Chapter 3 The Black Knight takes the test

The next day, after putting on her uniform and eating breakfast, Kureha took the knight with her to the academy. It was an important day for her. She usually slept in on Fridays, but she couldn't allow herself to today. It was the day when all Police Academy cadets who had summoned their weapons took part in practical lessons and could take various exams. It was a whole day dedicated to those who wanted to perfect their weapon usage. Kureha stood proudly at the main gate and opened it with her wrist. She was surprised to see that it connected to two points this time. One was on the ground, and the other was on the wall next to the gate.
They are trying to improve the security at the entrance. However, adding another lock won't work if the key is the same. Maybe they will give us a different one. She thought.
The knight walked silently behind her. The moment they appeared at the square in front of the academy's facade, all eyes fell on them. It was no surprise, as it was her first time taking part in the special Friday classes. Moreover, she was accompanied by a walking weapon who could be seen as quite handsome by some of the students. The knight smiled and bowed slightly to greet almost everyone he saw. Kureha sighed at the sight of the girls blushing over his courtesy.

She led the knight to a more secluded place so she could peacefully find what she was looking for. Since it was her first time here, she knew she couldn’t just jump into any random class. She had to undergo a special test given to those who had just received their weapons. She took out her phone and looked through the emails sent to her.
Here it is!
She found the email asking her to go to the first floor, room one at ten. She turned to the knight.
"We'll finally see what you can do!" She felt light as a feather and reread the email as if she still couldn't believe she had gotten it. "We would like to inform you that you are required to take an exam to determine the type, level, and classification of your weapon. This will influence which combat unit you join later.” Kureha read aloud. She didn’t know precisely what the exam would entail or how she was supposed to use her strange weapon, but the mere fact that she could finally try it after so many attempts lowered her stress levels.
"I'll make sure not to disappoint you," the knight told her.

They walked into the building and climbed the stairs to the first floor, where part of the practical exams and weapon-related lectures were taking place. Room one was on the right side of the corridor, less than a meter away from the stairs, so they didn’t have to go far. Kureha took a deep breath and knocked on the door.
"You can go in," a male voice said from inside the room.
When she entered, she couldn’t believe her eyes. Behind the door was a huge, wide hall with a high ceiling. There were no windows. Air circulated through ducts with grilles that could be seen high up on the walls in some places. Spotlights lit up the entire space. Inside was a man wearing a loose T-shirt and jeans. He was holding a file and took out some papers from it. Kureha recognized him. He was the one who always came with Loi to supervise her summoning attempts. His name was Arnold Tesral. As a professor, he stood out to students not because of his expertise in summoning, but because of his unmistakable appearance. His curly red hair and golden eyes, concealed behind glasses, were uncommon in Modar and set him apart.

Professor Arnold approached Kureha, looked at her and her weapon, and fell silent for a moment.
"Yeah, this one could be tricky, but whatever." He came closer to the wall next to the door and touched a switch installed there. Suddenly, a huge screen popped out displaying a list of possible obstacle courses, traps, and other potential tests.
"Let's try this one. It might work for someone straight from fairy tale."
He chose one of the options, clicked it and the entire hall's structure began to change. It was as if a dense forest had grown in there out of nowhere.
"Sorcery at its peak," commented the knight, his mouth wide open.
"It's technology mixed with elven magic," Arnold corrected him. "Okay. Look here,” he said, turning their attention to the board, which showed the instructions for the test. "The test I chose for you is the 'Flag.' Basically, you have to retrieve the red flag hidden somewhere in the forest while evading enemy attacks.” He began to explain. “It might seem a little too hard for a novice, but only half of you fall into that category,” he said, looking at Kureha. "I can't give you an easy one because a weapon like yours would probably go right through it. Slashing dummies or one-on-one fights wouldn't be enough to test anything. At least for me."

After all, there's two of you. He thought.

Kureha understood her position here. Unlike her, that knight was a hero.
Just like the original owners of the weapons that had been summoned.
He had experience. That was something she lacked.
She was at this school to learn and gain it, but her knowledge could not compare to this knight's real combat experience. She looked down at her hands.
After all, it's not a sword or a bow that I can hold in my hands. It can fight on its own. If so, what would be left for me to do?

"So, it's like trying to escape an ambush and retrieve what you were aiming for. Like a letter containing the king’s secrets,” the Knight’s summary of the test brought Kureha back to the present.
"Something along those lines," Professor Arnold agreed. "The flag will be to the north of your current location. If you see a tree marked with an X, then you know it’s close,” he added.
"Okay, then." The knight turned to his owner. "Kureha, are you ready?" He extended his hand toward her. She looked into his eyes, which shone with confidence. She, who had been happy a moment ago, felt a sense of uneasiness envelop her chest. She couldn’t believe that she started feeling this way before the test even began. She clenched her fist.
"I don't have a choice," she said, avoiding his eyes as she turned to face the forest. The knight looked at his hand, which was still hanging in the air. He sighed and lowered it. A black mist covered him, and his clothes transformed into the same armor he had worn when he was first summoned.

