Elizabeth began the written exams about half an hour after she had entered her room, with her proctor showing her where to sit and giving simple directions. She didn't have much trouble with any of the questions. She struggled with some of the multiple-choice questions on advanced application of magic.
"What is the technique where someone pours mana into their eyes to see others' mana currents called?" Elizabeth thought to herself. "What does that even mean?"
However, there were far more questions she knew easily. "How long is the term of an Archmagus? Twelve years. What are the roles of all eight Archmagi? War, Economy, Justice, Medicine, Entertainment, Education and History, Agriculture, Media. Which Archmagus controls taxes, monetary policies, and trade with other nations? Archmagus of Economy." Elizabeth thought to herself while quickly answering questions regarding the system of government.
The last part was a single-page essay asking the question, "Why do you want to become a member of the Grand Infantry?" Elizabeth was confused at this question as it seemed to be more of an opinionated piece instead of a test of mental abilities, but she knew her story, and she knew why she wanted to be a member of the Grand Infantry without a doubt.
Elizabeth finished the written exam, all eighty multiple-choice questions, and her single-page essay in only forty-five minutes. She looked around her room after she finished her written portion and realized many were still working, writing on their exam sheets on each desk. The room was incredibly large, capable of holding all one hundred fifty participants quite comfortably. It was surprising to Elizabeth that they designed the coliseum with rooms this ornately carved into the structure. She felt out of place in her new surroundings, yet it wasn't as unwelcoming as she thought. The room had torchlight and chandeliers overhead, making the room feel warm and well lit, even without windows, and with the walls being made from marble.
There was a grandfather clock ticking away in the corner closest to the door, which finally rang an hour into the test, declaring its end. Elizabeth looked around at her peers as many of them continued writing until proctors began coming to take pencils and pens from participants and take their test papers too.
The proctors then explained to the room that they will grade everyone's multiple choice questions using a set of keys that can easily check for the correct answers, and those who fail that section will not be allowed to continue through the physical exam. Those who did pass that portion would be called, as their exams were graded, and be allowed to continue to the underground area of the coliseum to prepare for the next part of the exam.
Elizabeth swallowed, still slightly nervous, especially knowing her name would be called first, meaning she'd either be the first to pass or the first to fail. Finally, the moment of truth came as the proctor's voice came only about two minutes from when they began grading[1].
"Elizabeth Glutatio! Please come forward!" The main proctor called, to which Elizabeth stood and began walking to the front desk. "Congratulations, please, follow the signs outside to the next area and wait until the next phase of the exams. It should only take about thirty minutes given our system." The lead proctor said while sliding Elizabeth's exam back to her, revealing her score of sixty-eight out of eighty.
Elizabeth slid her exam back to the proctors, per their instruction, exhaling heavily in relief. She had just passed the first phase of the Grand Infantry Exams, meaning she was one step closer to her goals. She the began walking out of the room, stepping into the corridor and closing the door being her.
Several other participants walked out at the same time as her, and all of them looked around at each other, some of them pale, making Elizabeth think they were about to throw up. Others with a glow of excitement so pure she knew they passed. The people setting up the exams had set up new posts in the center of the corridor, reading:
"Those Who Have Passed: Continue Down This Corridor Opposite of the Way You Came
Those Who Have Failed: Please Exit the Way You Came."
Were only two commands on the new post. Elizabeth watched as the others read the posting with her, and five of the eight of them, including herself, turned to leave the way they came. She couldn't believe that five people had failed just the written portion of the exams; she didn't find them difficult, but then again, she did score a total of only sixty-eight, after having a doctor for a mentor and years of study in Lapidus' library.
Elizabeth shook her head to snap out of her daze and began following the other participants who had already set off down the corridor. As she walked with the others who passed, she heard the doors behind her open, revealing more examinees who passed or failed, who either followed them or went the opposite way.
