'This man…'

Rudeus Browncat stands at the edge of the examination stage with shock permeating his body.

Throughout his time as an exam proctor, he has never seen such a situation as this. Usually, when someone applies for the Honorary Knight Exam, they aren't as skilled as normal Knights. They simply desire the prestige that comes with being a Knight.

It wouldn't be an overstatement to say that their Honorary Knight Title is bought.

As such, these exams are merely formalities.

Through bribery, one could even make use of a proxy to pass them and get a decent evaluation.

After experiencing this over and over, Rudeus has grown desensitized to the whole thing. He assumes that every single examinee is the same.

Those with connections that desire the title of Knight—that's what he thinks of Honorary Knights.

That is what he is used to.

But—

'This man… is really skilled!' Rudeus can't believe his eyes at this moment.

Not only has Javier Aditi flawlessly passed the other challenges, performing excellently in every single stage, but even now—at the crucial juncture—he has shown nothing but perfection.

'I am a High Rank Knight myself, but even I… without a Potion, could I have made it this far without resting at all?' Rudeus shakes his head, clearly doubting his own capabilities. 'But he hasn't even asked for a single break, and he keeps achieving flawless victory every time!'

The truth is, Javier could have asked for a break at any time.

Rudeus didn't mention this before the match began, because he assumed it was common sense, but to think this man refused to take a single moment to catch his breath.

'What kind of monster is this?!'

But, despite how high Rudeus' evaluation of Javier is, he knows it will be impossible for him to cross the final threshold—the 10th Round.

'With his performance, he is already qualified for the honorary position of High Rank Knight. But, it seems he still wishes to proceed…' Rudeus feels a chill run through his spine as he watches Javier from his distance.

His raven black hair dances softly, and his clear olive skin is stained with sweat.

With one eye covered by an eyepatch, his slim, tall frame arched a little low, and his grip tight on the blade, Javier has the appearance of a true warrior.

—A Noble Knight!

'But facing off against three Cadre 3 Magivores is impossible for even a High Rank Knight without sufficient preparation Potions to supplement one's abilities.' Rudeus Browncat is very clear on the limitations of a High Rank Knight, because he is also one.

To be honest, the content of the tenth round was basically made on a whim.

It was nothing more than a bad joke.

No one was expected to make it this far, or even attempt to.

Since the Honorary Knight Exams are mostly for formalities, and most are satisfied with only meeting the lowest possible criteria, no one would seriously consider challenging the tenth round.

This was the mindset that went into creating the exams.

And yet—

'My goodness! He is doing it… he is really going to do it?!'

Rudeus' eyes widen even more as he watches Javier take his stance, his gaze steady as he looks at the three opponents before him.

'You idiot! Just forfeit now! You already have enough to get the highest possible grade!'

As an examiner, he can't interfere.

He has to remain impartial and watch from the sidelines.

Only when the challenger directly admits forfeiture can he make a move to extricate them from the situation. If Javier doesn't say or do anything to admit defeat, he will be trapped inside the stage.

Even if he dies… so be it.

As part of the arrangement Javier made with the Knight Academy, the latter has no liability in the case of death caused by the exams.

As such, Rudeus isn't worried about getting in trouble if Javier fails.

Instead, he simply worries for the young man.

'You have such great talent! You're top-tier, and your future is bright as a Knight! Don't waste it here… don't throw all of it away because of hubris!' He wishes he could scream out, but despite his mouth being wide open, no sound comes out.

His heart palpitates.

Sweat falls from his brow as he stares with deep anxiety and premature regret.

'Fool… knowing your limit is also one of the attributes of a Knight.' Rudeus Browncat shakes his head and hopelessly watches with pity in his eyes.

He knows the eventual outcome.

But—

'What if he wins?' The thought enters his mind, but he quickly dismisses it.

That's simply impossible.

'But… hasn't this Javier defied expectations so many times already? What if he surprises me again?' Rudeus' thoughts keep pestering him with an unlikely scenario, forcing him to shake his head many times over.

