Chapter 2
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 2
Chapter Title: Awakener Ability Test -1
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"...Morning already?"
My eyes opened on their own.
I felt strength draining from my entire body.
I didn't want to get up, but I had to.
Otherwise, I'd starve to death.
'Just grab some water, head to the gym for physical training... then off to the magic academy for mana training... ah.'
I no longer needed to hit the gym or train.
The daily predawn physical conditioning.
The magic training academy I attended late into the night every day.
A bitter smile crept across my face.
'What was the point of all that anyway.'
I didn't need to do any of it anymore.
I didn't need to scramble harder than everyone else just to survive.
I'd given up, hadn't I?
"Let's just sleep more."
"No, you must get up, Master."
My eyes cracked open slightly.
I heard someone's voice.
There shouldn't have been anyone in my house.
"No helping it then. I'll wake you in five minutes."
A presence approached, along with a delicious aroma.
Only then did I sit up and glance toward the kitchen.
'Yesterday wasn't a dream after all.'
I'd tried to dismiss it as one, but it was real.
"Now, let's have breakfast."
"Why are you doing this first thing in the morning?"
"Because I am your servant."
"I don't usually eat breakfast."
"You who devoured every last bit of rice and meat?"
The maid flinched at my words.
Her name was Elisian, I think.
"Elisian. Don't push yourself too hard."
"Then let me feed you."
"What?"
"Don't worry. We've done this before."
It only grew more baffling.
Her offer to feed me wasn't a lie.
Kimchi and meat piled atop steamed rice.
Elisian held out a spoon to me.
"Here, say 'ahh~'."
"I'm not a baby."
"Then will you come down and eat on your own? Or...?"
"I'll eat. I'll eat it."
"Yes, that's right. It's an important day, after all."
While I ate, Elisian rummaged through my closet.
"Pardon the intrusion."
She pulled out a hoodie and jeans.
"These will do."
"Uh, yeah."
"Take your time. If we're too late, you can ride on my back."
Ride on her back?
Was this a threat to eat faster?
"I'm done."
"Too fast."
"Koreans eat like this."
"Eating quickly causes indigestion."
Elisian grumbled.
In that short time, she'd prepared everything for going out.
I was impressed.
Thanks to her quick prep,
the disaster of riding on a girl's back didn't happen... but.
"Should've just taken a taxi."
"Your expression looks bad. Is something wrong?"
To be precise, being with you is the problem.
"Whoa, a maid."
"Cosplay? Or some kind of play?"
"Doesn't look like he has that kind of money."
"Dangerous. Already so crowded, and dressed like that."
Whispers battered my ears.
Monday morning subway. A guy bringing a maid on the commute.
'I'd stare too if I were them.'
"Master."
"Don't call me Master."
"You are Master."
"F-Fine. What is it?"
"You seem embarrassed."
Did she finally understand how I felt?
Yeah, if she just kept a little distance in this state, my mind would settle.
"What embarrasses Master is probably those humans."
"No, it's not."
"Shall I kill them, Master?"
"Don't kill them."
"Then what should I do?"
"Just stay still. That's it."
"I shall obey."
Elisian pressed right up against my side.
"Aren't you too close?"
"Bear with it. I'm holding back too."
"Holding back what?"
"I want to rub my head against you. May I?"
"Uh. Let's keep going like this."
I breezed through the procedures I'd done countless times.
On-site registration. It was the basic rule for Awakener exams.
Seeing the crowds and procedures, Elisian tilted her head.
"Master."
"What."
"In my judgment, given the crowd and this process, it seems rather inefficient."
Elisian pointed at the crowd and continued.
"First test is dungeon clearance, second is one-on-one combat. With this many applicants, won't the second test take days even if it runs non-stop?"
A valid question.
In fact, around two thousand people had come for today's exam.
It drew crowds since it happened only once every three months.
"That won't happen."
Even including the second test, most exams wrapped up the same day.
The reason was simple.
"Most drop out in the first round anyway."
"I see."
"The difficulty is always set for the top tier."
'Scram, you mediocres.' Something like that.
That's why I'd been joyfully eliminated every time.
*Crunch.*
"Ah."
I'd bitten my lip without realizing.
I thought I'd given up.
Did some resentment linger after all?
"...Let's go."
"Go where?"
"I'm a Summoner type. We have to register our Summoned Beast."
"Understood."
I headed to the registration desk with Elisian.
Several Summoners were already there registering their Summoned Beasts.
"Here to register."
"Yes, what kind of Summoned Beast?"
"C-Rank, Greyhound."
"Oh my! A C-Rank already... Yes, got it. I'll process it right away."
Greyhound.
The staff buzzed at the news of a C-Rank Summoned Beast already.
That was basically a pass.
I'd shown a slime and gotten laughed at.
Living the dream I could never have.
"Hah."
"Master."
"Jealous-"
"Master!"
Elisian gripped my hand tightly.
"Your Summoned Beast is right here."
"That's not a Summoned Beast, that's a person."
"Don't worry. I am unequivocally a Summoned Beast."
With that, Elisian stepped forward.
"I'll register."
