Chapter 43 Entrance Exam (4)
“Candy, hey, candy!”
The man thought she was asking for candy again and began rummaging through his pocket.
“No, not that. Since you won’t tell me your name, I have nothing to call you by.”
So Cecil decided. It felt a bit childish, but since he had no other distinguishing features, she resolved to call him ‘Candy’ for the time being.
The man maintained an indifferent attitude, seeming not to care one way or the other.
When he moved towards the stream to gather breakfast, Cecil followed him.
“Hey, I’m coming too.”
The stream was less than three minutes away from their campsite.
The man rolled up his pants and stepped into the stream, waving his wooden sword around like a harpoon to catch fish.
Cecil also dipped her feet into the water only to jump back out with a start.
“Damn, it’s too cold.”
The water was so freezing that even washing her face seemed a daunting task.
Her body ached with muscle soreness, and after sweating all day, she couldn’t change clothes or take a bath.
“What a miserable situation this is.”
Giving up on washing, she just crouched on the gravel and watched the man fishing.
Gathering all these precious sons and daughters from their homes, she wondered what Eternia was trying to accomplish with such a task. Was there not a more dignified way to do this?
As Cecil watched the man, she sighed and called out to him.
“Candy, come here!”
With the fish hunt dragging on, she gestured and called him over.
Stopping what he was doing, he approached her, and Cecil handed him a magic bomb from her bag.
“Use this.”
The man looked back and forth between the bomb and Cecil, as if questioning what it was for.
“Ah, I’ll show you.”
Cecil twisted the body of the magic bomb once and threw it toward an area of the stream teeming with fish.
Boom!
Immediately after, a burst of white frost exploded all around, and the nearby water turned into clear ice.
“You’re clueless about this stuff, huh? It’s a Frostwind Bomb. I don’t need to explain the effects, right? Just go pick up the frozen fish.”
The man stood shocked, staring blankly at the frozen scene, seemingly in awe.
“You’ll gather food this way from now on. I was saving it for when it’s crucial, but I’d rather use it now. In exchange, you have to make sure you take care of me all the way to the waypoint. Got it?”
The man nodded his head.
Cecil grinned broadly.
In truth, they would reach the waypoint by evening, and they’d part ways then, so there wouldn’t be much need for it. It was just for show.
“Hey, this is important, make a verbal promise.”
The man gave Cecil a long, inscrutable look, then ignored her demand and went into the stream to collect the fish, as if signaling that he’d do no more than necessary.
Cecil, failing to get her way, got angry and stood up yelling.
“Jeez, why are you so stingy about giving me a response!”
***
Having finished their meal, Cecil and the man in the mask continued towards the waypoint.
As Cecil became somewhat accustomed to accompanying the man, she started talking to him non-stop.
“Why do you cover your face? Shy? Or are you really that ugly? Are you some secret weapon of the empire?”
“See, I can’t stand not knowing things; I’m just that kind of person.”
“….”
“Ugh, I should’ve just taken it off while you were sleeping.”
There were a few more skirmishes with Plantaras, and the fatigue from these encounters gradually accumulated.
Cecil felt like lying down right there, but the man didn’t show any signs of weariness at all.
She sat on the torso of a dissected Plantara, puffing away at her tobacco, and said,
“Aren’t you tired? How have you lived that you’re so fit? Were you lugging around bricks for walls or something?”
He seemed indifferent to her words, and after just a little rest, he started moving again.
Seeing this, Cecil threw a fit.
“Geez, would a short rest really kill you?”
After several hours of this, they reached a clear, wide path— a sign that the waypoint was close.
The man stopped in his tracks and extended his arm to grab Cecil.
Shortly afterward, there was rustling in the bushes a fair distance away, and a group of people emerged.
There were five in total; four were armed with swords and one was wearing a robe.
They seemed to have realized there were strangers nearby. In situations like this, one might feel relief at encountering other candidates, but they didn’t seem too pleased at all.
They were weary and haggard, and the atmosphere turned hostile as they looked at Cecil’s direction.
Despite sensing something off, Cecil stepped forward, thinking joining them wouldn’t be a disadvantage to anyone.
“Good, let’s go join them.”
She grabbed the man’s wrist and pulled him towards the group.
However, they reacted sensitively.
Chang!
Seeing someone approaching, they all drew their swords in unison.
Soon, the group moved slowly to one side, blocking the path leading to the waypoint.
Cecil spoke up, addressing the group, “What’s this all about?”
The apparent leader of the group spoke up,
“You planning to pass through this way?”
Though they were dressed in neat knightly attire, their attitude was akin to bandits about to demand a toll.
Cecil replied, “Why not? Is this road yours?”
“You all can go some other way. We will use this path.”
She scowled and said,
“What kind of nonsense is that?”
“You think you can just tail along after we’ve cleared the way and reap the benefits without effort? That’s not how it works.”
Cecil laughed dismissively.
What a petty idea. They spoke as if they were pioneers who had opened up an untraveled path all by themselves.
