Chapter 7: Magic Knights

Gerald observed the bustling crowd. He couldn't help but sigh at the situation. The siege on Ruestone had been a disaster for his squad, the Grey Deers. Normally in a situation like this, the squad would get a temporary paid leave to sort themselves. But with the looming war over the horizon, The squad was still on duty.

With most of the magic knights occupied with the Northern border, The Grey Deers were tasked with ensuring that the Magic Knights exam went well. The Magic Knights exam was more like a festival than an exam. Talented mages from all over the kingdom gathered at Kikka, all in the hopes of being chosen by one of the nine magic knight squads.

Being a magic knight would instantly elevate one's social and financial condition, regardless of class. Any peasant would be elevated to a commoner and if a commoner or a peasant managed to be a Senior knight, they could be promoted to a minor noble. For a noble, being a magic knight, especially being promoted to a higher class brought prestige to the family.

It was not just the aspiring magic knights that were attracted to Kikka but also merchants trying to sell their wares. There were also many here to observe and try to make connections with the future knights. Of course, such an event attracted some bad actors as well, hence many magic knights were also stationed here.

Gerald shook his head looking at the fight that was about to start again. He had already stopped six or seven fights in the day. This was the fifth day of the exam. 'Soon this will be over.' He thought. 'Only two more days.'

After the reformations by the previous wizard king and the current wizard king made it easier for commoners and peasants to take part in the exams and legends like Jack the Ripper and Zora Ideale emerged, combined with the increasing population, the number of participants in the exams increased drastically. One day was no longer enough to accommodate the exams.[1]

The exams lasted seven days for commoners and peasants. On the first day, all the participants had to reach Kikka and apply for the exams, they had to submit two documents, a letter of approval by an overseer of a tower and a letter vouching for the moral character of the participant by the priest of their hometown or by the lord of their territory.

On the second and third day, all the participants had to take a test. It wasn't particularly difficult, this was there to ensure that the participants were literate, and knew basic arithmetics and some trivia about Clover Kingdom. On the fourth and fifth day, the selected participants would showcase their magic and what they could do to the examiners. The fifth day was also when the nobles joined the exam. The examiners for nobles and commoners were different.

The sixth and seventh days were the days of the duels. They were the most important day in the entire ceremony. Only two hundred participants were selected for the duels. Each duel could last for up to ten minutes. The participants were matched with someone of equal skill as far as possible to ensure that they would be able to show their full potential.

The eighth day was the day the results were announced. One of the participants was given the 'Iron Clover', an award that declared them the best participant. It was originally given by the King, but for a few years, the king had not been present in the ceremony, so it was given by the wizard king instead.

The Iron Clover had little material significance other than a decent monetary compensation, but almost everyone who won it had become someone of great influence. Half of the captains currently serving had gotten the Iron Clover in their time.

"Gerald, good work." He saw his teammate Quinn. "So… How's it going?"

"Not nearly as bad as yesterday," Gerald replied. "How about you? Any promising candidates?"

"Uh.. Not really, Well there was this one guy with Lightning magic but he is a bit… unstable."

"Unstable?" Gerald asked, with a raised brow.

"Unstable as in… Captain Jack…"

"Ah." A flash of understanding passed through him. "I see."

"Well, the real promising candidates start now," Quinn said. Although the idea that nobles were simply superior to others was flawed, it still held some merit. Nobles had more unique magic and more mana.

"Oh, I heard a royal will be participating in the exam."

"A royal?" Gerald was taken aback. Royals didn't take the exam. The last royal who took the exam was Mereleona.

"Yes, apparently Solid Silva will be taking the exam."

"A Silva? That's new. I would've expected a Vermilion but a Silva huh? From the main branch as well."

"I wonder why?"

…

Solid entered the building. Fifty or so young people dressed in fancy-looking outfits were seated in the lobby. As soon as he opened the door multiple eyes fell on him. Solid had made no effort to hide his identity as a Silva.

The entire room of people looked at him curiously. The exams were conducted in shifts and these were the people in his. He could recognise some of them from Solid's memories. Without talking with anyone he went and sat in one of the chairs.

"Solid Silva." After five or so minutes of waiting, he was called for his turn. They probably skipped a few turns for him. 'Perks of being a Royal.'

Solid entered the room. It was a huge open field with many different items scattered around. 'So that door was a spatial portal?' He looked at the door and surely enough, a man was standing beside it, probably maintaining the spatial portal. Although it was currently closed.

He looked in front of him. Twenty metres away, five people sat, taking notes. An old man with greying hair with a serious expression, A middle-aged woman with a kind smile, Two young men who looked very curious and finally a young woman who clearly did not want to be there. 'The examiners, ' he thought.

"The examination of Prince Solid Silva will now begin." The old man spoke, "Prince Solid, please use an offensive spell on the target."

Solid looked at the iron puppets to his left. There were nine of them. 'Okay, I have to make an impression.' He thought as his grimoire fluttered in front of him. "Ice creation magic: Ice Bullets" Nine bullets made of ice about as long as his arm formed above him and shot towards the targets with blinding speed.

