Chapter 11

“Run! Haaaah… serious?”

I ran past the finish line and came to a stop, trying to regain my breath. I was covered in sweat, so I lifted my shirt and wiped it off. My shirt was drenched, and feeling a bit gross putting it back on, I went to take it off, but then I remembered the mark on my arm and quickly pulled my shirt back down. There were no mages nearby, but I still had to be careful about such a thing. If anyone saw that mark, it wasn’t just my career that would be over, but potentially my life.

“Did you seriously just run a four-minute, thirty-five-second mile?” A guy asked who had been watching me with awe.

He wasn’t the only spectator. After punching at a thousand plus PSI, Shambles had personally dragged me to one test after another. At first, I had caught only a few eyes, but as I managed to accomplish knight-level numbers on one result after another, I caught the interest of more and more knight initiates. Most of the physicals had been put on hold as people watched me completing one task after another. As for Knight Shambles, he looked more and more miserable the better that I did.

“Who is he again?”

“He’s Knight Max. He’s a third year.”

“Damn… why haven’t I heard of him?”

“He supposedly failed the Rite of Knighthood last summer.”

“Well, clearly that was an oversight.”

Such conversations were happening everywhere, but the truth was that I was a bit amazed myself. I had heard that demonic marks could increase physical prowess, but I had never imagined it would make such a noticeable difference. There were essentially seven different challenges we had to pass. There was the strength test, knife throwing, an agility course, the parry test, pull-ups, and finally the mile run. There was also sparring, but because it took so long to complete, it was scheduled after everyone completed everything else.

On the strength test, I had naturally punched the dummy with a force of greater than 1000 PSI. Knife throwing involved using a set of ten knives to hit ten targets within a period of three minutes. The agility course was a timed course involving climbing walls, crawling through tunnels, and jumping over barriers. The average time was five minutes, but I completed it in just under four.

The parry test put you in a chamber where balls would be launched at you. You had to block each ball and avoid being struck. You would get points just for dodging, but it was best when you could block the ball with your sword. Pull-ups were pretty simple. If the strength test measured bursts of strength, then pullups could measure long-term strength.

I met the standard on all six of the tests I completed. Only on the knife-throwing test did I not get a score level expected from a full knight. This was because I wasn’t completely used to my newfound strength and speed, so I couldn’t adjust them properly when it came to applying them to skills. I still passed, but only at the level of a knight initiate. It went without saying that as long as I could keep up this level of fitness, not only would I be taken off probation, but my place as a knight was pretty much assured.

“What grade will he earn?” Someone asked.

“We won’t know until the sparring matches.” Another responded.

“Don’t let your scores get to your head, Max.” After completing the mile run, Knight Shambles growled at me unhappily. “Keep your head down and you’ll be alright.”

He walked away with a glower on his face, clearly unhappy that he wasn’t able to embarrass me. I was still a bit stunned myself. A few knights approached me with congratulations. A few I recognized from classes, and a few were lower-classmen. The upperclassmen wouldn’t lower themselves to speak with a junior unless there was some benefit. However, it wasn’t my classmates who surrounded me with the most interest. Instead, it was a group of older mage girls.

“What’s your name, Max?”

“You’re a knight initiate? You’re quite strong. Have you found a mage yet?”

“Aren’t you being a bit bold? Don’t you already have Knight Evan?”

“We can have more than one knight.”

“Don’t listen to this slut!”

I found myself surrounded by upperclassmen mages who were arguing around me. Although I was a tad taller than most of them, I still felt completely overwhelmed by their presence. I couldn’t say I was necessarily surprised at their actions, but it was a side of being a knight I had never experienced before.

It was no secret that mages near graduation tended to have a great deal of interest in the knights and would regularly scope out the knight activities searching for their meat. Although a mage didn’t have to immediately bond a knight as soon as they were old enough, they still liked to fantasize about scooping up a young knight for themselves. Although one might expect this to be male mages lusting after young female knights, the simple truth was that female knights had a reputation of being promiscuous, and few men desired a female companion who was physically stronger than they physically. Meanwhile, the male knight in shining armor who devoted their life to protecting a woman was practically every woman’s dream.

They picked them young because then they would get to groom them into whatever they wanted them to become. One could always tell when an older classman picked her knight because suddenly all the other girls, especially in the same classes, would all avoid him. There were naturally knights who dreamed of being picked by a cute mage girl, such as a few of the ones who were glaring at me in that moment. However, they were all idiots who couldn’t see the system for what it really was. The knight bond was the ultimate friend zone.

