Chapter 111
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 111
Chapter Title: Captain-Class Test (4)
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‘Pretty strong.’
Genitz and the man named Thomas following behind him.
Their stats were respectable enough.
Both were far stronger than Yuri, and Genitz was on par with Ariel. That put him at the level of a top-tier A-Class adventurer or the lowest rung of S-Class adventurers.
Well, he was the vice-captain of the Black Dragon Knights, hailed as the strongest order guarding the count's household. He had to be at that level.
In truth, I already knew about Genitz. He had appeared alongside Ray in the in-game intros and the setting documents.
Ray was the captain of the Black Dragon Knights, and Genitz was the vice-captain. He'd been featured in the corner of Ray's setting page.
From what I vaguely recalled, Genitz prized a knight's honor and worshipped strength.
The typical type who admired the strong and scorned the weak.
But the guy behind him, Thomas—this was the first time I'd seen him. With those stats, he had to be an elite knight captain.
As far as I knew, the count's knight orders were divided into Black Dragon, White Dragon, and Blue Dragon, each further split into six companies.
The Black Dragon was divided into Black Fang Company, Black Steel Company, Black Thunder Company, Black Shadow Company, Black Heart Company, and Black Peace Company.
The pinnacle of the entire Black Dragon Knights were the captain and vice-captain.
Each company's top were the elite captain and elite vice-captain.
Below them were squad leaders, who oversaw squads within each company. Then came the regular members.
If regular members were on par with Piona-level adventurers, someone as strong as Thomas had to be at least an elite captain.
“Yujin. You ready?”
While I munched on a sausage, admiring Genitz and Thomas's stats, Ray approached and spoke up.
I tossed the empty sausage wrapper in the trash and nodded.
“Anytime.”
“Good. It'll start soon.”
“Got it.”
Ray gave me a quick once-over.
“By the way, Yujin.”
“Yeah?”
“What weapon do you use? It wasn't listed on the application. If you need gear, just say so. We've got pretty much everything here.”
Ray gestured toward one wall. Beyond it was a room lined with all sorts of weapons.
I waved it off lightly.
“I'm good on weapons. Don't really need any.”
“You don't need any?”
Ray tilted her head.
“I'm not the type who uses them. Never trained with any. Bare hands are fine.”
“Hmm. I see.”
She sat beside me, sounding intrigued.
“Well, armament's a personal preference, so noted. Most in our order use longswords as their main. Your opponent will have one, even if you don't. That's fine, right?”
“No problem.”
“Your opponent's Thomas, elite captain of the Black Fang Company in the Black Dragon Knights' First Squadron. He's one of the top five in the order, including me. He'll come out swinging hard right from the start...”
Ray trailed off with a hum, scratched her cheek, then finished.
“Try not to go too rough on him.”
With that, she stood.
Top five in the Black Dragon Knights, huh. Seemed like a stretch compared to her at number one, but I didn't argue.
It was probably true enough.
Wonder how highly Ray rated me, anyway.
‘Better than being underestimated, I guess.’
If she saw me as weak, I could exploit that with a surprise attack and maybe ravish her somehow. But our stat gap was too wide from the start. No guarantee it'd even land.
‘I can already picture myself getting wrecked in the attempt.’
Better to win her over like Sera or Ceri and do it in human form.
That was when it happened.
“Attention, everyone!”
A booming voice echoed through the arena.
Genitz.
“We will now begin the captain-class exam for monster wave defense recruitment! The examinee is E-Class adventurer Yujin! The examiner is Thomas, elite captain of the Black Fang Company, First Squadron of the Black Dragon Knights!”
Woooah—!
A massive cheer erupted.
The knights in the stands clapped and whistled. It felt like a festival. What was this? Apparently a big draw here. Some even chanted “Go, Sir Thomas!” Like he was an idol.
“Examinee and examiner, to the central arena!”
Ray stood a bit away. She nodded toward me, signaling to follow Genitz's orders.
I stepped into the central arena. It was about the size of a decent athletic field.
I got there first and waited. Then the bald guy from before, Thomas, climbed up opposite me. His body was a fortress of muscle.
“Both in position. Before we start, exchange greetings. Once ready, let me know. I'll give the signal.”
Genitz addressed us.
Thomas and I locked eyes. He spoke first.
“Elite captain of the Black Dragon Knights' First Squadron, Black Fang Company—Thomas.”
