Chapter 10
Izumi slowly entered the training test facility.
As soon as she passed through the entrance, her eyes were immediately drawn to the massive arena located beneath the building.
"Woah... this place... looks like a gladiator arena...?"
Her steps came to a halt for a moment.
The room was far larger than she had imagined. Tall stone walls surrounded the circular arena at the center. Here and there were sword marks and small holes that appeared to have been caused by magic.
"Hey, you. Stop wasting time. Hurry down there and explain to the knight below why you're here."
"Hm... okay..."
Izumi replied briefly before starting down the stone stairs.
The knight on guard watched her until she disappeared from sight.
Huh... that girl.
Normally, people who come here look nervous.
Some of them even tremble before the test begins.
But she's different.
She doesn't look afraid at all.
Meanwhile, Izumi casually continued descending the stairs.
After a while, she arrived at the lower arena and met an elderly knight sitting behind a simple wooden desk.
The man's hair had already turned partially white. The wrinkles on his face showed that he had gone through many things in his life.
The old knight raised his head.
"Ooh, another girl. That's quite rare."
Izumi tilted her head slightly.
"Is it really that rare?"
The old knight smiled faintly.
"Hmm, yes. Over the past few months, only forty-two people, including you, have wanted to become adventurers."
He pointed toward a board beside him.
"Unlike men. In just one month, there are already more than five hundred people who want to become adventurers or knights."
Izumi nodded slowly.
"I see."
"Where are you from?"
"A village."
Izumi answered briefly.
The old knight observed her again, then asked a moment later,
"So? What's your purpose for coming here, young lady?"
"I want to become an adventurer so I can gain permission to enter the royal city."
"Huh..."
The old knight looked slightly surprised.
"So that's your reason for coming here?"
"Yes."
Another short answer.
No hesitation.
No nervousness.
That only made the old knight even more curious.
This girl is strange.
The way she speaks is different.
The look in her eyes is different too.
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She claims to be a village girl, yet she doesn't look like one.
People her age are usually nervous when talking to me.
But she isn't.
Not even a little.
The longer he observed Izumi, the stronger his suspicions became.
Then a thought crossed his mind.
What if she's a Player?
Without giving any warning...
The old knight released his killing intent.
BOOM!
The atmosphere in the arena changed instantly.
A heavy pressure filled the room.
The killing intent he had accumulated over decades poured out all at once.
If an ordinary person were standing in Izumi's position, they would probably be trembling in fear by now.
But the opposite happened.
Izumi smiled.
The old knight's eyes widened.
Then...
Another killing intent appeared.
Izumi's killing intent.
BOOM!
An equally powerful pressure flooded the arena.
The two killing intents collided in midair.
Even several people outside the room felt a chill run down their spines.
In the waiting room, Nera suddenly shivered.
"What was that just now...?"
She looked toward the arena in confusion.
Meanwhile, inside the arena, Izumi still stood casually.
"If you really want to kill me, then go ahead."
Izumi raised her thumb toward her own neck.
"Cut off my head."
The old knight fell silent.
There was no fear in the girl's eyes.
No hesitation.
No panic.
Only calmness.
The calmness of someone who had stood at death's doorstep countless times.
At that moment, the old knight realized something.
A killing intent like this could not belong to an ordinary village girl.
But even more terrifying was the way Izumi responded to it.
As though the pressure meant absolutely nothing.
To Izumi, all of this felt normal.
In her previous world, she had lived in the midst of war.
People killed each other every day there.
She had stood on the front lines.
She had faced storms of bullets.
She had watched her comrades die.
She had been targeted by countless enemies at once.
Compared to all of that...
The killing intent of an old knight felt light.
A few seconds later, the old knight withdrew his aura.
The arena returned to normal.
"Who exactly are you?"
He stared at Izumi seriously.
"Are you a Player?"
Izumi answered without hesitation.
"I'm nobody."
"Just a village girl."
The old knight narrowed his eyes.
At first, he didn't believe her.
But throughout his life, he had met thousands of people.
And he was fairly certain that Izumi wasn't lying.
That only made the situation more confusing.
If she's not a Player...
Then who is she?
In the end, he let out a sigh.
"Alright, kid."
"You pass."
"Huh?"
Izumi blinked.
"You passed the adventurer test."
"Where was the test?"
"Why did I suddenly pass?"
The old knight laughed softly.
"Hahaha..."
"Why would I even need to test you?"
"Just from the killing intent you released earlier, I can already tell you're strong."
Izumi looked confused.
"You can really tell from that?"
"Yes, of course."
The old knight nodded.
"And honestly..."
He rubbed the back of his neck.
"I'm already too old to deal with troublesome things."
Izumi simply stared at him.
The old knight laughed again.
"Hahaha..."
"Oh right."
"My name is Ray."
"Ray Renold."
Izumi nodded politely.
"My name is Rumi."
"Hm..."
Ray observed her again.
"So you really are a village girl."
"You still don't believe me?"
"Not exactly."
Ray stood up from his chair.
"I was just making sure."
Then he gestured for Izumi to follow him.
"Come with me, then."
"Follow you? Where?"
"To make your adventurer card, of course."
"Ooh, I see."
Ten minutes later.
Izumi returned to the waiting room.
In her hand was a freshly made adventurer card.
"Nera, look..."
Nera, who had been waiting, immediately turned around.
"Hm?"
Izumi showed her the card.
[Adventurer]
Name: Rumi
Class: A
Type: All Class
Nera froze.
Her eyes widened.
Her mouth hung open.
Several seconds passed before she finally managed to speak.
"Ru... Rumi..."
"You..."
"Why are you suddenly Class A!!??..."
"Isn't this your first time registering as an adventurer?.."
"Umm, yeah."
"It really is my first time doing this."
Nera looked even more unconvinced.
"Rumi... you're not a Player, right?... "
"Of course not..."
Nera immediately grabbed the card and examined it closely.
"All Class?... So you're proficient in every class..."
"Why?"
"That means you're incredibly talented."
"Not really."
"Don't be so modesttt..."
"Umm, yeah, maybe I really am talented, hahaha."
Izumi laughed softly.
Seeing Nera's reaction, she began to realize that her test result might not be normal.
But she didn't think much about it.
For her, the important thing was that she could now enter the royal city without any problems.
A while later, they left the training test facility.
The sky had begun changing colors.
The sun slowly sank beyond the western horizon.
A gentle evening breeze drifted through the city streets.
"Hmm..."
Izumi gazed at the darkening sky.
Nera turned toward her.
"What is it?"
"Ah, nothing."
"It's just that I don't know where I'm going to sleep."
"Oh, right."
Nera finally realized it.
"You came from a village."
She thought for a moment before smiling.
"How about staying at the same inn as me?"
"There happens to be an unused bed."
"You can use it."
"For this month, you won't have to pay any rent because we've already paid for it."
Izumi's eyes brightened slightly.
"Ooh, sure."
"That sounds great."
"Good."
But a few seconds later, Izumi caught a word that felt strange.
"Eh, wait...?"
"Hm?"
"You just said 'we'?"
"Yeah."
Nera nodded casually.
"I have two friends in this city."
"I've known them for four years now."
"I see."
Izumi smiled faintly.
For some reason, a warm feeling began to emerge in her heart.
She had only arrived in this city recently.
Yet now she already had a friend.
Something she had never expected before.
Without saying much more, the two of them began walking toward the inn.