Chapter 175: Recruitment Tests

The following three days were nothing short of miserable.

At least, that was how Peter and the others would describe them.

Every morning, they were dragged out of bed before the sun had even risen.

Their days began with physical conditioning, followed by hours of aura training and sparring.

Of course, Roderic wasn’t simply standing around watching them suffer.

He trained alongside them, pushing his own limits whenever he had the opportunity.

And whenever one of his retainers made a mistake, he was quick to point it out.

’’Again!’’

CLANG!

’’Too slow! Again!’’

CLANG!

’’Come on, Frederic! You can do better than that!’’

By the end of each day, the four could barely drag themselves back to their residence.

Fortunately, Roderic wasn’t completely unreasonable.

He adjusted their training whenever their injuries bothered them, making sure they had enough time to recover.

After all, the goal was to make them stronger, not cripple them.

And slowly but surely, their efforts began paying off.

Their aura control improved, their movements became sharper, and their endurance increased.

Naturally, none of them had come close to reaching the Second Seal yet.

But Roderic wasn’t worried.

’There’s still plenty of time left.’

...

On the fourth day, Roderic made his way to the training grounds early in the morning.

Only this time, it wasn’t to train his retainers.

Instead, it was to attend the recruitment process, in particular the perception test.

’Let’s see if there’s any decent talent,’ he thought, wandering through the street. ’If I could add even one more retainer to my list, it’d be worthwhile.’

It didn’t take long before the training grounds came into sight.

For a moment, Roderic came to a halt, his eyes widening slightly.

’Damn... that’s a lot of people.’

The entire area ahead of him was packed to the brim.

Farmers, laborers, merchants’ sons, and countless others who dreamed of becoming knights had gathered.

Loud, excited murmurs rang out left and right.

’Seems like the attraction part worked,’ Roderic thought, nodding slowly.

His gaze flickered towards the center of the training ground.

There, several knights and soldiers were hard at work, dragging the final pieces of each testing site into place.

Just then, Roderic sensed four familiar figures coming up behind him.

He immediately turned back with a smile.

’’Good morning,’’ he greeted. ’’Did you all rest well?’’

All four nodded simultaneously, though their expressions were far less enthusiastic than before.

’’Young lord,’’ Peter spoke up nervously. ’’Does the test mean we can rest today?’’

Roderic’s gaze snapped towards him, his head tilting slightly.

’’Rest?’’ he repeated slowly.

Three angry stares immediately landed on Peter, who shrank back in regret.

A brief silence fell as Roderic seemed to genuinely be considering their words.

Then he glanced up with a large smile.

’’Of course not!’’ he said. ’’We’ll continue training after it’s finished!’’

’’I’ll even double the dose so we can get it done in time!’’

Miserable expressions flashed across each of their faces.

Peter swallowed hard.

’’I-I’m sorry,’’ he whispered.

Ignoring them completely, Roderic returned his attention to the crowd.

There were even more people than he’d expected.

Surely there were bound to be some individuals with exceptional talent, right?

With that thought in mind, Roderic made his way toward the side of the training grounds.

He wanted to get a better view of the candidates without interfering with the recruitment process.

However, as he passed through the crowd, several people immediately recognized him.

’’Hey, isn’t that Lord Roderic?’’

’’Where?’’

’’Over there! The young man on the side!’’

Several heads turned in his direction.

’’That’s really him!’’

’’I heard he slaughtered over a hundred enemy soldiers all by himself!’’

’’A hundred? I heard it was closer to two hundred!’’

The whispers quickly spread through the surrounding crowd.

Some people bowed respectfully as he passed, while others simply stared at him with admiration.

Roderic naturally noticed their reactions.

’Well, I suppose my reputation has improved a lot,’ he thought, smiling faintly.

Still, he didn’t dwell on their praises for long.

His attention was already focused on the recruitment grounds.

After finding a suitable spot near the side, he folded his arms and waited.

...

’’NEXT!’’

A soldier’s loud voice rang across the training grounds.

One by one, the candidates stepped forward to begin their examinations.

The first test was relatively straightforward.

Each participant was handed a training sword and ordered to complete several laps around the designated course.

Afterward, they had to approach a straw scarecrow and strike it repeatedly with their weapon.

The examiners observed their strength, stamina, and overall coordination.

Those who performed well would be allowed to continue, while the others were put aside.

Watching from the sidelines, Roderic found himself rather interested.

Especially since his right eye had begun glowing faintly.

’Upper low talent...’

Another candidate stepped forward.

’Once again, no talent.’

Finally, another young man completed his laps and struck the scarecrow with considerable force.

’Oh? A medium talent, not too bad, not too bad.’

Roderic nodded slightly, taking note of the name.

But in order to become one of his retainers, he wanted something a little higher.

Thus, he kept on watching.

’No talent... no talent... no talent...’

Dozens of candidates passed by, most not scoring higher than low-level talent.

As the examinations continued, Roderic began slumping in his chair as his initial excitement faded.

’Seriously?’ he thought. ’Is there no one decent here?’

Of course, he knew truly exceptional talent was rare.

But seeing so many ordinary individuals one after another was still rather disappointing.

’Let’s hope the perception test brings more exciting results,’ he thought, closing his eyes.

Time passed slowly.

With hundreds of people having signed up, the physical examinations took considerably longer than expected.

Some candidates performed admirably, while others could barely finish their laps.

A few even dropped their swords before reaching the scarecrow.

Nevertheless, the examiners continued working without pause.

Eventually, the final candidate completed his examination.

The soldiers began clearing the training grounds immediately, preparing for the next stage.

Then, one of the supervising knights stepped forward.

’’ATTENTION, EVERYONE!’’

His powerful voice immediately silenced the surrounding crowd.

’’THE PHYSICAL EXAMINATIONS HAVE NOW CONCLUDED!’’

He paused, allowing the candidates to gather before him.

’’FEAR NOT IF YOU DIDN’T PERFORM WELL. THOSE WHO DO WELL ON THE NEXT FEW TESTS STILL HAVE A CHANCE!’’

Hearing those words, Roderic immediately straightened.

His previously relaxed expression disappeared, replaced by a look of genuine interest.

He leaned forward slightly, his gaze sweeping across the candidates.

’Now then...’

A small grin appeared on his face.

’Let’s see if there’s anyone truly worthwhile.’