Chapter 35: The Knight Order’s Test
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I am currently standing face-to-face with a monster.
My bags were being held by the knight who looked like the lowest-ranking among the elites, and in my hands was the smooth ebony bow Derek had bought me earlier. Instead of the standard arrows I’d exhausted fighting the bandits, I had a quiver of arrows Derek had given me slung across my back. They were steel arrows, items with far superior attack power compared to what I used before.
'...Preparations are complete.'
I shot a glance at Derek, who spoke in a relaxed tone.
"I'll step in if it gets too dangerous."
"Obviously!" a knight standing next to him quickly chimed in.
"If you want to give up, throw your bow down."
"But keep in mind that the moment we step in, you're disqualified!"
"Well, if I fought it, it wouldn't even take a minute."
"Be grateful for such a simple entrance exam. Back in our day..."
"..."
Shouts from the knights erupted behind me in rapid succession. I couldn't tell if they were cheering me on or just teasing me. It seemed they had already planned to exterminate this specific monster; it wasn't even on our main path, but a deliberate detour to its habitat. Their unhesitating strides and nonchalant expressions told the whole story.
I carefully scanned the monster in front of me.
It looked exactly like a bee, but was roughly the size of a human. Since it wasn't a boss monster, taking it down wouldn't be too difficult. The problem was that my knowledge came from a game; I'd never actually fought one in real life. It would be great if I could take it down with a single arrow, but they wouldn't have chosen a monster that weak for an entrance exam.
'Wait, I never even said I was joining.'
Didn't I already make it clear I had no intention of tagging along with them?
"Just say the word if you're scared~"
"..."
Yet, despite all that, there was a reason I was standing here.
First, I'd take it down. Then, I'd yell right in their faces: I have zero intention of joining your knight order. If you're leaving, go on without me. That was the only reason I was doing this.
I glanced back and locked eyes with Derek again. He looked awfully relaxed for someone who had just pushed me into a life-or-death situation. Then again, had I ever seen him look anxious?
'Let's focus.'
Taking a short, deep breath, I stepped forward. They promised to save me before I died, so it wasn't like I had nothing to lose. Though, having to fight while an entire audience watched was admittedly a bit pressuring.
As I slowly approached the monster, I drew an arrow and nocked it. A sneak attack might be considered dishonorable or a violation of chivalry. But it didn't matter, I had no intention of becoming a knight anyway, nor did I care about chivalry.
'Besides, archers are supposed to rely on sneak attacks anyway.'
Fighting head-on is a severe disadvantage for an archer. Plus, landing a sneak attack doubles the damage. I pulled the bowstring back as far as it would go. Then, aiming straight for the torso of the oblivious monster, I let loose my first strike.
Kieeeeeek!!
"It's begun!"
"Whoa! Go get 'em, rookie!"
The knights were much more boisterous than I had anticipated. Well, except for two. Amidst the rowdy cheering, only Derek and the Knight Commander watched me with serious, unwavering expressions.
The giant bee instantly closed the distance between us. Through the heavy tension, I noticed its antennae twitching and rubbing together. Recognizing the signal, I immediately threw myself to the side.
Swoosh!
The sound of the air tearing echoed as a massive stinger slammed into the exact spot I had just been standing.
"...Wow, one hit from that and I'm a goner, aren't I?"
Just as the bee was massive, the stinger attached to its abdomen was equally absurd. You couldn't even call it a stinger anymore. It was a spear. A long, razor-sharp spear. And I was absolutely certain, if that thing hit me, I'd die on the spot.
"Oho! Our rookie has some moves!"
"You gotta be able to dodge at least that much."
I then realized that despite the lethal attack, not a single one of those rowdy knights had moved from their spots. I didn't know if they genuinely believed I could dodge an attack of that caliber, or if they simply thought, Oh well, if he dies, he dies.
'Wait, didn't you say you'd save me before I died?!'
A sharp sense of betrayal pierced my chest, quickly followed by a surge of sheer indignation. I was an idiot for expecting anyone to step in. The fact that Derek hadn't even twitched a muscle was particularly shocking.
