Chapter 134 - Spirit of the Guardian Tree (13)

Bibi's advisor Gerald and Guard Captain Fenril watched the first-year Combat Department class from a distance, wearing robes pulled low.

"Are you looking for immediate combat power?"

At Fenril's question, Gerald shook his head. If that were the case, they could simply pick any fourth-year student. What he wanted was to measure Damian's abilities.

"This is merely a formality."

It would be good if Damian's skills were excellent, but it wouldn't matter if they were poor. Rather, Bibi would welcome this, using his incompetence as an excuse for her emotional revenge.

Like making him wash her feet or clean shoes—humiliating menial tasks under the pretext of insufficient ability.

Knowing how this would likely play out, Gerald wasn't particularly pleased about being here.

Of course, some skill verification was necessary. The road to the Principality wasn't entirely safe. In emergencies, one should at least be able to preserve their own life.

Soon, Associate Professor Gael spoke in the training ground, "You'll fight this beast for a week starting today. If you can't inflict meaningful damage during that period, you'll get the lowest score."

The students made half-crying sounds with disgusted expressions.

Bibi's Guard Captain Fenril said, looking at the beast, "A Kiraclo. I wonder how they transported such a fierce creature from the north."

Hook-like claws and thick teeth. Plus poison stingers that could pierce most armor in one strike.

If a normal human were caught, they'd be torn to shreds before saying goodbye.

Of course, the dangerous elements had been thoroughly removed, leaving the Kiraclo with only bull-like leg strength and agility.

"Well, any volunteers to go first?"

Going first meant willingly becoming a test subject to provide tactical hints.

Gael frowned disapprovingly and gestured to an assistant. A lottery box was placed before her.

Gael drew a paper immediately without rummaging around.

"Pecorino! Come forward and choose your weapon."

Everyone's attention focused on one boy. He closed his eyes tightly as if facing death, then stepped forward.

While he chose his weapon, Gael and the assistant released the Kiraclo's restraints.

As soon as the cage opened, the Kiraclo burst out at terrifying speed.

"Ah, ahhh!"

Seeing this, Pecorino fell on his backside while choosing weapons.

But no one laughed. The other students were equally startled.

Pecorino, looking like someone with a toothache, grabbed a spear and stepped before Gael.

Gael asked, "Why choose the spear? Is it your main weapon?"

"No, but it has the longest reach. To target weaknesses—“

Gael cut him off and pushed him forward, "Fine, you have five minutes."

Without time for mental preparation, he was thrust straight into battle.

"Leave that circle and you'll fail permanently. Remember that."

"Ah, ah..."

Pecorino clutched the spear with both hands and conducted reconnaissance like a frightened mouse.

After several tentative thrusts, Pecorino didn't properly approach with the spear tip for two minutes.

He only succeeded in agitating the beast.

Gael shouted impatiently, "If you won't fight properly, we'll release its restraints."

As soon as she spoke, the chains restraining the beast's hind legs were loosened.

The Kiraclo charged forward with a rumbling sound.

Pecorino was overwhelmed without a chance to resist.

"Ahhh! Aaah! He-help!"

The Kiraclo pinned him down and scratched. If it still had its hook-like claws, his limbs would already be torn apart. Now its blunt joints just roughly scraped his body.

Gael approached the beast with a special artifact. The creature crawled back into its cage fearfully, leaving Pecorino.

Gael dragged Pecorino out by his collar. He was half unconscious.

Seeing this, half the students grimaced in disgust while the other half turned pale. They might have fought well against normal beasts, but the Kiraclo's repulsive appearance caused stronger aversion.

Gerald asked Fenril, "What rank is that student?"

"Based on entrance exams, upper-middle rank. Quite disappointing for that level."

"Hmm..."

Gael spoke reproachfully, "I hope someone shows proper form. It's embarrassing in front of the Principality's knights."

Several students glanced at where Gerald and Fenril stood. Even without Gael pointing it out, some knew their location.

With outside observers present, nothing could be more humiliating for students than disgrace here.

Gael drew another lottery and called the next turn.

"Rescon! Come forward and fight."

Rescon stepped forward with the same death-like expression as the previous contestant.

He grabbed a longsword and stepped forward.

Gael, hands behind her back, asked, "Why choose that weapon?"

He tried hiding his nervousness as he answered, “It's... it's what I'm most familiar with."

"Good. Begin."

Gripping the sword with both hands, Rescon charged straight at the Kiraclo. He swung powerfully but was easily blocked by its long legs.

Being overly cautious, he only made ineffective cuts at the long legs without making any real impression.

Watching this, Fenril said, "Better than the previous student, but not by much. Similar grades too."

Gerald stroked his chin, thinking internally. Being first-years, there wasn't much to expect in terms of skill.

Seeing the Kiraclo's actions becoming increasingly violent, Rescon threw his sword and fled.

Associate Professor Gael looked at the fleeing Rescon with a harsh expression.

"Throwing away your weapon is the worst of the worst."

"Professor, I may not know much else, but I have serious trauma with spiders..."

"Do you think monsters on the road will consider your personal circumstances? You fail."

"...!"

Gael showed no hesitation in giving failing grades.

Watching the next fights, and the next, Gerald yawned. Seeing this, Fenril commented quietly, "It takes three skilled knights to handle this creature. It’s too much for mere first-year students. We shouldn't expect much indeed."

Soon after, Gael called Victor who was ranked within the Combat Department's top 10.

