Chapter 44 – Royal Knights (1)

A member of the Vallaran Royal Knights.

Patricia, a 6-star knight, was watching the given situation with quite some interest.

In truth, the mission she was executing now had been handed down suddenly.

A mission directing her to supervise the exam, as a trainee of the academy was scheduled to take an unscheduled test.

‘I don’t like the fact that I’m cleaning up after some kid, but whatever.’

Melissa had requested several times.

That she must guarantee the safety of the trainee.

It was her philosophy that a knight should face and overcome danger on their own, but upon hearing he was a Class C trainee, she quietly accepted it.

‘After all, there is a limit.’

He was a complete novice among novices.

He had at least applied for the exam, and since Melissa had shown interest, he would have the skills of a Class B trainee, but in truth, from Patricia’s perspective, they were all about the same.

‘His first task is a slime. Can he do it?’

In fact, it was barely even worth calling a monster.

As long as one could handle mana.

But what if one of his limbs got caught in that sticky mucus and he was dragged inside?

Unless he was a truly outstanding expert, he could be considered dead at that moment.

If there was a companion to pull him out, his life would be saved, but even in that case, he would be left in a state of critical damage from the terrible acid.

‘When should I rescue him?’

Patricia was already imagining the situation that would unfold shortly.

He would swing his sword, let his guard down thinking he cut it, and then be dragged in soon after.

But soon.

She realized that she had thought wrong.

‘It’s an ignition stone?’

An ignition stone.

A pebble that sparks a small flame.

It meant he knew the slime’s weakness was fire.

‘Is he planning to use a burning branch instead of his sword?’

Rather, that would be better.

She added extra points in her mind.

And the next moment.

“Wow.”

At Henry Camilton’s subsequent actions, she ended up exclaiming aloud.

He wrapped his sword in fire.

Strictly speaking, the expression that he wrapped the flame in mana and wrapped that mana over the sword was more accurate.

A flame burning with mana as fuel.

It was an extremely exquisite technique.

If he kept supplying mana like this, that flame would never go out.

“Sir Melissa. You are watching, right?”

“I am watching.”

An answer came from the bead in her breast pocket.

The 7-star knight, Melissa.

She was Patricia’s senior and the person who organized this situation.

“What evaluation did you make?”

“I will have to see the result to say.”

“I think the same.”

It was certainly an excellent method.

That was, if he could maintain that flame until the battle ended.

If he was going to fail, it would be better to withdraw.

Because being filled with blind confidence was not courage, but foolhardiness.

But if he succeeded.

Henry would be proving his skill with the result.

The battle began.

The flame wrapped around the sword was efficient.

Slimes were always hungry monsters, and as soon as they discovered the prey named Henry, they rushed blindly.

The sight of the terrible mucus wriggling and pouncing was certainly not pleasant to look at.

Especially for Patricia, who had seen victims of it.

But.

‘The start is good.’

Fortunately, the flame wrapped around the sword did its part.

*Sizzle!*

With the sound of something burning, the slime melted furiously.

If there was a countermeasure, there was no monster as easy to deal with as a slime.

When he melted a significant number of slimes with just a few swings of his sword, they did not rush in hastily either.

They felt it.

The fact that something hot was in front of them and that it was fatal to them.

It was practically an instinctive movement, but nothing was as useful in battle as instinct.

‘At this rate, they’ll get away.’

Slimes were that kind of creature.

Once disadvantaged, they withdrew.

However, they left a part of their mucus behind and tracked when the prey weakened through it.

In the first place, the reason they flocked here as soon as Henry appeared was because he had touched the mucus on the ground.

‘Indeed. He is moving.’

Patricia nodded with satisfaction.

Henry rushed toward the hesitating slimes instead of letting his guard down.

The longer it dragged on, the more the mana consumption would increase.

For now, the best thing was to handle the ones that approached as quickly as possible.

The group of slimes, which must have numbered at least thirty, melted away in an instant under Henry’s flame.

“Now he can be called excellent. He is resolute and skilled. He is even collecting the slime cores now. It means he accurately understands what these monsters are, not just how to fight and win.”

Slimes did not die just by having their mucus melted.

The red core in their center.

Because if that was not destroyed, they would start coming back to life after a brief moment.

Knowing that fact, Henry gathered every single core and burned them thoroughly.

“Not yet.”

However, Melissa’s standards were strict.

Instead of praising Henry, she spoke with a nuance that they still had to watch.

“Slimes are no different from the monsters faced in the exam venue. It is just that he has become a bit more certain. It depends on whether he passes the task he will face soon.”

“You didn’t prepare it for him to actually defeat, right?”

“No. I just wanted to see how he copes. Stand by a bit closer now. At the current distance, it will be hard to intervene immediately.”

“I will move.”

Patricia immediately carried out the instruction.

Although she had been exchanging playful conversation with Melissa until just a moment ago, once she was instructed as a subordinate, she had to be conscious of her position.

She closed the distance with Henry in an instant.

It was still a distance invisible to Henry’s eyes, but one where she could intervene in the blink of an eye if anything happened.

“I will make sure he doesn’t die.”

Injuries did not matter.

Because the moment they returned to the academy, he could be perfectly recovered anyway.

