Chapter 67 : Selection Test (3)
Selection Test (3)
Krisso wore a thoroughly tense expression. It was only natural—Gregory, with his cold demeanor, had suddenly approached, asked his name and affiliation, and was now glaring down at him in a frightening manner.
Stammering, krisso said,
"If—if there's something wrong, I'll fix it right away!"
"No, it's not that."
Gregory put his hand on Krisso's shoulder once, then walked away. Inwardly, he mused,
'To think that kid is here... Truly surprising.'
Krisso, the founder of swordsmanship. In his previous life, Gregory would have described Krisso's life story thus:
When Krisso was a child, during the war between the Arme Kingdom and Blandi Kingdom, he was captured and brought into service by Arme. Gregory assumed that this must be around that very time.
Later, krisso grew up and became famed for founding a new style of swordsmanship.
But it was only for a brief while.
Gregory had heard the tale from his master in a past life. The various kingdoms combined their strength to refine the art, creating a composite swordsmanship that integrated only the best parts—and Krisso's swordsmanship was among those that got incorporated into Gregory's.
Because of that, the Krisso of Gregory's past life lost his fame in the blink of an eye.
But now, krisso's entry into the knight order of dawn was a result of Gregory possessing this body and the tides of war turning against them.
Once Gregory left, Walter assumed everyone was ready and proceeded to the second trial.
***
As the second trial began, the waiting candidates' faces stiffened.
In the stillness, where not the slightest commotion was tolerated, three figures stood in the center of the testing ground.
Kylas, leonics, Amelia. Even within the knight order of dawn, these were individuals especially specialized in combat.
Kylas was the first to step forward. He was a renowned master swordsman of the Arme Kingdom, but in truth, he was also deeply interested in archery as a hobby.
Thanks to his natural talent, he excelled at archery and possessed the nickname 'Black Plum.' Kylas gazed sharply at the new knight candidates.
"First is the reflex test. If you're not ready to evade, you'll be disqualified immediately."
He already gripped a practice arrow and a longbow in hand.
At Walter's signal, the first candidate nervously stepped into the circular spot at the center—the target and the starting point.
"I'm shooting."
Kylas's bowstring moved with astonishing quiet and speed. By the instant the string was drawn, the arrow had already flown.
"Kkuh...!"
The candidate barely rolled aside in time, but the arrow grazed his shoulder, tearing his uniform.
"Pass. Next."
Even if it wasn't a perfect dodge, only those who managed to truly evade the arrows were accepted as passing.
However, not everyone among the next candidates was so lucky. Some failed to react even after seeing the arrow, while others tried to dodge and instead lost balance, crashing into the wall.
Even though they were practice arrows, the powerful, swift shots embedded themselves in auxiliary shields.
"Ha... How is anyone supposed to dodge that?"
"I thought I was really going to die."
Despite the murmurs around them, Kylas remained expressionless throughout. He neither revealed his emotions nor reacted to the candidates' success or failure.
Like a hunter aiming at prey, he focused solely on shooting arrows.
Though he appeared indifferent, he was actually controlling his strength as much as he could.
On the battlefield, the atmosphere would be even colder and more oppressive than this, and this exam itself was not simply to test reflexes.
It was a test where one's methods, resolve, and ability to assess others could all be examined. Still, none of the rookies managed to pass.
"We'll move on to the next test."
Walter, feeling pity for the candidates, moved on to the next part.
The second reflex test: Leonics and Amelia simultaneously drew practice swords and stepped forward. The two were the knight order of dawn's most adept at collaborative assault tactics.
The objective was simple. Evade their swordstrikes and survive for ten seconds. Simply deflecting would not suffice—it had to be true evasion, not just fleeing.
"Ahaha! Haven't stretched in a while. I'll go easy since these are practice swords, but you better expect at least a bruise if hit squarely."
"Exactly. My body's been stiff since returning from an expedition."
Once Walter gave the signal, a new recruit—one whom Gregory had not asked the name of earlier—entered the circle.
Both swordsmen moved at once.
The space seemed to constrict for a moment. Leonics swept low, aiming for the knees, while Amelia slipped behind, thrusting her sword at the nape of the recruit's neck.
"Aaaah!"
The rookie panicked, twisting his body, but was pushed off balance by the sword pressure erupting behind him and collapsed. He was immediately disqualified.
The next candidate succumbed similarly, dropping to his knees under Leonics's rapid strike, unable to avoid Amelia's graceful, curving attack.
"Begin."
Krisso muttered briefly, stepping half a pace to the side and lowering his posture.
"Against both at once... can I really last ten seconds?"
Leonics's sword flashed toward his waist, but Krisso twisted aside, narrowly dodging. For Amelia's sword aura that pressed from behind, he ducked and rolled almost to his knees before escaping.
Ten seconds—short, but never easy when facing two adversaries at once.
It was as if Krisso already knew the trajectory of the swordstrikes, slipping naturally just past them.
Leonics deliberately created an opening, attempting a feint, but Krisso wasn't deceived.
Even when Amelia lunged, attempting a thrust, he bent his knees, lowering himself and letting her sword graze his back as he slipped through.
"... Pass."
Walter raised his hand and ended Krisso's trial.
Throughout the arena, candidates seemed to hold their breath, impressed by his movement. It was not just reflexes but a blend of prediction, analysis, and experience shown through his actions.
Gregory watched calmly.
'Oh... not bad at all.'
***
When the tests ended, the hall fell into silence. Because of Walter's repeated pronouncements of failure, everyone wore looks of despondency.
In truth, the reason he'd allowed even those who failed the first test to continue on to the second was simple. The test level was so high that he thought, no matter how lenient the selection, everyone might fail.
But it wasn't as if he could skip the selection process altogether, and he had already resolved to hold a retest if everyone failed this time.
In the end, every candidate who chose Kylas's test failed, and among those who challenged Amelia and Leonics, only Krisso, Ravis, and Astia—who had passed the first test—were ultimately successful.
"Ah... I failed after all."
"What do I tell my family when I return..."
"Haaa... I came here because I had nowhere else to go."
Walter blocked the path of the trainees heading back to their families.
"Wait. Isn't it a shame, having come all the way to the knight order of dawn?"
Though the candidates, having just been disqualified, thought his remark was nonsense, they looked at Walter with puzzled eyes.
"I'll give you a chance at a retest."
Some of those who'd already given up hesitated and turned around at the word 'retest.'
"Did—did I hear that right?"
"No, he definitely said a retest."
"Really? I can't go back like this. I have to pass."
Walter gathered everyone's attention to officially announce the retest.
"You'll get the chance to train with the knight order of dawn for a month. Then, a month from now, the retest will be held here. If you fail then, you're permanently out."
It was an offer that would tempt any recruit. The Radiant Order was already giving full support to the knight order of dawn, so there would be no real issue.
"I—I'll do it!"
No one refused. Just having another shot at joining the knight order was an honor.
Walter's sudden proposal was actually quite sensible—it was a way to make up for the hasty nature of the knight order's selection exam.
Watching this, Gregory realized Walter was thinking much the same as himself.
'What on earth is going on with this situation... I'm going to go mad.'
After explaining in detail the rules of living in the knight order and the facilities available for use, Walter turned and left.
Gregory, intending to ask about this chaotic situation, followed Walter.