“It’s finally starting! Come on, let’s head over there. You have to go wait before your number gets called. If you’re late and your turn gets pushed back, it becomes a real hassle.”
“…….”
Kale tugged on the golden figure’s arm to hurry them along and nearly slipped on loose sand in the process. The golden figure, whom he’d expected to be pulled along, didn’t budge a single inch — solid as a boulder.
Huh?
Wasn’t the normal thing to do when someone signaled you to follow them together? Kale tried pulling again, but the golden figure’s arm just dangled limply — the rest of them didn’t move at all. Despite that listless impression, the resistance was impossibly strong. With the difference in their builds, it was clearly asking too much to expect this golden figure to be dragged anywhere by a small person like Kale.
“Hey, friend. What’s going on?”
Kale grew anxious watching people pour off toward the other side. He had no idea what was going on with this person, but what needed to be done to sit the entrance exam was perfectly clear. Kale grabbed the other’s wrist and shook it to urge them along. Still not a budge. It was almost impressive how blank they were — like a stubborn little sibling throwing a fit.
“You came all this way, you can’t give up before it’s even started. Come on, just a little. It really isn’t that big a deal once you’re in it.”
Kale coaxed them gently, but the golden figure just kept smiling. Realizing that he’d been the only one talking this whole time, it crossed Kale’s mind — just briefly — that maybe this person couldn’t speak. Not that Kale, even as himself, would ever say something that rude out loud.
“You’re anxious, right? It’s okay. Just making it this far is already incredible. But since you’re already here, give it a shot — nothing ventured, nothing gained. They say if you give it your all, the result matters less and you’ll have fewer regrets. You might even feel relieved. And on top of that, if you stick it out to the end, they give you a free meal. And it’s actually really good!”
Having tried every temptation he could think of, Kale tugged on the wrist one more time. And then — the golden figure slowly lifted a foot. They were finally moving. Kale held his breath. The figure bent their knee, carefully shifted forward, and set their foot back down on the ground. After all that waiting, they had finally taken one step.
Having confirmed that they’d properly planted their foot, the figure then lifted the opposite knee. In the blazing heat of the sun, it was an agonizingly slow, tortoise-on-dried-ground kind of walk. Being convinced was great and all, but at this pace, getting to the magic measurement test site would take an eternity.
Oh no. We’re not going to be late, are we?
The test site wasn’t all that far from where they were, but Kale had never seen anyone walk quite like this, and he was growing increasingly impatient. This person’s walking ability was nothing short of extraordinary — and not in a good way, more like a newborn learning to use their legs. He tried to think positive, but this wasn’t normal, and Kale asked worriedly.
“Did you hurt your leg? Is that why you were just standing there?”
A possibility had occurred to him. There were occasional cases of people so desperate to become a Dragon Knight that they’d rough up strong candidates to get them out of the way. But for someone who’d been roughed up, the golden figure’s clothes were immaculately clean. While Kale stared trying to work it out, the golden figure took yet another step.
If I were stronger I could carry them on my back.
His worry proved unnecessary — the golden figure pressed steadily onward. It was maddening and frustrating, but it was better than giving up, so what did it matter. Fortunately they didn’t seem injured; their feet weren’t limping.
From the very beginning, just standing there without a single movement had struck him as odd — and this friend was, without question, the most unusual person Kale had ever come across. Mistaking their slow adjustment for nerves about the new environment, Kale matched his pace to theirs in quiet encouragement. It took considerably longer than expected, but the two of them managed to arrive safely at the exam site where the magic measurement test was being held. After their little ordeal, they found a decent spot and settled in.
“Number 98!”
Right on cue, the exam supervisor standing before the measurement device called out an applicant’s number. The voice echoed across the entire space — it seemed they were using the same kind of arcane tool as the one in the plaza. Startled by the number, Kale fumbled around in his clothes and pulled out the metal tag he’d stashed inside.
“98? The numbers have already gotten that far. I’m 157. What number are you? Don’t tell me yours already passed.”
