I found myself passing through the place where I'd seen a half-dead wolf a year ago. I turned my head toward Teacher Varren and asked, "What chance do I have?"
He looked at me and said, "Look, kid, the village head recommended you at the last quarterly assembly. You can consider your examination a formality."
I loosened up a little at the reassurance, but he didn't know about a huge flaw of mine — I don't have a mana core. All creatures in this world have one — except me. That's how they can store and use mana whenever they need to. I hope there won't be any mana-related assessments.
After walking for about an hour, we finally arrived at the inner gate of the castle. Two soldiers in identical uniforms stood guard. They had arming swords in scabbards suspended from their belts. They glanced at us, then saluted Teacher Varren.
Past the gate, there were about thirty people chatting in the open space. Many were in pairs, some in groups of three. Teacher Varren clapped me on the back and went off to attend to his own business.
Well, moment of truth...
About half an hour later, a man in a surcoat emerged from inside the castle. He stopped at an empty forge, then turned toward us. Almost everyone fell silent. A few continued talking, but when they noticed his intimidating gaze, they shut up.
The man cleared his throat and spoke in a low but commanding voice:
"Welcome, candidates. My name is Captain Edward. Today, you will be examined to become part of the mighty soldiers of the Sunstead domain. The first assessment is simple: reach the village at the base of the hill and return. Do that three times. I will send home half of you who return last."
His words stunned me. "The examination is a formality," my ass.
Then the captain barked, "What are you waiting for? Chop, chop!"
I dashed forward, passing the person who had stood behind me. I turned right and ran at full speed — it wasn't hard, since it was a downhill slope. I passed the smithy on my left, then a small stable by the outer gate with space for five horses — only four were there.
After exiting the outer gates, I rushed to the village, but I wasn't the first. Around a dozen people had beaten me there. The descent was easy. The real challenge would be running back uphill.
I turned and began the ascent. As expected, it was brutal. Luckily, Teacher Varren told me to run every morning, and my work in the village kept me fit. Still, my thighs burned, but it was nothing compared to the pain of widening mana paths.
I reached the inner gates and turned around for the second trip. This time, I returned among the first six. As I slowed down, I discreetly reached into my pocket and stuffed my mouth with ox jerky.
When the final lap was over, I finished ninth. Not bad for someone who had trained for only three months.
We lined up in horizontal formation, facing the gates in order of finish. Within a minute, everyone was present. Captain Edward didn't waste time.
"The last sixteen candidates," he announced, "you have failed. Please leave the inner part of the castle immediately. As for the rest — follow me in the same formation."
We, the first sixteen, turned right and followed him. After passing under a wooden archway, we entered another open space.
"Stop. Column right!" he ordered.
He walked to the wall, leaned on it, and said, "Come up one by one and show your best downward slash."
As the people ahead of me stepped forward to strike, I began focusing my mana. I split it — half to my right shoulder, half to my right obliques. That was my limit — I couldn't split it further. The amount was small, so I moved it back and forth to preserve as much as possible.
Finally, my turn came.
I stepped up, took the blunt sword, and got into the 'From the Roof' stance Teacher Varren taught me. I held the sword above my right shoulder, with my elbow and knees slightly bent. Left foot forward, right foot back — shoulder-width apart. My body was slightly turned to the right, with the sword tip pointing up and a bit behind me.
I was ready.
I channeled my mana into the prepared muscles, strengthening them as much as I could.
Then — I stepped forward with my left foot, pushing off the right to shift my weight forward. My hips twisted sharply to the left. My right shoulder came forward, and the left pulled back to balance it. And I swung.
My right arm drove the sword downward in a clean arc. A sharp whoosh followed, loud and sudden — like a whip cracking in my hand instead of a sword. A faint gust reached Captain Edward's face, gently stirring his hair.