7 I am you and you are me

My heart beat quickened as I walked towards the testing center for the final part of the Royal Knight Exam. The week flew by quicker than one can say "hello there". During that time I had trained meticulously despite my injuries. I had also done multiple mind strengthening exercises taught to me by my father and mother. Something inside told me that this part of the exam was going to push our mental abilities to the limits.

I was prepared.

Despite my confidence I still felt my heart tremble in fear. My wounds had healed well thanks to the elixir provided to us participants. The Marquis walked over and faced us participants. I turned. All of the participants were calm, some were laughing even. I was the only one who was tense in the midst of them. I looked up to see the Marquis look at me knowingly.

He smiled encouragingly. His silver hair shining. I pouted. I was still at a loss as to why he had requested that I spy on the emperor. I'm sure that it's more than the simple reason of knowing when to visit the emperor's concubine. The most thing that annoyed me about this man was his lax attitude. It was as if he takes the world and life as a joke. As if it were all a game which he was the top player in.

I looked over at my comrades. Only one of them looked at the Marquis with similar suspicion as me. I looked over to see the cheerful Andriis look at the Marquis with a sort of menace. I shivered. Assassins sure were scary individuals. Despite that act their intuitions were always spot on. He had a reason to suspect the Marquis as I do. Once Andriis noticed new staring he smiled and waved. I waved back as I looked back to the Marquis. The Marquis then smirked and said.

"Now I would like all of you to stand in front of the door with your name on it. Inside of that room will be a chair. You must sit on it and close your eyes. You will eventually find yourself in a state of unconsciousness where your third part of the exam will take place. Now before you all go in remember to calm yourselves. This might even be the most dangerous of all of the stages of the exam. Do not push yourselves. If you are afraid this will be the only time where you may leave willingly. You will not be labeled as a coward."

All of the participants quieted as the Marquis said this. I felt my heart beat quicken once more. I was correct. This was a simulation to test our mental strength.

"Well if there is no one leaving then you may all now go to your testing locations. The time spent will depend on how quickly you can accomplish the goal at hand. Good luck to you and I will see you all later."

I closed my eyes briefly as I exhaled and calmed down. I emptied my mind of possibilities as I walked towards the last door down the corridor. My name was written on it in gold. I could do this. The other participants had already entered their rooms. I felt my hand tremble as I turned the knob and entered the room.

As the Marquis had stated there was a chair in the middle of the dark barely lit room. The chair looked simple enough as well as the empty room. There were no cameras or anything. I walked over and sat on the chair. As soon as I closed my eyes I felt a sort of gas enter my nose. Seconds later I felt my consciousness start to slip. I then opened my eyes only to see that I was laying down on a flowerbed of some sort. I was no longer in the small room but an open grassland. A slight warm breeze swept through allowing the dandelions to sway. The sky above was endless without a cloud in sight. I sat up as I looked down to see a valley and thin river below, down the short hill. As I stood up and started to walk down the hill caution filled me. For some reason this relaxing scene scared me more than if I was in a nightmare. Everything was way too calming.

This must be some sort of dream or something created by the gas which I had inhaled in this room. As the sun shone I only thought of my want to get out of this place as soon as possible. I must find my goal and pass it in order to get out. I looked around as I walked down the hill carefully. So far it was just a typical landscape scene. Nothing out of the ordinary. Birds chirped, and deers galloped.

I looked down to see that I did not have any of my weapons. I cursed under my breath. How was I supposed to protect myself if something were to occur?

I found the answer to my question quicker than I had expected. I inhaled sharply as I looked at something unusual by the river.

Never would I have thought that the Royal Knight Exam would take things as far as they did with me in the time to come. If I was ever going to regret an action which I had done, it would be getting into the testing room and inhaling that gas. Because what I would experience and see in this part of the exam would go on to scar me for the rest of my life.

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Thank you so much for reading my luvs! The next part to this will come out tomorrow so stay tuned! I'm sorry for the delay, I had to take a midterm yesterday! Stay safe and be careful????????