41 – Entrance exam (2)

“I haven’t seen you for a week now… Shall I give you a hug?”

Damian was wearing a mask, so his expression could not be seen.

He grabbed a wooden sword and got off the carriage.

“I’ll be back.”

Silverine pursed her lips. Even if he gave a lot of signs that he was sad, Damian remained aloof.

He closed the carriage door and proceeded to the entrance exam hall.

Silverin let out a small sigh.

It was something she said with great enthusiasm, but Damien’s reaction was like that, so I even thought that she had gone too far ahead.

Now that I have to stand on my own, and I must be thinking a lot before the entrance exam, I could understand.

Damian, who had taken several dozen steps forward, suddenly stopped.

Then he turned abruptly and began striding towards the carriage.

“… yes?”

Silverin looked inside the carriage.

“Did you leave anything behind?”

Damian approached the carriage and opened the door again. As he climbed back into the carriage, Silverine opened her mouth.

“I forgot something… .”

Damian hugged her tightly.

She jumped in suddenly, and her body leaned against the seat.

“oh… .”

Even Silverin was a little taken aback. It was the first time Damian had acted out like this since they were together.

His fast pulse was transmitted to Silverin through their bodies touching.

From the guide map, Tee seemed to be quite nervous ahead of the exam.

Silverin raised the corners of her mouth and slowly brushed his back.

“Have a good time, disciple.”

Damian’s pulse, which had been fluctuating, gradually began to stabilize.

After a while, Damian released the restraints and laid Silverine lightly on the seat.

Then, without a word, he left again to the entrance exam hall.

“…”

Even though the carriage door was wide open, revealing the inside, Silverin didn’t think to close it.

Damian calmed him down, but strangely, Silverin didn’t calm down easily.

She lay still and fanned her hand over her face.

“… … It’s hot.”

***

The outskirts of Eternia’s citadel, at the foot of Mount Grace, and the wide lawn leading to it were the entrance exam locations.

And there was a huge barrier between Mount Grace and the entrance examination hall.

This was to prevent fraudulent acts by blocking access by unauthorized persons.

Applicants who had said goodbye to their companions at the border of the lawn entered the exam hall one by one.

She often saw faces she knew.

‘They said that a lot of divinities would participate in this test, but he was right.’

Luna, Cecil, Victor, Naias, Iris, etc. Even before entering the school, the children of prestigious families who had made a name for themselves were not bored.

Gradually, people began to fill in tightly.

After a while, the applicants saw one place and began to hum noisily.

Someone was walking in from the entrance of the exam hall.

Lilith watched it and swallowed nervously.

‘I finally see you.’

Marquis Varianne, who protects the demon beast defense line at the forefront of the northern part of the continent.

It is said that it is not an exaggeration to say that all countries, including the Empire, are indebted to Varianne.

Gail, the eldest son of the Varianne family, will succeed him.

Already at that young age, he subdued large monsters and even earned the title of ‘Weapon Master’ from the northerners.

Broad shoulders, tall stature, angular chin and warlike eyes. He carried an ax the size of a man on his back.

His appearance alone gave off a tremendous sense of intimidation, but his body was covered in blood no matter what he had done.

This created an even more terrifying atmosphere.

A path was opened where the volunteers passed under the pressure of Gale’s momentum.

Since he had come all the way to Gale, he knew about half of the applicants who entered through letters of recommendation.

There could have been more lists of recommendations, but the only ones left of those whose information was known were ‘Shion’ and ‘Demian’.

Although rumors had been heard from the Wizel Knights, Damian’s performance was insignificant and his level was remarkably low compared to those he was compared to.

It was a person who was presumed to have received a letter of recommendation using his back boat. It could be taken into account to some extent. No matter how Eternian it was, there were new students every year with such a bad back.

Lilith wasn’t waiting for Damian.

A few minutes after Gale passed, the entrance exam hall was dead quiet.

Lilith could sense it.

‘Now you’re the main character.’

Finally, Shion Izarel walked into the testing room.

So many people were so silent that the sound of stepping on the grass could be heard.

There are only 10 sword masters on all continents.

Among them, he was a favorite disciple of Geshin Grieg, a swordsman who was called the ‘dragon slayer’ by cutting off the head of a dragon.

Rumors that Shion was going to find someone who could stand against him and break the seal had already spread far and wide.

Among the applicants for admission, including Victor and Gail, most of the strongest players were brutally broken by Shion.

She was no different from the strongest here.

There was even a rumor going around that he visited the 2nd and 3rd graders and smashed some of them, so there was nothing more to say.

The top spot in this entrance exam was definitely Shion’s.

In fact, the fiercest competition is for the second seat.

‘yes?’

And while everyone’s eyes were focused on Shion, a man quietly entered the exam hall.

her eyebrows crumpled.

It is a silhouette that is very badly imprinted on Lilith.

‘Is he also an applicant for admission? Wait, should I be happy about this?’

I put one hand on the wooden sword at my waist and leisurely look around.

It was the man in the mask that I had been looking for and couldn’t find.

***

When all the applicants gathered, the number approached 1,000.