It is simply not possible for Javier Aditi to win this one!

No Potions.

No rest.

One Armament.

Three Cadre 3 Magivores.

Isn't he only human? How can a mere man, even if he is a High Rank Knight, hope to win against such odds?

How can such a miracle happen?

No!

It cannot happen!

As Rudeus Browncat has these thoughts, the Firehorn Boar Kings begin to move. Their hooves clack loudly on the ground, causing it to tremble violently. Their loud snort fills the air, and the temperature begins to rise at a terrifying rate.

Before them is a lone man.

He can't use the sidestepping tactic, since there are three Firehorn Boar Kings this time.

Their size makes it impossible to completely maneuver away from them at the last minute. Doing it too early, however, will give the Firehorn Boar Kings the time to also subtly change their trajectory, creating the same situation again.

In essence, this is a trap scenario—an impossible round!

However—

"H-huh?"

Even as the three Magivores close in, Javier has an expression of absolute calmness.

Complete serenity.

He slowly shifts his head, his gaze trailing to the side… to look at the examiner—Rudeus Browncat himself.

'Why is he looking at me? Look ahead of you, idiot!'

Rudeus feels an unbelievable surge of anxiety assail him at that moment, his eyes bloodshot.

His heart palpitates at unreal speeds.

He feels his jaw slack and his mouth wide open, ready to scream at a moment's notice.

The Firehorn Boar Kings are nearby now.

Just a small distance away.

So close!!!

Yet…

'Why? Why is he smiling?'

The dazed Rudeus Browncat watches Javier smiling at him, before he returns his gaze to the Cadre 3 Magivores at the last moment.

But, at this point… It's too late. The distance has been closed.

There is no escape.

Then—

SWOOSH!

The next thing Rudeus sees is the heads of the three Firehorn Boar Kings suddenly detaching from their bodies, as blood gushes from every part of their lacerated flesh.

As for Javier… he is no longer in his position!

Like an after-image, the 'Javier' that was standing in front of the Magivore just a second earlier fizzles into the air, and the real person stands right behind them.

His blade is coated in deep crimson blood.

His face shows the same expression he made before—a calm smile.

Javier Aditi now stands behind the corpses of the three Firehorn Boar Kings, clearly the winner of the final round of the exam.

How such a thing could happen remains a mystery even in the future years.

At least… to humans.

"He did it…" Rudeus' wide-open mouth finally lets out a sound. "He actually won."

No one should blame Rudeus.

He made an accurate judgment based on the wealth of his knowledge and his deep experience as a High Rank Knight himself. However, even he doesn't know everything.

How could he have known about the mysteries of the Leviathans and their Conceptions?

The ability to defy time and triumph over the impossible.

Javier Aditi used this power to win, much to the disbelief of the proctor.

"I… was wrong again."

Rudeus Browncat can only mutter these words to himself before a brilliant smile envelops his bewildered face. Despite the illogical nature of the event he just witnessed, Rudeus has no reason to be crestfallen.

In fact, as long as it is clear that Javier didn't cheat, this calls for rejoicing.

After all, for the first time in over a century, when the Honorary Knight Exams were established, someone finally beat the tenth round.

He—Javier Aditi—would be the first Honorary High Rank Knight to do this.

Rudeus cannot help but be glad.

A satisfied smile is displayed on his face as he nods at Javier.

"Congratulations… you pass."

************

'That was a close one.'

I heave a sigh of relief, watching as the examiner advances in my direction after announcing the conclusion of the exam.

What kind of absurd examination is this, though?

I understand that they wish for the Honorary Knights to be worth their mettle, but isn't it too absurd to make things so difficult? Defeating two Cadre 3 Magivores should be more than enough to fully confirm the skills of the examinee… but to go as far as three?

That is simply too brutal!

If I were in top condition, not overwhelmed by hunger and deep exhaustion, I would have eventually made it through. But with the stress that my body accumulated through the earlier rounds, it would have been difficult to win.

