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Why is he here?

Damian stared at Leonhark.

But at that moment—

“…”

Among the crowd, Leonhark was staring directly at Damian.

When their eyes met, Damian couldn’t hide his bewilderment.

Leonhark, however, responded with a subtle smirk.

Soon, the entrance test for the Caion Unit began.

Regardless of the atmosphere, there was no reason not to participate with the promise of far superior pay and treatment compared to other units.

Damian spoke to Dianal and Kyle.

“First things first, let’s just pass the test. No matter what, it’d be embarrassing to get kicked out and sent back, right?”

“Of course not, haha.”

“But what kind of test is this?”

Unlike Kyle’s confident laughter, Dianal remained cautious, analyzing the situation.

And then—

Clank!

Step, step, step.

Armored figures began to approach from behind the training ground.

Helmets pulled low.

And on their left chests, a distinct emblem.

“…A knight order?”

It was the Monster Knights raised by Leonhark.

Dianal’s expression stiffened at the sight.

“Damian, could the test be…”

“It’s exactly what you’re thinking.”

It seemed like they had gathered those already proven in some way.

Forget standard physical and strength tests.

“This looks like a real combat duel.”

There were no practice weapons in the training grounds.

All the weapons displayed had sharpened blades.

Damian chuckled.

“This is interesting.”

Yeah, this is what you’d expect from an elite independent unit.

It reminded him of the old days.

‘I used to test people like this a lot.’

Of course, back then, Damian was the one judging.

‘Are they really going to evaluate all these people?’

Damian sighed softly at the sheer number of participants.

He wondered if they could even finish by sunset.

But then—

Swish!

“Aaargh!”

“…?!”

A scream rang out from somewhere.

All the participants turned their eyes toward the sound.

“Ugh… Ugh…!”

There, a candidate lay on the ground, bleeding from a deep cut on his arm.

A knight standing in front of him pointed his blood-stained sword at the candidate’s neck and asked,

“Do you wish to continue?”

“I… I lost.”

The wounded candidate withdrew, and a medic rushed over to bandage his wound.

“What… What is this?”

“Isn’t this just a sparring test? Why are there injuries?”

“What the hell?”

The candidates murmured.

Just then—

“Everyone, quiet down!”

Vincent yelled at the crowd.

The murmuring stopped, and the candidates turned to Vincent.

He spoke.

“The duel is with real weapons! There’s no holding back, so anyone afraid should leave now!”

“…Who’s scared?”

“Does he think we’re afraid of knights?”

These guys were all somewhat notable in their previous units.

Vincent’s words only ignited their fighting spirit.

“Hyaaaah!”

Whoosh!

“Hah!”

Swish!

Suddenly, the atmosphere of the sparring test heated up.

Everyone lunged at the knights with a ferocity as if trying to kill.

But—

Slash!

Clang!

“Ugh!”

“Aaaah!”

The results were no different.

If anything, the Monster Knights ramped up their intensity against the aggressive candidates.

Thud.

“Ugh…!”

Injuries began to appear everywhere.

From minor cuts on hands to deep slashes on thighs and arms.

And then—

“Fight as if your life depends on it! Remember, if you don’t give it your all, you could really die!”

Even Leonhark, who had been watching, shouted fiercely.

The atmosphere in the test grounds instantly turned cold.

There was a tense, almost foreboding sense that something catastrophic might happen.

“Come to think of it… on the document earlier.”

It had stated that participants would bear any consequences, including severe injuries or death during the test.

Everyone had read it but brushed it off as mere formality.

“Aaargh!”

Another participant collapsed, his arm slashed.

Seeing this—

“Damn it! What kind of test is this? I’m quitting!”

“Me too!”

“Screw this, did they even intend to let us pass?!”

Clang!

Some candidates threw down their swords and walked away mid-duel.

The atmosphere grew chaotic as more began to leave.

In the end, nearly half of the original participants exited the training ground.

But Leonhark merely smirked at the sight.

“Now it’s getting a bit more manageable.”

He then shouted at the remaining candidates.

“You must be prepared to die in this test! Even if you pass, those severely injured will be discarded without mercy!”

Leonhark’s eyes gleamed sharply.

Seeing this, Damian couldn’t help but chuckle.

“He’s got that old look in his eyes.”

“What?”

“Jeez, you scared me!”

Damian yelled at Kyle, who suddenly appeared beside him.

“What are you doing? Not taking the test?”

“It’s not my turn yet.”

“…Right.”

This guy seemed to get cheekier as time went on.

Damian waved Kyle off.

“Make sure you do your best. Think of it as taking down one of those knights.”

“Got it.”

“Understood.”

Dianal and Kyle nodded.

And then—

“Next, Damian from the Neokalitz Unit! And Dianal, Kyle! Step forward!”

The three were called in succession. Exchanging brief nods, they raised their fists to each other before heading into the test grounds.

Damian picked up a spear from the weapon rack.

“Let’s see… I wonder what kind of perks will be given to the first soldier who defeated a knight in this test.”

