“Wow, there are more impressive kids than I expected. At this level, they could probably overwhelm even the upperclassmen from the Imperial Military Academy, right?”
Istel clapped his hands in astonishment as he observed the various scenes in the examination area through a surveillance magic tool.
Beside him, the examiner—who had once been her deputy—let out a sigh.
“Their specialties are fundamentally different. Unlike officers who must see and lead the overall flow of battle, those kids are… well, how should I put it, they’re essentially candidates for special forces. If we’re comparing, it’d be more appropriate to use elite knight orders from across various regions or the former Morian Kingdom’s Mage Soldier Corps as a benchmark.”
“Well, bringing active-duty soldiers to evaluate kids who haven’t even undergone proper training is a bit… Isn’t that favoritism towards the juniors?”
“I was merely stating the objective facts.”
The examiner continued, “But, are we really okay with this? According to the original rules, they should have showcased their ability to adapt their fighting style based on the different rings’ strengths and weaknesses. As it stands, it’s simply a brawl.”
“That’s no concern. It’s not exactly breaking any rules, so they can do as they please. Of course—”
Leaning against the desk with one arm propping up her chin, a sadistic gleam dancing in her eyes, Istel smiled alluringly.
“—what happens as a result is up to the individuals involved, though.”
While making my way to reunite with Ligret and Fiore, Roto seemed perplexed and asked, “But why did those people ambush us earlier? There’s no way they’d pass just by having the same color ring!”
I responded, “Well, even if it’s worthless to me, it might hold value for other participants.”
“Eh?”
Somehow not wanting to separate from us, one of the two, a girl with green hair, exclaimed, “You could swap with an applicant of a different color ring, or use it to evade combat. There are plenty of uses! You could even use it as an extra life when needed!”
“Indeed.”
Roto nodded as if convinced. It was convenient having someone else explain it.
“But why are you moving with us? Aren’t you supposed to go looking for rings?”
When I asked, she replied, “In an environment where a knife could fly at any moment, it’s better to stay with someone we can at least communicate with, right?”
“Sticking close to me wouldn’t do wonders for your reputation, though?”
“I’d rather live as a victorious loser who’s hated for passing than risk being eliminated and living as a clean loser.”
Her resolute demeanor was surprisingly captivating.
If her father had seen her, he might have sparked with excitement and scouted her right away.
“And what about you?” I inquired.
“Call me Rabaul. I have no other intention than to repay the sage who enlightened me.”
Interesting bunch indeed.
As we continued moving, I spotted another group of four, identical to ours, making their way.
I shouted, “Wait a moment! What color are you?! If we’re the same color, we don’t need to fight! Ours is red!”
“Uh? Our color is—”
I ignored Roto’s reaction.
They exchanged a few words amongst themselves for a moment before, without hesitation, drawing their swords and charging at us.
In a whisper that wouldn’t reach their ears, I warned my team, “Alright, they’re charging at red without hesitation, so they can’t be blue. Keep your rings hidden as much as possible. If they get too close, counterattack!”
“Oh wow, this person is deceiving us as casually as breathing. Dragging us into battle without consent is just rude.”
“Well, we have no choice, do we?”
While grumbling, the girl with green hair quietly gripped her bow behind her back, and Rabaul made a brief troubled expression before quietly picking up a stone from the nearby ground.
Roto was fumbling with a wooden stick, but then he realized it was only up to him to step forward and wore a look of despair.
As the approaching foes drew near, I unleashed a flurry of crossbow bolts.
Given their distance, most of the arrows merely zipped through the air, but one shot headed straight for the head of one of the attackers, who managed to deflect it using the shield strapped to his arm.
Swoosh!
“Graaaah!”
The arrow, which had pierced through a thick wooden shield reinforced with leather—a formidable defense—successfully impacted, striking the unfortunate youth in the left arm. Wracked with pain, he shrieked before succumbing to the effects of the poison on the arrow tip, leaving him immobilized.
The remaining three assailants shared expressions of surprise with my team at the display of power, but honestly, I was just as perplexed.
‘How can a hit of that caliber be possible—oh, could this be the strength of ring compatibility?!’
As the realization struck me, I let loose another barrage of bolts.
Instead of aiming for critical points or the center of mass, I aimed for non-lethal wounds, just enough to graze the opponents.
Having long used the tactic of using wounds to inject poison, this was a familiar approach for me.
Another arrow struck a foe who had failed to close the distance on Roto, who was wildly swinging a wooden stick. The arrow clipped his shoulder, sending him reeling as if he had collided with something massive, before he was launched into the air and crashed to the ground.
The two remaining attackers, also hit by the green-haired girl’s arrows and Rabaul’s sling, met similar fates, as if they had understood the mechanics at work.
“Attacks from an unfavorable matchup amplify even minor damage. Just wearing a ring on the arm results in such effects—what’s the principle behind this?”
“The mysteries of magic; it runs deep, indeed….”
I said to my companions, “Let’s leave the musings for later and focus on collecting the rings first. Since these fellows seem to have white rings, we just need to gather the red ones—”
Suddenly, the ground trembled.
