Entrance Exam

"How would you like to join a Sect?"

How would I like to join a sect? I… I don't even know what to say. This village is a sect?!

No, no it is not, dumbass brain. I don't know why this was the first thing that came to mind, so I kind of froze back then.

Luckily the Chief was kind enough to explain that their village was on the land belonging to a Sect. The Myriad Beasts Sec to be exact. It was quite close to it, actually. He said that's the reason there weren't any strong monsters roaming around these parts.

Sure buddy, sure… Then I probably bit my own ass?

Sarcasm aside, on the last day, there weren't really any beasts crossing my path, so there might be some truth to his words.

Anyway, at least I knew that I was nowhere near the Brilliant Sword Sect. I, of course, wasn't stupid enough to ask the Chief about it. I was currently playing a role of a clueless lost child.

So instead, I learned that from the Alyx boy. He was tasked with keeping me company until I could recover, and so we talked a lot about stuff happening in the village and beyond.

It wasn't anything too interesting or worth mentioning, normal everyday stuff, but I did learn that the Myriad Beasts Sect was the only one he had ever heard about, so that was good. It would seem I have unknowingly distanced myself quite considerably from the Brilliant Sword Sect's territory, which was good, and I'd like it to remain that way.

On the off chance that my killer can recognize me even after the resurrection and age change, I'd like to get as strong as possible before encountering him again. Preferably that would never happen, but I know life likes to, how would you say it, find a way to… fuck shit up!

Anyway, back to the topic of joining the Sect… I was not opposed to it, but at the same time, I barely knew anything about it.

What were the rules? Do I lose my freedoms? Am I bound to it for life? Am I going to be forced to work? How is the food there? Do they have toilets? I was really sick of shitting in the woods.

There are many such difficult questions, but after a bit of contemplation, I realized that joining, no matter the consequences, was probably my best option.

The Chief seemed extremely eager when convincing me to join, for some reason, so going against him was probably not a good idea. I mean, the man was probably around 250 centimeters tall and built like a tank! He was even more massive than I was back before my unfortunate demise, and I was pretty sure his strength reflected that.

Oh, and about the Sect joining date, it was in just a few days. Apparently, once every year, on the summer solstice, the Myriad Beasts Sect opens its doors to accept new Disciples from among those that are worthy. Aka, they can pass the test.

I wasn't exactly sure what this test was, but Alyx and a few other kids from the village, well, they were mainly 14 and 15 years old, so teenagers might be a better word? I realized I look just like them based on size and facial development, so that was good, I think. Anyway, they were going to try their luck at it, and they all seemed excited from what I could tell, so… How hard could it be?

***

Apparently joining a Cultivation Sect was a nearly guaranteed way out of poverty, so everybody wished to join. However, only about 40-50% of people even had the requirements to pass the test, while the rest weren't even fit to serve as their servants.

Of about 70 or so children in this village, only about 20 were going to try to pass the test this year. Some of them were still too young, while the rest simply don't have what it took. How they determined that I didn't know, but according to what Alyx said, their talent was apparently just not up to par.

And so, eight days after my awakening, we departed on the day-long journey to the sect. I thought it might be 20-25 kilometers away since they said it was close, but then everybody started running, with the village Chief at the front. It was not a fast run by any means, more of a light jog. And we ran for the entire day, nearly 12 hours as far as I could tell, with only a few rest stops in between.

Thank the gods I was able to use my magic, or my heart would have given out long ago! Fuck cardio! Seriously, I had to regenerate my exhausted body over and over just to keep pace with these kids. Granted, at the end they all fell down completely exhausted, but that was still one hell of an impressive feat.

I was pretty sure we traveled around 50-60 kilometers, so if that's what they mean by close, I didn't even wanna know how far, far is.

***

The group camped in a forest for the night, with the village Chief remaining awake and guarding the kids. And as the first light of dawn came, they were once again on the road.

