Chapter 18 - Preparations for the Test

That fucking novel. I still have no idea what it's about or what the story is supposed to be. There were no main characters in the war, at least, it didn't seem that way.

It was troubling, not knowing what world I was part of, but over the years, I guess I just got used to it.

"Caedrel? Are you still there?"

My head was filled with thoughts. But, in the end, I just sighed. I couldn't do anything about it. I could only adapt, which is what I had done to begin with. So, I could only continue doing the same. Things were working well for me, after all.

Living in a novel was what I did for the last eight years of my life, and things had gone smoothly. There was no reason for that to change.

"Ah. Yes," I said, shaking my head. "It seems like I'll have to prepare for that test."

They are strong kids, right? They all got admitted to the Royal Academy. Those teenagers should be able to endure a slightly harder test than normal, right?

Wait…what about making them go through the first test I got when I arrived on the frontlines?

An ugly smile formed on my lips just thinking about it. Tomorrow would be a funny sight.

The director looked at me and sighed. "I don't know why, but I feel like I shouldn't have told you about this."

***

Peter was a young carriage driver. After his father had died, he decided to take over the company to feed his little sister. His job was quite straightforward, and nothing special happened every day. It was pretty much always the same kind of people entering his carriage.

That is…until he met a strange customer. Today.

With a nervous gaze, Peter brought the carriage and went to open the door for his customer.

"We're here, mister. I can't go any further than this."

With a smile, the customer picked up his black suitcase, adjusted his hat, and stepped down from the carriage.

Peter pointed into the distance where a forest was situated. The trees were so tall that they were visible from the Royal Capital.

"That's the only forest around here. Most people call it the Royal Forest. But, those who went inside it call it the Death Forest. If I were you, I'd reconsider going inside that place. A bunch of dangerous monsters are roaming inside it."

"Oh, it should be fine. Please wait here for a moment; it shouldn't take long."

"Shouldn't take long? This is over a kilometer away!"

Before he could even finish his sentence, the purple and red-haired man had disappeared from his sight.

Having a good idea where he left, the man turned to look at the Royal Forest. He had heard that some of the soldiers at war were incredibly fast and powerful. Maybe that was one of those…however, the man looked young. It also wasn't rare to meet retired soldiers these days since the war had ended a few weeks ago.

"Still, why would he go here?" Peter shook his head. "Especially with that rumor going around about a Cyclops being spotted inside it."

Peter wasn't too keen on spending time here any longer; he didn't want to put himself in danger. But just as he was about to turn around, he heard loud explosions and the roars of monsters. He looked up, and a cloud of dust rose into the sky. 

He frowned. 

The cloud of dust was getting closer to him every…damn…second.

"What is this?!" He turned around and headed for the carriage, jumping right inside it. Peter needed to leave, right now. If not, he would get run over by whatever was heading for him.

However, he was too late. Right in front of him, the man with purple and red hair was smiling just like before. He still had his suitcase in his hands, and his hat didn't even fall off his head.

"Ah…thank you for waiting! I hope it didn't take too long."

He swung one of the biggest bags Peter had ever seen over his shoulder. However, the bag was still moving. The man kicked it once, and nothing moved inside it anymore.

Peter wanted to say something; his mouth was wide open, but no words would come out.

"Let's go."

Who would have thought driving a carriage would be so strange?

"Uh…where are you heading?"

"The Royal Academy."

Peter's eyes widened. That Academy…the opening ceremony was tomorrow. He remembered hearing about it.

"Are you a teacher there? What's your name?"

'My name?' I thought with a smirk.

"You can call me Bond, James Bond."

It didn't take long to reach the Royal Academy grounds. The man waved at Peter as he walked right through the swarm of students. People eyed him weirdly, and some were shaking out of fear. His bag was still moving even now as the man gave it a good hit once again. 

Peter stared at the man walking away, simply unable to believe it. 

Were all professors in that Academy the same as him?

***

"Ahh…" I stretched my arms. It had been a while since I had pushed myself so much, but it definitely felt nice. Either way, I had managed to capture what I had been looking for—the Cyclops. 

Last week, I heard some adventurers talking about seeing one in the Royal Forest, so I thought to myself, why not just get it? Weirdly enough, it was the first thing I had encountered once I got sent to the battlefield.

I remembered the officials calling it a way to test our potential. Let's say that…not many of us had potential. Even I lost that day. 

Getting hit by a Cyclops when you've never fought a single time in your life is definitely a pretty good wake-up call, I'll tell you that much, and I'm sure my students will be able to enjoy it just as much as I did in the past.