43 – Admission Test (4)

“Hey, candy.”

The man thought he was asking for candy and rummaged through his pockets.

“No, other than that, I don’t have anything to call you because you never give me your name.”

That’s why Cecile decided. It felt a bit childish, but since he didn’t have any other characteristics, I decided to call him ‘Candy’ for a while.

The man was consistent with a nonchalant attitude of saying yes or no.

As he moved toward the creek to prepare breakfast, Cecile followed.

“Hey, go with me.”

The creekside was less than three minutes from the campsite.

The man rolled up his pants and entered the creek. He swung the wooden sword like a harpoon to catch the fish.

Cecile also dipped her toe into it, then jumped out in surprise.

“Crazy, so cold.”

It was so cold that I was afraid to even wash my face.

My whole body is tingling with muscle pain, and I’ve been sweating all day, but I can’t change clothes or take a bath.

“What kind of dog school is this?”

She gave up washing and squatted on the gravel to watch the men fish.

What are you doing after collecting precious children from other people’s houses? I wanted to ask Eternia if there was no more elegant way.

Looking at the man, she sighed and said.

“Candy, come to work!”

When the fish hunt lasted longer, she beckoned to the man and called him over.

When he stopped what he was doing and approached him, Cecil took out a magic bomb from her bag and handed it to him.

“Write this.”

The man looked at the bomb and Cecil alternately, asking what this was.

“Aww, I’ll show you.”

Cecile twisted the body of the magic bomb once and threw it into a stream where there were schools of fish.

Perong!

Soon after, white frost burst out in all directions with an explosion.

And all the water around it froze transparently.

“Are you an outsider here? It’s a frostblast bomb. Can I not explain the effect? All you have to do is go get some frozen fish.”

The man stared blankly at the spot as if admiring it.

“Prepare this for future meals. I’ve been saving it for when it’s important, but I’m just going to use it. Instead, I have to be responsible until I go to the base. Okay?”

The man nodded.

Cecil laughed bashfully.

In fact, the base will be reached by evening at the latest, and the two will disband, so there is not much to write about. It’s just for coloring.

“Hey, this is important. Promise with words.”

The man stared blankly at Cecile for a moment. Ignoring her request, I went into the stream to retrieve the fish. As if not doing anything unnecessary.

Cecile got up in a fit of fuss when her tricks didn’t work, and shouted,

“Mr. Lee, why are you being so expensive when you only hear your voice once!”

***

After the meal, the masked man and Cecile headed towards the base again.

After getting used to being accompanied by a man, Cecile poured out words to him.

“Why are you covering your face? Are you shy? Or are you really ugly? The Empire’s secret human weapon?”

“Hey, I’m curious because I have a really impatient personality.”

“… .”

“Eh, I’ll just take it off once while sleeping.”

Plantera’s surprise attack continued several more times. Fatigue gradually accumulated in the process of dealing with them.

Cecil was in the mood to lie down right away, but the man showed no sign of exhaustion.

Cecil sat down on Plantera’s dismembered torso and smoked a cigarette.

“Are you not tired? What did you do for a living to have such good stamina? Did you even carry bricks for the wall?”

He listened and hesitated, then, without a moment’s rest, moved on again.

Seeing that, Cecile complained a lot.

“Hey, hey, if you take a little break, where will you go?”

After a few hours of walking, I came to a large road with an open view. It was a sign that the base was not far away.

The man stopped on his way and stretched out his arm to grab Cecile.

Moments later, a rustle was heard among the bushes far away.

And from there, a group of people poured out.

The total number of heads is five. Four are wearing swords and one is wearing a robe.

They, too, were aware of the presence of strangers nearby. I should have been relieved to meet other applicants, but they didn’t look like that.

He was tired and worn out, and when he looked at Cecil, he gave off a hostile atmosphere.

Though she sensed something strange, Cecile strode forward, thinking that there would be no disadvantage to them if they joined.

“That’s great. Let’s go and join them.”

He grabbed the man by the wrist and dragged him toward the crowd.

However, they reacted sensitively.

visor!

Seeing those who were approaching, they drew their swords in unison.

Soon after, the group moved slowly to the side and blocked the road leading to the base.

Cecile looked at them and said,

“what?”

The one who seemed to be the leader of the group said.

“Are you guys going to pass this way?”

He was wearing a neat knight’s uniform, but his tone was like a group of bandits trying to get a toll.

Cecile answered.

“Why not? Do you own this road?”

“You guys go back the other way. Because this is where we are going.”

she said frowning.

“What do you mean?”

“If we open the road, they will follow you and eat raw? That doesn’t work.”

Cecile burst out laughing.

What a dreary idea. They all talked as if they had pioneered a road no one had traveled.

Cecile quickly sensed that it was simply to knock out a competitor.