Elizabeth's mind began to wander once again to what she needed to do to improve. She didn't know techniques with her mana that were supposedly so basic as to wind up on the written exam, and her spellcraft was sloppy at best. Even with all the years she spent training, she couldn't help the feeling of inadequacy. She knew her odds had been slim, but every step of the way, she felt an increasing weight on her shoulders, as if she wasn't made out for this.
As Elizabeth's thoughts began weighing on her, she felt the necklace she was wearing jostle, which snapped her thoughts back to her home, to all those who put their hope that she could do this.
"Even if I'm behind right now in this moment, I won't stay that way. I need to show what I can do right now and make it into the Grand Infantry for everyone back home. I might not be the best here, but I've struggled and fought with everything I had, and I've gotten this far already. I can do this, I can make it, and once I do, regardless of where they put me to start, I'll work like hell to become the greatest." Elizabeth told herself as she thought of her adoptive family, and her own Mother. She knew she couldn't make it this far just to fail now, and that once she made it, she'd have all the time she'd need to catch up with her peers.
With her resolve strengthening, Elizabeth continued to march forward down the corridor until she reached a set of stairs downward that her fellow participants were already descending, following them down.
As Elizabeth and the other examinees reached the bottom of the stairs, they entered a large antechamber, with large torches lighting on either side of them, in semicircular patterns around the room until the full room was lit. The chamber was gigantic, clearly meant to hold all one thousand possible participants if needed. The ground was made of darker stone, carved intricately, and was so reinforced with magic it practically hummed underneath Elizabeth's feet. Elizabeth quickly looked around the chamber, trying to see clues for the next phase, but the only things in the room were the torchlight flooding the room, and three other entrances, all equidistant from one another in the circular space.
"So what now? We just wait here till everyone else is done being graded?" A girl with blonde hair and green eyes asks as a few others begin stepping down into the chamber.
"That's what they told us to do," A tall, quite large and muscular man with a dark buzz cut and rough stubble said with a voice like gravel. He sported a black tank top revealing his large, broad shoulders, and jeans with a dark belt. "Then again, this could be another part of the exam."
"And what do you mean by that?" Elizabeth asked, her brow furrowing, her body tensing. The way the man said it felt vaguely threatening, which put her on edge. Whatever this man was suggesting didn't sound like a suggestion.
"From what I've heard, sometimes they make participants fight one another until one of them can't keep fighting. Whoever loses gets kicked out immediately. Makes sense to me that they put us all in a giant arena. Maybe they want us to fight it out," The man with the buzz cut said as he turned his head to the side, cracking his neck. "If that's the case, then I suppose I'll just have to crush every one of you to get my spot, right?" The man questioned.
The man released his mana outward, and even without a proper sense for it, Elizabeth could feel the threatening aura. She knew that this man wasn't kidding, or trying to intimidate, but that if he needed to pass the exams, he'd send each of them to the hospital if he could.
"Please, participant four hundred fifty-one, calm yourself!" A voice boomed from the opposite end of the chamber. A man wearing white robes, with black and gold linings, and a hood covering his face, descended the stairs.
"A much more classical magus outfit and far more regal as well," Elizabeth thought to herself, "He must be an official for the Grand Infantry Exams."
"I can assure you, if we wanted you all to fight one another, we would've given you instructions to, and we wouldn't wish for any of your harm. The fights would be sanctioned, there would be rules, clearly explained, and organization." The man explained as he reached the bottom of his steps and walked into the chamber. "I'm sure you all can tell by now, but I'm the official ordered to give you instructions on the next phase of your exams."
Participant four hundred fifty-one scoffed at the man standing before them, as he began walking towards the middle of the room to meet him. The official was of rather average demeanor and height, practically dwarfed by the much larger participant, which became clear when the two stood close together.
"Really? You're the official from the Grand Infantry? And I'm supposed to believe that? As if, you're just trying to save yourself from getting your ass beat like everyone else in here." The participant looked down at the official, who didn't speak and didn't move. By this point, other participants were beginning to enter the chamber to witness the pair in the center of the room. "Maybe I should just start with you, show everyone it's not even worth fighting, they can just go home now."
