Unwanted Undead Adventurer - Episode 43
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- Episode 43 - New Adventurer Rentt and the Written Exam
“I’ve come to take the promotion exam…”
I arrive at the Adventurer’s Guild at the designated time and go straight to Sheila, the Adventurer’s Guild employee, and tell her why I’m here. Sheila seems to understand right away.
“Oh, Rentt-san. You’re right on time. Thank you,” she says, smiling.
The reason she said this is that even among adventurers, those who have just started out tend to have a loose sense of time. There are two reasons for this: one is that many adventurers are rough around the edges, and the other is that they feel that it’s no big deal to be late. However, if you continue to be an adventurer with a sense of time like that, the day will come when you’ll be penalized by the Adventurer’s Guild. This is because, as adventurers gradually move up in rank, their job becomes less about dealing with monsters and more about dealing with people. If you can’t be punctual, you’ll gradually lose credibility. That would be a problem, so the Adventurer’s Guild tries to train people to be at least somewhat punctual early on.
The rank promotion test also assesses things like this. They don’t keep track of every minute and every second. Only royalty, aristocrats, wealthy people, and top-class adventurers have the tools to keep track of time that accurately. But even so, if you’re too far behind, points are deducted. I know this, so I’ve been following the rules to the letter. Lorraine has a large self-made measuring machine, so there was no way she could be wrong about the time. Normally, we would have to check the time at the town plaza, but thanks to Lorraine, doing that is easier.
“It’s nothing. First is… the written exam, right?”
“Yes. It is. But are you sure you’ll be okay? I advised you to wait a bit for the next exam instead of taking it today so that you could study in the meantime…”
When Sheila told me the other day that I was eligible to take the exam for promotion to the copper-class, she said that I could take it right away or take some time off. Normally, even if you could take the exam tomorrow, you wouldn’t need to take it right away, you would take it sometime later.
This is because, aside from the practical skills, the scope of the written exam is unknown to most iron-class adventurers. They don’t know about it until they’re told that they’re almost ready to take the test, and then they spend weeks trying to memorize all the information before taking it. In my case, since I achieved enough to qualify for the exam within a day of registration, there was no advance notice, so I guess they wanted me to study more. However, I already took the exam once, and even if I hadn’t, I remember the specifics of what the exam covered. I know the rules of the Adventurer’s Guild, the types of monsters and materials, and I know enough of the copper-class stuff. Besides, the examinations aren’t held every day. The basic rule is that they’re held every few months. Staying at iron class forever would be counter to my goal. I want to become copper-class as soon as I can.
That’s why I say, “It’s not a problem. Where do I go…?” Even as I ask this, I remember that it’s in the conference room on the second floor, and sure enough…
“It’s in the conference room on the second floor. This way, please…” Sheila says, getting up and showing me the way.
As we walk in, a few people who look to be iron-class adventurers glance at us, but soon begin mumbling as if they’re reciting something as they stare at a rough piece of paper in their hands. Perhaps the contents of the exam are written there. The Adventurer’s Guild lends them out to adventurers who are about to take the exam.
The copper-class exam isn’t very extensive, and can be summarized on a sheet of paper. As you move up to the silver and gold-class, the scope of the examinations increases to that of a pamphlet, a book, or a dictionary. All of them can be lent out, but you have to pay for them if you lose them. That sheet of paper can be paid for with a silver coin, so even iron-class adventurers can borrow them without fear of losing them. Basically, you can acquire enough knowledge to pass the exam in about a week or two, so there is no need to worry too much. But for most adventurers, who have never taken such an exam in their lives, this is the first written test they’ve ever taken. I used to be one of them. I guess that’s why I felt uneasy if I didn’t study hard.
Incidentally, I’m taking the written test, but it is possible to take the oral test as well as the written test to confirm your knowledge as a copper-class. In this country, where not many people can read and write, that would be the usual way. That’s why there are only a few of us here. If you choose to take the oral exam, it will be held in a separate room due to the nature of that exam. Moreover, there are quite a few people taking it, so the waiting time can be long. I didn’t want to do that, so I chose to take the written exam.
After sitting down and waiting for a while, Sheila, who must have left the room after showing me around, comes back. In her hand, she’s holding several sheets of rough paper and several quills.
“I will now begin the test. I’m sure you can write, so there’s no need for me to explain, but… You can find the questions on this paper. And this one is the answer sheet, so please use the quill to write your answers. The test ends when the hourglass runs out. Do you have any questions?”
As expected, the only ones here are those who can write, so they’ve all used paper and quills before. There are no specific questions.
“…Now then, I will hand out the question sheet, the answer sheet and the quill. I will now collect the paper that I handed out in advance, which describes the content of the test. The question and answer sheets will be handed out upside down, so please turn them over and start writing when I say start,” Sheila says, handing out the paper and quill.
The room is filled with a strange sense of tension. Just when I think about how nostalgic it is, Sheila finishes handing out all the sheets and returns to the front. Then she puts her hand on the hourglass and starts it…
“…Please begin.”
The test has begun.
◇◆◇◆◇
As for how the exam went, I can honestly say it was a piece of cake. It’s only natural. I already took it once before. Of course, the questions themselves are different from when I took it, but the scope has not changed. It’s natural that I could do it. The people who took the test with me are still worried, but they’ll probably be fine. After all, just being able to write is proof of a certain level of education. If the content is like that, they’ll have enough brains to pass the exam in one shot. As proof of this, there’s a big difference in the passing rate between the written and oral exams, even though the difficulty of the questions themselves is the same.
The reason why I can write is because when I was in my home village, I was taught by the village chief and the doctor who could read and write. The reason why I did that was because I thought it was a skill that adventurers would need. My goal hasn’t wavered since then. I’m going to become a mithril-class adventurer.
By the way, the results of the written test are announced immediately because there are only a few people who took it. If you’re called by the receptionist, you pass. I, of course…
“Rentt-san. Rentt Vivier-san,” Sheila says, and I get up and walk over to her. “…You passed the written exam. You got a perfect score, which is very rare. It’s not that difficult, but they don’t come around that often, do they? That’s amazing.”
Yes, I get praised. Well, rarely means it does happen occasionally, so it’s not a big deal. In the first place, I didn’t get a perfect score when I took the test in the past. I remember making a few mistakes because I didn’t have enough experience and didn’t understand some parts. However, I can’t tell Sheila about that.
“…I see. I’m glad I passed it… What should I do next?” I reply nonchalantly, asking Sheila about what comes next – the practical skills test.