Chapter 176: Perception Test

The perception test was finally about to begin.

Under the watchful eyes of the supervising knights, the candidates were gathered in front of the testing area.

With even those who’d performed poorly on the first test joining, confusion began spreading amongst the candidates.

’’Another test?’’

’’There were more?’’

’’I don’t know, but they said we still have a chance to become a knight!’’

Excited murmurs spread through the crowd.

Normally, everything worked a little differently.

Anyone hoping to join the army first had to pass a basic physical examination.

Its purpose was simple: to weed out those who had absolutely no strength or stamina.

However, those who performed exceptionally well might catch the attention of Captain Harris or one of the veteran knights overseeing the examination.

Having developed a reasonably good eye for talent over the years, they would select promising candidates to receive additional training as potential knights.

For everyone else, that was usually where their chances ended.

Of course, there were still two other ways to become a knight.

They could either prove themselves during their training or somehow manage to awaken their Aura on their own.

Unfortunately, neither was particularly easy.

’It rarely ever happens, which is why many consider this their one and only chance.’

Roderic’s gaze flickered across the hundreds of candidates.

Seeing their excitement at getting another chance, he couldn’t help but grin.

’I really wonder, though...’ he thought. ’Just how effective will this method be?’

Although he was confident in the Perception Test, this would be the first time he’d witnessed it actually being used.

And more importantly, he was hoping to discover someone worth recruiting.

...

The examination began within minutes.

Under the supervision of several knights, the first group of around fifty candidates was led towards a strange-looking obstacle course.

It consisted of two separate sections, each designed to test a different aspect of their perception.

Naturally, the candidates had no idea what to expect.

’’What kind of test is this?’’

’’Are those cloths?’’

’’Why would we need those?’’

Ignoring their questions, one of the supervising knights stepped forward.

’’LISTEN CAREFULLY!’’

The surrounding chatter immediately died down.

’’The first part of this examination is simple. You’ll be blindfolded and instructed to walk through the path ahead of you.’’

He gestured toward a narrow pathway filled with wooden posts.

’’Your objective is to avoid touching the wooden posts.’’

Several candidates exchanged confused glances.

’’That’s it?’’ one muttered.

Another shrugged. ’’Sounds easy enough.’’

However, what they didn’t know was that several of the wooden posts had been infused with faint traces of Aura.

The purpose wasn’t simply to test their ability to navigate while blindfolded.

It was to determine whether they could instinctively sense the Aura surrounding them.

’’FIRST CANDIDATE, STEP FORWARD!’’

A young man nervously approached the entrance.

After having a blindfold tied around his eyes, he slowly began walking.

Unfortunately, things didn’t go particularly well.

Thud!

His shoulder lightly bumped into a wooden post after only a few steps.

Several people in the crowd burst into laughter.

’’Silence!’’ the supervising knight barked.

The young man continued forward, his face burning bright red, only to bump into another post moments later.

Watching from the sidelines, Roderic shook his head.

’A dud,’ he thought, disappointed.

One after another, the first group of candidates went through.

Some performed slightly better, indicating they could at least become knights later.

Others struggled to even make it to the first half of the course.

Eventually, a young man managed to avoid nearly every Aura-infused post, making it all the way to the end without much difficulty.

Roderic’s eyes lit up slightly.

’Oh?’ he thought, a golden light flashing through his right eye.

[Melinda]

Age: 16

Race: Human

Current Rank: Unawakened

Knight Talent: High

Notable Information: A young, strong-willed woman hiding her gender with the dream of becoming a knight.

- - -

Roderic’s eyebrows rose slightly.

’Would you look at that,’ he thought, a smile slowly growing on his face. ’There was another highly talented person hiding here after all!’

His gaze settled on the final sentence for a moment.

Then he glanced back at the ’young man’ seated behind the obstacle course.

She had short hair and a relatively strong and broad build, while even her face could easily pass for that of a man.

’Well, I’ll be damned.’

Roderic’s smile only grew wider.

’Seems like someone’s hiding a little secret.’

In the time period he found himself in, women weren’t supposed to join the army.

As harsh as it sounded, their job was to stay at home, bear children, and take care of them.

Of course, Roderic didn’t care one bit about those customs and had no intention of exposing her.

