Way of the Knights

---

As Carl made the announcement, the Strength Measuring Pillar receded back into the ground. With another smack of his cane, the whole stadium shook and changes started occuring.

The tiled floor parted revealed a pool which is at least 8 meters deep and 10 meters wide. There are several platforms made out of stone that are scattered across the surface of the water as well as some mounted crossbows on the side.

"To pass the Speed Test, you have to step in each platform while dodging the paintball that would be shot out by the mounted crossbows. You have one minute to do this, you're also allowed to be hit by the paintball but only three times. Once time runs out and you're still not finished, or you got hit more than three times, you fail. Take the exam whenever you're ready."

As the rules were given, the crew looked at each other and nodded. Nothing needs to be said since they already decided on what order they will go. The crowd also heard the rules and began talking amongst themselves.

"Man, these tests are surely different from the previous ones…"

"Oh? How can you tell?"

"I've watched at least 5 groups of examinees take the Promotion Tests."

"Hoh! That's a lot."

"I know right? But this is the first time that I've seen people who are this young to take the exams. Usually the ones who take the tests are anywhere from 18 and above years old."

"From the looks of it, these kids aren't even fifteen. So young and so strong already, how envious."

"I feel you on that." The guy totally agreed with him. "Anyway, like I was saying. The tests seemed to change each time. Last time, the speed test is just a basic sprint from one end of the arena to the other, but now they have this instead."

"In my opinion, this is their way of raising the quality of our soldiers. I heard that the fight for resources are tough in the Inner Branch…"

"Tough but extremely rewarding." The man corrected. "I have a nephew who studied there for years now, and ever since he stepped on that place, his strength just shot up through the roof."

"Man, that must be nice, I also heard that if your accumulation of merits are enough, then nobility is at hand."

"That is correct, that's also why my nephew is working hard in there. He's just a couple of mission away from acquiring a title."

"Oh! It's about to start. Let's pay attention."

"Alright."

***

Needless to say, the Speed Test was just like a walk in the park for the crew.

All of them passed without even breaking a sweat. But because of the way the test work, the difference between each member of the crew became even more obvious to the crowd.

They performed wonderfully in the test but the one who truly shone in the exams were Anne and Mark.

Anne performed like the swan goddess, her graceful figures and movement captured the heart of the crowd. Her steps were like feathers gently falling to the ground and even the way she avoided the paintball projectiles were extremely eye catching. She was extremely flexible, the crowd held their breaths each time she nearly got hit with the projectiles only for her to bend in unnatural angles and avoid them by the hem of her clothes.

Contrary to what she showed, Mark performance could be summed up with two words: Swift and Aggressive.

He jumped from one platform after another like a pouncing cheetah. He didn't even bothered dodging the projectiles and instead sliced them in half before they could even land on his body. Pearl, Mark's mother, crazily cheered him on while Leon was struck dumb by his own son's performance. This was mainly because the way on how Mark performed in the test. His movements were extremely similar to the way he fought.

Leon always knew that Mark was secretly watching him whenever he trained. Although he had to admit that he felt a great disappointment when he learned that his son failed to inherit talent, that was mainly because of the treatment Mark will have when word of it comes out. And just like he thought, even his own clan mistreated him. In order to not commit any serious crime against his own clan, he decided to focus on his work and dump his disappointments into slaying beasts that threaten the safety of his home.

This is also the reason why his wife was mad at him since he only warned them with words and did not set an example.

"Splendid performance!" Carl praised after the crew managed to pass the second test. "Let's move on to the third test!"

One smack of his cane and the stadium returned to it's normal state. Another smack and the a thick mist started pouring out from the edges of the arena. The visibility inside went down at an alarming pace. The mist became so thick that no regular human being could see through properly.

Fortunately, a screen of light emerged on top of the arena. It followed a rectangular shape and showed the situation inside with a better visibility.

"Perception Test. Your task is to disable the dart-shooting dummies inside the arena. There will be 15 of such dummies and you have to disable all of them. The hit limit is raised to 10, and the time limit is set of 5 minutes. Go in once you're ready." Carl sat went down the arena after telling them the instructions.

And just like before, the crew followed the previous order. Anne will go first, followed Mark, Ellen, Paul, Luna and finally, Raven.

Continuing the trend of showing off their prowess. The crew once again astonished the crowd with the results of the test.

"Anne Fiore, 3 minutes and 15 seconds, unscathed. Pass!"

The only reason why she took that amount of time is because this was the first time she had to shoot while having low visibility. She trained with stationary and moving targets as well as her movement and firing rate coordination before but never in the middle of this dense mist. Nevertheless, she still did a great job on this test.

"Mark Anderson, 2 minutes and 15 seconds, unscathed. Pass!"

Since deflecting attacks isn't considered as a hit, then Mark abused that by deflecting each attacks while slicing each dummies in a swift manner. And because he trained his swordsmanship to a high degree, he could use one sword for deflecting the attack and use the other to disable the dummies by slicing them in half.

There is a pause in between attempts since the staff had to replace the ruined dummies with new and functional ones before they could move on to the next person.

"Ellen Redcrest, 3 minutes, unscathed. Pass!"

She also did have difficulties due to the visibility, nevertheless that didn't stop her from ruining each dummies in a more aggressive manner than Mark. She sent one sword wave after another, leaving the dummies severed in half. She also didn't like dodging the darts so she just sliced them along with the ones that shot them in first place.

"Paul Gregory, 3 minutes and 32 seconds, unscathed. Pass!"

Like a true defender, Paul raised his shield and blocked the hail of darts coming his way. This time, wielding his spear, he slowly marched towards one dummy after another and pierced their chest. His shield constantly rang with clanking noises because of the darts hitting it. The force behind each shot never fazed him as he was used to enduring heavier hits compared to these. To him, it felt like he was being shot with toothpicks instead darts.

"Luna Moonsong, 2 minutes and 50 seconds, unscathed. Pass!"

Showing off her spear mastery, Luna became a fierce warrior that charged towards the dummies and teared through their numbers. While she was a tad slower than Mark, it was mainly because she has to dodge darts on the way. It was definitely surprising for someone so innocent looking like her to transform into a fearsome fighter when the situation calls for it. Just the image of slicing one dummy after another made the boys go crazy for her, even the females admired her strength and beauty. Unknown to her, she became a great inspiration towards the girls and became a role model.

"Vendrick Valorheart, 59 seconds, unscathed. Pass!"

This result was just outright insane to anyone who heard it. Even though the screen showed the whole process on how Raven achieved this, many people still find this hard to accept.

This mist is not even enough to obstruct his vision in the slightest. He could see each dummy as clear as daylight and he could even count how many projectiles are coming his way. Raven didn't use punches or weapons to disable the dummies. Instead, he picked up rocks scattered around the arena and threw them on each dummy's head. He did the staff a favor and didn't heavily damage the dummies, the force behind his throws were just enough to knock them down.

Still, his methods appeared truly bizzar for everyone who was watching.