The leader of the knights was not very bothered by the fact that Chen Gou had awakened. There were not many commoners who awakened, but it was not so uncommon that he would pay special attention to Chen Gou.
The only exception were the people with top-notch innate skills, but this probability was far too small.
In comparison, he was impressed by Chen Gou's judgment, observation, and will to live, which appeared at the moment of danger.
When it came to a situation like this, at most one out of 10 commoners would deal with it calmly and survive.
Even fewer would remain unharmed after the ordeal was over.
With that thought in mind, the leading knight told Chen Gou, "You have killed a new species of evil spirit by yourself and prevented this matter from worsening. According to the laws of the covenant, this is a 3-star merit. You have two reward options.
"One, get a skill-grade Skill Crystal; two, participate in the Abyssal Assessment. If you pass, you will have a chance to directly enter the Abyssal Knight Team."
"I choose the second option!" Chen Gou answered immediately, "I want to become an Abyssal Knight."
"It is good to be courageous and motivated, but I must warn you that the Abyssal Assessment is extremely cruel."
The knight, who was carrying a bow and was the one Chen Gou had warned, gave him an interested look.
Chen Gou affirmed resolutely, "I don't wish to spend my whole life in such a meaningless way. Please give me a chance."
Upon hearing that, the head knight replied, "In that case, say good-bye to your family and follow us."
"I don't have a family."
Chen Gou instantly shook his head. There were many orphans in this dangerous world, and young Chen Gou was merely one of them. He had no blood ties to anyone and owned nothing but the run-down house behind him.
The head knight nodded his head slightly and said nothing.
With a flip of his hand, an ice crystal that emitted frigid air appeared out of nowhere on his palm. He placed it on the ground, and it transformed into an ice coffin before everyone's eyes. The Strigoi's corpse was absorbed by it!
Then, the ice coffin shrank again and transformed back into an ice crystal. It returned to the head knight's hand and disappeared without a trace.
The spear head of the tall, skinny knight spurted a ball of golden-red flame, burning the bloodworms and sticky fluid left on the floor away.
Chen Gou's gaze was fixated on all this. This world seemed to be more magical than what he had initially thought.
"We're leaving."
The knight carrying a bow flipped onto the horse's back and extended a palm out toward Chen Gou.
Chen Gou reached out and grasped the offered hand. Then, he felt a gush of strength flowing through him, lifting him straight onto the horse's back until he was sitting in front of the knight.
The wind gushed against his face as the four knights raced through the spacious streets.
The most basic unit of the Abyssal Knight Team was made of five people, and each unit had its own unique name.
This unit was known as the Abyssal Expedition Team.
It was made of five members as well, but one of them was occupied and had been unable to come over.
The members of the Abyssal Expedition Team were all battle comrades who could place their lives in each other's hands. They were always by each other's side, be it during battle or in their daily lives.
Only that way could true tacit understanding be fostered.
The team's lodging inside the city was a standalone mansion of around 500 square meters that consisted of all the essential facilities, including a garden, bedrooms, a study, an armory, and a square to practice.
There were many servants. Chen Gou spotted more than a dozen of them on the way from the main entrance to the guest room.
All of them, be it the wise old butler or the young beautiful maidservants, bowed respectfully in greeting.
"Sir Han Feng, do all Abyssal Knights enjoy such treatment?" Chen Gou, who was amazed, asked enviously.
On the way there, he had learned the names of the four knights.
"Of course not. Abyssal Knight Teams are categorized into 5 additional levels: bronze, silver, gold, platinum, and diamond. Each one receives different treatment according to its level. It is only because our Abyssal Expedition Team recently leveled up to gold that we get to enjoy such treatment."
Han Feng, who had put down his bow and removed his armor, was a man around 27 years old.
In this world, strength translated to wealth, power, a high position, and everything else that came with those things.
"In the next 30 days, you will undergo the most fundamental combat skill training. When that training ends, you will participate in the Abyssal Assessment," said Han Feng after taking Chen Gou to the guest room. He left immediately after doing that.
