Awakening to a Special-Grade Explorer

Chapter 63.

The three names that Kujo called out as this year's successful candidates were Aika Asagiri, Damon Ashuka, and Mizue Katsunari.

Some were disappointed, some cleared their faces, some were expressionless as if they knew they would not pass the test, and some clenched their fists like they were not happy with the results.

A single sentence from Kujo made the participants happy or sad. The reactions were varied.

In the midst of all this, Tenji patted his chest in relief.

[I guess my name wasn't there anyway. I feel a little sad about it, but I'm thankful for it now.]

Although Tenji took this test, he honestly never wanted to pass it.

Not to say that he wasn't interested in joining a top guild, of course, but right now, he wanted to spend his time exploring the possibilities of his calling. He wanted to test his limit.

Besides, Tenji had not thought too deeply about his career path yet. So he did not want to narrow his future path at this stage. He wanted to explore more possibilities.

[Honestly, if you could have seen that, I could have passed, but...... apparently, I didn't meet the criteria for passing.]

Despite feeling slightly disappointed, Tenji smiled at Aika as she passed the test.

Kujo looked over at the participants, enjoying their reactions, giving them just a few moments.

And so, once again, Kujo started speaking.

"Well, let's start with a general review of the successful candidates. The first one is you, Aika Asagiri."

"Yes!"

Aika looked happy from the bottom of her heart and had a cute smile as she replied cheerfully.

Seeing her expression, Kujo was also happy and showed a warm smile.

"What I especially appreciated about you was your command ability. Maybe it's because of what you went through, but I feel you have the potential to be close to Godo. You always pay attention to your surroundings and bring the best leadership to your friends. From now on, I want you to further learn under Godo and sharpen your command skills."

Aika's mouth was moving in a munching motion because she was happy to be told that she had the potential to resemble Godo - one of the best chariot leaders.

The first time Tenji saw Aika with such a broken expression on her face, he thought that she had this side of her as well, and he was glad to see a new side of Aika.

"Yes!!!"

"The other is the Weapon Enhancement. You're bringing a very powerful buff effect to your companions....... Did you learn this from Godo as well? It's a nice ability that brings feelings to the forefront and shows a glimpse of your talent."

"Yes, Godo-san taught me to put more feeling into it!"

"I knew it. It finally made sense to me. I decided on a pretty face for the...... last conversation about caring for my fellow man."

"Face?"

"Well, I'd be happy to have a pretty girl fighting with me and encouraging me."

They are all unintentionally stunned by the last, completely self-serving reason.

Still, it was a regular sight for the chariot members, or perhaps they cowered a little and exhaled a sigh, saying, "It's the usual."

"Oh, thank you."

Aika's cheeks were flushed with crimson as if she had never been told to her face that she was cute before. Seeing Aika like that, Kujo had a radiant expression on her face.

"That's all. Aika Asagiri will have the right to hold an unofficial membership offer for five years from today. You will also attend high school, and after graduation, you can be an official member of the Chariot!"

"Yes! Please!"

"Oh, yes, I'm looking forward to working with you. I'll train you as an assistant explorer until you graduate."

Kujo said this with the face of a kind but a remarkable woman and turned her gaze to the next successful candidate, Damon Ashuka.

Damon looked back into Kujo's eyes with a blank expression that didn't seem to lift his spirits or make him nervous.

"Next is Damon Ashuka. It's just that not only do we want you to join us, but all seven of the other sponsored guilds want you to join them as well."

"...... other guilds?"

The first time everyone heard Damon Ashuka's voice, there was something calm about it.

Besides, the others could clearly see his emotions wavering for the first time.

"To begin with, this time, the test was made up of several guilds that jointly ran the test. The main body was the Chariot. In exchange for providing funds and personnel from other guilds, several people had gathered to recruit. But the first priority for the recruiting was within the organizer,......, but those guys are also stubborn and demanding of you.."

"Okay, I understand."

"I'll give Damon Ashuka the right to hold an offer to join for five years, just like Asagiri. The other guilds will give you the same offers. You should decide which guild you want to go to during your remaining two years as a student. We are always waiting for you to join the Chariot Guild."

