The Dustbin
Day 19: Exam Prep Part Final
27th of Harpstrng Moon, Afternoon
... The hooded man has been completely listless for the whole day, Sothis commented as Byleth was sitting before the droning and fish-eyed Karna, ignoring the latter in favor of the former's serving of food, is he sitting before us just to annoy us?
"Could've fooled me," Byleth mumbled out as she munched on her serving of meat pie, "dunno why the guy hates me so much."
Karna didn't even respond, let alone, communicate with the same so-called professor who took his initial job. Granted, he doesn't hate his current position, but the slight itself was an attack to his dignity (whatever's left of it), so he had prior claim.
My whatever god that she may worship, Karna thought as he saw the female sellsword-turned-professor's eating habits, the lady's manners are just barbaric, he internally remarked as a few crumbs flew onto to his face, ... although to be fair, my diet can be described as just flavored water, so I'm not winning any awards for having a healthy diet.
"Thanks for the meal," Byleth remarked as she finished her meal and took her plates back to the countertop before the Mess Hall's kitchen. Karna himself meanwhile, was still listlessly stewing about in his own lackadaisical dilemma.
"Sword or test... sword or test... sword or test..." he mumbled to himself as the other students backed away from the overly-depressed professor. Even Bernadetta, in her rare appearance outside of her dorm room, couldn't even fathom the amount of negativity that the hooded man was exuding.
"Who's that guy?" asked a male Blue Lion student.
"Apparently some hotshot intellectual from the circles of Adrestian academia..." a female Black Eagles student replied, "he almost got the boot and had to lick the Archbishop's and ended up teaching that class of rejects who can't even read," she explained, "... except for that one guy who got the boot for being impossible to handle. He's basically the smartest guy in the whole academy."
"Wow, really?" a male Golden Deer student remarked before looking at Karna, "... he doesn't look that big of a deal."
He then pick the apple off of the basket before chucking the fruit at the hooded man, but before it can reach him, Karna catches it midair, raises it over his gaping mouth that he'd opened upwards towards the ceiling, which was then followed up by him crushing the whole thing in his hand, letting all of the liberated juices spill into the pit leading down to his jugular and stomach.
"Thanks for the meal," remarked Karna before he tossed the shriveled-up husk of the squeezed apple back at the same Golden Deer student's hands as he walked out of the Mess Hall.
A few students collapse onto their knees at the sudden herculean feat of strength from a lean and willowy-looking professor.
Outside, he finds himself sitting next to the ex-sellsword by the fishing pond, neither one batting an eye at each other out of pure disinterest.
... You know, you can ask him on what's wrong, suggested Sothis, albeit, only for him to get off of our backs sooner rather than later.
Byleth shrugs before speaking to the hooded professor. "What's got you down in the dumps?" asked the ex-sellsword.
"Beginners' Exams, not enough gold, happens at the end of this month, no time earn more money through jobs, and the shops aren't taking my offerings to sell due to them not having any market value," Karna muttered out in a monotone voice that sounded like that of a man who's given up living, "either I cut off one of my students, or I sell the [Killing Edge] that one my students has found," he explained, "which neither option, I particularly like, the former being against my principals as an academic, and the latter option is just the equivalent of stealing from the poor and impoverished."
"Sounds tough," Byleth replied, her hands still gripped around the fishing rod while her eyes weren't breaking away from the pond's surface, "thanks to you, Bernie and Caspar have been doing better and I think they're gonna pass their exams tomorrow.."
"Well, I hope you choke on your own eventual victory," Karna replied before he laid his back onto the wooden pier itself, "just kill me now, chop me into a thousand little pieces, and toss them into the water so that the fishes may find some use in this useless professor who couldn't even provide for all of his students!"
Byleth's line then snags forth, followed up by splashes of a fish struggling to pull itself out of the hook that it has bitten into.
"Look pal, first of all, sorry about your mess that you're going through," Byleth remarked as she than sprung up and began fighting the fish over the line, "and second, it's your class, so you deal with it!" she grunted as the line between her and the fish pulled itself back and forth, "and third, just because you can't afford the tests doesn't even mean that its the end of the world! I mean, my old man said that 'as long as you're still alive, you can still do things'!" the ex-sellsword pointed out, "so quit whining for your own death as an escape and just do it!"
