The Final Exam Introduction

The headmaster's grin lingered for a moment, and then, out of nowhere, a small podium appeared.

He dramatically glided down and held up the rings he had made.

They were green, so that meant...

"The King of team Green is going to be Auren Varekan. Step up, young man."

Auren's eyes widened, but even so, he approached the podium and happily accepted the ring.

Then it was the Queen's turn.

"And the Queen of team Green will be... Sophia Ashtart. Step up."

It was a girl he had never heard about, but from her appearance alone, he could tell she was pretty formidable.

No more introductions were made, as it was another team's turn.

This time, it was Red team.

"Therin Varekan, you will be the King," Arius stated, then turned to a random woman. "And Beatrice Everfrost, you will be the Queen. Step up, you two."

Raelis's eyes narrowed.

Therin is going to be a very troublesome King to deal with... He has visions of the future, and his strategic prowess surpasses even Auren's.

As for the woman beside him, she was someone Raelis had heard plenty about.

She was a low-born royal of the Everfrost royal family.

Like its name, their family had a Frost-related bloodline.

Sadly, she was shunned by everyone because of her upbringing, which was similar to Raelis's.

Born of a true heir and someone without even an ounce of nobility, a simple maid.

Still, Raelis took a deep breath to compose himself as he glanced at the ring the headmaster held up this time.

It was yellow, and of course...

"Raelis Varekan, you shall be the king of the Yellow team, and Clea Valentine will be the Queen. I hope you two get along."

He couldn't understand the last comment, but even so, he approached the podium, took his ring, and stood by.

It was obvious who would be the Queen of Blue team, so Raelis didn't even feel like paying attention.

However, when the headmaster spoke up, Raelis's face contorted in confusion.

"Simon Toshin, you will be the King of Blue team, and Mira Dexlis will be the Queen. Come take the final rings, and I shall tell you your roles."

"...?"

What about Zeri?

She was the smartest of them all, and her qualifications were more than good enough to lead the team to victory.

But when he gazed through the crowd and found Zeri, he saw she had an extremely faint smile on her face.

And that was when realization hit.

She's the jester of the Blue team... or maybe one of the other teams?

It was frustrating not knowing, but he'd probably find out once the exam actually began.

In the meantime, the headmaster cleared his throat and began explaining how the roles worked.

He raised one finger.

"Only the King can capture enemy flags. If anyone else takes the flag, it doesn't count."

Then came another finger.

"If the King is captured, the team can't steal or return flags until he's rescued."

And then another.

"The King will be your leader, and his judgment is absolute. The only one who can question it is the Queen."

The headmaster clapped his hands.

"That's the gist of it. Nothing too overbearing, just the basics," he said, then raised a finger on his other hand. "Now, as for the Queen..."

"The Queen is the only person who can lead the rescue mission to save the King."

Another finger.

"The Queen is allowed to disguise herself as another role. So, in this case, a typical soldier like the rest of you candidates."

The headmaster let out a sigh.

"She can override one of the King's commands during the exam. To make it fair, she can only do it once," Arius said, clapping his hands. "And finally, the Queen may force alliances with the other teams. This boon is unique to the Queen and may not be performed by the King."

The moment he finished his words, a deathly silence ensued.

It seemed great and all, but...

"Isn't the King's role a bit..."

"So the Queen does everything and the King just picks up a flag?"

"I understand your concerns," Arius chimed in, a faint smirk appearing on his face. "However, you must understand that holding such authority is a burden in and of itself. Any more boons would make this unrealistic."

That makes sense.

"Oh, and before I forget to mention... If both the King and the Queen are captured, the entire team is eliminated," Arius added, and before they could protest, he snapped his fingers.

They expected him to teleport all of them, but instead, each of the candidates received a bandana of their respective team color, which appeared right on their wrists.

"There is one more role, the Jester. However, I will not reveal what it does or who the people are, as that would spoil all the fun," Arius said with a chuckle. "With that, I'd say the introduction is over. Good luck to you all, and I wish to see a promising group of new students emerge by the end of the day."

His smile turned slightly ominous.

"And keep in mind... not every flag must be stolen to win."

And with that, he finally snapped his fingers, teleporting them all away.

In the last moment, he saw the red color on Zeri's bandana, which meant she was on Therin's team.

It was a deadly combo, and Raelis was sure they would be the most troublesome to deal with.

However, anything could happen in such a scenario, so when his vision finally returned, he was met with the sight of the inner castle.

Yellow banners were scattered throughout, and in the center of the room stood two thrones.

On each of the thrones was a luxurious crown which clearly was meant for the two of them.

Raelis cast a look at the candidates as his gaze eventually met Clea's.

She nodded back at him and stepped forward, as did he.

He approached the throne and picked up the crown, placing it on top of his head.

Of course, Clea did the same.

Then the two exchanged a glance and sat down in unison, meeting the gazes of all the candidates present.

A moment of silence ensued, but it was soon broken by Raelis's determined voice.

"Most of you might not have heard about my existence before the academy exam, and I can understand some of you being skeptical about my leadership skills..."

He narrowed his eyes as a cold look appeared on his face.

"Whether you like it or not, I am your King during this exam. If you wish to pass, I strongly suggest you follow my orders."

Raelis tilted his head, flashing a small, yet ominous smile.

"So let's get along, shall we?"