Ch.56EP.16 – The Knight Hates Tests (3)

# Troll.

The monster also known as ‘Man-Eater’ is said to have been born when a former forest guardian deity became corrupted.

The tale of a forest guardian betrayed by humans who merged with stone to seek revenge, transforming into a monster that devours people, is famous in both fairy tales and comedies.

The creation of such oral folklore serves as a warning even to children about the violence and threat trolls pose.

The representative folklore about trolls goes like this:

– ‘Though covered in hard stone, its agility and intelligence are as deceptive as a born wolf.’

– ‘It possesses regenerative abilities like an undying flame, and harbors strength that can shake mountains, making it a slaughterer of all things.’

– ‘It is a stone demon that lives by consuming humans.’

A true nightmare.

This is the tale of a monster that would keep children of all social classes awake at night.

Indeed, the power of trolls described in folklore was truly terrifying.

Knights would need to mobilize to defeat a troll, and even then, sacrifices might be inevitable.

Thus, trolls reigned as the nightmare of warriors.

However, the effects of a troll’s heart and blood held such immense “value” that even such nightmares were worth facing.

Consuming the blood could heal not only most diseases but also all wounds.

Consuming the heart was discovered to provide numerous benefits, including extended lifespan.

Well, eating it without proper refinement would be fatal.

In any case, when a troll appeared in forests or mountains near a territory, it was considered a treasure that had to be captured somehow.

Despite the potential sacrifices, a successful hunt would be an incredible windfall.

That’s why countless mercenaries and explorers strived to find trolls, but unfortunately, trolls have now become rare creatures.

Due to indiscriminate capture and hunting, they are no longer commonly found in ordinary forests or mountains, and can only be encountered in areas known as magical territories.

So…

“-Someone asked today if we’d really be fighting actual trolls in the Swordsmanship Department exam. What a foolish question, right? With just a little thought, it’s obvious that ‘real trolls’ wouldn’t be in the royal capital.”

Those who ask if the “artificial products” appearing in academic exams are real trolls must certainly have very little going on in their heads.

This cold remark came from Karin Alencia de Guinevere, a beautiful girl resembling a purple violet, while a boy whose hair was being groomed by her like a cherished doll blushed and responded:

“La-Lady Karin, could you please move away…”

“Isn’t it ridiculous? How could they possibly obtain monsters like trolls? The only available option is the [Stone Troll] created through alchemy.”

“…Hmm.”

Her captivating scent was troubling.

His young body might soon react.

Derrick, naturally introverted, hunched over in an effort to somehow distance himself from her.

Slap.

“Where do you think you’re going?”

“……”

It was meaningless anyway.

“Honestly, even calling it a troll is laughable. It’s just stones with troll blood on them. Oh, was that blood replicated too?”

“St-Still, it’s a threatening entity, isn’t it?”

“Well, I suppose it is to ordinary people.”

The artificial man-eater, or stone troll, was essentially a golem-like artificial life form that could hardly be called a living being.

Since finding actual trolls had become extremely difficult, it was one of the products created through alchemists’ efforts to replicate troll hearts and blood.

However, these replicated products could barely imitate about 20% of the performance of real troll blood, which disappointed many people, but still, 20% performance was nothing to scoff at.

Thanks to this, many products were developed, one of which was the [Stone Troll].

…It was created simply by infusing stones with replicated troll blood.

That’s why many people still didn’t understand the principle behind stone trolls.

However, their combat ability was less than half that of the original, so they were often used for training or evaluating someone’s skills.

The Swordsmanship Department exam was such a case.

“I’ve seen one before. Sometimes our family would purchase them to have new knights fight against them. They were utterly pathetic. For creatures called forest demons or man-eaters, they were incredibly weak.”

“…I suppose that’s inevitable since they’re just replicas.”

Derrick had given up trying to escape her touch and accepted his fate of having his hair groomed.

While diligently answering her questions, there was something peculiar about his demeanor.

“Hmm? Was there something strange about what I said? Why did your reaction suddenly change?”

“Ah, no, I just had something on my mind.”

“Hmm, to think you have the luxury of other thoughts while with a splendid woman like me… How disappointing.”

“!?”