"... Says the person who's able to start with a clean slate," Karna pointed out right as Byleth sweeps up the fishing rod into the air, catching the giant catfish into her arms upon liberating it from its watery domain.
"Doesn't make it any less harder," she remarked as she knocked the fish out cold with a swift chop to its neck before lifting it up by its tail, "no matter what choice we make in anyone's lives, we're gonna have to live with em, big or small."
"... Tch, to think that my rival would provide me such insight," Karna muttered, "how irksome."
"Since when the hell I was your rival?" asked Byleth.
"Breaking news, your job was supposed to be mine," Karna answered, "... but your statement prior does have merit, so let's let bygones be bygones, understood?" he stated, "of course, that won't stop me from resenting you, a former sword for hire taking a job suited for an academic like yours truly, but if I'm going to best you, I'll do it though the fruits of my labor rather than cheap, vaudevillian tricks."
"Whatever makes you happy," she remarked as she walked back into the Mess Hall to have the catfish blackened and cooked for her, "also, that doesn't mean you can spike my coffee with laxatives."
"Fingers crossed, you saucy wench," Karna hollered back before getting back up onto his feet, "... come on Karna, you're better than this..." he spoke to himself, "... eh, worse comes to shove, I'll probably do it anyway for the fun of it."
He then walks into the Greenhouse to five himself some space to think about his options. As he based in the greenery, the hooded professor inhales the air around him through his nose to try and clear his head of any doubts with the minty air from the surrounding plants.
"Can you... please stop eating the plants?" said a mannered voice of a male sounding akin to a butler, "they're not mere herbs and some of them are semi-toxic."
"Hm, could've fooled me," a stuffed female voice replied, revealing itself to be Topaz, who herself was sampling on random plants in the Greenhouse, much to the dark-skinned, white-haired young man with a watering can in his hands, "none of any of these weeds can kill me upon indigestion, so you have to be wrong on that assumption."
"I'm only one man," said the young man, "I already have to watch his highness not eat any wild weeds during weight training, so please, do not add yourself to my list of concerns."
"None of your business of what do or when I die, sheep," Topaz rebuked as she swallowed the leaves that she was eating prior, "this is all part of my training prior coming here, and I intend to keep it sharp."
"As sharp as your desire to pass the exam, I presume?" Karna stepped in to Topaz's surprise, "also, mind us not," remarked the professor to the Duscurian young man, "we're a hardy lot, and we look out for each other, so carry on."
"Understood," he replied with a stoic bow, "my name is Dedue."
"Yuga," the professor greeted back, "Karna Yuga, and I pray that you do fine on your exams, as much as my own class is in dire straits in comparison."
"Likewise," Dedue politely spoke before he left the Greenhouse, leaving the two alone at the moment.
"... You're here for my offer?" Topaz remarked as she reached for the wrapped bundle that she had around her back, unfurling it and revealing the curved [Killing Edge].
"I'm prioritizing my students' well-being over my own," Karna replied, "a sword is merely a sword, and useless at a hands of an incompetent pretender. We'll buy the same one later. That's my decision."
"... Practical, and sticking by your principals of education being foremost," said Topaz before she handed him the sheathed blade to him, "you have my blessing, may its bounty be the betterment for us all."
"Come with me to the market by the monastery gates," the professor requested, "we're gonna do business and I need an extra mouth and wit. Merchants are a wily lot and last thing we need is that we come up short, just in case."
"To the where the merchants gather," declared Topaz as the two then strode towards the relatively peaceful marketplace, with only a few students and knights subordinate of Knights of Seiros passing buy to buy a quick snack or a trinket.
The two of them then stand before a red-haired merchant lady's stall, her inquisitive eyes gleaming like a cat's and charismatic smile that drew them both towards like some sort of spatial singularity.
This legendary merchant, and Fodlan's most prolific people, featured in the top spot of "30 Under 30" in the Garreg Mach's Almanac 5 years running, debuting her trade business that exploded into a transcontinental network in less than a year due to her borderline-divine business acumen and cutthroat dedication to serve any possible customers with the squarest deal possible, the "Golden Hand of Fodlan" and the "Fool's Swindler" herself, Anna.
"Welcome!" the legendary merchant greeted the two, "how can I help you two?"
Karna gulps at the aura exuding from the young woman, which was the exact opposite of his own. Whereas his own brought upon misfortune after misfortune with his mere presence, Anna's aura exploded with good luck that it felt as if birds flying above would start excreting gold coins around her from above on a bad day.