Cecil could quickly sense that their intent was simply to eliminate the competition.
She crossed her arms and retorted sharply.
“What do you want? So what if you want to fight? Are you planning to kill?”
There was a reason why applicants were not supposed to engage in direct combat with each other.
The rules regarding disputes between applicants were written on the back of the map provided.
‘Avoid physical conflicts as much as possible. In the event of an unavoidable dispute between applicants, suppressing the opponent to the point of fainting or exhaustion is permitted; however, causing severe injuries will lead to immediate disqualification.’
In a situation where everyone was heavily armed, a fierce fight could inadvertently lead to serious injuries, regardless of intent.
Were they really willing to risk disqualification to start a conflict?
“You think there are no eyes watching here? I can just say I didn’t see anything even if you ended up crippled.”
“…”
Some of the sword-carrying men leered unpleasantly at Cecil’s legs, visible through the tears in her skirt.
One of the men, who looked like a mage, whispered something to the leader. As the leader listened, he glanced at Cecil’s face several times, as if recognizing who she was.
“Oh… you’re from the Magic Engineering department?”
“So what if I am?”
The leader smirked offensively and relaxed his sword as if to welcome her, spreading his arms wide open.
“If you’re from Magic Engineering, that changes things. You’re not our competition then.”
Cecil’s face contorted with disgust at the sudden change in demeanor.
The leader looked Cecil’s group up and down, then spoke.
“You lot look like a hopeless case, but if you promise to cooperate with us, I’ll let you tag along. Isn’t that quite a fair offer?”
He tapped the insignia on his shoulder, as if telling her to take a good look.
“You can probably guess our capabilities, right? You must know what this symbol represents.”
The insignia of the Ironguard Knights. They were known to deal specifically with demons. They lacked the knightly honor and carried more of a mercenary group’s traits. Their skill and reputation were well known, but Cecil had never imagined they would be such narrow-minded individuals.
“…”
The leader then pointed his sword towards the man in the mask, continuing his ultimatum.
“Of course, the condition is you leave that fellow behind. No hard feelings, but we’re saturated with swords.”
Cecil turned to look at her companion.
The man in the mask stood still as a statue, observing the situation without making a single gesture towards Cecil.
She pondered for a moment.
Cecil was capable of taking them on by herself. The problem was that the magic tools weren’t designed for combat against people, and their use could end fatally if mismanaged.
Of course, their offer wasn’t worth considering.
“Candy, let’s just take another path.”
Backtracking seemed to be the best option for the moment.
As Cecil turned to leave, the man in the mask grasped her wrist.
“…?”
He met Cecil’s eyes quietly, seeming to have a different plan in mind.
He then whispered calmly in Cecil’s ear.
“Stay back.”
“What?”
It was the first thing he had said since meeting her. It was so sudden, and unexpectedly, his voice sounded perfectly normal, leaving her momentarily stunned.
After blinking a few times, Cecil asked.
“You want to fight…?”
He nodded lightly.
“Fine. Do as you like.”
The eyes visible through the mask were faintly shining golden.
‘Unique eyes. I should remember that.’
Cecil, deciding to observe how things unfolded, followed his instructions silently. Given his abilities against the Plantaras, he was clearly skilled, so he seemed worth trusting.
She backed away, glaring at the knights as she went.
The leader furrowed his brow as he watched her move.
“Ha, so it comes to this, huh?”
Once Cecil was at a safe distance, the man in the mask briskly stepped forward, wooden sword in hand, advancing toward the knights.
The leader raised his blade signaling to his comrades.
The knights surrounded the man, positioning themselves with practiced ease— movements that suggested long-standing teamwork.
The mage stood at the back, chanting a spell, and summoned five fireballs that floated in the air, targeting the man in the mask.
Cecil watched tensely from a distance as the standoff continued for a moment.
The man in the mask made the first move.
His action was unforeseen by all.
He tossed the wooden sword lightly at the feet of the mage and then raised his arms as if to surrender.
The knights stared at the unexpected surrender, seemingly dumbfounded by the lack of resistance.
“…?”
“What?”
Suddenly, they exchanged glances and started laughing amongst themselves.
“Heh heh heh.”
“Pfft.”
“Kuk kuk kuk, ahahahahaha!”
“Trying to act tough in front of a girl, pfft, snort.”
The knights lost their composure, clutching their stomachs as they roared with laughter.
Meanwhile, the wooden sword began to wriggle bizarrely.
The mage cried out abruptly.
“Wait, wait! Hey, what the hell is this?!”
Where the wooden sword had been, a sapling had appeared, entwining around the mage’s body like cobwebs.
Simultaneously, as if the man in the mask had been waiting for this moment, he swung his arm down towards his feet.
A sudden intense light erupted from his hand, followed by a massive explosion.
Boom!
The area where they stood was instantly shrouded in thick dust.
This chapt𝓮r is updat𝒆d by (f)reew𝒆b(n)ovel.com