Gigiik- The bow limb, pulled beyond its tension limit, starts to tremulously shake like madness. Surprisingly, the bow endured until the arrow was shot, despite looking like it could snap at any moment.
Originally crafted for Aura Users, this bow had a stronger tension than those used by regular soldiers. By infusing it with Aura, it was possible to unleash power exceeding its original tension.
The arrow thus shot didn’t feel like it came from an individual’s bow; rather, it obliterated all targets as if fired from a large ballista.
“…Kail Meyer, 100 points.”
“Thank you.”
After lightly thanking the professor, Kail put down the bow and headed to the back row. Even though he had never properly learned archery, his Aura Master physique allowed him to display decent skill.
He wasn’t at the level of hitting a coin hundreds of meters away, but he could reliably hit a human target. That was enough for Kail. After all, he was True Silver Rozario, not a star of bows but of swords.
As he returned to his seat, Arthur looked at him in astonishment.
“That was impressive, Kail. When did you learn archery?”
“When I was young? I was told that a knight must excel at everything, so I learned it once. But I quit because it didn’t suit me.”
“That didn’t suit you?”
“Nudging shots from afar isn’t very manly, is it?”
“Big Man……? What’s that?”
Seeing Arthur tilt his head, Kail vaguely mentioned that such a thing existed and moved on. As they chattered, other cadets began to approach them slowly.
“Um… Kail?”
“Yeah, what is it?”
“Could you teach me how to shoot a bow?”
The one who asked was a female cadet with a large chest. Her face was plain, but her figure was anything but. Her overly large chest interfered with her archery, which was why her skills weren’t great.
Kail nodded after observing her and stood up.
“What don’t you understand?”
“Well… I don’t even know how to hold it.”
“Alright, here’s how you hold a bow—”
Arthur watched with a bitter smile as Kail began teaching the cadet with active gestures. To anyone else, it might have seemed like he had ulterior motives, but Kail only touched her to guide her, nothing more.
To Arthur, Kail was just being kind to women with large chests. Later, when asked, Kail explained that if there were more women with large chests, the world would eventually be full of them, so he felt compelled to protect them—a somewhat deranged reason.
‘Even though he flirts around like that, he doesn’t go all the way in real combat…’
Arthur knew that despite Kail’s apparent interest in chests, he never actually touched them. After all, he had a fiancée with a large chest right beside him, yet he never laid a hand on her.
Kail simply liked chests in a pure sense. Yes, purely, as if devoid of any other desires.
“Arthur, what are you doing?”
“Huh?”
“You’ve never learned archery, right? Come here, I’ll teach you.”
“Oh, okay. Thanks.”
That’s why, no matter how flirtatious he seemed, Arthur couldn’t bring himself to hate him. Dusting off his rear, Arthur got up and approached Kail.
*
“—Next week, there will be a midterm test.”
At Gawein’s words, the cadets of the Knight Department swallowed hard. The midterm test that ranked the Academy’s cadets was already next week, causing them to tense up.
Seeing the stiffened cadets, Gawein chuckled lightly, reassuring them not to worry.
“Don’t worry too much. Since it’s your first test as freshmen, it won’t be that difficult.”
“—Professor, can we know the test content?”
“Yes, let me explain. For you in the Knight Department, there will be no written exam.”
“Ooooh─.”
The Knight Department cadets cheered at the absence of a written exam. Not just Kail, but many others dreaded studying for written tests.
Watching their excitement, Gawein reminded them there was no need to get too excited.
“The reason we don’t have a separate written test is simple. The purpose of studying theory is to apply it in practicals.”
“Professor, what do you mean by that…?”
“All the things you’ve learned—map reading, fortification, mercenary tactics, concealment, strategy and tactics—we’ll confirm whether you’ve mastered them through practical tests.”
At these words, the cadets who had been relieved about skipping the written exam sighed deeply. It meant practical tests involving all those topics were prepared.
Beyond the sighing cadets, Gawein started giggling, saying he had prepared something fun for the practicals.
“Oh, and—the test field where you’ll take the exam is created by the magic department cadets themselves… This is part of their test too. So, if any issues arise, their scores will drop. Keep that in mind.”
“We’ll engrave that into our heads.”
“Good, that’s all for the midterm explanation. Great work today. Dismissed.”
Without waiting for a farewell, Gawein left, and behind him echoed the representative cadet’s loud salute. The Knight Department cadets began leaving the classroom one by one.
Some lazily headed straight to the dormitory, while others went to the training ground to prepare for the test.
Kail was neither. He neither slacked off nor enthusiastically trained.
‘Who am I fighting again in this test?’
He was recalling the game’s content. Since he fought constantly in the game, he couldn’t remember who, when, or where he fought.
He barely remembered what he ate for lunch the day before, let alone a game he played 15 years ago. There was no way he’d remember.
What was certain was that this test wouldn’t end ordinarily.
‘There was definitely something…’
“Hey.”
‘Who was it again? Someone pretty rude, I think…’
“Are you ignoring me?”
Tuk- Kail tilted his head at someone blocking his path. Turning his head belatedly, he saw Hundred standing there.
Not a commoner but a cadet of mercenary origin. Consequently, he was shunned by both nobles and commoners alike, making him the Knight Department’s top problem child.
Having no connection with him, Kail shrugged, asking what the matter was.
“Oh, I was lost in thought. What’s up?”
“—You, stop womanizing.”
“What? Womanizing?”
“I’m sick of watching you flirt with girls and grope them. Cut it out.”
Kail tilted his head, unable to comprehend. Flirting with girls? Me? When?
Closing his eyes to think for a moment, the conclusion that he had never done such a thing popped into his mind repeatedly.
“I haven’t done that.”
“Ha, I saw you today, approaching girls and touching them!”
“They approached me first!”
“Bullshit, probably ordered them to come since you’re a noble. They couldn’t refuse anyway.”
“—Ah, do you like that girl?”
With a mischievous grin, Kail teased him, causing Hundred to glare fiercely. It felt like a punch was about to fly any moment.
But even if the opponent swung a sword instead of a fist, Kail had no intention of stopping his taunting.
“But what can you do? Seems like no one will go for a non-noble like you.”
“You, you bastard─.”
“Oh, why? Want to throw a punch?”
Taunting as if knowing Hundred wouldn’t dare—Hundred immediately swung his fist. Mercenaries had this problem: they took pride in their lack of patience.
Though understandable given the cutthroat nature of the mercenary industry—old habits die hard, especially those ingrained from youth.
Whizz- Kail lightly caught the incoming fist, twisted Hundred’s arm, subdued him easily, then tapped his butt and pushed him away.
“You, youuuu…….”
“You can’t fight, you’re not a noble, and you’re ugly. Who would like you?”
“You damn─!”
Before Hundred could draw his sword, Kail stepped closer, grabbed the sword hilt, and pushed it back into the scabbard, whispering in his ear.
“Don’t draw it.”
“—Huh?”
Tuk- Pushing Hundred away, Kail smirked and patted his shoulder. Hundred, staring blankly, seemed to realize belatedly whom he had picked a fight with.
In the mercenary world, the second most important rule was to not be underestimated—but the first was gauging your opponent’s strength.
Picking fights required assessing the opponent beforehand.
His honed intuition began ringing alarm bells late—drawing his sword would have meant death.
“If you want to fight that badly, see you during the test.”
Watching Hundred freeze in fear, Kail turned and walked away. Immediately, he pinched his nose and grimaced.
‘What kind of guy pisses like that….’
His nose felt like it was rotting. The Aura Master’s body was sensitive even in situations like this, which was the problem.