Topaz meanwhile, was more wary around her than usual, with one of her hands instinctively reaching for her sheathed [Bolo] behind her waist as her eyes manically tried to discern the target's openings, only to find none, which then causes the normally cool-headed Hassan to start sweating nervously.
"... We'd like to sell this," Karna spoke as he placed the [Killing Edge] on the countertop, "this is literally the last and allegedly, the only thing in my class's inventory that's actually worth something of monetary value, and we're short on funds for all of the class to take the Beginners' Exam."
Anna then began inspecting the blade of its quality. First she takes out a magnifying glass to check the sword and sheath's appearances, checking for any wear and damages that might hike down the price of the product. Then after the close inspection, she then unsheathes the sword itself and swings it down once in the air, checking its handling and performance to see if there are any detractions found in its performance that might reduce its price. And finally, after sheathing the [Killing Edge] back into its scabbard, the female merchant then takes out her abacus and a complication of products labeled as "Weapons" under the subsection labeled "Swords", comparing current quality to the listing of prices labeled in the records, as her mind cranked into overdrive on how much the [Killing Edge] before her was worth.
Normally, all of the process before them would be operated by multiple people, each individual doing each job as a process. Anna was considered a legend in the mercantile circles of commerce of by being able to cut out the middlemen and do everything by herself with extreme ease without missing a beat.
"Where did you find this product?" asked Anna as her fingers rattled through her calculating device while the other hand was mercilessly flipping through the leaves of paper in her product records.
"Found it off of a rouge Mercenary a few weeks prior," Topaz explained, "he died before he could even use it thanks to me."
"Morbid, but understandable," the merchant replied as she continued questioning the two, "any history of use afterwards?"
"No," Karna replied, "kept it in its scabbard since we got it into our hands."
"Excellent," Anna remarked as she ripped out a slip of paper before signing it and stamping it with her seal, "here's your check of 1500 gold in exchange for the [Killing Edge], and in immaculate condition too."
The two then turned towards each other before giving each other a high-five.
"We got em," Karna declared before he shook the merchant's hand and accepting the transaction.
"Now, the hard part," Topaz pointed out as she handed the [Killing Edge] to Anna for the check, "actually passing the exams."
Required Gold Amount: 8000/8000
Current Passing Average: 69.5%
Days Left Until Beginner's Exam: 4
All of Dustbin Available for Beginners' Exam: CONFIRMED
28th of Harpstring Moon, Evening
Black Eagles Results of the Beginners' Exam:
Byleth Eisner: 100%
Edelgard von Hresvelg: 98%
Hubert von Vestra: 100%
Ferdinand von Aeigr: 96%
Lindhardt von Hevring: 99%
Caspar von Bergliez: 73%
Bernadetta von Varley: 75%
Dorothea Arnault: 89%
Petra Macneary: 85%
"Okay, this is not looking good," Karna remarked as he and the rest of the Dustbin saw the first test-takers' scores, with Karna himself being baffled at the ex-sellsword's perfect score, "... not once, I saw her study, and yet, a perfect hundred," he pointed out in utter disbelief, "honestly? I'd be thinking that she might've cheated, but Seteth has eyes of a hawk and I'm pretty sure that he would've caught it if it were the case."
Byron then begins laughing to himself.
"... Byron?" asked Vidar in lieu of everyone in the Dustbin.
"... Oh no, it's nothing," the ink-haired student remarked as his coat cape fluttered dramatically in the wind despite there being no winds blowing about as of this evening, "... finally, a worthy opponent!" he declared as he pointed to the perfect score above the board of Black Eagles, "our intellectual battle... will be legendary!"
From afar, Byleth and Sothis themselves were overhearing the commotion up ahead as the host body and the guest were returning to their rooms for the night.
Huh, remarked Sothis, guess you got another fan.
"Hey, you're the who helped me when I couldn't remember what I've read during cramming last night," Byleth replied.
Be grateful that I took time out of myself to actually memorize what you were reading for you, Sothis remarked proudly as her etherial form leaned against Byleth's own head like a headrest, honestly, what would you be like without me or my time-rewinding abilities?
"Okay, okay, I'll actually study next time, geez," the ex-sellsword remarked.