The biggest problem was the hunger.

By the time of the 10th round, it had become too overwhelming.

At that point, I knew it would be impossible for me to pass the tenth round—at least, normally.

I had to ask myself:

"Do you want to stick to your principles and only use your natural abilities to win, or will you finally stop holding back and use Conception?"

Then, I had an epiphany.

As a Leviathan… Conception is a part of my natural abilities!

It wouldn't be cheating in any way if I simply used my natural prowess to defeat the opponent.

After rationalizing it like this, I no longer hesitated.

Instead—

"Frontflow."

—I used my Fragmented Conception to solve the problem before me, finally resulting in my victory and a resolution of my problems.

Not only was I able to rush to the cafeteria to quickly find a meal to devour, but I was also able to easily defeat the three Firehorn Boar Kings without much issue. In fact, the difficulty plummeted to an absurd extent that I felt a little bad.

But this isn't cheating.

No… I simply used my abilities.

Even if that meant I completely broke the balance of the test, consuming a large amount of food and defeating my foes, while still having some time to spare!

Being a Leviathan can be amazing at times like this.

Tracing, Clairvoyance, and now Frontflow…

Speaking of Frontflow, it is actually the first Conception I ever witnessed.

In fact, Zarius used it against me.

It is part of the Exemplar Pathway, which Zarius belonged to, and when it comes to usefulness in combat… it is my strongest ability.

But how does it work?

When I faced Zarius, I figured out that he was somehow speeding up his own time.

That was why he moved so quickly and was able to react to me at such an unreal level, even when I consumed many Potions ahead of time. Even against an army of ten thousand, he was unstoppable, slaughtering trained soldiers and Mercenaries like they were nothing but livestock.

It was all thanks to Frontflow… but I was quite off about what it entailed.

Frontflow isn't simply about speeding one's time.

It's more complicated than that.

I control three different kinds of threads, which represent my Fragmented Conceptions.

The purple ones are wobbly and distorted, having thin lines that extend in multiple directions, and they are responsible for my Tracing. The blue threads are lush and beautiful, appearing delicate, but free-flowing like water, and they are what I use for Clairvoyance.

As for the third…

The green ones look like springs, twisted and turning like endless spirals.

They are threads responsible for Frontflow!

Unlike the other Conceptions that cause me to relate with the Temporal Layers of the world or others, resonating with my own Temporal Layers of Existence to create certain effects, Frontflow is different.

I actually use my physical form to embody this Conception, channeling Aego to alter my own body's flow of time.

I do this by replacing a Temporal Layer of my body with another Layer, giving it another quality that drastically changes how I exist in the world compared to everyone else.

There are four Temporal Layers of Existence that I have access to: Second, Minute, Hour, and Day.

Using the green spring-like threads, I can replace a Lower Layer with a Higher Layer.

For example… replacing my Second Layer with my Minute Layer!

This grants me a minute when I should have a second… allowing me to exist faster than everything else that exists within that second.

This is how Zarius increased the rate of time on his body back then. As you would expect, having a minute rather than a second will allow a person to experience the time around them moving at a much slower rate.

They would be incomparably faster compared to the rest of the world.

Because of this, the Leviathan carries more force in terms of their physical impact, and they can react to everything in the world at increased speeds.

Let me break it down even further.

Whenever I swap out my second Temporal Layer (Minute) with the third Layer (Hour), my body now has an hour to spend while the rest of the world still exists in the minute. Hence, by swapping out my own Layer alone, I have drastically accelerated my body, giving me far more time at that moment than everyone else.

How much more time?

Hehe… well, how many minutes exist within an hour?

Sixty minutes, right?

That means, by existing in an hour, while the rest of the world exists in a minute, I have become sixty times faster than everything and everyone!

I can travel far distances in what appears to be the blink of an eye to an ordinary person. Even when I take my time to do something, to others, it will appear practically instantaneous.

I transcend the world!

This is the power of time—the authority of a Leviathan!

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