At this point, Elizabeth realized this guy was an idiot. She was shocked he even passed the written exam, "Perhaps by cheating," She thought to herself. But she could tell he didn't care, even if it was an official, he only wanted a fight, however, he could get it, even if it meant pushing his luck with a member of the Grand Infantry.
"Please, participant four hundred fifty-one, step back. I assure you, I'm here to give you your next orders, and if you don't like that, you are more than welcome to exit the exam site." The man in the robes said, still with a calm, unshaken voice.
The man with the buzz cut cracked his knuckles and chucked darkly, "Yeah? And what exactly are those?"
"I'll explain them when the other participants arrive, I do not like repeating myself. And for that matter, I will once again ask you to back away." The official once again demanded.
The man in front of the official then laughed, "See? If you were an official, you would explain the next phase, but you don't know it, do you? You're just faking to spare your skin." The man hissed in the official's face.
The official sighed, clearly reaching a breaking point. "I swear, they get worse and worse every year." The official said before the entire room felt a wave of mana, and suddenly the participant in front of him was flying backwards, hitting the wall of the chamber so hard it cracked, and then passing out.
Everyone in the chamber, including Elizabeth, looked back towards the official who was still standing, fist raised out, and body poised at the end of a punch. The official then slowly gathered himself and stood straight once again, his hands resting together in the middle of his waist, allowing the loose sleeves of his robe to hang down.
Elizabeth swallowed hard, she couldn't even see what happened; she just felt a surge of mana strong enough to engulf the room, and watched her fellow participant soar back towards the wall. She had seen in her journey to the capital that someone could use mana to strengthen themselves, but this was to a whole other degree. "Was that really the strength of just anofficial for the exams?" She asked in her head.
"Now, I hope I needn't prove myself any further, the next phase of the exams will begin soon, and when the final students arrive, I will explain everything. Please, mingle amongst yourselves as much as you would like. I'm only here to prevent people like... that from stepping out of line." The official explained as he stood in the center of the chamber, giving Elizabeth a sinking feeling in her stomach. "Let this be a lesson to those who witnessed these events. We are not testing you on your abilities currently, but your potential. If you have no potential to learn, to be good soldiers, to follow orders, to accept that you can grow and do more, then there is no place for you in our ranks."
For a while, Elizabeth stood in the same place, looking between the now unconscious participant and the official in the center of the room, whose face still lurked under his robes. After a few minutes, she walked over to one of the walls and sat down, just waiting for the rest of the participants, and she hoped Gabe to finish filling in.
The room filled with chatter after another few rounds of students filled the chamber. Elizabeth could hear bits and pieces of conversation; most people seemed to already know each other before the exams, from what she could tell, and they mostly talked about the official striking the four hundred fifty-first participant. From what she could hear, though, nobody really knew him, nor why he decided to cause such a disturbance, and questioned whether or not the robed figure was an official or not.
After a while of waiting, the room had been filled with what seemed to be about three hundred participants, all spreading out in the circular chamber. The people filling the room were all different ages, heights, and sizes, and it didn't matter. Elizabeth had never seen so many people she didn't know in one room, let alone a room that could fit all three hundred of them. Elizabeth kept looking towards the entryway, being left alone by her other participants, waiting for Gabe to walk through, knowing he'd be a part of the last few people coming into the area underneath the coliseum. Eventually, there was a pair heading down the stairs, Gabe, and what looked to be a proctor based on how they were dressed.
As the pair reached the bottom of the stairs, Gabe looked around while the proctor made his way through the crowd. As Gabe surveyed his surroundings, Elizabeth stood up and waved him over, which caught Gabe's attention, his expression immediately changing to a more pleasant one, and he walked over to meet her.
"So, how'd the written portion go for you?" Elizabeth asked as Gabe neared.
