LIGHTNOVELONLINE Chapter 11
<11 - The Secret of Passing>
The next day.
Mihail’s eyebrows twitched as he unfolded the menu, just like any other day.
His eyes swept through the inn with a look of utter disbelief.
“It’s me, me! I wrote that!!”
With his eyes conveying urgency, Mihail finally locked gazes with someone for the first time.
You get it? Don’t mistake it for someone else’s menu and go to the wrong person, okay?
He firmly expressed his intent with a serious look.
Did the message get through?
The corners of Mihail’s mouth lifted slightly.
“Look at this guy?”
That reaction was filled with emotion.
It showed that, just like the Monkey Humanoid, he had successfully piqued Mihail’s interest.
“This is the last meal voucher we have received.”
“Thank you, Uncle Jezel.”
“I’ve spent five days just training and cooking with the menu in hand. Is this really okay?”
“Of course, it’s fine! Today will be the day!”
Now that I’ve eaten all the meals.
As the sun began to set, I was stretching and warming up in the backyard bathed in a deep crimson light when Senior Examiner Mihail revealed his precious face at the entrance of the yard.
His hair, dyed the same shade of red as the title ‘Noble Mihail’ in the game, looked quite beautiful.
If only he weren’t a man, that would be great. What a pity.
“Night special menu, a sword duel with Oknodie. What a bold menu you’ve submitted.”
I felt proud of my choice to schedule it at night to avoid the eyes of other guests during the day.
“It’s a night special menu with the limitation of only being available at night, and you’ve been going to bed early after training every night. Quite cheeky.”
“Kids need to sleep early to grow taller.”
“This is the first time I’ve been made to wait for the oil. After such a long time, you can’t expect to pass easily. If you don’t satisfy me, you can expect to fail.”
The period was also a key element of this hidden strategy.
Mihail hinted at the difficulty level with the ‘period’ until the ingredients arrived.
According to his rules, the night special menu on the fifth day had a difficulty level of 5, corresponding to the fifth layer of Shinjung Mountain.
Monkey Humanoid.
One level higher than the challenge he had faced on the fourth layer.
“The hairy beast only managed to challenge the fourth layer. Don’t you think coming to the fifth day was a bit arrogant?”
Mihail pointed that out too.
I knew.
How a strong little kid like me might appear through others’ eyes.
‘Probably like a glass cannon that could break at any moment.’
So I was extra cautious.
I made sure to take care of myself so I wouldn’t show any signs of exhaustion.
Thanks to that, my condition was perfect.
Today, I felt particularly light.
It was like I had shed off the metal armor that weighed me down, becoming a freed long-term inmate!
“Skill can be judged by crossing swords, don’t you think?”
With that bold provocation, Mihail chuckled.
It was too late to regret.
With those words, our swords flashed.
Senior Examiner Mihail.
From the moment he first laid eyes on Oknodie and Butler Jonnas, he felt intrigued by them.
‘Good skill.’
Both the lady and the butler were extraordinary.
Especially the butler’s strength was astonishing enough that even the Senior Examiner found it hard to overlook.
Silently moving without a sound.
Controlling even the rustling of his clothes.
It felt like witnessing a professional assassin.
‘Could he be from a renowned assassination family?’
Unlike the butler, the lady didn’t seem like she had trained in professional assassination techniques.
That made it even more bizarre.
Unless she were a noble daughter or the child of a wealthy family, it would be impossible to hire someone with such skill, yet her posture and confidence were anything but ordinary.
Adventurer attire.
What looked silly on a woman held an air of seriousness.
‘Whatever the case, she’s got talent.’
Achievement at this age is impressive.
As soon as our blades met, I knew.
No matter how much she wielded a wooden sword, blocking my attack was not something just anyone could do.
Tremendous strength and outstanding skill.
Coupled with analytical understanding of the exam’s principles and creative application.
With just that, she could at least challenge the entry point of the third layer.
‘She’s got all the basics covered.’
Seeing her flawless swordsmanship boosted my assessment.
She could attempt the entry of the fourth layer as well.
At the point where it could be settled, I forcefully swung my sword away.
“Pass.”
“Already?”
As Oknodie guessed, the conversation between Mihail and the innkeeper implied that the number of days needed for the cooking ingredients to arrive hinted at ‘challenge level’.
By intentionally delaying for five days, Oknodie had, in effect, challenged herself to the difficulty of the fifth layer!
“I haven’t shown enough of my skills yet.”
