Next up was the written exam. This took place in the mess hall of the barracks; a large complex of buildings arranged into a square. They were built primarily from wood, though the outer walls were all made from cobblestone. The mess hall itself was a big open room full of long tables and a fireplace so large it could easily fit five men inside. 

This time there were five supervisors in total, two of which wore cloaks that indicated their status as active knights. One was an enormous man that looked a bit like a bear with a bushy black beard, though the effect was ruined slightly by the tiny pair of spectacles balanced on the end of his nose. The other was a woman similar in age to the bear man; though she had some greying hairs beginning to peek out by her temples, she carried a stout and powerful atmosphere about her. The remaining supervisors looked like aides or secretaries; likely there to assist in scoring the exams. 

We were told to sit at separate tables, then given a large stack of blank paper and a questionnaire sheet.

“Your exam has twenty questions, each worth five points. You have one hour to complete the exam, after which we will mark them and give you your scores. You may not leave your seat until the hour is up. If you need something, raise your hand. Ink and pens have been provided. Cheating of any kind will result in a zero. Is that clear?”

We all nodded.

“Good. You may begin now.”

I grabbed a blank sheet of paper and turned the question sheet over. It almost felt like I was back in university in my old life, only this time I barely had any resources to study from. I had done my best, but I had to start by learning how to read and write in this world’s language. After quizzing my family and mentors on all they knew about laws and knighthood, I wrote down everything I could remember about the game, from its branching routes to its lore. It was surprisingly easy; I had very clear memories of it, mainly due to how angry it made me when I played it. Fortunately that anger was helping me now. 

As I skimmed over the questions, my confidence began to grow. They were open ended; instead of asking about specific laws and etiquette of knighthood, the questions seemed more interested in revealing who I was as a person rather than what factual information I knew. A slow grin stretched across my face: I knew exactly what they were looking for, and I also knew exactly how to appeal to them. The knowledge of the future ran through my head; I had to remember exactly who I was applying to work for. Lord Rhinestadt was anything but a noble, honest man, and he cared nothing for a knight’s ‘honor’. No, what he was looking for was smart, silent soldiers he could dress up fancy while also having them do his dirty work. Honor wasn’t the right answer in these questions; loyalty was, and I would prove to him and the knights marking my test that mine was unquestioning. At least, that’s what I wanted them to believe. 

I finished my test ten minutes before the time limit, after which I wasted my time people watching. The commoner was struggling again, but at least the poor guy knew how to write. Miss Beet Barbie seemed relatively confident, though also a bit disappointed; I imagine she had wasted hours memorizing historical dates and laws in order to prepare, only to realize it was all useless. 

Once the hour was up, our papers were gathered up and marked, which didn’t take very long. The female knight cleared her throat and announced the results. 

“Listen up! Here are your scores.”

Beet Barbie gave me a satisfied smirk as she began reading off the numbers.  

“Number nine, you scored a fifty-two. Number ten scored a seventeen. Number eleven scored a sixty five, while number thirteen scored a thirty seven.”

Watching the others’ reactions was beautiful. The commoner boy had an elated expression at finally scoring his first points, while Beet Barbie had an expression of utter shock on her face. She seemed to be having difficulty processing the fact that she got a seventeen despite scoring so well on the first trial. But the knight wasn’t done. 

“Lastly, number twelve. Though your handwriting is absolutely dreadful, you nonetheless scored a ninety-two on your test. Congratulations.”

I blinked, now it was my turn to doubt my ears. Ninety-two?! I had confidence in my answers, but I never expected a result like that. Neither did Beet Barbie.

“How is that possible?! How could a lowly commoner score higher than me?!! I studied for weeks!!” she screamed. The knight narrowed her eyes. 

“You can ask her what her answers were later. In the meantime, I suggest you shut your mouth or risk disqualification. We have no room for whiners here.”

That shut her up surprisingly quickly, but I couldn’t help but sidle up to her and whisper, “Don’t worry, perhaps there was something wrong with your pen. Make sure the nib is secured properly next time.”

I received another delightful glare of fury in response before she flounced away. 

I couldn’t stop another grin, as the anxiety within me lessened. I had a total of one hundred and twenty eight points; I only needed seventy-two more to reach the tournament. Things were beginning to look up. 

It was noon by the time we reached the third trial, horseback riding. I was feeling confident, both with my score and the trial ahead. I felt comfortable around horses, unlike the other poor street commoner; he had an expression of absolute terror on his face. 

Our supervisor this time was a tall, thin, effeminate looking man. He could have easily passed for a tall woman if he wanted to; the me in my past life would've been jealous. Unlike the previous knights, he welcomed us with a big smile.

"Welcome, welcome! This is the horseback trial, where you will get to ride atop a magnificent warhorse! The rules are rather straightforward. You ride your horse through our fancy little obstacle course, and we time you! Simple, no? Of course, there may be one or two hindrances along the way, but I'm sure you'll manage fine. Now let's get started!!"

I took a deep breath and stepped towards the offered hose. I could do this. 

I couldn't do it.  

Not only did the horse express extreme displeasure towards me (even the horses hated commoners here), from the moment I climbed into the saddle, I spent the entire time desperately clinging on for dear life. No matter how I tugged the reins or yelled, the horse did its own thing. The only reason why I even managed to get halfway through the course was thanks to the other contestants: after they took off, the horse begrudgingly followed behind, seemingly unwilling to be left behind but not interested enough to race them. That is, until he got distracted by a suspiciously placed giant pile of hay. 

Of course, Beet Barbie had no issues at all; she seemed to be enjoying herself as she raced through the obstacles at top speed, dodging ropes, leaping over ponds, and having a grand old time. Figures that the face of Barbie Saddle And Ride Adventure Set™ would have an easy time on a horse; she was like a perfect protagonist character. If this was a shounen anime, I would be the arrogant bitter rival, fated to lose at the critical moment. It was a good thing then, that I didn’t believe in fate. 

Beet Barbie boasted as much as she could, sneering and giggling at my failure like her life depended on it. I acted like the mature, responsible adult I was (on the inside) and made various faces at her behind her back. Unfortunately, we didn’t have much time to rib each other before we were given our scores and sent on to the final challenge. 

Beet Barbie had scored a whopping 95 points on the horse challenge, bringing her total to 174. I gained none, leaving my score at 128; I had a lot of ground to make up if I wanted to get into the final tournament. The poor other commoner was practically eliminated with this round; like me he gained nothing, but he had no reserve of points to rely on. As for the two noble boys, their scores sat at 162 and 122 respectively, meaning that any of us could still win in this last trial and surpass two hundred points.