"Huh, just realized somethin'," Sorcha remarked out loud as she eyed Edelgard's full name, "swore to me gods thought her family name was 'Hresvelgr'."
"Nah, it's just you," Byron remarked in a snide tone, "and amongst a few other hundred."
"Alright, inside everyone," Karna ordered the Dustbin, "we got studying to do if we don't want to fall behind the rest of those lot!"
Days Left Until Beginner's Exam: 3
29th of Harpstring Moon, Evening
Blue Lions Results of the Beginners' Exam:
Dimitri Alexandre Blaiddyd: 98%
Dedue Molinaro: 94%
Felix Hugo Fraldarius: 93%
Ashe Ubert: 89%
Sylvain Jose Gautier: 77%
Mercedes von Martritz: 89%
Annette Fantine Dominic: 97%
Ingrid Brandi Galatea: 90%
"Wait a minute!" Sorcha exclaimed as she looked at the ranking board, "there's only eight of em?!"
"The professor isn't on the class list to take the exam?" Cyrus pointed out.
"That's because Hanneman and Manuela have already taken the exams prior," Karna explained, "the only exams they need to take are that of the Advanced Exams and the Master Exams. Me and Byleth, who we've only entered this year, well, we're starting from the bottom of the pecking order."
"Makes sense," Byron pointed out, "after all, our prowess are regulated and recorded by the state in power, so regardless how strong one may be, we're still bottom-rank chumps in their eyes unless we pass the exam."
"Bloody ell'," Selene groaned out, "we're forced to literally do tricks for them like dogs to get the treats."
Vidar only lets out a low growl of annoyance in response of the feeling indignation under the system.
"Studying is hard when you're not Byron," Topaz remarked, "assuming if he actually studies at all."
"Oi, I'm helping you guys to begin with," he pointed out, "that's my brand of studying whereas those schmucks at my old house actually have to study, with one of them just getting his head out of la-la land, and the other being unable to keep his pants on and paid for it dearly."
"Geez, even I keep my head on a swivel while I'm riding on Darius's back," Cyrus commented, "you never know what might be hiding out in the open. Trust me, some tribesmen, I heard, can get a little creative with their ambushes."
"Enough chatter, folks," Karna remarked as he walked towards the Black Eagles classroom with the keys in hand, "back to studying."
Days Left Until Beginner's Exam: 2
30th of Harpstring Moon, Evening
Golden Deer Results of the Beginners' Exam:
Claude von Riegan: 99%
Lorenz Hellman Gloucester: 95%
Raphael Kirsten: 75%
Ignatz Victor: 96%
Lysithea von Ordelia: 99%
Marianne von Edmund: 80%
Hilda Valentine Goneril: 82%
Leonie Pinelli: 85%
"Huh, they can actually do it when they try," Byron remarked at the Golden Deer's scores.
"Some credit given to my former constituents and eventual victims," Topaz stated, "their results are proportional to their efforts that they've implemented into their work."
Karna then notices Cyrus's hands balling themselves tightly into fists.
"... Is something the matter?" he asked.
"... Nothing," the Battu boy replied with a grimace of suppressed rage on his face, "just trying to turn this little rage of mine into motivation to do better than that baby tree birthed from another."
Karna then lets out a sigh before patting on his shoulder.
"Just don't let that get in the way," the professor remarked, "our exams are tomorrow, so don't dwell on it too much, okay?"
Cyrus then lets out a deep sigh before nodding.
"Good," Karna spoke as he opened the doors into the classroom of the Black Eagles, "12 hours until it is our turn," he pointed out as the rest of the Dustbin entered through the doors, "make it count, people! We didn't come this far to fail!"
Days Left Until Beginner's Exam: 1
31st of Harpstring Moon, Morning
Day of the Dustbin's Beginners' Exam
Karna, as he and rest of the Dustbin walked in the cavernous halls leading to their examination hall, lets out a deep sigh as the white-robed Warlocks began their initial inspections of them as test takers to root out any potential cheaters.
First was the pat-down, where the inspectors patted down each applicant for anything that might help them in their exams, trying to find notes written on their person or any stray notes lying around.
Then came the minimization, which was the part where they had to take off their jackets (if they're wearing any), as a double-insurance to prohibit anyone from having anything up their sleeves, quite literally in fact.
And finally, the actual examination period after each of them paid a toll of 500 gold, which after the transaction, then they were accepted as offical applicants for the exam.
