Chapter 36
Izumi stood in the middle of the training examination arena while watching Lina, who still looked nervous.
“Next is the archery test.”
Izumi pointed toward several wooden targets set up in the distance.
“Are you ready?”
“Yes.”
“You are only given ten arrows. And your targets are those wooden circles. Can you see how many circles there are?”
Lina focused her eyes.
One, two, three, four, five... and the one all the way at the end of the wall too.
That means there are six.
“There are six.”
Izumi nodded.
“You’re right. You have to shoot those circles exactly in the center—”
Izumi had not even finished her sentence.
Whoosh!
Thud!
An arrow flew forward and pierced the exact center of the first target.
Whoosh!
Thud!
The second arrow also struck the center with perfect precision.
Then the third arrow.
The fourth.
The fifth.
The sixth.
Every single one hit the center of its respective target.
Izumi could only stare in silence.
In her heart, she muttered,
Waaah... a child this young can do that? Even I only learned to use a bow with that kind of precision when I was seventeen. A fantasy world really is different.
“Umm, Miss Examiner?”
“Hm?”
“I already hit all the targets. And I still have four arrows left. What should I do with the remaining arrows?”
Izumi chuckled.
“Haha... Lina, you’re amazing. Truly amazing.”
“Eh?”
“You were actually only required to hit a single target. But because you’re so skilled at archery, every arrow you shot hit all the targets. For a normal person, something like this is almost impossible.”
“Eeh? I thought I had to hit all of them.”
“Yes, that’s true, but only for people capable of doing it.”
Izumi smiled.
“But forget that. Your archery technique is truly excellent, and you deserve to become an adventurer.”
Lina’s eyes immediately sparkled.
“Really? Am I going to become an adventurer?”
“Yes. Come with me to create your adventurer card.”
The two of them walked toward a special room used to create adventurer cards.
Inside the room stood only a large bright-blue crystal sphere. The crystal sphere was placed atop a magical stone pedestal that resembled an altar.
“Alright, stand in front of that large sphere and extend your hand. Your adventurer card will appear afterward.”
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Izumi pointed toward the crystal sphere.
“Oh, right. The class and adventurer type you receive will be chosen by the system itself. But I’m sure you’ll become an Archer-type adventurer.”
Lina nodded excitedly.
Then she did exactly as Izumi instructed.
Instantly, the crystal sphere began shining brightly.
Particles of light slowly emerged from within the sphere.
Those particles gathered together.
Forming a card.
And then...
Whoosh!
An adventurer card appeared out of thin air.
[Adventurer]
Name: Lina
Class: E
Type: Ranged Assassin
Izumi smiled.
“Congratulations. From now on, you are an adventurer.”
Lina returned the smile sweetly.
“Yes. Thank you, Miss Examiner.”
“May I see your card?”
“Of course.”
Izumi examined the card.
“Ranged Assassin...? Hmm.”
In her mind, she thought,
Oooh... is this like a long-range sniper? This girl's archery skill is beyond doubt. I’m sure she’ll become a great adventurer someday.
“So you became a Ranged Assassin-type adventurer.”
“What is a Ranged Assassin?”
“A Ranged Assassin is similar to an Archer. The difference is that you can secretly attack enemies from extremely long distances without being detected.”
Lina’s eyes sparkled again.
“Oooowh!”
The two of them walked out of the room.
The moment they stepped outside, Lina was immediately greeted by her three friends.
“Linaa! You did it! Congratulations!” shouted Sasa.
“All of us became adventurers on our very first training test,” said Ben.
“That’s true,” added Zall.
Hearing that, Izumi could only think to herself.
So... they’re stronger than Nera.
Several hours passed.
As promised earlier, Yorn came to duel Izumi.
Yorn and his friends entered the training examination arena.
The moment they saw Izumi, they froze.
Long shining golden hair.
Smooth white skin.
A beautiful and charming face like that of a princess.
And bright red eyes that looked like sparkling red candy.
Yorn and Levil immediately froze.
The same thought appeared in both of their minds.
