At last, today had come.
It was the day of the exam for promotion to formal trainee.
Shuren and the other trainees rode in carriages to the location where the exam would be held.
“We've arrived! Trainees, disembark!”
At the instructor's order, all the trainees in the carriages got out.
Shuren looked around as he stepped down.
‘It's packed.’
There were already plenty of instructors, assistant instructors, and trainees, but today the children's parents had also come to observe.
In principle, trainees were not allowed to meet their parents during the enrollment period, but special observation was permitted on days when exams were held.
“We will begin the exam after a short break. Any trainees who wish to see their parents may do so now.”
Once the instructor gave permission, the trainees went off to find their parents.
Shuren was also able to meet his.
“You've worked hard, Shuren.”
“You've gotten so thin.”
If anything, he had put on more muscle.
Shuren did not bother saying that aloud and ruining the moment.
“Has it been difficult?”
“It was manageable.”
Shuren answered his father's question with a smile.
“Thank you for enduring it. I'm proud of you.”
His father hugged Shuren and patted his back.
“Red hair…….”
“Is that Shuren?”
Shuren could hear the murmuring around him.
“My, my. He clings to life as stubbornly as a cockroach.”
“He probably survived by scurrying around and running away. That luck ends with today's exam, though.”
Mocking voices came from around them.
His parents had ears as well, so they heard every word.
“Don't worry. I'll make sure those people can't even make a peep after this exam.”
Shuren spoke quietly.
“We only need you to stay healthy, Shuren.”
His parents nodded with reassuring expressions.
“Trainees, assemble again! The exam will begin shortly!”
It was time.
Shuren parted from his parents and lined up with the others.
“Thank you all for making it through the Probationary Course.”
Knight Commander Daryan stood at the front and began speaking.
“If you pass this exam, you will become formal trainees. Do your best.”
After Daryan, an instructor began explaining the exam.
“Do you see the several entrances ahead? That is the Mock Dungeon built for this exam. Once you enter, all you need to do is reach the objective.”
‘It's exactly what those kids told me before.’
It was obvious that trainees who knew this information in advance and prepared for it would have a much easier time passing the exam.
Of course, that had nothing to do with Shuren.
“There is also another way to pass. If you incapacitate five trainees, you will pass immediately.”
The trainees who already knew the contents listened quietly.
The children hearing it for the first time looked startled.
“The moment you enter the dungeon, every action you take will be recorded. Everything will be evaluated, so give it your all. Use any means necessary. Focus solely on passing the exam.”
The instructor finished explaining and returned to his place.
“Ah, one more thing.”
This time, Daryan spoke again.
“We will distribute one ring to each of you. Everyone must wear it.”
Some of the trainees looked puzzled.
They were the children who had already been briefed by their families about the exam.
Naturally, they could not help being confused.
The rings had been added at the last minute.
“These rings are enchanted with defensive magic. There were so many overly aggressive trainees in the previous class that an accident occurred. So we added a safety measure. The rings can easily block attacks at a trainee's level. Of course, they will not block every attack, only those that threaten your life. In other words, if the magic in your ring activates, you are eliminated.”
Daryan had gone through some trouble to obtain the rings.
They were fairly high-grade artifacts.
‘This is the best I can do.’
‘Commander……!’
Instructor Katen looked at Daryan.
Even Katen had not known about this.
After their last conversation, he had assumed the Knight Commander would leave the matter alone.
He had never expected Daryan to prepare a safety measure like this behind the scenes.
Katen found himself seeing Daryan in a new light.
“Seriously? We have to wear these?”
“This makes it feel less like the real thing…….”
Some trainees complained as they put on the rings they had been given.
“Thank goodness…….”
“Whew. At least we don't have to worry about dying.”
Others were visibly relieved.
‘They're making such a fuss just because one ring was added.’
Shuren silently put on his ring as he watched the trainees' reactions.
Since he had no idea the Knight Commander had prepared the rings for his sake, he could take the matter lightly.
“There are five entrances in total! From now on, you will be assigned to each entrance in the order your names are called.”
The trainees' names were called one after another.
Those whose names were called stood nervously in front of their assigned dungeon entrances.
“Shuren, Entrance Three!”
At last, Shuren's name was called.
Maintaining his calm, he headed toward the entrance assigned to him.
***
Step, step.
Ever since entering the dungeon, Shuren had continued forward without stopping.
“How is he walking through somewhere this dark without being scared?”
The trainees who entered with Shuren clicked their tongues as they watched him.
The dungeon was dim.
They still needed time for their eyes to adjust to the darkness.
But Shuren could move through darkness of this level easily enough.
“If that guy's willing to go first, there must not be anything up ahead.”
“I'm going too!”
‘……Are they idiots?’
Shuren was dumbfounded, but he had no intention of stopping people who volunteered to die first.
Instead, he slowed his pace a little.
A moment later—
“A-aagh!”
“Gah!”
Screams came from up ahead.
Shuren narrowed his eyes and assessed the situation.
‘Slimes.’
He heard impacts immediately afterward, followed by the activation of magic.
A Slime had attacked a trainee's vital point, triggering the defensive magic in the ring.
“What? They're just Slimes.”
“How are they getting taken out by Slimes?”
Ignoring the trainees who had already been eliminated, the others rushed forward and dealt with the Slimes.
“Haah…… I'll keep going for you.”
“Urgh…….”
The trainees snickered at the eliminated children and continued onward.
“They called this a dungeon, so I was nervous, but this is easy. Too easy~.”
Shuren merely followed them quietly.
‘They're going to get hit hard at this rate.’
Shuren's prediction soon came true.
