「August.」
「Duval Baron's Domain, the training ground.」
Murphy was choked awake by a foul stench in his nostrils.
It was like being crammed into a train station on a summer day with no air conditioning, or like pickled vegetables that had been fermenting for three years.
Until his nose got used to it, the smell was simply indescribable.
"Listen up, aspirants,"
a Knight clad head-to-toe in Plate Armor and standing nearly two meters tall spoke, his voice ringing with authority.
"You have half an hour. Cross this bog, get through the log course, and finally, get over that wall for me. Do that, and you can stay on as followers. If you can't..."
His sharp gaze swept over the two rows of boys before him. The front row consisted of fifteen- and sixteen-year-olds standing shoulder-to-shoulder in dyed linen clothes. In the back row were boys of the same age, but in tattered linen.
"If you show good perseverance and make it past the log course, you can also stay on as a Groom or a servant!"
Murphy understood. The memories of his past life merged with those of his present one, and he more or less grasped the situation.
'It's just transmigration, that's all.'
'No big deal.'
He wasn't standing in the crowd of boys, however.
Instead, he was sitting on the ground to one side.
He wasn't wearing any fine clothes, though. He, too, was in coarse linen, and his was the most tattered of all.
His skin was dark—not just from the sun, but from a long time without bathing, caked with dirt and grime, just like the other boys in tattered linen.
This was the source of the foul stench that bothered him so much.
[Ding! Immortal Cultivation System is now binding...]
[Binding complete!]
[Welcome, Host.]
[Scanning map of Host's surrounding area... ]
[Scan complete.]
[Host's current coordinates detected: Lingyun Pavilion.]
As the system's voice faded,
Murphy scanned the training ground, which was enclosed by a log fence. In the distance stood a castle, about fifteen or sixteen meters high.
'What Lingyun Pavilion?'
'Or am I, like Brother Huozi, in two worlds at once?'
[O Seeker, adrift in the mortal realm, Destiny has manifested before you two distinct paths to transcendence.]
[Option 1: Traverse the hundred-meter bog, brave the Plum Blossom Stake Formation, and scale Soul-Breaking Cliff. Those who reach the summit can become an Entry-Level Disciple of Lingyun Pavilion.]
[Reward: Building Strength and Endurance: Glimpse of the Path]
[Option 2: Endure the same hardships but stop before the cliff, becoming a Named Disciple of Lingyun Pavilion.]
[Reward: Horse Selection and Training: Glimpse of the Path]
To be honest, Murphy didn't want to choose either option.
But his memories from this life told him that if he didn't join Baron Duval's service, there was no future for him as a tenant farmer.
Three years ago, the Kingdom fought a border war with a neighboring country.
As part of the Northern Territory's front line, the Baron's Domain bore heavy war taxes, which were collected for up to ten years in advance.
Although the war had been over for two years, the fact that ten years of taxes were collected in advance didn't mean the next ten years were tax-free.
It was always another ten years.
According to the Lord's propaganda, that tax-free decade was a reality that would never arrive.
Going back would only mean starving to death.
Murphy had collapsed to the ground precisely because he was starving.
There was no complex reason for it.
Fortunately, after binding with the system, some Energy seemed to have returned to his body. Murphy felt much better now.
"Begin!"
The Knight waved his hand.
A few of the more eager boys had already charged into the mud.
Murphy hurried to follow.
The mud quickly rose past his ankles, and every step took immense effort.
Murphy tried to grab a nearby post for support, but one of the followers standing by the side shouted sharply, "Worthless scum! Who gave you permission to touch the training equipment?"
Hearing this, several boys timidly pulled their hands back.
Murphy had long since realized this test wasn't fair to begin with.
Even peasants were divided into different ranks, and someone like Murphy, with the most tattered clothes and who had fainted from hunger, was undoubtedly from the poorest family.
He had no chance of passing, no matter what.
The follower's reprimands were aimed at sons of farmers like Murphy.
But why would Murphy listen? 'If some of the other boys can use the posts for support and I can't, aren't I just doomed to fail?'
So he just pretended not to hear, not even turning his head.
Seeing this, the follower seemed to lose face but couldn't just openly interfere with the test, so he could only glare fiercely at Murphy.
Murphy paid him no mind. 'As long as I complete the system's option, I can still become a Groom, even if I'm too weak to get over the high wall.'
'And a Knight's horse eats better than a person.'
Even if he couldn't care for a Knight's horse, he could care for a follower's horse, or even the workhorses in the common stables. Making a few deductions from the horse feed would still be a much better life than simply being a farmer.
His years of labor combined with an adult's perspective gave him greater endurance. Even as his legs grew heavier, he struggled forward.
But his body was still too weak. The bit of Energy he'd recovered when the system activated was not nearly enough.
When he finally couldn't go on, Murphy collapsed into the mud, gasping for breath.
He looked back and saw the follower standing on dry ground, his boots completely free of mud.
Seeing him look over, the man snorted. "What are you looking at, mud-legs?"
He could hear the panting of the other boys up ahead.
Murphy gritted his teeth, scrambled up, and kept walking.
He finally, painstakingly, made it across the bog.
The next obstacle, the log course, was even harder. It was a series of high and low wooden posts, much like plum blossom stakes. For these farmers' sons, who had spent their lives climbing trees to raid birds' nests, this part wasn't difficult.
The hard part was their lack of stamina and their exhaustion.
After the energy they had expended crossing the bog, most of the boys had no strength left to control their bodies.
From time to time, a boy would lose his balance and fall into the bog beneath the log course.
For Murphy, however, this stage was surprisingly easy. Perhaps it was because he had lived two lives, which strengthened his spirit and gave him better control over his body. He dashed across in a flash.
This surprised the followers, especially the one who had been giving Murphy a hard time. The glint in his eyes grew even more vicious.
Of course, when he reached the towering, five-meter wooden wall, Murphy was completely out of options.
His stamina was completely drained.
There was no way he could continue.
The vast majority of the farmers' sons who made it to the third stage were stuck here.
Only those from wealthier families, like Walter the blacksmith's son, Jimmy the follower's son, and Leo the Mill Master's son, were able to start climbing the wall. Each of them was close to or over 1.7 meters tall.
It was an impossible task for someone from a poor family like Murphy, who was only a little over 1.5 meters tall.
Of course, even so, not everyone could pass.
The Sheriff's son, Carter, ran out of stamina and fell.
His face was filled with frustration and resentment.
When he saw that he was now standing with Murphy—the boy who had fainted from hunger—he grew even more hateful. "To think I have to raise horses with a mud-legs like you. And a 1.5-meter shorty at that."
He then added resentfully, "The very thought of a Knight's horse being cared for by someone like you... it feels like the horse is being defiled."
Murphy was speechless.
'If it weren't for my lack of stamina, I wouldn't even want to be a groom,' he thought.
"The test is over. Those who made it over the wall will become followers. Those who are stopped at the wall, we will now begin the selection for Grooms."
The Knight's voice fell, announcing the next phase of the process.
But Murphy was already overwhelmed by the information flooding his mind, unable to hear a thing.