Capítulo 32: Ch 29 - Benjamin's Trial (Part 1)
As soon as my name was called out I jumped into the puddle.
A number of eyes stared at me, eager to see who was the next candidate.
After entering the puddle, I headed to the trial area while also stretching my arms and shoulder. I have to at least be physically ready to intake the corrosion within itself. I have no idea how it might affect me, but I was more than ready.
Maybe warming up won't do anything but it's better than doing nothing. The warm-up would also ready me mentally as I was used to doing warm-ups before training. The human body were frail so they often need warming up. Otherwise, they get muscle cramps and other minor inconveniences that might act as a hindrance in their time of need.
In the demon world, there was no such thing as a warm-up.
As I was headed towards the center in the trial area, I could also hear giggles from the corner of the crowd.
I subconsciously checked at the distance just to my surprise, a fat lump of meat was giggling.
It was none other than Moses with his little gang who was watching with a shrewd smile. The fatso was surrounded by a bunch of other kids from our village. They had taken the front row seat to watch my trial.
I wasn't offended but rather surprised to see Moses managed to clear the first trial. The fatso was pampered to the brim that he couldn't even swat a fly without help. I thought he might get killed by one of the rail guards for acting like an ass before he could even enter the first trial.
But I heard that Moses had some distant nobles. I thought it was a rumor but that explains this rumor to be true.
I guess only physical training doesn't mean jack if you are just not able to manifest mana core. No wonder the supervisor emphasize to forget being a mage.
I would be thoroughly shocked if Moses cleared all the trials and become a mage. I would just lose my belief in the entirety of the mage system.
I quickly shook my head and tried to clear my head.
Gotta focus on what's in front of me.
Just when,
"Oi Beanjam!" suddenly a familiar voice shouted.
Beanjam? What?
I turned around just to see Tracker with a smile giving me thumbs up,
"Best of Luck."
Shorty giving me good luck caught me off guard but I was more annoyed by the fact he mispronounced my name in front of everyone.
As soon as Tracker said so, I could hear people bursting into a chuckle.
The group that was most enjoying this was none other than Moses and his lackeys.
I angrily glared back at Tracker but didn't bother to say anything.
Meanwhile, Tracker was rather confused,
"Hey, what's with that look. I wished you luck and you repay me by glaring at me. Huh?"
I just ignored him and continued to walk heading towards the trial area.
Arguing with him would just make me look like a bigger fool and ruin my mood.
As I continued to head to the center I turned my attention to the puddle itself.
The puddle water was just knee-deep. Not to mention there was a sweet smell in the air. Probably because of the constant discharge of mana from the sword into the water. This lead to a change in the water's properties.
As I reached the edge of the trial area, supervisor Canith was waiting for me. He was still standing on top of the mysterious blue rock like before. He never even once stepped down from the rock. If he had to go somewhere he would rather fly along with the rock-like as if he was glued in place.
Not to mention this mysterious blue dull teal rock had the property to absorb all the corrosion emitted by that mana sword in the center.
Without wasting any second I stood in front of the supervisor Canith and greeted him with a gratitude bow like every other candidate who came before me. The gratitude bow used by this kingdom is a bit different. You have to cross your right arm to the chest while touching your hand to the left shoulder and bowing your head.
Supervisor Canith looked at me with cold eyes and not much of a reaction. A former demon lord had to bow its head to some petty examiner and he had no reaction.
I was a bit annoyed but didn't let that bother me.
"So you are candidate Benjamin Almond, right?" he asked.
"Yes Sir," I replied politely.
"I see. Are you ready to begin your trial?"
I lifted my head and glanced at that glowing mana sword in the center.
The mana sword was powerful and I can feel the warm air blowing from the sword's direction.
A smile appeared,
"Bring it on!" I replied.
"Huh?" mumbled Canith gives me the look.
"I mean, yes sir!" I replied.
"Hmph."
This supervisor is really a piece of work.
I prepare myself to head to the trial area where the sword was placed.
It was just a few meters away from where I was standing.
Supervisor Canith lifted his hand and the stone he was standing on started to rise. As soon the stone came out of the rock, the orange corrosion in the water which was very little started to build around the sword.
The glowing mana sword quickly started to corrode the water around itself at a high speed. Changing the water into dark murky orange color as it expanded in a circular area.
Now that I took a good look…
The orange corroded water actually looked like a bunch of ants flung into the water who are swarming towards me. The corrosion itself looked as if it was alive, like a living organism.
As the corrosion expanded, I stood there in place motionless.
I still have yet to receive the signal from the supervisor to grab the sword.
To begin the trial, the supervisor first let the area get corroded and spread to a certain extent.
Only then does the trial begin.
I held my breath with excitement and eagerness to participate in this trial. Meanwhile, Canith closely watched the corrosion activity in the water.
After a few minutes of waiting the corrosion had grown and was just now a few feet away from where I was standing.
Canith nodded,
"Alright, let the trial begin."
As soon as he said that I rushed towards the corroded water.
The first few steps were just knee-deep water which was easy to run through. I have been training at the riverside back in my village. Not to mention the number of times I tumbled into the wild fierce river during training that I almost thought I died.
So running on this knee-deep water was a cinch.
But as soon as I came in contact with orange corroded water my movements became sluggish. It felt like I stepped into a swamp. My feet became heavy and it felt like I was getting pricked by thousands of needles.
I gritted my teeth and persevered through the pain while moving forward towards the sword.
After a few seconds, I actually got used to the pain that I regained my speed.
Splashing and dragging my feet through the thick murky corroded water I finally reached where the sword was placed.
The corrosion was even denser near the sword as it was the source of all this corrosion.
Even the air which tasted sweet had a tinge electrifying effect.
I took a glimpse of that glowing sword before beginning the trial.
The sword looked old and it didn't have the sharp edge like your regular sword. The handle of the sword was old and its grip had lost its form after countless candidates had tried to pull it out.
Now it was my turn to take hold of this mysterious sword.
I still couldn't yet figure out why the sword had so much mana within it.
There was no time to figure it out yet.
Taking a deep breath I finally steadied my resolve to begin the actual trial.
I glanced at the statue beside the sword which sat still like a motionless behemoth in deep slumber.
It was an old corroded statue still holding on to the rusty crown.
Even if the crown turns into a shinning new crown if candidates clear the trial, once it was removed from that candidate's head it would return back to the rusty state.
After finally checking my surroundings, I finally grabbed the sword and began the trial.
As soon as I grabbed the handle, there was a stinging pain in my hands which were even more intense than before. It felt like I was holding on to a pile of sharp pins with my bare hands.
But for some reason, there was no bleeding but the pain was 100% authentic. It was as if my hands were getting shredded and I might lose my hands.
I quickly steadied my breath and tried to bear the pain.
REFLEXIONES DE LOS CREADORES 
HellerFeed
HellerFeed I had a rough week.
I have to create about 55 creative ad posts for 4 brands each, before the festive season hits.
Working on tight schedule and scratching my brain for every drop of creativity to please the clients. Hopefully I don't run out of brain juice and survive this ordeal.
I guess I facing my own trial, lol.
Anyway, during the festive season, I will get 4 holidays in a row, so the only glimmer of hope that kept me going.
Until then please wish me luck.
Thanks for reading and listening to my rambling.
Have a nice day.
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