Monster Island
Before leaving the windmill city, I looked into when the ship bound for Monster Island would arrive.
As it turned out, a vessel would reach the Karuma Empire within the next two months.
Two months. Plenty of time to spare.
I set out on the road at a leisurely pace with Nightmare. We passed through the city gates and crossed a field of flowers in full, lavish bloom.
“Hmm…”
Beyond the flower field stretched vast farmlands. The harvest season was nearly upon them; ripe grain swayed in golden waves.
Past those waves of gold we entered a forest thick with greenery. The straight, open path through the trees exhaled a dense scent of grass that seemed to lure everything around it deeper in.
Emerging from the green forest path, I noticed the air around us beginning to freeze over with cold.
As we drew nearer the Karuma Empire, the warmth of the surroundings naturally drained away. Even though months had passed since I last left the empire, winter still clung to this place, scattering its biting chill without mercy.
Nightmare ran without rest, cutting across the snow-covered plains and leaving a long trail of his own tracks behind him.
A month and a week went by.
The endless expanse of snow-blanketed tundra finally neared its end. From the far horizon, the walls of the Karuma Empire rose into view.
Thud— thud— thud—
With every heavy beat of his hooves, pure white snow scattered into the air. I drew Nightmare’s reins as we approached the gates.
How many months had it been since my return? I looked up at the massive walls and smiled faintly.
“Halt! Halt!”
As expected, Nightmare’s frame was enormous—large enough to be mistaken for a monster rather than an ordinary horse. The moment we neared the walls, the guards raised their weapons and tensed.
“Hello?”
I leaned out a little past Nightmare’s head and greeted them. They took one look at me, seemed to place my face, and let out dazed little sighs.
They might not remember my name, but my face had clearly become familiar from coming and going. I waved and pulled out my adventurer’s plate from my pocket to show them.
“May I go in?”
“Uh, well… that horse of yours isn’t going to be a problem, is it?”
“Of course not.”
I answered the guard’s question with a bright smile and stroked Nightmare’s mane. He seemed to enjoy the touch; he grinned and swished his tail.
Perhaps his cute display worked in our favor. The guards let us through without any further fuss.
Clop— clop— clop—
Every time Nightmare’s heavy hooves rang out, eyes naturally turned our way. He seemed to revel in the attention, walking with even more swagger than usual.
The first place I headed was an inn with stables attached. After all the hard work he had put in for me, I needed to choose a place with a proper stable so he could rest well.
The one I settled on was quite luxurious. I asked the inn staff to prepare meat for Nightmare’s feed, then made my way to the Adventurers’ Guild.
To board the ship for Monster Island, I needed to take a request through the guild.
True to a city with heavy foot traffic, the inside of the guild building was packed with people—ordinary townsfolk coming to post requests, and adventurers scraping by day to day.
I pushed through the crowd toward the large request board. A guild employee was pinning up notices in front of it, and for some reason his face looked familiar.
Our eyes met across the air. Just as I had recognized him, he seemed to recognize me; his eyes went round.
“Ceris?”
“Hello?”
I didn’t know his name, but we were acquaintances all the same. I greeted him with a light smile.
“It’s been quite a while, hasn’t it? Did you meet those people?”
“Those people?”
The guild employee tilted his head at my question.
“Can you wait a moment? Let me finish putting these up and I’ll fill you in properly.”
“Sure.”
The guild employee—clearly a receptionist—moved with real urgency. He tore down requests whose deadlines had passed and stuck new ones in their place.
Simple monster subjugations for goblins and wolves, herb-gathering jobs that were normally easy to find around here but had grown scarce because winter refused to end—they all went up in a dense cluster.
When he finished, the receptionist turned back to me with a satisfied smile.
“Just what have you been up to that so many people are looking for you?”
“Hmm. Looking for me?”
“Some mages came by, and kids who said they were friends from your hometown.”
Mages… could he mean Rain? The image of the female mage who had been quietly trying to drag me off to the Magic Tower floated up in my mind.
“Where are they now?”
“No idea. Seeing as they haven’t shown up lately, they must have left the city.”
“Hmm… what did the kids who claimed to be my friends look like?”
“Twins with blue, water-colored hair.”
“Ah—Su and Shu.”
“That’s right. Those were the names.”
“What have they been doing? They weren’t just searching for me the whole time, were they?”
“They’ve been working as adventurers.”
I let out a quiet breath of relief at the receptionist’s words. It seemed those twin brats had left the village in search of their own dreams as well.
The receptionist watched me for a moment, then smiled faintly and asked,
“Oh—were you looking for a particular request?”
“I’d like to join the Monster Island expedition force.”
“Monster Island…?”
“Yes.”
“Hmm…”
“Is that not possible? I heard the ship should be arriving around now.”
“It’s not that it’s impossible… but only adventurers of Silver Rank or higher can join the expedition. You’re Bronze, Ceris.”
“So as long as I’m Silver Rank, it’s fine?”
“Yeah.”
“Great. I’ll go get my Silver Rank.”
“Uh, well… I’ll be waiting?”
I huffed out a breath and strode out of the Adventurers’ Guild. I was confident in my skill. I had trained my sword through countless adventures, and I had confirmed that my technique held up even in the orcs’ war.
I walked with bold steps until I reached the great front gate of the Swordsmen’s Guild. The familiar scents of metal and oil hung in the air.
I toyed with the sword sheathed at my back as I stepped inside. The interior of the Swordsmen’s Guild looked exactly as it had before.
I headed straight for a receptionist who seemed free and spoke up.
“Hello.”
“Hmm…?”