As they were being guided into a jail-like compound upon entry, each applicant were guided to their own locked room where the only thing waiting in there were several inkwells, quills, and the written exam itself on the table with a simple wooden chair. As the doors shut behind them, they were now locked off from the rest of the world, and they're only allowed to leave after they finish with their exams.
And to top it all off, the place where the examinations took place happened to be the monastery's former dungeons, compiling onto their already psychological stress of the exams themselves, with a very strict "no-talking" rule enforced at the business end of the Armored Knight's [Silver Lances].
It was excessive, but necessary to ensure that all negative conduct are absolutely deterred during an exam which will determine them whether they're either granted a great power or not.
Sorcha was about to vomit, and a guard immediately provides a bucket for her to regurgitate into. After that initial distraction out of the way, the Beginners' Exam goes underway for the Dustbin.
They had 4 hours to complete their examinations, otherwise, immediate failure.
No one in the repurposed cells had anything in mind other than succeeding right now as their hands, brain, eyes and arms were all working in tandem to fill out the exam sheet.
If Fodlan's Valley of Torment was where the Goddess had rained her judgement upon the wicked, then the Examination Halls were Hell's Antechamber as far as anyone was concerned.
4 Hours inside the Examination Hall/Hell's Antechamber Later...
"Took you all long enough," Byron remarked as the rest of the Dustbin all came out completely exhausted, both physically, and mentally, "I finished my exam in the first hour."
"... Shut... up..." Vidar heaved out, with spots of blood soaking through his reddened bandages, "... not... all... like you."
"... And this is... the Beginners' Exam?!" Sorcha exclaimed before she puked over the ledge of the bridge.
"... Me hands... and me eyes... are trembling..." Selene shuddered out as her frail body rattled in place.
"Fresh air..." Cyrus heaved out before he took off sprinting, "I NEED FRESH AIR!"
"Ugh... impressive," Topaz complimented at her own torment inflicted upon her 4 hours prior, "... it appears that this experience... has brought be closer towards seeing Death..."
"Don't worry..." Karna grunted out as his feet stumbled across the bridge back towards the monastery, "... it gets easier."
"... Come to think of it," Byron remarked, "you used to work in Adrestian Empire's Magical Research and Development prior coming here, correct?"
"Yes," the professor replied, "why?"
"... I was thinking," the intellectual freak of nature remarked, "if you were able to take the Promotion Exams held by the state instead of your head being placed on the chopping block before your exile, what class would you be right now?"
"... Hmm, an interesting thought," Karna remarked, "... if I had to say... I'd be a Warlock."
"Come to think of it, most of us seem naturally overqualified to take the exams, yet we're only doing so to be recognized by the state as such," Byron pointed out as he the professor walked together as the rest of the Dustbin went ahead, "I wonder," the prodigy pondered as he looked at his classmates from behind, "... what would the others in the Dustbin be like naturally without the need of exams, but rather, by natural talent?"
Karna then looked at his students as they walked.
"Cyrus would be a good Cavalier, Topaz has the skills of a proper Thief," Karna listed down as images of the two Almyrans being the said professions, "Sorcha is a perfect candidate for a Mercenary, Selene has the eyes of an Archer, Vidar being either a good Brigand or a Brawler..." the professor went on, the images of his students making a name for themselves with their new strengths that they've earned, "and you Byron? You're smart enough to be whatever you want, but your intellect would make the perfect Mage or Priest."
Byron chuckles at the thought.
"We'll see, we'll see," he teased, "also, me? As a Priest?" the bookworm student remarked, "I'd be caught dead if I had to babysit everyone on the battlefield!" he remarked, "Vidar is my only concern, and I do not need a list of other people that I have to stick my neck out for!"
Later at the Evening...
"Alright, results time!" Karna announced as the other staffers escorting Seteth holding the written results under his arm.
"I know what my results may be," Byron remarked, "but I look forward to it all the same, just to boast of my superiority."
"... It's time..." Vidar grunted out.
"Hurry up and get it over with..." Sorcha groaned out, "... sooner this shite is but a bad dream, the better..."
"Likewise," Selene stated, "except for the 'bad dream' part. No one needs to lose sleep over a bloody sheet of paper."
"Well said," Topaz replied, "not that I need that much sleep anyway."
