“Ari Andreas?” Nathaniel asked after scanning Ari’s card.

“Yes, Mr. Goldsfield. Though my given name at birth is Aristos,” Ari replied. So Ari was a nickname too? Then why had he put that instead of his actual name on his ID card?

“I see your friends are here to support you.”

Ari nodded, glanced over at us with a smile, and turned back.

Nathaniel took some notes on his tablet. “Well, it’s definitely good to have friends. Just know that when you commit to us, you will be seeing them less often.”

Ari straightened up as if he had been called out. “Yes, I am aware of that, sir.”

“Okay, then let us start with a few questions. Number one: could you describe any of your skills that would be useful in combat?”

“Yes. I am adept at handling both a sword and blade. I had been trained both privately and at my country’s top military school in melee combat. I had also been training rigorously since I was little, so I am very confident in my strength and endurance.”

“That’s… interesting,” the officer said as he looked at Ari’s two swords and then took some more notes. “And do you have any experience in combat?”

“At my school, I gained experience from many duels. After that, I had been adventuring and slew a couple of silver-fur wolves just two days ago. Sixteen of them down in just a few minutes.”

I put my head down into my hands, embarrassed just from listening to Ari’s bragging. Didn’t he say he’d only been traveling with the other two for a week? And those wolves were the strongest he had gone up against? Plus, I took care of over half of them, while he was only helping Em and Abby defeat the rest. I looked up at Nathaniel’s face, which didn’t change. Hopefully, he wasn’t catching on to any of this.

“Okay,” the proctor continued, “why are you planning on joining our imperial army?”

“My dream is to join the Royal Task Force and adventure between worlds to gain experience in combat and serve the Empire.”

Nathaniel nodded. “Setting the bar so high already, I see. You must be pretty confident with yourself. Let us move on to seeing some of your skills in action, then. I will just give you a couple of strength and agility tests.”

Ari was put through a few Olympic track and field events, from sprinting to high jump to long jump and even weightlifting, although he wasn’t competing with anybody. Well, he was probably going against the other applicants, but in the empty field, it felt more like a training sequence.

Ari worked hard and aced every single test. Well, at least it sounded like that from the examiner’s “good jobs” and “well dones.” And from the looks of it, he was surpassing almost every single person that had been given these tests today. My hopes for him started rising back up. Maybe he still had a chance to show off a bit more in the duel.

And finally, the moment I had been waiting for finally came.

“That will be it for your physical tests. Now for the final test. As you should know, the best way to assess someone’s combat abilities is through actual combat. I will give you five minutes to attack me. You may use any weapon of your choosing.”

Ari nodded, rested his hand on his blade, and assumed a starting position with his knees bent. Seeing that he was ready, the proctor continued, “Your time will start… now.” He spread his arms out, inviting Ari to take a hit.

But Ari didn’t jump in straight for an attack. Instead, he stood back straight. “Aren’t you going to use a weapon too?”

Nathaniel put his arms back down, and a bewildered look came into his face. “Weren’t you watching the other tests? I will not be using a weapon. And the time is counting down. That’s a quarter of a minute lost.”

Ari took his longsword from his back. “Use this, then. Back in my world, integrity and honor are also important.” He threw the large, heavy sword over to Nathaniel, who caught it in one hand.

The officer put the sword up in front of him, assumed a ready pose, and cracked his neck. “I sure hope you know what you’re getting yourself into, Ari. On the battlefield, it isn’t wise to give the enemy a weapon.”

Ari bent his knees again and smiled. “Well, I am still the one who’s more used to their weapon.”

He then pushed back with his leg with enough force to send a cloud of dust behind him as he shot forward at Nathaniel. His vitality was not drained even a bit after all those exercises in the previous part of the test. Ari grabbed the hilt of his blade, and with one swift motion, sent a slice across as he flew past his opponent.

Ari turned around and held his blade up, still staying vigilant. When he saw that his blade was now naked, with the shining metal glistening in the sun, a moment of surprise flashed by his face. “You know, there was a reason I kept it sheathed when I sent that slice,” he said, looking back at Nathaniel.

The officer was standing leisurely with Ari’s longsword resting on his shoulder. He raised his other hand up and dropped Ari’s scabbard that had been on the blade just moments ago. “If you’re going against me, then I’d prefer you to be at maximum power,” he responded with a grin. “Three minutes and forty seconds left. Let’s get on with this.”

“Well, You’re asking for it!”

