Chapter 8: Initiation Test (3)

Throughout our journey to the Training Grounds, Lize never stopped trying to engage me in conversation. I marveled at how she could maintain such high energy and enthusiasm.

She was particularly keen on trying to understand why I had been cursed by a witch, but I dodged all her probing questions, blaming my lack of memory due to the curse, or claiming I didn’t know.

Eventually, she seemed to understand my intent and changed her line of questioning. Unable to withstand her barrage of questions, I sent pleading glances at Iris and Erika for assistance, but to no avail.

Iris merely shook her head with a look of frustration, telling me that there was no stopping Lize and to just go along with it. Erika initially tried to maintain decorum by pointing out Lize’s lack of modesty in her behavior, but soon gave up and apologized to me with a guilty expression. All the while, Lize was grinning from ear to ear.

So, it was left to me to deal with the constant attention.

I can’t describe how agonizing it was to have Lize attached to my hip, incessantly chatting. At that point, Iris stopped in her steps.

“We are now at the Training Grounds.”

‘Why is it so big?’

What unfolded before my eyes was a vast plain, far larger than the Training Grounds in the game. Perhaps this was a side effect of the Knight Order’s lodging transforming from a standard building into a colossal castle.

I took a moment to survey my surroundings. Though the area was larger, the scenery hadn’t changed. It was like the game’s location was stretched out.

In the distance, I could spot a storage area, and one wall was lined with wooden swords. The ground wasn’t particularly well-kept, with dust swirling up every time the wind blew.

Lize, who until just now was whispering something to Erika, got close up to me and asked, “What do you think, rookie? Do you like it?”

“All I feel is that it’s quite ordinary- Wait, rookie?”

“Yes, rookie. Is there a problem?”

“Of course, there is. I haven’t even taken the entrance exam yet.”

“Iris wouldn’t have made a mistake in judging you. Plus, didn’t you hear her confident remark that there’s no need to worry? If she’s that sure, then your admission is pretty much guaranteed, so you’re a rookie. Don’t worry too much, I’ll be gentle. Well, not too gentle.”

With that, Lize gave me a wink. Had the enemy enhancement mod not been activated, I might have been reassured, but since it was, I responded with a forced smile.

“The test will be a 1-on-1 duel. You pass if more than half of the Knight Order’s leaders, excluding Knight Commander Iris, approve of your admission. Since Knight Commander Claudia isn’t here, it will be sufficient if either my sister or I agree. It’s not a majority, but we’ll have to make do.”

“Claudia isn’t here?”

Iris voiced her doubt at Erika’s explanation.

It was the same for me. I had no memory of a character named Claudia in my recollections. It seemed more accurate to assume that all main NPCs had been transformed into women.

I’d have to research what parts correspond with the original game and where the differences start.

“Claudia? She went to hunt down a monster. Not long after you left, she received orders from the lord and left, so it’s understandable you don’t know. She should be back in about two days.”

A monster extermination quest assigned by the lord. That was enough information to identify who the original NPC was.

I knew about Iris, and I had figured out Claudia. Now, the only ones left were Lize and Erica. The outlines of the characters began to form in my mind.

I’d have to keep this a secret from the three of them, but the Knight Captain named Claudia would likely return severely wounded from the failed monster subjugation. That was how the game story went.

Of course, as a player, I could be the one to defeat that monster.

That would be the real start of the game. The tutorial area was simply a place to show the direction and goal of Brightest Darkness 4, and this entrance exam was also just basic combat to explain the game’s system.

The issue was that with the enemy enhancement mod installed, it wouldn’t just be basic combat but a near boss battle.

“I see.”

Iris nodded briefly.

“Your dueling partner is—”

“Me, me, me, me, me! I’ll do it! It has to be me!”

Lize abruptly raised her hand, causing her chest, barely contained by her thin sleeveless shirt, to jiggle. Iris looked at me with eyes that seemed to ask if I was okay with that.

Seeing her that eager to fight me, it looked like I had no choice. I nodded. At the sight of my agreement, Lize broke into a wide grin and started jumping up and down.

Erica approached from behind Lize.

“Here, sis.”