'Ungrateful jerk... after I saved him, too.'
Sure, maybe he wouldn't have died back then, but hadn't I at least saved his beautiful face and his arm?
"Go get 'em, rookie!"
"Rookie~!"
Even in that perilous moment, the boisterous cheers of the knights grated on my nerves.
"I'm not a rookie!" I shouted at the top of my lungs, venting my rising irritation.
"Oh, he's got a temper?"
"You need that much guts to be a knight."
"..."
But my protests completely fell on deaf ears.
---
Whoosh! Buzz.
I spent the next few moments frantically dodging the barrage of attacks. It was a relentless onslaught that gave me zero opening to counter. For its massive size, the bee was incredibly fast. The only reason I was surviving was because I had memorized its attack patterns from the game.
"..."
The once-noisy knights had fallen completely silent. As if their earlier teasing had been an illusion, they were now watching my fight with absolute seriousness. It felt as though every single move I made was being meticulously evaluated.
Thwack!
"...Ugh."
I briefly dropped my gaze while dodging another strike. The ground beneath me was practically full of craters. If I took a wrong step and tripped in one of these holes, it would be over.
Retreating to evade the bee's assault, I swiftly drew my bowstring.
Twang!
The arrow flew in a blur and embedded itself squarely into the monster's torso.
Kieeeek!
"...Aaah!"
The bee thrashed wildly, violently flapping its wings. The sheer force of the gale knocked me right off my feet. I hit the ground hard, barely managing to keep my grip on the bow that nearly flew out of my hands.
'They said throwing this counts as giving up, right?'
I couldn't just give up after making it this far. Accidentally forfeiting because I dropped my weapon would be the most pathetic way to go out.
Using my instincts from the game, I immediately log-rolled to the side the moment I hit the dirt.
Crash!
A fraction of a second later, the massive stinger impaled the exact spot I'd been lying in. Forcing my trembling legs upright, I scrambled as far away as possible. If my memory served me right, the bee's next attack pattern would be...
Whirrrrr!
'That!'
With its stinger stuck in the ground, the bee fully extended its wings and began spinning rapidly in place. The razor-sharp wind generated by the violent rotation sliced through the surrounding air. And, exactly as I anticipated, the moment this combo attack ended was my golden opportunity.
I calmly pulled out my arrows. I hadn't landed many hits, but since they were steel arrows, the accumulated damage had to be significant. In that case...
"Oho." One of the silent knights let out a brief murmur of admiration.
I had pulled out two arrows. It was a 'Double Shot', a move I hadn't attempted yet in reality, something that felt like it should only be possible in a game.
I nocked both arrows onto the bowstring and took aim at the bee's torso. The bottom arrow sat perfectly, but the top arrow felt awkwardly balanced and unstable. Right on cue, the spinning bee ground to a halt.
Thwip-twang!
Timing it perfectly, I loosed the string.
Thwack, thwack!
With a slight delay between them, the arrows struck two different spots. One hit the torso I had aimed for; the errant one somehow embedded itself directly into the creature's head. Honestly, I'd have to call the Double Shot a mechanical failure, but since the second arrow managed to score a headshot, it was actually a massive stroke of luck.
Kieeeek!
Using its panicked thrashing as my opening, I rapidly drew more arrows.
Thwack, thwack, thwack!
I fired a relentless volley, faster than I ever had before. With every arrow that sank into its body, the thrashing monster's compound eyes locked more firmly onto me. It was preparing its final, desperate struggle. But what attack pattern would it use?
I kept a hyper-vigilant eye on its movements, drawing my bowstring back to aim for its head one last time.
Kieeeek!
Suddenly, the giant bee unhinged its jaws wildly.
"...Huh?!"
That was an attack pattern I had never seen before. Was it because I'd never dragged out a fight with one this long in the game? Or was this the terrifying difference between a game and reality?
'S-stay calm.'
