Chapter 33

Soon Estelle's turn had come, and Vince wished her good luck when she told him she would volunteer.

She then stepped onto the stage, and the usual two guards brought forth a cage with a goblin in it.

'Goblins sure are disgusting. Just look at all his drool coming off his mouth… I'm getting goosebumps just by looking at him.'

The guards opened the cage and gave the goblin a club as they had done with all other goblins. Wooden clubs were the most common weapon low-level goblins used.

Estelle went to the weapons stand and picked a great sword. It was the biggest one available. Yet, thanks to her monstrous physique, she could move just fine, even with a sword that probably weighed half of what she did.

The guards then moved away. The goblin started approaching her, but she stayed still.

'I'll let him come. It seems like it's severely underestimating me.'

Kuruuuk.

The goblin made noise as he stared at Estelle.

Once the goblin was just a few steps away, it started circling around Estelle. But she stayed as still as a statue. She even let the goblin get behind her without moving.

Seeing this as a chance, the goblin charged towards Estelle. As soon as she heard the goblin's footsteps, Estelle firmly grabbed the hilt of her sword and turned around, executing a mighty swing.

Sadly for her, she had miscalculated the timing a little. Thus the goblin wasn't in range for her to hit him. The goblin merely stopped in his tracks, and the blade brushed past him.

Seeing how it had almost fallen into a trap, the goblin made a little more distance.

'Tsk. Now it won't be careless anymore. Fine, I'll swing…'

Before she could finish her thought, the goblin charged at her with his club.

She reacted by swinging her sword, but the goblin ducked and dodged it.

'How…?'

The goblin then jumped and swung his club from above, aiming for her head.

Being quick on the decision, she let go of her sword and sidestepped. As the goblin was finishing the missed swing, she threw a kick at it.

With her monstrous strength, it resulted in the goblin falling and rolling two or three times. She tightly grabbed her sword and then stepped on the goblin's face.

Keeping him on the ground with one of her feet, she then lined the tip of the sword with the place where the goblin's heart was.

Kuruuuuuuuk.

The goblin used all its strength in a last-ditch effort to get up, but Estelle didn't even bulge.

She then stabbed the goblin. The strength she put in was enough for the sword to go through the goblin's back and impale him to the ground.

Kriiiiiiiek.

The goblin made one last cry and then died. Its blood was flowing everywhere onto the ground. Not wanting to get her clothes stained with goblin blood, Estelle made some distance.

A loud cheer arose from the crowd watching. This had been the fastest fight yet. Nobody had managed to defeat a goblin within five moves yet. But many talented kids had yet to take the test, so it wasn't sure yet if she would maintain her title.

Even the Prince had yet to partake in the test. He was probably her greatest rival.

'I wonder how many moves it'll take Vince to defeat the goblin. Every time we practised together, he was always playing with him. Wasn't it for him, I wouldn't even have thought of letting go of my sword there. He always got me good by doing that little trick.'

The judge then stepped onto the stage and took a good look at the corpse of the goblin. He then proceeded to refer to everyone the result.

"Congratulations on this wonderful execution. The goblin's corpse is in perfect condition, and you received no injuries. The battle was also over very quickly. Too bad you let go of your sword. A true warrior never lets go of his weapon. Letting go of your weapon is the same as giving up your pride. This wasn't a life or death battle where you should do anything to survive. So…"

Before he could finish, Estelle argued back. She spoke so loud everyone in the arena could hear her.

"Not a life or death battle? Are you kidding me? Every fight can lead to your death. A great warrior has taught me this. So, in every fight, any means is allowed. Pride will only result in one's death."

"That is the way an adventurer might think, but even among them, the stronger ones have pride. You are a noble. You should never let your pride and honour go. You have to set an example for people. You have to be their hope. Nobody wants to see their hero grovelling on the ground. The score you are getting assigned won't change. Three hundred and twenty-five points. Now go."

Even though she felt slightly irritated, Estelle didn't feel like arguing more. She left the stage and went back to her seat.

As she walked, she heard some people whispering.

"She got the highest score yet, but she still complains."

"Well, I see where she's coming from, though. She should have gotten a perfect score."

"Hush! She's close, see? She might hear us!"

Too bad they didn't know that Estelle had a hearing sense way more acute than any mortal. But she still feigned ignorance and proceeded towards her seat.

"Good job, milady. Ignore what they are saying. They will realise how wrong they were one day, I'm sure."

"Thank you, but I'm fine."

Deep down, she probably wasn't even really that angry about the points…

"Since milady volunteered, it's not my turn to do so."

Vince thus queued up to volunteer. Once the two kids in front of him were done with their fight, he stepped into the arena.

The guards once again brought forth a cage, gave the goblin a club and stepped away.