I found myself muttering as I gazed at the approaching ‘things,’ which were coming toward us with a heavy clamor yet surprisingly sprightly.
“…Right, I had heard it would be easy for a crazy school.”
“Damn it, what the hell are these things!?”
Meanwhile, at roughly the same time, Crow Bain was cursing in bewilderment as he defended against the onslaught of ‘that thing.’
In response to Crow’s query, ‘it’ launched a spinning kick, which Crow managed to deflect with crossed blades, yet it sent him flying backward.
Despite the shock coursing through him, he gritted his teeth, feeling a twinge of pain in his wrist as he eyed his newfound foe, an unwelcome intruder into the joyous melee.
Its body appeared to be constructed from various logs of differing thickness, appended together, resembling a grotesque caricature of a human—its joints eerily angular.
In the place where a person should have had facial features, there was a conspicuous white ring affixed there, practically taunting him.
These were the ‘combat dolls’—the constructs that Istel had mentioned before the trials, which were waiting in the examination space, equipped with rings like the candidates.
The summoned creature, the ‘combat doll,’ bobbed its head side to side, as if provoking Crow.
“Well then, let’s do this!”
While Crow roared and charged back at the combat doll, Ligret remained calm as she faced another one on the opposite side.
In a flash, she thrust her spear, striking dead center at its neck.
“—!”
But that was all; despite having more than enough power to pierce through an ordinary human or even a substantial wooden block, it merely staggered in place, still gripping the spear that had pierced its neck, before pivoting to aim a vicious stab back at Ligret.
Recognizing that a stalemate would be difficult given the force transmitted through the spear, Ligret decisively dropped her weapon and leaped back.
The spear, crashing into the ground, creaked ominously, and the combat doll’s knee kick shattered it as if it was simply made of wood.
‘My attacks aren’t doing much damage, while even the slightest blow from them is amplified severalfold. This must be the effect of ring compatibility or something like that.’
Ligret thought to herself.
Facing directly would be unfavorable. If it were Chrome, he would find a way to outsmart the opponent or pass them off to another participant before re-engaging under more advantageous conditions.
If I were to borrow Chrome’s common saying, it would be something like “Route A.”
And even if that weren’t the case, Ligret had already come up with a way to deal with this ‘thing.’
‘All I have to do is fight without my ring.’
That examiner, whatever their name was, had said, “Gather three types of rings to pass. If you want to withdraw, just throw away your ring and lie down.”
They never mentioned anything about disqualification for losing your ring even once.
Ligret could almost visualize the examiner’s face, beaming with pride, saying, “Wow, you caught on well! Great job!”
So this was, indeed, Route B.
And for Ligret, it was the best option available.
But, then again—
Why did it have to feel so disappointing?
“Ha.”
The condescending gaze looking down on her was infuriating. The nonchalant assurance they wore, as if they could easily predict her every move, was irksome.
Once, the boy Chrome Midas had expressed his opinion about Ligret, calling her the embodiment of ambition.
To put that in simpler terms—
“Are you worried that you won’t win unless it’s the designated method?”
It meant she had a hard time accepting defeat, at least in fields she cared about.
Ligret crouched low.
Lower, lower, even lower, as if crawling on the ground.
And then she dashed forward.
With an almost inhuman flexibility and strength that seemed unfit for her small frame, she created a contradiction as she sprinted across the earth, her balance abnormal yet impressive.
As the combat doll’s algorithms miscalculated her movements, Ligret unleashed a swift kick that sent it briefly off its guard, just long enough for her dagger to embed itself in the joint of its limb.
First, the right leg was lifted, and then, right after, the left leg became the pivot.
The unexpected intrusions at both joints caused the doll’s legs to twist grotesquely, collapsing straight onto the ground without any support.
Even as the combat doll attempted to rise on its own, Ligret stomped down with all her weight at its back, effectively thwarting that effort.
A throwing spear summoned through the ‘Pheldows’ summoning gloves skewered down into the ground, pressing against the right shoulder joint of the combat doll.
No matter how much the damage was reduced or how much the impact was amplified, there are limits since it was modeled after a human form.
With its leg movements blocked and its back pinned down, there was no way it could exert any strength, leaving it to futilely thrash on the ground.
Ligret swung the ‘Ancient Guardian’s Longsword’ towards the neck of the struggling combat doll.
Thwack.
— The first strike left a small scratch.
Thwack!
— On the third hit, faint cracks appeared around the entirety of its neck.
With a final, resounding crack, as the tenth strike landed, the doll’s head detached, and its body ceased to move altogether.
Picking up the white ring from the severed head, Ligret asked, “—Do you want to keep going?”
The young man, Crow Bain, hesitated at the question for a moment but then let out a sigh and shook his head.
“I’m done; count it as my loss. Damn it, if I had known this would happen, I should have smashed through head-on.”
Turning her gaze from the frustrated Crow, who realized he could only achieve victory after nullifying the compatibility effects by removing the ring, Ligret took steps towards the approaching Chrome, who seemed to be leading a group.
Even though a few of her favorite weapons like her spear and dagger were rendered unusable, she didn’t feel bad at all.