Regardless of what it was doing, my aim was already locked in. All I had to do was release the string. No matter what attack it threw at me, I would be the victor.
I let the arrow fly.
Sploosh!
"!!"
At the exact moment my arrow released, something violently splashed over my entire face. A cloying, sweet scent immediately filled my nose.
Kieeeeeek!
Though my vision was completely obscured by the thick liquid, I could sense the massive bee finally collapsing. I furiously wiped at my face, trying to clear away the substance dripping down from my hair.
"Ugh..."
No matter how much I wiped, the liquid wouldn't come off; it just stuck clammily to my hands. Radiating an intensely sweet smell and even leaving a sugary taste on my lips... it was...
"...Is this honey?"
It was unquestionably honey.
"Pfft..."
"BWAHAHAHAHA!"
"What the hell is that?!"
Several knights erupted into roaring laughter. They walked over, chattering loudly amongst themselves, but thanks to the thick honey clogging my ears, their voices were muffled. I felt incredibly sticky and absolutely disgusting.
Thump. Someone slapped my back.
"Well done!"
Pat, pat. This time, a strong, encouraging hand patted my shoulder.
"Well, it wasn't that difficult a monster, but."
"It's usually pretty tough for an archer to solo a monster like that, though."
I could tell the knights had formed a circle around me, showering me in praise, but I couldn't see a thing. Completely oblivious to my miserable state, they just kept clapping my back and shoulders. They were treating me like a proud older brother would treat his accomplished younger sibling.
"Hey, isn't this Monster Honey?"
"Such a rare ingredient!"
"What a waste. Shouldn't we just lick it off him?"
Ugh. Don't say something so horrifying. Even knowing they were joking, I opened my mouth to protest.
Splash!
"Gah?!"
Something incredibly cold suddenly poured down over my head. A torrent of water, as refreshing and cool as if it were infused with mint, washed over my entire body like a waterfall.
"Whoa! Now that's a real waste."
"You're using such an expensive item for something like this?!"
The knights' teasing immediately turned into groans of dismay. Finally able to pry my eyes open, I saw exactly what I expected: the knights surrounding me, with Derek standing front and center. He was in the middle of handing an empty glass bottle to one of the men. Evidently, he was the one who had just dumped its contents over my head.
'That was way too much water to come from a bottle that size.'
The bottle certainly wasn't large enough to hold a literal waterfall.
"Wow, Captain. Playing favorites, are we?"
"Back in my day, you just tossed me into the lake and told me to wash it off."
"A lake would have been nice..."
'Huh? Now that I think about it...'
I had just been drenched in water. Not to mention the sticky honey, which normal water shouldn't have been able to wash away so easily. Yet, my body felt completely refreshed and perfectly dry, like I had just stepped out of a cool bath and dried off under the warm sun.
I slowly ran a hand through my hair, then looked down at my palms. The thick, disgusting honey that had matted my hair was completely gone, without a single trace left behind.
"Bwahahaha!"
"Whoa!"
One of the knights suddenly started ruffling my hair vigorously. It was the same kind of rough, affectionate gesture my dad used to give me when I was a kid. While I was still flustered by that, another knight threw his arm around my neck in a headlock, and a third slapped my back heartily.
"It's been forever since we got fresh meat!"
"Welcome to the squad!"
"Can't believe you actually decided to join a gloomy order like ours!"
"Hey, don't you think that's a bit too honest?"
Amidst their boisterous welcoming party, reality suddenly crashed back down on me. Why did I go through all that trouble to solo a monster in the first place? It absolutely wasn't to join this knight order.
Wriggling out of their suffocating embrace, I turned to face the group. Unlike Derek and the Commander, whose expressions remained perfectly stoic, the other four knights were looking at me with sparkling eyes, utterly failing to hide their excitement.
I felt a tiny pang of guilt about bursting their bubble, but this wasn't something I could drag out. I looked them in the eye and spoke with absolute firmness.
"I have absolutely no intention of joining your knight order."
"..."
"..."
The festive, rowdy atmosphere instantly froze over.
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