How to Live as a Swordmaster of the Enemy Nation

Selection Test (2)

The new knight order recruits began to show strange signs one by one, soon unable to hold themselves up. The first wobbled and sank to the ground, the second tried to grasp at the air and then collapsed flat.

From the third onward, without a word, they fell limply to the floor as if they were puppets with strings cut.

"Those who've collapsed, move aside!"

Walter herded those individuals off to the side. In just a few seconds, the area was filled with those dropping like flies. However, even among them, there were those who kept running steadily, without a break.

Despite being only junior knights, they proved their sturdy stamina.

'Oh... Some stubborn ones have shown up.'

Gregory looked on, apparently satisfied. There were about five left in the group. Even in this tense atmosphere, they were fiercely competing with one another.

Their determination and competitive spirit, the conviction that they would not lose here, were more than enough to satisfy Gregory.

"Haa... Haaaaaa."

"Hu... Hua. Hua."

But that was only for a moment. Out of the five, two more recruits dropped out, and the remaining continued to run, gasping for breath.

In fact, passing this test was not about ranking. If one met the standard, they were accepted just like that, so the recruits gathered every ounce of strength as they awaited Walter's next signal.

'Huh... It's about time to stop them.' The rıghtful source is Nov3lFɪre.ɴet

As Gregory expected, Walter called them to a halt.

"Stop. You three—first test, passed."

One man looked as cold and composed as Elisabeth, another was the one who had mustered the courage to question Walter, and the third seemed rather clever, as if he'd trained his body diligently.

These were the survivors. Though they weren't yet official members of the knight order of dawn, Gregory could roughly guess which noble family each belonged to based on their attire alone.

No doubt, it was thanks to Gregory's having been in this body and in this place for a long time.

By contrast, those eliminated in the stamina test saw their confident expressions replaced by ones of misery. You could imagine how difficult it must have been to even make it this far to the dawn knight order.

However, Gregory's thoughts differed. He found it odd—surely the people gathered here were all those who had passed the recruitment, yet their level seemed far below that of the dawn knight order.

Originally, new recruits to the knight orders would be admitted upon the selection of each knight order commander.

However, as previously mentioned, Walter had been unable to participate in the knight order recruitment test due to illness, which meant that all these recruits had arrived here at the sole discretion of Radiant Order's commander, Parsei.

'Hmm... No matter how I think about it, something's strange.'

Given Parsei's thorough nature, this made no sense. The poor skills of the new junior knights would only serve to demonstrate how badly the recruitment test had gone.

Unless, perhaps, the recruitment test itself had been extremely difficult. In the end, it was possible that those not chosen by any other knight order commander had come here solely by Parsei's decision.

'No, that can't be. Especially not with Father's personality.'

However, Gregory was certain that couldn't be the case. If the test had truly been that difficult, the new knights showing such weak traits simply didn't fit.

His deduction was that, with one commander absent, they wouldn't have run such an extraordinarily difficult test.

Gregory found it harder and harder to grasp Parsei's intentions. As he pondered for a long time, a thought struck him.

"Things... are getting more interesting."

Undoubtedly, Gregory was now the one who pleased Parsei more than anyone.

Still, it wouldn't make sense for Parsei to have forewarned Gregory that he'd be recruiting new knight order members, only to show such a sorry display.

And all the clues were pointing in one direction.

A severe upheaval was occurring within the Arme Kingdom. If this was a matter even Parsei had no power over, he may have had no choice but to follow orders from above.

Obedience to superiors is extremely important to a knight order. Gregory considered that as he guessed at the happenings behind the scenes.

For example, perhaps the flames of war were being kindled again, or maybe an anomaly had occurred at the source of the monsters, leading high-ranking officials in the kingdom to feel anxious and rush recruitment.

Barring those circumstances, there was no reason for the knight order to have admitted recruits so easily.

"Gregory, what are you thinking about?"

Alessandro approached Gregory, worried by his absent-minded gaze at empty space.

"Hm? I was lost in thought for a moment."

"Come on, let's go. The commander says we're heading to the next test site."

"Yeah, I'll go soon. Go ahead."

The more Gregory mulled it over, the more convinced he became that something was up. That was the only way all of this would make sense.

Of course, it might be a hasty judgment, but thinking that way reassured him.

It was hard to accept that, even with his own younger brother ill, there had been no real support, and that the recruitment test had been hastily conducted despite the temporary lull in war.

'Then could it be that the reason Walter was poisoned is...'

Gregory thought himself foolish for not properly grasping the situation and for not being suspicious before, but he decided not to worry any further, since the truth had yet to be fully revealed.

Though it was late, he wanted to believe that simply having such questions might still lead to a good outcome.

"Eh, whatever. I should get going."

***

The dawn knight order members changed locations to prepare for the next test. However, those eliminated were not immediately sent home; all the new recruits were gathered in one place to take the second test.

Because of this, some still hoped there might be another chance, like a retest.

Walter, not caring about the atmosphere, prepared for the next test. Kylas, Amelia, and Leonics, who had long been absent due to an expedition, had now returned.

This time, it was their turn to test the new knight order recruits.

"The next is the reflex test."

At Walter's words, the three stepped forward with imposing vigor. Walter presented the options and allowed each recruit to choose.

The selection test was simple: choose whether to dodge an arrow shot by Kylas, or to evade a joint attack from Leonics and Amelia.

Naturally, controlling their strength was crucial for the senior knight order members. A single mistake could put the recruits' lives at risk, so they were careful.

"Um, I'll try to dodge the deputy-commander's arrow."

"Me too."

"Hmmm... Then I'll also choose to dodge the arrow."

Most chose to avoid the combined attack from Amelia and Leonics. It was only natural. It was intimidating enough to face one muscle-bound brute—let alone two.

It was a daunting task for the recruits. Still, not knowing the extent of Kylas's skill, the recruits' choice couldn't exactly be called wise.

No matter how much the power was controlled, dodging a flying arrow is no easy feat.

Walter, prepared for any accident, gave those facing Kylas a secondary weapon—a shield. Gregory and his comrades went to the forge to retrieve and distribute the shields.

"In that case, I'll try to dodge the joint attack."

Meanwhile, some chose Amelia and Leonics as their opponents. Those who had ranked high in the stamina test chose this side.

Gregory judged their insight not to be bad. At the very least, it meant they'd noticed the aura of pressure Kylas was hiding.

He examined the faces of these recruits closely, hoping to find one he recognized from previous lives. Given the ever-present specter of death on the battlefield, it was only natural that talent was scarce.

Though these were still young people who might change as they grew, Gregory was not dull enough to overlook that much.

'Hmm... Just by their faces, I can't tell.'

So Gregory asked the names of the five who survived the stamina test. The first was the brave one who'd asked a question earlier.

"I'm Ravis!"

"Alright, next."

The second was a boy with a cold, composed temperament like Elisabeth.

"I'm Astia!"

And the last was one who appeared intelligent.

"I'm Krisso."

As Gregory was about to approach the next recruit, he stopped in his tracks. Then, addressing the one who had called himself Krisso, he asked again.

"Wait, what did you say? Say your name again."

"My name is Krisso Barhal."

The moment he heard that name, Gregory gave a meaningful smile. It was a familiar name.