Above them jutted out the commentator's booth, where the judges would soon be providing commentary throughout the exam.
"Huh? That place is only for the judges!" Rafka said quickly. "There's no way we can go in there and watch with them, right?"
Kenny grinned again, as if he had been waiting for that question all along. "No, that's not what I mean." He pointed upward above the room. "I don't mean inside the booth. I mean on top of it. More precisely, on top of the commentator booth's roof."
"We'll just use our armor, right?" Ayu immediately chimed in while crossing her arms. "Interesting. Let's do it."
"No! No! Absolutely not!* Rafka shook his head repeatedly. "No way! There's no way we're allowed to do that!" he protested quickly.
But his objection was completely ignored because a fraction of a second later, light emerged from their rings.
Kenny's body was instantly covered by his metallic green armor, while Ayu's body was wrapped in pristine white armor that reflected the midday sunlight.
"Chill, dude." Kenny laughed while patting Rafka's shoulder. "Come on, live a little. You really need to loosen up."
Rafka immediately flinched in surprise and instinctively shook his head while looking around.
What if the someone sees us? What if the staff catches us? What if the Captain sees us?
The worst-case scenarios immediately began spinning through his mind. But as usual, neither of his friends listened to him at all.
Ayu had already spread her white wings first. FWISH! Her body shot into the air with a light movement as though gravity no longer applied to her.
Kenny followed by first bending his knees before performing a single absurdly high jump. In one movement, he had already landed on top of the commentator booth's roof.
A few seconds later, both of them were already up there without being noticed by the people preparing inside the commentator room.
Efficient, fast, and completely irresponsible.
From above, Ayu waved toward Rafka.
Kenny also waved while signaling for him to hurry up and follow.
Rafka let out an irritated snort. "The worst part is that these idiots are my friends," he muttered.
A crimson light flared from Agni's ring. In an instant, red armor wrapped around his entire body. Red wings spread wide from his back, gleaming just like Ayu's.
Rafka immediately moved away from the commentator room's windows so he wouldn't be seen from inside.
But just as he was about to prepare for flight, his body froze.
Wait! Last time I tried flying, I ended up throwing up. His face slowly turned pale as he looked upward hesitantly.
Ayu and Kenny continued signaling for him to hurry.
Rafka then crossed both arms in front of his body before pointing at his stomach and mouth repeatedly.
To his suprise, Ayu immediately got what he was trying to say. The girl let out a short sigh. "Seriously?" Then, without saying much, she flew back down.
"Fine. Come here." Ayu extended her hand the moment she returned to Rafka's side.
Without the slightest hesitation, the girl took hold of Rafka's left arm, causing him to freeze instantly, eyes widening and body stiffening.
He turned toward Ayu, who still wore the same expressionless face as always. Wait ... seriously? She's not embarrassed at all?!
Apparently not.
Her expression didn't change in the slightest.
No embarrassment, no awkwardness, nothing.
Meanwhile, Rafka could feel his heartbeat speeding up almost instantly.
Whether it was panic, surprise, or both.
He honestly couldn't tell anymore.
His red wings disappeared. In their place, Ayu's white wings spread wide behind them.
Ayu gave a small hop. Hap! Their bodies instantly lifted off the ground.
Rafka's stomach fluttered for a moment, but strangely enough, the nausea that usually followed never came.
Their bodies glided smoothly through the air. Then they shot toward the roof where Kenny was waiting.
The wind brushed against Rafka's face, his hair swaying in the breeze.
The view of the training arena gradually shrank beneath them.
There was no dizziness, no nausea, no overwhelming urge to vomit, there was only a sense of lightness, as if his entire body had been relieved of all weight.
Technically, he was just hitching a ride with Ayu, but even so, this was the most comfortable flying experience he had ever had.
Within seconds, they arrived.
Ayu landed so gently that it barely felt as if they had just been flying.
Rafka even stood there in a daze for a moment after both feet touched the rooftop.
"Well, well." Kenny grinned mischievously. "Looks like I'm the unnecessary extra here." H glanced between the two of them. "Should I quietly disappear into the background?"
Rafka's face instantly turned red. "Shut up."
Meanwhile, Ayu remained standing calmly with her usual expressionless face that barely changed—no—for a split second, while pretending to look at the participants below, Ayu's ears turned slightly red.
I grabbed Rafka's arm again! Ayu's internal screaming immediately resumed. Woah ... woah! Her hands quickly touched her warming cheeks. I'm so happy!!!
Seeing Rafka's reaction only made Kenny chuckle harder.
And before Rafka could fire back another retort, BOOOOM! A loud noise suddenly exploded right behind him.
"Waaah!" Rafka instinctively jumped in shock.
Only then did he realize that he had been leaning his back directly against a massive speaker used for arena announcements.
The announcer's voice boomed loudly from it.
Rafka clutched his chest while panting. "I almost died!"
Ayu immediately turned around and covered her mouth with one hand. Her shoulders trembled slightly, a rare sign that the girl was holding back laughter.
Meanwhile, Kenny didn't even try to hide it. "Hahahaha!" He burst out laughing while pointing at Rafka. "I swear, that expression just now was priceless!"
Rafka clicked his tongue in annoyance. I swear, they've been making fun of me all day!
***
The physical examination finally began.
The atmosphere in the training arena, which had previously been filled only with conversation, gradually became much livelier.
A whistle rang sharply from the center of the field, signaling the start of the physical tests the participants had been waiting for since morning.
Several staff members began dispersing to their assigned stations while carrying evaluation boards, while the participants lined up according to their designated groups.
The first event was a ten-meter sprint test, followed by various other physical tests that made Rafka shiver just by looking at them.
