15: Midterm evaluation (1)

Early morning.

Krono Swordsmanship School hall was crowded with many people.

And the reason was the midterm evaluation.

Since the test would basically depend on the luck of the prospective trainees, a couple swordsmen were hired for personnel help with the process.

One of them was a bald mercenary who spoke.

“Well. I’m going to be an assistant for the physical test of little kids.”

“Yeah. Well, it’s a fine pastime. It’s safe and the pay isn’t that bad.”

The person receiving the words had a similar thought.

He had experience as a test assistant for a mercenary agency, but all the participants then were adults.

On the other hand, this time, they were supervising children between 12 to 13.

No matter how well trained they were in the school, they had no expectations from the kids.

‘Of course, I don’t plan on saying it out loud, but if there is nothing interesting I’ll be bored.’

‘Aren’t these ones better than normal kids? I hope they are.’

It was when those two and the rest of the mercenaries were thinking the same.

One by one, the trainees began to gather.

“Woah.”

“I can do it. I can do it.”

“Unwind my body…”

Trainees kept arriving trying to self-hypnosis themselves, while the others seemed relaxed.

However, their actions felt so insignificant to the outsiders.

The bald mercenary, who watched the kids, gulped.

‘… is this the growth of kids who are 13?’

He was confused.

They were at an unbelievable level.

Aside from their faces and short height, the trainees seemed to show credible appearances even as adults.

Some children were moving so quickly that even mercenaries would have trouble reaching them.

A colleague, who was beside him, mumbled under his breath.

“… is this a gathering of all the monsters in one place?”

“… looks like it.”

No one looked like trainees.

Trained bodies which they never saw before, and a heavy expression as if they were waiting for a war to break out.

This was by no means a child’s test.

The mercenaries who felt the greatness of Krono held their breath.

In the midst of that, the trainees warmed up.

However, not all the trainees were focused on themselves.

“…”

“Why isn’t that one here yet?”

Top rank.

The trainee who should have been in the top ranks for his effort.

The really talented people who could easily pass the midterm evaluation, which is known to be impossible to complete, were all concentrating on something other than the test.

It was because the people who should have been there, Ahmed and Karaka, who were in charge of the test, weren’t present.

Besides,

‘He isn’t here.’

‘… what the hell is he doing? The evaluation will start soon.’

At first, no one was expecting him.

However, with every passing day, he turned into a strange guy who was capable enough to hone his skills through training.

Irene Pareira, that kid hadn’t shown up.

That fact made Bratt Lloyd, Judith, and even Ilya Lindsay troubled.

It was then.

Commotion broke out at one corner.

The prospective trainees who sensed that the instructors had arrived turned their heads only to be shocked.

“…”

“What? He didn’t even change his clothes.”

“No way…”

“All night… Did he workout?”

The children couldn’t get rid of the suspicious look.

They had no choice but to do so.

Wasn’t it out of the ordinary?

There were idiots in the world who would work all night knowing that there was a physical ability test the next day!

Some thought that Irene would make them laugh during the test.

But that wasn’t it. Everyone realized it.

Even if the soaked clothes on him were fake, the salt which stuck to his face couldn’t be faked.

What that meant was clear.

Irene Pareira really didn’t stop training all night long.

And given the circumstances, the instructors who discovered this belatedly stopped him and brought him to the test.

It was time for trainees to get ready.

The old man who was quietly standing next to Ahmed moved.

Week!

Tat!

Most kids who saw him took ten steps back in one step.

The quick-witted ones who knew his identity and the hired mercenaries nodded their heads silently.

After a while, Ian, the school master of Krono, stood on the podium and opened his mouth.

“Well, how should I introduce myself? Hmm, what should I say? As many of you know, this old man is the school master of Krono.”

“…!”

“…!”

“Let’s see, time… five minutes left. The rules, I know you have the rules committed to memory, so there is nothing else I need to say, right? The rest of the time you have, prepare yourselves. And don’t have any regrets. That’s all I want to say, I don’t want to get in your way, so I’ll stop here.”

