The next morning.

  Just as Irene had said, she woke up first and waited for me to exercise with her.

  "So what you said yesterday was true," I said.

  "Did you think I was joking? Come on, wake up, Rid, let's go exercise around city," Irene said.

  After that, the two of us left the inn and started running around city, even if only around the inn.

  -

  While we were running, we would occasionally chat to break the silence.

  "If we see knights on patrol, it's best to hide and avoid them. I don't want them to ask too many questions," I said.

  "Ok," Irene said.

  "Yesterday I met a woman wearing the same knights uniform as the patrolling knights. The difference was that she wore a long robe with a peacock logo on the back. She also carried a large sword on the back of her robe," I said.

  "The woman wearing the long robe with the peacock logo on the back? It seems you met someone important yesterday. That woman is the Commander of the 'Silver Peacock' Troop," Irene said.

  "The Commander of the 'Silver Peacock' Troop?" I said, surprised.

  "Yes, the 'Silver Peacock' is the name of the royal troop stationed in San Minerva. They are tasked with maintaining security and order in the kingdom of San Fulgen, especially in San Minerva, where they serve. Each region has its own troop, including San Estella, the kingdom's capital. Their troop leaders are called Troop Commanders, and they report directly to the Supreme Commander of the Kingdom."

  "Judging from your description, the woman was wearing a long robe that distinguished her from the other knights. This indicates she is the Troop Commander of the 'Silver Peacock,' as each troop Commander typically has a distinctive attire to distinguish them from the others. Not only the commander, but other members of the troop with high positions also wear different attire. Well, although I've never met her in person, I'm certain the one you met yesterday was the 'Silver Peacock' Troop Commander," Irene said.

  "I see. It seems the one I met yesterday was indeed the Troop Commander, as the aura she radiated alone indicated she was very powerful," I said.

  "What did you do to even see her?" Irene asked.

  "I was just running like this, avoiding the patrolling soldiers. But she suddenly appeared behind me without me realizing it and started asking me what I was doing here at this hour. It seems she suspects me of being the perpetrator of the crimes that frequently occur in San Minerva City at night," I said.

  "It seems so. The frequent crimes in this city seem so serious that the Commander of the Silver Peacock Troop had to intervene," Irene said.

  -

  That afternoon, we returned to the Duke's residence for the second day of the exam. We immediately gathered at the Duke's residence training ground to begin the exam.

  "On the second day of the exam, you will still be tested by the knights you have chosen to fight. However, the second day's exam is different from the first. While on the first day's exam you were required to inflict damage on the knights you fought, in this second exam you must avoid the attacks of your opponents."

  "You are free to avoid or defend against attacks with your weapons and magic. However, you are not allowed to attack your opponents."

  "The time allotted for the second day's exam is the same as the first day: one minute. You will be considered successful if you successfully avoid or defend against the knights attacks without sustaining any damage. Conversely, you will immediately fail if you sustain damage from the knights attacks during that one minute."

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  "Do you understand?" asked Mr. Alan.

  Many of the students were nervous when they learned this was the second day's exam. They were anxious because they seemed inexperienced in avoiding or defending against attacks. Nevertheless, all the students understood Mr. Alan's explanation.

  "Understood, sir," said the students.

  "Does anyone have any questions?" asked Mr. Alan again.

  "No, sir," said the students.

  "Alright, then let's begin the second exam."

  "Just like the first exam, all five classes will take the exam simultaneously, starting with the number one in each class. Please come forward," said Mr. Alan.

  The others and I proceeded to the center of the training ground for the second day's exam.

  "Knights, ?please come forward," said Mr. Alan.

  The knights chosen to fight us also proceeded to the center of the training ground. I was surprised because the knights I had faced yesterday would be my opponent again in this exam.

  "We meet again," said the knight.

  "It's an honor, sir," I said, bowing.

  "Yesterday I was defeated by your attack, but this time you will be defeated by mine," said the knight

  "I look forward to it, sir," I said.

  "Are the students ready?" asked Mr. Alan.

  "Ready," we students said.

  "Are the knights ready?" asked Mr. Alan.

  "Ready," said the knights.

  "Then, the exam begins!" said Mr. Alan.

  -

  After Mr. Alan began his test, the knight who was my opponent immediately transformed his sword into a flame sword. He then quickly attacked me with his flame sword at close range. But I immediately blocked the attack with my sword, causing our swords to clash. As our swords clashed, the knight seemed to be increasing his strength to defeat me in this swordfight, but I was still able to hold him back.

  "You're quite strong, aren't you? You didn't even move an inch," said the knight.

  I listened silently to his words. Since he couldn't defeat me in the swordfight, he drew his sword and continued attacking me. But again, I managed to block his attack. Although he was blocked, he continued to attack me with a series of slashes at close range. I also managed to block all of his attacks with my sword.

  Meanwhile, the students from the other classes taking the exam with me were one by one being hit by the knight's attacks, causing them to fail the second exam.

  I was the only one left standing.

  The knight continued to attack me with a series of slashes. I managed to block the attacks, but I noticed something odd about them. The attacks gradually became more powerful. Then, suddenly, the knight stopped his attacks and instead launched a single, powerful attack at me.

  "Take this, Flame Explosion Slash!" the knight said.

  He aimed the slash at me, but I managed to block it. However, when the flaming sword touched mine, there was a large explosion that sent me flying several meters back.

  "Hehe, looks like I win this time," the knighr said.

  He assumed this because he had successfully knocked me back with his attack.

  "Time is up. Rid has successfully completed this second exam by surviving unscathed for one minute," said Mr. Alan.

  "What?!?!," the knight said, shocked.

  He only realized this because he didn't find a single wound on my body after my attack. Not only him, but the other students and knight were also surprised to see me succeed.

  Even though I successfully completed this test, something was still bothering me.

  "The previous consecutive slashes and the explosive slash just now, I briefly sensed a murderous aura from that knight when he launched those attacks. Could it just be my intuition?" I thought.

  -

  About an hour later, the second day of the test was over. My other friends completed the test with ease, especially Irene, Lily, Leandra, and Julie, whom I had been training to avoid attacks for some time.

  On this second day of the test, quite a few students failed. They failed more than on the first day. It seems the reason so many failed was because most of them never practiced how to avoid and defend against attacks, they focused more on their attack techniques.

  After completing the second day's exam, we took our leave of the Duke's residence and returned to the inn. Mr. Alan didn't return with us because he said he wanted to survey the location for the final exam tomorrow. It seemed like tomorrow would be a difficult exam, as the points awarded were very high.

  After arriving at the inn, we, as usual, chose to explore the city until evening.

  -

  That evening, on the outskirts of San Minerva City.

  We saw a female Demi-Human Jaguar who had just killed several people.

  "They suddenly attacked me for no reason. It seems like they're the ones who frequently commit crimes in this city."

  "Finishing them off is taking a lot of time. I have to go and finish off the 'target' immediately," the woman said.

  The woman immediately hurried away from the scene. However, just as she was about to leave, a woman's voice stopped her.

  "Wait a minute, what's up with you in such a hurry?" a woman asked.

  It was the woman Rid had met yesterday morning. She wore a long robe with a peacock pattern on the back and carried a large sword behind it.

  "How long has she been here? I didn't notice her," the Demi-Human woman said.

  "I have a question for you. Seeing you kill those people tonight, are you the perpetrator of the crimes that regularly occur in this city?" the woman in the long robe asked.

  -To be continued