From the roof of the commentator booth, he could see the entire arena clearly. Various obstacles had been set up across different sections of the field.
There were running tracks, weightlifting areas, climbing walls, and endurance courses that looked exhausting even to watch.
This physical examination was far beyond what Rafka had imagined.
If he had actually been required to take it, he would probably have collapsed somewhere on the field after only a few more meters.
"Woah. The muscleheads are out in force this year," Ayu said while narrowing her eyes and placing her hand above her forehead as though observing something in the distance. "They all look like a bunch of Zangief."
"Some of them look so muscular that even their muscles have muscles," Rafka replied, unconsciously swallowing hard before turning toward Ayu with a confused expression. "By the way, who's Zangief?"
Ayu looked at him with a gaze that was suspiciously close to pity. "You've never played it?" She nodded once. "I'll make you play it someday. As a guy, that's basically mandatory."
Among the participants filling the field below, almost all of them had bodies far larger than his. Some had broad shoulders, some had massive arms, and several looked like professional fighters who trained every day.
Among them, they also spotted the man who had nearly gotten into a major argument with Ayu earlier.
The man looked incredibly confident. His broad chest was puffed out, his chin held high, and a condescending smile never truly left his face.
He seemed to be passing every test with high scores. Some scoreboards even displayed his name at the very top.
"Guys, look at that small girl over there!" Ayu said, suddenly breaking their concentration. She pointed toward one side of the arena. "That one over there."
Rafka squinted, trying to follow the direction of Ayu's finger. "That girl ... there? You mean the one wearing the orange ribbon?" he asked while continuing to squint.
"Exactly!" Ayu quickly turned and nodded. "Isn't she cute? She's tiny. That's so adorable!" she said while trying to suppress her overwhelming urge to gush.
Ayu's usually expressionless eyes sparkled faintly. She even leaned forward slightly as if she were genuinely fascinated by the participant she was watching. "That ribbon looks like bunny ears!" she added.
Rafka didn't entirely understand what Ayu was talking about.
But after observing a little longer, he had to admit that the girl with the orange ribbon looked much smaller than the other participants.
Her body was tiny, and even among participants who appeared to be in their twenties, she looked like a middle school student who had somehow wandered into the wrong place.
She also seemed to be struggling against the other participants in this examination.
"Hey!" Kenny called out. "I don't think that musclehead uncle who tried to derail your speech earlier is going to pass."
He crossed his arms. "Just a guess, but knowing Captain Rangga's standards and what he looks for in a Knight, I'd be surprised if he made it through."
Rafka's gaze immediately shifted back toward the man in question.
Among all the participants, he was by far the most noticeable, making him easy to spot.
The man clearly had no hesitation about obstructing other participants either. Just moments ago, he had deliberately slammed into the orange-ribboned girl they had been discussing while they were running.
His shoulder crashed into the girl's small frame on purpose, instantly throwing her off balance and sending her sprawling onto the ground.
A thin cloud of dust rose as her body hit the dirt roughly.
But the man paid her absolutely no attention.
Not only did he not help her, he didn't even glance in her direction. Instead, he laughed mockingly while continuing toward the finish line.
Ayu suddenly gritted her teeth. Her right hand shot upward. "Suit up!" she shouted. A moment later, Ayu sprang from her spot and shot toward the center of the field in her armor.
Everything happened so suddenly that Rafka didn't even have time to stop her.
"Kenny!" Rafka quickly turned toward him. "We have to stop her! Hurry!"
"Right!" Kenny immediately nodded.
They simultaneously summoned their armor and jumped after Ayu before the girl could create an even bigger disturbance.
Ayu moved like an arrow released from a bowstring. The white wings on her back beat powerfully, making dozens of meters seem to disappear in an instant.
"Ayu, wait!" Rafka shouted as he leapt from the rooftop and surged forward with his red wings. His hand immediately shot out to stop Ayu's flaming punch aimed at the thug-like man.
Hissss! A burning sting instantly traveled from his palm all the way up his arm.
Rafka winced. "Ow! Hot!" he whispered.
If that punch had actually landed, the man would have been sent flying and left badly injured.
It seemed Ayu wasn't holding back at all.
The entire arena immediately erupted into chaos.
The staff reacted quickly and rushed toward them. Whistles blew repeatedly. Several participants even stopped what they were doing and turned toward the commotion.
Rafka quickly grabbed both of Ayu's arms, which were still trembling with anger.
Ayu's breathing sounded slightly heavier than usual.
Her eyes remained locked onto the man without shifting even a little. "Move," she said in an extremely cold and intimidating tone.
"What are you doing, Ayu?!" Rafka asked while continuing to restrain both of her arms from behind. "That was way too close! Good thing I caught you in time!"
"Exactly!" Kenny nodded in agreement. "If Rafka hadn't acted in time, that guy would've been seriously hurt!"
All eyes were now fixed on Ayu.
The looks they gave her were the same looks people would give a civil officer who had suddenly attacked a citizen for no apparent reason.
A female ARMOR staff member ran over while calling out in panic, "Good grief, Ayu! What's gotten into you?"
"Hold on, Sis!" Kenny quickly jumped in. "It's not what it looks like! Ayu's just mad because that guy deliberately knocked the little girl next to him to the ground and didn't even help her up!"
But before the situation could calm down, the thug-like man had already begun marching toward them with heavy steps and a face full of anger.
Without warning, he grabbed a fistful of Ayu's hair. "You're seriously standing yo for some useless little runt like her?!"
He glared back at Ayu. "You've been incredibly annoying this whole time! If you want to fight me, then just say it!" he barked.