Chen Gou learned much later that the Abyssal Assessment was extremely strict. Only those recommended by official Abyssal Knight Teams were qualified to participate in this process.
Furthermore, upon passing the assessment, one would become a reserve member of said Abyssal Knight Team. One would become an official member only if a member retired or died in battle.
Therefore, by offering Chen Gou the opportunity to participate in the assessment, head knight Edward Park had recognized Chen Gou's potential to become his teammate.
30 days was not that long. To Chen Gou, who was about to enter the assessment, every day was undoubtedly extremely precious.
He did not have a chance to rest fully.
The next morning at dawn, a black figure stealthily entered Chen Gou's room and poured a bucket of cold water over Chen Gou, who was tired to the bone and was deep in dreamland.
"What are you doing?"
Chen Gou, who was woken up from his sleep rudely, was initially furious. Then, he remembered where he was and immediately took a few steps back.
"How dare you speak to me in such a manner?" The black-clothed person in front of him hollered coldly.
Chen Gou was surprised. The voice belonged to a girl!
"Training already started the moment you stepped into the courtyard. If this was the Abyssal World and you had slept in the same manner you did today, you would have died a million times!"
Chen Gou immediately understood that the person standing before him was the last member of the Abyssal Expedition Team. She had come just to teach him a lesson. Hence, he quickly admitted his mistake and apologized.
When he made mistakes that were proven wrong, he was always willing to admit his wrongdoing. He would never act like he did not know what was going on.
"Tell me the numbers of your attributes and innate skills," ordered the female knight, who remained shrouded in darkness.
Chen Gou did so immediately. However, he concealed the piece of information regarding his Battle Guardian, which stemmed from the True Summoning and could learn skills as well.
As the saying goes, it is better to be safe than sorry. He had to conceal some information, as he was still unsure about the disposition and ethics of the members of the Abyssal Expedition Team.
"You actually have 9 Intelligence points!"
The female knight did not take much notice of his innate skills. After all, while innate skills were unique to every person, his innate skills could only be considered ordinary when one omitted the fact that guardians could learn skills as well.
What surprised her was the fact that Chen Gou's Intelligence attribute had surpassed her expectations.
The three major primary attributes were related to one's physical attacking ability and healing ability.
Agility determined one's movement speed, reaction speed, and attack speed.
On the other hand, Intelligence determined one's MP, vitality, and intent.
A new Awakener would possess an average of 5 points for each of their three major primary attributes, which were Strength, Agility, and Intelligence.
It was very rare to come across someone like Chen Gou, who possessed 9 Intelligence points, which was almost twice as high as an average person's Intelligence.
Chen Gou did not know all this. However, based on her tone, he could sense that his Intelligence attribute was quite impressive amongst Awakeners of the same level.
The female knight did not give him an explanation. Instead, she directly led him out to the courtyard.
The sky was dark and the air was frigid. The moonlight was shining on a man whose hands were tied behind his back. He was kneeling on the ground in the center of the courtyard. His hair was extremely messy, and a piece of tattered cloth had been wrapped around his mouth to prevent him from speaking.
"Kill him."
The female knight took out a long sword that gleamed coldly and handed it to Chen Gou.
"Killing a man is the first hurdle a knight must overcome. Without staining one's hands with blood, one's heart will not become stronger and steadier!"
Chen Gou took the sharp sword from her hands. When he felt the pleading gaze of the man land on him, he hesitated and said, "I already killed someone just yesterday…"
The female knight replied coldly, "That was during a life-threatening situation, so you had no time to think about anything else. However, you are already safe now. Are you still able to do it?"
Chen Gou fell silent.
Essentially, he was still the same Chen Gou who had come from 21st-century Earth. He would not have been able to kill a living animal if this had happened on Earth.
There was a fundamental difference between killing and eating meat, especially when said living organism was pleading so pitifully before him.
A mindset cultivated over the past couple of decades could not be changed immediately.
"May I know what kind of crime he has committed?" Chen Gou asked in a low voice as he watched the man, who was struggling violently.
