The exam for Lunsford academy of magic for knights was two weeks away. Will doubled his daily exercises. He spent his mornings running until he passed out and as soon as he woke up he ate his breakfast. Then after breakfast, he would do his routine until he would pass out. After he woke up he would eat dinner then continue his routine until he passed out and woke up in the morning. He repeated this until there were two days left until the exam. He didn't do any exercises on these last two days and did nothing besides eating and resting, to prepare for the exams.

" Remember son, even if you have the fastest car in the world, it can't reach top speed without proper fuel and treatment," Shawn said one evening as he watched Will struggle to breathe and was covered in bruises.

Will then dedicated that the last two days were for rest. The day before the exam Will was full of confidence. His phone started ringing on the day before the exam.

"

Who is it this time ?" Will said with a sigh. When he read the caller ID he couldn't stop himself from laughing. " What does Tim want? Is he going to try to bribe me into doing his homework, again ?" Will answered his phone. " What do you want Tim?" Will said flatly while getting straight to the point.

" Nothing much corpse eater, I just wanted to call and ask you to wish me luck for the academy exams," Tim said with the normal arrogance he had.

Will was genuinely shocked. This muscle for brains goof was able to pass the exams, I wonder what level luck he has? Will paused for a moment before responding. "What academy are you going to try for ?" Will honestly was curious, he never paid attention to anyone in the junior academy, actually, he avoided them. "

Lunsford academy of magic for knights. " Tim replied with a bit of pride in his voice.

Will laughed so hard he fell off his bed. "What are you, a worthless corpse eater who always wears a cloak and distances himself from others, laughing about." Tim roared, his normal arrogance shattered.

" See you tomorrow Tim" Will replied without any hint of emotion. Will then ended the call and powered off his phone so that he could get the needed rest for tomorrow.

The next day Will woke up and ran five miles before breakfast and another five after breakfast. He then read over the material that the students would be tested over. He studied until his dad came to take him to the academy. They arrived at Lunsford an hour later and just barely made it in time to enroll in the exams. Each person was tested outside in the field that was used for sports. The first part of the exam was over after two hours and was the part of the exam that Will was most confident in. The second part of the exam was the physical part of the exam, examines were required to be able to lift one hundred and fifty pounds to chest level and hold it there for ten seconds, after the weightlifting they would run on treadmills were the slowest they were allowed to go was five meters a second. That was easy for Will considering the training he went through. "The final part of the exams will now begin."

Will was extremely nervous and was tempted to check the celestial system but decided against it. He didn't want to constantly worry himself over his MME rank and decided against checking it. The examiners brought out a cube similar to the one they used to test MME Rank in the junior academy but twice as big, they then plugged it into the monitors on the walls. They then called out examiners in alphabetical order, Will's name was the fifth called. As he went to go to the cube Tim stopped him and said "Good luck, Corpse Eater."

Will laughed and replied, " I don't think you should tell that to someone else, especially when you need all the luck you can get yourself, Ginger."

Will went to the cube and awaited instructions.

"Place your hands on the cube and we will see your MME Rank." The instructor said as he wondered how he drew the short stick, he was extremely bored watching over the exams.

"Yes, sir," Will replied flatly while trying not to let his emotions creep into his voice. Will put his hands on the cube as he raised the sleeves on his cloak.

"B Rank" The instructor read off the monitor.

"How can this be." Tim stood up and asked loudly.

Will was too shocked to move. " What do you mean? He scored a B ranked. Is that so surprising? I know it isn't that common for people from the sticks to have decent ranks but it isn't that uncommon here." The instructor said with a chuckle.

"That isn't what I meant, sir. He had no rank less than a year ago and now he has a B rank." Tim said seriously.

" Is that so? Well, let me inform you of something. The MME Sensor senses Mana Manipulation, not actual mana. A person that trains hard enough and has a decent amount of mana can actually reach the A-Rank, and if they're lucky the may just someday reach the S Rank. There is no, and I repeat, there is no way for someone to determine how much mana a person has with today's technology. That is why we have to test how much mana a person can manipulate."The instructor replied halfheartedly.

