👦Chapter Two: The Nameless Boy

Located on the southern border of the Lost Continent, Time Town boasted a population of over three thousand residents, making it one of the larger towns after the Great Cataclysm.

With the rising sun casting its gentle touch of warmth and light upon the earth, it seemed to awaken life itself. In the heart of Time Town, within a sprawling structure spanning about 200 acres, a trial was unfolding.

"Tell me, why do you wish to join the Rose Knights?" A commanding voice, resonant and metallic, echoed through the air.

"To defend the temple, to uphold justice!" The responses came, uniform and youthful. Clearly, they had answered this question many times before.

This building served as the headquarters of the Rose Knights in Time Town, where children with the potential to become knights were selected and trained. Today, over thirty children stood here to undergo the trial to become squires. Passing meant they could continue their training here; failing meant they would be left to fend for themselves on the streets of Time Town.

The owner of the commanding voice was a tall young woman. Her name was G327, the Chief Instructor of the Knights of Time Temple. It was said that she had once been a member of Gula's personal guard, the commander of the Rose Knights. Two years ago, in the Great War, she single-handedly slew thirty-four lizardfolk desecrators. After the battle, she was rewarded by Gula herself with the ice attribute cavalry lance, named Embrace of the Rose.

"Tell me, what are the principles of a knight?" G327's gaze bore down sternly upon the children, most of whom were between the ages of fourteen and seventeen.

The response came, uniform as before, "Sacrifice and obedience."

G327 nodded approvingly. "Very well. You've trained here for a year now, and today is the day of your assessment. To become a squire, your attack power must exceed 80. Those who pass today will continue training here for three more years before facing the knight's assessment. Only when you become a knight like me are you truly a member of the Rose Knights. Now, the assessment begins, Balami."

"Yes." A tall orcish boy stepped forward, unstrapping the iron sword from his back.

The squire assessment was simple: in front of G327 was what appeared to be a wooden stake, connected to a stone trough with a stone ball inside. Each person would strike the stake once, causing the stone ball to vibrate. The height to which the stone ball jumped upon vibration determined the attack power.

Balami, a sturdy orcish youth, was recognized as the strongest among this group of children.

"Ah!" Balami shouted, gripping the iron sword with both hands and swinging it fiercely down onto the stake.

"Thud." The stone ball jumped.

G327 nodded in satisfaction, recording the results in her roster. "Balami, attack power 85, passed. Next..."

The assessment proceeded quickly. In less than half an hour, half of the candidates had completed the trial, with about half of those passing.

"Sunny Boy." As G327 called out this name, she instinctively lifted her head, her gaze locking onto a slightly frail boy .

This boy, unlike the others, appeared malnourished, with a slender frame. However, he possessed a face that would make any woman envious.

With eyes as deep and profound as the night itself, his mere glance seemed capable of drawing people into a black hole. Long eyelashes, a straight nose, fair skin, and moderately thick lips. Even with his head shaved like the others, he would still be considered exceptionally handsome, perhaps even captivating. Unfortunately, he appeared younger than his actual age of sixteen, looking more like thirteen.

Time Town had its fair share of street urchins, but a child like him, with no one to remember his name, was rare. Due to his handsome appearance, he had been given a nickname by the locals: "Sunny Boy."

Sunny Boy approached G327, not first removing his iron sword like the others, but instead placing his right fist over his heart and bowing respectfully. "Instructor."

The smirk on G327's face deepened, her voice lowered. "You can't pass on your own, but I can help you. You know what to do..."

Sunny Boy bit his lip hard, offering no response, and instead walked towards the weapons rack.

Unexpectedly, Sunny Boy did not choose the most common single-handed sword, but instead selected a dagger. This prompted a burst of laughter from the other children.

"Are you so weak that you can't even hold a sword properly? Choosing such a short dagger, it's embarrassing!"

"You'd be better off warming the beds for the knight lords."

Sunny Boy's face flushed red. Taking a deep breath, he suddenly leaped, the dagger in his hand flashing with a strange arc as it stabbed towards the stake.

"Thud." Unexpectedly, the stone ball jumped to a remarkable height, displaying a surprising attack power of 92!

"How is this possible? He used a dagger to achieve the attack power of a blunt weapon!" The crowd erupted.

G327 furrowed her brow. "Wait a minute! There's something wrong here."

She carefully examined the marks on the stake, then looked at Sunny Boy with amusement.

"You're clever, beyond my expectations. Your attack just now was very fast; even my ears were deceived, as if I only heard one strike. But..."

She paused, tapping the marks made by the dagger on the stake with her finger.

"In fact, you attacked twice. You executed a brilliant 'double attack'!"

Sunny Boy's handsome face turned pale, his gaze fixed on G327, sweat beading on his forehead.

G327 looked at him triumphantly, as if playing with a mouse. "I'm surprised you could pull that off, but the rule is one strike per person, so your score is, unsuccessful!"

Sunny Boy urgently pleaded, "Instructor, the double attack was executed in one strike, which is allowed in dueling regulations. I should be considered passed."

G327's satisfaction grew. "Of course not. If I pass you, then shouldn't everyone be allowed to attack twice? That would be unfair to those who didn't pass."

Hearing G327's words, the children who hadn't passed immediately began to clamor. "Yeah, if I could strike twice, I'd have no problem scoring 100!"

Sunny Boy fell silent, his eyes fixed on G327's smug face, his fists clenched. He knew why the instructor was targeting him. Ever since he had refused her advances six months ago, he had suspected that things might not go smoothly.

G327 noticed his gaze, and in that moment, the expression in the handsome boy's eyes changed. The deep blackness was tinged with a bloody red, as if flames had ignited in the darkness.

The powerful instructor instinctively took a step back. What was that? Killing intent? Even in the eyes of the most fanatical lizardfolk desecrators, such intense killing intent was unheard of! This feeling made G327 feel as if she were not facing the handsome Sunny Boy, but her own knight commander, the strongest female knight of the Cold Iron Civilization on the mainland!

In just a fleeting moment, the bloody red faded from Sunny Boy's eyes. He quietly unclenched his fists and said to the instructor, "Then let me try again with a different weapon. This time, I promise to attack only once."

"That's unfair; everyone only gets one chance..." G327's voice grew softer and softer, and for some reason, her momentum suddenly diminished.

"Let him try again!" A cold, irrefutable voice came from afar, piercing G327 like an arrow. She slowly turned around, trembling, and said, "Captain Gula..."