Chapter 19
The Graduate’s Path (3)
After the explanation at the training ground ended, the students moved toward the examination site.
Unlike the previous competition, which had taken place on the rocky islet in the middle of the lake, the first test was held outside the lake.
A large mountain rising beside the lake was the testing ground.
“It’s been a while since we came outside the lake, Ernass,” Chloe said as we disembarked from the boat.
“It’s a shame we have to return to the island so soon after finally coming outside the lake,” I replied.
“Then why not stay a little longer?”
“Ha ha, then you’d fail the test.”
For the first exam, a student passes simply by locating an instructor in the test area and striking them, but there’s a time limit.
Failing to obtain the passing certificate within 24 hours meant automatic failure.
The instructors were somewhat lenient, but still, every year, a significant number of students failed.
“I wish I could stick close to you, Ernass… but that’s impossible,” Chloe said.
“Moving in groups is against the rules,” I reminded her.
This test did not allow group behavior. Surrounding an instructor as a group to attack would result in immediate disqualification.
The rule was to find and attack the instructor alone. If two or more students happened to discover the same instructor simultaneously, conflicts often arose between them.
‘The mountain is huge; this won’t be easy.’
I had set it up this way for the story’s progression, but it was genuinely a stressful test.
Failing this meant expulsion.
‘In the novel, Ernass had bribed the instructor to pass first,’ I reminded myself as I headed to the starting point with the other students.
Soon, the whistle sounded, and the first test began.
“Leading the way, Ernass!”
In the Black Class 6, Schmitz dashed ahead first.
Then Serine, Chloe, and Viola entered the mountain, and I followed behind.
‘Honestly, sprinting from the start is inefficient,’ I thought as I walked between the trees.
‘Because group attacks are forbidden, students often fight each other after spotting an instructor. Meanwhile, the instructor could escape.’
In the novel, the protagonist Arkandel repeatedly faced such situations, falling behind while others passed the test ahead, wandering in the forest alone.
Then… he would be ambushed by Lester.
‘Lester, though not one of the six famous sword families, kept an eye on Arkandel and planned early to get him expelled.’
But in this world, Arkandel did not exist.
Instead, I became Lester’s target.
‘Early morning is best for fighting Lester. No need to waste energy until then.’
I found a small cave.
In the novel, Arkandel had rested here with Viola, roasting a rabbit to satisfy his hunger.
‘I’ll rest here for a while.’
I lay down inside the cave, using a suitably sized rock as a pillow, intending to stay until the time was right.
“Ernass… this brat…!”
Lester gritted his teeth as he walked through the forest.
He couldn’t shake off what had been pointed out at the training ground earlier.
‘Of all people, it had to be Caleon Ignias…!’
Caleon, head of the Ignias family, one of the six famous sword lineages, wielded the “Flame Jade Sword.”
As soon as he stepped onto the stage, he barked, “Return to your place immediately!”
Being scolded by the head of a rival family naturally flushed Lester’s face.
‘This is all Ernass’ fault! That bastard prolonged the handshake…!’
Ernass released Lester’s hand almost simultaneously with Caleon’s scolding, but seemed completely unconcerned.
‘What the hell are you thinking, Ernass Lanzstein?!’
As he marched forward angrily, a female student’s voice called from behind.
“Lester, please calm down.”
“Yuser, how dare you…!”
It was Yuser, a female student who normally attended to Lester, a long-time close aide who had followed him into the academy.
“If you get excited here, you’ll fall into Ernass’ trap.”
“…!”
Lester stopped at Yuser’s words.
“A trap?”
“Why else would Ernass have made that handshake? To provoke you, Lester, into reacting.”
“You don’t mean… he anticipated Caleon stepping onto the stage to scold me?”
“That’s highly likely.”
Ernass must have bribed a few staff members as well.
If he knew in advance that the supervising instructor for this test would be the fiery Caleon…
“Ernass plans to attack you during this exam. That’s why…”
“Stop.”
Lester cut her off.
“You needn’t say more.”
“Lester…”
“That Ernass… he’s even more cunning than I thought.”
He ground his teeth.
“He wants to excite me, then ambush me somewhere in the mountain.”
“Yes, that’s highly probable.”
“But now that I’ve noticed it, it won’t happen.”
Lester’s eyes blazed.
“Yuser, you’ve brought my sword, haven’t you?”
“Yes, sir.”
Yuser touched the sword strapped to her waist.
It was disguised as a wooden sword, but inside was Lester’s real blade. Since carrying it openly could result in punishment if discovered by instructors, it was usually Yuser who carried it.
“Keep patrolling around me. If Ernass attempts an ambush…”
“I’ll ambush Ernass first, then give you the sword depending on the situation.”