Mihail declared her passed just as she planned to show her fifth-layer ability using wand magic.
“Strength, technique, analytical skill, creativity, and swordsmanship. I gave passing scores in all five areas. Technique and analytical skill, swordsmanship were shown in this match. I gathered your creativity from the menu.”
“What about strength?”
“Arm wrestling. I’ve heard rumors about the girl with monstrous strength.”
“Aha.”
“This is a reward. I never thought I would give this ticket to a challenger.”
A platinum ticket, glimmering gold.
A ticket not typically allowed for ordinary challengers.
Swish.
Mihail raised his arm high, dodging Oknodie’s hand trying to grab the ticket.
He found her pout amusing and said, “I will give you a chance before you receive the ticket. The platinum ticket grants substantial merit in the entrance exam. However, if you give up this ticket, I’ll give you ten gold tickets instead.”
“!!”
“I can’t tell you the exact difference, but gold tickets also have their own advantages. You can dispose of the remaining nine as you please. So, what will you do?”
That was a kind of additional exam brought on by Mihail’s whims.
The value of the platinum ticket was huge.
It was more significant than a simple combination of ten gold tickets.
Still, resisting temptation would be tough.
Most tickets that circulate in the market are bronze tickets.
And sometimes, even iron tickets that shouldn’t exist amidst them.
Iron tickets are fake tickets distributed by examiners.
They belong to underqualified rookies.
Even if one realizes later and secures another ticket before submission, they could face the entrance exam, but if they had that capability, they could have acquired a ticket right from the start.
‘Of course, this lady has more than enough capability. What counts is desire.’
Ten gold coins. The average market price for a bronze ticket.
One hundred gold coins. The average market price for a silver ticket.
Bronze tickets may require instant trials before the main exam according to the garden filled with candidates gathered at the entrance exam hall, may even eliminate contestants instantly based on certain ratios.
Silver tickets fall under the category of ‘safe zone’ tickets that free them from immediate elimination.
Gold tickets hold even greater ‘advantages’ than that.
Naturally, those aware of their value would pay tenfold to acquire them.
Powerful individuals want to earn a reputation for enrolling their children or heirs in the Gift Academy, and they are willing to pay a fortune to acquire gold tickets.
However, no one could buy the platinum ticket.
Those who qualify for it would never do something foolish like selling their opportunity for petty desires.
“Of course, it’s a one-piece.”
“Why? A ticket can turn into money.”
“Do I look like I’m short on cash?”
“It’s not like that. The butler’s hiring cost must have easily surpassed a hundred gold coins.”
Conversely, the examiners serve without pay.
Ordinary folks won’t take on troublesome tasks like this unless they owe the Academy a debt or are eccentric.
Mihail was clearly eccentric.
He had a hobby of testing others.
Most of the subjects end up falling for his tricks and grind their teeth, though some do succeed in passing his tough exams.
‘And there’s a reciprocal reward for those who pass the exams.’
If they hesitated even a little, they would have handed over the ticket in their hand.
But this kid did not.
So, she passed.
Instead of the platinum ticket in her hand, she took out another platinum ticket from her upper garment pocket.
“Is there a difference among the same tickets?”
“The one just now is number 143. This one is number 15.”
“!”
“All tickets have assigned numbers. Triple numbers are less valuable than double numbers, and double numbers are less valuable than single numbers.”
“Meaning it’s an awesome ticket?”
“Ha. You could see it that way. The date and place of the entrance exam are written on the ticket.”
“Thank you. It was a fun test.”
“Wait a moment. What’s your name?”
“Oknodie. What’s your title, examiner?”
“Mihail.”
The audacious girl went up to her room.
Only the butler was left.
“Don’t I need to go and fetch the ‘young lady’?”
“I have something to ask.”
“I’ll answer at least once since it’s about the young lady.”
“The additional test you took at the end. It was too easy for a double-number top-tier ticket. What was the reason you wanted to give that ticket to her?”
“Ha. Did you catch on?”
“That’s not it. Judging her strength to be at the level of the fifth layer based just on a rumor from arm wrestling is insufficient.”
“You have a keen eye.”
“If there’s any ulterior motive…”
“There isn’t any particular intention.”
The moment the butler genuinely harbored murderous intent, the sound of the chirping insects that filled the mountain suddenly ceased.
Birds flew across the sky, and the music coming from the inn abruptly stopped.
Silence that seemed to reflect the desperate heart of prey, trying to avoid detection by any predator.
“I only employed the female quota.”
“…….”