NOVEL NEXT Book 2: Chapter 62
Chapter 62.
The young man had been observing Tenji since arriving here as if he were judging him.
Tenji also notices this and thinks it is creepy.
There did not seem to be a single scratch or stain on the young man.
His hair was dyed a dark green color that is rarely seen. His hair was long for a man, reaching down to his shoulders with loose, wavy waves.
He was staring like a snake staring at a rat through the gaps in his hair.
His skin tone was not Japanese but Caucasian white. However, his face looked Japanese, so Tenji guessed he was probably half-Japanese.
His uniform, which Tenji had never seen before, was dripping in blood. And two somewhat crooked-looking swords were beside him.
Looking at the young man, Fukuyama began to answer Mizue's question.
"No, no. If a teammate is found to require medical attention after the final test has started, the team will be disqualified. None of the teams that have made it this far needed medical attention after the final test started."
"So you're telling me he made it through the final test all by himself?"
"That's what I'm talking about. Yeah, by the way, the route he took was the most difficult. I think there were about 250 NeedleMice in that...Hell, and maybe a Gufu."
When Fukuyama spoke to the young man, he simply nodded in silence.
[A dungeon with 250 monsters and Gufu?]
Not only Tenji but every single participant here was surprised.
Everyone was amazed that he had managed to make it through that route alone and without a scratch, as solid and numerous as the monsters were.
It was evident at a glance that the young man was by far the most talented person here.
[Oh my gosh...... it's a big world out there.]
Tenji could only come up with such insignificant impressions.
Sure, he may be awesome, but Tenji and the others have also been through similar dungeons.
"So you guys were on the second most difficult route. How many NeedleMice were there? Do you remember how many you killed, Tenji-Kun?"
"Yes, I believe it's around......133 bodies."
Tenji answered with an approximate number of kills, calculating backward from the experience he had gained.
Hearing the number, the participants again expressed their surprise.
Then Aika and Rui rushed to Tenji in a panic. They began to touch his body.
"Whoa, Whoa. What are you both doing?"
"Tenji-Kun suddenly said something strange about defeating 133 NeedleMice, and......"
"You shouldn't lie, Tenji."
They were worried that Tenji might have lost his mind due to the harshness of the final test.
Seeing them, Fukuyama said, "Ah," as if remembering.
"Oh, by the way, are you guys in the same class?" Fukuyama asked.
"Yes, we're classmates."
"I see, I see....... Isn't the standard of the freshmen at Japan Explorers High School a bit high right now? How come there are three freshmen left in the final test?"
Perhaps he witnessed the situation's unreasonableness, Fukuyama said with a question mark in his head - "What the heck?"
Just then, Mizue turned his body towards Tenji, Aika, and Rui, and his eyes widened.
"Three freshmen left?...... Fukuyama-san, in previous years, how many people have made it here?"
"Well...... maybe four at most? There are some years when I usually don't even get to one. This year there are a little too many. Oh, and by the way, that guy, Damon, is also a first-year student."
"What?"
"It's amazing; we've had four freshmen reach this point this year. This is what is called the...... platinum generation? Well, I can't help but feel the times."
"I hate it, I hate it," said Fukuyama, and he began to laugh, cackling.
Likewise, the other chariot members laughed.
There were a total of ten students who passed the final test this year.
Of these, four were first-year students.
However, the first group was a team of Aika, so all of them were confused about being here. Aika did most of the battle.
The second group also remained with cumulative power, so the other participants had little or no work to do.
The only two people who deserved to be here were the two from Group 26.
"Are Asagiri-san and Rui-Kun alright?"
Tenji turned to them and asked a question since they had rushed over to him at the last moment.
"Yes," Asagiri answered cheerfully with a big smile.
"Did you think I couldn't break through?" Rui replied with the same pouty face as ever.
The two were as usual, and Tenji was relieved to see them. But he also thinks that somehow he has remained in the same place.
"By the way, may I ask what the criteria are?"
Mizue then posed the question again to Fukuyama.
"Judging criteria? That's easy. For better or worse, we're a guild driven by the leader. So she is the ultimate judge."
"So if the Commander likes me, I'll pass?"
"That's the way it is. No one would ever disobey the Commander. Or else, she will kill them."
Fukuyama replied with a distant look, perhaps remembering his old days.
None of the participants had asked questions about the judging criteria yet or gulped at the self-serving pass/fail criteria they were told.
And that's when it happened.
"Who's gonna kill?"
A woman's voice rang out from behind Fukuyama.
Fukuyama looked back fearfully with a hollow laugh at the all-too-familiar voice of terror.
"Well, I was just talking about how beautiful Commander Kujo is."
"You always talk too much, you idiot. I'll give you a fist bump for now."
"Oww."
None of the participants noticed when or where Kujo appeared from. The participants, who had been sitting down, stood up hurriedly. They were taken aback by the situation.
Fukuyama also jokingly returned the words, but he quickly ran away to the wall.
"Yo, guys! I'm surprised there's still so many of you left."
Kujo, perhaps feeling better after giving Fukuyama a fistbump, immediately began talking to the participants as she looked them over.
Kujo was talking right in front of them, and that fact was undeniably moving their hearts.
"Okay, then. Now we'll talk about everyone's pass/fail and why."
As Kujo said this, the guild member behind him handed him a document with several sheets in a bundle. He opened his mouth to read its contents.
"Wait a minute!"
That's when it happened.
Rikka, standing next to Tenji, raised her voice in a panic.
"What is it?"
"Ah, um, what happened to...... Kusatsu-san?" Rikka asked.
Rikka was concerned about Kusatsu Gouta, the only one in Group 26 who had left before the final test for medical treatment.
She had always believed that the decision to pass or fail had not yet been made in Fukuyama's words.
However, Kujo's mouth tells him cold-blooded words.
"Those who couldn't make it here don't have the right to pass the test. Well, unless you have a remarkable talent, you can't pass. But unfortunately, Kusatsu Gouta was not accepted."
"Oh, no......."
"Is that all you have to ask? Does anyone have any more questions? If you don't have any......, let's get on with it."
Not only Rikka but also the woman who seems to be Rui's teammate - Namie Yuki - was found to be in shock with her shoulders slumped.
No one argued against the Kujo.
Seeing this, Kujo slowly started speaking.
"Then, I will announce the successful candidates for the entrance test for the Chariot."
A single sentence from Kujo made this space tense.
Most of the ten participants who had made it this far had a prayerful look.
If a person passes the test, he or she is guaranteed to become a world-class explorer.
The woman in front now tells the most critical acceptance announcement of a lifetime.
Kujo turns over a sheet of paper and checks the names of the successful candidates. Then she turned her sharp eyes on the participants.
"There were three successful participants this year--"
Only three out of ten.
Even if you make it through the final test, you'll still have to narrow down the number of students to pass.
There were over 3,000 applicants at the initial stage. From there, the applicants were screened down to 104 through interviews. Only 10 of them made it through the final test.
Furthermore, only three successful candidates are chosen from there.
Everyone here was acutely aware that this was the entrance test for one of Japan's top ten famous guilds.
And then--
Kujo looked over at the participants as she enjoyed the tension between them. Then she began to read their names out loud.