Hearing her loyal reply, Lester nodded.
“Good. Now disperse. If instructors see you loitering together, you’ll get a warning.”
“Yes, sir.”
Yuser bowed and disappeared. Being from a family trained in concealment arts, she was difficult to track even for Lester.
‘This is my trap, Ernass.’
If Ernass approached unaware, Yuser would move.
No matter how skilled his charge attack was, if Yuser ambushed from a blind spot, he would fail.
Then Lester could take the opportunity to strike and bring Ernass down.
‘And I’ll use my sword…’
Lester resolved to cut one or two of Ernass’ tendons as punishment for the humiliation caused by that handshake.
Clenching his fists, he vowed, ‘I will make him pay.’
“Eh? Ernass, what are you doing here?”
“Viola…?”
Opening my eyes at the familiar voice, I saw Viola Orisyus staring at me.
Like in the novel, she had apparently found the cave.
“Perfect timing. I was starving.”
“Huh?”
Viola hurriedly hid the rabbit she had in her hands.
“This… this is my dinner…”
“I haven’t eaten either.”
“You should take care of your own dinner, Ernass!”
“You ate all the steak I brought last time.”
“I thought I repaid that with acupressure?!”
“You think that’s enough? Interest has piled up since then.”
“W-what, a loan shark?”
Muttering, Viola sat down on the cave floor.
“Sigh… fine, I’ll share a bit.”
“Good. Get it ready.”
I yawned as I watched Viola light a campfire.
Being from a baronial family, Viola was a noblewoman, but hunting in the northern snowfields was her family’s livelihood, so she handled this expertly.
“All done,” she said, offering a roasted rabbit leg.
The taste was similar to chicken.
“Delicious.”
“Do you… want more?”
“No, that’s fine. You eat the rest.”
“Hehe… good.”
Viola relaxed and began devouring the meat. She always ate heartily.
“Why are you staring at me like that? Do you have… impure thoughts?”
“None at all, so don’t get any ideas.”
“You’re too harsh.”
I said coldly, and Viola pouted.
“Are you sure? Two weeks ago, you touched my body…”
“Don’t misinterpret it. I was correcting your sword stance.”
“But you held my wrist for almost a minute. Honestly, it made my heart race.”
“So the impure thoughts were yours.”
To be honest, I did have another intention—but only to copy Viola’s abilities.
“Viola.”
“Yes?”
“Your Orisyus family’s hunting skills… they’re useful for finding hidden prey in the forest, right?”
Viola blinked at my sudden question.
“Yes, but… it won’t help much with finding instructors. It’s used for locating hidden monsters using terrain.”
“I know that. I was just checking.”
“…?”
I smiled, and Viola tilted her head in confusion.
Dawn came quietly.
‘Damn it, where the hell is Ernass?’
Lester scoured the mountain.
He had encountered many students, yet Ernass’ presence was nowhere to be seen.
He had been anticipating Ernass’ ambush with Yuser for over ten hours… but nothing happened.
‘Could he have already passed the test? No, that’s impossible.’
Instructors loudly announce the names of those who pass. Ernass’ name had not been called.
‘We’ve given up on catching instructors and have been preparing for his ambush… what’s going on?’
Rain began to fall lightly. The sky was overcast, suggesting a downpour soon.
For Lester, who hated getting wet, this was the worst situation.
‘Damn, need to find shelter.’
He called for Yuser.
“Yuser, come out for a moment.”
He intended to have her find shelter while concealed using her stealth training.
No response came.
“Yuser?”
Lester scanned the surroundings but could not detect her.
Without professional training, it was impossible to see through Yuser’s concealment.
“…!”
Thud!
Something fell from the trees. Lester turned sharply, eyes wide.
“Yuser!”
Yuser lay unconscious. Moreover…
“E-Ernass?!”
Ernass descended lightly from the trees. Context suggested he had knocked Yuser out.
“Y-You… how…!”
It was unbelievable. Even a trained hunter would struggle to detect Yuser, so how did Ernass?
“How did you find Yuser? You’re not even a trained hunter!”
“Maybe I learned some hunting skills,” I said.
“Are you mocking me again, Ernass…!”
Facing the yelling Lester, I bent down and took the wooden sword Yuser had strapped to her waist.
“…!”
Had I known from the start? I drew the real sword hidden inside.
“Ernass! Drop that sword immediately—”
But that was not the end.
An utterly incredible sight unfolded before Lester.
“You… you…!”
By now, the rain poured heavily. Lester, who hated rain, could hardly care.
“That stance… where the hell did you steal it from?!”
Lancaster Short Sword Technique.
I demonstrated the stance of the short-sword combat style passed down through the Lancaster family perfectly.
