"I’ve come to deliver my report as well," Charlotte said with a curt bow. "My team and I have inspected the northern and southern sides."
She cleared her throat.
"The armory and food storage are in the north. It seemed a bit old, and the armor was extremely run-down and unusable, but the food in the storage was still fresh," Charlotte explained. "As for the southern side, there was nothing."
Raelis raised a brow.
"It was completely empty. It was as if whoever built this castle forgot to give the southern side a purpose," she added.
Raelis tilted his head, getting the gist of the situation.
So it’s a place where we can do whatever we want. Like a playground, he thought. What could we build there that would help us in this exam?
Just as he thought, Clea had also picked up on the same idea.
"Maybe we should build a cozy garden there?" she suggested, causing him and the rest of the candidates to go quiet.
He understood what she was getting at, though.
The castle was large, but it was also like a prison.
They could train, they could grow food, and even play a bit of dress-up.
However, what they lacked was a way to take the edge off before or after battle.
But there was one glaring issue.
"It might make us more susceptible to the other teams invading our ranks," Raelis pointed out.
Clea tilted her head.
"Then we just make it ugly," she said. "No one invades a garden that looks like it’s dying."
"We’ll see later... But I’d like to kick some things into motion," he stated. "Prepare the facilities, and I want the blacksmiths to go to the armory and repair the armor."
He turned toward Anna.
"And I want you to check on the food quality. I guarantee there’s something wrong with it."
After all, why give them rusty armor but fresh food?
Especially when there was a garden filled with crops ready to be taken care of and harvested.
And before he forgot...
"Alchemists, be sure to make a lot of healing potions. And by a lot... I mean a lot. If you’re not familiar with some herbs because you’re a spoiled brat and have always been following a recipe, speak to Anna. Don’t be shy."
A few people perked up at that comment, but even so, they didn’t retaliate.
And with that, everyone dispersed, leaving only the group who could fight behind.
"Alice," Raelis called out. "I want you to train everyone on how to dodge projectiles. Can you do that?"
"Uhh... I can. But from what I’ve seen, they don’t have many archers," Alice replied. "Don’t you think we could pour our time into something more... productive instead?"
"They don’t have many archers, but they do have mages. A lot of mages," Raelis added. "I want you to teach these people how to avoid magic spells efficiently, and in the meantime, Clea and I will deal with some more serious matters."
"What about us?" Antares asked, pointing at himself and Charlotte. "We learned how to dodge arrows and spells back when we were children."
"It doesn’t hurt to broaden your horizons. You might learn something. And don’t worry, I’ll be calling for you all in a few hours after the blacksmiths and alchemists are finished with their tasks."
And of course, a meal made by Anna and the others was the bonus.
He didn’t plan on being passive, as the people he was facing had equal or even more experience in leadership than him.
So if he wasn’t mistaken, most were doing the exact same thing as Raelis and his team.
Anyhow, every candidate finally dispersed, and the only two people left were Raelis and Clea.
"Let’s hide the flag first, then head out," he said flatly.
"You want to infiltrate the other teams already?" Clea mused. "What if we get captured?"
Raelis rolled his eyes.
"You know that isn’t going to happen."
After all, Clea had similar stealth techniques, and from what he saw, they were more refined than his.
But each stealth technique was unique, so his might excel in some areas hers did not, and vice versa.
So with that in mind, he grabbed the yellow flag and carried it over to a cabin to the side.
It seemed pretty innocent, and most people would probably not check a cabin to find an extremely important item.
For the time being, it’ll work. I’ll adjust the location when we get back.
"What about Resian?" Clea asked. "He’s the jester, and while we still don’t know what the jesters do, my guess is that it’s nothing that would benefit the team."
"Leave him be for now," Raelis replied and began heading toward the throne room’s exit.
Clea followed close behind, her steps as silent as his.
The wide corridors were draped in yellow banners, and lit by dozens of torches.
Yet despite all that, it felt empty, clearly because this castle was nothing but a prop.
And after a few minutes of nearly getting lost, they found their way out.
The sun shone high above them, so Raelis couldn’t enter the shadows.
But since the landscape was favorable for assassins, he was going to make use of it.
He quickly stretched, flashed Clea a smirk, then dashed toward the mountains.
Raelis ran at full speed, but Clea kept up with ease.
And after half an hour, they finally arrived at another team’s castle.
It was the Blue Team, and the only reason Raelis decided to come here in the first place was because it seemed the most lacking.
He hadn’t heard of their King or Queen before, and none of his siblings were on the team.
Because of that, Raelis figured they’d be easier to handle.
And yet, the first thing he saw when he arrived alongside Clea was more than 60 people building a wall out of stone.
They were also reinforcing it with metal and even digging trenches to ensure maximum defense.
Raelis rubbed his temples, turning to a frowning Clea.
"We might’ve underestimated the lengths the other teams would go to in order to pass, eh?"