Entrance Exam Aftermath
The referee's voice rang out across the training ground.
“M-match over…!”
I was just starting to feel that pleasant burn in my muscles after a long time away from real training. Too bad the opponent had already collapsed, and I had to clear the stage.
According to the examiner, whether we passed or not would be posted on the bulletin board in front of the academy later. Even if you won your spar, it didn’t guarantee acceptance, so make sure to check. That was the extra warning they gave.
Is it really okay for it to be this easy?
It ended so quickly that it actually felt a little off. Kind of dirty, honestly.
Still, fighting against a sword turned out to be more fun than I expected. I wondered how the others were going to fight.
I decided to stick around and watch a few more matches. Might as well compare and see where I stood.
Soon enough.
“Next applicant, Elen Norvel.”
A familiar face appeared when the examiner called the name.
It was the girl who had given me water earlier.
Oh, I finally learned her name!
She answered the examiner’s questions calmly, then picked up a wooden practice sword.
“This should be interesting.”
Her face was clearly tense. And for good reason—the guy standing across from her was the same loudmouth who had been bragging in the training area earlier.
Maybe he’d thrown some dirty talk her way before the match? If she could turn that anger into fuel, she might have a chance… but she looked more weighed down than fired up.
And sure enough.
Her opponent kept pressing her hard.
“Northern wench, I’ll ask you just one thing. Why is a girl from the North trying to join the Empire’s knight order?”
The man asked while leveling a massive axe at her. It was just a wooden model, but somehow it gave off the pressure of a brutal weapon.
“…”
The girl didn’t answer.
Instead, she raised her wooden sword and pointed it at him.
That was her reply.
It was a completely different sight from the trembling girl who had been running away earlier.
“Oh… this is gonna be fu—”
“Whoa, now this is an interesting matchup, isn’t it?”
Someone suddenly butted in and finished my muttered thought for me. I had no idea when he’d even shown up.
He had the look of a blond-haired delinquent, with a sly, mischievous grin plastered on his face. Before I knew it, he plopped down right next to me and made himself comfortable.
“That girl must be from the North, right? Meanwhile, that guy over there is Empire through and through.”
I guess he was talking to me?
I’ve always thought of myself as pretty sociable. But what was this uneasy feeling?
This guy seemed like bad news if you got too close.
“Who do you think is gonna win, friend?”
He glanced up at me with a suspicious little smile. His red eyes sparkled.
“Hmm, I’d say the guy will probably take it. There’s a pretty big difference in size and weight, after all…”
“Wrong! Buzzer sound~!”
Wait, wasn’t he the one who asked for my opinion?
Who the hell was he to decide the correct answer himself?
“Alrighty then~ Shall we check the answer sheet?”
The moment he finished speaking, the real spar began.
The man with the axe charged first. His weapon was heavy. Elen’s sword was light. It wasn’t a fight that could be won head-on.
Clang—!
From the very first clash, Elen’s whole body shook violently. Scattered laughter broke out from the spectator seats.
“You have no right to exist in the Empire!”
The man bellowed like he was issuing a divine decree.
But Elen didn’t respond.
She simply took a few steps back and tightened her grip on the sword.
Then—
Tap—!
The instant the axe swung wide, the tip of her blade grazed his wrist.
Once.
Twice.
Three times.
In all three exchanges, she had targeted the exact same wrist.
“Ugh…!”
The man’s attack speed dropped noticeably.
And in the end.
The girl’s wooden sword stopped right in front of his throat.
“Match over!”
It had looked like she was being dragged around the whole time.
Yet the final victor was Elen.
So this is swordsmanship.
She flipped the difference in power with pure technique. Watching was worth it.
“See? Told you so.”
The weird guy clapped enthusiastically all by himself.
In the quiet testing ground, the sound of one person clapping felt even more awkward. Completely oblivious to the stares, he kept clapping like it was nothing.
“Match over? I’m still perfectly fine!”
The man refused to accept the result.
Elen was already moving to return her sword to its place.
“I don’t acknowledge it!!!!”
A blunt axe flew toward the defenseless girl’s back.
Even though it was just a model, a hit to the back of the head, neck, or spine could cause a terrible accident.
Even the examiner was a beat too slow to react.
And then.
Boom—!
“Hey!”
My body moved before I could think.
I grabbed Elen by the shoulder, yanked her toward me, and held her close. Her eyes were wide with shock, and she was trembling.
“…You okay?”
I asked a little late. Instead of answering, she slowly nodded.
“Whoa there—if you lose, you gotta lose gracefully. Isn’t that what chivalry is all about?”
The strange guy had somehow already jumped down and stepped in. No—more accurately, he had moved faster than me.
He had kicked away the thrown axe in an instant.
“Why are you saying I lost! It’s not over ye—”
“If that had been a real sword, your wrist would already be shredded. All the blood would’ve drained out of you by now, you know?”
