Chapter 7

Mad Swordsman of the Shadow World (7)

A week passed in the blink of an eye.

Theron trained and ate just as usual.

If anything had changed, it was that his portions had increased, and the gazes of the instructors watching him felt rather piercing.

‘...Looks like he's already made his move.’

Berton was meticulous.

Since he had said he would be watching, Theron had to remain conscious of other people's eyes at all times.

However...

‘It doesn't matter.’

Theron was not someone who would be intimidated by something like that.

Moreover, after that day, the atmosphere in the Section 5 training grounds changed slightly.

Quite a few trainees in Section 5 had begun watching Theron's mood.

But...

Rustle.

Theron looked at Palcote sitting at a table some distance away.

As though unable to tolerate this atmosphere, the bastard glared at Theron with murderous intensity.

But if he caused another disturbance where the instructors could see, he too would inevitably be punished.

He was forcing himself to endure it, but he looked as though he might explode someday.

But...

‘That's none of my concern.’

Right now, he needed to pretend to obediently follow the instructors' orders.

Hell Island was every bit as dangerous as its name suggested. But looking back now, Theron realized it was also a place filled with just as many opportunities as dangers.

‘Back then, I only thought of this place as hell... I never imagined there were so many things here that could help me grow.’

The Blood Jade Fruit, which had completely transformed Theron's body, was one of them.

A spiritual medicine that removed impurities from the body and widened the mana circuits.

In his previous life, he had not properly understood its value, nor had he absorbed it properly, but...

‘Even then, it completely changed me.’

But if he could properly absorb the Blood Jade Fruit's effects in their entirety.

It would do more than simply remove impurities and widen the mana circuits. He could obtain an enormous amount of mana.

There was a reason mages risked their lives searching for it.

Moreover, wasn't the Blood Jade Fruit's fiery nature powerful enough to eliminate even the Death Sigil inside the heart?

‘The first problem is getting to where the Blood Jade Fruit is.’

But the plan was already complete.

Theron cleared away the dishes from his finished meal and subtly glanced at the instructors.

And a short while later.

“Everyone, assemble!”

Bengle, the instructor in charge of Section 5, came out into the lobby and gathered the trainees.

At last, tomorrow.

The final briefing before the full-fledged ‘exam’ had begun.

“...What's with this atmosphere?”

“It's tense.”

The instructors standing beside Bengle looked at the trainees with expressions different from usual.

Naturally, the lobby was filled with tension, and the trainees' faces could not help but stiffen.

And then.

“As you all know, the real exam begins tomorrow.”

At Bengle's words, several trainees gulped.

Bengle continued.

“It won't be easy. Some of you may die.”

Bengle's gaze sharpened.

“But remember this. If by any chance you fall behind the other sections and come in last, I'll personally kill half of those who survive.”

Fight and seize victory with your lives on the line.

“If you disgrace me, you won't be able to live properly in this place afterward.”

At Bengle's threat, several trainees had already gone pale.

Considering Bengle's usual behavior, he was more than capable of doing exactly that.

Perka spoke with a hardened expression.

“I don't know what the exam is... but if that bastard is saying this much... it must really be dangerous.”

“The part about us dying... isn't actually true, right?”

Renil said with a slightly frightened expression.

Tioren shook his head.

“No, it's probably true. Come to think of it, he barely hit anyone these past few days. If a piece of shit like him has been holding back from laying hands on the trainees... then it really must be a dangerous exam.”

It was a reasonably logical deduction.

Theron simply listened silently to their conversation.

But...

“First, we should figure out what the exam involves. Then... if there's anything we can help each other with, let's do it.”

At Perka's words, Tioren and Renil looked at him.

Normally, this would have been something they would naturally brush aside without committing to it...

“Fine. I'll do that.”

“I'll help too.”

Tioren and Renil answered.

Perka's words were surprising enough, but their answers were even more unexpected.

Was it because of what had happened recently?

The incident with Palcote seemed to have become an opportunity that bound the three of them more tightly together.

And at the center of it.

“You'll help too, right?”

“What about you, Theron?”

“...”

Perka and Tioren asked.

Renil merely stared at Theron with a guilty expression, silent as though his mouth had been sealed.

Theron unconsciously let out a faint chuckle.

“I will.”

It was a short answer, but their expressions brightened.

Then the instructor's explanation continued.

It was about the method of tomorrow's exam.

‘It's... the same as before.’

Naturally, it was conducted in exactly the same way as the exam Theron had taken in the past.

The Shadow Forest located on Hell Island.

It was named that because the dense trees kept the inside of the forest shrouded in darkness whether day or night.

The forest itself was not particularly large, but what mattered were the venomous insects and sharp-fanged beasts living within it.

‘And there was a fairly deep cliff near the edge of the forest.’

Theron knew every part of Hell Island.

Well enough that he could picture it simply by closing his eyes.

That was only natural.

He had spent ten long years in this place.

“...The exam you will take there is to gather a flower that looks like this and bring it back.”

“...A flower?”