Only this time they only traveled about an hour or so, all the way until they came out of the forest and into a clearing with an extensive mountain range in the background.

The clearing had an old greek-style stone arena, though this one was a bit on the small side and could sit just about a thousand people or so.

Many different groups were already gathered here, though none of them exceeded more than 50 members. The one from the Old Plum village was actually on the smaller side.

Most of the groups consisted of kids around the age of 15, though there were quite a few adults among some of them, most likely their parents or guardians. The path through the woods was too dangerous for youngsters to travel alone after all.

"You guys wait here." Chief Almar said and made his way toward the other groups. "I'll go talk to the other chiefs, so make sure to prepare for the test."

The youngsters remained quiet, however, as soon as the Chief was far enough away, they began talking and joking among themselves. There was no discipline among them whatsoever.

[Psst! Hey, Alyx!] I nudged my new buddy with my elbow. [Do you know what is the test going to be?]

Alyx quickly shook his head. "No, it changes every year as far as I know. Sometimes it's easy, sometimes it's hard. Last year it was pretty difficult, so hopefully, it's going to be easy this time. I know my talent is good enough to enter, so I have focused on my studies for the past year."

"Man, I'm so nervous!" He showed a bright smile as his body shook in excitement.

[You were here last time already? Did they test your talent last time too?]

"No, no… Our village Chief tested us back home. We should all be able to pass the talent test with ease!"

I entered into deep thought. Maybe that was why our group was half smaller than the rest? Perhaps the others didn't yet know their talent and came to blindly try their luck? It was a possibility.

Then came a bit of commotion at the front as a group of men came to greet us. It was about 20 guys dressed in white tunics with blue trim, and a pair of light blue trousers as well as a pair of black leather boots. Their attire was simple, yet elegant.

"Oh! They are here!" Alyx exclaimed.

[Who are?]

"Our examiners, the Cultivators! That means we'll begin soon!"

I looked at the newcomers skeptically. They didn't look like much on the outside. 30-ish years old and in the top 10-20% if one judged them by looks alone. As for Mana…

[Nothing again… Damn, everyone here knows how to hide their strength.]

Despite doing my best, I was unable to see the magical strength or Auras of anyone here, with the sole exception of these kids. The adults all had their powers well hidden and contained in their bodies.

The village chiefs went to meet the examiners and greeted them with a deep bow while cupping their right fists.

The latter returned the cupped fist, however, they did not bow, not even slightly. They then began speaking with each other and made their way to the arena. After a bit, they signed a whole bunch of papers as far as I could see, and then the chiefs spread out and went to find their respective groups.

"Let's go," Chief Almar said and gestured for us to follow him.

We sat on the two bottom rows of the seats of the arena, about a meter away from each other, and waited for further instructions.

Their guardians/parents went to sit further back, on the top rows, while the examiners went around to distribute papers to each participant. I swallowed hard as a few papers fell in my lap as well as a thick pencil and nervously waited for the signal to turn them around and begin the examination.

God knows what they decided to put on the test this year, and that's what I was worried about most. What if I wasn't able to-

"Attention!" One of the examiners shouted. "Let me first warn you… The two rows have different tests to prevent cheating, though they are of similar difficulty. However, if anyone is found out to be cheating despite that, they will be immediately disqualified and will not be allowed to participate ever again!"

The youngsters swallowed hard and made sure to only stare at their own piece of paper. They couldn't afford to lose this chance. Same with me. I was basically stuffing my face in the paper.

"You got two hours to complete the test. When you are done, stand up and immediately bring it forward for examination. Now turn the papers around... and begin!"

I could hear the commotion as hundreds of pages of thin light brown paper were aggressively turned around and the nerve-racking two hours officially began. I also flipped mine over and began reading the instructions.

What..?!

I nearly fell off my seat as I saw my test, and my head started spinning. There was a full page of words, some sort of a story that served as a reading comprehension test, and on the other paper was… math!