Raelis and the rest of his teammates finally arrived at the location of the flare, and as expected, most of the candidates were already gathered here.
Of course, so was the headmaster.
He stood on a small wooden podium, and once he realized everyone had already gathered, he spoke.
"Very well... the first team." Arius pointed at a few candidates in particular.
They brimmed with confidence as they stepped forward, stopping right in front of the headmaster.
"You five fail," Arius stated flatly and pointed at another team. "Next."
The team that had just failed shot shocked glances at each other until eventually, one of them spoke up.
"H-Huh? What do you mean we failed? We killed so many mana beasts, and we didn’t even suffer a scratch!"
The headmaster scoffed.
"You five might’ve scored many kills, but where was your teamwork? You all scattered throughout the forest and didn’t even try to communicate with one another."
He narrowed his eyes. "This was a team-building exam. I wanted to see how you would do in a team. If the team doesn’t exist, then naturally, I have nothing to grade you on."
The headmaster stepped off the podium, arriving in front of the candidate who spoke up.
"If I were to grade your performance out of 10, you’d get a 0."
With those words, he flicked his fingers, teleporting the candidates away.
Raelis and the rest of his team gulped and proceeded to watch the next teams.
Most passed, yet a good chunk failed.
He also saw a few teams who had lost a member, and because of that, the headmaster failed them as well.
But after what felt like ages, it was finally Raelis and his team’s turn.
Thankfully, they were the last ones to come up, so the rest of the candidates were teleported out.
It was obvious the headmaster had done this on purpose.
"A mimic, huh?" Arius muttered. "That sure is a unique approach to a simple problem."
Raelis’s brows twitched, but he maintained his composure.
"I like to stay creative."
"I’m sure." Arius nodded. "But why?"
"You were going to fail us because one of our teammates died, so I looked for an alternative," Raelis replied, pointing at the mimic. "So here’s Ajax."
"Pfft..." Arius held back a laugh. "For the record, you would not have failed the exam even if your teammate had died."
Raelis tilted his head. "So why did everyone else whose teammates died fail?"
He knew the answer, and it was pretty obvious.
It was because he reached the 100th step—
"They’re cowards," Arius cut his thoughts off. "Cowards who did nothing but watch their teammates die. They had no plan, and even if they did, their plans never accounted for a death."
He cleared his throat. "And because of that, once a teammate died, they became headless chickens who ran away."
Before Raelis could reply, the headmaster continued.
"But you, on the other hand... You set up a basic defensive formation plan, and the end goal was your escape. Ajax didn’t follow the plan, so he ran in." Arius’s eyes narrowed. "But what I didn’t expect was for you to run in after him, trying to save him."
The headmaster chuckled. "Sure, you didn’t manage to save him. By separating your team in two, you also nearly got one side killed, that being your own. However... as I said: team building. You built a team, and as their leader, you commanded them to the best of your ability."
He paused, then added, "Losing a teammate doesn’t mean failure. Failing to lead afterward does."
"Hah..." Alice let out a disbelieving breath. "So this mimic is useless then?"
"I’m right here, you buffoon..." Resian grumbled.
Raelis ignored his teammates’ bickering as he rubbed his temples in frustration.
Of course... it was that simple. I just had to overcomplicate it...
Still, he turned back to the headmaster and flashed a determined look.
"It is up to you to decide," Arius stated. "Do you wish to pass, or do you wish to fail?"
Raelis tilted his head.
Is this some trick question...? If I choose pass, then maybe...
But before he could ponder it further, a certain someone spoke up.
"We’d like to pass," Clea said flatly. "Now you can tell us the catch."
A faint grin appeared on the headmaster’s face.
"The catch is... the mimic has now become your teammate for the next and final exam, which is also team-based," Arius said. "It will be a four-way, castle defense type exam between the remaining 336 candidates."
The headmaster raised his hand into the air, drawing four castles, then circles surrounding them.
"There will be 84 people in each team, and the goal is to take the opposing teams’ flags," Arius explained. "Only two teams will pass, and the other two will fail. Killing is not allowed, so I’m expecting 168 candidates to remain out of my previously predicted 200."
Raelis nodded, yet he felt like the headmaster hadn’t revealed the catch yet.
But the moment he had those thoughts, the headmaster delivered the final nail in the coffin.
"There will be four kings and four queens per team, but there will also be a jester." Arius’s grin widened. "Normally, I wouldn’t disclose the team arrangement before the exam, but I must do so now."
He cleared his throat again. "Raelis, you will be the King of Team Yellow, and Clea will be your queen."
Raelis wasn’t that surprised, and neither was Clea.
But they weren’t the main focus of this reveal.
"And Resian will be the jester. It’s quite fitting for a mimic, if I do say so myself." Arius chuckled, then narrowed his eyes. "Naturally... I won’t be revealing what the jester role does to anyone but the jester himself."
He turned to Raelis and Clea. "But you two, on the other hand..."
A dramatic silence fell, and just as tension seemed to hit an all-time high, the headmaster clapped his hands.
"You two will find out at the same time as the rest of the candidates."
The moment the headmaster finished speaking, he flicked his fingers.
Raelis and the rest of his team were teleported, and when their vision finally returned, they found themselves in quite a peculiar spot.
They were standing on a transparent cloud, overlooking the battlefield beneath them.
In each cardinal direction stood a medieval stone castle, several kilometers away.
The castles looked the same at first glance, but on closer inspection, the colored flags set them apart.
Blue, Red, Yellow, and Green.
Hills separated them, along with rivers spanned by shabby wooden bridges.
Basically, this terrain was a strategic paradise.
But before Raelis could admire it further, the headmaster once again appeared, a wide smile on his face.
"I’m sure the overseers have already explained the basics, so I’ll cut straight to the chase."
He reached into his pocket and suddenly pulled out eight rings.
They were each separated by team color, and clearly, by role as well.
Four of the rings had the letter "K" carved on them, and the rest had a "Q."
Four kings and four queens, huh... Raelis mused, meeting the headmaster’s excited expression.
"Now then... what do you all say to a little coronation ceremony?"