14. Practical exam (2)
#14
The named Daerian turned around. Ronan who had been glaring at him the whole time pulled the hilt of his sword. Several silver lines flashed in the air.
The lines skimmed over Daerian’s sheath and pants. No one except Ronan saw his sword strike. That was the moment when Darien took his first step.
Tuk…
“hmm?”
Daerian’s sheath broke. The longsword lost its place to lean on and fell to the ground. The sword body broke in half when it came in contact with the floor.
Clink!
It felt like glass or ceramics breaking. A sharp metallic sound rang loudly. Dare Lian turned his head belatedly and opened his eyes wide.
“What is this!!”
The work of Daruan Workshop was reduced to two pieces of iron rolling around on the floor. But Deerian’s misfortune did not end there. The moment he turned around his pants exploded.
Daerian who was suddenly in his underwear screamed.
“Huh oh oh!”
“Hey what on earth are you trying to show me?”
Ronan clapped from where he was sitting. The cut off pieces of pants fell to the ground fluttering like fallen leaves on an autumn day. The guide’s voice rang out again.
“Dairian Marchol de Mirrodin. “Aren’t you there~?”
“Damn it!”
If I continued like this I was going to be disqualified without even being able to take the test. Dare Lian clutched his head breathing heavily.
He couldn’t figure out what had happened. What happened? my knife! my pants!
While looking around like a crazy person he pointed to Ronan’s waist and shouted.
“There it is! Give me the knife! immediately!”
“You don’t like it?”
“this guy! Even if you pretend to be a commoner you don’t know the subject! “I belong to Baron Daerian…!”
“I don’t know if it’s the Baron or the damn thing but why can’t you take care of your own things and take care of mine? “Is it because Abby was born with a problem in taking care of things properly?”
“What…!”
Ronan stood up spitting on the floor. Dare Lian surprised by his ferocity hurriedly retreated. Ronan picked up the handkerchief that was placed on Marya’s head.
“Get back you bastard!” “Do you know who I am and do this to you?”
“I’m not interested. “Just take the tip I give you.”
Ronan took a long stride and stuck a handkerchief in Darian’s panties. Marja covered his mouth with both hands. A piece of cloth sticking out of her buttocks fluttered like a tail.
“It suits you well.”
“Iinooom!”
Originally it was something that was done to a girl wearing flashy clothes with a piece of paper with a note written on it but whatever.
Just as Deerian lost his senses and was about to run away screaming the guidance sound was heard again.
“If you don’t come in by the count of three you will be disqualified. One…two….”
“I’m calling for you so let’s go in.”
“Shit!”
Darian ran inside the door almost crying. Ronan returned to his seat and picked up a knife.
“What does that friend do now? Do you want to sing at least?”
“Are you crazy…? “No matter how much you have nothing to lose what if you do something like that…!”
“In times like this you say thank you man.”
“No matter how much of an alias I gave this is…! This is…!”
Marya who was pale slapped Ronan’s forearm. Her eyes were fluttering as she covered her mouth with one hand. Ronan chuckled and handed her a piece of the knife.
“Just put your hands away and talk.”
“…Did you get caught?”
After a moment of hesitation Marja removed her hands from her face. Her lips barely holding back her laughter were revealed.
Before long the cheery laughter that rang out caused the waiting candidates to shrug their shoulders.
“You crazy guy…! “Handkerchief why are you putting a handkerchief in there…!”
“Hmph maybe because she’s a vulgar commoner her laugh is also vulgar. “I think the sound of my farts would be sweeter.”
“Stop that! stop!”
Ronan encouraged her by imitating her in Dare Lian. Marja hugged the back of her chair and wriggled her feet.
The other test takers were also suppressing her laughter so no one raised any objection to her applause.
“Next person please come in~”
Immediately afterwards a guidance sound rang out. It felt like less than 30 seconds had passed since Darian entered.
Marja wiping away her tears jumped up from her seat. The soreness in her cheeks and the tension of shame had long since disappeared.
“I’ll be back!”
Marja clenched her fists vigorously and then took her steps briskly. Her blonde hair fluttered proudly in her ponytail.
Ronan who moved to the front seat shook her hand.
‘If you want to laugh you have to laugh.’
Ronan laughed. It was exactly five minutes later that the door opened again.
