WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: Oblivious

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◈ The Weakest Knight Became a Swordmaster, But Only in Dungeons ◈

Chapter 3: Surviving at Knight Academy (2)

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The Empire's training institute for magic knights, Griffin Knight School, was similar to a military academy from my previous life.

It was a place where students learned tactics, martial arts, and magic while undergoing military-style training.

The problem was... the training was insanely intense.

"An Imperial magic knight must constantly grow stronger! How much have you trained since the entrance examination? Do you possess the qualities of a knight...? As announced during orientation, we will now test you!"

Having said that, the instructor had the first-year cadets, myself included, running through the mountains.

'These lunatics...!'

They were all ridiculously fast.

Like a streamer on some video platform in my previous life once did, they could probably film themselves doing a binge-eating mukbang while running a marathon without breaking a sweat.

Then the instructor abruptly pointed toward the mountaintop.

"The finish line is at that summit! Race there! First through third place will receive fifty merit points each, while fourth through tenth place will receive thirty points each! You all know how important merit points are, don't you!?"

A glint appeared in the cadets' eyes.

Their goal was to join the most prestigious magic knight order.

The better their grades and the more merit points they earned at knight school, the greater their chances.

"On the other hand, anyone who fails to reach the finish line within thirty minutes from the moment I shout 'Start' will be expelled! If you lack stamina, use magic, crawl, whatever it takes to survive! Finding a way to survive in any situation is also an ability a knight needs!"

'Fuck...!'

This damn knight school trained the Empire's finest magic knights. Of course it wasn't going to be forgiving.

It regularly weeded out the unworthy. You couldn't make just anyone into a knight.

Right. Becoming a cadet at this school merely gave you the minimum chance to become a magic knight.

'To hell with the story. If I get kicked out here, none of it matters.'

If I couldn't stay at knight school, I wouldn't be able to interfere with many storylines. It was practically game over.

Like an idiot, I'd only thought about the future from the perspective of playing the game and overlooked this ordeal.

The culling process had only been described in the story. The player was never actually expelled.

Ah, Master, when you said I had no chance at knight school...

Only now do I understand your profound meaning...

"You half-baked squires! Did you understand!?"

"Yes!!"

The cadets shouted as though possessed.

"Now, start!"

Whoosh!

'Whoa!'

The cadets launched into a furious sprint, kicking up strong gusts of wind. My hair and clothes fluttered wildly.

Dust rose everywhere, making me cough repeatedly.

Those lunatics hadn't even been running at full speed until now?

"I-I can't do this..."

"Urgh! Aah!"

"Gasp, gasp... Aah...!"

Of course, there were quite a few cadets in a state similar to mine. One by one, they began falling behind.

Some sat down, while others collapsed. They slammed their thighs hard and choked back tears.

They seemed to be cadets with weaker willpower than me, or abilities similar to mine.

Before long, my body was reaching its limit too.

'Good thing I've improved at least a little...'

[Status]

- Rank: 1

- Body: E+

- Mana: E+

- Realm: Sword User

After training relentlessly for several days, my stat grades had risen.

Thanks to attaining the special achievement A Step Toward the Ultimate, the path to growth had opened up and my growth rate had increased.

If I hadn't even managed this much, I would have shared the fate of those cadets falling behind long ago.

I gritted my teeth and ran. My lungs felt constricted. My legs screamed.

Then I became certain.

'Ah... this won't work.'

At this rate, I wouldn't reach the finish line in time.

But I had no intention of giving up.

There was something I'd been saving ever since recovering my memories of my previous life. Now was the time to use it.

I looked around.

'...There!'

A male cadet with ash-brown hair stood out. He was exceptionally large, both in height and build, like a bear.

His narrow eyes, rugged appearance, and thick muscles were particularly striking.

He ran with his massive body without disturbing his breathing in the slightest. He looked relaxed.

'A Barbarian.'

He had been a minor supporting character in the original work.

I didn't know about the other cadets, but perhaps I could ask that Barbarian for help.

I forced myself to approach him.

"Ba- gasp, Barba...rian...!"

"What is it?"

The Barbarian turned toward me and responded in a deep, guarded voice.

Barely catching my breath, I spoke.

"Let's... make a deal...!"

"A deal?"

Rustle.

"This...!"

I pulled a piece of jerky from inside my clothes.