The receptionist looking down at me was full of puzzlement. Judging by the unfamiliar face, he was probably a newly hired employee.
“How do I apply for a promotion exam?”
“Promotion exam? Ah, you want to promote to Bronze?”
“No. I want to promote to Silver Rank.”
The receptionist frowned at my answer. He even tilted his head as if he must have misheard.
“Silver Rank? Really?”
“Yes.”
“Uh, well… first, could you show me the rank plate you’re carrying?”
I pulled my Bronze Rank plate from my pocket and handed it over. The employee examined it carefully and let out a low hum.
“Hmm… the plate is genuine, at least… Well, anyone can take the exam.”
Muttering to himself, he began filling out paperwork. His pen moved quickly as he spoke to me.
“The exam fee is three gold. Keep in mind that once you challenge it, you can’t try again that same year. And be careful—you can get hurt during the exam.”
With only the final part of the form left, the receptionist looked at me, waiting for my answer. I gave it and paid the fee.
He took the money, then pulled a small wooden token from a drawer and handed it over.
“Take this up to the third floor. Show it to the staff resting there and you’ll be able to take the exam.”
Following his directions, I climbed the stairs to the third floor. A rather spacious area opened up before me.
I stood there looking around, and someone began approaching.
Long legs wrapped in leather pants, a loose white shirt draped over them, and cascading over that white shirt was hair the color of burning red.
“Ceris?”
“Ah—hello.”
A familiar face. The one who had come up to me was Celion.
“What are you doing here…? Don’t tell me you came for the promotion exam?”
“That’s right.”
At her words I fished the wooden token from my pocket and held it out. Celion took it and stared at me with a thoroughly surprised expression.
“A Bronze swordsman who hasn’t even been ranked a full year yet wants to take the Silver exam? Are you that confident?”
“Of course. I’ve gotten stronger.”
“Hmm… well, fine. Anyone can take the exam.”
With that, Celion turned away. I was still staring blankly after her when she spoke again.
“Aren’t you going to take the exam?”
“Huh? You’re the one administering the Silver promotion exam, Celion?”
“If you’d rather not, I can ask someone else.”
I glanced around at her words. There were several other swordsmen present besides Celion, and every last one of them looked like a rough-faced older man.
I hurriedly shook my head and hurried after her.
The place we arrived at together was a wide training hall. The floor was solid and free of any slipperiness.
“Come on up.”
“Ah—yes.”
This time Celion did not use a practice sword. She simply drew the blade at her hip. The sword that appeared with a cool gleam bore flowing patterns like tongues of flame.
“You don’t particularly need to beat me. Not that you could anyway…”
The moment her voice scattered, her figure vanished. She had moved at such tremendous speed that she left my field of vision entirely.
Clang!
“Guh…!”
I groaned as I blocked her strike with a half-drawn sword. Caught by the surprise attack before I could even raise my mana, my body was driven back helplessly and I rolled across the floor.
“How long are you planning to lie there?”
The promotion exam had already begun. Unlike before, Celion showed no intention of going easy; she launched her next attack at once.
Her left leg stretched out far and became the central axis; the rotational force rising from her waist spread through her entire body and formed the next stance.
A straight thrust.
A sharp flash aimed at my chest sent a chill through me. I moved in a hurry, swinging my sword to knock the attack aside.
Clang—!
Blade met blade and faint sparks leapt up. The shock traveling up the sword made my wrist throb, but there was no time to ease the pain. Celion’s assaults kept rolling in like waves without pause.
Swords flew from every direction like spreading flames, stealing my breath. Faint trails of fire seemed to linger in the wake of her blade.
While I was still stuck on pure defense, I managed to spot a small opening. Amid the choking, constricting flames, a single escape route appeared. It might have been a trap, but right now it looked like the only path forward.
Without hesitation I threw myself in. Using my small frame, I slipped into Celion’s guard and immediately settled into an attacking stance.
My outstretched leg slammed hard into the ground, shifting my balance.
Thoom—!
Clear starlight began to gather along the lowered blade. Seven stars in all, they seemed to shine in the dark, trembling faintly as if ready to surge upward.
In that instant I reversed my posture. The balance of force flipped; the direction of the central axis twisted. The moment every preparation was complete, I poured all my strength into launching the sword skyward.
Fwit—!
The starlight shot toward the heavens only grazed Celion’s cheek. The sensation at my fingertips was far too shallow.
In that same moment, Celion’s sword blurred into motion. The speed was incomparable to anything before; it was an attack I could not react to while I was still mid-strike.
Just before my starlight-wrapped blade could curve, her sword reached me first.
“Mm…”
I had no choice but to freeze. Celion’s blade rested right against the base of my throat. Any further movement and my neck would have been torn open, blood pouring free.
I glanced at her expression and asked,
“D-does this mean I failed?”
“I told you, didn’t I? You don’t need to win.”
“Then… I passed?”
“You’ve improved a lot. You pass.”
Celion withdrew her sword and smiled lightly. As the smile spread across her face, the crushing pressure that had been weighing on my body vanished in an instant.
I sank down blankly and looked up at her. I had been proud of how sharply my swordsmanship had grown lately, but it seemed I still had a long way to go before I could reach Celion.
If I had used magic, would the result have been different?
While I was staring off like that, Celion asked me,
“But why the sudden promotion exam? Looking to get hired as a knight somewhere?”
“Ah—I want to join the Monster Island expedition force.”
“Oh, perfect timing. I’m headed there myself this time.”
“Really? You too, Celion…?”
Celion grinned at my dazed echo of the question and held out her hand. Unlike her pretty face, her palm was covered in rough calluses.