They all imagined a cute girl picking them, and the two would be bonded in body and soul, fighting together through life and death and growing closer and closer. He would serve her with his whole self, and she would, in turn, love and respect him. Perhaps, there was a time when mages and knights functioned like that. These days, a knight was more like the mage’s bitch boy. She expected him to protect her with his life, serve her in all her needs, and devote his life to her, but as far as she was concerned, the magical advantages he gained from such a bond were all she owed him in exchange for eternal servitude.

You see, the bond between knight and mage was magical. Once bonded, the two would always be connected, capable of telling their direction no matter how far away they were, as well as getting a feel for their emotional state. That wasn’t all, though. Just like with my demonic mark, the mage mark also increased a knight’s strength, speed, and stamina, equivalent to the mage’s power. They could heal faster than a normal person, and even resist magic from an enemy. A bonded knight could fight harder and last longer. What could one hate about that? Well, the cost was servitude. A mage could compel a knight to follow her orders. He would have to serve her in all matters for the rest of his life.

The problem wasn’t necessarily in the bond, but in the modern woman. Once she bonded with you, you were hers for life. It was impossible to break the bond. The best that could happen was that it was passed on to another mage. However, no knight wanted this, as they would be labeled by the mages as problematic and given to a handler. She was a mage who practiced at “training” undisciplined knights before giving them to a new mage. In this way, bonding was for life.

Knowing this, most mages treated their knights like slaves. He’d carry everything for her and follow her around like a lapdog while she would do whatever she wanted. This didn’t mean they couldn’t have a sexual relationship, but few mages married their knights. Rather, they treated knights like a backup lay. They’d play around until their feelings got hurt, and then run back and get validation from their knight, only to repeat it all. Thus, these poor knights could only watch as their mage got run through by every guy for them to deal with the emotional baggage. As that one girl pointed out, mages weren’t limited to a single knight, so he might not even be her only partner, but one of many. I’ve even heard of mages with up to ten knights under them. Perhaps, one could see why I called this the ultimate friend zone.

“Max, you did really well. I’m happy for you.” These words cut through the upperclassmen who were still insulting each other, but as soon as she spoke, they all became quiet and looked at her like a group of rowdy cats as soon as an unfamiliar one appeared.

I looked up at Denise, unable to stop the pull at my heart at the sight of her beautiful face. She was in a sports bra and shorts, her hair back in a ponytail, showing her tight, fit body and perfectly featured face. Some of the upperclassmen mages were attractive, but mages weren’t known for their athleticism, and the kind who went to practices to scope out knights were usually not their best. A few were even quite pudgy, if not overweight. Compared to Denise, they couldn’t compare.

I stared at her for a moment before noticing someone else glaring at me. A few steps behind her was Sophie, who had an unhappy glower on her face like she had eaten something unpleasant. Remembering the previous day, I couldn’t help but smile at her. She jumped a little when she saw me smile, her ears perking up. Denise moved her head, blocking my view of Sophie. When my eyes refocused on Denise, I was surprised to see her lip jut out just a bit, an expression I had never seen on her face before that I couldn’t quite recognize. However, before I could say anything, I heard the voices of the upperclassmen behind.

“Who is this then?”

“It’s just a knight.”

“A girl knight? Not interested.”

“I am…”

“Ugh, you would!”

“Hehe, I think his girlfriend is jealous.”

As the upperclassmen chattered among each other, even Denise grew a bit embarrassed. One mage, in particular, was eyeing her with a bit of interest. Naturally, not every male mage was willing to pick up a female knight, but certain female mages took delight in breaking in young female knights.

“Knights! Line up!” Knight Shambles roared, walking up between me and the mages. “It’s time for sparring matches! Max, since you have so much relaxed time to flirt with your upperclassmen, you can go first!”

He didn’t give me a chance to respond as he kicked me toward the arena in the center of the athletic field. The mages all giggled amongst each other in amusement. Knight Shambles gave them a respectful bow before chasing after me like he wanted to kick me a few more times if I wasn’t fast enough. Even though he didn’t have the guts to treat the mages with disrespect, that didn’t mean he wouldn’t take out all of his frustrations on me.

Thankfully, I wasn’t so foolish as to take my time. As soon as he kicked me, I ran full tilt toward the sparring arena. The other knights were much slower. Even Denise and Sophie were quick to get in line. He was nicer to women, but they were still knights. I jumped into the arena pit before he could reach it, and seeing no one he could physically harm, I could see the agitation on his face. He looked around the group of knights as if he was trying to figure something out, but then a smile crossed his lips.

