I Don't Want to Join a School

After everyone had finished their assessments, John gathered them together and began announcing the results:

"...Everyone listed above passed this assessment."

Though it might have seemed like everyone there had been fighting like gods, many apprentices weren't used to using a sword, were absorbed in other matters, or hadn't even come to the Swordsmanship Class assessment.

The apprentices present held their breath. What came next was what they cared about. They had worked so hard for so long, all for this moment.

"Five people received outstanding marks: Fran, Bela, Mason, Lit, and Lotus."

When they heard the names of those who had received outstanding marks, many apprentices went pale, as if they couldn't believe it. Their hands and feet began to tremble.

One noble-born apprentice had known from the start that his performance hadn't been very good, but he had still clung to a sliver of hope.

The results dealt him a heavy blow. He hadn't even received an outstanding mark, so there was no chance the recommendation would go to him.

His vision nearly went black, and he almost fainted. Fortunately, an apprentice beside him who hadn't passed the class assessment caught him.

"Are you all right?"

"I... I'm... fine."

His face pale, he stammered out the words, his mind already turning to the terrible things that lay ahead.

If he couldn't use this recommendation to enter the Sword Chant School, his future would be shrouded in darkness.

His father would probably lose faith in him and stop sending him ten silver coins each month.

From then on, he would either slink back to the territory and, with a physique barely good enough to become a Knight Attendant, serve humbly as an attendant to his younger brother or someone else.

Or he would join the wars Antir might wage in the future, risking his life in the hope that luck would earn him a knighthood.

He knew there were other ways to enter the Sword Chant School, but none were this easy. They also required connections.

Could someone like him, who hadn't even earned an outstanding mark, get in through those even more demanding channels?

"Don't take it to heart. Swordsmanship Class isn't a required course for graduation."

The apprentice who hadn't passed the class was quite optimistic. He hadn't known the man who had nearly fainted, and assumed he'd nearly collapsed because he'd failed the course.

"You only need to pass the required courses coming up. Those outstanding marks and things are just toys for the big shots."

"Once you graduate, you'll definitely be able to find a job in another city."

The noble-born apprentice stared at him as he kept talking, unable to understand what he meant by all that. Would those jobs come with servants to wait on him?

After John finished reading out the names of those who had received outstanding marks, he continued:

"Also, I have three recommendations to the Swordsman Society, an organization under the Sword Chant School. I'll choose three of the apprentices with outstanding marks for recommendation."

At those words, some apprentices who hadn't known about the recommendations suddenly understood. So there were recommendation slots! No wonder so many people had become so good with a sword.

It turned out the others were just too strong. They were fighting for the chance to become Advanced Apprentices, not because he was too useless to learn how to use a sword.

Mason clenched his fists, desperately hoping his name would be among those read out next.

After the first Swordsmanship Class that included sparring, Teacher John had told him about the recommendations. From then on, he had doubled his efforts to learn sword techniques.

Up until today, he'd felt that none of his days had been wasted. He'd devoted all his time to earning a chance to become an Advanced Apprentice through this route.

Choosing Swordsmanship Class had been a mistake at first, but as the classes went on, the sword had felt more and more natural in his hands. He'd never been happier.

Even so, he was still a little uncertain at this moment. He knew his swordsmanship seemed to be as good as it could get, but Teacher John had regretfully told him that physical fitness was also an important part of the assessment.

There was little he could do. He didn't have enough money to use the Body Tempering Method, so his physique lagged far behind those of the noble-born apprentices.

If only he had fifty silver coins, he could improve his physique quite a bit. He still wouldn't match the noble-born apprentices, but at least the gap wouldn't be so wide.

But he didn't have the money. All he could do was stand there and wait quietly for the final result.

He had even hoped John might show him some favoritism, but John had made it clear that he would be fair.

"Fran, Bela, and Lit are the three who earned the recommendations. I hope you'll..."

When he heard the first two names, Mason wasn't surprised. He knew they were far beyond the reach of apprentices like him...

But when he heard the last name, he felt the heart that had been pounding in his chest sink. All he felt was disappointment, and his clenched fist relaxed.

A sound of unmistakable delight came from his right. It had slipped out by accident, and amid the apprentices' chatter, it sounded especially sharp.

He tried to breathe out, but couldn't seem to draw a breath.

"Teacher John, I don't want to join the Sword Chant School right now."

The scene fell silent. Mason looked at Fran in disbelief, certain the voice had come from her.

A feeling stirred in him, and his sinking heart rose again. The breath trapped in his chest was still stuck there, but it had climbed much higher.

"Is it that you don't want my recommendation?"

"That's right. I'd like to keep looking at the other schools and see what their spells are like."

John struggled to accept it. Here was someone who clearly seemed made for the Sword Chant School, yet she wanted to see what the other schools were like.

"But you... All right. If you still want to join the Sword Chant School, come find me."

He truly hadn't expected Fran to turn down the recommendation. If he had to choose who seemed most like a member of the Sword Chant School, he would have ranked Fran ahead of those who had already become Formal Mages.

Yet Fran had refused. Was she kidding? For an ordinary person, having a talent for the Breathing Technique was already rare. Did she think she had tremendous talent for magic as well?

Even so, the Sword Chant School was the place best suited for her. That was why he told Fran she could come find him if she changed her mind.

He believed that any other route would offer the recommendation to Fran without hesitation. He was leaving her a convenient path, so she wouldn't have to seek out another chance to prove herself.

"Thank you, Teacher John. I appreciate you respecting my choice."

"Since you don't want the recommendation, I'll give you four Contribution Points."

He continued, sounding a little pleased:

"Since Fran doesn't want the slot, it'll go to the fourth-place candidate."

The reason he hadn't tried harder to persuade Fran was, first, that he knew the recommendation was easy for her to obtain. Given Fran's ability, the Sword Chant School was the one asking her to join.

Second, it would lead to another outcome he was hoping for.

"Then Mason will be my final recommendation..."

Mason was so overjoyed he nearly jumped. A few hot tears fell from his eyes, and the tightness in his chest vanished.