Test

Elf Academy's Training Ground was crowded with young elves, all of them new students who had enrolled this year.

Everyone was curious about the Elementary Martial Arts Training class.

When they heard Instructor Abbott. Nora calling out, they all gathered around.

The elves on the Training Ground were distinctly divided into two groups.

Gathered around Instructor Abbott. Nora, the two groups resembled an upper lip and a lower lip.

They were completely separated, with narrow passages at both ends wide enough for only one person to pass through.

The larger group consisted of Silver Moon Elves. The young members of the Silver Moon Elf clan gathered together, with several young noble students standing at the very front.

The other group consisted of Half-Elves. The number of Half-Elves living in Castleton City's Lower District had been increasing year by year, and after finding work, many young Half-Elves would save up methodically to complete their studies at Elf Academy.

Roy stood among the Half-Elves.

However, since he still wanted to talk with Klayr a little longer, the two stood in the gap separating the groups.

Klayr stood on the Silver Moon Elf side, while Roy stood with the Half-Elves.

There were many freshmen like them. Some Silver Moon Elves did not care much about bloodline heritage and had made Half-Elf friends as well...

"Instructor Nora is the best instructor at the academy for teaching Elementary Martial Arts. There should be a fitness test later."

Klayr muttered quietly to Roy.

It was rather noisy around them. Everyone had yet to calm down from the excitement of enrollment.

Instructor Abbott. Nora was a female Silver Moon Elf, her silver hair falling just to her shoulders.

She stood patiently in the center of the open field, waiting until the surrounding voices had begun to fade before speaking. "Since no one is prepared to withdraw, let me see how your physical fitness, flexibility, and balance are! Everyone will undergo a fitness test before class begins. I hope each of you meets my standards."

One hand rested on the hilt of the sword at her waist, while the thumb of her other hand hooked over her quiver, making her look valiant and dashing.

"How did you know she would make us take a fitness test?" Roy asked Klayr quietly.

Klayr answered casually:

"My sister told me. She was worried I wouldn't pass this test, so she had me do some training a year in advance..."

"..."

Roy was speechless.

Over the past year, he had spent nearly all his time on Dreambreaker and fishing.

"Then do you know what the test involves?" Roy asked.

Klayr raised his pale golden eyebrows and said smugly:

"Of course. It's an Obstacle Course. You have to clear all kinds of obstacles on the grassy field over there within a certain time limit."

After saying that, he pointed toward the other side of the Training Ground.

Following the direction of his finger, Roy saw a row of obstacles on the west side of the field through the crowd, including water pits, Stone Walls, dirt mounds, and more. The grass was clearly marked with countless footprints.

Instructor Abbott. Nora walked at the front.

The two groups followed at her sides as she led them over there.

Roy felt a little nervous. He had not prepared at all before class.

This obstacle course included a log bridge over a water pit and Stone Walls built atop piles of rubble, and it even extended into the woods. It looked difficult.

Roy even spotted a stone cliff several meters high within the forest...

The path emerged from the other side of the woods, connected to a long, narrow low wall running lengthwise, then looped back to the starting point.

Instructor Abbott. Nora stood at the front and explained the rules.

Roy planned to squeeze forward to hear them better.

At that moment, several Silver Moon Elves suddenly pushed through the crowd and surrounded Klayr and Roy.

There were quite a few small cliques among the elf students. Roy had not seen any conflicts between them before, so he had not expected to run into trouble himself.

Two elves wearing Light Leather Armor stepped before Klayr, staring at him with amused expressions.

Klayr glared back without backing down.

"Klayr, what a coincidence. I didn't expect you to be in the martial arts class too."

One silver-haired elf in light armor, with an exquisite dagger tucked at his waist, greeted Klayr. His words carried a strong hint of hostility.

He reached out and patted Klayr on the shoulder, then leaned close to his ear and said teasingly, "When it's time to form groups, don't be in such a rush to team up with someone else. We're such good friends, so naturally we should look after each other."

Klayr pushed his hand away and replied coldly, "Steve, I don't need your concern. We're not that close."

