"Doesn't your dad work for one of my warehouses in the Port District? It would be a shame if he lost his job over something so… trivial."

The female knight trembles as she looks over at me in hesitation.

A nearly completed test is placed in front of the nobleman as I'm given his that hasn't even been touched.

The knight walked back down to the front of the room in silence clenching her teeth.

"You see girl,"

The nobleman walks to the front of the room and places my test on a desk centered in front of the knight.

He walks past me smirking.

"Commoners have no place in Phoenia."

The nobleman walks outside of the room laughing with impertinence.

I glare at the knight in retaliation. She catches my eyes then looks towards the floor.

Sighing, I start to fill in the blank exam.

It's not her fault… I guess that's just how it is around here. If you have status then you can do whatever the hell you want.

"10 minutes to go." The proctor announces.

10 Minutes?!

I rush to fill in the answers that I memorized from the first time they were completed.

Walking over to the proctor she looks me in the eye.

"… Sorry."

I nod and walk outside the room.

Like I said. It isn't your fault.

. . .

The exam concludes and we're situated back in front of the castle. Birds are heard chirping overhead as the sun's rays start to dim.

General Calina walks back onto the stage her metal armor clinking onto the wooden platform.

"How was it, guys? For your sake—I hope you passed."

The screen above her blinked and showcased another list of names. The boxes were bigger, replacing the names previously displayed.

"Now let's check the results! If your hand glows then you've passed the exam. If you didn't…"

She shrugs.

The board shows a group of names that turn red and disappear off the list.

My hand feels warm as I glance towards it.

I sigh in relief.

"Looks like we got our winners! If you weren't selected—better luck next time!"

Individuals on the side and front of me make their way towards the brass gates. Looks of sadness and pain plagued their faces as they walked down the hill.

"Congratulations! This concludes the preliminaries, regardless of your position in the next two phases you're guaranteed a position as a knight."

Sighs of relief and celebratory cheers are heard around the crowd.

A hand pats my shoulder. I turn around to see Yuumi with a beaming smile.

"Look who didn't choke!" She raises her hand showing another glowing light.

I sigh.

"You honestly have no idea what I've gone through to get here."

Yuumi tilts her head. "Huh? What's that supposed to mean?"

Two girls hugging each other catch the corner of my eye. I notice that one of them has pink hair and an iron-plated skirt.

"Look over there."

Yuumi follows my gaze, smacking her teeth.

"So they passed as well, huh?"

Saori and the auburn-hair knight embrace each other smiling. The green-hair male looked contemptuous with his arms crossed.

"Out of the remaining participants, only 249 are left. Meet back here tomorrow for the Physical Altitude test."

General Calina waves with vigor as we start walking towards the exit.

"Get some rest and have a great evening!"

. . .

Yuumi accompanies me as we walk past the brass metal gates opposing the overbearing castle. Breathing out I look behind to the wooden stage where we were just given our results. General Calina conversed with several knights with different color gems implanted in their armor. The blonde from before, Captain Stroyer, catches my eye.

"He's apparently quite the badass."

Without me knowing, Yuumi looks at the stage alongside me.

"That Stroyer guy is well-known, nicknamed the 'Blonde Curse.' Whatever that's supposed to mean."

General Calina looks away from the group of higher-ups and we lock eyes. She raises her hand up to her side and gives a slight wave offering a gentle smile.

Yuumi catches the silver-haired knight's gesture and looks my way.

"You know her?"

Calina turns back to continue talking with her acquaintances still carrying the same tranquil expression.

"No. But I'm sure we're going to meet her real soon."

We turn around and start walking down the cobblestone hill. The townspeople shuffling past us coddle in groups with participants of the Rites.

Some of them congratulate their sons and daughters for their guaranteed knightship… While others…

"You idiot!"

A man with brown hair and a short pointed beard wearing a gold and grey silk coat with tights scolded a young lad.

"I invested all that money into those tutors and you end up making our family look bad with your ignorance!"

The young male's red cape shifted as he spoke, his outfit similar to his father's but he wore black silk pants with a black jacket.

"But father it wasn't my fault! The questions were too hard!"

His father grew a vessel on his forehead and turned red.

"Enough of this! As punishment no Ganshin Unpact for a month!"

He stomped away with his pastel boots clicking on the ground.

"What the hell is Ganshin Unpact?" The boy ran after him in a panic.

We make it down the slope and an intersection with carriages carrying wares and people inter-cross with haste. The street lights are lit, carrying light for the nightwalkers as the sky is now shrouded with darkness. The flame carried from the glass boxes dance on the stone floor beneath them.

I nod towards Yuumi and she waves her hand in the air. We both go our separate ways to prepare for the next day ahead.

. . .

"One! Two! Three! Four!" A woman guided stretch exercises standing from a large wooden box on the side of the road. A group of older men and women lean their backs forward following her movements.

I run past her as the talons on my back waver in the wind. The road in front of me stretched thin as I come into view of a large hill.

"I'm late! I'm late! I'm late!"

The gold chains on the side of my outfit jingle with my every move.

I can't believe I overslept on the day of—EEP!

Running upwards the slope, the brass metal gate leading to the castle starts to lower. A man on top of the barricade rotated a handle slowly, releasing the chains for the gateway to close.

"HAAA."

I break for the gate that's almost a few inches from the ground.

The man from the tower looks down at me racing towards the closing gate.

"The… Hell…?

He stops rotating the handle, putting his hand up to his eyebrows to cover his eyes from the radiating light.

The gate now in view, I slide under the bars that are barely a few inches from the ground. Dirt and pebbles get thrown in the air creating a smokescreen in my wake. My boots scrape the ground but don't cause enough friction to slow me down.

"THAAAAANK YOUUUUU!"

After I make the final slide I jump into the air and race for the grounds. The gates behind me make a metal clanking sound as they drop to the floor, not allowing for entry. Everyone, including the participants on the grounds, the nobles, and high-ranking knights on stage lay witness to my desperate attempt to get in.

"WAAAIT FOR MEEE!"

General Calina, looking as though she was in the middle of a speech, stops with her finger pointing in the air.

"Looks like… Someone's in the right mood for today…"'

The crowd starts to chuckle as I stop in the middle of the assemblage.

The silver-haired woman put her hand down and rested two on her hips.

"As I was saying—Today is the Physical Altitude test! It's a gruesome 56 kilometer run around the entire kingdom. But if that wasn't enough, booby traps and different obstacles were set to make this a bit more, interesting."

Small murmurs dispersed through the crowd.

"I heard it was so hard last year that a few people died from exhaustion." A male revealed.

"My friend lost an entire limb in one of the traps!"

Calina walks to the center of the stage, not needing the podium to elevate her voice as the crowd isn't as abundant as before.

"However, for you to participate you must form a team consisting of three members total. No more, no less."

What?! This complicates things...

Where am I going to get two other people?!

. . .