After the ideological screening, we were given a break. A meal came out in the meantime, and the quality was remarkably good.
'Bread this soft?'
I marveled as I ate. The bread was so soft it melted the moment I chewed. I was smacking my lips, regretting that I'd finished it so fast, when I heard complaints beside me.
"Son of a bitch, they expect us to eat this?"
"You could use it as a hammer. Isn't this a bit much?"
If this was a hammer, then was the bread on the front Mjölnir? I couldn't help but frown at the spoiled griping.
"Good to meet you, friend. I'm Kellin."
Just then the big man, Kellin, came over, wore a good-natured smile, and held out his hand. When I gripped his hand, Kellin put strength into it. His grip was pretty strong. Of course, that was all it was.
When I put strength into mine, Kellin's face crumpled in an instant.
"Gwaaah! I yield! I yield!"
Kellin let out a noisy scream. When I let go, Kellin shook out his hand and stared at me with astonished eyes.
"What kind of grip—"
Whew. Kellin let out a sigh, then suddenly struck a grave pose.
"I knew my hunch was right."
"Hunch?"
"Every time I take the Security Corps exam, I've got an uncanny knack for guessing who'll come in first. I've taken it four times now, and I've never once been wrong. This time, friend, it'll be you in first."
Kellin prattled noisily.
"You've taken the Security Corps exam four times?"
"Ahem, my goal is the Elite Security Corps, you see. I passed for the General Corps but turned it down."
"The Elite Security Corps?"
"Friend, you don't know a thing about the Security Corps."
Kellin grinned as if he'd expected as much. I nodded readily.
"I don't."
The heart of this game was the students and professors. The Security Corps' role was very small. Something like a signal flare announcing that an event had occurred. Or showing up late to strike a pose and clean up the aftermath. They were nothing but extras, so it was only natural I had no information on the Security Corps.
"Ahem. Elysium Academy's Security Corps comes in two kinds. The General Security Corps and the Elite Security Corps. Well, we call them both Security Corps, but they're completely different."
"Different?"
"Of course! Starting with the pay — the Elite Corps gets ten times what the General Corps does, and the treatment's completely different too. The General Corps is basically like mercenaries guarding the outer wall, but the Elite Corps is the heart of Elysium Academy's security."
"And the General Corps?"
"The General Corps? The General Corps is just a labor crew running their fucking asses off in endless circles. Mostly out at the outer wall. They never even lay eyes on the academy's main hall."
'Ah. So what I saw was the Elite Security Corps.'
It seemed the Security Corps I'd seen in the game was the Elite Corps. The reason I'd chosen the Security Corps was that it carried little story weight while making it easy to approach the students and professors. If I slipped up and ended up in the General Corps, my whole plan would be thrown off.
"How do you get into the Elite Corps?"
"Heh heh. Place in the top two on the Security Corps exam, and you get drafted into the Elite Corps. It's brutally hard."
There were close to a thousand applicants on the spot. And I had to place in the top two of that—.
"More lax than I expected."
"Lax?"
When I nodded, Kellin twitched his eyes and looked at me. Just then, right on cue, the examiner stepped forward.
"All right, we'll move to the fourth testing ground."
The next testing ground was a well-kept, sand-covered parade ground, and it was quite large.
"The fourth test is a one-on-one match against an Elite Security Corps guard. Your score is set by how long you hold out. You could say this is where the Elite and General Corps are divided. The most important thing is the test supervisor."
Kellin, who had stuck to my side at some point, explained in a low voice.
"The test supervisor?"
"How many to take into the Elite Corps is decided directly by that test's supervisor. Some supervisors have taken five before; some have taken just one."
"So they take at least one, then."
When I nodded lightly, Kellin chuckled.
"That's some serious confidence."
Just then, men in security uniforms stepped forward. At their center stood a man with a goatee. From the general air of it, the goateed man seemed to be the test supervisor. At the sight of him, Kellin's expression twisted.
"This time the supervisor's Bedrick. Damn it."
"What's wrong?"
"Bedrick's famous for being so picky he hardly ever takes anyone into the Elite Corps."
Just then, the goateed man stepped forward.
"Good to meet you. I'm Bedrick, squad leader of the 4th Squad of the Elite Security Corps. The fourth test is simple. When called, come out and fight a one-on-one match against an Elite Corps guard. You're scored by how long you hold out."
"I have a question! Senior Bedrick!"
Kellin shot his hand up. At the sight of Kellin, the goateed man scowled.
"Who's your senior."
The goateed man rebuffed him openly, but far from being cowed, Kellin grinned and asked again.
"Haha, how many are you taking into the Elite Corps this year?"
Hearing the question, the goateed man raised one corner of his mouth. It was a deeply malicious smile.
"This year, none."
"......What?"
Kellin stammered, flustered.
"The Elite Security Corps is normally filled only with those vetted by recommendation. We draft from here only when those numbers fall short. But this year recommendations overflowed, so what reason is there to pick from a batch of dregs like this?"
The goateed man swept his gaze over the applicants, full of contempt. At that cold stare, the mood of the testing ground sank in an instant.
"Damn it, this year's a bust too. Of all people, getting stuck with Bedrick. Damn Bedrick. Tough luck for you too, friend. You'd have been picked for sure otherwise. But after Bedrick said all that, he absolutely won't take anyone."