The elf named Steve raised his eyebrows and smiled. "Those words really break my heart. If it weren't for your sister's generosity, I wouldn't be standing here today..."

His gaze swept over Roy's face, a mocking smile curling at the corner of his mouth. "And this is?"

"Roy."

Roy answered.

He had not expected to run into something like this on his first day of school.

He only wanted to study quietly at the academy and had not intended to cause trouble...

But since he had already become friends with Klayr, backing down now would probably make others see him as a coward.

He did not want to enter Elf Academy only to earn a bad reputation as someone with no friends.

Though he had a headache over it, Roy still chose to stand firmly beside Klayr.

The two stared coldly at the several Silver Moon Elves opposite them...

Klayr gave Roy a grateful glance.

Roy did not know what the atmosphere at Elf Academy was like, but he did not think these elves would dare openly cause trouble during class.

Sure enough, their standoff lasted only a few seconds before it caught the attention of the surrounding elves.

The young elf called Steve merely gave an awkward laugh and said, "Klayr, has your taste changed? You like making friends with Half-Elves now?"

"Watch your mouth." Klayr rebuked him in a low voice.

"Everyone, the test is beginning. Get ready, and students in the back, don't bunch together..."

Instructor Abbott. Nora's voice carried over from beyond the crowd.

The elves gathered here scattered at once.

Without the cover of the crowd, none of them dared confront each other in front of Instructor Abbott. Nora.

Steve turned around, glanced back at Klayr with a smile, and was the first to leave the crowd.

Roy felt that Steve's backward glance had actually been directed at him. Thinking of Klayr's behavior since the start of school—how he had begun paying attention to the students in the Elementary Martial Arts Training class on the first day of registration—it was obvious that Klayr had anticipated today's conflict...

"Sorry for dragging you into this."

Klayr said with an embarrassed expression.

What could Roy say? He could hardly just say, 'Let's stop being friends!'

He could only pat Klayr on the shoulder and tell him:

"No matter what, I'll stand by your side."

Klayr was somewhat moved and said to Roy:

"That guy is Steve. He's not really a freshman this year. He's deliberately kept failing the Elementary Martial Arts Training exam just so he could come here and block me."

Roy asked him, "Why does he want to block you?"

Klayr grinned carelessly. "It's a family feud, I guess. When my sister attended classes here, she used to block members of their family the same way. That Steve got beaten badly by my sister for half a semester last year. Every class, she'd beat him until he looked like a pig."

"...So this year, he came looking for you and plans to deal with you?" Roy was utterly speechless.

Klayr also knocked his forehead in frustration and said gloomily, "I didn't expect my sister to go off to some Elf Academy exchange event at a time like this..."

Roy shot him a glance and mercilessly exposed him:

"Even if she weren't attending an exchange event, she wouldn't choose to take the Elementary Martial Arts Training class again."

Klayr laughed awkwardly. "That's true."

"So no matter what, you're the unlucky guy waiting to get beaten." Roy summed up.

Klayr laughed even harder. "You can't put it that way. Usually, the people who spar in class are fixed, so I picked you."

"..."

Faced with Klayr's blunt explanation, Roy had nothing to say.

"If I don't pass this test, what do you think will happen to you?"

Klayr suddenly shuddered all over, threw an arm around Roy's shoulders, and pleaded, "We're friends, right?"

Roy nodded...

"You haven't done this kind of test before, have you?" Klayr suddenly asked.

Roy nodded without hesitation.

"Then stay beside me later. This kind of test is usually run by pairs at the same time. Watch my movements carefully. There are certain tricks to it. Even the number of steps when climbing a wall is fixed, and you need to watch your speed and rhythm." Klayr explained to Roy as they walked.

"Okay."

When they reached the front, some elves had already begun running.

Just as Klayr had said, the test was conducted in pairs.

There were both Silver Moon Elves and Half-Elves, and Roy and Klayr stood in line.

There were nearly two hundred students in this class. It was bound to take some time for everyone to finish.

At last, it was Roy and Klayr's turn.