"Ugh, still though," Cyrus shuddered, "why does our fate have to be decided on what we wrote rather than through our own actions?"
"Because it's Fodlan, and the people running the show are a bunch overly-paranoid schizophrenics with closet megalomania with a side of depression," Karna answered bluntly as he led the Dustbin class to where their results were being posted for all to see.
And as soon as the giant roll of paper is unfurled, the class's results were shown to all.
Dustbin Class's Results of the Beginners' Exam
Karna Yuga: 100%
Byron Amadeus Noa: 100%
Vidar: 70%
Sorcha McCarthy: 71%
Selene McCarthy: 79%
Cyrus Iskandar: 69%
Topaz: 76%
"... The hell?" Cyrus croaked out upon seeing his score, "... I failed?"
"And by a close margin, no less," Karna pointed out as he clutched his head, "dammit, we were so close to the whole class passing."
"Nothing wrong with that," Seteth stated, "you can take the exam again afterwards, although the pay itself is still there-"
The Battu boy then goes into an immediate panic attack, screeching and convulsing at the breaking revelation of his efforts being tantamount to a last-minute defeat of his chances of going back home becoming more distant and his humiliation in a cage of a country being further prolonged.
"Someone calm him down!" Seteth barked out as the Armored Knights jumped in to contain the panic of the boy, only for them to be flung away by his sheer size and hysterical strength. After the crescendo of his manic episode, he then takes of sprinting elsewhere to cope with the exploding stress that was accumulated for the past month of studying and enduring himself being trapped in a confined space for so long.
"... I'll go find him," Karna remarked before he went in the same direction/trail of carnage left behind by Cyrus.
As he continued following the trail of destruction leading all the way to the marketplace, where Cyrus himself was trying to pry the gates open with his bare hands, Karna uses his [Flux H] spell to suspend the berserk Battu tribesman in a space of nulled gravity.
"Cyrus!" Karna cried out, "Cyrus! Please, calm down and just listen to me for a second!"
"GET ME OUT OF THIS PLACE!" he cried out, "THIS PLACE IS HELL! THERE IS NO GLORY SOUGHT TO BE HERE!"
"I know," the professor remarked, "I know that in Battu, the sea of grass is where Mother Earth embraces all and Father Sky watches all, and you feel as if Fodlan has neither," he pointed, "but please, I implore you, be patient. You can't just run away from from Fodlan as an end-all to your problems!"
"WHAT IS FODLAN?!" Cyrus cried out, "OTHER THAN A PATCH OF LAND WHERE LIARS AND HYPOCRITES ARE BORN AND BRED?!"
"The same is said of your kind of people too, and also the same response defending the accuser," Karna explained, "people come from different lands with different rules and values. Fodlan is a place where people organize and structure through buildings and settling down. Battu is an endless open plain where only bison and horses roam, and everything that nature had to offer is free," he pointed out, "the most respectful thing to do is to respect other cultures and not wipe them out of existence out of sheer spite! I've seen what happened to the Duscur people ten years ago! Hatred and lies threaten the goodwill of humanity! The hilltop is the place where everyone wants to reach to look down upon the others! My duty as an intellectual is to break the notions of bigotry and hopefully the people won't wipe each other out out of hatred alone!"
"DON'T YOU DARE PREACH ME!" Cyrus barked out, "THE GONERILS ARE NOTHING BUT SLAVERS ALL BUT IN NAME!"
"So are your people if they saw your home," Karna replied, causing Cyrus to fall silence in disbelief, "yes, people are liars and hypocrites," he admitted, "the best we can do is simply live with it and not use it as an excuse to go after another fellow man with weapons in hand!"
"... But that's all I know how to do," Cyrus pointed out, "I lived in a world where everything could kill a lesser man. I want to go back soon as possible so that I don't die by the time I return as weaker being than I am now!"
"... Who says that you're weak?" asked Karna, "was it the Goneril family who took you for themselves in shackles, or yourself for feeling alienated in a world that doesn't see you who you really are?" he pointed out, "and from a single failed test no less?"
The Battu boy then calms down for a brief moment as he floated in the air.
