The second exam was a written one.
Apparently, there were about 7,000 applicants this year, and only 20% of them, or about 1,400, made it to the second exam.
We were divided into rooms of 100 people each and took our seats.
"The test time is 100 minutes. Begin!"
As soon as the examiner made the announcement, the students raised their hands.
"I forgot my writing utensils!"
"I forgot too!"
"Me too!"
...Yep, about a third of people were trying to take the exam without any writing utensils.
The examiner was handing out writing utensils to the candidates who had raised their hands.
Feeling a little relieved, I looked down at the question paper.
I heard that the written exam for the Knights wasn't that difficult...
"Question 1: Draw a picture of the Knights' uniform"
"…………"
Of course, I stared at the examiner closely!
The other test takers were doing the same, copying the uniform while looking at the examiner.
...What is this? Putting knights in uniforms and then asking us to draw what uniform they are? Is this a favor?
"Hey, what's this? Wouldn't it be better for you to solve the problem instead of admiring me?" (Examiner)
The examiner warned with a slight grin.
Ah, this is a serious problem.
The person who created the questions probably didn't expect knights in uniform to be stationed at the exam venue...
"Question 2: There was a young man being chased by a boar and a girl chasing a rolling apple. What would you do?"
"…………"
...I, I don't know the answer.
Should I skip it...?
"Question 3: A senior knight was speaking ill of the Captain. What should I do?"
"…………"
...Ah, that....
I heard the exam questions would be easy, but they're really difficult.
This couldn't go on like this. I had to start writing something...
Umm………
"Answer to question 3: I agree with the senior knight who said, 'The Captain is too strong, like a monster.'"
Ah, this answer will work.
I stopped using insults and agreed with the senior knight.
I thought I was starting to understand how to solve the problems. I also figured out the second problem.
"Answer to question 2: Kick the boar with your right foot and grab the apple with your left hand."
This is it!
Wow, I feel like I can solve anything.
Filled with unfounded confidence, I got carried away and solved problem after problem.
The third exam was a practical sword test.
Apparently, the second exam would not be affected unless something extraordinary happens, and pass/fail would be determined mostly by the content of the third exam.
Yep, judging from the content of the first and third exams, it's almost entirely about sword skill.
About 100 examiners were standing on the elevated examination benches.
He appeared to be in his mid-20s to early 30s, making him a mid-ranking knight.
The examiner standing in the middle began his explanation in a clear voice.
"In the third test, you will have a three-minute mock battle with the examiner. The examiners will be in pairs of three, with one being the opponent and the other two being the judges. It doesn't matter whether you win or lose, as long as the two judges agree that your fight is worthy of a knight, you will pass. You can use your own sword, or one of the knights here, whichever you prefer. The examiner will use an iron sword with the blade dulled. That's all." (Examiner)
I decided to use my sword.
This was the iron sword my father gave me when I completed the coming-of-age ceremony.
Although it looked like an ordinary sword, it was actually endowed with multiple buff.
It's a pretty impressive skill, with double the attack power and double the speed.
Furthermore, weapons with granted effects glow with the effect, but a blinding spell was cast to reduce the glow, making them look like normal swords.
Hehe, actually, granting effects to weapons is a "lost technology," which is why this sword is so valuable.
After all, if you want a weapon with an effect, your only options are to buy a weapon called a "Legacy of the Golden Age," which was created in an era when effect-granting magic was available, or to find one by chance in a treasure chest in a labyrinth or somewhere similar.
That's why the glow was subdued, so that it didn't look like it's a valuable item and also serves as a theft prevention measure.
The third exam was also divided into sections based on the first letter of the alphabet, so I lined up in the F column.
When I looked, I saw that the women were gathered at the back of the line, so this time I lined up properly at the back.
Most test takers used their own swords, as they seemed to prefer using something they were familiar with.
That being said, there were many iron swords similar to mine, and no swords made from expensive materials.
Well, that's true. Today was the general admission test.
Since the children of nobles or knights would likely be taking the exam to graduate from the knight training school, the majority of the examinees today should be children of merchants or adventurers who had been honing their skills for several years.
The exam had already started, so I watched for a while, and the examiners were really strong.
The difference between me and test takers was like that between an adult and a child.
As a knight, he fought enemy soldiers and monsters every day, so it might be natural that he was strong, but in this case, instead of thinking about winning, it might be better to think about how to lose...
While I was lost in thought, it seemed that it was the turn of the handsome silver man who had called out to me during the first exam.
Oh, good, he stayed too.
And then the mock battle began...
I was instantly drawn to the game.
The handsome silver-haired guy was overwhelmingly stronger than the other test takers.
Or rather, his movements were no different from those of the examiner. He moved around just like a veteran knight.
That's amazing!
You're not going to beat the examiner, are you?
...That's what I thought.
As time passed, the speed of his sword swings slowed down, and by the time the sword clashed, he was no longer strong enough to take a step or two back.
Huh?
Curious about his movements, I instinctively moved closer to get a clearer view.
...Was he injured?
...His right arm was broken.
The examiner didn't seem to notice, but in my previous life I was a great saint and had been healing people's injuries, so I was better than anyone at identifying the location and condition of an injury.
Every time he moved my arm, it hurt him.
Sweat was dripping down from the silver-haired handsome man's forehead, and the speed at which he swung his sword was visibly slowing down.
However, since he didn't show on his face at all, the examiner didn't seem to notice.
The handsome silver man's sword finally seemed to be knocked away, and with a bang, it flew right in front of my eyes.
The handsome silver-clad man came running towards me in a panic.
"Sorry! Are you hurt?"
Looking closer, I could see that his face was flushed, he was wheezing, and it looked like he was having difficulty breathing.
His hair and clothes were sticky with sweat.
...That's amazing.
One of his arms was completely broken, so just clashing with the sword should cause excruciating pain.
And yet, he didn't even raise his voice or show any emotion on his face. How much self-control did he have?
Admiringly, I picked up his sword and, pretending to hand it over to him, touched his right arm.
"...May the blessing of protection be upon my right arm." (Fia)
Because I was unable to utter the Core Words necessary to activate the spell, the effect of the activation was weak, but still, the pain must have been relieved.
He should be able to move for about five minutes without feeling any pain.
"……huh?"
He noticed that the pain had disappeared.
The handsome silver man looked at his right arm in shock.
"It looks like the examiner is waiting." (Fia)
When I called out to him, he turned around in a panic.
"Ah, yeah..."
Then, he climbed onto the exam stand and resumed his mock battle with the examiner.
The movement was different from before, it was powerful and fast.
It even looked like he was going toe-to-toe with the examiner.
"That's amazing..." (Fia)
The knight making the judgment muttered as if he had done it without thinking.