“Hmph!”

“Um… La-Lady Karin…?”

“Hmph-!”

“……”

…How does one appease a woman’s mood in situations like this?

Derrick couldn’t help but fall into deep contemplation, as if facing the world’s greatest conundrum.

‘More importantly, I need to figure out what to do soon…’

Even while trying to improve the delicate girl’s mood, Derrick’s mind was incredibly complex.

They had somehow entered the academy exam “chapter.”

Originally, the previous chapter should have occurred, but strangely, no chapter had manifested.

‘The illegal mages should have carried out a terrorist attack, but there’s been no such incident.’

He had been preparing to report to the knights about an illegal mage disguised as an academy instructor, but the mage disappeared overnight.

While it was reassuring that no terrorist attack occurred, it was still disconcerting.

‘What’s happening with the Odwal corruption route?’

Since even the main story wasn’t occurring, Derrick began to feel increasingly anxious.

It felt like all the information he knew was becoming tangled and useless.

Therefore, Derrick couldn’t confidently predict what would happen in this chapter, which made him even more worried.

‘The exam chapter makes me more anxious because there’s nothing I can do about it…’

It was impossible to predict how the butterfly effect might manifest.

The ‘exam period chapter’ had too many uncertainties.

Beyond the uselessness of his information, this was like a ‘forced event.’

Moreover, Derrick had neither justification nor authority to prevent the exam.

All he had was his status as a mere student.

‘I’m powerless.’

What good was having information when he couldn’t do anything alone?

“…Why are you making that expression?”

“Pardon?”

“I’m asking why you suddenly look so sad.”

“Ah, well, that’s…”

“I’m not angry. I just see that you’re holding something in, so I’m asking.”

“……”

“Come here.”

“I, I…”

“Hurry, are you going to reject a woman’s courage offered first?”

“……”

…Hug.

At the girl’s rebuke, which seemed to see right through him, Derrick unconsciously found himself in her embrace.

She was clearly younger than him, yet here he was, being comforted in her arms.

It was embarrassing.

…Still.

‘It feels better.’

Clearly, despite his higher mental age, he couldn’t ignore his physical age.

An age governed by hormones.

Derrick was thus comforted, and Karin gently stroked the boy’s gray hair.

Hoping that this scarred boy’s eyes would soften, even if just a little.

……Well, contrary to their noble feelings.

“There they go again.”

“Lucky bastard.”

“…I want to date someone too.”

To others, it only looked like they were rubbing salt in wounds.

It was summer.

* * *

Boom!

“Ah, is this the stone troll?”

Ihan Turtle, in his position as a Swordsmanship Department instructor, was able to meet the troll that students would fight beforehand.

[Grrr…Argh…!]

“…It’s kind of like a doll with a speaker attached.”

The original troll form boasts a size of about 6 meters, resembling nothing less than an excavator transformed into a robot.

Despite this, its body is covered in stone, and it’s so ferocious and violent that it can never be tamed, like a wild beast.

But this one.

Whoosh!

“Slow, small, and weak.”

The 3-meter troll, or rather, this “thing” that’s merely a stone-form monster, moves.

It might be incredibly threatening to some, but Ihan wasn’t particularly impressed.

“This isn’t a troll.”

Ihan concluded.

This isn’t a troll, he thought.

It’s just a low-grade imitation that copied a troll’s form.

Therefore.

“Boring.”

Crack!

Ihan’s palm struck the stone monster without hesitation.

It was nothing more than a slap, but the impact it created was immense.

Boom!

An explosion.

The stone monster’s back burst, and it collapsed.

“Hmm, I’m using this move quite often lately.”

Balgeyong.

His strike, containing destructive power incomparable to the blow Levi Jeanne d’Arc had shown the previous day, shattered the monster to pieces.

A technique based on Baltar Grace’s internal weight method.

However, it’s somewhat uncomfortable because it’s such a convenient technique.

It feels like he’s becoming too reliant on it.

‘I should research different techniques next time.’

Convenient techniques are good, but how can one become stronger by merely chasing shortcuts?

Tingle.

“…Still, it’s quite tough.”

A tingling sensation at his fingertips during contemplation.