"He is actually not human, but a Grimm Beast disguised as a human." The female knight gave him a look that was filled with meaning.
A Grimm Beast?
Chen Gou searched his memory and recalled that the monsters in the American TV Series Grimm did indeed possess impressive camouflaging abilities. They would often hide amongst humans and wreak havoc.
Evil spirits like this should indeed be killed.
When the female knight saw him staring into space in deep thought, she thought that he was hesitating. She shook her head and said, "It seems that the team leader was wrong. You are not suited to become an Abyssal Knight. Go back to wherever you came from tomorrow."
She did not conceal how disappointed she was in him.
To become an Abyssal Knight, one was not required to possess impressive strength but to become a warrior who would definitely follow orders. One should not be strong but weak at heart.
Chen Gou's heart sank when he heard that. He might have the system, but the covenant was the only official power in this vast land.
He would become a lost sheep if he failed to join the covenant's knight team.
In the future, if he encountered an Abyssal Knight, he would need to bow politely and let them pass first.
If they encountered an evil spirit at that moment, he would have to listen to the orders of the Abyssal Knight and participate in the battle, even if those orders would most likely lead to his death.
In other words, he needed to be the first one to face danger while accepting the scraps of a victorious battle.
Therefore, there would be no future for him if he did not join the knight team.
At that thought, Chen Gou took a deep breath. Then, he gripped the sword handle tightly with both hands and pierced forth decisively.
With a splatter, the frosty blade pierced the man's heart, causing fresh blood to spurt out. The eyes of the man, who was kneeling on the floor, widened as his body flopped forward lifelessly.
"Please make no mistake, madam. I simply need some time to adjust."
Chen Gou wiped a drop of blood from his cheek by using his trembling left hand. With his right hand, he clenched the sword tightly.
The biggest difference between killing a Grimm Beast and a cow was that the former was evil and would kill you if you failed to do so first.
Therefore, Chen Gou had thought things through and managed to convince himself. He did not feel any guilt for killing the man. Instead, he felt a sense of… excitement.
At that moment, he suddenly thought of the following saying: A wild beast hides in the heart of every man.
Once this wild beast was released, the person in question would experience an unbelievable change in a short period of time.
Killing was the best way to release the wild beast within a person.
"System notification: The host has killed an Awakened Level-5 magic beast called Grimm Dhole. 100 Awakening Points have been obtained. Awakened Level has increased to Level 2. A Magic Origin Light has been acquired."
Following the sound of the system notification, the man's carcass on the ground transformed. His mouth and nose became long and sharp, and spots of fur sprouted from his skin.
In the blink of an eye, he transformed from a human to a huge dhole-like creature.
"The Grimm Beast has two states: a humanoid state and a beast-like state. It is a very cruel creature and will frequently assimilate with humans and launch sneak attacks. This has caused great deaths among the warriors of the covenant."
The female knight nodded at Chen Gou in satisfaction and added, "As a result, although Grimm Beasts are not the strongest evil spirits, it is hard for ordinary Abyssal Knights to discover them because they are good at camouflaging themselves. They are a very dangerous species. Newbies like you will frequently fall for their tricks.
"Two weeks ago, a relatively-talented girl went through this examination as well right in this courtyard. She was too soft, so she succumbed to a sneak attack by a Grimm Beast and almost got her heart dug out…"
The female knight said expressionlessly, "I might have saved her, but she lost the opportunity to ever qualify to become a covenant knight."
Chen Gou took a deep breath, realizing that all these words were meant to make him aware that he was already considered a knight. He needed to quickly shake off his commonfolk mindset and swiftly enter the state of mind of a warrior.
"You should have leveled up by 2 levels after killing this evil spirit. A Magic Origin Light can help upgrade the body, increasing one of the three major primary attributes by 2 points. I suggest that you choose Intelligence. After reaching 10points, you will undergo a magic baptism and obtain an additional attribute upgrade."
The female knight left upon saying her piece, leaving Chen Gou behind alone to digest what he had learned that night.