Fortunately, Gaius didn’t drool while he took his nap, or else the test paper he was napping on might have been destroyed when it got to the markers’ hands. After what felt like five minutes, he was forcibly awakened by the chimes of a bell. It didn’t take that long before the invigilators came walking down to take their papers, and a few minutes later, they were diverted into what looked like a Roman-style amphitheatre.

“There you are,” a familiar voice said.

“How was it, Isabelle?” Gaius turned to his side and asked, a warm smile on his face. The Knight was holding Nakama’s hand, making sure that she didn’t get lost in the crowd.

“Not bad, I guess,” she replied. “I guess I’ll take top place for culture now, eh?”

“With Nexus around, definitely,” said Gaius. “I, for one, think I’ll be the top student at math and in combat.”

He looked at Nakama, who smiled back. “Language is mine!”

Gaius shook his head to hide a giggle. The three of them, in the end, had all relied on Nexus for an unfair advantage. Thanks to the artificial intelligence, they were probably going to enter the phrontistery with a title or two, and Gaius was looking forward to looks of disbelief when a twelve and a ten-year-old took the top spot for two subjects.

“Speaking of which,” said Gaius, “isn’t there any safeguard against cheating or something?”

“The combat test literally allows anyone to use whatever they have,” said Isabelle. “It’s not just about fighting, it’s also about who can use more money to squash the opponent, which is simply blatant cheating. At this point, no one’s really going to care who cheated in what in the written.”

“Uhh…”

“That’s not true!” A voice came from the side, and the trio turned to look at the speaker. It was the girl that had come with a cartload of recommendation letters, and almost immediately, Gaius wanted to point out that she who came with two hundred such letters had no right to say anything about cheating.

Isabelle moved over. “You are?”

“I’m Countess Reinford,” the young girl replied. “You’re in the presence of nobility, do you know that?”

“Unfortunately, we’re all equals here,” Isabelle pointed out. “Bloodline is secondary to capability. Your family name and your pedigree doesn’t matter here all that much.”

Somehow, the boy could sense some resentment radiating off the Knight. It was as though as she was forcibly reminded of something odious in her youth, and Gaius made a mental note to walk her through that again later. Traumas should be resolved, where possible…

“That’s what the lower class say,” the countess replied. “One’s capability is derived from the family they have. It’s not cheating, since we are not competing for ourselves, but for our families too! Everything is permitted!”

“I see.” Isabelle narrowed her eyes. “You better—”

Gaius cleared his throat. “Stand down, Isabelle. I’ll handle this.”

“You?” Countess Reinford looked down at him. “Children should go and play in a corner. The adults are speaking.”

“Master Gaius, what should I do?” Isabelle asked. Gaius briefly noted the change in address, and curled his lip. She probably said that on purpose, as a warning, and the girl didn’t disappoint.

“Master? Hmph. You seem to be someone rather important,” said the countess. “Who are you?”

“Someone of no import,” Gaius replied. “If you want to know, you better make it to the top two in the next test. Come on, Isabelle, let’s go.”

The three of them left the self-proclaimed countess behind.

“What was that about?” Gaius asked.

“I didn’t like what she said, that was all,” Isabelle replied. “Nothing can substitute hard work, that’s what I think.”

“We can carry on this conversation once we go back,” said Gaius. “For now, focus on the upcoming test. The best way to prove yourself right here is to beat up everyone else who disagrees, so ignore that person and her words. Admittedly, it does seem that I have a rival of sorts now.”

Before Isabelle could reply to that last bit, an announcement rang out. The instructions for the combat segment were rather simple — single elimination tournaments in groups of one hundred and twenty-eight would be held. A medic, who doubled as a judge, would be onsite to deal with injuries, and every arena had Knights ready to intervene if deadly force was used. The first tournament allowed sixty-four to pass, the second thirty-two, the third twenty-four and the fourth, eight. This meant that sitting out the earlier rounds to observe the proceedings had its own disadvantages.

And once all four were done, the fifth and last tournament would begin. Only placings in the sixty-four in this round would yield points, with full marks going to the champion, and incremental drops for every place that followed.

“Quite barebones, these rules,” Gaius muttered. “Nakama, you can go wild with the artefacts I gave you. And with Stone too. In fact, let Stone do the attacking, okay?”

Nakama nodded. At the side, Isabelle smiled helplessly. Gaius knew, as did Isabelle, that the little sentient knife modelled after the Terminus was quite the potent threat. Like Terminus, it carried an anti-energy property, which meant that even an Engine’s Barrier was hard-pressed to defend against it. It would be a fine…surprise.

“Okay.”

“Good.” Gaius patted Nakama’s head. “The four tournaments aren’t held together, so we’ll sit out the first one. You’ll go for the second, Isabelle the third, and I’ll head for the fourth, so we don’t meet each other that early.”

“I was about to suggest that,” said Isabelle, “but now I think we should find some good seats first.”

The three looked around the amphitheatre. The spectator stands were already filling up, and without much ado, the trio occupied a small corner of their own. The early-birds, lured by the fact that the earlier tournaments had an increased chance of progression, were already lining up to enter.

Without much ado, the first tournament began. Gaius leaned forward slightly, his eyes beginning to take in the field.