Chapter 44 Entrance Exam (5)
Startled birds burst into flight from the forest in unison at the explosion.
The dust, dense as fog, formed a thick curtain, completely blocking the view of the trail.
Even Cecil, who had some knowledge of explosions, couldn’t comprehend how it had been triggered.
The man had clearly had empty hands. Seeing the strong magical aura, it seemed like it could be magic.
“Cough! Damn it, this dust.”
“Aaagh! It won’t come off!”
“Quick, finish that bastard off!”
The scene descended into chaos in an instant.
Soon, flashes of light flickered several times within the dust cloud.
A fight was taking place, but without the sound of weapons clashing – only occasional cries of death echoed through the air.
After a moment, all sounds abruptly stopped.
A breeze began to sweep away the dust, gradually revealing the forms of fallen knights on the road.
The fight was over.
The man in the mask emerged, leisurely walking while dusting off his wooden sword. It seemed not to have taken even three minutes to deal with the knights.
Not a single wound was visible on him.
Cecil, seeing the effortless way he carried himself as if coming back from a warm-up exercise, immediately sensed it.
He was someone not inferior to notable figures in this exam like Gale, Sion, Luna, Victor, or Naias.
He only moved quietly because of some unknown circumstance, avoiding drawing attention to himself.
Cecil grinned at the man.
To have crossed paths with such a companion so early in the exam seemed like a stroke of luck, turning what seemed like misfortune into a fortunate event having been separated from her fellow contenders.
The man gestured to Cecil that they should move on and turned to continue on the trail.
She followed, fanning away the dust around her.
The knights lay scattered, knocked out or sprawled out, with broken steel swords embedded in the ground around them.
There were no noticeable injuries on them like bruises or cuts.
Even for Cecil, who knew little about swordsmanship, it felt like an odd sight to behold.
Especially the mage, whose face had turned so pale he was almost unrecognizable.
It was clear that asking the man how he did it would be futile as he would not answer.
Cecil called out to his back.
“You’re quite something, aren’t you?”
The man stopped and looked contemplatively at Cecil.
“Why, you got something to say?”
He then pulled out candy from within his attire and handed it to her.
Instead of the usual single piece, this time he gave her five.
“Is this because I complimented you?”
He shook his head.
“Then you want me to eat this and keep your secret?”
He nodded twice.
Cecil pouted with dissatisfaction.
“Ugh, so frustrating. Just keep all secrets, okay? Can’t you just take off the mask and relax, sing a song or something?”
A soft chuckle was heard from within the mask.
“Wow, you actually can laugh. Thought you were a wooden figure or something.”
Her initial impression of him was of someone completely closed off, like a long-term prisoner or a monk, but now, he felt somewhat familiar.
He grabbed Cecil’s wrist and pressed the candies into her hand, then continued on his way.
“You’re pretty willful, aren’t you?”
Cecil popped one of the candies in her mouth and chewed as she followed him.
After proceeding along the main path for a while, Cecil glanced back.
From a distance, Plantaras were carrying away those who had been left behind, heading back towards Eternia.
“Stupid fools, don’t come back again.”
There was a small chapel on one of the streams of Grace Mountain, marked as a waypoint on the map.
Around the chapel was a garden adorned with evergreen trees.
Because of a large rocky peak protruding out to the south, half the area around the waypoint was in shadow.
And in that shaded space, about sixty candidates lay recovering like patients, sprawled out as if in a field hospital.
From time to time, Plantaras would carry unconscious or exhausted candidates coming from the gorge and other bypasses to the waypoint.
Some fallen ones were being tended to by a few alchemists and mages.
The scene evoked the imagery of a field hospital.
I had learned everything from the reports Silveryn had given me. The journey from the starting point to the defeat of the gatekeeper was merely a preparatory phase to exhaust all the supplies the candidates had brought with them.
The real exam began when candidates had to procure and produce their own food and potions from within Grace Mountain.
The candidates had to choose whether to form teams to help each other and earn bonus points by slowly reaching the summit, or to reach the peak quickly with minimal personnel to score more than just the bonus points.
I had to reunite with my friends; I had no business joining the rest. Our time at the waypoint was at an end.
I had made enough progress in befriending Cecil, so I was not too hung up on lingering.
Though having befriended her while still in disguise had become a slight headache, with much else to focus on, I was planning to let that problem sit for a while.
Cecil seemed to be looking for her comrades, scouring the area incessantly.
Suddenly, someone yelled from the direction of the chapel.
“Sister!”
A woman about my age ran swiftly towards Cecil.
“Trisha!”
The two of them embraced the moment they met.
After a long hug, the girl named Trisha pulled away and complained.
“No way! Sister, your dress is… again… Ugh, I can’t deal with it. Really.”
She made a disgusted face at the sight of Cecil’s skirt.
Cecil pointed at me and said.
“It got like this because of a brawl that happened while I was with this friend.”
Trisha gave me a long look and seemed to ask doubtfully.
“A brawl… happened?”
Both my and Cecil’s appearance and attire made us stand out, which could easily cause misunderstanding.
I hoped they would refrain from saying anything that might lead to such misinterpretations.
Cecil introduced me.
“Right, this is my Candy Pouch. Just ‘Candy’ for short.”
Look at that, Candy Pouch? Candy Pouch, seriously?
It seems I may need to renegotiate the terms of our relationship soon.
Trisha greeted me nonchalantly despite the odd introduction.
“I’ve heard about you. Thanks for taking good care of our sister.”
They had been constantly communicating through Stitches, so it seems my story had been shared a few times in the process.
Cecil’s other companion had gone out to keep an eye on the gatekeepers, she mentioned.