CREEEAK—!
“Agh! The floor!”
“Aaaaaah!”
This time, it was a trap.
The trainees who had rushed ahead had apparently been so focused on monsters that they had completely forgotten traps existed.
WHIRR—
He heard the defensive magic activate.
‘They're eliminated too.’
Shuren clicked his tongue as he went around the trap.
‘Didn't they take the dungeon a little too lightly?’
Those idiots must have slept through their dungeon lectures.
Shuren guessed that this Mock Dungeon had been designed to be somewhat above the average trainee's level.
‘Otherwise, why would there be no restriction on forming teams?’
Still, anyone who advanced cautiously through the dungeon should be able to clear it.
Of course, expecting that kind of composure from such young trainees was difficult.
‘I've cleared dungeons far harder than this in my previous life.’
That was why Shuren was confident.
He knew dungeons well.
Now that the mediocre trainees had been eliminated, the passage Shuren had entered became considerably quieter.
He heightened his senses and continued forward.
Step, step.
‘The monsters' killing intent is getting stronger.’
Shuren sensed a large chamber ahead, along with monsters inside it.
‘Five of them, I think. Judging by their similar shapes, they seem to be the same kind.’
Shuren raised his sword.
Then he carefully moved forward.
Before long, the monsters came into view.
‘Goblins.’
They had not yet noticed Shuren's approach.
Shuren moved as close as possible.
SLASH—!
He burst forward in an instant and cut the throat of one Goblin.
“Gek!”
The startled Goblins immediately assumed combat stances.
But one after another, they lost their lives beneath Shuren's lightning-fast sword strikes.
***
Meanwhile, outside the Mock Dungeon.
The training center had prepared artifacts that allowed them to observe the inside of the dungeon.
Installed crystal spheres projected images into the air.
The parents waited at the exits, focused on their own children.
“Oh, for heaven's sake! That stupid brat……!”
“My son cut down a Slime in one strike!”
“Why doesn't he just fight the kids next to him?”
The parents' emotions rose and fell in stark contrast.
Some looked devastated because their children had been eliminated.
Others shouted useless advice that could never reach the trainees.
“Haah.”
Knight Commander Daryan sighed as he watched them.
‘And these are supposed to be trainees of a Knight Training Center…….’
Eliminations had begun piling up from the very start.
And all because of easy monsters and simple traps placed near the beginning.
Of course, those children would all have passed if the test had merely been about mana or swordsmanship.
Their failure to clear the Mock Dungeon was a problem of experience and mental fortitude.
‘That excuse wouldn't work on a battlefield.’
From a knight's perspective, a dungeon of this level could barely even be considered a battlefield.
Still, once the exam progressed to a certain point, the number of eliminations dropped sharply.
Normally, trainees continued dropping out as the exam went on, but this class was different.
That, at least, was fortunate.
It meant the overall level of the remaining trainees in this class was high.
‘But now some of them will start showing their fangs.’
The trainees who had survived this far had already adapted to the dungeon.
If nothing unexpected happened, reaching the objective would only be a matter of time.
But some trainees intended to pass by taking out other trainees instead.
The Mock Dungeon's terrain had been designed with that in mind.
There were several entrances, but as they progressed, the routes were eventually bound to converge.
Before long, trainees began fighting one another.
“You…… Perfect timing!”
Two trainees who encountered each other in a passage crossed swords.
“W-why are you doing this?! We're on the same team!”
Some teams even collapsed into infighting.
Among them, Jake's group stood out in particular.
The boys who always moved together during training had formed a team inside the dungeon as well.
‘They caused plenty of trouble at the training center…… but their skills are undeniably good.’
That was Knight Commander Daryan's assessment as he watched Jake's group.
They had at least a rough understanding of dungeon exploration.
They did not simply bunch together and rely on numbers.
They were advancing with their positions assigned according to each member's abilities.
On top of that, they had subdued several trainees who were on the verge of elimination and were dragging them along.
‘No way…….’
The Knight Commander realized what they intended to do.
WHOOSH—!
“Aaaagh!”
They shoved or threw the captured trainees into areas where traps were obviously hidden.
‘Cunning bastards.’
Cruel though it was, it was still one way to survive.
“Pirian!”
“What are they doing?!”
But naturally, parents watching their own children being treated that way were horrified.
They protested to the instructors, but it accomplished nothing.
The rules had explicitly stated that the trainees could use any means necessary.
‘But Jake himself is missing from the group he's supposed to be leading.’
The Knight Commander looked around until he spotted Jake's image projected in one corner.
Even alone, Jake was tearing through the dungeon at an astonishing pace.
“He's just cutting the monsters down one after another.”
“The young master from the direct line really is different.”
Several people exclaimed in admiration at the sight of Jake.
They were not exaggerating.
Anyone who saw Jake in action would have given him the same evaluation.
“Ahem, ahem.”
Jake's parents watched their son's performance with satisfied expressions.
“Your son is incredibly talented.”
“Haah. If only my child were half as capable as Lord Jake.”
“Lord Jake will surely grow to become as outstanding as Lord Atun.”
As people gathered around and showered them with flattery, Jake's parents' shoulders rose higher and higher.
But Jake was not the only one receiving the spotlight.
“Huh?”
“Who's that red-haired boy?”
On another projection, a trainee was charging forward like a flame.
Only monster corpses remained wherever his sword passed.
“Is that the Shuren everyone's been talking about?”
“Ah…… the branch family that fell and was absorbed.”
“How did this happen? That boy looks strong too.”
Some even wondered if he was moving faster than Jake.
That was how terrifyingly fast Shuren was tearing through the dungeon.