"... I hate it here," Cyrus admitted, "I hate this place for its halls that feel too tight, rooms that feel like boxes, and the halls that do nothing but hide," he pointed out, "my home had an open plain of emerald green, the winds brushing across the valleys and my face as I rode on Darius's back, the endless sky stretching across above my head as I looked around, and even the dangers of wild beasts and enemy tribes had their own charm of keeping myself awake and remind me that I have to earn my right to live!" the boy explained, "here? Everyone feels like the opposite! There's no desire to live! There's only complacency and confinement here! Everyone feels like they're letting the others how to live their own lives rather than for themselves, and for the like me... it's confusing, and terrifying because I never felt anything like it!"
"No need to be scared, because everyone starts that way when they know nothing," Karna reassured, "for now, I beg of you; trust me and I'll help you grow stronger without letting you forget nor rampage your way back home."
Cyrus then lets in a sharp inhale before sighing out.
"... Alright," he replied, wiping the tears forming in his eyes, "... I'll trust you. Or at least, enough to not freak out every time I stay still too long."
"Hopefully, the next mission takes place at an open field where you and Darius can run to both your hearts' content," Karna reassured as he released Cyrus from the [Flux H].
As the two went back to where the Dustbin were at, the students who've passed were now holding onto Beginner Seals, which will grant them divine strength that will imbue the user with the knowledge and physical prowess of their respective professions.
"Just in time," Byron remarked, "... and uh, sorry about you couldn't make it," he apologized, "guess I make a poor teacher despite my intellect."
"... Seteth... says... next time..." Vidar grunted out, his speech becoming more clearer than it was before in his next line, "... everything... will be fine."
"We're losers, but we're all losers like ye," Sorcha pointed out, "promotion or no promotion, we ain't ditching someone who's been with us for years now, cuz dat's a dick move."
"I'll help you along the way," Selene reassured, "I'm confident in me skills, so I can free m'self some time to teach."
"No job deserves to be left undone," Topaz stated, "as long as you're alive and the job is still unfinished, then you have an obligation for fulfill it, regardless of whoever it is for."
"Well, there's that," Karna remarked to Cyrus as he took up his own Beginners Seal, "we'll soon see you on the other side, Mr. Cyrus Iskandar."
The Beginners Seals in each of their hands then began to glow, and as soon as the radiance reached its crescendo, the ruby inside the gold cage then suddenly shot themselves out of their hands before emitting a bolt of lighting that struck them each where they stood.
But just before Cyrus himself could head towards where the bolts had stuck, from the smoke came the Dustbin, now sporting new attires and with a different bearing.
Karna and Cyrus were now wearing flowing robes with armored collars of that of a Monk's, with Karna's being predominantly black with red trimmings, and Byron's robes being that or blue-violet of color with yellow trimmings.
Sorcha and Topaz were now sporting simple leather tunics with metal shoulder and leg armoring of that of a Myrmidon's, with Sorcha's tunic being forest green, and Topaz's being an extremely-faded peach with a faint orange hue.
Vidar's new attire was now a simple ensemble of light leather armor over basic cloth of that of a Fighter's, his personal colors being that of striking black and yellow-gold.
And Selene's was now sporting a full-steel upper body armor above a tunic of a Soldier's, with her personal colors that being of blue-green.
"... Wow," Cyrus remarked as he tried not to cry, "... guess I have a lot of catching up to do, do I?"
And with that, both the Beginners' Exam and the Harpstring Moon came to a close.
To Be Continued...
Support Conversations Available:
- Karna and Cyrus (C)
Karna: So, how do you like it here so far in Fodlan?
Cyrus: ... Antsy. The walls themselves feel intrusive. I feel like I'm stuck inside a barrel of wine filled with air, it doesn't feel right with or without it.
Karna: Hm, the Battu Steppe is known to be a "sea of grass", but to think that it would play to your psychological development of you view your perception of the idea of "openness" in the world. ... I have to ask, do tent covers count as walls?
Cyrus: No, of course not. I can flip them up and hear the wind and the enemies come from beneath the vents with ease! Not only that, they're easy to pack and set up again when on the move!
Karna: I see, I see, so you really can't handle the settled life... I better not test the aversion of such thing lest he gets triggered.
Cyrus: What was that you just said to yourself?
Karna: Nothing really, just thinking out loud.
Cyrus: ... Tch, damn it's too cramped in here. Professor, can we go outside already? I feel like if I stay inside any longer, my heart's going to pop like a stepped-on goatskin pouch of water!