The two stood before the starting line, Klayr looking thoroughly at ease.

Roy, on the other hand, was much more nervous. His palms were even sweating.

"Ready, begin!"

Instructor Abbott. Nora was not the one giving the signal.

To observe the students' performances more closely, she stood on a raised platform in the middle of the course.

Roy followed Klayr's pace, beginning with a light, short-stepped jog.

They were not moving very fast. The first obstacle was a water pit, with two round logs laid across it as bridges. To cross the pit, they had to pass over the logs.

The logs were thin and long, clearly meant to test balance while running.

Klayr rushed onto the logs with almost no slowdown, holding his arms straight out as he crossed with light steps.

It looked simple. Klayr merely held his arms out and crossed the logs over the water pit in a few steps, but when it came to Roy, the crossing became perilous...

When climbing over the first wooden wall, Roy's running start was too strong. His first foot landed too high on the boards, leaving his second step unable to keep up.

His body bounced backward, but fortunately, Roy reacted quickly enough to grab the top edge of the wooden wall and barely pull himself over.

All he had to do was grab the edge of the wall with both hands and thrust himself upward to straddle it.

But when it came to Roy, he looked terribly clumsy...

The obstacles that followed grew taller and taller, changing from wooden walls to stone walls. If Klayr, who was running ahead, had not slowed down and turned back to pull him, he would likely have stopped before the second stone wall.

"Adjust your breathing rhythm..."

Klayr stayed beside him, constantly reminding him in a low voice.

"Don't worry about your running speed. That's not the main scoring criterion."

"Remember, you need to step on the wall at least twice to reach the very top."

"Watch the center later and grab the most worn spot on the wall. There will always be somewhere there that's easier to use for leverage..."

They spent quite some effort getting over the first stone wall.

Roy nearly got stopped at the second wall, but Klayr helped him through.

When they reached the tallest stone wall, Roy cleared it in one go instead, and his movements became much smoother...

Roy felt that running was what he was best at. He often went for morning runs along the beach.

He rarely saw elves run. To maintain elegance and composure, elves usually walked with graceful steps. Even when something urgent came up, they merely hurried along at a brisk walk.

But now, watching those elves nimbly vault over the wooden walls, Roy felt a sense of frustration.

At last, they stumbled their way to the finish and stood together before Instructor Abbott. Nora.

The female elf held a parchment booklet in her hands. She found Klayr's name on the list and wrote the words "Passed" after it.

When she looked at Roy, she studied him deeply. "Your speed is acceptable, but your body isn't flexible enough."

That was her first assessment of Roy.

Roy nodded somewhat guiltily.

Instructor Abbott. Nora continued, "Your flexibility is also severely lacking, and your joints are very stiff. If this continues, you will face more difficulties than others when learning Elementary Martial Arts..."

"Your physical coordination is the worst of all."

"So you must improve every aspect of your physical ability as soon as possible. Otherwise, you won't be able to complete the later exercises at all, much less pass the final test."

"Think it over. Perhaps you should spend this year doing basic training and come back a year later."

Roy hesitated slightly before asking Instructor Abbott. Nora, "Instructor, what do I need to do to catch up physically?"

Instructor Abbott. Nora told Roy, "Strengthen your daily training, including exercises to improve flexibility. When running, it would be best to do some training to improve your balance as well..."

"I'll improve my physical fitness as quickly as possible. I want to take the class!"

Roy said stubbornly.

He did not want to give up the chance to learn Elementary Martial Arts just like that. Instructor Abbott. Nora frowned and lowered her head to think seriously for a while before finally agreeing to Roy's request. "Very well, but remember this: I won't give you any special treatment during the final test."

Klayr had been standing to the side. Upon hearing Instructor Abbott. Nora's words, he immediately pulled Roy away at a run.

"I thought you'd choose to give up." Klayr let out a long breath and said.

"What's there to give up? I'd still have to enroll next year anyway."

Roy said casually.

Then he saw that Steve had also completed the fitness test. It looked as though he had passed without issue.

When Steve looked their way, he still wore a strange smile...