What Bengle held in his hand was a flower with black petals dotted with white spots.

Its colors alone gave off a gloomy impression, but Theron merely nodded.

‘Moltir Flower.’

The early exams conducted by the training camp were all related to the trainees' growth.

The Moltir Flower, commonly known as the Flower of the Dark Heart.

If lightly blanched in boiling water and then crushed, its properties could be maximized.

It helped the mana cultivation method operate more smoothly and slightly increased the amount of mana accumulated.

However, its toxicity also increased along with those effects, and it could inflict fatal damage on the liver.

‘At first, we used it without knowing any better, but some people died because of it.’

They claimed that enduring even that was part of the training.

‘For the sake of their goal... they didn't care what happened to us or what methods they used.’

Theron's expression hardened.

“The exam lasts five days. Those who fail to return within five days will be considered to have failed and will receive severe punishment. Of course... I'll leave what that punishment is to your imagination.”

With those words, all the Section 5 trainees dispersed to their respective rooms.

Everyone wore grim expressions.

Lying down, Renil muttered quietly.

“...Do you think we'll do okay tomorrow?”

Judging by what the instructors had said earlier, it felt as though if something went wrong, it would go very wrong.

But no one answered.

Perka and Tioren were equally anxious.

But then.

“Don't worry too much. There are only a few things you need to be careful about.”

“...What?”

“What do you mean?”

“Theron?”

The three looked at Theron.

Theron sat down and gestured for the three to get up.

Once the ones lying down raised their upper bodies, Theron continued.

“The Moltir Flower has a unique poison. If you pick it with your bare hands, you can be poisoned.”

The poison was not especially strong, but it made the skin itch, and in severe cases the skin could peel away and the flesh beneath could begin to rot.

“And more importantly, there's something that always lives around the places where this flower blooms.”

“What is it?”

“An insect called the Silen Nark. Think of it as a bug about the length of your index finger.”

The Silen Nark looked like a caterpillar, but it folded and extended its body, using its powerful elasticity to launch itself at humans.

“If it bites you, you'll become paralyzed on the spot. Of course, one alone won't paralyze you instantly... but if you're too slow to get away, more Silen Narks may come, and you could end up dying.”

“...”

Everyone's expressions gradually hardened at Theron's explanation. But Perka cautiously asked.

“But Theron. How... do you know all this?”

“They existed where I lived when I was young. My father taught me.”

The children brought to Hell Island were between six and ten years old.

There were some differences, but all of them still had memories from before they came here.

At Theron's words, his three roommates looked surprised.

“You actually... remember something like that?”

“...Seriously.”

Theron lay down.

There was a limit to how much he could explain with words here anyway.

Once they entered the Shadow Forest.

‘The atmosphere will be completely different.’

Some trainees could not even bring themselves to enter because of the pressure unique to the forest.

In the end, they would simply have to experience it firsthand.

And with each of them holding their own anxiety and worries, the tomorrow they wished would never come finally arrived.

The Section 5 trainees left the training camp building and traveled with the instructors to the Shadow Forest.

The only time they normally went outside was for the morning run.

Coming this far away felt both fascinating and frightening.

And...

“This is the Shadow Forest.”

Faced with the Shadow Forest in person, all the trainees stared at it with frozen expressions.

________________

Beyond the high windbreak walls stood the training camp's watchtower overlooking Hell Island.

Berton was usually in his office, but whenever an exam began, he always came here.

With his arms crossed as he looked down over Hell Island, Berton spoke while staring straight ahead.

“Has the exam begun?”

The junior instructor standing behind him immediately answered.

“Yes. The trainees from every section have entered.”

Instead of replying, Berton let out a short breath.

After briefly looking away, he suddenly thought of someone and asked.

“Where did Section 5 enter?”

“The Shadow Forest.”

At that moment, Berton's gaze paused briefly.

The Shadow Forest.

“They went to gather Moltir Flowers.”

The words slipped out almost like a mutter.

The junior instructor lowered his voice.

“Yes. From the very first day, quite a few trainees... may die.”

Berton did not so much as twitch an eyebrow.

“Then that simply means their lives were destined to end there.”

Short and decisive words.

There was no sympathy or emotion.

To Berton, trainees were divided into a simple structure of those who would survive and those who would die.

He slowly raised his head and looked toward the distant direction where the Shadow Forest stretched out.

At that, the junior instructor cautiously asked.

“If it's Section 5... are you perhaps thinking about the trainee named Theron?”

Berton was not normally one to ask questions like this. Yet he had summoned Theron separately before.

‘And this time too...’

Why did he pay so much attention to an insignificant trainee?

But Berton did not answer.

He merely raised his chin slightly and gazed into the distance.

“Who knows.”

He simply looked out over the entirety of Hell Island.

But soon.

Rustle.

Berton turned away without hesitation.

The exam had already begun.

In a few days, the results would emerge.

Whether this thought of his was needless concern or not.

‘I suppose I'll know then.’

There was no hesitation in Berton's steps as he walked away.