" But, How..." Tim couldn't wrap his head on how Will increased his rank.

"You may now go join the rest of the B Ranks while we evaluate the exam results." The instructor said to Will. "Yes, Sir," Will Replied as he went to join the rest of the B Ranks. The rest of the exams went without any more outbreaks. Tim also scored a C Rank.

Wow, I can't believe the training paid off. Will thought as he waited on the instructors next announcement. "All right, no one failed the written or physical part of the exams. We will now announce who passed the third part of the exams. anyone below D Rank has failed. Anyone at D-C Rank will be Squires in training. A-B Rank will be knights in training. And since no one scored an S Rank I will still tell you that if you scored an S Rank you would be a Paladin in training. Don't be disappointed, as your Rank increases so will the classes you can take." Everyone's spirits raised as they heard this. Since there is a rank above magic knight then I will naturally strive for it. Will thought as he went to get into Shawn's car. On the ride back home Will checked his stats with the Celestial System:

Tabs:

Injuries

Skills

Maps

Main:

Name: Willenstark Kraft-Will

Strength : 6

Agility : 7

Intelligence : 9

Charisma : 2

Luck : -7

Mana : 22

Mana Manipulation : 5

Vitality : 10

Endurance : 10

How did my mana increase? I guess this is another mystery to piece together. My Mana control is just at five and I'm already a B Rank, imagine what rank I could get if I increased my mana manipulation. Reaching the S Rank will be no problem if I continue my training. But why did my luck decrease? Wasn't it bad enough already? Did my dead ancestors insult the god of luck in the afterlife or something? If that is the case then every time I get stronger then I will always hit a stronger wall if I this keeps happening. But why did I have to have such bad luck, to begin with? Will arrived home about an hour later.

" So how did it go?" Shawn asked. Earlier that day he had to meet with the headmaster of Lunsford academy, Richard Heizer because he received a message saying that Will wouldn't even be allowed to participate in the exam. Heizer was an "Old Friend" of Shawn so they made a bet. If Will was able to become a squire in training then Heizer would allow Will to join the academy. If he was able to become a knight in training then Heizer would give Will any advice he needed without asking for anything in return. If Will was able to become a paladin in training then Heizer would do anything possible to help Will. If Will completely failed the exam then Shawn would have to sell the Kraft café to Heizer and be a manager there for life. Shawn agreed without hesitation and didn't tell Will because he didn't want to stress him.

"Yes, I did dad," Will replied with a smile.

"What placement did you get," Shawn said happily. " Knight and training."

Shawn was happy and proud. "That is because of your effort, son" Shawn said as they pulled into the driveway.

Melany was waiting on the porch. " How did it go? " Melany asked as soon as they stepped onto the porch.

"I am now a knight in training," Will said with a laugh.

"That is amazing," Melany said as she wrapped him into a hug.

" Let's not just stand here. Let's go celebrate." Shawn said happily.

That evening the Krafts all went out for a celebration. They had to come home early so that Will could pack his bags for the academy. Every student at Lunsford Academy of Magic For Knights was required to stay on academy grounds. Each Knight in training had their dorms. Each squire in training is required to share a dorm with another squire. Each paladin had their house custom made to their preference. Will arrived at the academy the day after the celebration to move his stuff into his room. The Squires had to leave their electronics at home. Only paladins, knights, and instructors were allowed to bring electronics on academy grounds. If a student is caught with any electronics they have without permission are immediately banned from the school. Will decorated his dorm the same way he decorated his room at home. He had posters of anime and video games on the wall. He had a bookcase full of manga. His wardrobe was stuffed full of his cloaks, jeans and other clothes, but mainly cloaks.

This is what I have been dreaming for my whole life and now that I have got here I already have a new goal. Will thought with a sigh. " I have to give it my all. So that I will be able to live without regrets and make my parents proud." Will said with determination.