The stone bead shot up... and stopped just short of the tenth mark.
"Spirit Energy Score: 9. You did not pass."
Leo Ashford’s hands began to shake. A whole year of sweat and effort... lost by a single point?
He gripped his wooden sword tighter. His eyes burned with the same stubborn fire as before.
"Master... please. Just one more chance."
A little earlier...
Warm morning sunlight spilled over Eldrin Town.
Three thousand families lived here. It sat on the southern edge of the Temple Alliance and was counted among the biggest villages of Moonhaven City.
In the middle of town stood a two-story building: Eldrin Hall. Today, the fate of thirty children would be decided inside it.
"Tell me!" a harsh voice thundered. "Why do you want to become knights?"
"To protect humanity! To protect the good! To protect the Temple Alliance! To protect our families!"
Thirty young voices rang out as one. They had clearly answered this a hundred times before.
The voice belonged to Master Garron, chief master of Eldrin Hall. He had broad shoulders and a face like carved stone. People whispered that in his prime, he had been only one step away from becoming a Genuine Knight.
"What are the ten standards of a knight?"
"Politeness! Honesty! Compassion! Courage! Fairness! Sacrifice! Respect! Perseverance! Humility! Justice!"
Garron gave a short nod. "Good. One year of training is over. Today is your test. Anyone with a Spirit Energy Score of at least 10 becomes a Knight Squire. As for the rest..."
He let the sentence hang in the air.
The children shivered.
Those who passed would train here for three more years. After that came the final test to become an official knight. And only a knight could call himself a true member of the Temple.
"Let’s begin. Jax Holt!"
A tall boy stepped forward and drew a wooden sword from his back. It was one meter long and ten centimeters wide. Every child here owned the same weapon, and nothing else.
In front of him sat a heavy wooden block, joined to a stone groove. Inside the groove rested a stone bead. Strike the block, and the bead would jump from the shock. The higher it jumped, the higher your Spirit Energy Score.
The method was old. But for measuring energy below 100, it was perfectly accurate.
On the Holy Demon Continent, this number decided everything about a person. Knight, mage, or anyone else. The average ordinary person scored 10.
"Haaah!"
Jax swung with both hands and every ounce of strength.
BANG!
The bead flew up, then dropped back down.
"Jax Holt, Spirit Energy Score: 13. Pass! Next!"
The test moved fast. Half the children were done, and about half of them had passed.
Then Garron called the next name.
"Leo Ashford."
His eyes lowered the moment he said it.
A thin little boy stood before him. Smaller than the others. A bit underfed. But his face... pale skin, big eyes, long lashes, black hair, deep blue eyes. Only eight or nine years old, yet so beautiful that even the girls felt jealous. Dress him in girl’s clothes, and no one would know the difference.
Leo did not draw his sword like the others. He placed his right hand over his heart and bowed.
"Master."
Garron’s stern face softened a little. "Begin."
"Yes, Master!"
Leo pulled out his sword, took a deep breath, and struck the block with everything he had.
The bead jumped. But it never reached the tenth mark.
Garron frowned. "Spirit Energy Score: 9. You did not pass."
He had seen it clearly. The boy had given everything. And still...
Leo’s face turned red with shame. "Master, I... I..."
"Step down."
"Master, please give me one more chance! I’ll pass, I promise!"
Garron hardened his voice. "That would be unfair to the children who failed."
Leo went silent. But the light in his eyes did not fade.
That look made Garron pause. What was it? Perseverance? The very perseverance written in the ten standards of a knight? Even many Genuine Knights failed to live up to some of those ten. And this boy...
Then Leo turned to the other children, the ones who had spent the whole year beside him. His voice held no pride at all.
"I’m begging all of you... please. Give me one more chance."
And then, in front of everyone, he dropped to his knees.
The whole hall went dead silent.
The children, only eight or ten years old, couldn’t understand why he was so desperate. But Garron knew this was not greed. It was not fear either. If it were any other child, he might have doubted. Not Leo.
Because all year long, this boy had been the hardest worker in the hall. He finished his daily work without being told. He came an hour early and left an hour late. No one ever had to push him. And whenever a classmate needed help, he dropped everything and ran to them.
Garron had been a master for ten years. He had never seen a student as diligent as Leo.
And if even this much effort wasn’t enough...
Then there was only one explanation.
Talent. This boy simply had none.
Yet on his knees, the boy’s eyes held not a trace of defeat.
Garron stared down at him for a long, heavy moment.
Then he opened his mouth to give his answer.