****
There were seven people sitting at a long table to the side. They were the judges in charge of testing room number 4. Krava Kratir an old gentleman sitting in the middle seat stroked his beard and asked.
“How many people are left?”
“There are only seventy-five people left today.”
“That’s so comforting. “You’re getting a pay cut.”
Kratir let out a light sigh. I had no idea what number of applicants this was.
She should have listened to the professors who told her to maintain her integrity as a principal but she resented herself for being so stubborn in the past.
“You need to cheer up. “At least for the sake of talented people who will lead the continent in the future.”
“Yes I know. But maybe it’s because I saw Mr. Schlieffen in the morning but I’m not in a good mood. “Even though I know I shouldn’t do this.”
“That too. “I don’t think it’s a waste to be called the Morning Star of the Empire.”
“Anyway I don’t know what on earth that friend wanted to do earlier. “It looked fine really.”
Kratir thought of the applicants who had come in before.
A boy who came in wearing only a top and underwear (he even had a handkerchief stuck in his underwear) asked if he could borrow a knife and muttered “This is not an entertainment district! Wahaha!” After hearing the words of the prayer room instructor he cried and ran out.
“Still the candidate who just left was excellent. “The future looks promising.”
“Oh that’s right. Did you say Marja Caravel? “It was an incredibly strong sword.”
“Thanks to such talented people we feel rewarded. Looking at my record I failed once but honestly it was at a level that I couldn’t understand.”
The judges who agreed nodded with satisfied expressions. Marya showed the highest level of skill among the candidates who took the test today.
Kratir feeling a little better opened his mouth.
“Let the next candidate come in.”
The judges who were taking a break corrected their posture. The door opened with a guiding sound.
A boy with a sturdy physique walked in leisurely. His hair was messy and his eyes were wild so he didn’t look very good.
****
“Next person please come in~”
When the door opened the exam room appeared. It was a circular space reminiscent of a small arena.
A long table where the judges sat was placed horizontally about 10 meters in front.
Five humans one elf and one werewolf. A total of seven judges were looking at them. Ronan bowed lightly.
“It’s Ronan.”
“Nice to meet you Ronan. “I am Krava Kratir the current principal of Phileon Academy.”
The old gentleman sitting in the middle smiled softly.
Although he seemed kind Ronan instinctively sensed that he was the strongest of the seven here. It was thanks to the intuition that was trained while going through life and death.
‘The second one is that sister.’
To the right of the old gentleman sat a woman with bronze skin. She was once an instructor at Nabi Rose who rose to the rank of sword saint.
Judging by her strong facial features and light gray hair she appeared to be a southern native or a mixed race. Next to her was a large sword that appeared to be two meters long draped diagonally on the table.
‘They all look formidable.’
The presence of these two people was so great that the rest of them were equally powerful figures.
You could tell this just by looking at the number of piercings in the elf girl’s ears. Crazy bitch. I never thought she would use her long ears like that.
Kratir said.
“So how are you going to prove yourself?”
“I…ummm….”
Ronan touched his chin and began to worry.
Despite training for a month he was unable to respond to mana and did not develop anything that could be called a skill. To his dismay he deliberately did not tell Marjana or Asher.
At that time the werewolf wearing a shirt laughed. He was a Gidokan instructor in charge of hunting skills.
“Whahaha! Although there were students who froze because they were nervous no one came in and was worried. “Why don’t we just see each other next year?”
“You’re in a hurry. “Just wait a moment.”
Ronan lowered his head and waved his hand. The judges’ faces hardened. The corners of Gidokan’s mouth were torn apart.
“Wow one piece of guts is useful.”
After finishing his thoughts Ronan grabbed the hilt of his sword. No matter how much he thought about it he only had one thing to show.
The good news is that inspiration struck him when he was fucking Daerian.
“I guess you’ve made up your mind. “Do you think it’s swordsmanship?”
“yes.”
Then the pierced elf girl snapped her fingers. A complex magic circle appeared in the air and a knight wearing full body armor appeared before Ronan’s eyes.
Kratir chuckled and introduced the knight.
“It’s a magic engineering doll that has been in charge of practical exams for martial arts for nearly a hundred years. “We call him Lord Madoros out of respect.”
The practical test was conducted in a way that judges would give scores when a skill was demonstrated to Lord Madoros.