She had a pair of daggers in her hands. When Lize took them, a chilling aura circulated around us. One side of the double-edged dagger turned blue, and frost began to form.

Ah, the original NPC was that guy, of course.

‘Sigh.’

I inwardly clicked my tongue. So, the blue-haired one has ice attributes, huh?

I was hoping for a twist like her blue hair was due to blue fire or her red hair due to red ice, but no such luck.

“You’re going to use that weapon, so there’s no need for me to give you another, right? If you want to use something else, just say so. I’ll lend you one.”

Iris pointed at the bloodstained sword hanging from my waist.

In this mixed world of game and reality, where women in modern clothes were considered normal, the fact that the entrance exam had to be fought with real weapons was also taken as a given.

Not only Lize, but even Iris and Erica seemed to think that as long as I controlled my strength, there was nothing wrong with the duel itself. The only mercy was that the duel was won by reducing the opponent’s health to just half, not completely.

“Moreover, of all the possible opponents, it had to be that damned NPC.”

The NPC that served as the base for Lize was a boss in Brightest Darkness 4 who, if you were to pick the dirtiest, most miserable, and frustrating status effect, would confidently make the top of the list: ‘Freeze’.

When the freeze gauge fills up, the player character is frozen solid for 4 seconds, unable to perform any action, and even after it’s lifted, for the next 30 seconds, the movement speed, natural stamina recovery rate, natural battle fatigue recovery rate decrease significantly. Not only that, but the speed and evasion distance of your roll and even the duration of invincibility are halved.

This alone would be an incredibly dirty debuff, but the Freeze status stacks over five of them. Other status ailments would be one or at most two debuffs, but not this one.

It was as if the developers had intentionally designed it this way.

What’s more frustrating is that such elemental attacks can’t be perfectly blocked. To perfectly block elemental attacks, you needed the right kind of large shield or extra large shield.

The build up status effect was small, but even if you perfectly parried an attack without a shield, the gauge would still slightly fill up, which in itself was a source of stress.

“What’s that weapon? The blade’s red?”

As I unsheathed my blood-stained sword, Lize, who had been brandishing her dagger wrapped in cold air, asked with curiosity.

“It’s a weapon I obtained by defeating a monster in the dungeon.”

“Huh? A monster? There were monsters in the dungeon? And you defeated it? Who did? You, Iris?”

Lize’s eyes widened in surprise. I realized I hadn’t explained what had happened in the dungeon yet.

“It’s a long story. I’ll tell you after our duel. I also need to write a report to submit to the Lord.”

“Oh, right. We need to report to that swine, don’t we?”

“We can go see him this evening. Reluctantly.”

The lord of this city, whether his character was identical to the game or not, was so blunt that not only did the usually reserved Iris openly express her dislike for him, but even Lize, who seemed to enjoy most of everything, called him a pig.

Even Erica, upon hearing this, bit her lip with a weary expression.

“Enough with the pointless chatter. Both of you, prepare.”

As if not wanting to think about the Lord any further, Iris forcefully moved the duel forward. Lize and I faced each other, while the two not participating in the duel backed away.

A chill started to billow from her twin daggers, emitting a slight white mist. It was a fog of ice and holy power. The wind that blew brought a touch of cold with it.

‘Never thought I’d see this up close.’

I had seen it plenty of times inside the monitor.

Holding the blood-stained sword with both hands, I tilted the tip slightly to the right and lowered my stance. As I inhaled, the cold penetrated to my lungs. I hoped this wouldn’t contribute to the freeze gauge.

Unlike me, worried about every little thing and on high alert, Lize started to approach with a leisurely expression.

“Why so tense, rookie? Are you scared I might kill you? Don’t worry, I won’t, so you can loosen up a bit.”

‘You used to kill me a lot in the game, though.’

I swallowed the retort I wanted to make. Thinking back to when I first installed the Brightest Darkness mod and how frequently I ended up dead while trying to clear it, her reassurance wasn’t exactly comforting.

“But instead…”

The chill in the surrounding air rapidly intensified. She seemed to be ready to spring forward. I, too, braced myself to counter her assault.

“You’re going to feel a bit of pain!”

With a loud thud, the distance between us shrank frighteningly fast right as her words ended.