Whether she was a man or a woman didn’t matter to him in the slightest. All he needed was talent.

’Melinda, huh,’ he thought. ’She’s quite a bit younger than the other retainers.’

After contemplating for a moment, he shrugged.

’Whatever. I’m sure they’ll be more than fine with her joining.’

Roderic immediately glanced over his shoulder.

After waving over a nearby soldier, he quickly made his intentions clear.

’’Of course, young master,’’ the soldier said, bowing. ’’I’ll inform Sir George and keep him separated.’’

’’Thank you,’’ Roderic said, nodding and already turning back.

There were still far more candidates who’d be going through the test, after all.

As the second group of candidates made their way to the blindfold test, the first group continued on to the second section.

There, several wooden screens had been erected around a small marked area.

’’For this test, you’ll remain inside the circle while wearing your blindfold,’’ the examiner explained. ’’Your task is to avoid the objects thrown toward you.’’

Roderic barely even glanced at the area.

It’d most likely only filter out those with low potential to become a knight from those who had none.

Instead, his attention returned to the first section.

One after another, the candidates continued making their way through the blindfolded path.

Unfortunately, none managed to impress Roderic quite as much as Melinda.

’Ugh, this is going to take a long time...’

Roderic leaned back in his chair, watching the examination unfold.

Although the Perception Test was already proving its usefulness in sheer numbers, finding someone with exceptional talent was still incredibly rare.

’Well, I suppose I shouldn’t have expected too much.’

Group after group of candidates continued passing through.

Just as Roderic began falling asleep in his seat, another candidate stepped forward.

As he made his way through the obstacle course, Roderic’s brows rose.

’Oh?’ he thought. ’Now what do we have here?’

Making his way through the obstacle course wasn’t just a young man.

It’d be better to call him a fucking tank!

The man was nearly a head taller than everyone else and possessed an excellent muscular physique.

His arms were thick, his shoulders broad, and his chest looked as though it had been carved from stone.

Yet, despite all that, he made his way through the course without touching a single obstacle.

’Holy shit.’

Roderic sat on the edge of his seat, a wide grin on his face.

’That’s it,’ he thought. ’The one I’ve been waiting for!’

With such an insane build, there was no doubt in his mind.

It was simply meant to be.

A golden light flashed through Roderic’s eye, as he was barely even concerned about the confirmation.

[Brutus]

Age: 17

Race: Human

Current Rank: Unawakened

Mage Talent: Extremely High

Notable Information: A man determined to become a warrior on the battlefield. Born at an incredible 7 kg, he is truly deserving of the name Brutus.

- - -

Roderic nodded slowly, a wide grin on his face.

’Extremely high!’ he thought, barely able to contain himself. ’I’ve only seen that level of talent in Dennis, who is destined to become a Sword Saint!’

For a moment, he just stared at the man.

Jackpot. That was all he could describe it as.

I mean, just look at the enormous man!

Roderic could already imagine what kind of a monster he’d become on the battlefield.

His gaze flickered to the last sentences, detailing some notable information.

For a moment, he genuinely couldn’t believe what he was reading.

’Holy fucking shit!’ he thought, bursting out laughing. ’Seven kilograms at birth? How is his mother still alive?!’

Already raising his arm, Roderic was about to signal a soldier over.

But then, his brows furrowed as he froze in place.

’Hm?’

He glanced back at the status window.

His head tilted faintly as he swallowed hard.

’Huh? What’s this now?’

One particular line had caught his full attention.

[Mage Talent: Extremely High]

’...’

Roderic blinked once, his heart pounding faster.

’Wait a fucking minute,’ he thought. ’System?’

His expression shifted to one of complete disbelief.

’Is there some kind of error here? You know, I... I think you swapped the mage and knight talent around.’

Several seconds ticked by in silence.

Roderic swallowed hard, calling out one more time.

’System?’

But... no reply came back.

Roderic slowly turned his head toward Brutus.

The enormous young man had already finished the obstacle course and was proudly flexing his arms, seemingly delighted with his performance.

Then Roderic looked back at the status window.

[Mage Talent: Extremely High]

His smile disappeared instantly.

’Oh fuck,’ he thought as the realization struck him. ’This is going to be a problem, isn’t it?’

Roderic immediately rose from his seat.

Without another thought, he began heading down to the examination grounds.