Academy Entrance Exam (3)
“Aaaah……”
Elia slapped her thigh and let out a long sigh.
“That’s not how you do it.”
Having left the temple, Elia was now watching the sparring matches at the swordsmanship training grounds where the Swordsmanship Department entrance exam was underway.
“Left! You have to stab the left side! Come on…!”
These were kids hailed as geniuses from every region, yet in Elia’s eyes they looked like toddlers showing off their first clumsy steps. Still, she watched each and every one of them with genuine interest.
“Yes! Lift it up from there! That’s it!”
She was exactly like an old man completely absorbed in watching a chariot race. Even though she hadn’t bet any money, she was far too invested. Her hips kept shifting, she sighed, and occasionally even let out little screams. People around her kept stealing glances in her direction. Since she had pulled her hood deep over her head, she didn’t particularly mind the stares.
…Don’t they sell beer here?
Just sitting and watching made her mouth feel lonely. She wanted some jerky and a mug of cold beer. Whenever she used to watch the Imperial Army’s swordsmanship tournaments, jerky and beer had always been her faithful companions.
“Oh?”
This time, a familiar face appeared. It was Lael, her personal Holy Knight escort. He stepped onto the training ground with an extremely relaxed posture.
“Shall we see what kind of skill you have?”
One of the Five Holy Knights of the Holy Kingdom—and the most skilled among them. She had gotten a small taste of his ability before. But it had barely been enough to even dip a toe in. That was because the Holy Knight named Leod had underestimated her too much. Therefore, this was the first time she was properly seeing the skill of the newly formed Five Holy Knights.
“Hoh? His opponent looks pretty strong too.”
The examinee facing Lael was a massive man with healthy tanned skin and blond hair. His thick, muscular forearms were covered in large scars. His main weapon was a two-handed sword, and he carried double-bladed hand axes as secondary weapons on both sides of his waist. Among all the examinees she had seen so far, he looked the most battle-hardened.
Elia checked the match list.
“Hot Ragtree… Ragtree?”
She had heard the name before. The supreme commander of the Southern Kingdom’s warriors was named Ragtree. So this was that barbarian’s son? He really had been a crazy bastard. The way he charged across the battlefield while taking attacks head-on was more like a beast than a man. He drank like a whale, too. Even Adrean, who had been confident in his drinking capacity, had passed out first.
“This match is going to be fun.”
The spar began.
“Spar, begin!”
The moment the words left the referee’s mouth, both men shot forward.
—Boom!
The ground shook and a gust of wind exploded outward. Two blades of Sword Qi tore through the air and collided.
—Kwaaaang!!
The entire training ground vibrated. The clash of sword against sword had created an actual explosion. It seemed they had already gauged each other’s skill before the fight even truly started; both men collided with everything they had.
Lael tilted his body and closed the distance to Hot in an instant, twisting his blade to accurately target a vital point. If things continued like this, Hot would suffer a fatal wound.
However, Hot was not the type to take it lying down. He slammed his elbow down onto Lael’s blade, changing its trajectory so the tip stabbed into the ground. Then he stepped on Lael’s embedded sword and raised his own blade high above Lael’s head.
Lael kicked off the ground and rolled sideways. A heavy strike slammed down where he had just been a beat too late.
—Bang!!
The ground split open and a cloud of dust rose.
“Hoooo……”
Elia smiled as she enjoyed the match. Their movements were on a completely different level. Only now did it finally feel like she was watching a real Academy entrance exam.
—Thud!
Lael delivered a powerful kick to Hot’s ankle. In the brief opening that created, he yanked his sword free. Then he spun his entire body and slashed across Hot’s back.
A clean line appeared on Hot’s back with a sharp slash, and blood sprayed out. It wasn’t a fatal wound, but the cut was wide. Hot ignored it completely and countered with a spinning back kick to Lael’s abdomen. The Holy Knight was sent flying and tumbled across the ground several times before landing on his feet just before he could fall completely.
“Doesn’t that hurt?”
“A scratch like this is just itchy.”
Hot flashed a grin, showing his white teeth.
“You a Holy Knight from the Holy Kingdom?”
“That’s correct.”
“You hit pretty hard. Still not on my level, though.”
“How about treating that wound on your back before you start talking?”
The two stared at each other. Their eyes met. As if that were the signal, Hot charged like a wild boar.
Fwoooosh!
Red Sword Qi blazed up like flames and wrapped around Hot’s body like armor. The air around him shimmered like a heat haze.
Lael stood his ground as if gladly accepting the frontal assault. He bent his knees slightly and held his sword horizontally at his side.