Karna: Morbid, but applicable. I'll go talk to Seteth and see if we can arrange an outing for you to vent. Even I admit that staying cooped up has begun to drive me a bit mad.
Cyrus: Please, hurry. I feel the need to run across the open and destroy my enemies!
- Byron and Topaz (C)
*A gathering of students in the Officer Academy's Mess Hall*
Host Black Eagles Student: Ladies and gentlemen! Welcome to Garreg Mach Monastery's Weekly Trivia Night! I have taken the liberties of acquiring the contents from the academy's advice box and have complied them into a series of interesting and often ludicrous questions! Winner takes home the title of "King of Trivia Night" and a one-time-use of a first-in-line privilege for any school facilities of the winner's choice! Now let's shut up and get answering some of these juicy questions!
*The gathered student body cheers*
Host Black Eagles Student: Question 1! What makes a good Mercenary?!
Byron: The will to fight for others?
Host Black Eagles Student: That is correct! And without hesitation too! As expected of this academy's "King of Trivia Night" 2 years running! Give the others some slack, would ya?
Byron: Make me.
*Gathered student body boos*
Male Blue Lions Student: YOU STINK!
Female Golden Deer Student: ROT IN HELL, KILLJOY!
Female Black Eagles Student: STOP RUINING TRIVIA NIGHT ALREADY!
Host Black Eagles Student: Them's fighting words from both sides! AND I LOVE IT! Alright, onto the next question! What do you when a pair of nobles start fighting with each other?!
Female Blue Lions Student: Um, intervene!
Male Golden Deer Student: Just ignore them!
Byron and Topaz: Start a betting pool on who would win.
Host Black Eagles Student: ... Did I hear that right? BECAUSE THAT'S THE RIGHT ANSWER, AND IT CAME FROM SOMEONE OTHER THAN THE INTELLECTUAL FREAK OF NATURE THAT WE ALL KNOW AND LOVE! LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, WE FINALLY HAVE A CONTENDER!
*The student body all cheer for Topaz as she and Byron come up on the central table/stage*
Topaz: ... What? You didn't think I'd be willing to pass up learning about my surroundings?
Byron: It's about time I had a worthy opponent. Honestly, those dunderheads were starting to bore me.
Topaz: Guess we're out for something for tonight, then. ... Loser pays for the other's weapon repair bills?
Byron: I'll make you eat those words. I don't plan on holding back.
Topaz: Neither do I.
*Crowd gets super-hyped at this new contest against the current "King of Trivia Night"*
Host Black Eagles Student: GET HYPED PEOPLE BECAUSE I SURE AS HELL AM! WE NOW HAVE THE TRIVIA BATTLE OF THE CENTURY! THE UNDISPUTED KING VERSUS THE DARK HORSE CHALLENGER OF THE TITLE! NOW, HERE'S QUESTION NUMBER THREE! ... What kind of flowers are best for tea parties?
Author's Notes: Final week of summer break, have university next week, so here's the wrap-up that I cranked out in two days!
First of all, I tried to be semi-realistic here in that Cyrus being the only one to fail, since he did have some repressed feelings explode outwards during the whole "study hall" session, and that no one's guaranteed to pass even after studying for countless days, since not everyone picks up the same learning curve as other people.
Second, about Cyrus's whole 69% schtick, I tried really hard not to put Sylvain as the heckler, since A), I don't want to make him too unlikeable after the previous part, and B), I'm pretty sure the whole 69-joke is just too easy.
And finally, after this fic chapter along with Apocrypha's upcoming chapter, I'll be taking a break from writing to early-mid December to focus on school, because life hates everyone, even moreso during COVID.
And with that, peace.
References:
- Karna's BSOD at the beginning is a reference to Holt's beat cop hangup during Season 7 of Brooklyn 99.
- Anna's feature of "30 Under 30" is based off the same polling list from Forbes magazine.
- Byron's line upon seeing Byleth's 100% is obviously Tai Long's line from Kung Fu Panda.
- The examinations themselves are based off of Imperial China's Civil Service Exams/Keju, including being locked up in a reinforced room-part. And said Examination Hall is based off the Prison Building from Fire Emblem Fates's My Castle feature.
- Topaz's Myrmidon color palette is Desert Pink, which the British used during the Cold War as legit desert camouflage.
- Byron and Topaz's support conversation is basically a huge lampshading on FE3H's semi-ludicrous Advice Box feature.