Three-on-three, huh?
I sneaked a look at the blue-haired girl beside me. She was frowning slightly, her fingers tapping against her leg again. She must've been thinking the same thing.
Hall raised a hand and the noise immediately died down.
"Now, as to why I said this can be easy or difficult…" He paused again, a faint smile playing on his lips. "It depends entirely on how you all perform."
He let that hang in the air for a moment.
"Every one of you has already proven capable. Each of you possesses at least some level of talent — talent that could, with time, become valuable to the kingdom. That is why you are here."
A few people straightened in their seats at that.
"However," he went on, his tone cooling a little, "let me make something very clear. While the Royal Academy is capable of accepting all of you, it has no obligation to do so. Should you collectively fail to meet the standards expected of this institution…"
He stopped pacing, turned toward us, and smiled that calm, terrifying noble smile.
"…then we will not accept a single one of you. We will simply wait until next year."
The arena went dead silent for a moment. Then the sound of several sharp intakes of breath filled the air.
Even I couldn't help raising an eyebrow. Well, that escalated quickly.
Beside me, the blue-haired girl muttered something under her breath — probably a curse — and I heard someone in front whisper, "Wait, what?"
Count Hall clasped his hands again and looked around as if pleased by the tension.
"Now you understand why I said this can be very easy, or very difficult," he said smoothly.
He gave us a moment to absorb that, pacing slowly along the front row. His gaze swept past me — briefly, but long enough to make me straighten up a little. His eyes had that sharp, appraising gleam nobles seemed to perfect over centuries of judging people.
I could feel everyone's nerves prickling now. Some looked ready to bolt; others were already trying to look confident.
A few rows up, I heard one guy mutter, "This is insane," while his friend whispered, "Relax, it's just a scare tactic."
Sure. Maybe. But I'd seen that man's face. He wasn't bluffing.
I glanced at the blue-haired girl again. She was staring straight ahead, jaw slightly clenched, like she was determined not to flinch.
"Guess we'd better pass, huh?" I murmured quietly, half to myself.
Her eyes flicked toward me, and for a second, the corner of her lips twitched upward.
"Guess so," she said softly.
That tiny, shared grin did something weird — it made the whole thing feel a little less terrifying.
Count Hall clapped his hands once, loudly.
"Now then," he said. "You will be given time to form your groups of three. Choose wisely. Teamwork will matter just as much as personal strength. Once you are ready, report to the instructors waiting near the arena floor. Your team names will be recorded, and the matches will begin shortly."
The moment he said that, the entire arena erupted into motion.
People shot to their feet, scrambling to find partners, calling out names, making deals on the spot.
I stayed where I was for a moment, rubbing the back of my neck.
"Three-on-three, huh?" I muttered. "Guess I'm going to have to socialize today after all."
The blue-haired girl beside me turned to me then, one brow raised, an unusual glint in her eye.
"Well," she said, "you already have one person sitting next to you."
I blinked at her. "You volunteering?"
She smiled — that small, teasing kind of smile that could mean anything.
"Maybe," she said. "Depends on if you're any good."
I grinned despite myself. "Guess you'll find out soon enough. By the way, my name is Ash." She shifted in her seat, finally turning to face me fully.
"I'm Maya," she said, offering her hand with a little grin. "Since we'll probably be struggling together soon, might as well know each other's names."
I chuckled and took her hand. Her grip was firm, warm. "Definitely," I said. "Nice to meet you, partner."
"Partner, huh?" she said, amused. "Guess so. Though we still need one more, don't we?"
"Yeah," I said, glancing around the arena.
By now, most people were already pairing off or forming trios. The place looked like a chaotic school project where everyone was scrambling to pick their friends before being stuck with the weird kid.
I sighed. "Looks like we're late to the party."
Maya crossed her legs, scanning the seats. "Then we'd better move fast. I don't want to end up with someone who trips over their own sword."
"Fair point."
I decided to make use of one of my more practical tools — my basic Perception ability. Always came in handy.
Naturally, I started with Maya.
[Maya — Level 26]
I blinked. Not bad. Pretty decent, actually.
I was only level seventeen, so that put her a good nine levels ahead of me. Great. I was officially the weak link already.
Still, that was fine. At least she could carry me if things went sideways.
I leaned back and let my eyes wander, focusing on the others around the arena.
Let's see…
[Male — Level 15]
[Female — Level 19] — one of the giggling ones waving at me. Yeah, that checks out.
[Male — Level 14] — round face, belly sticking out under his tunic. He looked like he was one deep breath away from rolling downhill.
[Female — Level 20]
[Male — Level 15]
[Male — Level 13]
[Female — Level 19]
[Male — Level 18][
Female — Level 16]
Yep. Most were in and around the same range as me.
Then I caught sight of someone else.
A guy sitting near the lower benches, not talking to anyone. He had that look — calm, serious, like someone who didn't care about the noise around him.
[Male — Age: 25 | Level 32]
My eyebrows shot up. Now that's a jump.
A few seats away from him, a girl — Level 29 — and another person even higher — Level 38.
So, there were definitely a few monsters mixed in with the rest of us.
I exhaled quietly. "I'm starting to regret not using those Lust points to raise my level when I had the chance…"
Maya glanced at me. "What was that?"
"Nothing," I said quickly. "Just… thinking." I could do it right now, but who knew how painful it would be. It would be quite embarrassing if I started thrashing around for no reason at all
My eyes flicked back to the serious-looking guy.
Light armour, simple tunic, pants tucked into boots, sword resting by his side. Hair an ashy brown, face clean but sharp-edged. Definitely the kind of guy who'd say 'hm' a lot and probably scowl in his sleep.
He was just sitting there, watching everyone else rush around, like he was waiting for people to come to him.
Perfect.
I nudged Maya with my elbow. "Let's get that guy to join us."