Chapter 78
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 78
Chapter Title: Suspicious Encounter (1)
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The road-running test that had started at dawn.
The trainees had bolted out like mad from the very beginning, spurred on by the promise of first-come, first-served.
But an hour later.
The lead group and the stragglers began to separate.
The one who had held first place all along was none other than Roin Leyden.
He was the first trainee to approach the destination.
But as he drew closer to the summit, something completely unexpected grabbed him by the ankle.
The weather.
With every step, snow sank up to his knees.
And the razor-sharp winds howling in.
The cold itself wasn't a big deal.
But,
"I can practically hear my skin cracking."
He worried about the damage to his face and body from the chill.
Frostbite was another concern.
One wrong move, and chunks of flesh could rot away.
"Damn it, whenever 'training' gets slapped on something, it's always this bullshit. Ugh!"
A blinding blizzard that made it impossible to see even a foot ahead.
Through it, a faint light began to appear.
Roin knew at a glance that it was the destination.
Sure enough.
Just as he predicted.
A spot with several rods embedded, glowing with light magic.
This was the summit of the 87th peak among the 117 mountains around Nosl.
The three instructors waiting at the top spotted Roin.
At first, they couldn't believe their eyes.
They thought he was some passing traveler.
Because,
"No way he got here this fast..."
The sun hadn't even set yet.
Usually, trainees didn't start trickling in until well after dinner time.
But Roin had arrived here in under five hours since the hellish run began.
One of the instructors eyed Roin suspiciously.
"You didn't use some teleportation magic or anything, did you?"
Occasionally, trainees would sneak in teleportation items as a cheat.
The instructor's suspicion made irritation bubble up inside Roin.
He wanted to escape this godforsaken cold as soon as possible, and now they were wasting his time with baseless doubts.
"If it turns out I used any cheats, I'll voluntarily withdraw."
He was willing to stake his enrollment on it.
Instructors were stationed sporadically along the route to the peak, so cheating wasn't easy.
Plus, Roin had enrolled without knowing the training detailshow could he have prepared a teleportation item in advance?
Considering all the circumstances, the odds of cheating were slim to none.
The instructor handed Roin a coin.
A special one, not the kind you saw in circulation.
The instructor pointed to the coin he'd given Roin.
"Take that back to the training camp and show it. That's all."
Roin nodded and headed down the mountain with quick steps.
Watching him vanish in an instant, the instructors clicked their tongues in amazement.
By the time he reached the foothills.
Roin ran into a familiar face.
Jerka Tayla.
He caught sight of Roin, steadied his ragged breathing for a moment, and asked,
"Keep going up this path to the summit?"
"Yeah. But brace yourselfit's brutally cold."
Jerka nodded and muttered a thanks.
As expected, Jerka was holding second place right behind Roin.
Though overshadowed by Roin, he too had shown impressive speed.
'The others probably haven't even reached the base yet.'
But Roin's prediction was shattered soon enough.
Not long after parting with Jerka.
He encountered yet another trainee.
The scion of the Binruk family.
Theo Binruk.
He was silently climbing the snow-covered mountain.
'Theo's no slouch either.'
There wasn't just one knight academy like Loud Swordsmanship Academy.
Separate academies existed for aspiring knights specializing in weapons other than swords.
Unlike the Tayla family, the Binruks were renowned for their spear techniques.
Theo Binruk was a mid-level knight, following in the footsteps of his father, Duke Wharton Binruk, down the path of the spear.
"......"
Theo glanced at Roin without a word.
His short hair and sharp eyes.
That appearance made most first impressions of Theo 'fierce.'
Roin looked at him and asked,
"Wondering where the summit is?"
He figured Theo was staring like Jerka had, to ask for directions.
The taciturn Theo replied to Roin's question,
"The summit'll show up if I follow the path."
What actually piqued his interest was something else.
"Besides you, who's ahead of me?"
Whether it took hours or days.
That didn't matter to Theo.
As long as he didn't fall behind anyone.
That was his mindset.
Roin decided to answer Theo's question honestly.
"Just one idiot obsessed with justice this and convictions that."
"Jerka Tayla."
Theo immediately identified who was ahead of him.
