Apparently, there were about 7,000 examinees this year, and only about 1,400, or 20%, made it to the second exam. They were divided into rooms of 100 and took their seats.
"The exam time is 100 minutes. Begin!"
As soon as the examiner announced, hands shot up from the examinees.
"I forgot my writing utensil!"
"I forgot mine too!"
"Me too!"
...Yeah, about a third of the examinees seem to have forgotten their writing utensils.
The examiner was distributing writing utensils to those who had raised their hands.
I felt a bit warm and fuzzy as I looked down at the test paper.
I had heard that the written test for the knight corps wasn't that difficult...
'Question 1: Draw the uniform of the knight corps.'
"......"
Of course, I stared intently at the examiner!
The other examinees were doing the same, copying the uniform while looking at the examiner.
...What is this? They placed knights in uniform and asked us to draw the uniform. Is this a service?
"Hey, hey, what's this? It's better to focus on the questions rather than staring at me, isn't it?"
The examiner warned with a smirk.
...Ah, this is a serious question.
(The person who made the questions probably didn't expect that knights in uniform would be placed in the exam room...)
'Question 2: A young man is being chased by a boar, and a girl is chasing a rolled apple. What do you do?'
"......"
...I, I don't know the correct answer.
Should I skip it...
'Question 3: A senior knight was speaking ill of the head of the knight corps. What do you do?'
"......"
...Ah, geez.
I had heard that the exam questions were easy, but these are tough.
If I keep this up, I won't pass. I need to write something...
Let's see...
'Answer to Question 3: Agree with the senior knight who said, "The head of the knight corps is too strong, like a monster."'
Ah, this answer should work.
I turned the insult into something less offensive and agreed with the senior knight.
I'm starting to get the hang of it. I figured out the answer to Question 2 too.
'Answer to Question 2: Kick the boar with my right foot and grab the apple with my left hand.'
This is it!
I feel like I can solve anything.
Filled with baseless confidence, I tackled the questions one after another.
āāā
The third exam was a practical sword test.
It seems that the second exam doesn't have much impact unless something extraordinary happens, and the pass/fail decision is almost entirely based on the third exam.
Yeah, considering the content of the first and third exams, it's almost entirely about sword skills.
About 100 examiners stood on a raised platform. They looked to be in their mid-20s to early 30s, probably mid-level knights.
The examiner in the center began explaining with a clear voice.
"In the third exam, you will engage in a 3-minute mock battle with an examiner. The examiners will work in groups of three, with one as your opponent and the other two as judges. The focus is not on winning or losing; if the two judges determine that your performance is suitable for a knight, you will pass. You can use your own sword or the one provided by the knight corps. The examiners will use iron swords with blunted edges. That's all."
I decided to use my own sword.
It's the iron sword my father gave me when I completed my coming-of-age ceremony.
It looks like an ordinary sword, but it's actually enchanted with multiple effects.
It has double the attack power and double the speed, making it quite a good weapon.
Moreover, enchanted weapons usually glow, but I cast a spell to suppress the glow, making it look like an ordinary sword.
Hehe, actually, enchanting weapons is a "lost technology," so this sword is quite valuable.
After all, if you want an enchanted weapon, you can only get one from the "Golden Age relics" created during the era when enchantment magic was available, or by finding one in a treasure chest in a dungeon.
So, I suppressed the glow to prevent it from being recognized as valuable and to prevent theft.
The third exam was also divided by the first letter of the examinees' names, so I lined up in the F row.
I noticed that the women were clustered at the back of the line, so I made sure to line up at the back this time.
Most of the examinees seemed to prefer using their own familiar swords.
However, most of them were iron swords like mine, and there were no particularly expensive materials.
Well, that makes sense. This is the general exam.
Nobles and children of knight families would take the exam for graduates of the knight training school, so today's examinees are likely to be children of merchants or adventurers who have honed their skills for a few years.
The exam had already started, so I watched for a while. The examiners were indeed strong.
The difference between the examiners and the examinees was like that between adults and children.
As knights, they fight enemy soldiers and monsters every day, so their strength is natural. However, it might be better to think about how to lose rather than how to win...
While I was lost in thought, it seemed that the turn of the silver-haired handsome guy who spoke to me during the first exam had come.
Oh, good. He made it too.
Then, the mock battle began...
I was instantly drawn to the match.
The silver-haired handsome guy was overwhelmingly stronger compared to the other examinees.
In fact, his movements were no different from those of the examiners. He was maneuvering like a veteran knight.
Wow!
He's not going to beat the examiner, is he?
...I thought that, but as time passed, the speed of his sword swings slowed, and he started to lose ground, stepping back one or two steps when they clashed.
Huh?
His movements caught my attention, and I couldn't help but move closer to get a better look.
...Is he injured?
...His right arm is broken.
The examiners didn't seem to notice, but in my previous life, I was a great saint who healed people's injuries, so I'm better at identifying injuries than anyone else.
Every time he moved his arm, he must have been in excruciating pain.
Sweat was dripping from his forehead, and the speed of his sword swings was visibly slowing.
However, his expression showed no sign of pain, so the examiners didn't notice.
The silver-haired handsome guy's sword was finally knocked out of his hand and flew to my feet with a clang.
He ran over in a panic.
"I'm sorry! Are you hurt?"
Up close, his face was flushed, and he was breathing heavily, struggling to breathe.
His hair and clothes were drenched in sweat.
...Wow.
His right arm was completely broken, so every time he clashed with the sword, he must have been in excruciating pain.
Yet, he didn't make a sound or show any pain on his face. How much self-discipline does he have!
I picked up his sword, pretending to hand it to him, and touched his right arm.
"...I'm placing a protective blessing on your right arm."
Since I didn't use the 'core words' required to activate the magic, the effect was weak, but it should have alleviated the pain.
For about 5 minutes, he should be able to move without feeling the injury.
"...Huh?"
He must have noticed the pain was gone, as he looked at his right arm in surprise.
"The examiners are waiting."
When I called out to him, he turned around in a hurry.
"Ah, ah..."
Then, he climbed back onto the platform and resumed the mock battle with the examiner.
His movements were now powerful and fast, and he seemed to be on par with the examiner.
"Wow..."
I could hear a knight who was judging mutter in surprise.