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Chapter 04
At the window of the office overlooking the training grounds.
Damon, who had stepped up beside Calix, burst into laughter.
“Haha, just as expected—the low-ranking knight and the former miner are overwhelming. Those two have already passed five laps. Meanwhile, that former priest candidate is only on her second lap and already in that state….”
Calix’s gaze shifted to Liana, who was running alone on one side of the training grounds.
It was strange. Judging by her movements, she was clearly running, yet her speed wasn’t much different from someone walking.
She was incredibly slow, and yet looked utterly exhausted—panting heavily and staggering as if she might collapse at any moment. Each time she swayed, her dazzling platinum-blonde hair fluttered around her.
“Oh, look at that. She looks like she’s about to fall over even now. All that after just two laps. Honestly….”
Damon clicked his tongue in disdain.
“At that rate, she won’t even be able to fight—she wouldn’t be able to run away in an emergency.”
Calix’s eyes quietly followed Liana. Truly, she looked like she could collapse at any second. His eyes narrowed slightly.
“Come on, just eliminate her here. There’s no need to watch any further.”
“This test is a long-distance run.”
Calix, who had been silent until now, finally spoke.
“Pardon?”
“I’m saying it’s not a test to see who can run far in the shortest time.”
“Well, sure, but just look at her—she’s clearly about to collapse.”
“Let’s keep watching for now.”
Calix’s gaze shifted to the other applicants. Those two had sprinted at full speed at first, but once they passed five laps, their pace had visibly slowed.
“All right. But mark my words, that woman will collapse soon.”
Calix didn’t respond. He simply continued observing the training grounds. Damon, too, stared intently, determined to see his prediction proven right.
As a little time passed, the sun rose. When the whole world brightened and the applicants’ shadows became clear on the training grounds—
“Huh?”
The former miner, who had been trudging forward with difficulty, suddenly collapsed flat onto the ground. The man grimaced in pain, breathing harshly.
Behind him, Liana—who had been staggering along with her head down—noticed him late, hopped over his body, and continued forward.
“W–what the…?”
“She passed him.”
The corner of Calix’s mouth lifted slightly. Damon fumed, clearly unwilling to admit that his prediction was wrong.
“No way. The miner couldn’t last? Well, the knight will be different.”
Indeed, the applicant who had been a low-ranking knight had restrained himself somewhat after the early phase and was maintaining a steady pace.
But after the sun rose, he began alternating between walking and jogging, barely moving forward. He seemed to have reached his limit.
As Calix watched the knight’s condition, his gaze returned to Liana.
She was still panting and staggering, but even as she staggered, she was passing the knight and inching forward little by little.
Calix’s eyes closed briefly, then opened.
“The first test ends here.”
“What?”
“And the highest score goes to… the priest candidate.”
“Wh–what?!”
Calix turned his gaze to Damon.
“This test was meant to evaluate stamina and mental strength. She fulfilled those conditions most precisely. Am I wrong?”
His gaze lingered on the knight, who had nearly stopped, and on Liana, who was still advancing, if only slightly, before returning to Damon.
Damon shook his head, clearly finding it hard to accept, then spoke with a small sigh.
“That may be true, but still….”
“But still?”
“…No. If that’s your judgment, Captain, there’s nothing I can do. I’ll score it that way.”
“Is the second test ready?”
“Ah, yes! We’ve prepared it so we can depart immediately after the first test ends.”
“Good. Understood.”
Calix, who had been watching Liana running in the distance, turned away calmly.
Damon opened the second-floor window and shouted loudly.
“Finished! I’ll come down now, so everyone stop and gather in front!”
And so, the first test came to an end.
“Whew, it’s finally over.”
At the vice-captain’s voice, I slowly stopped my legs. Even then, my insane healing power was still busily circulating through my entire body.
‘You can stop now. Seriously, stop.’
But it wasn’t a power that listened to me in the first place. Apparently deciding that I still wasn’t in peak condition, it kept restoring my stamina.
‘Well, thanks to that, I do feel refreshed.’
Thanks to it, I moved forward feeling even better than before the run. Seeing me, a man broke the silence.
“What’s wrong with you? Don’t you know what running is?”
‘Wow, what a jerk.’
Then the muscular man spoke with a bright smile.
