After washing his face, Ashoka stared at the sun rising outside the window with damp eyes.
"Today is the day."
Six months had passed, and it was the morning of the training ground's official trainee knight selection test.
If it was any other day, he would've been swallowing dust as he ran in the training grounds. However, since it was the day of the test, he was still relaxing.
{Ashoka Maurya.}
As he was getting dressed after wiping his face, Draco spoke to him.
"What?"
{Do you remember your bet with the this monarch?}
"Of course."
Ashoka nodded, putting on his training uniform. He obviously didn't forget that Draco offered to give things out for free.
{I admit that your progress was rather fast for a human, but you didn't manage to catch up to those two. Are you prepared to take in the this monarch's will?}
Draco wasn't wrong. Despite running for three months, he didn't manage to run past Vikram or Ahmed while only using 50% of his power.
However, the test was a different story. It didn't matter whether he had to spar with them or had to show how much stamina he had accumulated.
He was confident that he would win if he used the '
"Actions will speak louder than words."
{There is no point in bluffing. The this monarch is soon going to take over your soul and body.}
'Then tell me about it when that happens.'
{I'm looking forward to the day your confidence crumbles.}
'That day will never come.'
Ashoka waved his hand.
'It's difficult to live with an enemy.'
Draco trying to interfere with his emotions wasn't a big deal, but his talkativeness was rather annoying.
He couldn't understand how one that called himself a monarch of dragons could talk so much.
'It does have its merits, though.'
Draco's interruption ended up granting him a fair number of stats. It was a bit painful, but Draco was like the goose that laid golden eggs.
And in the past months, his stats has increased beyond his imagination.
_______________
Name: Ashoka Maurya
Title: None
Mana Attribute: Umbra (Shadow and dark)
Trait: Resistant against all attributes (Level 2), Heart of Iron.
Mana circulation method: Enhanced art of mana circulation.
-------
Strength: 25
Agility: 24
Stamina: 26
Energy: 25
Perception: 20
_______________
It wasn't just the numbers. His body's actual abilities had improved drastically, to the point that his movements couldn't even compare to how they used to be.
{Kuh! The status window of the this monarch…}
Despite Draco's groan, Ashoka smiled in satisfaction and walked out into the lobby.
They look like they are facing death.
'You're right.'
The children gathered in the lobby looked extremely worried, like soldiers being dragged into a war.
'It must be because of the test.'
Alberad didn't explain anything about the kind of test it was going to be, nor its difficulty or how many people were going to pass.
He only said that they could pass if they did their best, so it was just a matter of course that the children were worried.
Ashoka thought that he would've been making the same expression if he hadn't been reincarnated, or if he didn't have the dragon grimoire.
{How pathetic of them to look like a defeated chicken before the real war even begins.}
'They are still children.'
Ashoka looked around the depressed children, then walked outside.
{You are a child as well.}
'I'm different.'
Hmph, humans like to believe they are special.
'…'
He didn't respond to Draco's provocation, since there was no need to confess that he had been reincarnated.
Swoosh.
As he was walking towards the training ground next to the dormitory, light steps could be heard.
{And here she comes again.}
"Hmm…"
Ashoka narrowed his eyes and looked back. A purple eyed girl with silver hair flowing down her shoulders was following him.
"Tish!"
It was Tishya Raksha. After sticking to him during independent training, she was also following him from the dormitory.
And in the past six months they have gotten quite close to each other.
Even to the extent that Tishya was now responding to his questions.
"What's the matter?"
"Nothing."
Albeit short conversations.
And they were even addressing each other casually.
Tishya turned her head with a mindless expression. With her hands behind her back, she looked away awkwardly.
"Haah…"
Ashoka sighed and turned back.
Tishya was always like that. She'd silently walk up to him and copy his training while spacing out.
'I don't know why she follows me.'
From what could be seen from other's perspective, Vikram and Ahmed's abilities were better than his. They possessed splendid swordsmanship, excellent physical abilities, and pretty decent leadership.
However, Tishya didn't seem interested in them at all. She just followed Ashoka around, resembling a stray cat that would follow the person that fed them around.
'But I didn't even feed her.'
He did give her a cracker before, but it was Paul's. He didn't actually do anything for her, so he couldn't understand why she would follow him like a duckling followed its mother.
'She's eccentric.'
Ashoka shook his head and made for the training ground. When he arrived, a red-haired boy waved at him.
"S-Sir Ashoka…"
It was Jean Paul, who was the second person to start following him. His hands and legs were trembling, as if he were cold.
"What's up with you? Are you sick?"
"N-no, I'm not. There's a test today, and I didn't manage to get any sleep, because I was too worried. Ugh."
The bags under Paul's eyes were as black as coal. Those bags clearly showed his exhaustion.
"You should pass without any problem, though."
Ashoka glanced past him.
Paul was always scared, but the number of trainees who could best him in terms of hard work and tenacity could be counted on ten fingers. There was no way he would fail as long as he showed his abilities, that's how much confidence Ashoka had in him after seeing him train.
"But I don't know what the test is, and I'm super weak! There is nothing I can do!"
Paul's dry heaved and bit his nails with trembling lips. It didn't look like he was acting, as he seemed really scared.
{He is the bona fide insect among all the insects I've seen. Crush his head already.}
'You've said before that you liked him.'
{This monarch doesn't need a coward.}
"It will be fine."
Instead of encouraging him, Ashoka told him it as a fact and walked past him. Despite his timid personality, throwing up didn't stop him from training. No matter what the test was, he was certainly going to manage.
"S-Sir Alberad keeps his word. He said he would discern gems from pebbles, so a pebble like me will fail for sure."
"Then go ahead and fail."
"Eek! S-Sir Ashoka!"
Ashoka waved his hand without looking back. He was just a stranger to him, so he didn't need to give more advice than it was necessary. Talking to him was starting to make him feel depressed as well.
He saw his brother sitting in the corner of the training ground closing his eyes.
To observers it may look like he was concentrating by meditating, but Ashoka who was the closest to him knew for a fact that he was too anxious like Paul and was trying to calm down.
'I don't think it's a good idea to talk to him now.'
Sudhatta was a weak willed child, if Ashoka said anything encouraging to him, the chances are that he will get more anxious than relaxed, so Ashoka decided to just walk past him.
"Hmm."
As he was about to enter the training ground, he met Ahmed's eyes. He was walking towards him from the side.
Upon seeing Ashoka, Tishya, and Paul, his eyes burned with anger, as if he were looking at his archenemy.
"Haah."
Ashoka sighed heavily.
'There isn't a single normal person around me.'
{Pluck out his eyeballs.}
'Including him…'
* * *