Before entering knight school, I'd made and packed a large amount to save money. After awakening my memories of my previous life, I'd deliberately saved it.

The Barbarian stared at the jerky in confusion.

As I remembered, this guy loved jerky.

Who didn't like jerky? But around this time, he probably had no money to buy snacks like that and was filling his stomach solely with free cafeteria meals.

"This is all I can offer right now...! Gasp, could you... help me...!?"

"I do like jerky, but... I'm not nice enough to help a complete stranger over one piece."

The Barbarian turned his head forward again.

"It's made from rhinoceros deer meat...!"

The Barbarian's head twitched.

It's your favorite.

You don't have friends who'd get you something like this.

And I'm saying I'll give it to you.

"...I have already spoken my will. A warrior does not speak twice."

You stubborn bastard. This wouldn't be easy.

I had no choice.

Rustle.

Holding back tears, I pulled out the small pouch filled with jerky.

"I'll give you all of this...!"

"...!"

The Barbarian's eyes widened.

Apparently, there was too much jerky for him to casually refuse.

"Could I try just one...?"

Did I get him?

When I finally managed to nod, the Barbarian took a piece of jerky from the pouch and put it in his mouth.

Chew, chew.

He slowly savored the jerky, then turned toward me with a resolute gleam in his eyes.

"Let me say this. I, Turak, warrior of the Blue Mane Tribe, do not abandon a comrade."

'Wow, that's...'

What an incredibly materialistic camaraderie...

"How should I help you?"

"Push me...!"

"Understood."

The Barbarian placed his huge hand against my back and continued pushing me while matching my pace.

Thanks to him, it became much easier to run.

There was nothing wrong with it. The instructor had said to survive however we could.

Still, even with extra force behind me, it was just as difficult.

"Gasp, gasp... Urk...! I'm dying...!"

"Hold on a little longer. Jerky... no, comrade."

Then I felt a light touch.

Another hand touched my back.

It was much smaller than the Barbarian's large hand.

"Um..."

"Hm?"

A female cadet had quietly approached from my left.

Her deep purple hair fell in waves.

The bangs on the left side covered one of her eyes.

Her other exposed eye avoided mine.

"I'll help too..."

Her timid voice slipped out from between her small teeth.

It was a voice completely lacking in confidence.

I was surprised. I recognized her.

'The necromancer...?'

Violet Blackgarden, a black mage and necromancer, the daughter of a renowned magical family.

She was the only person who could have sensed the demonic energy during the train incident.

I immediately grew wary.

Had she noticed my identity and approached me? Had she found some clue that would make her suspect me?

I didn't want my secret exposed to someone I hadn't even built trust with.

"Keep going...! You're trying so hard, so you can't get expelled...!"

...It was a timid shout.

Soon, perhaps embarrassed, the necromancer abruptly looked away from me and mumbled softly.

"I'm sorry for saying something like that when I'm worthless, and sorry for being so presumptuous..."

She looked consumed by self-loathing.

Had she seen the Barbarian helping me and come over to lend a hand?

Unlike those who had already fallen behind, perhaps she wanted to help me because I kept enduring and running despite reaching my limit.

People viewed her badly because she was a black mage, but she was kind by nature.

'Whether it's suspicion or goodwill... does it matter?'

Either way, this might turn out well.

The necromancer would be sensing my mana through where she was touching me.

She would be gaining proof that I wasn't the person who had taken down the demon on the train.

"Gasp, no, thank... you... Gasp, gasp..."

"You three... at this rate, you'll all be late, you know?"

Matching our pace, the instructor smiled wickedly.

"Gasp, gasp...!"

Like squeezing every last bit from an empty tube of toothpaste, like wringing one more drop from a dry rag.

I poured every ounce of strength I had into running alongside the Barbarian and the necromancer.

Before long, the finish line, where another instructor stood, came into view.

"Ten, nine, eight...!"

The instructor looked at a wristwatch and loudly counted down, seemingly trying to pressure us.

"Made it!!!"

We finally reached the finish line.

Thud!

My legs gave out at once. I dropped face-first onto the ground.

Clear mountain air filled my lungs. Ah, my ribs hurt...

"Yes! We made it...!"

"We did."

"We made it! Hehe!"

The Barbarian had worn a solemn expression from beginning to end, while the necromancer smiled brightly.

