[Bara Arts, Teleportation]
Evelyn teleported herself to the other side of the field.
She summoned the Lucerna and stomped the base to the ground.
Suddenly a line was drawn on the field right in front of Evelyn. It separated her and the crowd on the other side.
After the line was drawn, Evelyn closed her eyes and casted a spell. A dark and eerie aura began to form around her.
[Dark Arts, Gale of Nightmare]
Horrifying black aura burst forth from Evelyn and spread throughout the training ground.
When the black aura reached the crowd of people on the other side, they were immediately struck with a great sense of fear. Life-threatening fear.
They were all so scared that some of them screamed, wailed, and even wet their pants.
"This is an intimidation spell often used by A-rank Demons, the greatest fear-inducing spell there is." said Evelyn. "Until now, there is a total of 30 million people in the Bara Continent that have lost their lives because of this spell."
She pointed the Lucerna to the line drawn on the ground.
"In order for you to become my knight, you need to walk from where you are to where I am, past the line I've drawn on the field."
Evelyn redirected her gaze to the Leonardo soldiers.
"Even if you're already a part of the Leonardo knightage, you will need to pass this test if you wish to continue to serve me."
The crowd gasped in horror as they heard Evelyn for they could hardly take another step due to the fear they were having. Not to mention, they felt their fear getting more intense even just by leaning toward Evelyn's direction.
"As you might have noticed, the closer you get to me, the greater the effect the spell has on you. Hence, the more courage you'll need to gather as you progress forward." said Evelyn.
Einsof's Chosen One stomped Lucerna to the ground, causing the black aura becoming more intense.
"This is an indication of how much courage you'll need to have if you wish to stand by my side as my knight!"
Evelyn stomped Lucerna to the ground once again, producing a loud booming sound.
"Let the test begin!"
The crowd went into panic when Evelyn declared the start of the test.
Their body trembled and trembled even more as they tried to take a step forward.
Some began to collapse as they could not handle the fear.
The most eager to move forward were the Leonardo knights, as they wanted to prove to Evelyn that they deserved to be her knights as they already went on a mission together.
But even those knights struggled to progress closer to Evelyn.
However, there was one person among the crowd who managed to walk forward.
It was a tall dark-skinned woman in brown cloak.
Her face suggested that she was in her late 30s. Her facial surface was also riddled with scars, battle scars. Strapped on her back was a huge crossbow.
Though her body was trembling, the woman managed to take one step after another, making her edging closer to Evelyn each time.
Evelyn smiled at the sight of this woman.
"(I wasn't sure of it because she was wearing that cloak. But now I'm seeing her walking up to me like this, I've now become certain.)" thought Evelyn. "(I can't believe we'd meet this soon.)"
Seeing the crossbow woman managing to progress forward, the others were motivated to do the same.
All the knights and some of the volunteers began to take small steps toward Evelyn.
Giselle who was still stuck on her feet could only watch them.
Seeing the state of her servant, Evelyn sent a word to Giselle.
[Bara Arts, Silent Voice]
"Giselle…"
"My lady?!"
Giselle suddenly heard Evelyn's voice in her head. It was the noble lady's telepathic skill.
"Giselle, the reason why I told you to gather here is because you need to pass this test as well."
The maid gasped at Evelyn's word, "But, my lady…"
"If you really wanted to keep being by my side and accompany me as my attendant, you'll need to have the same amount of bravery that I require my knights to possess." said Evelyn.
She gestured Giselle to look at the people whom had managed to move forward.
"For only brave people I shall allow by my side. For bravery is most needed where I'm headed. If you don't have it in you, Giselle, then you can't continue serving me."
Evelyn's words were blunt. But she knew it was what Giselle needed to hear.
Evelyn needed to draw the line with Giselle to give her an idea what it meant to keep serving Einsof's Chosen One.
What Evelyn just said gave a blow to Giselle's own self. But those words didn't dampen Giselle's determination. In fact, they only made it burned more fiercely.
Now that Evelyn had lined up to Giselle everything she needed to do in order to keep serving the Leonardo heiress, Giselle then could focus her entire being to fulfill those obligations.
Giselle threw away the unnecessary thoughts such as fear, even the sake of her own being, and only focused on the task at hand.
The girl mustered up every courage stored in herself and used that force to take a step forward.
The fear she felt within her mind grew more intense, but she ignored it and gathered another wave of courage to propel her forward.
She succeeded to take another step.
The girl then repeated the process over and over, making her edging closer and closer to her master.