Chapter 19.
The Path of the Graduate (3)
After the briefing at the training grounds, the students moved to the examination site.
The last competition had been held on a rocky islet in the middle of the lake, but the first test would take place outside the lake.
The enormous mountain rising beside the lake was the testing ground.
“Been a while since we’ve come outside the lake, Lord Ernas.”
Chloe spoke as she disembarked from the boat.
“It’s a shame, though. We finally come out of the lake, only to return to the island again so soon.”
“Then why not stay a little longer?”
“Hehe, if I did that, I’d fail the exam.”
The first test was simple: find an instructor in the testing grounds and land a single strike. That alone was enough to pass. But there was a time limit.
If one failed to obtain a pass within twenty-four hours, they were eliminated.
The instructors were lenient to a degree, but still, each year a fair number of students were disqualified.
“As much as I’d love to stay glued to your side, Lord Ernas… that’s not possible.”
“Because moving in groups is against the rules.”
In this exam, roaming in packs was strictly forbidden.
If students ganged up to surround an instructor and attack, they would be disqualified on the spot.
The principle was to find and attack alone. So, when two or more students happened to encounter the same instructor, fights often broke out between them.
‘The mountain’s huge, and it won’t be easy.’
I had set up these exam rules myself for the sake of the novel’s plot, but… honestly, it was the sort of test that made you sigh.
Failing meant expulsion.
‘In the novel, Ernas bribed an instructor in advance and passed in first place.’
Thinking back to the story, I headed with the others toward the starting point.
At last, the whistle blew, and the first test began.
“I’ll go first, Lord Ernas!”
From Class 6 Black, Schmitz dashed forward at the lead.
Celine, Chloe, and Viola soon followed him into the mountain, and I went after them.
‘Actually, rushing from the start is inefficient.’
Walking between the trees, I sank into thought.
‘Because cooperation’s banned, it often happens that you finally find an instructor, only to clash with another student. And while you’re fighting, the instructor slips away.’
In the novel, the protagonist Archandel repeatedly ran into such situations.
While others managed to pass ahead of him, he wandered the mountain for a long time.
Then… he was ambushed by Lester.
‘Lester feared Archandel, who stood out despite not belonging to one of the Six Sword Houses. He tried to get him expelled early.’
But Archandel doesn’t exist in this world.
Instead, I had become Lester’s target.
‘The best time to fight Lester is dawn. No need to waste strength until then.’
I found a small cave.
In the story, Archandel had roasted a rabbit there with Viola to stave off hunger.
‘Guess I’ll rest here for a while.’
Using a rock as a pillow, I lay down inside the cave.
Until the time was right, I planned to conserve my strength.
‘Ernas, that bastard…!’
Lester ground his teeth as he trudged through the forest.
The scolding he had just received at the training grounds still burned in his mind.
‘Of all people, it had to be Calleon Ignatius…!’
Calleon Ignatius, head of the Ignatius family—one of the Six Sword Houses. Known as the Flame Prison Sword.
The moment he took the podium, he barked, “Return to your place at once!”
Being reprimanded by the head of a rival house, and in public no less, had left Lester’s face burning.
‘It was all because of Ernas! He dragged out that handshake for so long…!’
Ernas had released Lester’s hand almost at the exact moment of Calleon’s outburst.
Yet Ernas didn’t seem the least bit fazed by the scolding.
‘What on earth is going on in your head, Ernas Landsstein?!’
As Lester stomped forward, a girl’s voice called from behind.
“Please calm yourself, Lord Lester.”
“You dare, Yuser…!”
It was Yuser, the girl who usually attended to Lester.
She had been his close aide long before she followed him into the Academy.
“If you lose your temper here, you’ll be falling right into Ernas’s trap.”
“…!”
Lester halted at her words.
“A trap?”
“Why else would Ernas have shaken your hand like that? It was bait to provoke you.”
“You mean… he even foresaw Calleon stepping onto the stage to scold me?”
“Quite possibly.”
Surely Ernas had bought off at least a few staff members.
If he had known beforehand that the supervising instructor for this exam was the hot-tempered Calleon…
“Then Ernas intends to attack you during this test, Lord Lester. That’s why—”
“Enough.”
Lester cut her off.
“You needn’t say more.”
“Lord Lester…”
“Ernas is craftier than I thought.”
Gritting his teeth, Lester snarled.
“He’s trying to rile me up, then launch a surprise attack somewhere in these mountains.”
“Yes, that seems likely.”
“But now that I know, it won’t work.”
His eyes gleamed as he spoke.
“Yuser, you brought my sword, didn’t you?”
“I did.”
She reached for the weapon strapped at her waist.
Disguised as a wooden practice sword, it actually concealed a real blade Lester had smuggled in.
If an instructor discovered it, he’d be punished, so normally Yuser carried it for him.
