William:

A day had passed since the test, the countless people who participated were now lined up in the dome, almost forming a line outside, waiting for Sergeant Caitlyn to announce those who got in and their ranks. Arthur and I hadn't talked since the test; he was still upset with me, but I didn't know why, and frankly, I didn't really care at the moment. So, we both of us avoided talking to each other. I heard a loud door open, in walked the sergeant with papers in her hand. She walked in front of the line and spoke loudly so everyone could hear.

"Alright, I will announce who made it in and their ranks. If you did not make it, do not be upset. Just work harder and come back next year. As for those who did make it, I'm expecting you to not slack off and to improve yourselves. Without further ado, here are those who made it. First up are the people who ranked as cadets: Eldrin, Liora, Gavriel. Congratulations. Now, I will announce the people who ranked higher than cadets. Only three made it: Key, special rank; Zax, recon; Whisk, Striker. If you didn't hear your name, you did not make it and are dismissed. As for the three who got a rank above cadet, come see me."

We watched countless people leave, some crying, some frustrated, and some happy. The three of us who had gotten a rank above cadet stayed still until everyone had left. Once they had, we made our way up front to the Sergeant, and she began speaking.

"I want to congratulate you three, especially you, Key. Let me tell you about your ranks and what to expect," she said, then taking a deep breath in.

"First, Zax, your rank involves going into enemy territory and spying to collect information. Your fighting skills are okay at best, but observing you these two weeks, I concluded that your set of skills is better suited for spying. Here is a paper with where you need to be next week. There, they will train you to be the best spy you can be."

"Whisk, your rank, Striker, will only be used in time of war, as you will be the first line of offense or defense. Here, on this paper, it tells you where to go. Be there next week."

"Now, both of you are dismissed," she said, waving us off.

I whispered to Key, "I'll wait for you outside."

He nodded, and I made my way outside. I glanced over at Zax, who seemed either sad or afraid. I considered saying something but decided against it. Once outside, I waited for Arthur. That's when Zax stopped and said something.

"Um, Whisk, aren't you coming?"

"No, I'm waiting for Key."

"Oh, that's right. You're brothers. Well then, it was nice meeting both of you," Zax said sadly and walked away.

I waited for a good ten minutes, mulling over how I failed to get the special rank and how that would affect our plans. Maybe if I hadn't held back, I could have won. But that was in the past. Now, I needed to focus on improving my wind magic so that my worst day could be someone's best day.

The door opened, Arthur and the Sergeant emerged. They nodded to each other, she left, and Arthur stayed behind. He looked like he was holding back anger.

"What now, William? I'm the only one who got the special rank since you decided to hold back," Arthur said with a sneer.

His words enraged me, and I shot back, "Listen, Arthur, I don't know what your problem is, so just spit it out!"

"My problem is YOU, William!" he pointed at me. "We're here because of you! And I don't mind that, but what I do mind is you holding back. If you're going to drag us into your problems, at least try to solve them!"

I glared at Arthur, feeling a deep rage. "I never asked for your help. I can do this all by myself!"

"Oh, REALLY? Then tell me, what would you do without me? Just charge at the kingdom and get killed? You've made it clear you're not as strong as you think. You're just a weak, angry kid!"

Unable to contain my anger, I lunged to grab Arthur by the collar of his uniform, but he activated his sword style, deflecting my hand and kicking me in the stomach.

"Aw, poor little William, couldn't contain his anger and tried to attack me, a superior human," Arthur taunted.

"Come on, William. Don't just lay there. Do something, you pathetic fool."

A rage I had never felt before boiled up inside me. It felt like I could conquer anything, defeat anyone. But why were Arthur's words so infuriating? I didn't care anymore. If this was what he wanted, I'd give it to him.

Before he could finish his sentence, I charged at Arthur with all my anger in my fist and swung. He barely dodged, and I struck the ground, creating a huge crater. Using the debris, I launched myself at Arthur. Before he could regain his balance, I hit him with a clothesline, sending him tumbling until he hit the ground. I landed on him and started to throw countless punches at his mask, each attack deepening the crater. I wouldn't stop until his mask broke or he found a way out. But given how he fell, he was likely unconscious.

All that was heard were thunderous bangs. All I could think of was that he needed to lose that mask; he needed to know the difference between us. I was the strongest, I was power, and he was nothing. He needed to know that I didn't need him or anyone. All I needed was my own strength; yes, my own strength was the only important thing in this entire world. With it, I could conquer anything I wanted, take anything I wanted. And so, I continued until I heard a crack, and with one last punch, I struck Arthur right in the face, breaking his mask. This seemed to calm me down, so I got off Arthur and lay beside him. I looked up to see the crater I made. It had to be at least 30 meters deep. It was astonishing that no one had come, but again, I was confident we were the last ones here. A sound emitted from Arthur; as I looked, he coughed up blood and gave a thumbs up, then spoke very weakly.

"Jeez, man, where was this in the test?" he teased.

"I don't know," I said emotionlessly.

Arthur got up, wiping the blood from his mouth, and spoke, "I'm sorry, William. I was just mad. You have so much power, but you just hold back, not wanting to hurt anyone, and that pissed me off. Now isn't the time to go soft; you have a mission to avenge the king's death. This is your mission; I'm just here to support you in your goal, so put more effort in, okay?Arthur said, then spat out more blood.

I considered why Arthur's words had enraged me so much. No one else had been able to provoke such rage in me; the only other time I felt that much anger was when I saw HIM kill the king. I guess it doesn't matter now. To his request, I promised, "From now on, I'll hold back less. You're right. I shouldn't have done that. I apologize."

I got up and offered Arthur my hand, which he took, and I gestured for him to get on my back. He slumped his shoulders and made a face of disgust, asking, "Do I have to?"

"Can you climb out of this crater by yourself?" I said, pointing upwards.

Arthur reluctantly got onto my back, and I crouched and jumped all the way up the crater. Once up, Arthur got off, still shaking, so I sarcastically asked, "Did that little jump scare you, Arthur?"

He tried to sound brave but failed as his voice cracked, "Tsk, no."

I chuckled and said, "Let's go back to our room and get ready to leave." We headed to our room, packed everything we needed, and then Arthur pulled out a piece of chalk and said, "Are you ready, William?"

I finished packing everything into a bag and nodded. Both Arthur and I stood in the center of the room, and using the chalk, Arthur drew a circle around us and spoke a word: "Take us back."

With those words, the circle lit up, and in a flash, both Arthur and I were transported back to the old drunk's place.