As one would expect of greenhorns, the moment they were hit by the naked bloodlust and were face to face with a monster, their first reaction was to dodge.
They flailed around without being able to do much, their proud skills that they had honed to show off during the Knight Exam, failed to hit their target or worse, failed to even activate.
Unlike practice, where you stand at a place and hit your stationary target, fighting in an actual battle with an actual moving target that wants to kill you, was like a difference between night and day.
In a battle, not only are you constantly moving, but you also have to keep an eye on your opponent, calculate their movements, be aware of your surroundings, cast your skills, all the while trying to suppress the intense fear and terror that grips your heart.
If you are too nervous, forget fighting; you won't even be able to activate your skills, much like what happened with examinees here.
Unable to target their skills or even cast them, they could only roll around and dodge pathetically.
"That's enough, next participant."
Just like that, many of the participants here were unable to display even their slightest ability and were called off the stage.
"Next"…
"Next"…
"Next"...
More and more participants went up to the stage, some coming up with strategies after seeing the others fail before them, some just repeating the events from earlier, and some barely hitting their target with their skill.
In the second test, where the aspiring knights were face to face with their nightmares, their true abilities, talents, and traits needed to become a knight all surfaced in front of the knight orders to see.
Based on the result and how they fought, the high ranking knights and commanders made their own assessment.
Of course, the second test wasn't uneventful, after all, there surfaced many future knights whose talent would shine if groomed properly.
Many of the elite participants here with level 3, managed to put up quite a show. As for the crème de la crème…
"Woah" the audience erupted in gasps as they saw the scene that lay in front of them.
AWOO… the Shadow wolves issuing a dying growl before falling onto the ground, defeated. That's right, the three level 4 participants managed to defeat their monster, surprising the entire colosseum.
The monsters were there to measure the potential, talent, and grit of the future knights; they were there as a wall for them and by no means were target to be defeated. However, the three level 4 participants not only went beyond their expectations theyalso surmounted the walls meant to stop them.
A feat in the realms of the extraordinary. The crowd cheered loudly.
"As expected, those three are the main highlights of this exam. We must do everything we can do to recruit them. With their potential, they could probably become a holy knight before the age of thirty".
Bob, Marcus and Grey discussed intently.
Reinhardt simply smiled and looked at the stage. There were still a few participants undergoing their exam. One of them was an unremarkable young man with black hair and swinging a huge crimson sword.
He was struggling, panting and covered in wounds from head to toe; nonetheless, he was full of fighting spirits. At first, he could only dodge, unable to match the monster's speed, and his wound only increased over time.
But after a while, his movements became sharper, and there were fewer wasted actions. He was able to predict his enemy's attack and land blows precisely all the while avoiding any more injuries.
That said, he had a big flaw— he was not using any skills and fighting purely using his raw stats and the weapon in his hand. This went on for a little while longer before the proctor knight stopped the exam.
"That's enough"…
"But.." the young man tried to say something, but was shut down by the overseeing knight.
"You have shown plenty. Go outside the stage for the third test of the exam".
Dejected, the young man slumped his shoulder and stepped down from the stage.
"Interesting," On his seat, Reinhardt silently muttered to himself.
.
.
The third test began… For this round, all the knight orders sent a squire from their teams. Next, the participants were asked to draw lots from a box containing the insignias of the knight orders stitched in a small cloth.
The insignia the participant drew, they would be fighting the squire from that order. When the young, aspiring knights heard the rules, all of them wore ashen faces.
Fighting the squires was even more difficult than fighting the monsters. At least the monsters could be hit, and their attack pattern was easy to perceive.
However, fighting the trainee knights from the knight order who have received months or even years of combat training, fighting enemies and experience under their belt, was a different case altogether.
The latter were people who were already half a step into becoming proper knights. The participants grit their teeth and walked up the stage one by one to draw their lots.
Soon, all the participants were holding a piece of cloth each that had the insignia of the respective knight order they were going to fight.
One of the purple cloth pieces had the insignia of a beautiful white temple with angels enclosing it on the sides, looking grand and divine. The insignia was none other than the official symbol of the Order of Temple of Light.
The one to draw it was a silver haired girl with drill curly pigtails and an exquisite face. She was wearing an elegant skirt and top and carried herself with an inborn nobility. Clearly, she was the daughter of some noble.
More importantly, she was one of the top three people who were crème de la crème of this year's batch. One of the level 4s who managed to defeat the possessed shadow wolf.
"So it's the Temple of Knight orders huh" The girl looked at the handkerchief and then at the squire sent from the Temple of Light before snorting and shifting her attention away.