Others carried on recklessly chopping and hacking.
Three hours past. Michael finally broke through the trilothian. He staggered back . Wiping the sweat from his brow with relief. The instructor gestured to the benches. He felt surprised and annoyed to see the Prince was already sitting down. Not a drop of sweat on him. They made eye contact as he sat down. The prince looked out over the other contestant and said nothing. Michael was too tired to say a word.
Michael watched a number of contestants leave one after the other. Those without mana were probably reaching their limit. He eyed the red-headed boy from the distance. He wasn't using mana. He'd probably run out of energy soon. Had he misread him?
Lucia inhaled sharply. 5 hours had passed. She was glad she had paced herself. Her hands were blistered. She felt as though she could barely lift her arms. But she couldn't stop now. The joints were starting to loosen. She had to keep going.
Red streaks peeked across the sky. The sun shimmered just below the horizon. Day broke and the instructor returned to the field. As expected, everyone who had made it had left the previous evening. The rest who carried on into the night gave up before dawn. Across the training field, he spotted a figure collapsed on the ground. At first, he thought somehow the dummy had fallen to the ground. As he got closer, he saw the figure begin to move. They came unsteadily to their feet. Peter examined the opposing dummy.
It was the first time he had seen something like it. The bottom half of the armour lay at the ground but the upper part was still attached. Neither had any discernible marks. It hadn't been cut through. The joints had been worn down. Still, without mana, it was still a difficult task. He looked back to the small red-headed figure.
"What's your name?"
"Luca"
"Go back and rest Luca, You've only got a few hours till the next round"
------------------------------------------------------------
The contenders were reassembled in the training ground. It was substantially smaller than before. Of the 300 hundred who had entered only around 50 remained.
This time, a mound and flags had been set up at four corners of the arena. There were a number of barricades and camouflage set up around the perimeter of each. Peter waved the group over.
"Well done. You've made it", Peter said unenthusiastically. "The truth is, unless you really mess up, the majority of you will go through. The following rounds are really for us to get an idea of who you are".
There were some relieved noises from the crowd.
"But that doesn't mean you can start slacking now. Today a number of captains will be observing from across the continent and here in the Empire. Even the Emperor has been known to watch these tryouts. Standouts have a chance to make a name for themselves"
A burst of excitement erupted. The remaining contestants were divided into four groups. It was explained that the round was essentially a game of capture the flag. A flag post was hidden behind each corner mound. Each flag corresponded to a team's colours. There were red, blue, black and purple coloured flags.
The caveat was that it was highly likely all the remaining contenders could use mana. Mana wasn't merely energy which could be used to strengthen the body or blade. It took on the cadence of its owner. The more mana was developed, the better an individual could control it. The character of the mana would emerge in unique and unexpected ways. What might have been an obvious advantage, could become a critical mistake if mana was involved.
This sentiment occurred to Michael as the game was explained. He was a member of the purple team. He looked at his team. They didn't look like they'd be much use. There was one tall, blonde figure that looked a little interesting. But he couldn't rely on the others to win. Besides, he had a trick up his sleeve.
On the other side of the field, Lucia made her way over to the blue team. She still felt tired from the day before. The rest of her team was made of burly, young men eager to get started. She didn't need to stand out. She just needed to keep up with the others now. She looked across at the other teams. There were a few faces she recognised from the day before. She had noticed those with mana straight away. And then there was the one that everyone's eyes seemed to follow. The black-haired boy on the red team. Lucia had been too focused to listen to the gossip around the group before, but now she was curious about the mysterious young man. Those cold, blue eyes seemed so familiar. She shook the thought from her head and tried to focus.
All the teams positioned themselves in their respective corners. The game began.