Chapter 102
#Chapter 102: Demonic Sword Forte (4) - Repeat After Me
A day and a half.
That was how long it took Pina to reach the top of the tower.
Considering that the time limit was three days and that her movement speed was nothing special—merely average—it meant that even an ordinary person could reach the top within the time limit with sufficient preparation.
Nevertheless, despite that level of difficulty, fewer than half the applicants passed the first exam. Most had tried to climb the tower recklessly without making any particular preparations, only to collapse or give up midway.
Even those capable of producing the physical abilities of wild beasts through mana enhancement had separate limits when it came to stamina and endurance.
【‘Quest: Climb the Tower’ has been completed.】
【You have acquired ‘Proof of Passing Sky Academy’s First Entrance Exam.’】
“Whoa.”
Pina hurriedly snatched the badge that had suddenly appeared in midair.
The badge was shaped like a mace tilted diagonally, and the uneven protrusions here and there made it obvious at a glance that this alone was not a complete piece.
Pina stared back and forth between the badge and the empty air where it had suddenly appeared, as if fascinated.
“To think an object could just pop out of nowhere. How amazing.”
《Sky Academy is a domain claimed by the Sage of the Sky. Things that cannot be understood through ordinary magic or blessings happen here as if they were nothing unusual.》
“Ah-ha.”
《Did you understand?》
“I understood that I don’t really understand!”
《…Hmm, yes. That’s a relief.》
While the two were having that rather vacant conversation, a new quest window appeared before Pina’s eyes.
【Quest: Defeat the Wooden Dolls】
【Clear Condition: Defeat the dolls, collect at least three of their cores, and bring them to the ‘door’】
【Time Limit: 3 Hours】
【Reward: Proof of Passing Sky Academy’s Second Entrance Exam】
【Special Note: The dolls’ cores can be exchanged among participants】
At Pina’s feet.
Like a picture someone had drawn, an arrow made of light appeared.
Following the arrow led her to a stage that looked like the base of a tree widened to a great extent, wooden dolls wandering across it, and other candidates fighting desperately against them.
Clang! Thud!
“W-what? My sword isn’t working? Why is it so tough?!”
“D-don’t come any closer! Whoa! Argh!”
“Gack!”
A candidate who appeared to be a warrior swung a sword down at one of the dolls, but the blade merely scratched the surface of its wooden arm, and the returning wooden fist smashed into the warrior’s face.
Meanwhile, a candidate who appeared to be a mage tried to ambush a doll from a distance with a spell. But almost at the same moment he began chanting, the doll’s head whipped around, and it soon dashed over to the mage and delivered a dropkick to his stomach.
The warrior, whose face had been battered out of shape, and the mage, who had vomited, were thrown off the stage side by side.
Pina’s face turned pale as she watched them twitching on the ground.
“M-Magic Sword.”
《What is it?》
“Should I just give up?”
《…….》
Forte was about to point out that she should at least try crossing swords with one, but he soon swallowed his words.
He realized that saying such a thing to Pina would be meaningless.
Instead, he pretended not to have heard Pina and began explaining.
《For a warrior to win smoothly on their own, they would need at least sword aura.》
“I-I can’t use sword aura!”
《Calm down. I only mean that it would be necessary to win with an ordinary sword.》
Sword aura ultimately referred to a technique that infused mana into a weapon to enhance its attack power.
Conversely, if the weapon itself possessed sufficient power, there was no need to use something like sword aura.
《Contract holder. Trust me and fight.》
Pina’s gaze wandered anxiously for a moment, but soon she cautiously stepped onto the stage.
To put it in the Crown Prince’s terms, one of the wooden dolls wandering around like monsters in an RPG spotted Pina and assumed a combat stance.
A moment later, the two shadows crossed.
Slash!
“Huh?”
“That can’t be….”
The voices of astonishment came from the candidates outside the stage, who had been glaring at the wooden dolls with solemn expressions.
The doll struck by Pina’s sword had been sliced cleanly in two, making all the toughness it had displayed until then seem utterly meaningless.
“Whoa.”
Pina herself was just as surprised by the sword she had swung.
It felt like cutting through butter with a heated knife.
Rather than cutting through it by applying force, it felt as though she merely placed the blade against it and it slipped right through on its own.
Psssh.
The wooden doll that had fallen to the ground seemed to dry up like a fallen leaf, then crumbled of its own accord.
All that remained was a seed about the size of a coin.
《That must be the wooden doll’s core. Hurry and collect it.》
Pina slipped the core into her pocket, then assumed a stance toward the next doll.
The wooden doll seemed to sense her hostility and immediately took up a combat stance, but the result was the same this time as well.
After securing three cores in succession, Pina let out a bright, open smile.
“I-it’s easier than I thought! It’s all thanks to you, Magic Sword!”
《I’d like to say thank you for the compliment, but it’s too early to relax. Look outside the stage.》
“Yes?”
When she turned toward the outside of the stage as Forte instructed, Pina saw numerous candidates staring intently at her.
Pina’s body stiffened with tension under the sudden attention.