Still grinning, the guy swept the opponent’s leg and lightly tripped him. Then he planted a foot on the man’s chest and looked down.
His red eyes narrowed into slits.
“Don’t you think?”
At that moment, the entire testing ground fell silent.
“The match is over. Actions that go against chivalry are clear point deductions and can even result in disqualification. Also…”
The examiner pulled the strange guy away.
“Jochenog, isn’t this during class time?”
“Ah, right… I completely forgot.”
The examiner and the guy seemed to know each other; their conversation flowed naturally.
“But Professor, you were here too?”
“…”
“Attendance is gonna be rough, huh?”
“Obviously.”
“Too bad.”
The guy shrugged. After that little exchange, the testing ground finally returned to its original atmosphere.
A few days later.
The plaza was buzzing with talk about the academy’s accepted students.
After finishing my morning run, I stopped by the academy and checked the bulletin board.
Imperial Academy Accepted Students List
Lee Dojin
Elen Norvel
...
Both the girl and I had passed.
“Nice.”
I had been worried that getting involved in the girl’s situation might cost me points, but it looked like there hadn’t been any issues.
The entrance ceremony was held the very next day.
There wasn’t anything particularly special about a fantasy world’s entrance ceremony. A boring speech, the student representative’s oath, and a small performance. Everything wrapped up right around lunchtime when people were starting to get hungry.
I’d expected something more dynamic since magic existed in this world, but oh well.
Even the class assignments were written on a hanging scroll banner placed in front of the classrooms.
Academy Class 3
Among all those fancy names, the three characters for Lee Dojin were stuck in there.
Now that I thought about it… the competition must have been pretty fierce. All those examinees, yet only three classrooms were waiting. With roughly a dozen people per class, it was about a 10:1 ratio?
Guess winning your spar didn’t automatically get you in. There were probably quite a few people who won but still failed.
The academy’s exterior was a palace-like building decorated with pure white marble. I’d been curious about the inside, but it turned out to be surprisingly similar to an ordinary classroom. The only difference was the fancy black wooden desks placed on the marble floor.
Anyway, I was the first one to enter the classroom. That meant I got to claim the corner seat by the window.
It had been so long since I last went to school. I actually felt a little excited.
Back in the day, I used to arrive at school first like this too. Since I was in the athletic club, I’d show up without a bag and just sleep in the very back seat.
“Eat lunch, work out… Man, those are memories. For real.”
“Did you eat lunch?”
“No, I was talking about back then—holy shit, you scared me!!!”
When I turned my head, a girl wearing a huge hat was crouched in the corner. With her long black hair hanging down and that pale face, I seriously thought she was a ghost for a second.
There were so many seats. Why the hell was she huddled in the corner?
“Did I scare you?”
“Obviously.”
“I see.”
What the…?
“Are you a ghost?”
“I’m an elf.”
What the hell is going on?
When did she even get here? I was sure I was alone in the classroom.
“Why are you sitting like that?”
“Ebony wood.”
She stared at me without blinking once as she answered. Ebony wood… she was probably talking about the material of the desks.
“It tickles when I touch it.”
“Wait… are you allergic?”
“Yeah.”
What kind of nonsense—
Bang—!
“Ah, fuck, you scared me!”
This time I got startled by someone violently slamming the door open.
It was a guy with white hair wearing a uniform that reminded me of silver armor. He stood ramrod straight, entered with total confidence, and glared right at me.
Behind him, Elen was cautiously stepping into the classroom.
“A Northerner? Unexpected. I didn’t think the Imperial Academy would open its doors to Northerners as well.”
He spoke down to her without even glancing in her direction. Because of that, Elen froze awkwardly right at the doorway.
But seriously, why was he glaring at me while saying that?
The man’s eyes burned like his red hair.
“You. You’re the bastard who threw away his sword during the entrance exam, right?”
Ah, so I was the target all along.
“Yeah, that’s me. So what?”
“I can’t understand how someone like you ended up in the same class as me.”
“Was there a rule against throwing it away…? Haha…”
The man’s expression darkened instantly. It became serious and cold, like a shadow had fallen over him.
“Throwing away your sword is the same as abandoning chivalry. I cannot acknowledge you.”
Why were people here so obsessed with acknowledgment?
“And you, Northerner.”
The man drew the sword at his waist.
Sring—
The vibrating ring of metal filled the entire classroom. This wasn’t some cheap wooden practice sword.
It was a real blade, sharp and gleaming.
He pointed it straight at me.
“I don’t know what thoughts brought you here.”
“But I do not believe you have the qualifications to bear the Empire’s name. The Imperial Knight Order exists for the sake of honor.”
At his arrogant warning, the other students couldn’t even enter the room. They just peeked in through the windows.
“I challenge you to a duel.”
…
Uh.
Excuse me?