“Still, that was impressive. Watching you crawl forward without giving up until the end was truly moving.”
‘Is that a compliment or a backhanded insult?’
Instead of answering, I gave him a soulless smile. Just then, the vice-captain came out of the building, swept his gaze over us, then paused to look at me for a moment before letting out a small snort.
‘What was that about?’
Then he spoke again.
“All right, good work, everyone. The scores will be announced all at once later. Now, get on that carriage. It’ll take you to the second test site.”
“What? Right now?”
The taciturn man, wiping sweat from his brow, spoke with difficulty, and the muscular man quickly chimed in.
“I–immediately is a bit much. Even a short rest—”
“Then do you want to go home?”
“N–no!”
“No, sir.”
“That carriage is something the captain arranged specially for you. Normally, you’d have to go up on your own from here… tsk.”
The vice-captain, as if suppressing his irritation, pointed toward the distant mountains.
“The second test is to descend as quickly as possible from the midpoint of Mount Henes to the destination.”
“What?!”
At the explanation, the muscular man exclaimed loudly.
“The H–Henes Mountains are famous for being dangerous. Especially that side—it’s full of rocky terrain, and I thought civilians weren’t even allowed in….”
“Are you civilians?”
“…What?”
The vice-captain drew in a deep breath, then began shouting thunderously.
“What kind of jobs do you think come to a mercenary company? The most dangerous, most avoided missions are exactly the ones that come to us!”
“Ah, w–well, I just—”
“No more backtalk. Get on the carriage now! If you want to quit, get lost while you still can!”
“No, sir!”
I hurried onto the carriage with the other applicants and steeled myself.
‘The Henes Mountains are definitely dangerous. I need to be careful. One wrong step and I could go tumbling.’
The carriage raced along a steep road and arrived at a certain point. When I got down and looked back at the path we’d taken, it seemed surprisingly gentle.
Just as I thought, This looks manageable enough—
“Applicants, you’ll descend by the opposite path over there. Go down to the clearing where the Henes flag is visible. The faster you descend, the more bonus points you’ll get.”
It seemed the man who brought us wasn’t a coachman but a mercenary. After kindly pointing to the other side, he coolly got back onto the carriage and headed back down the way we came.
“The opposite side…?”
The taciturn man took a few steps toward the dark path on the other side.
“Damn it.”
He cursed immediately. When I followed, I understood why.
Sheer cliffs plunging downward, with jagged rocks jutting out between them. The narrow ledge winding through was muddy and slick from recent rain.
“Descending this quickly? That’s basically telling us to die.”
The man who complained stepped onto the ledge first, carefully finding cracks to place his hands and feet as he moved forward. The muscular man behind him pulled out a small dagger and began advancing step by step, driving it into the rock for support.
‘No way I’m losing here.’
But why was everyone trying to take that narrow path? There was a slightly wider route right next to it.
I spread my arms and crab-walked toward the wider path.
‘Oh, this isn’t so bad.’
I was moving forward fairly steadily when—
“Hey, that way—”
The taciturn man had just turned back to speak to me when—
“…Huh.”
At that moment, the ground supporting one of my feet gave way.
My body tilted, my foot slipped into empty air, and my hair whipped around as it scattered across my vision.
“The ground’s unstable—be careful!”
He shouted.
‘Ah, a bit late for that warning!’
Cursing the belated advice, I began to tumble down.
‘Ah. I’m falling.’
No scream came out.
Thud—
I was sure my body had slammed into a rock, and for a split second it felt like something had gone seriously wrong—but when I was flung back into the air, a refreshing sensation wrapped around my whole body. I didn’t even have time to feel pain.
‘Huh?’
Crack—
Ah, I think I hit a tree too. It even felt like it snapped—but again, my wounds healed instantly before I could register any pain.
‘This healing power is seriously insane….’
I’d honestly never been injured this badly before, but the recovery speed was no joke.
Roll, thump! Rattle… rattle.
Just when I started wondering how long I’d keep rolling—
Boom!
With a tremendous crash, my spinning body finally came to a stop.
And just as I felt refreshed again, someone’s arms quickly scooped me up.
“Liana!”
“…?”
When I half-opened my eyes, a pair of calm blue eyes I’d seen before were looking down at me.
“Are you all right?”
Calix Lihardt.
It was him.
