The next day would be the ARMOR Knight Selection Exam, an important event that had the members of the Fourth Division running around nonstop, preparing everything for the candidates.
The exam would last the entire day. It consisted of several stages, a written test, a physical test, a medical examination, and what many considered the most terrifying part of all, a direct interview with the Captain.
Rafka had also heard that the most important test wasn't the written exam or the physical one.
It was the medical test.
That final stage involved analyzing a participant's blood sample using a prototype Armor Drive.
If the results came back compatible, passing was practically guaranteed, even if the participant performed poorly in the other tests. After that, all they needed was an Armor that matched them.
In Rafka's case, however, none of that had been necessary. The moment he activated the Anima Drive, everyone already knew he was compatible.
And not just compatible, his Armor was a Mythical Armor. Which still sounded ridiculous every time he thought about it.
"Hey, isn't there anything we can do?" Rafka asked, leaning back in his chair while absentmindedly stirring the straw in his guava juice.
"It's boring just sitting around watching everyone else work." His eyes wandered around the Fourth Division cafeteria.
Normally, this place was one of the busiest spots in the base. People constantly came and went, grabbing food, chatting for a few minutes, then rushing back to their duties.
But today was different.
Staff members hurried past carrying stacks of documents that looked one strong breeze away from collapsing.
Somewhere in the distance, chairs scraped loudly across the floor. Short conversations echoed through the room, sounding less like casual discussions and more like emergency briefings.
Everyone seemed busy, everyone!
Except the three of them.
Rafka, Ayu, and Kenny sat comfortably at a table as if they belonged to an entirely different organization.
"Pretty much," Kenny replied with a shrug while lazily swirling the juice in his glass, the ice cubes clinked softly.
"The Captain told us to relax, didn't he?" He rested his chin on one hand. "Although ...," A grin slowly formed on his face. "now that I think about it, neither of you would survive administrative work."
Rafka immediately looked at him. "What does that mean?"
Kenny ignored the question for a moment, clearly enjoying himself. "If Ayu got assigned to organize documents ...," he said, "she'd disappear halfway through and somehow end up watching drama series or anime."
Ayu took a sip of orange juice. " Absolutely."
Kenny blinked. "Wow. Didn't expect you to agree that quickly."
Ayu took a sip of orange juice. "That's so me."
"Fair enough." Kenny pointed at Rafka next. "And what about you? If you got assigned to organize documents."
Rafka straightened slightly. "I'd do my best."
Kenny stared at him for several seconds, then sighed. Then slowly shook his head. "Nah, dude. You'd get lost trying to find the archive room."
Rafka nearly choked on his drink. "Hey! Don't just decide that!"
Kenny pointed at him immediately. "See? That's exactly how someone who'd get lost would react."
Rafka opened his mouth, closed it, opened it again. Then pointed back. "You know what? I hope you get assigned to paperwork forever."
"See? Angry already," Kenny said with a smug grin.
Rafka immediately shot up from his chair and pointed at him. "I am not angry!"
Ayu calmly continued drinking her juice while watching the argument unfold.
Then Kenny suddenly glanced between the two of them. "Oh, right." His smile widened. "You two are giving tomorrow's opening speech as the new Mythical Armor Knights, aren't you?"
Rafka instantly fell silent. Then he slowly grabbed his head as if all of his stress had suddenly come back at once. "Don't remind me."
He slowly turned toward Ayu. "Ayu ... what are we supposed to do tomorrow? I've never given a speech in front of a crowd before."
Then paused. "Actually, scratch that. I've never given a speech at all."
Ayu glanced at him. Her expression remained completely calm, almost suspiciously calm.
Which was strange considering she had contributed absolutely nothing to the speech preparations.
While Rafka had been getting pressured by the Captain and several officers to prepare for the event, Ayu had vanished somewhere.
When asked where she'd gone, her answer had been, "I was watching my favorite drama."
To this day, Rafka still wasn't sure whether that was a joke.
Ayu swallowed her drink. Then answered, "Easy."
Rafka narrowed his eyes. Sounds convincing.
Unfortunately, her trembling hands and slightly shaking legs disagreed.
Rafka stared.
Ayu stared back.
Neither said anything.
The silence lasted three seconds, then both immediately looked away.
Neither wanted to acknowledge what they'd just seen.
Kenny let out a long sigh. "You two are hopeless." He slipped a hand into his jacket pocket, rummaged around for a moment, then pulled out two folded sheets of paper. "Good thing I prepared these."
Rafka instantly grabbed one. His eyes scanned the page.
The speech was short, simple, straight to the point.
