Chapter 20

◈ Chapter 20 – The Fourth Test

"Hey..."

"You've arrived. It's been a while."

An instructor walked up to us.

His approach cut the Thief Boss off mid-sentence.

I shot the two thieves a warning glance, then snapped a salute at the instructor.

The instructor's eyes flicked to the two men on the wagon's driver seat.

"Oh, I haven't seen these faces before?"

"Yes, well... I'm the one learning under the master. He's not feeling well, so I came instead."

The Thief Boss's excuse was a bit awkward, but he covered it well enough.

"I see. I need to check the cargo. Stay right there."

The instructor circled around to the back of the wagon.

The moment his eyes were off us, both thieves let out a relieved breath, as if they'd just cleared a major hurdle.

"Boss, we stitched the model back up nice and tight. No worries."

"Keep your voice down. And don't call me that."

"Yes, Boss."

The instructor's voice came from the cargo bed.

"Okay. Please take it to the warehouse."

He gave the side of the wagon a firm tap as a signal.

The Thief Boss drove the wagon to the warehouse.

The orc models inside would be moved by the instructors to the fourth test site at dawn tomorrow.

They had no idea the swords were hidden inside the bodies.

Everything was ready.

*

Fourteenth Test – Twelve Hours Before

"Mago, you asleep?"

It was Amon's voice.

Coming from the bed next to mine.

"No. Why?"

"Nothing."

Two words, and he'd already annoyed me.

"Fine. Don't tell me."

"Ah—no. Wait. I'll talk."

I didn't answer.

"The Coster family—you know they're one of the Three Great Families of the Empire, right?"

"What's your point?"

"They've held their reputation for a long time, but most people say they're stubborn as hell. We've honed ourselves for monster combat, not fighting people."

"So?"

"Until last year, before the war, the ceasefire had held for over a hundred years. Back when the Demon King was sealed. The Coster family naturally let its golden age slip away."

"If you want a history lesson, talk to someone else—"

"The war ended ages ago, and they're still out there hunting monsters."

"Right. They were caught off guard when the war broke out again. So what?"

Amon's voice turned hollow.

"Cowards."

I heard him roll over in bed.

"My father killed himself out of guilt for tarnishing a noble name. But the fault wasn't our family—it was the whole damn world."

I still didn't understand where he was going with this.

"I have to get into the Special Forces this time. It's time for me to show them—bring glory to the family. Time to prove the Coster family existed for this very moment."

"Why are you telling me all this?"

"But... if I mess up tomorrow. If, by some chance, I slip up."

"Slip up?"

"Could you lend me a hand?"

"What?"

I thought I'd misheard him.

He didn't answer.

Instead, he started snoring.

He was definitely faking it.

Asking for help—that was the last thing I'd ever expect from someone like him.

The fact that he'd poured out all that personal history meant one thing: he was willing to swallow his pride to the ground. Even if it meant relying on me. He was determined to get into the Special Forces and achieve his goal.

"I don't know about helping, Amon."

His fake snoring continued.

No reply.

"This test splits us by current rankings. Odd numbers and even numbers. You and I are in different teams."

"Cough—uh, so?"

"Since I'm not on your team, you'll get a chance to shine."

"Just because you're there doesn't mean I'm too weak to—"

"Amon, sorry, but I'm the one who needs to ask a favor."

"Huh?"

"Since I won't be there, you have to step up."

"Yeah, you just said the same thing."

"Tomorrow, you're the only one who can fill the gap I leave behind."

When the sun rises, the test begins.

The attack happens at the same time.

Test or no test.

Tomorrow, the Empire loses its capital.

*

"Finally. The fourth test is an escort mission."

The instructor called the trainees to attention and announced.

"This test will take place on the rear mountain, just like the first one."

He jabbed a thumb over his shoulder, pointing at the training ground's back mountain.

"Orc models have been placed on the mountain."

"Ah—so we just need to avoid the orc models and escort the person playing the VIP?"

Kinzo nodded, muttering to himself.

"Your job is to protect those orc models."

The instructor contradicted him.

"No, why that side—"

"Because we don't have anyone to play the VIP. The trainees will be split into two teams. Odd numbers and even numbers, based on current rankings."

I was the top student. Kinzo had dropped to ninth.

And Bell, ranked forty-first, was on my team.

"Odd numbers are the Guard Squad. Even numbers are the Assassination Squad. The Guard Squad goes up first and finds the orc models. Then you defend them from the Assassination Squad while bringing them back down. That's success."

The instructor swallowed before continuing.

"If you bring back more than two models, you get bonus points. Conversely, if you return with no models, you score zero. The condition of the models will also be factored into your score. Any questions?"

No one raised a hand.

"Then line up by rank, starting now."

Kinzo came up beside me.

"Majo's on their team this time? Damn it..."

Oscar muttered under his breath.

"Oscar, it's odd versus even based on current rankings," I said.

"Ah."

"You're odd-numbered too."

Kinzo shrugged.

"Glad to have you on my side, then!"

Once the lineup was done, each trainee grabbed a wooden sword from the prepared pile.

The instructor pulled a pocket watch from his inner coat.

"Five minutes to 08:00. Guard Squad, standby. You depart on the hour."

The second invasion was around 10:00.

I had two hours to find the orc models hiding the swords.

I spent those five minutes steadying myself.

Eyes closed, deep breaths.

Then I felt a glare boring into me.

From the direction of the armory.