'They don't look tired at all...'

The Barbarian was probably like that because his race possessed naturally exceptional physical abilities.

The necromancer was probably like that because she had so much mana and had mastered body-strengthening magic.

...Somehow, I felt pathetic.

"Isn't that the one who couldn't break the target during the entrance exam?"

"He survived, with help. That's impressive in its own way, I guess..."

"A Barbarian and a black mage... What kind of combination is that?"

Maybe because we had crossed the finish line in such a noticeable manner, barely coming in last, I could hear the cadets whispering about us.

It was hard to respond, and I had no strength left anyway, so I ignored them.

"Ugh, ngh...!"

"Gasp, gasp...!"

The remaining cadets arrived late as well.

But the instructor showed no mercy.

"Every cadet whose number I call from now on will soon be expelled. Number 10, 12, 22, 45, 61, 79..."

Ten cadets were eliminated.

The failed cadets begged and pleaded to be given another chance, but the instructor remained cold.

"Do not tarnish the Empire's dignity. Know your place and leave."

The eliminated cadets quietly cried, bit their lips to restrain their anger, or protested. But the instructor ignored them.

"Hey, Number 17."

"Cadet Number 17, Ron Hazely!"

The instructor looked down at me with a broad grin. I painfully gave my number and name.

Damn. It was still hard to breathe.

"You barely avoided expulsion. Congratulations! That was a truly tearful finish! Such moving camaraderie!"

"Yes! Th-thank you...!"

I knew it wasn't meant kindly.

Then a little seriousness entered the instructor's formerly boisterous expression.

"...You may have survived by relying on your fellow cadets' abilities this time, but if you remain like this, your future cannot be guaranteed."

The instructor smiled again and shouted.

"So strive harder! Understood, Number 17!?"

"Yes...! Understood...!"

I knew that far too well, but hearing it aloud was painful advice.

* * *

Violet was very shy around people.

It was not her natural disposition.

After walking the path of black magic, she had gradually become discouraged as people pointed fingers at her and spoke ill of her behind her back.

So under normal circumstances, she would never have chosen to help another cadet during a long-distance running test where expulsion was on the line.

Night, the women's dormitory.

Violet sat lost in thought, twisting her deep purple hair around her fingers.

A tiny skeletal puppy, its body formed from cherry blossom-colored mana, wandered about on her desk.

'I'd wondered if it was him...'

She was looking for the powerful person who had taken down the demon during the train incident.

At the time, she had secretly used a small spirit and magic to thoroughly investigate the train.

Then she found a spot on a window frame where some dust had been brushed away, leaving faint handprints.

They were marks suggesting someone had gripped the window frame and gone outside through the window.

One of the cadets seated in that area had been Ron, her classmate. She couldn't be certain, but he was someone worth suspecting.

So during the run, she had deliberately approached Ron and placed a hand on his back under the pretext of helping him, sensing his mana.

"It wasn't him."

The fact that Ron had struggled to run could have been dismissed as a convincing act.

But Ron's mana was unmistakably low in quantity and weak.

He was genuinely a weak cadet. What he showed during the run had not been an act.

'It's not as though mana can be hidden just because someone wants to hide it...'

Maybe she had missed something. Perhaps she had drawn the wrong conclusion from only fragmentary clues.

After all, the other party was an extraordinary powerhouse.

It was laughable to think she could judge how they had taken down the demon and left based only on her own shallow thinking and deductions.

So she decided to withhold judgment for now. Violet would remain at the stage of suspicion.

The skeletal puppy tilted its head. Instead of barking, its bones clattered together.

Violet stroked the skeletal puppy's skull.

Then memories of running alongside Ron, the weakest cadet, and Turak the Barbarian filled Violet's mind.

'Still, how should I put it...? It was fun.'

Though she had intended to find the mysterious powerhouse, she had inadvertently gained a genuinely enjoyable experience.

For Violet, who had never had a single friend because of her image as a black mage... working together with others to achieve a goal felt like a dream.

It was nothing less than the romantic youth she had only ever imagined.

At least those two cadets might see her as a good person.

Violet smiled softly.

"Maybe I could make friends too... Hehe..."

[Master, don't smile. You look creepy, and it's unpleasant.]

"Hm?"

As if it couldn't bear to watch any longer, the skeletal puppy seriously scolded its master.

Footnotes:

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