Professor Arnold simply said, "Let’s start," and they both went deeper into the forest.

When they got in, Kureha placed a hand on her chest and paused for a moment to catch her breath.
"Kureha?" the black knight inquired, his gaze fixed on her. "Is everything okay?"
"Yes, it's nothing," she said, showing the best smile she could manage at the moment.
I have to focus. It's true that I may not have the skills yet, but all I need to do is acquire them, right?
She tried to reassure herself and took a deeper breath to calm her nerves, which had finally overtaken her initial joy.

"First, we have to find that red flag," she said, looking around. She noticed that Professor Arnold and the room one’s previous interior were nowhere to be seen. They were completely surrounded by the forest. The knight walked closer to the trees and started touching them.
"My hand went through that woman, but this is different."
"It's a virtual reality. It sends signals to your mind and creates a realistic illusion. In reality, there is no forest. Only our minds think there is one.” she explained.
"So it's more of that technological sorcery, then?"
“Yes, if that’s how you want to call it.”

Then, his hand moved away from the tree, and he began to carefully scan his surroundings. He took a few steps back. He didn't have to say anything. His movements were enough to tell Kureha that something was close by. She looked around, noticed a nearby branch, and took it.
It's better than nothing. Her hands trembled slightly, but her breathing slowly became steadier.

They were expecting an attack, so they weren’t surprised when a dark, misty figure suddenly jumped out from behind a tree, holding what looked like a sword. It went straight after the knight, trying to strike him from above. The knight only smirked, quickly parrying the attack with his sword. Then, he kicked his misty opponent in the place where their stomach should have been. Its body crashed against the trunk of a tree.
"What an interesting figure," commented the knight as he watched the human-like misty body vanish into the air. “And there’s probably more of them here.”

“That’s for sure.” said Kureha. The knight looked at her hand which strenghted her grip on the branch.

“You don’t need that. I can protect you.”

The cadet furrowed her brows.

“So all I have to do is stand and do nothing, right?”

“That’s not what I meant.”

"But unfortunately, that's what it sounded like to me." irritation was evident in her voice. Seeing his smile disappear, Kureha took a deep breath and softened her tone. "I'll look around for a flag. You watch out for any attacks.”
After all, I should be able to do that at least.
The knight agreed and focused on scouting the area.
"North from here," she murmured to herself, looking up. The sun's rays that were coming through the leaves blinded her eyes. She covered her face, but then smiled at the bright digital sun. She took off her jacket and tied it tightly around her waist. Then, she put the branch that was working as her weapon into the knot formed from the sleeves so that she wouldn't lose it. Without saying anything, she climbed one of the trees and sat on a sturdy branch. She grabbed a small, thin stick growing out of the tree, held it up to the sunlight, and looked down at its shadow for a while.
"We're going this way," she said, pointing to the direction indicated by the tip of the shadow.

The knight whistled.

"You didn't have to do all that," he said.
"I wanted to be sure that I chose the right direction. Let's go."
They walked through the forest for a while. After that one attack, though, no other misty figure came close to them.
I guess they'll attack when we're close to the flag. Just as Kureha thought this, the knight touched her shoulder with his index finger.
"Isn't this the tree that man was talking about?" He pointed to a tree with an X mark on its bark.
“Yes, it is.”

When they got closer, she touched the mark and looked left, right, and then behind the tree, but she didn't notice the flag. She looked at the knight, who shrugged his shoulders, indicating that he didn’t see anything either.
"If you see a tree marked with an X, then you know it’s close,"

That's what Professor Arnold said. So, if it’s not on the ground, then...

Kureha looked up and smiled. She noticed something red high up in the tree, hidden among the leaves.

"I'll go get it," she said. She took off her shoes and started climbing the tree.
The knight stayed down and watched as Kureha swiftly climbed the tree again. She was already pretty high up when she noticed that the flag was tied to a very thin branch. It was also quite far away, and she couldn’t reach it easily. If she climbed toward it, the branch would surely break under her weight, and she would fall. All her efforts would be for nothing. She decided to get as close as she could to the flag. When she could finally touch the thin branch to which the flag was tied, she grinned to herself. She secured her position and gripped the branch that looked high up towards the sun tightly with a red material tied to it.
I'll just break it and take the flag with me down.
Breaking even a thin branch was quite challenging, especially since she had to ensure that she wouldn't fall. While she struggled with the flag, the knight on the ground shifted his gaze to the left. He heard something rustling nearby. He gripped his black sword, ready to fight. Looking up at Kureha, he noticed that she was fully focused on getting the flag. He didn't want to interrupt her, so he decided not to say anything. However, he had to abandon that idea when he saw a swarm of misty figures approaching from behind the nearby trees.
"Kureha!" he yelled.
"Yes?" the girl asked, her voice struggling.
"Our enemy has decided to make us find the treasure and take it away when we're close to it!"
When she heard that, she rolled her eyes.
"Wow! I would never have expected that!"
The moment she said that, the branch broke, and she swayed slightly as she tried to catch it. She breathed a sigh of relief when she had the branch with the flag on top in her hand.

