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While everyone was focused on the test, Raimon got to thinking about his first friend Aldrich Parker who was still in testing inside Cailleach Castle. Considering the hidden potential in his body Raimon only wanted one more person to be his partner.

What about other possible apprentices?

Raimon saw a lot of potentials, but he also saw a lot of his character the moment the testing by Instructor Rogelio began.

Those kinds of eyes were very familiar to Raimon. Envy, jealousy, hatred, contempt. They wanted William to fall more than anyone else. The human being is a very contradictory animal, the misfortunes of others are a reason for happiness and the effort levels of each person are always ignored.

That was the kind of place the school was. Only by trampling on the dreams of others could one rise up.

So, everyone prayed. In particular, the children of the lower classes in the titles of the nobles who were already out of breath prayed.

May the foolish fallen noble fail quickly. They prayed for his will to be broken, for him to fall to his knees, and for him to fall from the ranks and end up in last place.

Of course, Raimon noticed the moment William saw their faces always gave as good as he got.

William could still grit his teeth.

"Gurgle, kuk, kuk, kuk, kuk..."

'I...I can!'

Making a sound like a wounded beast, the young fallen nobleman thought to himself.

It hurt so much that his lungs felt like they were going to tear apart, and it felt like someone was stabbing him. His joints even felt like they were creaking.

His muscles were screaming at him to stop.

Could he even go on?

If asked, there was a definite answer. William still could.

It wasn't just a commitment or pride either.

He was just saying what he knew.

The man who swung his sword in his dreams these months that he was given new hope never stopped.

It was only when faced with his own 'limit' that he fell to the ground and took a deep breath.

Since William had 'experienced' this vicariously, he couldn't collapse at this point.

"What is that bastard doing!"

"Stupid! He looks so weak, but he's still running."

"Please fall, fall!"

"I'm reaching my limit!"

"Isn't that how one dies?"

The retreating apprentices looked tired. Some even looked at William with fear in their eyes, worried about what would happen if William continued to struggle.

Of course, William was not one to worry. He couldn't afford to. In his blurred vision, he did his best to move his body.

He ran for another 10 minutes.

Then he fell like a puppet on a broken string.

Before he fell Raimon and Eclipse vaguely noticed a shadow of a dragon coming out of the apprentice's body.

"Give him an alchemy drink and move him quickly to the recovery room!"

"Understood!"

The assistant ran over to an exhausted William Thorn.

Fortunately, there was no major problem. He could be back to normal in a day or two.

Of course, he should have been stopped before his body gave out.

However, the instructor Rogelio could not stop him.

It was because an unbearable curiosity was taking hold of him.

"I was trying to figure out what was so special about Yoggi telling me to look out for him, I almost made a mistake and threw a capable rookie."

Rogelio shook his head.

With his excellent observation skills, he was able to understand William's physical condition.

He was also surprised to notice the movement of his blood aura before he passed out.

To use an analogy, it was like squeezing a wet towel hard enough so that not a single drop of water remained.

You could say the body had done the best it could and then collapsed from exhaustion.

That's not an impossible task.

Himself, Rogelio, and even the other swordsmen and warriors who graduated from Anthos felt that way at least once.

The point is that they had to push themselves beyond their limits until their bodies could no longer keep up with their minds.

Conversely, it also meant that those who graduated from Anthos would never feel that thrill again. Something helpful at the time when everyone goes to the Red Fortress.

"He's a weird guy. Despite being weak."

"His bloodline looks interesting to me."

Rogelio took a list out of his pocket. And then he took a pen he brought with him and wrote 'potential' next to 'William Thorn'.

After thinking, he put a question mark next to William's name.

Shaking his head once more, he walked away.

"..."

The next morning.

William looked up at the unfamiliar ceiling and woke up.

It was the white ceiling of the recovery room. The boy, who had been lying there, nodded.

"I collapsed while running."

He couldn't remember the details.

From the moment the pain crossed a certain level, the boundary between conscious and unconscious became blurred.

He wasn't sure if he managed to impress the instructor, but he was sure that before he fell he saw the dragon again.

He was worried. Was his body all right?

William lifted his upper body with a stiff face.

A deep voice ran in his ear.

"Don't worry about your body. You're a healthy person."

"..."

"I am young master Raimon Flower. I'm visiting Anthos City."

"Ah thank you."

"The young master?"

William thought to himself and bowed his head to express his gratitude.

Raimon nodded as well.

"Of course, you should thank me. Without me, you would have had a hard time recovering."

After that, Raimon talked for a while.

He told her that he was visiting and that he was very struck by her origin along with her life story. Yesterday Eclipse had gone crazy the moment he saw William's aura, he said that it is very likely that his ancestors married an ancient class dragon.

Raimon was very happy to find someone with great potential, he was just waiting to get to know his character to see if he had what it took to make him his partner.

Today he only came to talk to him about school and other meaningless things.

About how big the investments were in the recovery room, how good the equipment is, and how skilled he was.

He further said that the reason why so much was invested in the recovery room was that the training at Anthos was hard.

"Maybe, I'll see you often. William."

"I know."

"That was a joke. Don't answer me so seriously."

Contrary to the solemn appearance, the next heir of the Duchy had a big smile.

While William was thinking about that, Raimon held out his hand.

A piece of paper. Numerous names and numbers are written on it.

William asked.

"What is this?"

"The classification of the test. Don't worry. We just wanted to know the fitness levels of the trainees, so this training was conducted lightly."

William couldn't think of it so lightly.

For a light test, each trainee had been graded individually.

Raimon, perhaps aware of what was going on, added.

"Well, getting a high rank feels good, but getting a low rank motivates one to work harder, doesn't it? Don't worry too much about that, as it will ruin you completely."

William nodded his head.

The next head of the Duchy was right. It didn't matter what rank he held.

However, it was true that he would try to keep growing.

William who swallowed saliva confirmed the results of the competition for the first time in his life.