Chapter 58: The Silver Test

Before leaving the Windmill City, I checked when the ship heading to Monster Island would arrive.

As a result, I learned that within the next two months, a ship would arrive at the Karma Empire.

Two months—a generous amount of time.

I set off slowly with Nightmare.

Exiting the city’s main gate, I crossed a field of blooming flowers.

“Hmm…”

Beyond the flower field stretched vast farmland.

The crops, ripe and ready for harvest, swayed like golden waves, as if the harvest season was just around the corner.

Passing through the golden waves, I reached a dense forest.

The straight, open forest path exuded a deep, enticing scent of grass, inviting everything around it.

As I emerged from the lush forest path, I noticed the air around me beginning to chill.

The closer I got to the Karma Empire, the more naturally the warmth in the air began to fade.

Even though months had passed since I left the Karma Empire, the winter here remained, scattering its biting cold.

Nightmare ran tirelessly, leaving long trails as we crossed the snow-covered plains.

A month and a week passed.

The seemingly endless snowy expanse finally came to an end.

From the far-reaching horizon, the walls of the Karma Empire appeared.

Thud, thud, thud—

Snow scattered in bursts with the sound of heavy hooves.

As I approached the gates, I pulled on Nightmare’s reins.

How long had it been since I returned?

Looking up at the massive walls, I smiled faintly.

“Stop! Halt!”

As expected, Nightmare’s size was quite intimidating.

It looked less like an ordinary horse and more like a monster.

As I got closer to the walls, the guards raised their weapons in caution.

“Hello there.”

Leaning slightly to the side of Nightmare’s head, I greeted the guards.

They stared at me for a moment before letting out a surprised sigh, as if recognizing my face.

They probably didn’t remember my name, but it seemed they’d grown familiar with my face over time.

I waved and pulled out my adventurer badge from my pocket.

“Is it okay if I enter?”

“Uh… well, as long as that horse isn’t going to cause any trouble?”

“Of course not.”

I answered with a bright smile and patted Nightmare’s mane.

The creature wagged its tail and let out a pleased chuckle, seemingly enjoying my touch.

Perhaps Nightmare’s adorable demeanor left a good impression, as the guards let me in without much hassle.

Clack, clack, clack—

The heavy sound of Nightmare’s hooves drew attention with every step.

The creature seemed to bask in the attention, strutting proudly.

The first place I headed to was an inn with a stable.

Having worked hard for me so far, I wanted to find a good inn with a comfortable stable where Nightmare could rest.

The chosen inn turned out to be quite luxurious.

After asking the staff to feed Nightmare some meat, I made my way to the Adventurer’s Guild.

To board the ship heading to Monster Island, I needed to accept a quest from the Adventurer’s Guild.

As expected of a city bustling with people, the Adventurer’s Guild was packed with a variety of individuals.

From ordinary residents seeking help to adventurers living day-to-day, the place buzzed with activity.

Pushing through the crowd, I approached the large quest board.

A guild staff member was busy pinning up requests, and their face looked oddly familiar.

At that moment, our eyes met in midair.

Just as I recognized them, they seemed to recognize me too, their eyes widening in surprise.

“Seris?”

“Hello.”

Although I didn’t know their name, we were acquainted.

I greeted them with a light smile.

“It’s been quite a while, hasn’t it? Have you met them yet?”

“Who do you mean by ‘them’?”

The guild staff tilted their head in confusion at my question and replied, “Could you wait for a moment? Let me finish putting these up, and I’ll explain in detail.”

“Sure.”

The staff member, who appeared to be a receptionist, moved busily, removing expired requests and replacing them with new ones.

The board was soon covered with various quests, from simple monster extermination like goblins and wolves to herb-gathering requests.

The latter seemed harder to fulfill due to the lingering winter.

Once finished, the receptionist smiled with satisfaction and turned back to me.

“What on earth have you been doing to make so many people look for you?”

“Hmm? People are looking for me?”

“Yeah, magicians and some kids who said they were friends from your hometown came by.”

Magicians? Could they mean Rain?

The image of a female magician who once subtly tried to drag me to the Magic Tower came to mind.

“Where are they now?”

“Well, I haven’t seen them lately, so I assume they’ve left the city.”

“Huh… What about my so-called friends? What do they look like?”

“They were twins with hair like blue water.”

“Ah, Su and Shu.”

“Yeah, that was their name.”

“What were they doing? They weren’t just looking for me, right?”

“They were working as adventurers.”

I let out a sigh of relief at the receptionist’s words.

It seemed those twins had also left the village in search of their dreams.

Watching me silently, the receptionist smiled and asked, “Are you looking for a specific quest?”

“I want to join the Monster Island expedition.”

“Monster Island…?”

“Yes.”

“Hmm…”

“Is it not possible? I heard the ship’s due to arrive around this time.”

“It’s not impossible, but only adventurers ranked Silver or higher can join the expedition. You’re a Bronze rank, Seris.”

“As long as I’m Silver rank, I can join, right?”

“Yeah.”

“Alright. I’ll go earn my Silver rank.”

“Uh… okay. I’ll be waiting?”

With a determined snort, I left the Adventurer’s Guild.

I was confident in my skills.

I’d honed my swordsmanship through countless adventures and proven it in the orc wars.

I strode boldly to the front gate of a large swordsman’s guild.

The familiar smell of iron and oil greeted me.

Fiddling with the sword strapped to my back, I stepped inside.

The interior of the swordsman’s guild hadn’t changed a bit.

