How to Live as a Swordmaster of the Enemy Nation

Knight Order Exam (2)

The knight orders of Arme were selected solely through the Knight Order Exam. Each order had a defined role, and depending on that role, the duties were clearly differentiated.

Thus, depending on which order one chose, a cadet's future could change greatly.

The Knight Order Exam began in earnest. A hot energy surged from the crowds of onlookers.

With the instructor's loud shout, the cadets began to run to pass the first trial.

"Start!!"

Gregory had trained his body, but, as he was still only a 2-star knight, he was not as fully prepared as the others. If things went wrong, he could fail the Knight Order Exam.

Yet, contrary to expectation, perhaps because it was a suddenly arranged event, the level of the test was not as high as anticipated. As time passed, cadets fell out one by one.

Many lacked the stamina required to become a knight order member. Pacing is crucial in long-distance running. To run for a long time, you must keep a proper speed and steady breathing.

Gregory felt that someone was watching him closely. The owner of that gaze was none other than his father, Hemingway.
'Do you think I'd collapse in a place like this?'

His heartbeat quickened, and his breathing became more stable.

Because the knight order needed to select personnel, the race continued until a final winner emerged.

Even the children of prestigious houses began to tire and give up one by one:
Alessandro Lucenberg, Brea Erhart, Elisabeth Burgenfeld, Ernest Ashborn, and myself.
True to their presence in the "Prominent Characters" section, their stamina was outstanding.

Except for Gregory, all of them were 3-star knights or higher. In other words, each of the four prestigious families of swordsmanship still had at least one representative remaining.

An intense contest ensued, and for the next five minutes, no one stopped running. But that was as far as it went.

Elisabeth of House Burgenfeld and Alessandro of House Lucenberg slowed down. In the end, they soon stopped.
It became a three-way match among Brea, Ernest, and Gregory.

The order commanders, witnessing this, were astonished.

Walter, the Dawn Order Commander, said,

"That Gregory kid looks to be only around 2-star level, so how is he able to run so long?"

Darkleon Burgenfeld, Commander of the Black Cloud Order, agreed.

"Wahahaha. Did that kid borrow the power of darkness or something? He's a perfect fit for our order."

At that moment, Brea spoke to Gregory as she ran.

"Hey, you're Gregory, right? Looks like you're about to lose, so give up now."

Here we go again. That annoying gaslighting, such useless provocation. Gregory ignored her words and kept running. Soon, Brea dropped out.
Now it was a one-on-one between Ernest and Gregory.

Gregory was deeply conflicted. If he beat Ernest, it might arouse suspicion; if he lost, he felt he wouldn't be able to vent his anger.

While he hesitated, Ernest's breathing grew more ragged. Gradually, he slowed down.

"Ah! That's it! Remaining participants: one hundred! Those eliminated, please exit the arena!"

When Ernest stopped, I also came to a halt. My legs buckled and I slumped to the ground, desperately gasping for breath.

Seeing this, Ernest approached with a concerned voice.

"Haah... Huff... Gregory, are you alright?"

"Worry about yourself."

We moved on immediately to the next trial.

This time, the test was to find and escape through an exit in a maze.

On the surface, it sounded simple, but an exam for the knight order would never be that easy.

It was an ominous maze, visibly radiating wild mana. Rumor had it that if you lost consciousness inside, you could be tormented by hallucinations. Therefore, if you sensed danger, you were instructed to immediately raise your hand.

"And that's not all! In this maze test, our knight order commanders have even released monsters that they have captured together!"

A "monster" was a mutated beast. While a human's mana core was their heart, inside beasts a glowing stone was embedded. This stone infused their bodies with mana, causing mutations.

They had to deal with monsters and pass through a maze full of illusions—a test requiring both stamina and mental fortitude.

"How many will make it through this exam? Let's all hope there are no casualties this time!"

***

Upon hearing about the monsters, Brea devised a detailed strategy with the other cadets. Eager to join the knight order, they came up with a decent plan.

The gathered cadets encouraged each other.

"Grr, I'm definitely going to pass this mental trial!!"

"Of course. We'll escape and pass together!"

Ernest was important to the current group. To her, every knight was valuable.
For that reason, Brea invited Ernest to join, but he firmly refused.

"No, I'll go with Gregory."

A group formed excluding Gregory and Ernest, with Brea as the leader.

Brea gave out assignments and set up codes of conduct:
What to do if many low-level monsters showed up, or if a stronger one appeared. The plan was reasonable, so the cadets agreed to follow her.

The maze looked foreboding from the outside. The air shimmered at the entrance, and the walls were higher than most buildings.

The bleakness inside hinted at unknown dangers, and the roars of monsters seemed to be echoing from somewhere.

The cadets split into two types: those who believed in their strength and went through the maze alone, and those who grouped up and tried to escape together.

Brea Erhart took the latter approach. However, to Gregory, a "group" was different than for others. To Brea, companions were mere stepping stones to make himself shine.

Once Brea Erhart and the others were far enough from Ernest and Gregory, he began to speak ill of them.

"Listen, cadets. Those two, Ernest and Gregory, are from House Ashborn. Do you really want to keep them at the top?"

It was persuasive, as House Ashborn was the unchallenged number one in swordsmanship. The other houses were also noble, but secretly harbored envy and inferiority toward Ashborn. It did them no harm to keep them in check.