Most importantly, it looked like something he could finish before dying of embarrassment.
His eyes immediately lit up. "Whoa." He looked at Kenny. "Thanks." Then he slapped Kenny on the shoulder. "Wow. I completely misjudged you."
Kenny frowned. "That doesn't sound like a compliment."
"It is." Rafka nodded confidently, as if his logic was completely flawless.
"No, it isn't." Kenny immediately shot back, narrowing his eyes.
"It is from me." Rafka crossed his arms and lifted his chin proudly.
Kenny stared at him for a few seconds. "That's concerning." He slowly rubbed his forehead as if developing a headache.
Rafka ignored him and turned toward Ayu. "What about yours?"
Ayu looked down at her paper. Her eyes sparkled. "Perfect." She immediately gave Kenny a thumbs-up. "Way to go!"
Kenny froze for a second, then stood up proudly. "There we go." He placed one arm around Rafka's shoulder and the other around Ayu's. "See? This is friendship."
Rafka laughed. "Yeah."
Kenny grinned. "Friends help friends."
"Exactly." Ayu nodded once.
Then added in her usual flat tone, "If either of you embarrass me tomorrow, I'll pretend I don't know you."
Silence.
Kenny slowly removed his arm from her shoulder. "Friendship has conditions, apparently."
Ayu took another sip of her juice. "Naturally."
***
"This is our last dinner together for a while, huh, Mom?" Rafka said with a small sigh.
It felt a little sad knowing he'd be living apart from the woman who had worked so hard to raise him.
It was sad knowing he wouldn't get to eat Mom's cooking every day anymore, sad knowing he wouldn't get to hear her nagging anymore, sad knowing he wouldn't get to laugh with her anymore.
Before he realized it, tears had begun rolling down his cheeks.
His mother gently wiped them away. "Rafka, I'll always love you no matter how far apart we are." She smiled warmly. "Come visit whenever you have time, okay? And remember to take care of yourself. Eat healthy food, and don't skip meals."
She gently held his hand. "Your power is a blessing." Her thumb lightly brushed the Agni Ring on his finger. "Promise me you'll use it wisely." Then looked at him for a few moments longer. "And make lots of friends there, alright?"
***
And then, morning came.
The day of the ARMOR Knight Selection Exam had finally arrived.
It should have been a dramatic and meaningful start to an important chapter of Rafka's life.
Instead, he woke up late.
The moment he saw the clock, every trace of sleep instantly vanished.
Last night, he had spent hours tossing and turning in bed. Between the exam, the speech, the new candidates, and Captain Rangga, his brain had refused to shut down.
Now it was making him pay the price.
Rafka immediately threw on the official ARMOR uniform he'd received the night before.
Then he shot out of his room like a missile.
Honestly, this reminded him a little too much of his school days.
Back then, he'd been so consistently late that people had actually given him a nickname, The King of Late. A title he had unfortunately worked very hard to earn.
"Rafka, have breakfast first, dear!" his mother called from the kitchen.
Rafka was already at the front door, struggling to put on his shoes at record speed. "No time, Mom!" he shouted. "I've gotta go! I'll be back this afternoon to pick up the rest of my stuff!"
***
Rafka's watch read 07:51.
All participants had been required to arrive by 07:15, and the exam would begin at 08:00 sharp.
He ran as fast as he could toward the headquarters, which fortunately wasn't too far from his house.
The morning air rushed past him as he sprinted down the street, his shoes pounding against the pavement, then suddenly, his phone started ringing.
Rafka immediately reached into his right pocket, pulled out the device, and glanced at the caller ID, it was Ayu.
A groan nearly escaped his lips.
If Ayu found out he was only leaving now, she would definitely lose it.
All members, including the three of them, had been instructed to report to headquarters by 07:00. Yet Rafka had somehow managed to oversleep and was only now rushing over.
At this point, even he couldn't think of a decent excuse.
Still running, he hesitated for a brief moment before answering the call.
To his surprise, Ayu didn't immediately bombard him with a lengthy lecture.
There was no shouting, no angry rant, no disappointed sigh.
Instead, her voice came through the speaker in its usual calm, emotionless tone.
"Hurry up, or you already know what happens next." That was all she said.
Then the call ended.
Rafka stared at the screen for a second while continuing to run.
The fact that she hadn't yelled at him somehow made the situation feel even worse.
He swallowed nervously.
For Ayu, that kind of response usually meant she had already moved past being annoyed and gone straight to planning retaliation.
"Why does that sound so threatening?" he muttered. With no time left to waste, he shoved the phone back into his pocket and picked up his pace.