LIGHTNOVELSTORY Ch 19 - The Path of Graduate (3)
Chapter 19
The Path of Graduate (3)
This passage describes an intense moment in the story as the students of a prestigious academy prepare for a critical first round of a test.
Set in a world where participants must track down and defeat a designated instructor within 24 hours, this trial is a test of both skill and strategy.
The protagonist, Ernas, reflects on the challenges of the exam and recalls past moments from a novel where he encountered similar trials.
However, his situation differs from the fictional narrative, as he must now contend with a new threat in the form of Lester, a rival student who is plotting against him.
Key points in this excerpt:
The Test: The 1st phase of the exam takes place in a vast mountainous area, where students must independently find and attack a designated instructor.
If they fail to do so within 24 hours, they are disqualified.
This is a test of survival and individual prowess, with strict rules against collaboration.
Ernas’ Strategy: Rather than charging into the test with brute force, Ernas chooses to pace himself, understanding the importance of not getting into conflicts with other students over the instructors.
His goal is to avoid exhausting himself and to deal with enemies like Lester at the right time, notably in the early hours of the morning when he believes he can have an advantage.
Lester’s Rivalry: Lester, another student, harbors ill will toward Ernas, partly due to a past altercation during a training session with a teacher named Kaleon.
Lester is plotting to take down Ernas during the exam, suspecting that Ernas is trying to set him up.
His strategy is to counter Ernas’ moves with his own traps.
Tension and Intrigue: There’s an undercurrent of rivalry and manipulation, with both Ernas and Lester trying to outsmart each other in the dangerous terrain of the exam.
Additionally, the presence of other students like Chloe and the implications of not sticking to the rules (like working in groups) adds complexity to the exam.
This chapter exemplifies a blend of tactical thinking and personal vendettas, setting the stage for intense encounters and the psychological warfare that unfolds throughout the test.
“This is my trap, Ernas.”
If Ernas approaches without knowing anything, Yuser will make his move.
No matter how skilled Ernas’s charge attack is, if Yuser attacks from the blind spot, he’ll fail.
If Lester takes advantage of that opening to strike, they should be able to take Ernas down.
“And with my sword…”
Lester made up his mind to cut at least one or two of Ernas’s tendons during this chance.
“You’re going to pay for humiliating me with that handshake.”
He clenched his fist as he made this resolve.
“Huh? Ernas, what are you doing here?”
“Viola…?”
When he opened his eyes to the familiar voice, Viola was staring at him.
It seemed like she had found this cave, just like in the story.
“You’re just in time. I was getting hungry.”
“Huh?”
Viola quickly hid the rabbit she was holding.
“This, this is for my dinner…”
“I haven’t had dinner yet.”
“Ernas, you should prepare your own dinner!”
“You ate the steak I was supposed to have last time.”
“I thought I paid you back for that with the acupressure I did for you?!”
“Do you really think that was enough to pay me back? You still owe interest.”
“A loan shark?”
Viola pouted and sat down on the cave floor.
“Ugh, fine.
I’ll share a little with you.”
“Good, get it ready.”
Ernas yawned as he watched Viola prepare a campfire.
Even though Viola was from a noble family, she was used to this because the Orishios family made their living hunting monsters in the northern snowfields.
“Here, it’s all cooked.”
Viola handed over a roasted rabbit leg.
It tasted similar to chicken.
“Tastes good.”
“Uh, do you need more?”
“No, that’s enough.
The rest is yours.”
“Hehe… I’m relieved.”
Viola sighed in relief and started eating the rabbit meat.
She really enjoyed her food.
“So, why are you staring at me like that? Do you have ulterior motives…?”
“No ulterior motives.
Don’t get your hopes up.”
“You’re too much.”
When Ernas said this coldly, Viola made a sad face.
“Are you really sure there’s no ulterior motive? Wasn’t it about two weeks ago? You touched my body then.”
“Don’t phrase it like that.
I was correcting your sword stance.”
“Still, you held my wrist for almost a minute.
I have to admit, my heart was pounding.”
“So the ulterior motive was actually on your side.”
To be honest, Ernas had a different reason in mind.
But that was only… to copy Viola’s abilities.
“Viola.”
“Yeah?”
“Your Orishius family’s hunting skills… they’re useful for finding prey hiding in the forest, right?”
Viola blinked in confusion at the sudden question.
“Yeah, but… they won’t be much help finding instructors.
They’re mainly for locating monsters hiding using the terrain.”
“I know.
I just wanted to confirm.”
“…?”
Ernas smiled as he said this, and Viola tilted her head in confusion.
Before long, it became dawn.
“Damn it, where the hell is Ernas?”
Lester walked through the mountains, glancing around.
He had encountered several students so far, but Ernas was nowhere to be seen.
He’d been preparing for over 10 hours with Yuser for Ernas’s ambush… but nothing had happened.
“Could it be that Ernas has already passed the test… No, that can’t be.”
When someone passes the test, the instructor calls their name out loud.
Ernas’s name had not been heard yet.
“While I’m preparing for his attack, he’s giving up on capturing the instructor… What’s going on?”
Moreover, it had started to drizzle.
Looking at the dark clouds in the sky, it seemed like it was going to pour soon.
For Lester, who disliked getting wet, it was the worst possible situation.
“Damn it, I need to find some place to hide from the rain.”
Is there a cave or something nearby?
Lester called out to Yuser.
“Yuser, come out for a second.”
He was thinking of having Yuser find a place to take cover from the rain using his stealth.
But there was no answer.
“Yuser?”
Lester looked around.
However, he couldn’t find Yuser anywhere.
Unless someone was trained professionally, it was impossible to detect Yuser’s stealth.
“…!”
Thud!
Hearing something fall from a tree, Lester quickly turned around.
His eyes widened.
“Yuser!”
Yuser was lying on the ground, unconscious.
And…
“Ernas?!”
Ernas gracefully descended from the tree.
It seemed that Ernas had knocked out Yuser.
“How… how did you…!”
It was unbelievable.
Yuser’s stealth was hard for even Lester to detect, so how could Ernas…?
“How did you find Yuser? You’re not even a professionally trained hunter!”
“Well, maybe I learned some hunting techniques.”
“Are you mocking me again, Ernas…?!”
As Lester raised his voice, Ernas crouched down.
Then… he picked up the wooden sword that Yuser had at his waist.
“…!”
Had he known from the beginning?
Ernas pulled out a real sword hidden inside the wooden one.
“Ernas! Take your hands off that sword…!”
But that wasn’t all.
What was unfolding in front of Lester was something he couldn’t possibly believe.
“You… you…!”
By now, it was pouring rain.
Lester hated the rain, but it wasn’t the time to worry about that.
“That stance… where the hell did you steal it from?!”
Lancaster Fencing.
Ernas was perfectly demonstrating the swordsmanship stance passed down through the generations of the Lancaster family’s small sword fighting techniques.