So... so beautiful...
Yorn couldn’t even look away.
Damn it. She’s really beautiful! That bright golden hair suits her perfectly. If only... if only her personality weren’t like that. I would have already proposed to her.
“Oh, you came,” said Izumi.
“Yeah. You look even prettier now. If only you were an obedient girl, I would have already married you.”
Yorn suddenly fell silent.
He had just realized that he accidentally said what was truly on his mind.
His friends froze as well.
“Huh?” said Izumi.
“Yorn, were you seriously saying that?” asked Levil.
“Waaah... I can’t believe he actually said it,” said Messa.
“Have you finally found your first love?” added Mei.
“Hey! No! No, that’s not it! I mean... this... aaah... forget it!”
Yorn’s face instantly turned red.
“I came here to duel her! You all should sit in the spectator seats over there. Go already!”
Messa chuckled.
“The way you’re acting right now is exactly like when you were a little kid.”
“I said forget all of that!”
Eventually, his friends went to the spectator stands.
From there, they began observing Izumi from a distance.
“So she’s the girl who killed a knight,” muttered Levil.
“Did you all notice it?” asked Messa.
“Notice what?”
“That girl feels really strange.”
“Strange how?”
Messa stared at Izumi seriously.
“I feel really uncomfortable whenever I make eye contact with her. It’s like I’m looking at something that isn’t human.”
“What do you mean?”
“I don’t know. It feels like I’m looking at something incredibly large and dangerous.”
“Hm... I see.”
Then Mei joined the conversation.
“I don’t feel anything from that girl. It’s just that she looks very...”
“Very what?”
“Very beautiful. Like a princess from a royal family.”
Levil immediately nodded.
“Yeah. You’re right. I agree.”
Then without thinking, he said,
“If I managed to get close to her, would I be able to marry her?”
Messa and Mei immediately stared at him expressionlessly.
“No! Hey! I mean—”
Back in the arena.
Izumi stared at Yorn.
In her heart, she grumbled.
Was what he said earlier true? Did he actually fall in love with me? How is that even possible!? Damn bastard! I’m a man! Even if this body is female, my soul is still a man! I’m going to defeat this guy in an instant.
But then, an idea suddenly appeared.
Come to think of it, if he really loves me, I could make him one of my subordinates in the future. Hmm. Besides, this guy isn’t as bad as I first thought. He still has a good heart and decent personality when he’s with his friends.
“Why are you just standing there?” asked Yorn.
“Ah, nothing.”
Izumi slowly walked toward him.
“?”
Their faces were now only a few steps apart.
Yorn could smell the pleasant fragrance coming from Izumi’s hair.
Izumi looked directly into his eyes.
“Do you love me?”
Yorn instantly froze.
“H-how could that be, damn it. Y-you are beautiful, but...”
Izumi made an adorable expression.
“But?”
Yorn immediately panicked.
Damn it! Is she flirting with me?!
He could not even bring himself to look at Izumi’s face.
Izumi smiled slightly.
“What if... you manage to defeat me in this duel?”
She raised one finger and touched her own lips.
“I’ll kiss you.”
Yorn immediately put on a serious expression.
“You’re serious, right?”
“Yes, of course.”
Izumi was extremely confident.
Because in her opinion, it was impossible for her to lose to Yorn.
Yorn picked up two wooden swords.
He handed one of them to Izumi.
“In that case... I hope you don’t lose.”
“Don’t worry. I won’t lose.”
The two of them took their positions.
Yorn gripped his sword with both hands.
He lowered his stance.
His gaze locked onto Izumi.
Meanwhile, Izumi stood casually.
She held her wooden sword with only one hand.
Then the duel began.
“Maximal Speed.”
Instantly, Yorn’s body vanished from where he stood.
He charged toward Izumi at incredible speed.
Izumi didn’t even have time to react.
Sraaak!
The wooden sword in Izumi’s hand was instantly split into two.
For a moment, time itself seemed to stop.
Izumi could only stare at the remains of her wooden sword with widened eyes.