Holding the spear, Damian approached the knight, mumbling to himself.

His gaze locked onto the knight standing before him.

* * *

Jeff was a knight of the Monster Knight Order.

Though his mana control was still immature, he possessed great strength and exceptional swordsmanship.

‘To think I’d be evaluating these random recruits…’

Jeff scowled as he looked at the candidates. He wouldn’t have come here if it weren’t for Instructor Leonhark’s request.

For the Monster Knight Order, Instructor Leonhark was like a mentor.

So, despite his displeasure, Jeff was present because of his request.

However…

“…Hmm?”

A recruit emerged from the weapon rack, wielding a spear.

There had been a few who chose spears before, but…

“What’s this?”

Unlike the previous candidates, this one had a notably youthful face.

Jeff furrowed his brow.

“Now they’ve even got kids coming…”

The sight of such a young-looking recruit filled him with an unexplainable irritation.

Jeff tossed his helmet carelessly to the ground and raised his sword toward the boy in front of him.

“Did you not hear that you could get seriously hurt? Don’t foolishly choose a dangerous path just because you’re feeling brave.”

“Hurt? You?”

“…This brat’s got a snake’s tongue.”

To think a single sentence could rile him up this much.

This kid must have only trained his tongue.

“You look like someone who needs a good beating to wake up.”

Jeff lifted his sword to shoulder height, pointing its tip forward.

Lowering his stance, he shifted his weight onto his front leg.

It was the charge stance of the kingdom’s swordsmanship, commonly used by the Monster Knight Order.

The boy standing before Jeff silently raised his spear.

It was Damian.

‘…It’s been a while since I’ve seen that stance.’

A strong dash followed by a rapid series of attacks—this was the hallmark of the kingdom’s swordsmanship.

Damian had faced it countless times before.

The sequence of raising the sword to shoulder height and thrusting forward with a dash, followed by a diagonal slash and an upward slash, was the essence of the kingdom’s swordsmanship.

Especially the charge stance, which often ended fights in just three moves.

However…

Pow!

Jeff kicked off the ground and charged at Damian.

Clearly intent on finishing it in one strike, his movements were entirely different from when he faced the previous candidates.

Whoosh!

Incredible speed.

Jeff intended to bring Damian down in an instant.

But

Swish!

Flick!

“…?!”

A sharp sting on his cheek.

Jeff’s eyes widened, and cold sweat trickled down his back.

“…What?”

Leonhark, watching the duel, couldn’t help but exclaim.

Before Jeff could completely close the distance, Damian’s spear had already grazed his cheek.

A thin line of blood trickled down his cheek.

Damian spoke to Jeff.

“Please, go all out.”

“…”

Jeff’s gaze sharpened.

Without a word, he took a couple of steps back, his grip on his sword tightening.

He spoke to Damian.

“I apologize for underestimating you.”

Swoosh.

Jeff wiped the blood from his cheek and raised his sword once more.

He assumed the same stance.

“This time, I will use my full strength.”

Damian pointed his spear at Jeff, matching the knight’s now serious demeanor.

‘I need to gauge… the gap between my current level and that of a knight.’

A knight, by definition, possessed combat abilities far superior to regular soldiers.

To put it mildly, a knight proficient in handling mana could easily take down twenty or thirty ordinary soldiers.

Right now, in this moment,

Damian sought to measure that gap.

By drawing out his opponent’s full power.

“Hoo…”

Damian took a deep breath, gripping his spear tightly.

Jeff’s eyes were markedly different from before.

Bzzz.

A faint aura of mana emanated from Jeff’s body.

‘He’s serious.’

Jeff’s declaration of going all out wasn’t just for show—he seemed prepared to kill Damian if necessary.

But there was no time for lengthy thoughts.

Boom!

The ground Jeff had pushed off from caved in slightly.

Like an arrow, Jeff’s figure shot toward Damian at incredible speed.

It all happened in a split second.

As Jeff closed in on Damian, he lunged with his sword.

Swoosh!

A thrust that tore through the air.

But at that moment—

Slick.

Whoosh!

“…!”

Jeff’s eyes widened as his sword sliced through nothing but air.

‘Did… did he just…?’

Before his sword even reached Damian,

‘He dodged?’

Damian had already begun evasive maneuvers the moment Jeff’s attack initiated.

Jeff bit his lip in disbelief.

“Hah!”

He retracted his thrust and immediately followed up with a diagonal slash.

But again, the result was the same.

Whoosh!

Jeff’s sword cut through empty space, and before he could complete his three-hit combo—

“Ugh!”

Damian’s spear shot forward, aiming straight for Jeff’s chest.

Clang!

Jeff hastily blocked Damian’s spear with his sword, but his pride had already been severely bruised.

“What the hell…!”

What kind of trick was this?

It felt as if he was fighting a ghost.

Like Damian knew exactly where his attacks were aimed.

“This is just the beginning.”

“…Damn it.”

With the continued onslaught, Jeff couldn’t help but curse under his breath.