Raising Paladins

Episode 27. Dawn Bridge without being crazy (2)

“… … Come in at once.”

Since they came to take the test, they let them in.

However, it is very suspicious and suspicious.

That’s what Jamie, the guard at the entrance to the Temple of Noon in Tournoble, was thinking.

‘A battle fuse with such a skinny body? Of the Church of Dawn, too?’

If it was the Noon Bridge or the Twilight Bridge, it would be understandable.

If you put your name on the priest list of that temple, you won’t have to worry about starving to death for the rest of your life.

Although the prosperity of the two tribes is not as good as before, the people of the Empire still love the Noon Church and the Dusk Church.

So, once you become the priest of that tribe, you will not have to worry about bread for the rest of your life.

‘But what about the Dawning Church?’

The ruined tribe recognized by all the people of the Empire, the Dawning Church!

Now, even after searching all over the empire, not only are there few temples left, but I heard that the remaining temples are holding their breath.

As a result, all the priests who were present ran away during the night.

However, the skinny man standing in front of me was speaking very confidently.

“It is not another tribe. This is the support for the Dawn Bridge battle priest position.”

“… … Has confirmed.”

A guard recorded his words on a board at the entrance.

-Carlos, 20 years old, applied for the post of combat priest at Dawn Bridge.

The age of 20 was roughly covered by Carl.

I don’t know the actual age of this body, but at first glance it looks like it’s in its early twenties.

It would be nice to be as young as possible, but that’s what I said because people under the age of 20 can’t take the priesthood exam.

‘When I get back, I’ll have to stop by City Hall and register as a citizen.’

Come to think of it, I was living as a ghost without even registering as a citizen.

There’s a lot to do at Meirium in the future, so you should register as soon as possible.

“You can go over there.”

The knife that the guard pointed at with his fingertips.

he asked with a puzzled face.

“Isn’t that the testing ground for another tribe?”

– Noon School Battle Fuse Test Grounds.

A place that leads in one direction of the temple.

There’s obviously a sign that says that.

Although Clemens said that the Dawning School had a small number of students, so they took the exam together in the surrounding big cities.

But what about taking the test with applicants from other tribes?

I’ve never heard of such a thing.

The guard, noticing Carl’s thoughts, added.

“This is the first time in decades that an applicant has applied for the position of battle priest of the Dawning Church. If there is one applicant for a research priest, there is one every three or four years, so they take a separate test, but the combat priest… … Anyway, according to the regulations, when an applicant for the battle priest of the Dawning School comes out, he is supposed to take the test together with the applicant for the battle priest of the Noon School. I didn’t decide on my own.”

“okay.”

It is a situation where you can see how far the Dawn Bridge has fallen!

In the past, applicants to the Noon Church or the Dusk Church could not even compare to the applicants to the Dawn Church.

That’s because the cut-offs for the written and practical tests were extremely high.

But now… … .

‘Rather, the Dawning School is being treated like this!’

Truly a treat!

From Carl’s point of view, this is very deplorable.

But what if the world has changed so much?

Just as priests have to leave if they don’t like the temple, they have no choice but to adjust.

There is a huge difference between a trainee priest and a proper priest appointee.

“Are those all weapons?”

A guard asked Carl as he was about to pass by.

He was staring at the wooden sword hanging from the sword’s waist.

“By the way.”

“… … it must be hard Good job.”

Battle priesthood exam.

The exam is largely divided into written and practical exams.

Of course, writing is close to the basic theory of solar theology.

Big points are given, of course, for practical skills.

Because it’s a battle priest!

However, Tournoble’s combat performance at the Noon Temple is so complicated that rumors spread around the neighborhood.

In particular, they fight against other applicants using a real sword, and not one or two people are seriously injured at that time.

In addition, the temple does not support jingeom, so everyone must bring their own jingeom.

From there, there are already restrictions on the qualifications to participate.

‘I don’t think I’ve ever been to an academy, let alone a nobleman… … .’

Of course, there is no status restriction on taking the priesthood exam.

It doesn’t make sense to put a status restriction on a job that serves God for all people in the first place.

However, everyone brings a steel longsword to the Noon School battle priesthood exam.

A universal sword such as a longsword or broadsword.

Without it, it would be impossible to participate, so there were qualification restrictions that were not in the regulations.

But the man going over there came wearing a wooden longsword carved out of a tree.

It was to the point of clicking the tongue on its own in the position of the viewer.

‘… … There will be another scapegoat that doesn’t know the world.’

The shape of the wooden sword is very plausible, perhaps because of his skill in cutting wood.

The handle grip and the upper cross guard are the same, but the craftsmanship is especially felt in the beautifully extended blade.

Quite a few agricultural implements are no better than that wooden sword.

However, no matter how well a wooden sword is sharpened and polished, it is still a wooden sword.

When the steel longsword passes by, the hairs go numb! It falls.

That was the reason why the guard looked at the wooden sword with pity.

but.

‘You think I don’t know the atmosphere of the exam hall.’

Carl laughed lightly inwardly.

Just now, the guard looked at Carl’s wooden sword and said, ‘It must be difficult.’

