The Spade Amongst Clovers

Chapter 67 The Royal Knights Exam

An entire week has passed since the hot springs. As a great majority of magic knights gathered inside of the colosseum in Kikka, Kyoya has just arrived with Luck, Noelle, Asta, Magna, and Finral. Soon the group walked around as they were waiting on both the king and Wizard King.

"Kyoya, you actually showed up."

When Kyoya turned around, he saw Juvia running towards him with a smile on his face. Soon a small smile appeared on his face as he walked towards her.

"I thought you weren't going to participate in the exam."

"I wasn't at first. But my Captain gave me a much needed wake up call. The Royal Knights Exam...if I can pass, then i'm closer to making everyone realize that the magic my teacher trained me in is the strongest. Usually I don't care about winning...but now....losing is the thing I hate the most."

Juvia looked at Kyoya's eyes. The look inside them told her that he was serious about wanting to pass this exam. With a smile on her face, she pats Kyoya's shoulder.

"Sure, but don't think I won't make it. You're not the only one who's gotten stronger."

As Juvia said this, she walked away. While this happened, Kyoya felt as if he was being stared at. When he turned around, he saw one person with a robe masking their face. While this happened, he blinked his eyes and they were suddenly gone. Before he could question this, he heard Julius' voice as the king and Marx stood next to him.

"I'm glad you were all able to attend. Without further ado, i'd like to commence with the Royal Knights Selection Test."

"Allow me to explain the test in detail. After all, the Royal Knights will be my warriors. Now this event is a competition of teams and will be called the Magic Crystal Destruction Battle Tournament. The rules are simple. The team who successfully destroys the opposing team's crystal ,while protecting their own from being crushed, will be victorious. If both crystals are still intact by the thirty minute time limit, the team who's crystal took the least amount of damage is the winner."

As the king was explaining this, he began to try to explain why teams were involved but kept fumbling on his words. Soon Julius began to explain to the knights himself.

"We chose this method because when facing the Eye of the Midnight Sun, it's important that knights from different squads know to cooperate. We feel a team contest is the best way to judge your ability to work with others and your strategic abilities. Now then, let us reveal our team roster!!!"

Soon a screen of mana flashed before the magic knights, revealing the teams they were in. Before Kyoya could see who is on his team, a mysterious individual jumped down from the top of the colosseum as he was standing next to Julius.

"Sorry i'm late. I'm sure you can pardon a little tardiness. See I ran into an old woman who was in a bit of a sticky situation. Name's Xerx Lugner."

Marx shot a bullet made of mana at Xerx, but the man jumped down to the ground and stood before the magic knights. Before Marx could attack him again, Julius stopped him. Soon Xerx looked at the rest of the magic knights.

"You all seem to mindless sheep when it comes to this guy, but not me."

As he said this, Kyoya looked at the screen. A smile appeared on his face as he saw Juvia was on his team. As for the other member, all he saw were question marks. Maybe it was the guy that hid his face under a robe.

"Team J:Kyoya Fullbuster, Juvia Lockser, and ???"

Before Kyoya could finish his thought, he felt a weird sensation inside of his chest. He knew that it meant one thing, a Child of Sin is close by him. He was on high alert as he felt this presence. Before he could question this, he saw everyone else walking through a spatial magic portal. 

As he ran to catch up with them, the person that wasn't showing their face was following him. As they went through the portal, he saw the place where the test would be taking place. It was a large battlefield and two giant crystals were placed at the opposite ends of each side of the field. Soon Julius spoke up again. 

"This vast and varied environment is your battlefield. You can use all your strengths to your hearts content. The match ups for the initial rounds have been chosen by lottery and organized into the bracket and chart you saw. While winning or losing doesn't necessarily correlate to whether you make it into the royal knights, more victories can stack to your favor. This is the perfect chance to show off your talents."

As Kyoya looked at the brackets, he saw that Asta's group had the first battle. When he looked at his team's match, he saw Team I vs Team J. But one name stuck out to him on Team I. 

"Who the hell is named X?"

When he said this, he felt someone staring at him. When he turned around, he saw some guy with a creepy face looking at him.

While Kyoya was creeped out, he felt a lot of magic power from this individual. Soon he saw Juvia and the robed individual he saw earlier walk towards him. Once again, a weird sensation was felt in Kyoya's chest.

"Look's like we're on the same team. It's been so long since we last fought together. Let's give it our best out there."

Kyoya nods his head as he heard this. Not only that, when he looked behind Juvia, he saw the rest of the Black Bulls coming here to watch and support the ones taking the exam. Soon Julius spoke up as the exam is about to begin.

"We have a great number of recovery mages on stand by. So don't hold anything back. This should go without saying, but killing is extremely prohibited. Now then let the first match of the Royal Knights Exam begin!"

As Asta, Mimosa, and Xerx make their way to the battlefield, Asta looked at Yuno and Kyoya who were watching his match with the other magic knights. Soon the two mages stared back at Asta as they all had one thought in their minds.

"No matter what.....i'll win and become a royal knight!!!!!"