-Monday Afternoon, 7th Of the 1st Month, Year 910-

When we reach the end of the pathway, I see Johnny and Jasmine standing in the middle of the room with their Examiners.

"You're finally finished!" Johnny runs over to me and throws his arm around my neck, "I was getting bored waiting for you!"

"Sorry," I give him an awkward smile and explain, "I was asking Mrs. Russo some questions about the test."

"It's cool, though the guys outside might be mad," Johnny laughs and lets go of me.

"Maybe." I feel kind of bad for making them wait, but it couldn't be helped with the crazy incident that happened on the altar.

"W-We should leave so other people can take their test," Jasmine suggests, speaking up for the first time since she introduced herself.

"Yeah, we all took the test already, so we should go," I agree with her suggestion, so we wave goodbye to the Examiners who were speaking quietly about something as we walk out.

●●●

Just like Johnny said, some people start to complain about us taking so long when we come out. But Mrs. Janson shuts them up and sends the next group in. We thank Mrs. Janson, before walking to the side where everyone else who already took the test is standing. I ignore the angry stares being thrown towards us on the way since I don't feel like explaining myself.

"Whatcha looking at!?" Johnny shouts at some of the people glaring at us, scaring them off.

"Thanks," I look back and smile at Johnny.

"Don't mention it!" Johnny pats his chest and laughs, "We're friends, aren't we!"

"Right, we're friends." I never had a friend before, and I don't think that I'm that close to Johnny, but I'm happy that he called me his friend.

"How dare a commoner like you make us all wait!" Percy jumps out from his circle of friends with an angry expression. He flips his bangs up in the air with one hand and points at me with the other.

I don't feel like dealing with him right now, so I ignore him and look for another spot to sit down while we wait.

"Don't ignore me!" He steps up to me and grabs my collar pulling me closer to him.

"Get off me!" I grit my teeth, feeling the anger rising inside of me.

"Don't order me around, Commoner!" He tightens his grip on my collar.

"I said. Get. Off. Me!" I take his hand off of my collar and push him away from me. He falls back and almost trips over someone's foot, but one of his friends catches him before he falls.

"YOU!!" I ignore him and turn around, feeling Jasmine tug on my sleeve.

She points out a clear spot on the right, so I start walking over there with her and Johnny leaving Percy behind. But as we're walking, I hear the sound of running footsteps behind us, and him shouting, "DO NOT IGNORE ME!!!"

I turn around in a hurry, feeling threatened, but his fist is already in front of me, 'Crap!' I grit my teeth, preparing for the impact, but it never comes.

I take a closer look and realize that someone caught his wrist, stopping him from punching me, 'Who?'

I turn my head to the right, following the hand on his wrist and see Mrs. Janson staring at him with a scary expression on her face.

"Applicant 639, what do you think you're doing?" Percy flinches under her pressure and drops his hand to his side.

"N-N-No-Nothing," Percy answers her while shaking from head to toe.

She steps up to him, the expression on her face darkening, "Nothing? I could have sworn I just saw you trying to attack another applicant? Or am I mistaken?"

He panics and waves both of his hands in front of his chest as fast as he can, "No-No you-your not mistaken M-Mrs. Janson!"

She squints her eyes at him and explains, "If that's the case, then you should know that hurting another applicant before the Combat Test is against the rules. Anyone who violates this rule is to be disqualified regardless of their status, and their previous test results are to be revoked."

"N-No- Please don't disqualify me!" Percy falls to the ground and begs her with tears in his eyes.

Mrs. Janson doesn't reply and turns to me, "What do you want to do? If I wasn't paying attention, he could have hit you, meaning that he had the intent to hurt you when he acted. If you want me to, I can report his actions, and he'll be disqualified, possibly saving you from a fight that you may not be able to win, or you can leave him be and take your chances fighting against him in the Combat Test."

Without a second thought, I shake my head, and tell her, "I'll leave him be, I want to beat him fair and square." I'm not scared of him or anyone else taking this exam. I have faith in my abilities, so I don't need to take the easy way out when I know that I can win.

"If that's your choice," She smiles a little, and takes a couple steps back, "You two will be fighting in the first round of the test so be ready, and you-" she turns to Percy "-If I see you attack him or any other applicant again, I'll disqualify you, no matter what they say."

I thank her, as Percy nods his head over and over again. She gives us a small nod before going back over to her spot. She sends the next group in after another one comes out.

●●●

After the last group comes out, Mrs. Janson guides us back to the building where we took the Written Test earlier. This time we enter one of the rooms on the first floor, and they record our body sizes. When they finished doing the measurements, they handed each of us a brown combat uniform and a pair of boots for tomorrow's test. After everyone got a uniform, she led us back to the Entrance.

"Make sure you're on time tomorrow, the last test starts at 7 o'clock in the morning! You don't need to bring a weapon as the Academy will be providing you with one," Mrs. Janson makes one last announcement before dismissing us.

I say goodbye to Johnny and Jasmine before heading back to the inn to tell Gramps the news.

●●●

I walk into the inn and find Gramps drinking tea at one of the tables. Unlike earlier this morning, most of the tables are full, and the adults are all downstairs, shouting and laughing.

'This reminds me of when we first came here yesterday,' I think to myself as I walk over to Gramp's table and take a seat in the chair on the other side of it.

"Based on the smile on your face, I guess that the Exam went well," Gramps says as he puts down his teacup.

I nod and tell him about everything that happened, I told him about Johnny and Jasmine, the incident with Percy, and the Written Test. I left out most of the details of the Mystic Arts Aptitude Test, and just told him that I got good results. I feel bad for hiding things from him, but I promised my parents that I wouldn't say anything about my blessing. I can't do anything about whatever got revealed to the Academy during my test.

After listening to my story, Gramps smiles, "Sounds like you had a big day."

"Mm," Unlike what I thought might happen, he didn't ask me any questions about the test.

"I know you're tired after such a long day, so let's go to bed early tonight so you can be well-rested for tomorrow." I nod, feeling a little sleepy.

As we were eating dinner, Gramps asks, "That Percy boy, do you think that you can beat him?"

I hesitate for a moment before telling him, "Honestly, I'm not sure. I feel confident in my own skills, but a part of me feels that I might not be able to beat him."

"I see," Gramps nods, "Just do your best, no matter what happens so long you try your hardest no one will blame you."

"I'll do my best," I really don't want to lose to someone like him though.

"Either way, I haven't seen this Percy Kid fight, but I've seen you fight. From that, I believe that you'll win." After saying that, Gramps stops talking and goes back to eating.

I didn't say anything else either, I finished my meal and went upstairs with Gramps. Before going to sleep, I cultivated a little. I wanted to improve in some way to increase my chances of beating him, even if only by a little bit.

'The Earth is holy, the Earth is the root of all life, the Earth gives me strength, and in return, I give myself to the Earth…'

●●●

-Tuesday Morning, 8th Of the 1st Month, Year 910-

Opening my eyes, I look around for a bit and realize that Gramps is already gone, 'He's probably downstairs.'

I take a shower and clean up before putting on the brown combat uniform given to me yesterday. It's pretty similar to the one I have at home except this one is brown and doesn't have any pockets. After putting on the boots, I leave the room ready for my test.

Like I thought, Gramps was already downstairs waiting for me with breakfast on the table. We greet each other and eat breakfast together as usual. Finishing my breakfast first, I get up to leave.

"Good Luck, Ryner," Gramps smiles and sends me off. I smile back and leave the inn.

Author's Note: