Chapter 23 - Test of Might

"Fish those boys out of the water and finish up so we can set sail." an officer of the Sixth Army ordered.

"Yes, Captain Ramiro."

After Arnest had prevented Hagen from carrying out his revenge, Captain Ramiro came out to handle the aftermath. It seemed like everyone else of the Sixth Army didn't care and allowed the fighting but once the Captain came, anyone who further delayed the departure for the exams were punished. Lajos was sent to the medical bay on the ship and received some light bandaging for his neck but his wounds weren't that serious.

"Are you alright, older brother?" Maarav was tightly hugging his brother, who was sitting on a cot, unwilling to let go.

"You've  already asked five times. I'm okay, alright?" Lajos tried to reassure his little brother.

Lajos then turned towards Arnest, "I have to thank you again, this time for saving me."

"I couldn't just watch one of my friends die."

Lajos just continued to stare at Arnest and saw his serious face.

Captain Ramiro walked into the room and looked everyone over before saying "I'm sorry for not stopping the fight before. I hope you're not too injured."

"It's fine." Lajos didn't really think much of it. He knew the reason why the Sixth Army would allow Hagen and his goons to attack him.

"Are you still going to take the exam?" Ramiro asked.

"Yes, I've been ready for this for a long time now." Lajos said resolutely.

Ramiro looked at Lajos, then Maarav and had a serious look. But when he looked to Arnest, he nodded before saying "Good, I'll send someone to come and get you once we arrive then." Then the Captain left.

When he was out of the room Arnest sighed. "That man is not so simple."

"What do you mean?" Maarav didn't understand what Arnest was talking about.

"Whenever he looked towards you, Lajos, he would be friendly. But his eyes were angry. You should be careful of him." Arnest warned.

"Thanks for the warning, I'll be careful." Lajos said and then laid down on the cot.

The distance between the island where the exam was being held and Ralom was much shorter than the that of Zanabo and Ralom. It only took a few hours for the ships to arrive at the jungle island. There was a harbor but there wasn't any buildings near the shore, where most islands usually had their central town area so they could be close to their source of food and water. The trees were mostly thin and tall, with some abnormally large trees that were more thick and stout. But despite the fact that most of them were thin, there were so many trees that it became dense and one would be unable to see what was within. Climate wise the island was more hot and humid than that of Fox Village, so this island was probably the most southern Lanexi island Arnest had visited so far.

When the ships docked, all the examinees and observers were funneled off the ships through the same small planks they entered on. The Sixth Army arrayed themselves into formation and the rest of the people just randomly stood either on the deck or shore. After everyone was gathered on the beach, Captain Ramiro started to explain the exam.

"This year, there will be three parts to the exam. Each part will be explained to you at the beginning only once, so make sure to pay attention."

"Lieutenant Marco, you can tell them the rest."

"Yes, Captain." a powerful looking man walked to the front of the formation.

"The first section of this exam will be a strength test. Those who are participating, line up in front of me." Lieutenant Marco said.

When they lined up, he continued "The first five hundred who can chop down a tree with their bare hands will pass. Anyone who fails to be one of these hundred will fail the first part of the exam."

"Cut a tree with our bare hands?"

"Is that even possible?"

There was a lot of the Ingras who were new to the Raloman exam. The test would change every year but at the core there would be one specific trait that they looked for: strength. A lot of them had heard that the tests were just to see how many boulders you could lift or how fast you could row. But this wasn't a test they heard about.

"I forfeit!"

"Me too!"

A number of veteran examinees just gave up, not even thinking of trying. They had chopped trees before with their bare hands but this was just the first part of the test. The years when they passed this part of the test, it became increasingly harder in the next parts and to them, the third part of the exam was always impossible. They could do well in the first two parts but they would fail on the third.

But not everyone gave up so easily. Lajos immediately walked up to a thick, stoutly tree. He began to chop against it with his hands. Others stared at the boy just slamming his hands into the tree. Within a hundred blows, his hands were already starting to scar, becoming bloody, but the tree didn't seem to even have a dent in it.

"The deserters son is an idiot! Does he think he can chop down that thick tree with just his hands? It's obvious that the thinner trees would be easier to chop down." the boy, who was following Reilly before and got knocked to the ground first, remarked.

The other examinees ears all perked up. He was right! They could go try and chop down the thinner trees and it would take less time and strength to accomplish. So everyone started running towards the thin trees and whacking away, trying to whittle the trees down with just skin and bones.

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Arnest didn't immediately run out like everyone else and just stood there. He was still wondering if he even wanted to become a Raloman. On one hand it might be easier to get the generals and possibly the king to listen to him , then he'd gain powerful allies. But if he got closer to the army and they learned that he was a member of the Merchants Guild, the same power that is allied with the Aster clan that just massacred one of their generals and his army, then they might end up thinking he's a spy and execute him.

He kept thinking back and forth, unable to decide but he felt someone shove him forward. Arnest turned around and saw Maarav.

