The young man wore tattered clothes that clung loosely to his lean frame. He wasn't what one would call handsome, but there was a fire in his eyes, feral, unyielding, and bright enough to burn through the challenges that life had thrown at him.
His humble appearance left little doubt that he was a peasant from the kingdom's remote outskirts.
The massive sword strapped to his back looked comically out of place against his build, but the calluses on his hands told a different story. Those weren't the hands of a pretender; they were the hands of someone who'd crawled in the mundane, endured hardship, and trained like a madman to reach the realm they were in right now.
"Hmm, interesting."
For his eyes to catch that young man, there has to be something unique about the young man.
Reinhardt leaned forward slightly as he saw the young man reach towards the stone.
"Eh? Brother, are you interested in that young man?" Arthur noticed the change in attitude of his elder brother and quickly asked.
The other knights from the Temple of Light turned their attention as well, curious about what had caught their commander's interest. For a moment, all eyes settled on the boy.
However, to their disappointment, the young man was nowhere close to extraordinary; he was just average. It was not that he failed; the test allowed anyone to pass as long as they had one or more stats in the [Low (High)] level.
The young man in question indeed had one or two stats at that level. However, that was it; he did not manage to surpass their expectation nor fail them.
His performance was good, but because he came after those monstrous three, his impact was a little lacklustre.
"Haha, so that is the case, huh. Looks like we have quite the strange participant this year" Reinhardt laughed, streaks of light flashed past his eyes.
"Strange one? That guy?"
"Commander, why are you interested in that young man? In my eyes, he is just like any other normal participant. The truly outstanding ones are those three"…
"We should try our best to recruit them. The other orders will definitely try to snatch them, we need to make a strong impression during the third test"…
"You are right."
Bob and the other Holy Knights argued. Although they were unable to see the unusualness of the young man, how could it elude the eyes of Reinhardt, who possessed the [Eyes of Divine Clarity] bestowed to him by none other than the god of light, Dioanax himself.
With the first test over, the candidates who passed, moved on to the second test. Those who couldn't had to leave brokenhearted.
Vanessa stood up to conduct the next test. "The next exam will test your skill and more importantly, how you adapt when thrust into the unknown."
At her signal, armored knights from the Order of Divine Radiance marched onto the stage, dragging several massive iron cages.
The air thickened with a palpable pressire as low, guttural growls spilled from within.
GRRRRR… HOOOWL… The cages shook violently. Behind the bars, monstrous shapes thrashed and clawed against the reinforced steel. Their eyes glowed a deep, blood red hue, and every breath they exhaled reeked of bloodlust and slaughter.
The crowd held their breath as they watched the monster in these cages issue piercing growls, fear and dread gripping their bodies. If not for the fact that the monsters were in cages and the knight orders were there to protect them, the crowd would have already fled.
"These are all the monsters that have been corrupted by the demons. We managed to capture a few of them from the borders. Usually, monsters are much perceptive beings and use their instincts to hunt, unlike their present self, where only violence remains. Look at their state clearly. This is what happens when you fall into the clutches of a demon."
Vanessa's words were not only for the aspiring knights but also for the people of the realm. Showing and making them aware of how heinous and dastardly the demons are. This is only just the tip of the iceberg of what the Knights were fighting against.
Vanessa continued. "If you seek to become knights of the realm, you must learn to face these horrors head on. This is your second test. You will battle these corrupted monsters and demonstrate your skill, instinct, and adaptability."
"!!"
Many of the participants who had barely just passed the first test had a pale expression on their faces.
Forget about fighting monsters; they had never even seen one in their lives. How can they fight against one?
Of course, not everyone was like that. Among the fearful, also stood a different breed of examinees, those born and raised beyond the city walls, where danger was a daily companion.
Their eyes gleamed with a ferocity that was not any weaker than the demonic monsters themselves. That's right, there was a fire to succeed inside those eyes.
"Don't worry, we don't expect you to defeat the monsters without proper knowledge or basic combat training. You are to use your skills and show us your talent in a combat against the monsters. Based on that, we will judge your abilities"...
"Do not fret, if it gets dangerous, the knights from the Order of the Divine Radiance will stop the match. Of course, there is nothing stopping you from going all out. Future aspiring knights of the realm, show us what you can do."
With that rallying shout from Vanessa, the second test officially started.
As her voice faded, horns boomed across the arena, and the opening of the iron cages reverberated through the coliseum.
The second trial had begun.
As the stage was very big, it allowed multiple battles to commence at once without causing any disturbance.
"Shadow Wolves, huh… those are quite tough opponents even for a newbie squire. Although they are slightly weaker now due to being possessed, they are ferocious than before. I wonder how the knight hatchlings are going to fare."
Knights from all the orders watched intently. They themselves had gone through a similar experience before, and boy oh boy, it was an extremely gruelling and bloody experience. They couldn't help but feel pity for these greenhorns who knew next to nothing about monsters or how to combat them.
GROWLLL… The moment the cage was opened, the demonic monster pounced at the participant. There were no abilities used or any deception involved; it was a full frontal charge.
And so, the trial that would forge the future knights of the realm began.