Vivillian watched disinterestedly as Elva stiffened, and quickly made his way over to the stage.
At least with the written exam it was a skill based test, but having enough mana to satisfy Einsvul was just pure luck and genetics. Average mana capacity for Einsvul was legions higher than any commoner on the streets.
This was where Viv expected Elva to fail.
".." Elva held his hand over the crystal ball.
The Professor looked at the ball, her eyes observing it.
"Average mana capacity, affinity is Earth."
"Pass."
The judges wrote something in their notebook, as Elva was quickly ushered off the stage, disbelief on his face.
Vivillian had the exact same expression on his face, his eyebrows quirking.
Earth huh? Maybe Elva is just a lucky npc then..
After all, Elva and him were also the only people to escape the disaster on their village, maybe Elva was just programmed differently.
"Did you see that Viv? I'm actually pretty...amazing." The moment he stepped off the stage, Elva's ego seemed to grow, as he stared at his trembling hands.
"Don't act foolish." Vivillian rebuked him. "You were just lucky, you didn't even know that Earth was the closest element you had affinity with."
"I guess you're right..Mr Fennel had no specialty equipment so he could only test us everyday small magic like starting a fire..." Coming back from his fantasy world, Elva calmed down. "I heard Earth was an uncommon element."
"Yeah, it's usually air, water, and fire." Viv replied half heartedly. "Congrats, I guess."
"If I hadn't been with you all this time, I would have assumed that last sentence was sarcastic."
"Whatever, be-"
"Be grateful I even said something, I know."
"..." Viv shut his mouth for once as he heard Elva's tired sigh.
...Was he too harsh with him?
"Anyways, I never would have thought I was harnessing this amount of power...!" Elva sighed in exasperation. "The world is not ready for the likes...of I."
Nevermind, he's going to hit him later.
Ever so slowly, the numbers counted up slowly, only a few students standing out to Viv that weren't capture targets.
"Number 176."
"I can't believe I'm seeing him with my own eyes.."
"That's the Crown Prince!"
Almost instinctively, the moment William stepped onto the stage, the nobles from the Slachal Empire bowed politely.
"Haha, please rise. Right now, I am but just a contestant going into Einsvul." William grinned, flashing his pearly teeth as he took relaxed steps toward the crystal ball, waving at the crowd.
"Your Imperial Highness." Even the Professor herself politely nodded her head.
"At ease."
William remarked, before taking off the white glove on his hand.
Extending his arm, he hovered it over the crystal ball.
"Ack!"
A strong light burst into sight, as the crystal ball glowed with such life that it was like a flash bang, stunning the onlookers.
"...Very high mana capacity, affinity is light." The Professor squinted her eyes, as William pulled away his hand from the crystal ball.
"Pass." The Judges didn't even need to debate, just like what had happened with Perukono.
William let out a smile, waving at the crowd as he got off stage and headed to his protected area of the field.
Though Einsvul had a rule against using nobility status for special treatment, Royalty was a completely different case, and such protection was necessary. The protected area was not over the top however, it being only a secluded area with a slight increase of guards around it.
The next student who came up after was completely disregarded as the other contestants chattered away quietly discussing the recent events.
"Low mana capacity, affinity is water."
"Rejected."
The student could barely hold back tears as they were politely escorted out, but their reaction was of no attention to the chattering crowd.
"..." Seeing the scene before him, Viv felt himself gulp harshly.
A bad feeling began to ache in Vivillian's stomach as he felt the crowd start to fizzle out in his ears.
Cold sweat dripped down his back, as the overstimulating noise of a variety of different sounds began to overlap, different smells invading his nostrils and a dry taste in the back of his throat.
Why am I...?
He began to feel weak, nauseous even as the urge to sit down overcame him.
"Wow, the Crown Prince sure was-...H-Huh? Viv, are you alright?" Elva noticed relatively quickly, quickly coming to Vivillian's side, who unexpectedly leaned weakly into Elva's arms.
