Chapter 9
Chapter 9
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 9
Chapter Title: The Sparring Test
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While we made our way to the training grounds, Lize kept talking to me without pause, not even for a single moment. I couldn't help but wonder what it took for someone to live that energetically and full of life.
She especially zeroed in on trying to uncover why I'd been hit with the witch's curse, but I dodged all her leading questions by mumbling that I couldn't remember because of the curse or that I just didn't know.
Once she seemed to catch on to my intentions, she switched up her questions entirely.
Fed up with the barrage, I shot pleading looks at Iris and Erika for help, but it was no use.
Iris shook her head wearily, saying there was no stopping someone like Lize and that I should just accept it.
Erika started off pointing out every little breach of decorum, telling her to act with some dignity, but eventually gave up and apologized to me instead. Lize, of course, grinned smugly the whole time.
In the end, dealing with all the attention fell squarely on my shoulders.
After enduring Lize chattering nonstop right up against my side, Iris finally came to a halt.
"This is the training grounds."
'What the hell? Why is it so huge?'
Stretching out before me was a vast open field at least three or four times larger than the one in the game. Was this another ripple effect from the knights' quarters turning from a plain building into a massive castle?
I slowly scanned the surroundings. The scale had grown enormously, but the overall layout hadn't changed much. It was more like the game's location had just been stretched out wider.
Off in the distance, I spotted a warehouse, and wooden swords were lined up along one wall. The ground wasn't particularly well-maintained, so dust kicked up with every gust of wind.
Lize, who'd been whispering something to Erika just moments ago, sidled up to me and spoke up.
"So, newbie? Like what you see?"
"It just feels pretty ordinary—hold on, newbie?"
"Yeah, newbie. What's the problem with that?"
"Of course there's a problem. I haven't even taken the entry exam yet."
"Iris wouldn't misjudge someone. And didn't you hear her confidently say earlier there's no need to worry? If she's saying that, your acceptance is basically a done deal, so you're a newbie. Don't stress too much—I'll go easy on you. Ah, but not too easy."
Lize winked playfully. If enemy buff mode wasn't active, I might've bought it, but as things stood, I barely managed to twitch the corner of my mouth in response.
"The exam format is a one-on-one duel. If more than half the knight captains—excluding Iris—approve of your entry, you pass. With Claudia away, it'll just take approval from me and one of my sisters. Not quite a majority, but nothing we can do about it."
"Claudia's not here?"
Iris voiced her surprise at Erika's explanation.
I felt the same. I didn't even remember a character named Claudia in my memory. It was more accurate to think all the major NPCs had simply been swapped to women.
I'd need to do some research to figure out where this matched the game and where it diverged.
"Claudia? She's out hunting monsters. She left on the lord's orders right after you did, so it makes sense you wouldn't know. She should be back in a couple days, probably."
A lord's commission to exterminate monsters. That was enough to pinpoint the original NPC.
Iris had figured it out ages ago, Claudia too. Now it was just Lize and Erika left. The characters' outlines were starting to take shape.
I'd have to keep it secret from these three, but the knight captain named Claudia would likely return from the subjugation having failed and badly injured. That's how the game's story went.
Of course, the player could take down that monster too.
That's when things really kicked off. The tutorial area was just a showcase of Bren 4's themes and direction, and this entry exam felt like a basic combat tutorial explaining the systems.
The problem was that with enemy buff mode installed, it wasn't basic combat—it was damn near a half-boss fight.
"I see."
Iris nodded curtly.
"The duel opponent will be—"
"Me! Me! Me! I'll do it! It has to be me!"
Lize shot her hand up high. The motion sent her chest bouncing noticeably beneath her thin sleeveless top. Iris glanced at me, as if asking if that was okay.
With her so eager for a go at me, I didn't really have a choice. I nodded, and Lize immediately broke into a beaming smile, hopping up and down in excitement.
Erika stepped up behind her.
"Here you go, sis."
Sometime in the last few moments, she'd fetched a pair of short swords, one in each hand. As Lize took them, a chill swept through the air. One blade turned blue, frost forming along its edge.
Ah, so the original NPC for her just had to be that guy.
'Tsk.'
I clicked my tongue inwardly. Blue hair meant ice attribute, huh.
I'd hoped for some twist—like blue flames making her hair azure, or red ice turning it crimson.
"You can use that weapon, so no need to give you another one. But if you want something else, just say the word. I can lend you one."
Iris pointed to the bloodstained sword at my waist.
Just as the game world blending with reality made women in modern clothes feel normal, so too did the idea of using real weapons for the entry exam. It was accepted without question.
Not just Lize—even Iris and Erika only reminded us to control our strength; none of them seemed to think the match itself was off.
At least the one mercy was that chipping away all my health wasn't required—just half for a clear.
'And of all opponents, it had to be the one whose original was that guy.'
The NPC that Lize was based on was the Bren 4 boss that topped the list of dirtiest, most infuriating status effects: Freeze.
Once the Freeze gauge filled, the player character froze solid for four seconds, unable to act, and even after thawing, movement speed, stamina regen, and combat fatigue recovery dropped sharply, while roll speed, evasion distance, and invincibility frames got cut to a quarter.
Debuffs filthy enough on their own, and this thing slapped on over five at once. Other status effects topped out at one or two.
You could only conclude the devs had gone all out.
What grated even more was that parry couldn't fully counter attribute attacks like that. For perfect elemental deflection, you needed a matching buckler or tower shield.
Even if the buildup was minimal, the fact that without a shield, the gauge ticked up bit by bit despite perfect parries was stressful enough.
"What's that weapon? The blade's red."
As I drew the bloodstained sword, Lize—who'd been twirling her frost-wreathed daggers—asked curiously.
"It's the weapon I got from slaying the monster in the prison."
"Huh? Monster? There were monsters in the prison? And you took it down? Who, Iris?"
Lize's eyes went wide. Come to think of it, I hadn't explained the prison incident yet.
"It's a long story. I'll fill you in after the duel. Gotta write up that report for the lord anyway."
"Oh, right. We do have to report to that pig bastard."
"Around dinner time should work. Not that I want to."
This city's lord must have the exact same personality as in the game—Iris, blunt as she was, openly showed her disdain, and even sociable Lize called him a pig bastard.
Even Erika bit her lip in weary resignation at the mention.
"Enough chit-chat. Both of you, get ready."
Iris forced the duel to start, as if she didn't want to dwell on the lord any longer. Lize and I faced off, while the other two backed away to a safe distance.
Frost swirled from the twin short swords, seeping out white mist bit by bit. It was fog made of ice and sleet. The breeze carried a biting chill.
'Never thought I'd see this up close.'
I'd watched it plenty on my monitor.
I gripped the bloodstained sword two-handed, tilting the tip slightly right as I lowered into stance. Inhaling brought the cold creeping into my lungs. It wouldn't build Freeze gauge just from breathing, right?
Unlike me—tense and fretting over every little thing—Lize approached leisurely, utterly relaxed.
"Why so tense, newbie? Scared I'll kill you or something? No way that'll happen, so loosen up."
'In the game, you killed me just fine.'
I swallowed the retort silently. Thinking back to how brutally I'd died over and over clearing this on my first Brenla mode run, it didn't exactly inspire confidence.
"Instead..."
The surrounding chill surged wildly. She was gearing up to lunge. I braced to counter.
"It's gonna hurt—a lot!"
Boom—the words barely left her mouth before the distance closed.