At that, his pace suddenly quickened.
His steps burned with the determination to overtake Jerka and claim second place.
'I heard Duke Wharton has a big rivalry with Kern Tayla.'
Like father, like son, it seemed.
'Whatever. None of my business.'
Roin's immediate goal was to get back to the training camp as fast as possible.
As the sun began to set.
Aker, who had spent nearly the whole day at the Swordran training camp, was finally preparing to leave.
Before going, he exchanged farewells with Iliya Shult one last time.
"Then I'll be waiting for your answer."
Aker extended his hand first.
For a handshake.
But Iliya just gave a meaningful smile.
She didn't take his hand.
Only then did Aker belatedly remember one key point about dealing with Iliya.
"My apologies. You dislike physical contact with others. I forgot for a moment."
"It's fine. Everyone forgets sometimes."
Whenever it happened, Iliya never reacted like she just had.
To outsiders, it might seem rude.
But no one had ever complained about her to her face.
They knew her personality too well.
"Take care on your way back."
With Iliya's send-off, Aker gave a brief bow.
Aker stepped out of the training camp.
And that's when he ran into someone unexpected.
Roin Leyden.
"......"
Roin stared at Aker silently.
They were strangers, but.
They knew each other all too well.
The boy who had smashed every tactical golem Aker had developed.
In return, Aker was the one who had scarred that face, even if just a little.
So of course they recognized each other.
Roin spoke first.
"Hey. Don't you have something to say to me?"
He had more than one or two questions for Aker.
Aker was currently a suspect in handing over a fragment of an outer god to the former headmaster, Oval.
If true.
Then Aker was likely part of the same organization as Ratiothose who served the Demon God.
But Aker responded to Roin's demand with indifference.
"I got nothing to say."
As soon as the words left his mouth, bright light enveloped Aker.
Teleportation magic.
He vanished without a trace from in front of Roin, like a fleeing rat.
Roin clicked his tongue at him.
"Rat bastard."
Still, there was a gain.
For whatever reason, Aker was connected to this place, Swordran.
'Wait, if that's the case... could it be?'
Roin's gaze shifted to the corner of the training grounds.
At the end of his line of sight stood the humanoid tactical golems that had handled yesterday's sword test for the applicants.
After hearing that the first finisher of the hell run had returned to camp, Siren hurried to the training grounds.
The first completer had arrived even faster than she expected.
She double-checked with the instructors.
No signs of cheating by Roin?
Their answer was the same.
Nothing suspicious at all.
Siren had heard plenty about Roin Leyden.
But she hadn't expected him to make such a splash on day one.
Meanwhile.
Roin, sitting alone on the training grounds taking a break, had rested plenty by the time Siren arrived.
When she finally appeared, he stood up.
"Congratulations on being the first qualifier, Roin Leyden."
But Roin's expression wasn't great.
Siren showed her doubt at his look.
"What's wrong? You get to rest starting tomorrow. Isn't that good?"
"There's something I'd like to ask the Training Commander."
"What is it?"
"I just saw a guy named Aker here. Do you know who he is?"
At the name Aker, one of Siren's eyebrows twitched faintly.
Roin didn't miss it.
'From her reaction, she knows him.'
As Roin predicted, Siren answered,
"I do. He was the meister of Nut, the one who caused trouble with tactical golems at Loud Swordsmanship Academy."
"Then those tactical golems are his handiwork too?"
He had no desire to get another facial scar from a golem.
That's why he was warning her in advance.
"The tactical golems used at our Swordran training camp come from a supplier completely unrelated to Nut. Aker has no connection either. And the models we're using now have been in service for at least three to four yearsnot some sudden additionso you can relax."
Fine, whatever with the golems.
"Then why does Aker come and go from here?"
He wasn't tinkering with golems.
There was no reason for him to be at the camp.
Siren couldn't give a precise answer on that either.
"He's a personal client of the Knight Commander, so even I don't know the details."
The moment he heard "Knight Commander's client," Roin's mind started racing.
Iliya Shult, and Aker.
'Something I don't know is going on.'
He hadn't expected Swordran's Knight Commander to be tangled up in this.
'Whatever it is, I should look into it.'
That made one more thing Roin had to do here.