When the appointed time came, 10 Eternian examiners and 30 assistants entered the examination room.

The examiners stood in a line in front of the barrier. Soon after, the teaching assistants began handing out a copy of the map to each applicant.

Gael shouted loudly in the middle of the ranks of judges.

“I am Gael, an assistant professor in the Combat Division who will be in charge of the entrance exam. I’ll tell you the way and the goal of this test, so listen carefully!”

Flynn was listening with his arms crossed behind the volunteers. He was serving as a guard to help Gael prevent unauthorized entry.

The map marked the geography of Mount Grace. It was to prevent mishaps by crossing the safe area and encountering the Witchbeast.

“Your goal is simple. It is to climb to the top of Mount Grace and stamp your hand on the magic slate.”

Of course, it wasn’t just mountain climbing. In the middle of the street, there were obstacles blocking the applicants.

“On that path, the Planteras will stand in your way until you die.”

The map shows a total of six routes to the top, from A to F.

The fastest way to the top was routes A and B, but Plantera’s defense in these two places was tighter than expected. This was a path to discriminate the top ranks.

Most of them have to take the C ~ F route that goes round.

“While reaching the top quickly is a top priority, be sure to keep in mind that we encourage team play and place a high value on collaboration and cooperation.”

Flynn recalled taking the entrance exam. He, too, teamed up with two Pensions applicants and reached the top together. And got points.

“And each faculty has additional challenges. This is stated on the back of the map, so be sure to check it.”

Applicants began to turn the map over.

Additional tasks were:

The Ministry of Pensions should identify vegetation and collect and submit specified medicinal herbs. Extra points are awarded if you create a special potion with it.

The Department of Magic is free to make tools with materials obtained from Grace Mountain, and submit them all to the examiner after the exam is over.

There are no assignments for the Ministry of Magic, but bonus points are awarded for healing other applicants.

There is no combat department. For them, only breaking through to the top was their top priority.

“Other detailed rules are also specified on the back of the map, so please refer to them. I will finish the explanation.”

This entrance exam was so exciting that even Flynn wanted to participate in it himself.

It was because of the existence of the divine Shion Izarel, Gail Varianne, and above all, Damian.

Most of them would be convinced that Shion will take the top spot.

But Flynn was different.

My hair still stands on end when I think of Dalian a month ago.

I laughed out loud at the thought that there was a monstrous creature comparable to Shion hiding among those applicants.

I was on the verge of going crazy wondering what kind of disaster he would cause.

‘Start quickly… .’

The examiners retrieved the magic crystals that maintain the barrier one by one.

“Now we will start the entrance exam in earnest. I wish you good luck.”

Soon, the huge barrier blocking the front disappeared.

cooong- cooong-

After that, the earth’s axis began to shake.

At the foot of Mount Grace, the Plantera Corps, numbering close to a thousand units, pushed through the forest and personally came out to meet them.

This was the first gateway.

The volunteers burned their will and started running.

Soon after, Plantera and the volunteers clashed and a large-scale battle reminiscent of war followed.

There, Gale naturally became the vanguard and swept Plantera from the forefront with an axe.

On one side, a dozen silver wolves appeared and blew Plantera away. Luna had manifested the spirit of the wind.

Some of the applicants for the pension department, including Iris, threw potions. Where the potion landed, vines grew thick and restrained Plantera.

Dazzling light burst from fireballs and sparks from electric shocks everywhere.

Flynn watched this with interest.

Some were seduced by the words of the judges that they valued the value of ‘cooperation’.

Others want to show off their skills and stand out among the crowd of applicants.

Everyone had their reasons and pushed Plantera with all their might.

Not even dreaming that this would be a trap.

***

Lilith ran from behind and stopped for a moment when she saw the masked man.

‘What is that human doing?’

In the yard where everyone ran to fight with all their might, the man was walking unsteadily, as if he had no intention of fighting.

‘That human seems to have no intention of earning points by cooperating with everyone.’

Some Plantera who entered the rear attacked the masked man, but he pulled himself out to fight others and ran away.

Not just once, but over and over again.

Lilith’s mouth fell open in bewilderment.

“What’s up with all these mean people?”

As I watched, my anger surged up.

He’s a coward and has no honor.

Feeling unworthy of a relationship, Lilith took her attention away from the man and ran to the front line.

The battle continued for several hours.

And it wasn’t until the sun went down and the evening went down that Lilith realized something was wrong.

Despite fighting like that, dozens of Planteras were still left.

Plantera hasn’t been attacking, but it’s firmly blocking the access to Mount Grace.

There were many applicants left. However, all of them were in a state where they could no longer fight due to injuries and exhaustion.

‘Nonsense.’

Seventy-five percent of all applicants were unable to step out of the test site.

She looked around at the disappointed faces of the applicants. All of them were the ones who fought Plantera with all their might.

The masked man seemed to have foreseen that this would happen. No matter how much I look around, I can’t find him. It seemed that they had already entered Mount Grace.

‘What the hell is that guy… .’

I had no choice but to admit it.

Though cowardly and cunning, he was looking ahead.