'He's going even faster?'
Zaman, viewing the performance of a few applicants who caught his eye, was amazed when he went back to look at Sol's progress.
'He was already ahead of the second fastest applicant by 10 floors, and now the gap is widening even further…'
Unlike Sol, the other applicants had to tackle each floor slowly and plan their actions accordingly. They couldn't jump headfirst into a group of elite elven archers and come out unscathed; instead, they would try to take them out one at a time or charge up a big attack and deal with the remaining enemies.
This left the Commander speechless. If he could already go this fast, why didn't he do so before? All the other applicants were struggling in every battle, and that could be seen in their expressions, but not Sol's. The face of the young man had told Zaman he found these fights tedious at best and he just wanted to hurry up.
'It was almost as if… no… could it be?'
Zaman broke into a fit of laughter once he realized the truth. The illusionist next to him gave him a weird look as it came out of nowhere, but he knew better than to question his client, especially when they are the Commander of the royal knights.
"He really thinks there are other applicants on his level?"
Having a better understanding of this unique applicant, Zaman could tell he recently gained that strength, and while he didn't have any problems wielding it, he lacked common sense in some areas. There were a few other mistakes he noticed, but nothing that couldn't be corrected with some light guidance.
'If he became a knight captain, having his own squadron would help in that matter.'
Zaman then sighed. 'Sadly, with two A-Rankers in the running, that won't be happening. Once he becomes a knight, I can try to put him on the fast track to captain, but that will take a while…'
The Commander had little hope in Sol winning the tournament and gaining the rank, but with a little bit of help, he could expedite the process. That was if he found Sol could meet his expectations.
'Still, those two…'
As if on cue, a knight came running to the Commander.
"Commander, I have received word from the Royal Shadows…"
From the knight's expression, he already knew the answer.
"They declined."
"They did, Commander…"
Another sigh left the man's lips. "It was worth a shot. If those two truly wish to join our ranks, let them, but keep an eye on them until we uncover their backgrounds."
"Yes, Commander!"
The knight left to relay his words among the knights. Left back to his own devices, Zaman turned to the sphere once more and at the perfect time as well.
…
An earth spike launched from the ground and flew towards a large elemental ice bird called Frost Tail. Unlike other [Terra Spikes], it didn't just extend from the ground; it was completely detached from it, becoming an actual projectile. Alongside that earth spike, ten more were launched, smaller than normal sized spikes but much faster as well. The Frost Tail swerved in the air as it dodged the wave of spikes flying towards it, but it wasn't able to rest easy as the attack wasn't over yet.
From above, ten more spikes appeared as they dropped down with frightening speed and precision towards the Frost Tail. It didn't expect an attack coming from above it, making it unable to evade it in time. Its body was pierced and sent spiraling towards the ground, but before it could even land, another earth spear extended from the ground much bigger than the rest as it pierced the Frost Tail.
The bird was unable to attack once in the face of such an onslaught, even though it was a much higher level than its opponent. It glared hatefully at Sol in its final moments before disappearing in a poof of smoke.
Even though Sol just completed the 2nd floor fight and it was one of his fastest fights yet, he was left disappointed.
'Why won't it level up yet?'
Sol was thinking about [Terra Spikes]. Before the start of the knight selection, he had felt he was a single step away from leveling it up, but he was missing something. Even though the skill hadn't been leveling up, he had been improving the skill in power and efficiency and even invented new ways of attacking, yet it didn't reflect on his status page. If he had to explain the feeling, it was like being able to smell food nearby but no matter where he looked, he couldn't find it. It was close, he knew it, but just didn't know what he had to do to push forward.
'I have to be missing something, but just what is it?'
Sol wondered if this had happened to others before and if so, maybe someone could show him what he was missing.
'Oh, maybe the royal library has a clue.'
He remembered what Nataly said before, that royal knights had access to the first floor of the royal library. It was a repository of centuries worth of information; if the solution had to be somewhere, it would likely be there.
'I'll worry about it later. Test comes first.'
Sol ran down the last flight of stairs ready to fight whatever enemy it may be and complete the test.
Halfway down the stairs, he could already see his opponent, but when he realized who he was fighting, he completely stopped in his tracks.
'How is this possible?!'
The one who stood before Sol, guarding the first floor of the tower, was a royal knight, wearing their signature white and gold-trimmed armor alongside a large shield and sword, but it wasn't just any knight. She was a tall woman with shining silver hair tied into a ponytail and someone who Sol never expected to encounter here.
'Mom?'
It was none other than Sol's mother, Sylvia.