Chapter 11

Mad Swordsman of the Shadow World (11)

Has it been a little over a week?

Seeing how different Theron looked compared to their last meeting, Berton was momentarily at a loss for words.

Even if he was a child in the middle of growing, far too much had changed in his appearance in such a short time.

Moreover...

“...”

The strange air flowing from the boy's body.

It felt almost as though he were looking at a knight who had fully gathered and concealed his energy.

‘Nonsense.’

Berton shook his head in denial.

To think he would have such thoughts while looking at a boy who was only twelve years old.

Berton turned his head.

“What are you doing? If the exam is over, finish things up.”

“Ah, yes. Understood.”

Bengle answered and looked at the returning trainees.

“The exam is over. Everyone returns to the training camp!”

Their first ‘exam,’ not training.

In the first exam, eight trainees from Section 5 failed to return.

And only nineteen passed.

Not even half of the forty-two who returned had passed.

At that result, Bengle glared at the trainees as though he wanted to kill them.

Because the result had fallen far short of what he had expected.

And that atmosphere spread throughout the entire training camp.

Clunk!

When the trainees returned to their respective rooms, the junior instructors guarding the front spoke mockingly.

“We won't know until we see the results of the other sections... but if you end up near the bottom, you'd better consider yourselves dead.”

“You remember what the instructor in charge said, right? If the exam results were bad, you'd be in for hell.”

They were already frightening the trainees as though the final results had been announced.

And at those threats, several trainees were already trembling at the thought of the punishment to come.

But...

“Fucking bastards, all they ever do is beat us. They never teach us anything.”

“Exactly. If they'd taught us how to gather the flowers, we would've done better.”

When Renil, who shared a room with Theron, cursed, Tioren chimed in.

The two usually snarled at each other, but today they seemed unusually in sync.

“But Theron. Are you okay?”

“Don't touch him. He looks really exhausted right now.”

“...Of course he would be. He had to take such a long detour because of us.”

At Perka's words, Renil nodded.

The three looked at Theron lying down.

He certainly looked much more exhausted than before, but.

“But... was Theron always that tall?”

“...I'm not the only one who noticed, right? When Theron walked over, I thought he was someone else.”

At Tioren's words, everyone nodded in agreement.

Theron had originally only come up to about their chins. But when he came out of the Shadow Forest, he had grown until they were nearly at eye level.

“And his build looks a little better too.”

“What the hell... happened in there?”

What could have happened in such a short time for a person to change that much?

But the three were more focused on Theron's physical condition than that.

Even though the recent training had been difficult, he had never been seen lying down like this.

The three simply looked at Theron with worried expressions.

And that night.

Rustle.

Since it was the day the exam ended, there was no additional training or other schedule.

The trainees were able to rest in their rooms as though they had been given a vacation.

Of course, with punishment depending on the exam results soon to come, they could not truly rest comfortably.

Rustle.

Night fell, and once all the trainees had gone to sleep.

Theron, who had been lying down, slowly opened his eyes.

“...Hoo.”

Theron quietly exhaled after checking that all three of his roommates were asleep.

Theron had gone to sleep the moment he returned to the room after the exam ended.

Of course, part of it was because he was exhausted, but there was also something he needed to check.

Theron sat cross-legged and straightened his back.

Then he slowly drew up his mana and began circulating the Dark Tempest mana cultivation method.

Swoooooosh!

It was as though a gust of wind swept through the room.

Before long, along with the quieting energy, warm heat began flowing from inside Theron's body.

‘...This is unbelievable.’

He had been aware that absorbing the Blood Jade Fruit had changed his body.

While returning after gathering the Moltir Flower in the Shadow Forest, he had fully felt the intense energy flowing within him.

But he had not properly checked just how much it had changed.

“...”

Theron could feel that the amount of mana he possessed had increased several times over compared to before he ate the Blood Jade Fruit.

At this level, the 2nd Star.

No, even within the 2nd Star, he was at the very edge, almost reaching the 3rd Star.

Moreover, it was not merely the amount of mana that had increased while throwing his body out of balance. His body had strengthened accordingly to match the increased mana.

At this level.

‘I might even be able to defeat the enforcers in the training camp.’

They were soldiers deployed immediately whenever problems arose, separate from the instructors who taught the training.

The problem was that these soldiers were on a completely different level from ordinary soldiers.

They were not quite knight-class, but their skills far surpassed those of ordinary soldiers.

Of course, there was normally no reason to encounter them, but considering where Theron needed to go in the future, conflict with them would be unavoidable.

“Let's think about it slowly. I still have plenty of time.”

The power he gained from the Blood Jade Fruit allowed him to move his plans forward by several months.

But Theron knew.

When such a sudden change occurred, if he failed to control himself, the plan could fail.

Moreover, now that the first exam was over, did he not need to prepare for that next?

“...Quite a lot of blood will flow before long.”

The exams were dangerous, but so was the competition conducted between each section.

That was what tightened around the necks of the trainees here most of all.

