Quite absurd?

'To be honest...I didn't expect the candidates would be this small'

I thought, gazing at the 16 candidates inside the broken building I was in. Although they were able to mask their anxiety, it was completely useless when the real thing comes to be.

*Swoosh*

A gust of wind formed in the middle. Coughing from the dust, I covered my nose and closed my eyes. I didn't want to any have sight difficulties while the assessment began...The dust faded away, revealing a white-haired woman with light blue eyes. The aura around her was...Dominating.

"Good morning my precious little Knights!!"

I was visibly confused, although her personality was quite the optimistic one, her Aura spoke otherwise. And what's up with the 'Precious'...It's literally the first time we've met up until now. Realizing the questions would only increase, I dismissed my thoughts.

"G-goodmorning"

Lauzun, who sat beside me, stood up and greeted the White-Haired-Women. I also stood up and gave a light bow like the majority of the candidates did.

"Fufu~ if that's everyone, we can begin the assessment without any delay. To answer your question. The assessment is...to find a needle that I have kept hidden inside this broken building! You have time until sunset. If you don't wish to continue or have given up, just get out of here...back to your home"

As she spoke, her words were harsh and cold at the end. Tyr was about to voice out his opinion, but the White-haired woman vanished from our site.

"Is this a joke?"

Luzian & Tyr spoke simultaneously, Luce, however, paid no attention to them and quickly began his search without hesitation. The others complained but followed Luce's actions as they saw him.

'So...only one of us gets to be picked?'...That kind of question loomed inside my head. And the assessment itself had many loopholes, For example: What if a person, to be more specific a girl would coincidentally happen to have a needle...but by observing the candidates, I can safely rule out that option...or not, since they wouldn't be so ignorant to just confess it, considering that others would fight over it.

But why an assessment like this? Normally, it should have been a tournament that would help to classify the talented ones...I don't understand, is there a hidden meaning? Even if there is, I reckon it would be a simple yet difficult answer. But what exactly could it be?... I recalled what she said once again 'Given up', huh? Is this about...perseverance?

Although the chances were close to 60 percent, I wasn't still sure...It would be a gamble if it were. The main reason? Because there are two polar opposite answers. One thinking with your 'heart', and the other, reasoning with logic.

The former might be something equivalent to 'A Knight would never give up', and the latter 'A true Knight knows when to give up'...It was troublesome indeed. I had to make up my decision before sunset. Although I felt the first one would be the obvious answer, one can never be too careful. The whole assessment revolved around her small display of emotions.

"Umm...have you already given up....N-najin?" The Black haired boy, Lauzun snapped me back to reality with his words.

"Ah...sorry, I was just thinking...this whole situation, is rather absurd?"

Lauzun nodded, seemingly agreeing with my words that sounded more like a question in itself.

"This is ridiculous! We're here to become Knights, not some scout!"

Luzian, kicked the rocks on the ground while complaining. Her anger was justifiable from a candidate's point of view. But if you view it from the view of the conductor...It's absolutely outrageous.

Not wanting to stand out, I kept the theories I came up with to myself without making them public. if possible, I'd like to reduce the number of people who would pass the assessment. More candidates meant more fun...but for now, I didn't want any burdens on my shoulder.

Just by a single glance, I could tell that I was not even in the top 10 when it comes to physical ability compared to the people present here...It's already surprising to me that I wasn't dead last. Considering that I started from scratch and got only the time threshold of 1 year...I was impressed with myself.

While I could beat most of them utilizing my combat abilities, my stamina couldn't keep up with my intellect. I was, after all, an average person with no talents whatsoever. And yeah, that 'Sensing' stuff that happened a while back...precisely 10 months ago. It was just me being dumb. I just tilted my head and coincidentally a peach fell at the same time. That confirmed it...I had no hax.

I started my search for the needle. I noticed the candidates bumping into each other from time to time, it was inevitable considering the small space and 16 candidates searching for the same item altogether...