Kale hadn’t spotted golden hair as eye-catching as this person’s when he’d been in line at the plaza to pay his application fee. They must have entered after him, so their number was probably much later — still, being prepared didn’t hurt. Figuring they seemed a little slow on the uptake, Kale hinted that they should take out their metal tag and check their number — but the other simply smiled blankly without making a move.
Don’t want to tell me their number?
The golden figure seemed disinclined to share their personal information with a stranger. Kale wasn’t bold enough to pry at someone like that. There was no obligation to share it with someone they’d just met — but Kale still felt a tiny bit put out.
“It’ll be fine even if it’s already passed. I accidentally missed mine last year too, and when I asked nicely they let me take it anyway. There’s always a way out, even when the sky is falling.”
Kale grinned, showing his healthy teeth. The golden figure looked down at Kale with the same unchanging smile. From the moment they’d first met until now, they had maintained that fixed expression without so much as a blink — but Kale hadn’t noticed anything strange about it. Not even that the pupils in those jewel-like golden eyes were slit vertically, long like a cat’s — distinctly inhuman.
“Number 110!”
“People are getting through fast.”
The magic measurement test was simple, so the turns passed quickly. When your number was called, you walked up to the measurement device in front of the supervisors. After a basic physical check as instructed, you placed both hands on a crystal orb and the test ran itself. Inside the large crystal orb was a small glass bead that, through some mysterious means, trembled in response to magic power and calculated the absolute quantity of one’s magic, displaying it as a number.
If a person had no magic power in their body, no result would be produced, so there was no way to cheat it with bare hands. Sure enough, more than half the applicants were eliminated for having no magic power. Some of them — who appeared to have scraped their application fee together with great difficulty — threatened that this couldn’t be right, but it never worked even once. Having witnessed similar scenes last year, Kale thought: so this is the yearly tradition.
“Number 131!”
Whatever Kale thought, the exam didn’t stop. The next applicants were eliminated or passed, one after another. With each number the supervisor called, Kale’s own turn drew closer.
“Ugh. I’m so nervous.”
He was wiping the sweat from his palms on his clothes when he noticed the golden figure staring straight at him. Feeling the gaze, Kale turned his head. He stared back blankly into those strange golden eyes. For a long moment, neither of them looked away. It was a bit embarrassing — here he’d been reassuring someone else about being nervous, and now he was the nervous one, as if the tables had been turned. Kale came clean.
“Truth is, I don’t have much magic power. Last year the supervisor actually thought the device was broken. I just hope it doesn’t happen again this time. You’re not nervous for the same reason as me, are you?”
Kale nudged the figure with his elbow, tossing the question back at them. Whether they’d properly taken it in or not, the golden figure slowly turned their head and gazed at the measurement device. Compared to Kale, who was wound up with nerves and found everything thrilling, the golden figure looked vaguely bored by whatever result was to come.
“Number 157!”
“That’s me!”
Kale’s turn had finally arrived. If you didn’t step forward when your number was called, they moved on to the next one immediately — so Kale hurried.
“Alright, I’m going first. You do well too! Confidence is everything, confidence!”
With that parting advice, Kale dashed forward. It made him anxious to leave his unreliable friend alone, but if he was eliminated, he’d have no face to show — so he decided to focus on his own exam for now. Kale pushed through the crowd, showed his metal tag, and the supervisor searched him first to check for any arcane tools on his person before directing him to stand before the crystal orb.
Please!
Kale did as instructed and raised his hands, placing them on the orb. His palms on the crystal trembled. A moment passed — no response from the orb. With so many people who refused to accept the result and insisted they had magic power, the supervisor had already anticipated the outcome and marked a fail on Number 157’s result sheet, calling out with indifference.
“Next!”
“Wait. I really do have magic power. I really do!”
Being born with magic power was the one and only stroke of luck in Kale’s life — he couldn’t just be chased off like this, emptyhanded. Backed into a corner, Kale dug down and drew out every last bit of strength he had. As if his desperate prayer had reached the heavens, his meager magic power barely managed to seep out through his palms. Faint as it was, a light flickered to life on the measurement readout.