Ari leaped forward and sent another swish with his blade. Nathaniel pulled his sword off his shoulder and blocked the swing just in time, sending a loud clank through the empty field. Ari was already on his next move as he sent two more quick swings to the man’s chest and legs, respectively. Nathaniel responded by simply turning his wrist, and the large sword blocked both attacks from reaching his armor.

Just as his two swings were blocked, though, Ari swiftly came up behind Nathaniel before he could turn. He swung his blade again, but when his opponent swerved around and blocked this attack, Ari followed through and used both his and the man’s momentum to pull the sword out and disarm Nathaniel.

The proctor looked at his now empty hand in surprise, but he jumped back just in time to dodge another swing at his arm. “I thought you wanted me to be armed. Did you change your mind after realizing how strong I was?”

Ari walked up to the sword, which was now sticking in the ground, and pulled it out. He held his blade on his left hand and the sword on his right and took a step forward, bending down with the large sword in front. “As if,” he replied to Nathaniel under his breath.

In response, Nathaniel simply smiled. “Now things are finally getting interesting,” he said as he bent down with the boy.

Then, for the third time, Ari kicked up a cloud of dust and sprinted at the soldier. The sword went in first, but Nathaniel dodged it easily. However, Ari quickly sent his blade at the man’s calves. The sharp edge was just about to make contact when Nathaniel jumped, dodging the strike again.

Ari seemed to be prepared for that, though. He twirled around and sent both his sword and blade, one above and one below, at Nathaniel as he was still soaring through the air. The man twisted himself and was able to dodge both blades. He grabbed Ari’s blade with the tip of his index finger and thumb, holding it with enough strength to stop Ari’s motion. Then, Nathaniel placed his feet down, landing on Ari’s longsword, sending both it and Ari crashing to the ground. As my companion lay on the dirt floor now, he held an awkward position as he was still grabbing both onto his swords.

“You’re quite attached to your swords, aren’t you,” Nathaniel said, giving Ari’s blade a few playful tugs. With the final tug, he was able to pull the blade right out of Ari’s firm grips. He put his fingers around the hilt of the blade and stepped off of the sword. “Come on, we still got about a minute and a half left. You don’t want to surrender, do you?”

Ari stood back up with only his sword in his hand. He brushed off some particles of dirt from his shoulder, and when he looked up, I was concerned to see a furious look in his eyes.

“You were wondering why I love my swords so much, right?” He said as he got ready to go in for another exchange. “Well, it’s because they’re from my parents!!”

Ari was now running at the examination proctor again, yelling as he closed in. He spun around and, holding the sword with both hands, sent a strike aiming straight for Nathaniel’s head. The man flicked his arm up, deflecting the large sword with the thin blade.

Ari was exposed now, with his entire body open to any attack from the man. If only he could realize that right now and turn around. If only he could see the blade coming at his abdomen and shift his sword just a little bit. If only…

An aura appeared around me. Time seemed to slow. Nathaniel’s blade was still moving quickly, but my temporal speed had slowed.

I jumped up out of my seat and flew through the air, landing on the dirt field. After a short roll to break my fall, I continued sprinting at the dueling pair and threw myself between them. My fingers wrapped around the hilt of the blade in Nathaniel’s hand and pulled it out, throwing it to the side, out of Ari’s way.

When I let my temporal speed go back to normal, I tumbled over the ground and landed on my back a distance away from the two. Looking back, I saw that both faces had a startled look.

“Well… uh…” Nathaniel chuckled, then continued, “that was an interesting way to end a duel.”

I stood back up, only then realizing what I had just done. Why did I just interfere with Ari’s duel like that? My body just moved on its own. Why?

“I—I’m so sorry, sir,” I said quickly. “I just thought you were putting my companion in a… dangerous position… Not that I think you’re bad! I mean—”

He held his hand up. “Don’t worry about it. There’s nothing wrong with looking out for a friend.”

“But—”

“Don’t worry. Your intervention won’t affect my assessment of your friend.”

I looked at Ari with concern. He finally broke out of his shock and looked back at the officer. “So… what position am I accepted to?”

“Well, your physical abilities are very well rounded and way above average. Your skill with both your swords is also pretty proficient. The only thing is you could get quite emotional and…” He sighed, "you’re a bit overconfident at times too.

“You could do quite well either as an overseer or in the army. However, I still wouldn’t put you in a special task force yet.” Nathaniel took his card scanning device back out and handed Ari’s card back from under it. “Congratulations! You’ve been accepted into the imperial army. The offer will last for a month, so please come back to tell us your decision by then.”