"Don't worry about being new to Ralom. Like older brother says, all that matters is strength! And you're strong!" Maarav said.

Maarav reminded Arnest of what Ralom was all about. It wasn't like they were just spouting propaganda. It was really true in Ralom. The reason why Ralomans didn't respect Ingras was not only because they were outsiders but mainly because outsiders didn't train to fight monsters like they did. They just hid to the west while they defended the world. Even when Captain Ramiro knew that Arnest was Lajos's friend, someone who he abhorred, he didn't look at Arnest the same way. Arnest knew Ramiro saw him display his skill with the bow since he saw the Captain watching from the deck. Because he showed strength, Ramiro gave him some respect.

"I'll give it a try." Arnest said as he rolled up his sleeves.

Arnest walked up to a tree that was similar to the one Lajos was hacking away at. The tree was heavily knotted and had vines that looked like they were weaving in and out of the tree. He felt that Lajos wouldn't just randomly choose a tree, after all, he had been training for this exam for what seemed like his entire life. He must have known about this type of test. So Arnest started chopping away with his bare hands. Of course, he activated [Shadow Step] to appear only around the edge of his inner hand to protect himself.

A hour came and went and not a single person was able to chop down the tree. Every time they would swing at the tree, since it was thin, it would just bend and absorb the blow. Not a single dent was made in the skinny trees and those who were taking the exam all were out of breath.

But Lajos kept swinging his arms to a rhythmic beat. There were now five inch deep gaps that were chopped into both sides. The tree was at least halfway cut down. If Lajos put some pressure on one side, it might snap in half. While everyone else was panting on the ground, Lajos was like a well fueled machine. He never stopped.

Arnest wasn't making much progress either but compared to the others, he had an inch deep gap. He didn't train as much as Lajos did on his physical body and also he wasn't as old as him. It was normal that Arnest didn't match up to Lajos in a contest of strength. However this logic didn't occur to Arnest and he saw the large difference between himself and Lajos. No longer caring about playing by the rules, Arnest adjusted his mana flow to his hands, forming sharp shadows on the edges of his hands. It wasn't visible unless you were examining up close or had the ability to see mana flows, so no one was the wiser as Arnest hacked deeper gashes into the thick tree.

By the next hour, there was over half of the remaining five hundred spots taken, numbering around three hundred. The first two to finish were obviously Lajos and Arnest, one who used his experience and the other who secretly cheated. When they finished, the others started to understand that just wildly hacking away at any tree wasn't going to work. Some copied Lajos and chose a thicker tree and although it took a long time to do, it was stiff and didn't easily bend under a chop, so they were able to chop down their trees. Others chose to use simpler methods like snapping the thin trees in half with brute strength. However which way they did it, there was now forty people who had passed and thousands who were still in the running. Hagen, the leader of the other Raloman boys who attacked Lajos before, was one of the three hundred or so people who finished.

"You guys are taking too long. Whoever doesn't finish in another hour will automatically fail the first part of the exam." Lieutenant Marco started the time limit soon after the second hour.

All the examinees started to pound their hands into the trees even faster when they heard this. Especially the Raloman boys were snapped into gear. Even though they would still be Ralomans if they failed, their pride would undoubtedly be forever tarnished if they didn’t succeed. Ralomans were extremely strict with themselves and they had a saying that embodied this spirit: “Victory or death.”

The third and longest hour for some, passed. “This concludes the first part of the exam!” shouted Lieutenant Marco.

There was only four hundred fifty eight people who completed, a hundred sixty being Ingras and the rest Raloman. Those who failed numbered in the thousands, more than half being Ralomans who came to test themselves. The Ralomans who failed all were sobbing, laying tired on the ground. They thought of the disappointment their ancestors must feel as they looked down on them from the heavens.

“GET UP!”

A loud voice bellowed out. It was Captain Ramiro who yelled. The Ralomans all stared towards Ramiro but continued to lay down, too tired to move.

Ramiro’s voice bellowed out again, “IF YOU’RE TRUE RALOMANS, GET UP! STOP CRYING!”

Some of the Raloman boys mustered the last of their strength and got up, wiping their tears. Ramiro walked up to one of the boys who got up and said “A Raloman does not give up until ordered or til death.”

Ramiro went to the next boy and repeated the same thing. And to the next. And so on.

One of the boys started to mutter “until ordered or til death...til death…”

The other boys joined in, and the all the Ralomans were murmuring the chant. Their volume started to slowly increase, from murmurs to normalcy and then even louder. It wasn’t long til all the Raloman boys were shouting.

“A Raloman does not give up until ordered or til death!”

“A Raloman does not give up until ordered or til death!”

The men of the Sixth Army also joined in, shouting as loudly as their lungs would allow. Ingras, who got swallowed up into the atmosphere, also started shouting. Everyone was now shouting one of the creeds of the Raloman army in unison and it could be heard from miles away. Their voices were so loud that it even reached their ancestors and the gods in the heavens.