Patricia would draw her sword only when Henry was in danger of death.

At that moment.

“……!”

Patricia, who was watching Henry, froze.

Because for an instant, it felt as though Henry’s gaze had turned toward her.

“Sir Melissa?”

“It’s an illusion.”

“……I see.”

Patricia was relieved by her senior’s firm answer.

‘Right, it makes no sense.’

He was said to be a Class C trainee at best.

With that kind of skill, to find a Royal Knight at this distance, and one who even hid their presence?

No matter how outstanding the talent, it was something unimaginable.

“I will watch for now. He will encounter it soon.”

Patricia returned to her mission.

A little away from Henry Camilton.

The real task of this exam was gradually approaching.

***

“As expected, there was someone watching. It is not the person I saw at the exam venue earlier. It must be another Royal Knight, probably dispatched for my safety.”

Unlike Melissa’s judgment.

Henry noticed Patricia’s presence.

Because the furiously fluctuating mana was at a level that was impossible not to see.

It was not visible at first, but he discovered it in the process of her approaching closely just now.

[You can see that with your eyes??]

[Ah haha, turned on map-hack again haha]

“I didn’t spot a human figure. I confirmed something moving over there, and I could even tell that something was very strong.”

[Is it not a monster? Is it really a person?]

[Is this really an exam in the first place???]

[True, couldn’t it be that some error occurred or something haha]

“The academy is not such a careless place. The Royal Knights who supervise the exam are the same. There is no possibility of a problem arising, and this event was prepared for me under the dean’s permission. Because nothing like this happened to any trainee other than me.”

Contrary to the viewers’ concerns.

Henry was completely certain.

That even the Royal Knights had their eyes on Henry, just like the other noble families had.

‘The dean probably provided the basis for this. They aren’t the type to move based on rumors.’

Until not long ago, he could not feel mana, and recently grew rapidly. Even to the point of challenging Class B.

Surely, even if Henry himself were in that position, he would not have been able to resist verifying it.

And if the purpose of this exam was verification?

“The exam probably won’t end with slimes. Something must be left. It will be an existence that cannot be overcome by normal means, and I plan to lose appropriately.”

If he ended up doing even this task, there would be no turning back.

The knights would court him even more actively, and their intense interest meant the news would reach even the King.

What if it reached that point?

It would also become impossible to escape using his family as an excuse.

But even while saying this, Henry had already begun thinking about how to defeat the enemy that was approaching closely.

The reason was simple.

Because WoopWoop would not let it be.

A mission worth as much as one million won was set.

And even a promise to give an additional one million won if the conditions were met!

[WoopWoop-jwa haha, I believed in you!!]

[Ah right haha, does it make sense to lose after coming all this way haha]

In addition to that, drawing the response of other viewers was exactly what WoopWoop’s donation did.

Henry stood still, looking only at the chat window as if he was intentionally flustered.

With the feeling that although he shouldn’t dare to do so, since the viewers said this, he didn’t know what to do.

‘It should be fine to wait a little longer.’

It was something he had already felt.

They supported Henry’s growth, but at the same time, they were quite amused by teasing him.

Since in a situation that was awkward like this, but where he could profit if successful, they would pour in donation money without stint.

“I will do it.”

Pushing back stopped here.

Hesitating any further here would only ruin the mood.

Also, although he spoke as if he had been waiting, it would be troublesome if it looked like an action to intentionally raise the amount.

Resolute as if determined, but with a face fully revealing that he was truly nervous, Henry let out a long breath.

“From now on, I will pause the progress for a moment. It has almost approached. I can see the mana fluctuating. It will be a creature incomparable to the slimes I faced just now.”

Honestly, it was also true that he was really nervous.

In the first place, this would not have been prepared for Henry to defeat.

Surely, losing, and how wisely he lost, would be the core of the evaluation.

From now on, Henry had to completely overturn that expectation.

Thud. Thud. Thud.

Now the approaching sound could also be heard.

It was too much to be called footsteps, and even every time the sound was heard, the ground Henry stood on shook slightly.

“It won’t be a charming little fellow.”

It was something immensely huge.

This time, Henry also moved.

He advanced cautiously but swiftly toward the source of the sound.

He did not forget to hide behind trees along the way to conceal his figure.

After a moment.

“…….”

Henry looked up at the appearing monster with an astounded expression.

‘A Stone Giant.’

He was at a loss as to what the Royal Knights were thinking.

A height that must be at least ten meters.

Its entire body was made of stone, and its fist had the power to shake the entire area just by striking down.

‘This is an exam?’

If hit directly by that, he would die without even a moment to do anything.

It was the same even if he wrapped himself in mana.

Because the reason the Stone Giant was dangerous was not simply because it was huge.

‘A monster that uses mana.’

To be exact, rather than “using” mana, it was closer to a structure where a mana stone situated deep inside its body supplied mana to the Stone Giant.

Without that, it would be no different from a mindlessly large lump of stone, but if even a little mana was loaded onto that fist?

For a 1-star knight, no matter how much they ran wild, they would burst apart at once.

But.

‘I have to do it. There is no other choice.’

From the moment the mission was set, Henry intended to defeat this monster somehow.

And within ten minutes.

BJ Swordmaster