Several days had passed since I began recruiting new members.
I had started assigning each of them tasks according to their respective fields. I had around five thousand Gulden as my initial capital for building this organization.
There were three currencies used in Path of Destiny, Gulden—gold coins, with one Gulden being equivalent to 100 Silver; Silver—silver coins, with one Silver equivalent to 100 Kufer; and Kufer, the name given to coins made of copper.
The largest portion of my funds was allocated to establishing a Trade Guild, which was placed under the leadership of Joff Bozes. The bald man had already begun planning to open several trading posts throughout the Aragon Empire.
The second project was the establishment of an information-gathering center.
For this, I assigned Mai Khalisa, an experienced former courtesan, to open a brothel in the entertainment district. The establishment would serve as a front, with its true purpose being to function as the organization's information hub.
Mai would be assisted by Karl Johnson, who would act as the head of security there. He would also be responsible for placing several agents in key locations and collecting up-to-date reports on the conditions across various regions of the Empire.
The third branch was the Armory, led by Olen Mask. Its task was to manufacture weapons and other equipment needed to ensure that the operations carried out by the team I was building within the Disciplinary Committee could proceed smoothly.
Once a month, I would visit each branch to evaluate the organization's progress.
I had named the organization La Escudo.
"Attention!"
Instructor Torun's voice echoed across the academy grounds.
The second-year students had gathered on the field to receive their final instructions regarding the Survival Exam, which would begin today.
"Starting today, you will undergo a three-stage Survival Exam," the instructor explained to the students. "You will compete to accumulate points throughout this examination. The twenty students with the lowest scores will be declared failures and will not be allowed to proceed to the next stage."
Grunbelt Academy was extremely strict with its students.
Those who were eliminated during the first stage of the exam were almost guaranteed to be unable to participate in the promotion examination at the end of the year, as the points they had accumulated would not be enough to meet the required total.
Moreover, there were always casualties during the annual Survival Exam.
It wasn't that the academy simply allowed its students to die. Rather, the difficulty of the examination was simply that high.
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Students who lacked confidence in their abilities could withdraw beforehand. However, many of them stubbornly chose to participate, underestimating the difficulty of the exam and ultimately losing their lives.
In a way, the Survival Exam also taught students to properly assess their own strength and understand the limits of what they could accomplish.
After receiving their instructions, the students immediately headed toward the academy's main gate.
Numerous horse-drawn carriages were lined up outside.
"Each student, please board the carriage assigned to you! Each carriage can accommodate a maximum of five people!" Instructor Torun shouted.
The students began climbing into their respective carriages.
We would first travel to Murcia City, which was approximately 100 kilometers away. By carriage, the journey would take around two days.
I was walking around, looking for a carriage I could board.
However, it seemed that every carriage was already filled with academy students.
Do I have to arrange my own transportation to the examination site?
"Hey, Raul."
I turned around when I heard someone call my name.
"Come with us."
The convoy of carriages had already left the Imperial Capital.
We were currently traveling along one of the Empire's designated roads, which connected several important transportation points throughout the country.
Unlike ordinary roads, these Imperial roads were much wider and more comfortable to travel on, allowing us to reach our destination significantly faster than we normally would.
Inside the carriage I was riding in, an awkward atmosphere had settled over everyone.
Sitting across from me were three people, each with a different hair color.
I turned my head and glared at the woman responsible for putting me in this situation.
"President, why did you invite them into this carriage?" I asked, my dissatisfaction evident in my voice.
"Every student is allowed to board this carriage, Raul. Besides, isn't this a good opportunity for all of you to become closer? You're classmates, after all. You should learn to get along," Elena replied with a smile, clearly enjoying my predicament.
This woman knew exactly what would happen and still deliberately put us in the same carriage.
I glanced toward Valeria.
Her green eyes were filled with hatred as she stared at me. It seemed that if we weren't surrounded by other people, she would have slapped me again just as she had before.
"Keep your filthy gaze away from me, you disgusting noble," Valeria spat.
I shifted my gaze toward the man sitting beside her.
Brian was looking at me with a smug expression.
I suppose that was understandable. He had recently defeated me and proven his strength in front of the woman he loved.
He was far too stupid to realize that I had deliberately lost to him back then.
Finally, there was Ariel.
She was playing with a strand of her hair, seemingly unsure of what to say in this situation.
After several hours of traveling, our convoy stopped near a lake to rest and give the horses some water.
I stepped out of the carriage and searched for a comfortable place where I could organize my preparations for our arrival in Murcia City.
There were going to be countless events during this Survival Exam.
The climax would occur during the third stage, when the assassins hired by the original Raul to eliminate Brian would massacre the students they encountered in the Monster Forest.
"I have to prevent it. The academy students won't stand a chance against professional assassins..."
[3rd PoV]
Inside a cave located in the western region of the Empire, more than a dozen mysterious figures had gathered to discuss something.
They were the group of assassins previously hired by Raul to kill Brian.
"We don't have much time left. The boss ordered us to kill a blond-haired kid," said a masked man.
"One thousand Gulden just to kill an academy student? What exactly did this poor kid do to that noble's son for him to send professional assassins after him?" asked a woman as she sharpened the knife in her hand.
"Well... His motive isn't our concern. But security during the exam is bound to be quite tight," the masked man replied. "Foxy, you'll be responsible for distracting the instructors while the rest of us locate and eliminate the target."
The woman known as Foxy smiled upon hearing her assignment.
"Heee~ Playing cat and mouse with the instructors, huh? Sounds interesting. I wonder just how strong those academy instructors really are."