In just a few seconds, all the bullets made contact with the puppets, but instead of simply piercing them, the bullets shattered as soon as they touched them. The shattered pieces ran through the targets, destroying every puppet. Even the wall behind the puppets was not spared.

A blast of cold air erupted after the spell's completion, reducing the temperature of the room.

The examiners simply looked with their mouths agape. 'Is he really just a participant?'

Clearing his throat, the man " Do you have any other spells you would like to show us?" Solid thought for a bit. 'What spell should I go with?' He wanted to make a good a good impression but he also didn't want to show all his cards right away. 'Something simple and something that could make an impression..' He smirked, 'I have just the spell.'

Solid raised his arm. Two pillars of ice around a metre in diameter erupted on either side. The top of the pillar transformed into two snake heads. The pillars of ice which looked rigid just a minute ago bent as though they were made of rubber and the texture of scales appeared around them. The two pillars had transformed into two icy serpents.

The serpents turned towards the examiners and then they turned towards what was left of the puppets. They opened their mouths and released a breath of white mist. The mist formed layers of frost on the ground. The serpents then wrapped around Solid forming a ring-like wall around him.

Finally, with a snap of his arm, the snakes shattered a gust of cold wind blew across the field covering it with a cold white mist. The first thing that the examiners saw after the fog cleared was Solid with one of his hands in his pockets and the other holding his grimoire with a smirk on his face. "Would that be enough?"

…

Solid left the building. He was feeling pretty confident about the whole exam thing. 'I wonder who they are going to pair with me.' He thought. The examiners always pair the contestants who are the most equal in terms of skill so that both of them would be able to show their full potential. He was curious about who they would choose to bring out his full potential in a fight.

His monologue was interrupted by a sudden voice. "Prince Solid?." A young man with grey hair and square glasses had called him. Solid recognised him, "Klaus…"

Klaus was related to the Silva family. Not a close relative, but close enough in the circles of nobility. He had also inherited Steel magic. The same magic that his mother had. From his previous life, he knew that he would join the Golden Dawn and be a somewhat relevant character… at least for the first part of the story.

Solid had interacted with him in the past but all of them were brief. "Pardon me, I was just surprised to see you here." Solid nodded in greeting. "It's warranted considering that we don't typically participate in the exams… as for me? I thought it would be a great opportunity to be able to test my skills against the kingdom's finest."

…

Klaus looked slightly surprised. He had not expected such an answer from someone like Solid. 'As expected of a royal.' Klaus nodded. He thought of Solid as a reckless troublemaker, someone who was quick to take any advantages and privileges afforded to him as a royal but unwilling to act with the duty and decorum of a true royal. But the young man before him had a mature aura around him. The same aura that his father had.

'I need to re-evaluate my opinion of him.' Klaus thought. Just as he was getting used to the new Solid, He was shocked once again. "I was wondering if you would like to join me for lunch?'

"Lunch?" Solid was well known for being very antisocial to everyone who wasn't a royal but here he was offering him lunch? Now this was suspicious. 'Does he want something from me?' Klaus thought as he thought of all the possible reasons Solid might have had to invite him.

"Yes," Solid replied. "Though I am not very knowledgeable about Kikka, I was hoping you could guide me to a suitable restaurant."

'Ah, so that's what it is.' Klaus understood. 'He wants to use me as a guide.'

"Of course, Although I haven't been to Kikka in a while, there is a place that you might like."

…

The exhibition match. It was the first match of the Magic Knights Entrance Exams. Traditionally it was also the match between two of the most talented candidates in the year. As the first match of the tournament, It set a standard for all the candidates, It was the match with the most eyes on it. The fight was also broadcast to show the future of the Magic Knights to the kingdom.

Solid wasn't very surprised when he found out that he was part of it. Honestly, he would be more surprised if he wasn't a part of it. Even Amanda who constantly downplayed his abilities while training admitted that Solid had reached a level higher than most magic knights do in their entire career. Of course, she also warned him to not be overconfident and there were about a hundred so-called once-in-a-generation prodigies in every generation.

Solid couldn't help but grin as he read the paper. 'This might not be so boring after all.'

[I- Solid Silva / Rill Boismortier]

-X-

Solid- Finally. A worthy adversary. Our battle will be legendary.

Klaus- There is no free lunch after all.

A/N:

I know there was quite a bit of delay between the last chapter and this chapter. I apologise. I had to do some stuff. The schedule should return to normal again if nothing comes up.

1- I changed some rules regarding the entrance exams.

2- I know Rill is a year older than Solid but I aged him down a year because I think Rill is a better rival for him.

Now also regarding Romance. I don't know any characters around Solid's age that I could tie him with. Any ideas? I was also kinda thinking of making an OC. (Conrad's daughter maybe?) But I haven't made any plans regarding that. I won't start Romance until we are done with the war arc so there is plenty of time to think.

And finally, Have a nice day.