Algrove, the city of eternal peace. Located southeast from Serpentine Lake, Algrove was built as a symbol of peace treaty between monsterkin, elves, and human alliance. With high walls that were made with the hardest concrete, Algrove had since then switched its function to become the capital of the newly made alliance between many kins which is now known as Kingdom of Zefir.

  “Rotten cucumber! My back is still hurt after yesterday night. Why are you so rash in making decisions? If only we had more gold.”

  “No use crying over spilled milk. Besides, sleeping in the stable is not that bad for a change. I even befriended some of the horses there. The grey horse is especially fond of me, the owner said her name is Frea.”

  “Who cares about that horse. The smell of the manure and expired gruel made me unable to sleep soundly. If the examination ends early then the first thing I do would be taking a nap in the middle of the forest. Wild beast is more preferable than coming back to the stable.”

  Robin and Lily walked together as they bantered in one direction. It was also not coincidentally the direction where most able bodied men and women went, making a line that was akin to giant water eel. At the end of the line was a long table with fabric draped over it. Behind the table were a bunch of humanoid hunk of steel, the kingdom knights, each sitting awkwardly on the small stool. Indeed, this was the day where the kingdom recruited new knights from the masses.

  It was during the end of the day, near the evening with the sun starting to become weaker and the sky color faded revealing the sad orange pigment. A girl and a boy who had waited from morning finally stand face to face with the humanoid steel.

  “Please fill in this application and just put the registration fee on the table.”

  Without hesitation, Robin took away the papers that were held by the knight in front of him. It might be a bit disrespectful but the enthusiasm that Robin felt couldn’t be contained anymore and so he gave one to Lily then filled in the others with excitement.

  Separation was the hardest part of it all. The golds that could be used for lodging and eating were now gone. The fee to register as a knight was not cheap and Lily's sudden request to become one had put Robin's financial situation in red. The purse that contained the precious metal was now gone, Robin could only stare at his own hand, his fingers still feeling a sensation of coin from the purse that was not there anymore.

  “For two people as young as you both, travelling alone must be exhausting. Let’s see here: Robin Corlio, 15 years old, both parents are farmers, no combat experience, but here you said special training in the speciality section. Mind explaining that?”

  “Certainly sir knight. You see, both of my parents were slain by a stray monster. It was no fault of anyone, just an unfortunate occurrence but back then I could only watch, I couldn’t help at all to stop the monster. So since then, I’ve spent years training my body so I could become a knight and prevent further tragedy from happening!”

  “My condolences. Let’s see on the testing whether that training of yours will really help or not. Next is Lily? Just Lily with no family name, that's weird but I guess some parents are just too lazy when giving names. Let’s see here: also 15 years old, same as the boy, an orphan? That explains the name. Has experience in using blades and your speciality is forest warfare? That's a really rare experience for one to have.”

  “After leaving the orphanage, I used to be transferred to many different parents and one of them just happened to be a hunter which I’ve got all the valuable experience from.”

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  “From what I’ve seen both of you are of a healthy body and most importantly sane. You may both proceed to physical testing.”

  There was a crack in the armor on which the knight slipped his hand taking the kingdom stamp. The stamp featured the illustration of phoenix, the kingdom symbol which was coloured with red ink. After their application papers were getting the stamp of approval, both of them went to the testing site which was an open field located outside Algrove.

  The test for one to become a knight consisted mostly of a physical test. Riding a horse, swimming while carrying a log of wood, and archery were the most notable of it.

  “Huh, so they separate the woman and man from the test. I would guess it’s because of the swimming test.”

  “It’s just your imagination Lily. Everybody who wants to become a knight must have trained their mind, no way their focus would be broken by something trivial like that.”

  “What a pure mind, you really think like a child.”

  “What was that!?”

  “Nothing….. Anyway, we will be separated for a while. How about this, let’s compare our score test after this.”

  “No problem, I’ve trained my whole life for this test. Be prepared to lose for once.”

  After some hours the test to become a knight was done. and all participants came back holding a piece of paper that had their evaluation. Some had happy faces while others…

  “So how is it Robin? Honestly I find the test to be a bit challenging. Especially the sparring one. I’ve put my everything and even then I can only put down the instructor for a few minutes. The kingdom is not kidding around, the knights could really take a beating.”

  “Uhhh… It would be faster if you just see it for yourself.”

  Archery: D-

  Steed: E

  Swimming: D

  Sparring: E-

  Divination: ???

  Status: undefined

  “Don’t be so glum. Look, there is one more exam here about divination. I’ve never heard of it but it says there your status is still undefined so cheer up, you can still pass.”

  “Haven’t you read the manual? Divination is done to scout out someone who is a magician so I don’t see how I could ever pass that. Guess, I should just become a farmer.”

  “We’ve come so far so might as well do the last test. How about this, I would do mine first then you can follow.”

  “Sounds good to me. Not like I have much of a choice.”

  The divination test was done using a pure crystal ball. Participants were asked to put their hand there and imagine their spiritual energy transferred through the hand to the crystal ball. Of course since most participants were ordinary people, most of them failed the test immediately but if they passed the physical test then they could still become a knight. The divination test could be said to be an optional test meant to filter the mage from warrior.

  “Okay, close my eyes then pour my spirit energy. Huff..” Lily put her hands on the crystal ball. After a while the white crystal still maintains its color.

  “No change at all, that means you’ve failed.” Said the examiner.

  “Oh well, I ain’t trying to be a mage anyway. Now Robin it's your turn.”

  “Whelp here goes nothing”

  The ball changes from pure white to sudden black.

  “Wha-what does that mean!? Does that mean I have talent as a magician?”

  “No. The ball turning black means the crystal is malfunctioning. You fail.”

  “it’s so over.”