The Black Knight was already fighting the swarm underneath. As he defeated one, another appeared. Although he wasn't struggling much, when Kureha looked down at him, she decided that she would try to fight, too. She didn't want to simply stay safely in the tree until he finished. She untied the flag and threw away the branch.
"Okay, nobody sees anything. I mean, I don't know about the professor, but it is what it is." She lifted her shirt slightly. Then, she pulled her tights to the side at her abdomen so she could put the flag underneath the fabric on her thigh. After that, she started to climb down slowly and proudly.
"It would be better if you stayed there," said the knight, noticing her.
"Sorry, but I'm not planning to stay put."
When she was close to the ground, she pulled out the branch she had tucked into her jacket and jumped down from th tree to attack the enemy who was trying to sneak up on the knight.
"Thank you for your assistance, but I could have defeated him," he remarked.
"Thank you was enough. You didn’t have to add anything else,” she answered, hitting the misty figures on the head with her branch. "Can you do some flashy moves?" she asked.
“What do you mean by that?”
“Blowing the whole forest up?”
“We’re not murdering Mother Nature, even if it’s only a technological sorcery.”
“Then what?”
He attacked one of the figures that was coming at him with its weapon lifted high. The knight crouched down and swiftly used his right leg to trip the figure. When it fell, he grabbed its leg and threw it at the swarm coming toward them. They all fell down. Then, his sword emitted a black light, changing it into a lance. He used it to pierce all the enemies lying on the ground. Then he swung it around to behead another group that was coming at him. Kureha observed his movements carefully. She smirked.
"It's not very flashy, but it works," she said.

The knight used his weapon, which changed back and forth between a sword and a lance, to defeat all the misty figures. Meanwhile, Kureha stood behind him, trying to take down any enemies who escaped the knight’s attacks.

Throwing myself into the action really helps calm my nerves.

After a while, the last murky figure was pierced by the lance. The knight exhaled.
In an instant, the forest vanished as if by magic, and they found themselves back in the hall. They stood in the same spot where they had started. Professor Arnold came closer, clapping his hands.
"Well done," he said, raising his open palm toward Kureha. "The flag."
"Oh, right," she said, lifting her shirt. Then, she put her hand under her tights, reached for the flag, and pulled it out with a smooth movement.
The knight hid his eyes behind his hand while the professor took back his hand.
"You can keep it," he said.
"Does the word 'shame' have any meaning to you, my lady?" the knight asked.
"Shame is redundant in a life-or-death situation," she explained honestly.
“Wasn’t that some kind of test to check our battle prowess?”
"Yes, it was," the professor sighed, confirming the knight's question. "Anyway, keep that as a souvenir because I don't plan on doing any more tests. We'll see more during the classes," he announced. When Kureha heard the word "classes," her face lit up, and she jumped with the flag in her hands.
"To be honest, I would love to dissect your weapon and see how it works, but that will have to wait," Professor Arnold added, fixing his glasses and staring intently at the knight who took a step back.
"I would appreciate it if no dissection took place. I’ll only agree to things that don’t invade my body in any way.”
"That's a pity," he sniffed. "Anyway, you can join any classes you want that concern the practical side of using weapons. You’ll find the schedule at the end of the corridor,” he said, marking them as passing on the screen and adding some short notes about the weapon.
Kureha turned to the knight and held her hands up high with shining eyes. The knight, not understanding what she meant, repeated her gesture and tilted his head.
"High five for the second success!" she screamed happily, and the sound of clapping hands resonated throughout the hall.
"Second? Then what’s the first one?” he asked.
"Summoning you, of course!" she answered, grabbing his hand and dragging him outside Room One. "Let's go see this schedule!"
The knight gladly followed his ‘owner.’

"Huh, that was fast," the professor commented. Then, he felt something vibrating. He took his phone out of his pocket and accepted the call. "Hello, Loi. Your niece and her weapon could be a valuable addition to the force. For two beings who have known each other for less than two days, they work pretty well together," he joked.

***

Hearing Professor Arnold's opinion about Kureha lifted Loi's spirits, which were weighed down by a bunch of papers regarding the change in the Academy's protection system. He looked at the photo in his room.
"I think it's time," he said, taking out his phone and calling his niece to come to him after her last lecture.

***

"There's something I want to give you," Loi said, coming closer to his bookshelves and kneeling down to take out a folder. Behind it was another row of folders, from which he pulled out a dark purple folder. If Kureha remembered what she learned in lectures, that color marked special cases that hadn’t been solved, and the truth about them was hidden from the public eye. The professor stood up and looked at it for a while, a sour expression painting his face.
"It's a file concerning your mother's case," he said in a serious tone, which contrasted with his worried look when he gave the file to Kureha.
She didn't say anything, just took it from his hands.
"You can read it, but you have to do it in here. You understand?" he said firmly.
Kureha nodded in response and sat on the sofa to start reading.

"I want to ask you something when you're done."