“Yujin.”
Nothing much to say, so I kept it short.
Couldn't exactly say “tentacle monster,” and calling myself an E-Class adventurer felt too lame.
My curt reply seemed to irk him; his eyebrow twitched.
He took a deep breath, started to assume a ready stance, then eyed me over and spoke again.
“Hold on. Yujin, right? No gear?”
“Gear?”
“Weapons.”
He patted the longsword at his hip. I shrugged.
“Don't use 'em. No gear.”
“You looking down on me?”
“Nah. Just naturally unarmed. Never wielded one.”
“...Arrogant fool. Far too cocky.”
It was the truth.
But Thomas didn't buy it. He looked pissed, his facial muscles twitching threateningly.
I shook my head.
“Think what you want. Don't worry about weapons.”
“Fine. Hmph... And you've been awfully curt. You disrespecting me?”
I smirked at his question.
“You're using informal speech too.”
“What?”
“You started it, so I followed. And thinking about it as I came up—I'm applying for captain, right? Why bother honoring an elite captain beneath that?”
For real.
Pass the captain-class recruitment, and you'd get captain treatment. At least until the monster wave ended, recruits like that were practically captains.
Of course, not yet. I was still just an applicant pre-exam.
Normally, it'd be easier to show respect. But with Genitz down to the grunts openly sneering at me? No need.
“Hahaha!”
Thomas laughed like his throat might burst.
Raw anger laced the sound. He cut it off abruptly and fixed me with a murderous glare.
“I was gonna go easy, but no. Don't regret this.”
“Won't.”
“One tip: Book a healing slot at the temple right after. They'll fix most wounds. Assuming you're in any shape to walk.”
He growled it out, then turned to Genitz.
“Vice-Captain. Ready.”
“Yeah. Ready.”
“...Understood.”
Even informal to Genitz—veins bulged on his forehead.
Guy popped them every time he got mad. Must be stressful.
“Match ends when one side is combat-ineffective or cries surrender. When I raise my sword, begin.”
Shing—
Genitz drew his blade and thrust it vertically toward the arena.
Thomas readied his sword. I just stood there casually.
About three seconds passed.
“Begin!”
Genitz's shout rang out as his sword rose.
And—
Krunch—
I exploded toward Thomas at the signal.
Boom—!
The arena floor buckled with the blast.
Dust billowed from the shockwave. I sliced through it in a straight charge at Thomas.
Time seemed to slow.
His eyes widened in the haze.
No probing—he hadn't expected the instant rush. Panic twisted his face.
He swung defensively in haste. In that split second, he slashed my path while twisting to evade.
Impressive reflexes for his level. Solid response. But...
Crunch—
I shot out a hand and crushed his sword barehanded.
“Wh-what?!”
Panicked, Thomas bent his knees to leap back. But I'd already laid a mana barrier behind him.
His jump halted dead—shoulder slamming the barrier.
His retreat nullified, he froze awkwardly, retreat cut off.
“Haa!”
Vrrr—
Thomas gathered mana across his body in an instant.
A massive mana barrier launched to shove me away.
Pang—
I swatted it aside effortlessly.
Then shaped my left hand into a spearhand and thrust at his throat.
“W-wait—!”
Krunch—!
Drip...
The arena fell silent. No clamor, just a heavy hush. Thomas's eyes shook violently.
Drip... drip...
I hadn't killed him. My nails and fingertips had just pierced his throat a bit.
A little deeper or harder, and it'd rip out with major damage. But now? No threat to his life.
I told him,
“Declare it.”
“...”
“What? Not declaring?”
As I menaced to drive my hand deeper into the dazed, pupil-shaking Thomas, he snapped to and yelled,
“A...! S-surrender! Surrender!!”
Shwick—
“Guhk!”
Clear surrender declared, I yanked my spearhand free and shook off his blood.
Then pulled a handkerchief and meticulously wiped my fingers.
“Don't take it too hard. That last barrier was decent. Wound's not bad—no temple needed. A quick heal and you're good.”
Thomas stared blankly, like he'd taken a huge blow.
I smacked my lips and glanced at the stands. The knights looked shocked. Ray's expression barely changed.
Genitz met my eyes, swallowed hard, and spoke.
“Y-Yujin wins! This concludes the captain-class recruitment exam!”