Oh I see, it's because it reminds me of...that.
Viv thought weakly, as he buried his face into Elva's black coat, covering himself from the world.
"W-What in the...?!" Clearly shocked, Elva felt surprisingly concerned as he saw the pale and miserable expression on Vivillian's face. "I need a-"
"Don't, create a big fuss." Vivillian muttered weakly, as he gripped tightly onto Elva's vest. "Get me out of here."
"What..? But the test is still going..." Elva wanted to continue, but his expression turned solemn after looking at Viv's expression. "...Hang on for me."
Elva scooped up Dame carefully, making sure not to jostle him too much as he hid him in his cloak. He then began to make his way towards the exit quickly, avoiding many passerby's.
Meanwhile, William was relaxing in his chair, looking at the stage with mild interest when he was suddenly tapped on the shoulder.
"Yes, Perukono?" There was only one such person who could touch him so freely.
"It seems one of the contestants are sick." Perukono pointed into the crowd of kids, William narrowed his eyes, finding a taller than usual contestant with another cradled under his arm, who seemed quite pale and sick.
"Ah, I know those two. That brown haired one was the guy sitting next to you during the written exam, Perukono." William commented. "The other is an uncommon earth affinity."
"..Instead of focusing on their talent, Your Highness, we should alert the school administration to help them." Perukono frowned, casting a look at William, who raised his hands in surrender.
"Of course, apologies." William turned to look toward a guard nearby who overheard their conversation. The guard immediately nodded and excused himself from his post, leaving to find a Professor.
"Your Highness, may I go over there and see if there is anything I could do to help?" Perukono asked, bowing his head.
"Go ahead, why would I deny you the chance to help another..." The Crown Prince replied half heartedly, as he turned his attention back onto the stage.
Perukono nodded, and started to scan the big crowd, trying to find a way to get across without disrupting too many people.
"It's times like these you can ask for help from me."
Another voice appeared behind Perukono.
The owner of it was a pale, pitch black haired boy who wore a dark purple cloak over his head. His sharp, cutting gaze bore into Perukono, who seemed relieved to see him.
"Ah, there you were Darvillion."
"Exchange pleasantries later, you wish to help that guy over there, right?" The dark eyed boy tilted his head, looking at the scene in the distance.
"Yes, please. Can you help me find a safeand quick way across?" Perukono nodded his head, looking expectantly at the strangely cloaked boy.
"Let's just teleport over, then."
"But magic is not allowed during the conduction of the-!"
"It's an urgent situation, yea?" Darvillion frowned, tilting his head slightly.
"Yeah..."
"Then quit complaining and follow along, those old geezers won't be able to detect me anyways..." Chuckling, a dark mist enveloped the two of them, and they promptly disappeared.
"..." Having been left unexpectedly alone, William tapped on his arm rest quietly. "Hm...maybe I should have sent more help?"
—-
As Elva slowly reached the exit of the field, he was surprised when two pairs of hands suddenly grabbed him and pulled him into the shadows.
"Doctor's this way, buckeroo." A snide comment escaped the boy cloaked in a dark purple, as Elva felt his surroundings transform into a clean, silent, and calm white room.
"What the...?"
"I know you're probably confused, but we're here to help." Perukono appeared from the side. "The School's Doctor is already on their way, we can lay your friend on the bed first while they get here."
"O-Oh, okay..." Elva laid down Vivillian onto a slightly faded white bed, Viv's eyes were closed as he seemed even sicker than before.
"Does your friend have any history of health problems? Is he currently suffering through something?" Perukono rapid fired questions diligently, assessing Vivillian's condition.
"Not that I know of..." Gulping, Elva turned to Vivillian, who had opened his eyes slightly. He disregarded the question of why a member of knight nobility was so concerned over them for now, putting it in the back of his mind. The most important thing currently was Vivillian.
"Who's..." Viv's voice came out softly, as he cleared his throat and opened his eyes fully.
As he sat up, he met face to face with one of the capture targets.