It is said that the specially treated armor does not even scratch from most attacks and even if it takes damage it is restored to its original state in one night.
“That’s really interesting… hmm?”
Ronan who was looking at the article tilted his head. The entire armor was full of scratch-like scars. A wound of a somewhat familiar type. Unable to overcome his curiosity he raised his hand and asked a question.
“Has Schlieffen been here?”
“oh? “How do you know?”
“I just took a picture. “You said you wouldn’t be hurt by most attacks but I’m here.”
“Hehe you have a good sense of vision. That’s right. “I took the test here this morning.”
also. Ronan nodded.
A mark that looks like a sharp yet flowing wind has cut through it. Although it was still immature it was definitely Schlieffen’s sword mark. He once again realized that he had returned.
‘It’s absurdly shallow and rough. ‘I have returned to the past.’
Kratyr turned his gaze to Nabi Rose a bronze-skinned woman sitting next to her.
“Yes it’s been 30 years since Lord Madorus’s armor suffered such a wound. Do you know who he was before that? This is it…”
“Let’s proceed slowly.”
Nabirose who had been silent the whole time suddenly blurted out. The way he spoke was so natural that it didn’t even give the impression of being rude.
Kratir cleared his throat and looked at Ronan again.
“I’m sorry I spoke for a long time. “Lord Madoros?”
Crunch. The knight took a defensive stance raising his sword at an angle.
Red eye light burst out from between the dark helmets. The judges’ attention was focused on Ronan.
“Show me. “Your everything.”
“Of course.”
Ronan tugged at the hilt of his sword. As soon as the ink-colored sword body flashed his arm disappeared from sight.
The sword’s path passed straight through the knight’s neck. Paaang! A belated sound was heard.
…that was it. one of the judges asked raising an eyebrow.
“…Is this the end?”
“yes.”
Ronan sheathed his sword. The judge who asked the question nodded his head in disapproval.
The other judges also had similar or puzzled expressions. Gidokan burst out laughing.
“Hahaha! “It’s not something I’m confident about. I really think we’ll have to see this next year right?”
“Instructor of prayer room. “Stay safe.”
“Haha I’m sorry. But isn’t it really ordinary! “Was it just me who had expectations?”
The judges said nothing.
It was true that I was secretly looking forward to the carefree attitude that seemed novel. However Ronan’s skills did not seem to have any special features.
It was a quick cut. But that was it.
It wasn’t so fast that those who had enhanced their senses with mana could miss it and it didn’t require any outstanding technique.
However I was a little concerned that I couldn’t feel any mana at all. Was he born with secret mana or was he in a bad condition today and couldn’t sense it?
If it were the former it would be worth reconsidering but it was highly unlikely.
After finishing grading one of the judges lowered his glasses and said.
“Okay good job. You can go now…”
“oh my god.”
At that time Kratir and Nabirose stood up almost simultaneously. The embarrassed judges were shaking.
“The school principal?”
“Instructor Butterfly Rose? “Why the knife…?”
Even though Principal Kratir was very expressive it was unprecedented for the blunt Nabirose to react like that.
She even had a great sword in her hand. Nabirose glared at Ronan.
“What are you?”
“yes? “What is it?”
Butterfly Rose’s strangely distorted expression looked like the enemy who killed her parents or someone who discovered the treasure she had been searching for her whole life. She fired again.
“What is it” she asked. “Who did you learn the sword from?”
Ronan didn’t answer. She scratched the back of her head as he glanced at each of the judges’ faces.
“Huh did you see that?”
“under.”
Nabirose laughed. Without any time to stop her she ran out and stood in front of Ronan.
A cry of astonishment came from the mouth of the werewolf Gidokan.
“I am instructor Nabirose!”
Before she knew it the sword had been pulled out of her sheath and was aimed at Ronan’s neck. The tip of the sword which stopped at a space of one sheet of paper did not waver at all.
“woah.”
Ronan who followed her blade was able to make eye contact with Butterfly Rose. His eyes as dark green as the jungle were burning.
Nabirose said.
“Did you see that?”
“yes. A slash that comes in three turns to the left. “How did you do it?”
For a moment Nabirose’s eyes wavered. She opened her mouth without withdrawing her sword.
“Yes three times. Just like the talent you showed.”
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