"Yes, miss. Place your Summoned Beast here-"
"I am the Summoned Beast."
"You're joking, right?"
Did they think she was a Troublesome Customer?
The moment I moved to stop her.
"Then this."
She placed a dragon's claw on the desk.
At the same time, Elisian trimmed a bit of her own nail and submitted it.
"Verify it."
"Ah, yes."
The association staff summoned a fairy for inspection.
The result.
"A Dragon!?"
Dragon.
That single word sent ripples through the staff and bystanders alike.
"You're not human?"
"I'm polymorphed."
"Polymorph!?"
"Yes. Is there a problem?"
Elisian spoke as casually as saying the sun rises in the morning.
She really had no idea.
What she'd just said.
"Master. Did we cause a problem?"
"If anything, no real issue."
"Then all good. Now, Master, registration."
I stepped forward for registration.
The staffer handed me the paper with trembling hands.
"Pl-please manage the Dragon so it doesn't cause trouble..."
"Yes, I will."
"If an accident happens, it won't end with just a warning..."
No wonder.
A cheat race that started at A-Rank minimum, right in front of them.
And capable of polymorph too.
That meant top-tier among Dragons.
Like dropping a raid boss in a beginner hunting ground.
"Doesn't make me stronger, though."
"You knew I was a Dragon, right?"
"Then why polymorph?"
"Easier for people to pamper me this way."
"Who said that?"
"You did."
Ah, that reason.
"I give up trying to understand."
"It's fine. Once this exam's over, I'll explain."
"So no point thinking now?"
"Pretty much."
She spoke in riddles.
As that thought crossed my mind, a voice called out.
"Seo Gi-hyeon for the first exam! Please come to Gate 2 now!"
Gate 2.
Arriving there, I saw the familiar sight I'd encountered many times.
The rules were simple.
Exam starts the moment you enter the gate.
Find the magic stone inside the dungeon and exit—pass.
"Do you understand the rules?"
"Yes."
"Then we begin Seo Gi-hyeon's certification exam now. Good luck."
I entered the gate.
My heart began to pound slowly.
We arrived in a place like a dense jungle and scanned our surroundings.
Spotting something, Elisian pointed.
"Master."
"..."
"A goblin pack right ahead. What are your orders?"
No luck.
Ran into a goblin pack right at the start.
"Why the long face?"
"Well, I died to those guys before."
Death here was just a simulation.
But the pain was real, and so was the fear of death.
I'd been stabbed to death by their swords and spears countless times.
The agony of wounds, the emptiness as life drained away.
'Damn. How many times did I do this? I wasn't right in the head.'
My heart raced.
I needed to give orders.
"Master."
"..."
"I'll wait."
"..."
"I am your servant."
Elisian squeezed my hand tight.
Contrary to my expectation of calluses, her soft skin transmitted warmth.
"Above all, I crossed dimensions because I wanted to see you."
"..."
"When you're ready, when you want to, when your heart settles. Command me then."
"..."
"In the end, then or now, I am your Summoned Beast."
She was right.
Human form or not, her current status was Summoned Beast.
Which meant I controlled that Dragon.
Of course, she'd wipe out the enemies effortlessly.
But.
'That defeats the purpose. Eli knows that too.'
I'd studied endlessly.
How to issue commands, how to judge situations.
How to bond with Summoned Beasts, how to eliminate foes.
'Can I do it? Me?'
Can I handle that powerhouse?
"...No."
No choice now that we're here.
I was a failure. That's fact.
But.
"Screw it, let's try."
"Master. Your command."
I didn't want to be the idiot hesitating before opportunity.
This was opportunity.
A minimum A-Rank Summoned Beast that obeyed me absolutely.
Having her by my side was a chance that wouldn't come again.
Then.
"Elisian."
"Yes, Master."
"The goblin with the skull ornament in the center. See it?"
"Yes."
This time, I'd seize it.
"Kill it."
"As commanded."
*Fwoosh!*
Elisian opened her mouth and spat a fireball.
The goblin that looked like the chief was engulfed in flames and began to roast.
It lost its head.
This wasn't just losing the leader.
Losing the head turned any sturdy body into a rabble.
Oddly, my heartbeat calmed.
Had my head ever felt this cool before?
As if I weren't myself, I gave Elisian the next order.
"Elisian."
"Kill them? Can I kill? Master, yes?"
Tsk.
Excited, huh.
"Calm down."
I grabbed Elisian's shoulder and met her gaze.
"The dungeon is long. I hope you understand that."
"...Ah."
Her fiercely grinning lips returned to calm.
A slight blush, maybe.
"Sorry. I nearly got excited."
"It's okay. Happens."
"And you're the one exciting me."
"I'll let go then."
Ahem, clearing my throat, I looked at Elisian—Eli.
"We've come this far, so we get results no matter what. No choice. Right, Eli?"
"Yes!"
Eli rubbed her head on my shoulder.
I considered pushing her off, but she looked so happy, I let it be.
"I want to wrap up this simple stuff quick and get praised."
"Do well, and you will."
"Looking forward to it."
Wagging an invisible tail side to side, Eli took the lead.