Vince picked up two short daggers and stood there, waiting for the goblin to attack him.

This goblin seemed pretty careful as he approached calmly and, at some point, stopped on his feet.

Left with no other choice, it was Vince who moved first. He slowly walked towards the goblin.

'Go, Vince! Show them all how well you fight!'

When he was a short distance away, he suddenly dashed. The goblin did a horizontal swing with his club, trying to hit Vince. But Vince ducked before it could hit him, and, grabbing some dirt, he threw it in the goblin's eyes.

While the goblin was distracted, Vince, still ducked down, sent a kick on the goblin's legs, making it fall.

He then quickly stood up and threw his dagger at the goblin's neck. It was successful.

Kuk. Kuk.

The goblin coughed as blood spurted from its neck. The goblin soon was in a puddle of blood, with its head half cut off.

The judge once again stepped onto the stage.

"The goblin was exterminated quickly and safely… but the corpse isn't in optimal condition as its head is half cut off. Going for the heart would have been better. And, as the other Von Sideria, you had no pride in fighting. You also chose daggers as your weapon, which are traditionally considered weapons only assassins would use… I don't know where to start. There wasn't an ounce of dignity in the way you fought. You even resorted to throwing dirt in the goblin's eyes. Two hundred and fifty points. The other judges and I decided we can't give you one point more."

"It's fine. Points are just points anyway. We'll see who'll be the one laughing once a real fight happens. If you don't like the way, I fight it's not my problem. Points won't save you from a real fight, after all."

Without paying the judge any heed, Vince left the stage. It looked like the judge had more to say, but Vince couldn't care less.

He then sat once again beside Estelle.

"They are just blind. They don't recognise what great fighting skills look like. We'll show them in the next exam who's the best fighter. This will probably be the last time we'll have judges deciding our scores in a placement test anyway."

Hearing what Vince said, Estelle's irritation slightly eased up.

Not long after, the Prince's turn came.

He grabbed a sword from the stash and stood on guard. The goblin he was facing was one of the fiercest ones yet.

Kukuk.

It was like the goblin was taunting the Prince.

But the Prince stayed where he was, dauntless. He kept his proud posture, with his chest puffed out. The only thing he missed was a cape swaying in the wind, and he would have looked like anyone would imagine a hero.

'I'm starting to feel irritated once again… It looks like the prince is making fun of us.'

Seeing how the goblin wasn't charging and was instead making faces, the Prince decided to be the one to make the first move.

Grabbing his sword with both hands and dashing, he then slashed the goblin.

But this goblin wasn't that stupid. Using his club, he blocked the sword. The sword's tip got stuck in the wooden club. Thus the goblin let go of the wooden club.

Without waiting, the goblin lunged at the Prince, who was in a slight daze because of what happened.

The goblin then bit one of the Prince's hands, holding the sword. Blood started coming out, and on a reflex, the Prince let go of the sword. He also looked like he might burst into tears but was holding them back.

The goblin tried using the Prince's sword, but, realising it was too heavy, he decided to retrieve its club.

Seeing its opponent scared, the goblin started doing what it knew how to do best: playing with weaker opponents.

It got close to the Prince and started juking the Prince with fakes. It kept making the Prince believe he would strike, but then it would stop and laugh.

Kukuku.

Kurek.

Only the goblin's noises stayed in the academy.

The goblin charged at last. It swung its club fiercely towards the Prince's head. The judge, who was on the side, looked ready to intervene in case he deemed the fight to get too dangerous.

But the Prince still had his ace up his sleeve. He hadn't used it yet because he thought it was shameful to use his cultivation base against a mortal goblin and thus didn't have any cultivation.

Left with no other choice, he released his cultivation base and overpowered the goblin through sheer physical strength.

He blocked the club with his hands and threw a kick on the goblin's chest. It was so powerful that the goblin's rib cage caved in.

The goblin fell on the stage and didn't move. That single powerful kick had probably crushed its internal organs.

'Cultivation is everything in the end, huh. Even that idiot managed to win thanks to it.'

The judge then gave the evaluation.

"You fought with pride, but goblins are known for their dirty tricks. The body isn't in perfect condition, and you were even slightly injured. You shall be given two hundred and seventy points."

'He got more points than Vince?! This is so unjust!'

The Prince dejectedly nodded and left the stage, even though he was in the top five of the highest scores received in this exam until now.

"With this match, we are over for the day. We will continue tomorrow. You all shall be given a room befitting your rank on the leaderboard. As the ranks get updated, you might find yourself getting a worse or a better room, though. Go to the dormitory. The receptionists there will assign you to your rooms. That being said, see you tomorrow."

Vince and Estelle thus started making their way towards the dormitories.