“Haaaaaaa!!”
A warrior’s roar. It echoed so loudly it hurt the ears. Hot’s sword melted the space with scorching heat as it swung toward Lael’s head.
—Kwaaang!!
Lael swung his sword upward and received the blow. The shockwave spread across the entire training ground.
“Whoaaa!”
Elia barely caught her hood, which had nearly been blown off by the shockwave. The cloud of dust made it impossible to see what was happening. She held her breath and stared into the haze.
A moment later, when the dust cleared, what she saw was a blade flying high into the sky. Hot’s two-handed sword had been severed by Lael’s strike.
—Thud!
The broken sword stabbed into the ground. Hot made a quick decision, discarded his main weapon, and drew the double-bladed hand axes from his belt. Then he charged in, swinging the axes wildly like a beast on the attack.
Rapid strikes clashed against rapid strikes. But Lael was faster. Every time Lael’s sword moved as smoothly as flowing water, another cut appeared on Hot’s body and blood sprayed out.
Strangely, that only served as a buff for Hot. The more blood he shed, the faster he became. That was why he was called a berserker.
“Hup!”
Lael’s blade glowed with a blue light. He leaped forward. The space itself seemed to compress as a long blue afterimage trailed behind him.
—Slash! Slice! Slash!
In less than a second, Lael moved to five different positions around Hot. Five blue lines were drawn around him. From above, they would have looked like a star.
Hot’s movements came to an abrupt halt. At that exact moment, the star-shaped Sword Qi carved into his abdomen.
Splat!
Blood sprayed in every direction.
—Thump!
The giant collapsed.
“I thought you were just some pretty boy, but you really are one of the Five Holy Knights.”
Elia nodded in admiration.
The guy who had been sweating buckets and trembling with nerves inside the carriage was now a cold, composed swordsman the moment he held a blade. She saw him in a slightly new light.
“K-kuk… It’s been a while.”
Hot rose to his feet again. His stamina was monstrous. Even after taking what should have been a fatal wound, he stood up like it was nothing.
“Let’s keep going.”
“You should stay down. You’ll only make the wound worse.”
“Wounds are a warrior’s medals. Let’s go one more round.”
A battle maniac. She liked him. It was getting interesting.
However, just before their third round could begin, the supervisor ended the match.
“Stop! That’s enough!”
The test had been more than sufficient. The result was that both of them passed.
“Tsk… What a shame.”
Hot sheathed his hand axes back onto his belt.
“Let’s fight again sometime.”
As he walked out of the training ground with heavy steps, Hot suddenly collapsed with a loud thud at the entrance. The berserker state had worn off. The priests who had been preparing to treat his injuries hurriedly rushed over to him.
“Aren’t they just monsters?”
Yohan, who had watched the previous match, was stunned. It had been on an entirely different dimension. To enter the Academy at the top rank, one probably needed to be at least that strong. He felt a sense of awe.
“Next contestant, please prepare.”
At the supervisor’s words, Yohan stood up. It was finally his turn to take the test. With the mindset of simply trying to pass, he stepped into the training ground.
Hundreds of eyes turned toward him. It was unbearably burdensome. Most likely because of the title “Hero’s disciple,” the attention on him was especially heavy. He felt like he should apologize to them in advance. He was about to betray their expectations.
Although Yohan had learned the sword from the Hero, he didn’t have the skill to proudly call himself the master’s disciple.
“Haa……”
He let out a deep sigh and waited for his opponent. Soon, someone emerged from the opposite side.
His opponent was a silver-haired girl. The second daughter of the Northern Archduke, Uril van Skolhart. Her slender body still showed signs of youth. Modest breasts. A small, cute bottom. She was a beautiful girl of the northern snowfields. Her blunt golden eyes were fixed on Yohan. Despite her young and adorable appearance, her gaze was as cold as the chill of the snow plains.
Yohan raised his sword. Uril also drew hers with a relaxed motion.
“Spar, begin!”
The moment the signal was given, Yohan leaped forward and closed the distance boldly. To earn points from the examiners, he went all out from the very first move. In the entrance exam, winning or losing wasn’t what mattered. All he had to do was show what kind of skill he possessed.
His muscles tensed like a drawn bowstring. The moment Yohan reached Uril, he thrust his sword toward her abdomen.
…It’s going in!
Yohan’s body burned with excitement. But the instant he heard the sound of metal clashing, his body temperature plummeted.
“……Is this the Hero’s disciple?”
Uril had tilted her sword and lightly deflected Yohan’s strike. She let out a sigh.
“How disappointing.”
Uril’s sword whipped around and struck Yohan in the side.