He immediately came forward and inspected the weapons.

Gerald sensed the atmosphere of the training ground change.

There was an inexplicable weightiness and composure in his movements as he swung the sword to test it. Even Gerald, not particularly skilled in swordsmanship, could feel it.

He checked Victor's background in his documents.

"From the Clodinas Brotherhood. Interesting background."

The Clodinas Brotherhood was a mercenary group with branches across the continent, dedicated to the complete extermination of magic beasts.

"He's found his match, his eyes must be lighting up."

The other students seemed to sense this too.

They could guess this time would yield different results than before.

Victor took a longsword, stretched, and stepped forward.

"May I begin immediately?"

"Yes."

The battle began instantly. Victor charged straight at the Kiraclo's front. The beast tried to strike down the approaching Victor with its front legs.

He rolled diagonally, swinging his sword at the left front leg.

The strike precisely cut through the slight soft tissue at the joint, causing green fluid to spray out with a hiss.

Slash! Slash!

The struck leg crumpled like paper. The Kiraclo stepped back several paces, spraying saliva as if in pain.

The watching students let out light exclamations.

Victor stood up, swinging his arm to clean fluid from his blade. Every movement was clean, without waste.

Then Victor charged again, sliding to attack the right front leg.

Slash!

The strike landed squarely, leaving the right leg in tatters.

Victor had recognized that it used its front legs for attacks and other legs for movement, so he disabled them first.

Screech! Screech! 

The Kiraclo writhed in pain.

Not stopping there, he dove low like a tackle, sliding under the Kiraclo's belly.

Fenril shook his head watching this.

"A dangerous idea."

Though he could target the soft underbelly lacking a hard exoskeleton, it was a position vulnerable to counterattack.

Victor thrust his sword into the Kiraclo's abdomen.

Though mortally wounded, it wasn't instantly killed. The Kiraclo reflexively struck downward like a wasp—a final struggle to embed its stinger.

This landed several hits on Victor's thigh. If the stinger hadn't been removed beforehand, he could have died.

Victor pulled out his sword, thrust it back into the abdomen, then rolled away.

The Kiraclo thrashed, spraying fluid on the ground, before finally ramming into the cage bars and dying.

For the first time, Gael nodded with satisfaction and spoke, "Not bad."

Victor caught his breath while dusting himself off.

"Thank you."

"Targeting the front legs first was excellent judgment, but going under the belly wasn't good. Though you could deliver a fatal blow, you also risked your life. Work on that part later."

Watching from afar, Fenril acknowledged Victor.

"Bold and skilled beyond his years."

Victor brought new life to the increasingly dull practice.

The problem was that his fight was incomparably better than previous ones, greatly increasing pressure on the next contestant.

Whatever they did would inevitably be compared to Victor.

An assistant cleared the Kiraclo's corpse and unveiled another cage, releasing the beast from anesthesia.

This Kiraclo was even larger than the previous one.

Meanwhile, Gael drew from the lottery box and called the next contestant, "Damian! Step forward for your turn."

When his name was called, Gerald stopped shuffling papers and looked up.

Damian. The reason Gerald had come here.

Soon, a brown-haired boy stepped forward from among those waiting.

His impression suited a theater stage more than this dusty training ground.

So this is Silveryn's disciple...

On paper, his grades were among the lowest in the Combat Department's advanced class.

The new Kiraclo burst out of its cage. Starved for days perhaps, it strained against its restraints at the sight of prey.

Larger, faster, and above all, more ferocious.

Fenril clicked his tongue sympathetically.

"My, this will be a nightmare for such a delicate boy."

Damian would likely serve only to tire out the Kiraclo and make the next contestant's performance look better.

Stepping forward, Damian chose a shortsword without much deliberation.

Unlike previous contestants who all chose longer-reach weapons, he defied expectations by choosing a short-reach weapon.

His fighting method was completely unpredictable.

Damian stepped inside the arena line. Lowering his blade to the ground, for whatever reason, he slowly moved clockwise while facing off against the Kiraclo.

What impressed Gerald was his eyes.

The aggressiveness felt from the taut chains. The beast scraped the ground, eager to rush at its prey.

Is it an illusion?

Intense killing intent swirled in Damian's eyes as he faced this at ten paces' distance.

The killing intent, shown for just a moment, smoothly disappeared beneath feigned composure and serenity that followed.

Then Gael announced the start.

"Fight as you wish."

The moment she finished speaking, Damian, who had been standing steadfastly, made a big swing.

The blade flashed brightly as it cut through the air.

It embedded itself in one of the Kiraclo's eyes.

It was unbelievable even having seen it.

"Kiaaaaaak!"

Following the death scream, the Kiraclo's movement stopped as if time had frozen.

Then with a thud, it collapsed, raising dust.

Complete silence fell over the area.

Just as everyone thought it was over, strength began returning to the Kiraclo's seemingly stopped legs.

Then, with the sword still stuck in one eye, it slowly rose. Though trembling in pain, it was clearly alive and able to move.

Damian raised both hands and stepped back as if surrendering. It seemed like he wanted to avoid a messy fight.

"This won't do. I'll stop here."

Gael narrowed her eyes at Damian.

He had landed a proper strike on the beast but hadn't killed it. And having thrown away his sword, he couldn't finish it.

It was too excellent to call a failure, but too gambling and somewhat lacking to call successful—an ambiguous performance.