Carl knew the true meaning of those words.

‘Even if time passes and the scenery changes, people live their lives there.’

Carl’s previous life, that is, the world 200 years ago.

Even at that time, the combat priesthood test site was truly a place to boast about family and money.

It was because the academy cadets, who hadn’t even been appointed as knights yet, struggled around with flashing armor and swords.

Where is that?

The sons and daughters of high-ranking officials and the sons and daughters of high-ranking officials even made groups of themselves to harass other test takers.

The target is mainly poor applicants from the countryside!

Armed with long swords and armor crafted by skilled blacksmiths, they laughed and played with the other test takers.

In the amateur level of swordsmanship, the quality of the equipment had a significant impact on the match.

No matter how hard he trained his swordsmanship, if the longsword he was holding broke, there was no way he could win in Dalian.

For that reason, the children of nobles and wealthy families had a fairly high pass rate for the exam.

kiik-

Carl slowly opened the test room door and entered.

Inside, dozens of applicants were already gathering in groups.

Their gazes fell on Carl at once.

“What is that?”

“Couldn’t it be a wooden sword? Am I looking at it wrong?”

“Put… … .”

A shabby outfit with a skinny body.

In particular, the scruffy face that did not wash after camping last night is the highlight.

In addition, there is even a wooden sword at the waist, not a steel sword!

It really has the components of a ‘poor test taker’ perfectly.

Applicants burst into laughter at the appearance of such a knife.

“Kuhhh… … .”

“All sorts of beggar-like things come from time to time… … !”

A large, empty space like a large vacant lot.

Only a few scarecrows for swordsmanship training and weapon and armor display stands are sparsely placed.

Judging from that, this is probably the ‘training room’ used by the battle priests of the Midday Temple.

On days like today, I use it as a temporary test site.

Carl scanned the crowd gathered here and there one by one.

‘The group has already split.’

The group was divided into three main categories.

First of all, a bunch of outfits that look better than knives, but still can’t hide their nerdyness.

Next, a bunch of decently equipped gear.

Lastly, it was a group with shiny knight plate mail and long swords.

Each group occupied a corner of the testing grounds.

The funny thing was that they all paid attention to Carl’s steps.

‘Please don’t come here… … .’

They have different levels of equipment, but they have the same eyes looking at knives.

What an ironic situation!

Carl was an uninvited guest to all three groups.

The poor group doesn’t welcome the knife because they look poorer.

The middle group is wary of knives for fear of being mistaken for poor people.

The group, which looked affluent to anyone, had an expression of ‘Could they come to us?’.

‘As expected, nothing has changed in the world.’

Time has passed, but humans are still the same.

Carl let out a small laugh at the slightly bitter state of affairs.

It was then.

“There, you!”

A bunch of flashing plate mail.

Among them, a man with a very good build approached in front of the knife.

Big shoulders with thick forearms.

In addition, you can tell at a glance that he is a person who has been training step by step since childhood with a well-balanced lower body.

He looked down at the knife and said.

“The Gardener’s Test Center is not here. Didn’t you come to the wrong room?”

“… … ?”

Carl slowly raised his head.

Then I saw a smirking face with a sneer on his lips.

Well-groomed skin and hair.

If Carl’s prediction is correct, he’s probably a son of a noble family.

‘Is it a hydrangea?’

Carl’s gaze passed the grinning face and reached his chest.

The hydrangea pattern engraved on the left chest of the silver plate mail!

Engraving a pattern on the armor means that a certain nobleman refrains from it.

A nobleman with a fair amount of money and honor.

If not, you can’t go around carving patterns like that confidently.

“Candid gardener, can’t you hear what Terry is saying? You are asking.”

All of a sudden, those who were with the big guy rushed around.

All were equipped with decent armor and long swords.

“Terry just asked if I was at the wrong test center. Then should I answer?”

Cook, Cook!

The mean-looking little guy pokes his finger through Carl’s chest.

Then Carl looked at him with emotionless eyes.

‘He’s a flatterer by the side of the powerful. The blond girl next to him must be Terry’s partner.’

These groups always have a similar structure.

The captain, the captain’s girlfriend, the guy who flatters the captain, and some henchmen.

The knife, which had grasped their composition in an instant, murmured softly.

“I break my finger by playing with it carelessly.”

“… … what? You cheeky commoner bastard!”

The excited flatterer raised his fist.

The moment I was about to swing it at Carl’s face, the door opened and a group of priests entered.

“All test takers, please line up.”

Those who also wore plate mail, but had the Divine Mark of the Noon School engraved on their chests.

They were the battle priests of the Midday Temple.

The flatterer growled at Carl as they trudged to the center of the testing room.

“You gardener, see you later.”

A guy with bloodshot eyes, as if he had been very hard pressed.

Terry from earlier tapped him on the shoulder.

As they moved away from the priests, the sword headed there as well.

“Everybody please gather.”

Soon after, the candidates lined up in three rows in front of the priests.

Carl was last in the middle of the group of three.

“Then, let’s begin the noon school battle priestly exam.”

The first phase of the Temple of Dawn of the Sword Restoration Project.

It was the moment when the ‘future test’ began.