Kellin warned me seriously. But I didn't particularly care. I just had to make it so he had no choice but to take me.
The fourth test began. The Elite Corps guards lined up, each in formation. From the very air about them, they were a class apart from the rabble gathered here. There was a reason the goateed man had called the applicants "dregs."
Of course, that made no difference to me either way.
The applicants who'd heard the goateed man's blunt assessment stormed up huffing, but they were no match. The applicants couldn't land a single blow on the examiners and were beaten one-sidedly. This wasn't a test; it was an assault.
"S-stop! I quit! I'll quit!"
"There's no such thing as quitting."
One applicant who couldn't endure cried out mid-match, but the Elite Corps guards didn't stop their kicking. They stopped only after the applicant passed out.
"Next."
At that, applicants giving up came one after another.
"Damn it, Bedrick. He's set on crushing their spirits. Beating them that viciously."
Kellin ground his teeth, watching the goateed man. At that, a question rose in me.
"Vicious? Isn't that fairly gentlemanly?"
"That's gentlemanly? Friend, is something wrong with your eyes? Normally they just eliminate you with moderation. They don't beat you like they mean to kill you."
Kellin shot back with an astonished face.
'My standards have gotten too tuned to the battlefield.'
Having come from the battlefield, there seemed to be a gap between common sense and my own standards. Still, I believed my standards were the correct ones. Someday the whole continent would become a battlefield.
Soon Kellin's name was called. Kellin's assigned examiner was a short fellow. Recognizing Kellin, the examiner raised one corner of his mouth.
"Kellin, you vermin, still haven't given up? The General Corps is just right for you."
At the sight of him, Kellin scrunched up his face.
"He took the exam alongside me last year. A fucking unpleasant bastard. Damn it, of all people, getting stuck with him. Whew."
After a low sigh, Kellin let out a thunderous battle cry and went up. His spirit was good. No — only his spirit was good.
'Pathetic.'
Kellin's skill was pathetic. His strength was on the stronger side, but his movements were far too sluggish and predictable. The opponent's skill, by contrast, was decent. He could have settled it in a single stroke, yet he didn't finish it, drumming Kellin here and there. A vicious mockery.
Kellin got back up several times, shouting "Security Corps spirit!" His battle cries were fine enough, but the result didn't change. Whump — a security baton drove into his solar plexus, and Kellin toppled with a thud.
"Kellin, you pass for the General Corps."
The examiner spat on the back of the fallen Kellin's head. Kellin clenched his fists, trembling.
"Grave."
Just then, my name was called. As it happened, it was the turn right after Kellin's. Kellin looked up at me with a bruised face. The sparkle in his eyes had dimmed a notch. Tsk. I clicked my tongue softly and picked up the practice wooden sword.
"Friend—"
"Right. The score's based on how long I hold out, was it?"
At my question, Kellin nodded blankly. Looking at him, I added,
"How many points for beating the examiner to a pulp?"
At my question, Kellin's eyes went wide, then curved into an arc.
"Even as a joke, that's satisfying to hear."
It wasn't a joke, but I didn't bother to explain.
"Friend!! Land him a proper one!!"
Kellin shouted from behind. He must have already recovered his spirit, because his voice was thunderous. So thunderous that every eye in the testing ground swung to me.
All the better. This way, they wouldn't be able to pretend it never happened and weasel out of it.
"Hurry up. I've got to eat lunch."
The examiner crooked a finger. He seemed to be striking a pose, but since what he wore was a sorry-ass security uniform, it wasn't particularly cool, so it had no effect.
Just as he wanted, I kicked off the ground at once. The distance closed in an instant, and my wooden sword went for his solar plexus. Startled, he hastily lowered his wooden sword.
'Slow as molasses.'
Tak! The wooden swords clashed with a crisp sound. His wooden sword was shoved back hard.
"What kind of strength—"
He tried to readjust his grip, but his stance had already collapsed. My wooden sword struck his wide-open thigh. Pak! His leg buckled, and his balance lurched badly. When I bore down with the sword, he couldn't hold and dropped to one knee.
This would have been enough to admit defeat, yet he bit down hard. He had no intention of giving up. Of course, I had no intention of accepting a surrender either.
When I raised the wooden sword, he instinctively guarded high. Clumsy. Enough to make me yawn.
Pak — the tip of my foot landed cleanly on his chin. His eyes went slack and he started to crumple right there. But I wasn't allowing him to fall just yet. I'd come away from the front with a few hard-won realizations.
'When you stamp something down, do it thoroughly.'
Do it halfway, and it turns into poison instead. My wooden sword hauled the collapsing man back up. Fixing him in place, I swung my fists. Crisp sounds burst out in succession.
He opened his mouth. He seemed to mean to concede. I grabbed his trap and swung the wooden sword. I beat him an extra round, multiplied by the number of applicants he'd trampled.
And at last—. Thud! He crumpled wretchedly.
"Pathetic."
I clicked my tongue and looked around. Everyone was staring at me with astonished faces. The parade ground, where hundreds had gathered, was silent. A pleasant sort of silence.
Just then, my eyes met the goateed man's. The goateed man's face had gone red and he was trembling. He seemed to be thoroughly furious. Looking at him, I asked,
"Do I pass?"
The goateed man chewed at his lip. As I was about to ask again, the answer came from elsewhere.
"Friend! Of course you pass!!!!"
Kellin's thunderous voice shook the testing ground.