Twilight was setting in, and it was an awkward time to move forward. Both Cecil and I planned to stay at the waypoint for a while.
After the sun had completely set, her remaining companions returned from their scouting.
It was a group composed of one of Cecil’s male cousins and four women from the Alchemy and Magic Engineering departments.
With all six of them gathered, including Cecil, the group burst into endless chatter. I wondered how Cecil could have kept quiet when she was with me.
After joining her companions, Cecil distanced herself from me.
It wasn’t my place to mingle with them, and I too had to begin my own activities in earnest.
***
Lilith had powered through to the waypoint with the help of vitality potions.
After that, the journey went very smoothly.
There was no need to deplete her magic, nor to draw her Century Tree Wand.
There were no encounters with Plantaras since she started following the main path.
However, driven by impatience and taking extra vitality potions instead of rest, she had only one potion left after reaching the waypoint.
Going through the rough terrain alone was a very new experience for Lilith. Throughout her life, she had always been accompanied by knight escorts whenever she went out.
Though it was just a day’s journey, for Lilith, the experience was a harrowing loneliness and terror like she’d never faced before in her life.
Which is why the emotion she felt upon reaching the waypoint was not satisfaction, but a pang of sorrow.
Without her realizing, the desperation for companionship had grown intense, yearning just to have somebody around for a simple conversation, skillful or not.
By moonrise, crystal spheres were embedded around the waypoint’s chapel, casting light in the darkness.
The atmosphere among the vanguard at the waypoint was just as subdued.
She wandered around, actively looking for anyone she was on friendly terms with.
Lilith was among the applicants who had entered early, which meant there was no familiar face in sight.
‘No one…?’
All her connections and popularity seemed futile in this place.
Then, beyond the garden and across an open space, she spotted the man in the mask sitting against the rocky face.
He embraced his wooden sword, quietly sitting, killing time.
There were no companions around him. It seemed he was in a situation not much different from Lilith’s.
‘Good, that’s perfect.’
Lilith found a spot about ten paces away from him, leaning back against the rock just like he did.
She waited for a moment, looking for an opportunity to initiate conversation.
Sitting quietly, she noticed a woman slicing through the darkness from the side of the garden, approaching them.
As the woman drew closer, Lilith recognized her. It was an utterly unexpected figure.
Brown wavy hair falling down to her chest, thick eyebrows, and large, sharp eyes. There was an exotic aura characteristic of mixed heritage from her features.
The prodigy of Magic Engineering. It was Cecil Fontar.
‘Cecil? Why is Cecil here?’
She crouched down in front of the man in the mask, aligning her gaze with his.
After clearing her throat a couple of times, she spoke.
“Hem hem, Candy, we have decided to leave early tomorrow morning. Are you also leaving in the morning?”
The man looked at Cecil and nodded, indicating that they knew each other.
“I see. We’re planning a detour for an Alchemy and Magic Engineering assignment. We’ll be reaching the summit a bit late, but we’ll be gathering ample cooperation bonus points, so no major issues. The only problem is, we don’t have anyone skilled with a sword. So I was wondering…”
Cecil trailed off for a moment, then spoke again.
“That… would you like to come with us?”
‘What…?’
It was a shocking proposition for Lilith.
She wasn’t the only one interested in the man. Moreover, Cecil Fontar, a top contender for valedictorian of the Magic Engineering department, had recognized him.
And the man’s response was even more astonishing.
He silently shook his head.
Cecil chuckled as if she had anticipated his answer.
“I thought you’d say that. Guess I won’t see you tomorrow morning.”
She rummaged through her bag and laid out five shimmering spheres in front of his feet.
They were magic bombs, having undergone complex magical refinement.
“This is my way of saying thanks for looking after me so well. You know what these are, right?”
She slowly stood up and continued speaking.
“Next time, tell me your name. If I keep calling you Candy, others might think it’s weird. I’ve got high standards; I only like handsome men.”
Putting pieces of information together, Lilith thought Cecil must have known the man’s face.
‘Is that why he’s wearing a mask?’
Overhearing their conversation, Lilith’s curiosity about the man swelled uncontrollably.
“Then I’m off. See you around!”
Cecil waved her hand in farewell and quickly departed.
From their conversation and general context, it appeared they had traveled together to the waypoint.
Lilith’s feelings were not the best.
He had been so aloof with her, and yet Cecil had spoken as if he had taken good care of her.
He didn’t seem to have known her for long.
He came across as someone who would openly discriminate against people based on their abilities or fame.
Lilith’s dissatisfaction grew bit by bit, pushing her to approach the man and start a conversation out of the blue.
She moved closer to the man and said,
“Hello.”
“…”
“Recognize me, don’t you?”
***
Though I had expected it, being rejected to my face didn’t feel nice.
‘Sheesh, didn’t take a moment to think before cutting it off.’
Cecil glanced back as she walked away from our group, noticing that he was fixated on a well-groomed and pretty noblewoman sitting near him.
The woman was pouring out stories to the man, seemingly having an acquaintance with him.
Cecil’s offer to work together for the bonus points must have been an attractive alternative for him as well.
No matter how skilled, he couldn’t break through the gatekeepers alone through lanes A and B. He had to gather companions one way or another.
Not mingling with others, he wouldn’t just randomly seek out companions, so there was only one reason for his refusal.
‘It’s because of that woman.’
An indescribable feeling of discomfort lingered.
He didn’t really matter to her. Cecil’s group proposal had been more out of necessity than personal interest.
But the issue had somehow become emotional.
The problem was having seen him seemingly paired with a rather pretty woman.
If she had just left, no such feelings would have arisen, but turning back introduced a subtle but uncomfortable sense of being overshadowed by that girl.
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