Arthur played around with his pen while waiting for a UA teacher to take stage. The examinees in the hall with him were either completely silent or unable to shut up. Nerves usually brought out extremes in people.
He swished the pen forward and imagined cleaving the entire building in half. In his head, there was a dragon on the stage, readying a breath of fire. A foul smelly beast, one that had attacked the kingdom. He recalled false memories of a beautiful princess crying for his help. A king providing him with a legendary sword. He would not fail them.
Just before he could reach the climax of his simulation, a voice broke through.
"Arthur, I would like it if you stopped swishing that pen around like that. It may hurt other examinees."
Arthur turned and frowned at the boy beside him. Tenya was every bit as uptight as usual, if not more. Arthur sighed.
"Very well, brother of Sir Ignium."
"Once again, my brother is not an actual kn-"
"HELLO EXAMINEES!" An abhorrently loud and enthusiastic sound silenced the entire hall.
"EVERYBODY SAY HEYYYYYYY!"
An object at rest remains at rest unless acted on by an external force. Unfortunately, Present Mic's enthusiasm was not enough to count as an external force.
Arthur looked around and noticed how no one was obeying the order. This must be a test of how dedicated we are. Clearly those who cannot proudly proclaim their presence cannot become knights.
He took a deep breath. One worthy of a knight.
"HEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEYYYYY!"
The entire hall turned to stare at him. Tenya was looking at him like he had just committed a war crime.
The silence lasted three seconds before Present Mic started guffawing.
"Oh man it's been YEARS since I've had a kid answer!" The man looked genuinely overjoyed.
Arthur nodded, satisfied that he had passed the test.
Present Mic let out a light cough and continued with his presentation.
"Right then, this is how the test will go, my lovely listeners!"
"You'll be experiencing a ten-minute-long battle simulation in a mock city. Bring whatever you want along! After the end of this presentation, you will all head to your assigned testing locations!"
As the man enthusiastically broke down the test, Arthur could hear the murmurs of two specific students behind him. They both appeared to be wearing the same uniform. Classmates then.
As time went on, Tenya got increasingly annoyed at their 'lack of decorum' as he would have put it. Arthur's lip twitched. He's going to explode soon.
"…. And by using your quirks to kill these faux villains, you earn points! That's the goal, listeners!"
Tenya's hand shot up.
It appears he has finally snapped.
Of course, a knight wouldn't lose patience so easily. If he was to bear the taunts of witches and bandits, his skin must be thicker than steel.
"May I ask a question?"
Before Present Mic could reply, Tenya began anyway.
"There appear to be FOUR varieties of faux villains on this handout, however you mentioned only THREE! This is an unacceptable error for an academy as prestigious as UA!"
Present Mic's expression was a mix of confusion and amusement. I see this batch isn't lacking confident speakers.
Before anyone could react, Tenya's hand went straight for the students behind him.
"And you two! You've been talking amongst yourself this entire time! If you do not intend to take this exam seriously, please leave immediately."
By now, Arthur had completely tuned out anything going on around him. Present Mic's hair is kind of spiky. Like a demon horn. I wonder if he would let me purify him by cutting it off?
Before he even knew it, he had been pushed along to the exam site.
Before him there was a crowd of students standing in front of a massive gate. Behind the gate, Arthur could see what appeared to be residential buildings. Interesting.
Right in front of the gates, was a man who appeared to be unfamiliar with the concept of sleep.