Rita opened her eyes and saw Valfis brushing the dust off the chair before sitting down beside her.
Although it was a bit impolite, Rita couldn’t help but wonder what Valfis was really here for.
Valfis’s ranking was at the very bottom of the whole group.
Even though she had scored a lot in the Second Round, it was unlikely she would pass the exam smoothly.
Besides, this was only the Preliminary Exam.
Even if she somehow scraped through, the chances of failing the Final Exam were extremely high.
But since it was her business, maybe she just liked participating.
Rita didn’t want to pry too much, so she shifted her position to make space for Valfis to talk.
As soon as Valfis sat down, she immediately returned to her old trade.
“Sis, I’ve got some fresh intel. Want to hear it?”
Rita wasn’t sure whether to believe Valfis’s intel or not.
What she said about the exam was partly accurate, but all of it was common knowledge.
Momoka had mentioned she knew some clues about the Succubus, and although it was more a lucky guess, it did lead Rita to encounter the Succubus.
There was even an underground passage beneath that place, which made Rita think it was a bit too coincidental.
In short, Rita didn’t really trust that Valfis could say anything useful, but since it didn’t cost anything to listen, she nodded.
“What intel? Is it about the Second Round exam content?”
Cecilia had always been tight-lipped about the exam details.
After that incident, there was no way to ask her anymore, so even now Rita had no clear idea about the specifics.
“Ah, I don’t know the exact exam content,” Valfis replied.
How could an information dealer not even know the exam content?
Rita scoffed silently but kept a pleasant tone and asked again.
“Then what intel do you have?”
“Listen up, the Second Round exam isn’t easy at all.”
No kidding! If it were easy, everyone would have passed by now!
Rita bit her tongue and asked patiently, “How is it difficult?”
“Think about it, something happened even before the First Round started, and now something’s happened again. There’s a bigger conspiracy behind this exam!” Valfis said mysteriously.
“That’s right, there has to be a conspiracy!” Momoka’s voice suddenly came from behind. “They even imposed a curfew recently, or else I would’ve rushed out to help!”
Rita turned her head and saw Momoka bending over with her neck stretched long, sighing at her. “Sigh, my gun’s still with you. Even if I went out, I wouldn’t have a weapon. Otherwise, no matter the curfew, I’d definitely have gone out.”
Ahahaha, it did seem like something like that had happened.
So much has happened recently that she almost forgot.
But Rita didn’t doubt Momoka’s words.
Momoka wasn’t the type to brag after the fact; if she said she would help, she truly would.
After all, she had enthusiastically announced in public her plans to hunt the Succubus.
Alber, who had somehow tagged along, sighed as well: “Good thing Rita picked up your gun. Otherwise, if you really went out, it would’ve been bad if the soldiers mistook you for an enemy.”
“No way!” Momoka protested.
“Everyone going out, mixing in with the invaders, would only cause more trouble for the soldiers. Imagine what it’d be like if everyone was mixed together.”
“True.” Momoka looked thoughtfully at this and then sat down beside Rita.
“I almost forgot you two actually know each other! By the way, I heard the Succubus showed up again last night. This time it’s a pink-haired, red-eyed one. They say she’s the culprit. So, how about we find some time to investigate before the Second Round starts?”
“Isn’t it starting soon?” Rita asked, confused.
“Ah, you don’t understand! The Second Round is very flexible,” Momoka waved her hand, clearly not ready to give up on her plans.
Before long, it was time for the exam to begin, but many candidates were already gone.
At least the few she had kicked out earlier were nowhere to be seen.
Maybe they gave up because they knew their chances of passing were slim?
After a few customary remarks from the host, Anges surprisingly stepped onto the stage.
“Everyone, I will now announce the content of the Second Round exam,” Anges said solemnly. Then he shifted and began introducing the geography and surroundings of Solus City. Rita listened, bewildered.
Weren’t they supposed to introduce the exam content? Why was this turning into a geography class?
“Sis, confused, right? That’s because the Second Round is real combat. So these seemingly unimportant details are actually crucial!” Valfis began explaining.
“But wasn’t the First Round real combat too? Like a tournament?”
Rita asked, though she was already imagining a scenario where a group of people ran out into the wilderness to fight monsters or battle each other to snatch items.
That was pretty common in various manga — like the Chunin Exams for scroll retrieval, or the Level 1 Mage Exams involving bird-catching and maze exploration.
Rita had seen plenty.
“It’s different. You’ll see soon enough. A city chosen as the battlefield isn’t just about being big.”
Rita focused her attention.
This felt like a flashback to high school classes, and soon she felt herself growing drowsy.
Until Anges mentioned a word she couldn’t ignore.
Demons.
“As a border city adjacent to demon territory, we’ve set up several Border Outposts at the southern frontier to monitor demon movements. However, due to uncontrollable circumstances, these outposts have long fallen into disrepair and are no longer maintained. The exam task this time is for you to head near the border, assist our soldiers in reclaiming the outposts, and rebuild the border defenses.”
Rita remembered the abandoned outposts she’d seen when fleeing the demon lands.
She had even slept inside one of them.
They weren’t far from Solus City, but that was by Succubus flight.
Traveling there on foot took much longer and was far more dangerous.
This was genuine combat.
After Anges finished, Dorothy — who had barely spoken during the exams — took the stage.
“I will now announce the scoring rules for this exam.”
Dorothy pulled out a small pebble about the size of a grape from her robe.
The intricate carvings on it immediately marked it as a magical item.
“This is a Record Stone, capable of recording nearby images and sounds. As long as you carry it, it will activate. At the start of the exam, each of you will receive a Record Stone engraved with your name. After your mission, we will evaluate your final score based on the content recorded. Remember, the Record Stone must not be damaged or lost. Although it’s not easy to break, you must be careful.”
“You may use any means that help you complete the mission to gain points. But I must stress, in the past, some candidates tried to secure advancement by directly or indirectly attacking opponents. Such methods will result in disqualification. Remember, every move you make is recorded by the Record Stone.”
After saying this, Dorothy simply walked back.
Valfis nudged Rita’s shoulder. “Got it?”
“What kind of rule is this?” Rita was completely lost.
“The rule for the Second Round is no rules. No killing each other, pay if you have money, send people if you have people. The rest doesn’t matter,” Valfis said, wagging her finger. “This is the content of every Holy Knight exam: help the city hosting the exam solve problems.”
“Pay if you have money means…”
“For example, if I buy lots of supplies and bring them to the front lines, that’s my contribution. The results will definitely give me points corresponding to it. Understand?”
Rita understood — not only the exam rules but the rules behind the exam.
In some ways, this exam was a transaction.
The kingdom placed urgent problems on the table through the exam, and candidates in the Holy Knight exam were responsible for solving them.
If the candidates themselves couldn’t manage, then their powerful backers would step in.
And to secure employment for some spoiled nobles in the capital, those backers would spare no effort.
It was basically like when teachers ask during elementary school sports day, “Kids, what can your parents bring to our class?”
The kingdom was passing its troubles onto others, spoiled nobles got job opportunities, and a world where no one got hurt was achieved!
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