Encounter

Arthur was frozen as he stared at the dark-haired girl standing behind him. Her green eyes stood out in the darkness, and just the first he saw her, they were overflowing with an ominous presence that he was still trying to get used to. However, it felt toned down compared to when he first saw her.

"Why are you frozen like that? Haven't you ever seen a woman in a night dress before?" she spoke.

There wasn't a slight look of shyness on her face as she stood majestically behind him.

He lifted himself and faced her properly.

"No, I've never seen a woman in a night dress before," he blushed, then averted his eyes away from her because most of her body parts were standing out in the dainty negligee she had worn to bed. It lightly veiled her voluptuous breasts and shapely thighs, giving her a mature look as her silken black hair cut straight across her back.

He would probably be drooling over her body if he was a normal boy of course.

She simpered, seeing how red his face was after spotting her like this. "I was about to sleep when I sensed a powerful magical energy-so I came to find its source. I'm surprised it's coming from the boy I caught staring at me yesterday."

Her voice was pleasant to his ears. It was soft and calm, which he didn't expect since she was a Rivian.

"S-So y-you've seen everything?" he asked with a shaky voice, referring to the practice he had been doing.

The girl shook her head:

"Yes, I have. Obsidian described you as a special case, and now I see why he referred to you as that."

"A Special Case?" this wasn't the first time hearing that.

"He said there is more to you than just a skilless boy, that you can cast spells without calling them out. That's an incredible gift, Arthur. A gift that hasn't existed since the first order of dark knights five hundred years ago. I believe it's fate."

'Five hundred years? That's how much time has passed since my death!'

He wanted to be surprised, but after learning that the second war occurred two hundred years ago—he was sure that he had jumped three or four centuries to the future.

He studied his hands and responded.

"I see…"

"I'm Stella Rosewood Rivian by the way, I am a third year and the head of the student council," the girl introduced herself. She smiled at him with her lips and a devious look in her eyes as if she was plotting something behind the scenes.

"You're a Rivian, one of the strongest people in the kingdom."

"Yes, I am. And you've picked my interest after casting a spell that barely consumed your mana," she said. "But don't worry, I won't be telling anyone because no one would believe me in the first place."

Arthur then sighed with relief after hearing that. He sensed honesty in her words, so maybe he could believe that she was saying the truth. Though he wasn't sure if this encounter was a coincidence, to begin with. If she had sensed his energy, why didn't someone like Elizabeth or Professor Obsidian show up?

Burt he chose to overthink it. "Thank you, Miss Rosewood."

"No need to thank me, we'll talk again when you finally join our sector. For now, practice improving your basic skills for the exam. Remember, once you fail the exam, you will be kicked out of the academy and have to change or come back next year."

"What? I thought when you fail the exam, you are told to repeat the entries." Arthur spoke out, remembering what Elizabeth had told him when training.

"Huh…so that's what they told you this year," she chuckled softly, noticing the confused look on the boy's pale face.

"Don't be an idiot. An academy like this has no place for failure, those who fail the selection test are expelled and can only return the following year. It's how the academy maintains the quality of its students. Those who fail are deemed as unworthy of a place in the academy, and keeping a rotten apple with fresh ones only spreads the rot. And in this case, that rot is weakness."

She leaned closer to him and asked:

"Did you think the exam was going to be that easy?"

"Well, yeah. But since that's the case, I can't afford to fail—do you have any tips for me?" He forced a smile, sealing this encounter as the beginning of their friendship.

She crossed her arms against her feminine chest. "I don't have much to tell you, but the exam will take place in one of the dungeons on this continent. I don't know which specific one because they never reveal their locations to the students. But when you are transported there, you must rely on your abilities to survive by fighting against magic and demonic beasts. As a person joining the dark knight sector, you must not heavily rely on magic, you have to use your physical strength and combat abilities to make it through."

Arthur shook his head and continued to listen to the information she was giving him.

"Every monster you encounter will earn you points that will be collected by the academy's analytics. The stronger the monster, the more points. Those points contribute to your chances of ranking up, and since you're the only Rank F student in your year, you have higher chances of earning enough points by giving it your all. Those points will show how much you've grown during the exam—even if you don't rank up."

"So that's how it works." He muttered while staring at his bruised hands. Her explanation meant that he couldn't rely on Bairon and Elizabeth for all the hard work while he seats back.

"Yes, you will have to slay a monster or two by yourself. In other words, think of the dungeon as a training ground where you can die. And also, you need to be careful because the monsters are unpredictable, and the lower you go in a dungeon, the stronger the monsters."

'Huh.'

A void of silence grew between them once she completed her explanation. Learning all this had risen conflict in his mind because he was aware of his weaknesses, and to be honest, they were more than his strengths at the moment. He needed more information to assess his chances of surviving the exam.

'I don't want to die, but—'

"Thank you for the information Miss Rosewood, I don't know how I can ever repay you."

She moved even closer to him, then clamped onto his shoulder and grinned, "You can pay me back by passing the exam along with your party. I've practically cheated for you."

"You're right, I can't risk failing."

Her eyes suddenly flashed when she noticed an odd longsword on the ground.

"Hmm…" she raised her arm as if she was reaching out for it and the sword flew into her hand like a magnet to a metal.

"Huh, mitheral...a bad choice, but it's okay." She said while making a few swings to test its lightness.

"How did you just do that?" Arthur asked, referring to the sword trick she had just done.

"You are an amateur, aren't ya?"

He shook his head. "Yes."

She cackled and sighed, "Well, magic swords are conductors. You just need to focus your magical energy on your hand, and you can summon a weapon as long as it's a conductor, but it only works on basic weapons like this one."

She handed it to him.

"That's incredible," he muttered, accepting his longsword.

"Anyway, I should head back to the dormitory before someone notices that I'm gone. I look forward to meeting you again, Arthur Bellrock. Maybe then you'll show me how you created that fireball."

Arthur chuckled drily while scratching the back of his head as he searched for a response. It seems like she didn't know that this was something related to demon magic, or maybe she hadn't recognized the structure of his spell.

"Sure…" he said hesitantly.

"Good luck with your exam, and try not to die. And by the way, we're friends now—so call me Stella, Okay?"

He blushed after seeing her smile. Under the faint light of the moonlight, she was the brightest source of light with her radiant smile giving life to silent environment.

He had no words for her because his manly instincts were suddenly haywire.

Stella then walked back into the woods before she completely disappeared into the darkness, along with her godly presence.