"I'll think about it."

The participants were puzzled by the stupefyingly bland reply.

That's probably true.

It's not everyday people hear of a situation like this.

Even those who were allowed to wear the white uniforms, which were a handful even in Japan Explorer High School, only received at most three recruiters from the top guilds.

There was one senior that Tenji knew who had the highest number of recruits, four top ten guilds. That senior went to Mallorca last year to study.

But Damon Ashuka here was perhaps the first in Japanese history to accomplish the feat of being recruited by eight different guilds at the same time.

It was a result he should be proud of, but Damon Ashuka replied very casually.

Kujo enjoyed Damon Ashuka's reaction for a moment, then turned her attention to the next person.

It was Mizue Katsunari standing next to Tenji.

"Next is you, Katsunari Mizue."

"Yes!"

"You've always led the 26th Group with your own back. He wasn't very good at communicating, but Mizue could lead. That confidence is a great talent. If you continue studying hard at Chariot, you'll become one of us."

"......!"

Mizue was deeply moved by Kujo's words of praise.

"The most important thing is that you have a flexible body, a flexible fighting style, swordsmanship trained since childhood, and not afraid of death. I love men like that."

"Yes! Thank you!"

"Mizue will become good if we train him at our place. The other guild [Hakusouki] also wants Mizue. Both [Chariot] and [Hakusouki] are recruiters with high hopes for your future. You should think hard about which guild you want to join in the remaining less than half a year of your student life. Go...... and think long and hard about your future."

"Yes! Thank you, commander."

Mizue had always been told by those around him that there was no way he could become an explorer. He was always made fun of.

In the midst of this criticism, Mizue took the Chariot's entrance test and held offers of membership from two of the top ten guilds.

He thought this would give him a good report to his childhood friend, who was the only one who kept supporting Mizue.

That's when Kujo began to look everyone in the eye, not just those who had passed.

"These are the general comments of this year's successful candidates. The unsuccessful candidates should now have a good understanding of what they are lacking. Whether it's leadership, a thirst to become an explorer, or talent......, it's up to each individual. If you still want to become an explorer, I'll see you for the entrance tests next year. Then you can show me your hard-earned potential."

"YES"

The unsuccessful candidates could understand what they were missing through this test.

Was it command and natural talents like Aika's, an overwhelming talent that no one else can match like Damon Ashuka's, or a determination to become an explorer cultivated through hard work like Mizue's?

They were most satisfied with the names of the successful candidates when they could get out here in the first place.

------except for one.

"Commander Kujo...... why am I a reject?"

Rui clenched his fist so hard that blood flowed from his fist as if he was concentrating his frustration in his fist.

Seeing this, Kujo looked back at Rui's sharp eyes.

"Basically, I don't tell the rejects why they've been rejected, but...... you would be fine."

"Thank you."

Just a few moments later, Kujo opens her mouth after a pause.

"Talent, hard work, determination, nothing you lack."

"What? Then why!?"

"As Flame told me,...... you should trust your friends more. You can also find a few friends you can rely on, like Amagi and Asagiri, but you still tend to look down on weaker people."

"......?"

"Overconfidence in your own strength. Unreliable to teammates. You tend to be a one-man player when it comes together, don't you? I would have given you a pass without question if it weren't for that. Oh, and...... In case you were wondering, you had a recruiter from the guild [POP]."

"Really?"

"Yes, but I said no. I don't need to tell you why, do I?"

"............, yes."

"If you know what you're doing, go back to school and study again. I will personally review you again for next year's test."

There seemed to be a bit of a coldness in her words to Rui.

Even so, everyone here knew that this harsh truth could lead Rui to his fantastic future. Rui himself was also aware of this feeling.

That's why he was so frustrated.

He naturally bit off his lower lip, and a drop of blood trickled down his chin.

Although Kujo was aware that she was exaggerating a bit, she still continued to look at Rui with eyes like a mother watching over her child.

When Rui looked up again, Kujo looked around at everyone again.

She continued to look around - and stopped when she saw Tenji's face.

"Lastly,...... Amagi Tenji, you."