It wasn’t particularly painful, but his hand was a bit numb.

This imitation, though weak and full of openings, has considerable defense in exchange.

Also.

Squirm… Squirm…

“Does it have some regenerative ability too?”

He had wondered why it could be called a troll.

The broken body was trying to reattach itself.

It seems it’s not entirely disadvantageous.

He confirmed his suspicion as he crushed its head, cutting off its breath.

……This is not an “opponent” that students can defeat.

‘The returnee guy and those three can easily win, the assistant will barely manage, but the rest can’t.’

This applies not only to the bear series but also to the young master series.

Maybe after another year of training, but fighting at their current level?

It’s a guaranteed loss.

Why?

‘They lack destructive power.’

He knew this well because he had taught them.

Those weak ones are far from being able to face this stone troll.

Thus, Ihan realized that this exam wasn’t structured to require defeating the monster to pass.

‘The examiners are military elders, right? In their case, they’ll look at combat ability, but they’ll be more interested in how a warrior responds intelligently.’

Not a bad approach.

It feels like they want to push students to their limits to identify strengths and weaknesses, thereby confirming potential.

It’s an appropriate assessment method, and it’s not an unreasonable test since it seems one can pass by showing “excellence” and “a fighting spirit” even without learning combat techniques.

However.

“…Now I understand why the bears’ seniors only last until the second year.”

The bears’ seniors.

That is, the commoner students from the previous year, though weak, must have surpassed the benchmark Ihan had in mind.

That’s why they made it to the second year.

But they probably realized as soon as they became second-years.

That their capabilities were those of excellent soldiers or strategists, not knights.

Sensing this limitation, many students dropped out.

Truly.

“-It’s foolish. If they’re that excellent, they should embrace them even if it means opening up advanced combat techniques, but what’s so special about discarding talented individuals?”

“……”

“Don’t you agree, friend?”

“…This area is off-limits to outsiders, though?”

“Haha, don’t worry. I snuck in.”

“…You’re quite brazen.”

Despite the sudden appearance of an outsider, Ihan took it in stride.

He had detected the unfamiliar, or rather, irritating presence earlier but deliberately didn’t confront it.

There was no killing intent or hostility, after all.

However, the approach of suddenly coming up and reading his thoughts was quite uncomfortable.

Did he learn mind-reading?

“Rather than mind-reading, I have a talent for reading others’ thoughts well. It’s not intentional. Just a clumsy skill I somehow acquired.”

“…Isn’t that mind-reading?”

“Haha, it might be called that, but real mind-reading is what my brother possesses. This mere ability doesn’t even qualify as mind-reading.”

“I’d rather not experience it.”

“Haha, you might change your mind if you meet him. Unlike the rumors spread in the capital, my brother is quite the real deal.”

“Stop it. Why would I meet that gentleman?”

“Hmm? Did I mention who my brother is?”

“I’d be a fool not to know.”

“?”

“……”

He’s a strange fellow.

He can read others’ minds like a mind-reader, yet he lacks awareness.

Did he think he wouldn’t be recognized with the “Lion with Wings” [mark] clearly drawn on his forearm?

Moreover, beyond the mark.

“You should at least hide your hair and eye shape.”

“Ah, was it noticeable?”

Beyond the jet-black hair characteristic of northerners, his predatory eyes resembling a lion were a symbol that only those inheriting the lion’s heart from a certain family could possess.

And those with lion’s eyes generally.

“Hmm, I intended to hide my identity, but that’s a shame.”

“You don’t seem to have any intention of hiding at all.”

“Haha, I originally planned to, but as I watched quietly, my blood boiled, and I lost the luxury of hiding.”

“……”

“I’m not usually an inappropriate person, but… this is like a family trait, so I can’t help it…!”

Grin.

“-Would you be willing to fight me until death?”

A mad [berserker] who loves battles to the death.

A knight inheriting the Lionel bloodline proposed a death match to Ihan as if it were a confession.

“…Crazy bastard.”

Of all people to encounter, why did it have to be someone like a heretic, or rather, a [Northern Sea Heretic]?

‘Why do only these kinds of bastards approach me in a friendly manner?’

Ihan couldn’t understand it at all.