Elisabeth of House Burgenfeld and Alessandro of House Lucenberg, unaware of Brea's motives, joined in. They were also bitter about losing in the stamina test.

"Yeah, we can't let that happen!"

"He's right. We're nobles too."

With figures from the prestigious swordsmanship houses agreeing, the cadets were easily swept along.

At this point, adrian Valencia from House Valencia asked,

"That's true, but how do you plan to beat them?"

Brea flinched, caught off guard. But she didn't stop sowing discord.

"W-well, it's simple. We just need to escape faster than those slowworms and get praised by the order commanders."

"I see...."

"Of course, any cadet who wishes to go solo is free to do so."

But none wanted to brave that perilous maze alone. Even though they trusted that knight order commanders would rescue them in danger, it still took courage to try.

The cadet groups acted cooperatively. When monsters appeared, they fought together; when none were in sight, they split up to search further down the maze.

***

"Hey, Gregory, why are we walking so slowly?"

"I just have a bad feeling. Save your strength."

Ernest had doubts about Gregory's words but chose to trust him. Gregory was the one who'd helped him overcome his own limits.

Monsters that appeared in front of Gregory and Ernest were instantly dispatched. While others struggled to deal with these mutated creatures, Gregory fought as if he completely understood their nature. He subdued monsters with minimal exertion and movement.

Noticing Gregory's technique, the order commanders' interest in him grew.

"Oho... Look at that kid's movements. He's as skilled as a knight who has hunted monsters for years."

"You were watching him too?"

"I've been keeping an eye on him since the stamina test."

"Hahaha, me too."

The cadets began to split up along the maze's various paths. Some who had been clutching their heads got used to the situation and started walking more freely.

Just then, a mutated wild boar appeared in front of Gregory and Ernest.

"Hold on for a second."

Unlike ordinary wild boars, this one was timid and skittish. That meant there was likely an even stronger monster on the opposite side from where the boar came.

Gregory identified the boar's direction and cut it down in one stroke.

"We can kill it now."

Gregory and Ernest headed toward the place where the stronger monster was, trying to figure out the maze.

There had to be a reason monsters were placed in this mental trial. Gregory wanted to discover the secret of the maze and be evaluated as a genius.

'What could it be? Am I overthinking this?'

The further in they went, the stronger the monsters became. You couldn't just explore the edges of this maze—you had to go all the way to the core.

'This might be harder than I thought.'

Despite that, the two calmly dealt with the monsters. Together, Ernest and Gregory had no trouble handling even more powerful foes.

The two gradually made their way toward the exit. Then, the scream of a cadet rang out. They rushed toward the sound.

There stood a one-eyed troll wielding a wooden club spiked with nails.
This meant a mutated monster had evolved into something bizarre and powerful.

The group of cadets that had huddled together now faced the troll, but overwhelmed by its power, they fell into terror and exhaustion.

Watching, it was possible to witness the ugliness and selfishness of human nature. Some were offering their peers as sacrifices and fleeing toward the exit.

What was once a crowded group began to scatter.
Gregory, seeing this, stopped to ponder for a moment.
Then he suddenly started laughing maniacally.

Ernest was terrified, thinking his younger sibling had lost his mind under the pressure of powerful mana.

As he raised his hand to call the order commanders, Gregory stopped him.

"That's why. That's exactly why I told you to save your strength."

In truth, the reason for placing monsters in the mental trial was not simply to threaten the cadets. The knight order was in a period where every cadet's life was precious. What they truly wanted to see was not dying cadets' desperation.

What the order commanders wanted to observe was leadership and tolerance—the qualities required to lead knights in a retreating battle.

The reason time moved slowly in this maze was so that each decision could be closely observed.

'I realized it too late.'

The order commanders murmured among themselves at the scene.

"Who is that one? Has he really figured out our intent?"

"It's been years since anyone understood the purpose of this test...."

"Isn't he the one we've been keeping an eye on?"

"That's right. To be able to make a judgment like that in this situation... I hope he joins our order."

Unlike the overly enthusiastic commanders, Walter maintained a serious attitude.

"Let's not jump to conclusions. They haven't dealt with the mutated troll yet. Gregory's thinking is creative, but if something goes wrong, we might have to rush in to save them."

Hemingway nodded in agreement.

For Gregory, this maze suited him perfectly. He already had a thorough understanding of the order's characteristics.

Moreover, thanks to memories from his previous life, Gregory knew that piercing the tough hide of a troll required aura.

Aura was a technique only available to knights of 4-star or higher—meaning only Ernest could use it.

However, thanks to the properties of the Grimoire, Gregory could draw in mana from the air.

He gathered mana, swallowed it, and temporarily overloaded his heart to raise the quality of his mana.

This was a method of utilizing 'focal points', and through sparring with Ernest, Gregory had already memorized all of their locations.

Using that power would surely bring side effects.
But the key was to use aura via focal points to pierce the troll's hide and show the order commanders what he could do.
If he succeeded in defeating the troll, it would be the perfect opportunity for Gregory to demonstrate his capabilities.

If he put on an excellent performance, any order commander would want him, so Gregory aimed to secure as many choices as possible.

Gregory drew his sword and manifested his aura. A blazing red light cloaked the blade, radiating intense energy.

-------------= Clacky's Corner -------------=
Brea is annoying...
【ദ്ദി(⩌ᴗ⩌)】