“Lumina, on stage!”

“Hah?” I cried out before I could stop myself.

A large, muscular woman nodded as she got up onto the stage. A few people chuckled at this match-up. This was because Lumina was a head taller than me. She was a dark-skinned beauty from the dragonkin tribe. Her eyes were the elongated yellow eyes of a dragon. Her hair was shaded red and yellow like fire, and she had a long reptilian tail behind her. She was famous because she was dual-classing. That’s to say that she took both mage and knight classes, aiming to be both.

“What’s the matter?” Knight Shambles grinned. “I’m just picking someone close to your physical prowess.”

Although his words technically made sense, the reality was that her dragonkin blood made her physique extremely powerful. She had always been as strong as a knight from the first day, and since then, her strength had only increased. She still outperformed me in every criterion. She was near the top of the class while I was at the bottom. In fact, they had her typically compete with the upperclassmen since she outclassed everyone in our year. This matchup wouldn’t have been less fair if she had just teamed me up with an upperclassman.

“Your performance today was strong, short man.” She declared as she grabbed a sparring sword and shield. “Show me what you’ve got!”

Before I could voice a protest, I felt a sword and shield being shoved in my hands as well. The bell rang, and immediately the girl lunged at me with a roar. She moved so quickly that I could barely react. My only choice was to activate a movement skill to narrowly avoid her.

Although Lumina’s powerful physical attributes had made her a powerful knight, she actually wasn’t the top knight in the class. This was because she didn’t have a strong mastery of the techniques and skills. She had to spend that time learning magic. Between mana and willpower, mana was harder to learn, but it wasn’t like willpower was easier, too. Learning them both was a miraculous feat, but mastering them both was nearly impossible. Since Lumina couldn’t use her mana in this fight and could only fight me as a knight, this created an opportunity I didn’t expect.

Her sword cracked against my shield, and at the same time, my sword cracked against hers. However, my sword and shield were glowing while her equipment was not. I was reinforcing them with willpower. Since I had never had the physical prowess, almost all of my effort had gone into mastering techniques. There was probably no one my age who knew the techniques as well as I did, and it was the one class I excelled. However, that was only in theory. In practice, I had lacked the physical stature needed to take advantage of those techniques. That was until this moment.

Although my sword and shield struck hers with equal power, it was as if her sword and shield began to crack. Lumina cried out in surprise as her shield cracked. She stumbled back in a staggard state. She stared at me in disbelief for a second before grinning like a true battle maniac.

“Not bad, not bad!” She shouted, tossing the shield to the side. “Now, let’s see you block this, short man!”

She lunged at me, her sword glowing brightly. She was using techniques, too, but this was a base-level technique called the double power strike. The first strike was normal, but then the second strike would double in strength. The problem with it was that the second strike would also be slower than the first. Fortunately, I had mastered the timing. Our swords struck once, matching each other. My weapon started to glow, but she was far too eager to deliver her next strike. Her eyes grew bright as she spun, intending to send me flying.

“Rapid shot!” I used a much faster technique, and my sword struck her in the back mid-spin.

Her balance was thrown off, and her second strike was thrown wide, further unbalancing her. I immediately put all my weight into the shield, performing a flawless shield bash. It wasn’t a technique, but it didn’t have to be. The shield slammed into her stomach, just under her chest. I lifted with all my weight, driving the top edge of the shield directly into her abdomen. She cried out as she was thrown back, her sword flying out of the arena.

She stumbled back and landed on her ass, a stunned expression on her face. She wasn’t the only stunned one. I had actually beaten her. The last place knight had somehow knocked out the prideful black dragonkin. Just as I was about to celebrate, I saw anger and rage cross her face. She opened her mouth, and I suddenly got an extreme feeling of danger. I raised my shield, activating a shield blocking technique just as a massive fireball erupted from her mouth.

It struck me like a brick, and I went flying back outside the arena. I was barely aware of what happened as I slammed into my back. I felt pain and a ringing in my ears. I could see people running up to me, including Denise. She looked to be teary-eyed. Maybe she did like me a little bit. Then again, maybe it was just for show.

I realized that some of my clothing had burned off. Was my devil’s insignia exposed? Oh no! If they checked my body, wouldn’t they find it? I desperately tried to get up, but someone held me down while someone else forced some bitter concoction down my throat. I swallowed instinctively, only realizing it was a health potion too late. I didn’t want a health potion! That was because health potions tended to put people to sleep! I fought back helplessly for a few more seconds, and then unconsciousness took me.