《Check the special note for this exam once again.》
【Special Note: The dolls’ cores can be exchanged among participants】
Pina let out a soft “Ah” of realization.
《It seems you understand now. If you leave the stage, the other candidates will target you. They’ll think they have a chance if they attack you together, even if they have no chance alone.》
“Then what should I do?”
《Show them your strength. Beat a few people down spectacularly as an example and make them understand that messing with you will cost them.》
“Hmm.”
Even after Forte’s explanation, Pina looked thoroughly unwilling.
“Isn’t there anything else?”
《Do you dislike seeing blood?》
“It’s scary!”
At first glance, it sounded like childish whining, but at the same time, she seemed determined to refuse an easy path for no particular reason.
《Then running away is the answer. Which do you prefer: breaking through head-on or a decoy operation?》
“Which one is easier?”
《Either one is about the same.》
“Which one is less ominous?”
《That depends on your criteria, but from my perspective, the decoy operation would be preferable.》
“Then we’ll do that!”
《Understood. First, cut down the wooden dolls indiscriminately. Around thirty cores should be enough.》
“Yes, sir.”
Perhaps it was because the battle earlier had given her confidence.
Pina cut down the wooden dolls one after another without offering any complaints.
She deliberately left alone the dolls fighting other candidates, but since fewer than one-tenth of all the wooden dolls had opponents, it was not difficult to choose her targets.
After gathering a large number of cores that way.
Following Forte’s instructions, Pina took a handful of cores in her hand and threw them into the air outside the stage, scattering them.
The people reflexively reached toward the cores, and Pina took advantage of the opening to sprint toward the ‘door.’
“Stop!!”
Some candidates were waiting not around the stage but directly along the route to the door, yet Pina threw another handful of cores over their heads this time as well.
Those who had tried to block Pina’s path hesitated for a moment, but soon willingly stepped aside.
After all, each candidate only needed three cores.
Rather than fight Pina head-on and risk losing a large number of cores, it was much safer and easier simply to collect the scattered cores quickly.
After repeating that process three or four times, the door serving as the second exam’s checkpoint finally came into view.
The middle-aged examiner standing guard before the door opened his mouth.
“Hey, isn’t that a bit too generous? Professor Emil is going to nag me for having so many people to interview!”
Though his tone sounded scolding, the examiner burst into hearty laughter, so he did not seem to regard Pina’s actions as particularly bad.
“I’m Raizenol, examiner for the second test and swordsmanship instructor at Sky Academy. Now then, clever young lady, submit your cores.”
“H-here!”
Pina promptly placed three cores in Raizenol’s palm, and after nodding, he pointed in a certain direction with one finger.
“The waiting room for the third test is over there. It will take a little while before the test begins, so relax and wait.”
When Pina followed his gaze, she saw several people gathered in groups of three or four, sitting and chatting quietly in a space resembling an auditorium divided into several levels.
Every one of them was neatly dressed and had an intense gaze, giving the impression at a glance of being a group with considerable skill.
《They must be somewhere between the upper end of the 3rd tier and the 4th tier at the very least. Should we call them elites?》
“I see.”
Pina nodded with a serious expression, then did not boldly sit beside them. Instead, she took a seat in the left corner of the lowest section of the auditorium.
Several candidates who had seemed about to speak to Pina looked flustered.
Just then, the quest window appeared once again.
【‘Quest: Defeat the Wooden Dolls’ has been completed.】
【You have acquired ‘Proof of Passing Sky Academy’s Second Entrance Exam.’】
Once again, something resembling a small metal fragment fell from the air.
Whereas the earlier one had been a mace set at a diagonal angle, this badge was shaped like a sword standing straight up and down.
After confirming that this badge also had distinct protrusions, Pina tilted her head for a moment, then overlapped the two badges. As expected, they fit together with a sharp click and merged into one.
Pina immediately waited for the third quest to appear, but the quest window remained stubbornly silent.
Apparently, the third quest would not appear until the other students had finished their second quest as well.
Just then, one of the women who had been sitting in the auditorium earlier addressed Pina in a sharp voice.
“What did you do?”
“Huh?”
When Pina blinked, the sharp-featured woman interrogated her without hesitation.
“How could you scatter so many cores? Because of you, a whole bunch of people without any skill are going to make it all the way here.”
“Uh, um.”
“If you have an excuse, then at least try saying it.”
Perhaps emboldened by Pina’s darting eyes, the woman raised her voice even further.
Pina fidgeted nervously, unable to answer.
Even if she wanted to ask Forte for advice, it was impossible to speak to the sword with everyone’s eyes and ears so close by.
《Contract holder. Don’t worry. I shall tell you the secret method for breaking through this situation.》
Oh.
Pina silently marveled.
As expected, the magic sword clearly had a plan for everything.
《From now on, repeat exactly what I say. You must not get a single word wrong.》
Pina got ready.
《Excuse me.》
“Excuse me.”
《Do I know you? Don’t worry about how other people pass and just take care of yourself.》
“Do I know you? Don’t worry about how other people pass and just take care of yourself… huh?”
Wait, something about this didn’t seem right.
Pina’s face turned blue as she looked at the woman whose face had flushed red.