Clap!

When Ian finished, he clapped his hands.

Soon the kids came to their senses.

Right, what was important was their midterm, not the other things. Once again, they regained their composure.

4 minutes.

3 minutes.

2 minutes and one minute.

Finally, a few seconds before the time, Ahmed opened his mouth.

“The midterm evaluation starts now!”

With that, the midterm evaluation began.

“Woah! Woah.”

With the mercenary supervising them, Irene exhaled briefly. Then he quickly moved to grab a barbell with a heavy disk.

Then, one of the evaluation movements, the Push Press, started.

“Hmph! Hmph!”

Unlike the general press movements that use the strength of the upper body, this required the strength of the lower body, flexibility, and agility. Of course, there was no awkwardness as he had done it countless times in the past four months.

But that wasn’t the only emotion Irene was feeling.

‘Light!’

His body felt light. The barbell was light, too, to the extent where the weights on both ends seemed to be halved.

Even now, he was repeating the same movements faster than his usual speed. And with no strain on his body.

He pondered for a moment. He had been training all night. Could he end up making a mistake?

No.

Thinking that Irene increased his speed.

A look appeared on the supervisor’s face.

“Hmph! Hmph! Hmph!

He quickly finished the reps and put down the barbell. And approached the rectangular box in front of him.

Box Jump. A simple task, but it wasn’t easy considering the height and time limit.

However, he didn’t feel burdened.

Irene put strength into his lower body and jumped up lightly, and then came down to the floor.

He repeated that at an unbelievable speed.

“That bastard?”

“Crazy! He won’t be able to complete it.”

The sarcasm of the other trainees stuck in his ears, but he didn’t care.

Rather, after finishing the set at a faster pace, he moved to the next movement and finished it, then approached the barbell.

And he started repeating.

Even faster. More stable.

The supervisor’s expression changed.

Irene could understand him.

‘Even I am shocked at myself.’

Last night, he was aware that something had changed in his body.

But he didn’t know that it changed by this much. Even though his pace had changed more than normal, he didn’t know.

On the contrary, it seemed like if he put in a little more effort, he could finish it.

No, he had to finish it faster.

A stronger thought than before.

Confidence was guiding him.

Irene increased his speed again and performed repetitive movements at a frightening speed.

And the noise grew louder.

“What is he doing?”

“Does he want to get exhausted or something?”

“Hu…

“One crazy bastard he is! Maniac!”

More and more kids began to curse him. And he went back to ignoring them.

He focused on his task and let the sounds not bother him.

However, he couldn’t.

It dawned on him.

It was because something changed, and he knew.

‘When I was immersed in other things, was I always able to hear the voices around me?’

No.

Unlike before, when he enlisted in the school, Irene’s mentality had changed.

In order to not be hurt or ridiculed, Irene continued his loneliness and blocked any external influences on him.

It was as if he hid from the world through sleep and raised his sword to escape from the rumors around him.

But not now.

“Damn it, are you kidding me?”

“He’s going to fall anyway. Let’s not worry. Enough of this.”

His ears were bringing him the voices of the others.

“Phew. Phew.”

“…!”

Clear vision captured the trainees’ faces who stared at him and the supervisors who looked stiff.

Irene was able to handle those reactions.

He didn’t care about their reactions anymore.

So there was no need for him to close his eyes and ears.

For the first time in his life, the eldest son of Pareira felt nice.

“Hmph, Hmph, hmph…”

More, a little more, and a little faster.

Incomparable to any other child.

Even the other top-ranked ones like Bratt couldn’t keep up with him.

After a short time, the noise began to subside.

Only gazes full of jealousy and astonishment radiated more intensely.

One minute later.

Irene finished all the reps and passed the first course.

He looked straight ahead, running on the sandy road.

There was only one person who was running there, Ilya Lindsay.

Nodding to himself, he slammed the ground.

A harsh, ungirly voice came out of Judith’s mouth as she watched it.

“UGHHHHH!”