"Honestly... that was horrifying. I was the last in my group to be graded, which was just plain awful, and even then, they told me I barely passed with a sixty. But, the good thing is, I'm here, I made it, and now comes the part I'm more qualified for." Gabe laughed nervously, rubbing his hand on the back of his neck and breathing out heavily. "How'd you do thought?"
"It was okay, there were a few questions I didn't understand, but I still scored a sixty-eight, which is pretty good, I think. Being graded first made me pretty nervous, cause I would've been the first to fail from my group if I did, but overall it went okay." Elizabeth told him about her own experience.
"Nice, a sixty-eight is pretty good from what I've heard," Gabe nodded, "But speaking of things we don't understand, why is there a man unconscious over there by a massive crack in the wall?" Gabe threw his thumb back and over his shoulder toward the sleeping contestant.
"Ah, yeah, that guy was being all crazy, trying to fight everyone that was here, including the official in the middle over there, and so the official punched him into the wall," Elizabeth explained in minimal detail.
"Wait, he tried to fight the official?" Gabe asked with a confused voice, his face contorting. "That doesn't make any sense. Why would he do that?"
"Trust me, your guess is as good as mine, he said It was cause some years they have us all fight each other for the chance to join, but if you ask me, I think he's just an idiot." Elizabeth crossed her arms and shook her head at the thought. "It's still a little odd, though. Why would someone like that even want to be a member of the Grand Infantry?"
"Hmm... yeah, that just doesn't sound real if you ask me." Gabe shakes his head, and before he's able to say another word, the voice of the official sounds out around the chamber.
"Congratulations to everyone who has made it this far through the exams. The Grand Infantry knows how hard all of you have worked just to make it here. However, we still need to test your abilities with mana and magic. We aren't expecting any of you to be even as strong as a soldier, but we need to see that you have the potential to become some of the best of the best." The official's voice boomed through the chamber. His voice echoed as if the architecture of the room was meant to echo whoever stood in the center, so anyone in the room could hear. "And so now, I will explain to you the next phase of your exams. Please, step back from the center of the room for a moment." He pleaded, to which the room obeyed, everyone stepping back and close to the walls, creating a large circle of participants. The official then raised his hands, and Elizabeth could feel the mana surging through the room. Murmurs began as light began appearing on everyone's bodies, surrounding them from the head down. The physical light then faded to reveal tanned leather body armor, greaves, leg guards, and boots, which fit everyone next to perfectly. The armor began appearing on people and moved through the crowd like a wave pattern. Eventually, reaching Elizabeth and Gabe, granting them the same simple gear.
"Now, as you can see, you all have been gifted pieces of armor. I have been able to place these pieces on you with my teleportation affinity. These pieces shouldn't limit your maneuverability in any significant way, as they were specifically designed to mold to your figures and are incredibly lightweight. These pieces are enchanted with a very specific purpose. To have entire pieces fade when struck by strikes infused with mana, improvised attacks with magic, or proper spells. You may work with one another in teams or alone. However, if you are stuck enough times for central armor pieces to break apart, you will be eliminated from the running. This is a free-for-all event until there are only thirty-two of you left. This phase of the exam will begin once this area is lifted into the main coliseum. We ask that you only strike in good sport. Any serious injuries or death caused will lead to an immediate failure for this phase of the exam. Now, good luck, and may the Golden Phoenix watch over you." The official said before beginning to walk out of the room.
Elizabeth and Gabe looked at each other, eyes wide, and then looked towards the crowds of other contestants. Everyone began taking steps back from each other and preparing to defend themselves, spreading out through the now arena.
The floor underneath them began to shake, as did the ceiling above them, as soon as the official began ascending the exit stairs. Elizabeth looked to Gabe and the both of them knew without saying a word, the real Grand Infantry Exams had just begun.
[1] If this series ever gets put into a visual format, the grading process involves five proctors using paper keys with holes punched out of them to mark correct answers, If the bubbles don't line up with the correct answers, then it's not counted. This is how, in two minutes, a proctor could theoretically tell if someone passed or failed the multiple-choice section.