“Keep circling around me. If Ernas makes a move—”
“I’ll ambush him first, then pass you the sword if the moment is right.”
Satisfied with her loyal reply, Lester nodded.
“Good. Now leave. If the instructors catch us moving together, we’ll be warned.”
“Yes, Lord Lester.”
With a bow, Yuser vanished from sight.
Her family specialized in concealment techniques—once she hid herself, even Lester couldn’t find her.
‘This is my trap, Ernas.’
Unaware of anything, Ernas would walk right into Yuser’s ambush.
No matter how sharp his opening strike, if she attacked from a blind spot, he would fail.
Then Lester would finish him off.
‘And with my real sword…’
He resolved to slice through a tendon or two, to repay the humiliation of that handshake.
Clenching his fist, Lester swore to himself.
“Eh? Lord Ernas, what are you doing here?”
“…Viola?”
I opened my eyes at a familiar voice—Viola Orishas was staring at me.
Just as in the novel, she had discovered this cave.
“Perfect timing. I was just getting hungry.”
“H-huh?”
Viola hurriedly hid the rabbit she had been holding.
“Th-this is my dinner…”
“I haven’t eaten either.”
“Lord Ernas should prepare his own dinner!”
“You ate the steak I was supposed to have last time.”
“I paid that debt back with a massage, didn’t I?!”
“You think that was enough? Interest’s piled up since then.”
“A-a loan shark?!”
Grumbling, Viola plopped down on the cave floor.
“Fine, I’ll share a little.”
“Good. Make it tasty.”
Yawning, I watched as she lit a fire.
Though she was a noble lady by birth, the Orishas family made its living hunting monsters in the northern snowfields—so she was quite skilled at such tasks.
“All done!”
She handed me a roasted rabbit leg.
Biting into it, I found the flavor similar to chicken.
“Not bad.”
“W-would you like some more?”
“No, you eat the rest.”
“Hehe… thank goodness.”
Relieved, Viola happily tore into the meat.
She always ate heartily.
“…Why are you looking at me like that? Don’t tell me you have… impure thoughts.”
“Don’t flatter yourself.”
I shot her down flatly, and her face fell.
“Y-you’re sure? But about two weeks ago—you touched me then, didn’t you?”
“Don’t phrase it weirdly. I was correcting your sword stance.”
“You held my wrist for almost a whole minute! My heart was racing.”
“So it was you with impure thoughts.”
To be honest, I had had ulterior motives then… but only to copy her abilities.
“Viola.”
“Yes?”
“Your Orishas family hunting skills… they’re useful for finding hidden prey in the woods, aren’t they?”
She blinked at my sudden question.
“Well, yes, but… they won’t help much for finding the instructors. They’re more for tracking monsters using terrain and cover.”
“I know. Just wanted to confirm.”
“…?”
Smiling, I brushed it off, while Viola tilted her head in confusion.
Before I knew it, dawn had come.
‘Damn it, where the hell is Ernas?’
Lester prowled the mountain, eyes darting.
He had run into plenty of other students, but not a single trace of Ernas.
For over ten hours, he and Yuser had been on alert for an ambush—yet nothing had happened.
‘Don’t tell me he’s already passed…? No, impossible.’
If someone passed, the instructors would call out their name loudly.
No such announcement had been made for Ernas.
‘I’ve given up even chasing instructors, just waiting for his attack… so what’s going on?’
And now, raindrops began to fall.
With the clouds thickening overhead, a downpour was imminent.
Lester despised the rain. This was the worst possible scenario.
‘Damn it. I need shelter.’
Perhaps a cave somewhere.
He called out, “Yuser, show yourself.”
He planned to order her to find a dry spot.
But there was no reply.
“Yuser?”
He glanced around.
Even he couldn’t detect her once she had hidden herself.
“…!”
Thud!
Something fell from a tree behind him. Lester spun around.
His eyes widened.
“Yuser!”
She lay unconscious on the ground.
And then—
“E-Ernas?!”
Ernas dropped lightly from the tree.
From the looks of it, he had taken Yuser down.
“Y-you, how…?!”
It was impossible. Even Lester struggled to pierce her concealment—how had Ernas managed it?
“How did you find Yuser? You’re not even a trained hunter!”
“Maybe I picked up some hunting skills.”
“Still mocking me, Ernas…!”
Ernas bent down, picking up the wooden sword from Yuser’s belt.
“…!”
From the start, he must have known.
Ernas drew the real blade hidden inside.
“Ernas! Put that down, now—!”
But that wasn’t all.
Lester’s eyes went wide with disbelief.
“You… you…!”
Rain was now pouring down.
Lester loathed it, but had no time to care.
“That stance… where did you steal it?!”
It was the Lancaster Short Sword Style.
The traditional combat art of the Lancaster family—demonstrated flawlessly by Ernas.