Section 5, where Theron belonged, would probably rank near the very bottom in the first exam.

Naturally, because of that, the instructors would start beating them again, and the mood would become extremely gloomy.

But...

‘That can't happen.’

From now on, the competition between each section would grow even fiercer.

To achieve good results in that competition, cooperation among the trainees within each section was also important.

‘Of course, most of them are a complete mess.’

This was a place that taught them to bite and tear at one another.

And yet cooperation among trainees?

Even a passing dog would snort at the idea.

But several sections had already shown strong unity.

And most of those were the sections that always ranked near the top.

“This place... has to change first.”

In his previous life, he had lacked power, so all he could think about was surviving.

But now, many things had changed.

He had eaten the Blood Jade Fruit much earlier than before, and he had been able to fully absorb its power.

For the competition ahead.

‘First, this chaotic Section 5... has to be united as one.’

And before long, the sun rose, and the results of this damned exam came out.

_______________

Early morning.

All forty-two trainees of Section 5 were gathered in the training ground.

The ominous atmosphere alone was enough to tell them the exam results without even hearing them.

Bengle stood in front of the trainees, staring at them with a terrifying gaze.

Bengle waved the sheet of paper in his hand toward the trainees before him.

“Tenth out of ten sections, you worthless vermin.”

Only nineteen.

The section in first place had gathered thirty-eight, exactly twice as many.

As though there was no need to say anything more, Bengle raised a thick wooden club.

Just looking at the bloodstains on the club was enough to tell how brutal his hands were.

“Ah, ah...”

Several of the Section 5 trainees looked nearly panicked.

Just thinking about another brutal beating already caused their bodies to react with rejection.

The other trainees likewise wore grim expressions.

But then.

“Instructor.”

A boy standing off to one side raised his hand and called out to Bengle.

Bengle turned his gaze toward the voice.

It was Theron.

“What is it? I believe I told you that even those who succeeded in gathering the flowers are not exempt.”

“That's not it. Beating us here now will not change the results of the next exam.”

“What did you say?”

“What an insolent bastard...!”

At Theron's words, the junior instructors standing on either side of Bengle glared fiercely.

They looked ready to charge forward and smash Theron's head in at any moment.

But Theron looked at Bengle and spoke.

“If you leave it to me, we will place within the top three in the next exam.”

“...Top three?”

Bengle's eyebrow twitched.

Section 5 had always hovered near the bottom, not only in the first exam they had just taken but throughout their training until now.

Because of that, Bengle's standing among the instructors in charge of each section was inevitably extremely low.

The label of being an instructor incapable of properly teaching his trainees followed him like a tag.

As a result, Bengle was also looked down upon considerably by the other instructors.

And the stress he received because of that naturally fell upon the trainees.

That was precisely why Bengle beat the trainees far more than common sense would allow.

Killing intent flashed in Bengle's eyes.

“You trash think you can place within the top three in the next exam?”

“Yes. If you leave it to me, I'll make sure we do.”

“And if you fail? What will you do then? Can I just beat every last one of you to death?”

At the look in his eyes, which truly seemed as though he would beat them to death, the other trainees' eyes trembled.

Some looked at Theron and muttered to themselves, ‘Has that bastard gone insane?’

But Theron seemed unconcerned as he spoke to Bengle.

“I don't want the other trainees to suffer because of my recklessness. But if I fail... I'll give you both of my arms.”

“...What did you say?”

“Crazy bastard...”

At Theron's words, another junior instructor unconsciously muttered.

Giving up his arms meant.

“You mean I can cut off both of your arms?”

“Yes.”

Theron answered without the slightest hesitation.

At those words, Perka, Renil, and Tioren standing beside him looked at Theron in horror.

“Wh-What kind of insane nonsense is that?!”

“I-Instructor! This bastard must have lost his mind! What he just said was a mistake...!”

Renil hurriedly covered Theron's mouth and shouted toward Bengle.

But Bengle approached Theron with a vicious gaze and looked down at him.

“I truly hate bastards who say one thing and then another. You said top three?”

“Yes.”

“Fine. Until the next exam, even if you make mistakes during training, none of you will be beaten.”

Bengle turned his gaze toward the junior instructors.

“From this moment on, stop the punishments.”

“...Understood.”

“Yes, understood.”

Once all the instructors answered, Bengle looked back at Theron and said.

“If you fail to place within the top three in the next exam, I'll cut off your arms in front of all the trainees here.”

Bengle moved his face close to Theron's.

“You can look forward to it. I'm a man who always keeps his word.”

He spoke with a sinister gaze.

But Theron did not hesitate in the slightest and calmly said.

“And... I have one more proposal. May I say it?”

“I'd love to hear what other bullshit you have to spout. Go ahead and say it.”

A cold smile spread across Bengle's lips.

Theron spoke calmly.

“If... by some chance, our Section 5 takes first place in the next exam, please give me one item from the armory beneath the training camp.”

At Theron's words.

“...Who told you about that?”

Bengle's expression stiffened.