The door was slightly ajar—just enough to see through, held back by a chain lock.

Crimson eyes glinted through the gap.

El was watching me from inside the armory.

"I told you to hide, not get yourself locked in..."

She'd managed to sneak into the armory, but apparently hadn't counted on getting locked from the outside.

Still, El was strong enough to smash her way out if she had to.

I forced myself to stop worrying.

I patted the inner pocket of my uniform.

The shape of the flask filled with alcohol was still there.

"Guard Squad, all hands."

The five minutes were up.

"Move out."

Fifty trainees from the Guard Squad bolted up the mountain.

For the first twenty minutes, it was nothing but frantic running.

Mid-sprint.

"Mago."

Kinzo spoke, keeping his voice low enough that only I could hear.

"I saw the swords."

"Swords?"

"I spotted the instructors moving the orc models up the mountain at dawn. I figured I could gain an edge in the test if I knew something, so I used my clairvoyance."

"What did you see?"

"Inside the orc models' bodies—there were swords hidden. Not all of them had one, but why would swords be in there?"

"How should I know?"

"What's the point of hiding swords inside the models?"

"There's still training left after the fourth test. Maybe they're for that."

I kept up the act.

"What if the instructors don't know?"

"What?"

"If the instructors are in the dark, it means someone smuggled weapons into the training ground without anyone noticing."

"Maybe. Though I doubt the checkpoints were that sloppy."

"Then there could be a traitor inside. Someone brought in weapons in secret, planning to use them somewhere..."

Kinzo was sharp in his own way, but he had it all wrong.

The real culprit was me.

I wasn't some traitor.

Just then, Bell jogged past us.

"Hey, you two! Stop yapping and keep up!"

She'd broken up our conversation at just the right moment.

Kinzo was still chewing on the meaning of those hidden swords.

If he started raising hell about finding a traitor later, things would get messy.

He currently believed someone had smuggled the weapons in to exploit them.

I could work with that misconception.

"Hey, Kinzo."

"Yeah?"

"You might be right."

"About the traitor, you mean?"

"The swords inside the models are pretty suspicious, no matter how you look at it."

"I can't think of another explanation."

"Whoever did it was an idiot. They overlooked the fact that you can use Clairvoyance Magic."

"Or they knew about me and gambled on luck."

"Either way, let's secure those models ourselves. Make sure they can't be misused. We're supposed to escort them anyway, so we'll just pick the ones with swords inside."

"Yeah, alright. You're right—better safe than sorry."

Kinzo gave a small nod.

"Let's catch up to Bell first."

We picked up the pace toward the flash of red hair ahead.

*

An hour had passed since the Guard Squad climbed the mountain.

The Assassination Squad had now ascended as well.

Another twenty minutes ticked by.

The Head Instructor wandered the parade ground with a cigarette dangling from his lips.

His movements were listless.

Every time he spotted a pebble on the ground, he bent down and kicked it far away.

That was all he had to do while waiting for the trainees.

He stooped to pick up a stray stone—

And noticed his shadow had grown longer.

There was something off about it. Disturbing.

Maybe it was just clouds, he thought, and looked up at the sky.

Darkness fell across his angular face.

What hung in the sky was no cloud.

It stretched too willfully for that.

Too sharp.

Spread wide on both sides, it looked like—

Wings.

*

Over an hour later.

The Assassination Squad would be coming up by now.

"I found one."

Kinzo's eyes glowed blue.

"Another one."

He turned his head to the right.

"Got it."

"One more. There's a cluster nearby—five total. Five swords."

"Alright."

"What's your problem, Mago? You're not paying attention."

"They're coming."

I stretched out a finger and pointed at the sky.

A dark silhouette spread beneath the clouds.

An army vast enough to swallow the heavens whole.

Monsters with black wings fully unfurled.

I could see goblins and orcs being transported in their talons.

Then the winged beasts began their low, slow descent.

It was exactly like the day I'd faced in my past life.

"All trainees! Battle stations! This is real!"

One of the instructors running beside us shouted.

"Take cover!"

The words had barely left my mouth when a falling orc slammed into him, crushing him flat.

Dark red blood sprayed everywhere.

For a moment, there was nothing but the orc's ragged breathing.

Silence.

Then, all at once, the Demon King Army—still clutched in the monsters' claws—dropped from the sky.

The ground shook.

The tremors didn't stop until every last monster had landed.

"Hah... what the hell is this..."

Kinzo let out a hollow laugh.

At the same time, he tightened his grip on his wooden sword handle.

The fallen monsters raised their own weapons high.

They roared, signaling the start of the battle.

Me, Kinzo, Bell.

We drew our wooden swords on the spot.

Steeled our breathing.

We were a hastily thrown-together Guard Squad.

None of us had ever fought as a team.

But we all thought the same thing.

We fight. No matter what.

We kill until they're dead.

On that, we were perfectly aligned.

Each of us had a score to settle with the monsters.

"I was planning to hunt them down myself anyway."

Kinzo had lost his family. His home.

"That bastard... must be around here somewhere."

Bell had been stripped of her humanity.

"This time... I'll protect."

I had my dreams trampled.

The moment I tasted freedom, I was shackled again.

And then the war broke out.

I was just one step away from the finish line, but the path was severed at the last second.

For eight years, I lived a life accustomed to defeat.

I lost every comrade by my side.

I was left alone.

"From now on," I said, "it's our turn to strike back."