Cecile crossed her arms and retorted harshly.

“Why, Kkowa? so what to do Are you going to kill me?”

There was a reason why applicants should not compete directly with each other.

On the back of the map that was distributed, the rules for disputes between applicants were written.

‘We recommend avoiding armed conflict as much as possible. In case of inevitable dispute between applicants. It is permitted to overpower an opponent to the extent of fainting or exhaustion, but severe injury will result in immediate disqualification.’

If they fought fiercely in a situation where each of them was firmly armed, there would be no choice but to be seriously injured.

Are you willing to risk disqualification and start a dispute?

“Do you think there are eyes that see here? Even if you cripple it, as long as I don’t know, it’s over.”

“… .”

Some of the men with knives gave an unpleasant glance at Cecil’s face and her legs exposed through the ripped skirt.

A man who looked like a wizard approached the leader and whispered in his ear. While listening to the story, the leader looked at Cecile’s face several times. It was as if he knew who she was.

“Ohh… Are you from the Faculty of Magic?”

“Why?”

The leader grinned unluckily and opened his arms as if welcoming.

“The story is different when it comes to the Faculty of Magic. They are not our competitors.”

Cecile frowned at the sudden change in attitude.

He looked up and down Cecil’s group and said,

“It’s a group that looks hopeless at first glance, but if you promise to cooperate with us, we’ll accompany you. Isn’t that a pretty good suggestion?”

He tapped the seal on his shoulder as if to take a closer look.

“You know roughly what your skills are like, right? You should know what this symbolizes.”

Seal of the Gillon Knights. It was known that only magic beasts dealt with it professionally. There was no chivalry that valued honor, and it was a group with a strong mercenary character. I had heard of their skills and reputation, but I never imagined that they would be so narrow-minded.

“… .”

The leader pointed the tip of the knife at the masked man and continued.

“Of course, the condition is that that bastard is abandoned. I’m sorry, but the swordsmen are saturated.”

Cecile looked around.

The masked man stood still and contemplated the situation like a wooden stone despite the threat of his opponent. He didn’t even make a special gesture towards Cecile.

She pondered for a moment.

Cecile alone was able to deal with them. The only problem is that the performance of the magic tools was not designed to match the person-to-person battle, and in severe cases, a person could die.

Of course, their proposal was not even worth considering.

“Candy, let’s just go the other way.”

Taking a step back was the best thing for now.

As Cecil turned around and was about to leave, the masked man grabbed her by the wrist.

“… ?”

The man quietly met Cecil’s eyes. He seemed to have a different opinion from Cecile.

He then calmly whispered into Cecil’s ear.

“Stay away.”

“what?”

Those were the first words he uttered after meeting Cecile. It was sudden, and contrary to her imagination, her voice was fine, so she was dumbfounded for a moment.

Cecile blinked a few times before speaking.

“To fight… ?”

He nodded lightly.

“great. Do what you want.”

The eyes of the man seen through the mask shimmered with golden light.

‘It’s a unique eye. I have to remember it.’

Cecil silently followed his words, hoping to see what he could do. Seeing how he dealt with Plantera, it was clear that he was a skilled player, so it was worth trusting him.

She glared at the knights and took a quick step back.

When the leader saw that, a blood band stood on his neck.

“Ha, are you going to come out like this after all?”

After Cecile opened the appropriate distance, the masked man drew his wooden sword and strode toward the knights.

The leader raised the blade and gave a hand signal to his colleagues.

The knights surrounded the man in an alert posture. Its movements to position itself around its prey were fluid, natural and skillful. It seemed like they had been together for a long time.

The wizard stood in the back, cast a spell, and summoned five fireballs. It floated in the air and aimed at the masked man.

Cecile stood at a distance and watched the scene anxiously.

An impromptu confrontation continued for some time.

The masked man moved first.

The action he took defied everyone’s expectations.

The man lightly threw his wooden sword at the wizard’s feet and raised his arms as if to surrender.

The knights watched as if it was absurd as they threw away their swords without any resistance.

“… ?”

“what?”

Soon after, they made eye contact with each other and started giggling.

“hehehehe.”

“Put.”

“Kuh ha ha ha ha!”

“Forming in front of a woman, puha, keup keup.”

The knights couldn’t come to their senses and laughed out loud as they grabbed the boat.

Meanwhile, the wooden sword began to wriggle grotesquely.

Suddenly the wizard shouted.

“Wait a minute! Hey hey, what is this!”

The wooden sword disappeared without a trace, and a sapling appeared in its place, entangling the wizard’s body like a spider’s web.

At the same time, as if the masked man had been waiting for him, he swung his arms wide under his feet.

Suddenly, an intense light emanated from his hand and a large explosion occurred.

Quaang!

In the blink of an eye, the place where they were standing was covered in a thick layer of dust.