I headed straight to a receptionist who looked idle and spoke.

“Hello.”

“Hmm?”

The receptionist looked at me with curiosity.

Judging by their unfamiliar face, they seemed to be a newly hired staff member.

“How do I apply for a promotion exam?”

“Promotion exam? Oh, you want to level up to Bronze?”

“No. I want to level up to Silver.”

The receptionist furrowed his brow at my answer. He even tilted his head, as if he couldn’t believe what he heard.

“Silver? Are you sure?”

“Yes.”

“Uh… well… can you show me the grade token you have?”

I took out the Bronze grade token from my pocket and handed it to him.

The receptionist took the token and examined it closely, groaning.

“Hmm… the grade token is correct, but… well, anyone can apply for the exam.”

Muttering to himself, the receptionist started filling out some paperwork.

His pen moved quickly as he spoke to me.

“The cost is 3 gold. Keep in mind that once you attempt the exam, you can’t try again that year, and you might get injured during the exam, so be cautious.”

As he finished the paperwork, the receptionist looked at me, waiting for my response.

I nodded and paid the exam fee.

The receptionist took the gold and handed me a small wooden token from a drawer.

“Take this and head to the third floor. Show it to the staff there, and they’ll let you take the exam.”

Following his instructions, I climbed the stairs to the third floor, where a spacious area opened up before me.

As I looked around, someone began to approach.

Leather pants wrapped around long legs, and a loose white shirt draped over them.

The shirt was topped with fiery red hair.

“Seris?”

“Ah, hello.”

It was a familiar face. The person who approached me was Selion.

“What are you doing here? Are you here for the promotion exam?”

“Yes.”

I fumbled with the wooden token I had tucked in my pocket and showed it to her.

Selion took the token, her face showing clear surprise as she asked,

“You’re a Bronze examiner, and you want to take the Silver promotion exam? Are you confident?”

“Of course. I’ve gotten stronger.”

“Hmm… Well, it’s an exam anyone can take.”

After saying that, Selion turned around. I stared at her as she moved, and she spoke again.

“Aren’t you going to take the exam?”

“Me? Are you the one giving the Silver promotion exam?”

“If you don’t like it, you can ask someone else.”

I looked around, and there were other examiners besides Selion, all of whom were rough-looking older men.

I quickly shook my head and followed behind Selion.

Selion led me to a large training area.

The floor was sturdy and not slippery.

“Come up.”

“Ah, yes.”

This time, Selion didn’t use a practice sword. She unsheathed the sword from her waist.

With a cold gleam, the sword revealed a flowing flame-like pattern etched into it.

“You don’t really need to beat me. You probably can’t, but…”

As Selion spoke, her figure vanished in an instant.

She moved with incredible speed, out of my sight.

Clang!

“Ugh…!”

With a groan, I managed to block Selion’s attack with my sword, half-drawn.

Since I was ambushed without a chance to gather mana, my body was pushed back, rolling on the floor.

“How long are you going to stay down?”

The promotion exam had already begun.

Selion didn’t seem to have any intention of going easy on me.

She immediately launched the next attack.

Her left leg, extended in a sweeping motion, became the axis of her body’s rotation, and that force spread through her whole body, creating the next stance.

A thrust.

The sharp flash aimed at my chest felt chilling.

I hurriedly moved, swinging my sword to parry the attack.

Clang!

As the swords clashed, sparks flew.

The shock transferred through the sword, and my wrist throbbed painfully, but I had no time to relieve the pain.

Selion’s attacks kept coming like waves.

Her sword flew toward me, spreading like a fiery torrent, stealing my breath.

It seemed to leave behind a faint flame in the air.

As I continued to defend, I noticed a small opening.

Amid the suffocating flames, a potential escape route appeared.

It could be a trap, but at this point, it seemed like the only way forward.

Without hesitation, I dashed forward, using my smaller frame to slip into Selion’s guard and immediately took an attacking stance.

Her outstretched leg slammed into the ground, shifting her balance and positioning her for the next move.

Boom!

A series of starlike patterns began to gather on my sword as I aimed upward.

Seven stars twinkled faintly in the darkness, vibrating as if ready to ascend.

With all preparations complete, I gathered my strength and thrust the sword into the air.

Whoosh!

The starlight shot upward, brushing against Selion’s cheek.

The sensation at my fingertips was fleetingly light.

In that moment, Selion’s sword blurred with incredible speed.

The movement was so fast that I couldn’t react in time.

The sword, wrapped in starlight, was about to strike me when Selion’s blade reached me first.

“Ugh…”

I stopped moving. Selion’s sword was pressed just below my throat.

If I had moved, it would have sliced open my neck, spilling blood.

I looked into Selion’s eyes and asked,

“So… did I fail?”

“I told you, you didn’t need to win.”

“Then… I passed?”

“You’ve gotten a lot better. You passed.”

Selion sheathed her sword and smiled lightly.

As her smile spread across her face, the pressure I had been feeling disappeared instantly.

I sat down, staring blankly at her.

I had been proud of my recent improvement in swordsmanship, but it seemed I still had a long way to go to match Selion.

Would the result have been different if I had used magic?

As I pondered, Selion asked,

“By the way, why did you suddenly decide to take the promotion exam? Are you trying to join the knights?”

“Oh, I’m planning to join the Monster Island Expedition.”

“Oh, that’s a coincidence. I’m going there too.”

“Really? You too?”

Selion smiled at my surprised expression and extended her hand.

Despite her pretty face, her hand was calloused and rough.