Chapter 39: The First and Last Sparkle?! The Mob Characters’ Big Moment

I was too busy doing perverted stuff and don’t remember at all...

Come to think of it, the fact that they do this public measurement probably means "Status Open" is an advanced technique that not many people can use.

The second man attacked with a sword. The target didn’t break and repelled the blade.

The examiner shouted up to the gate, and the blue-robed man announced the score to the crowd.

It was 20.

What?

He used a weapon but got a lower score than the first guy?

The mob-like guy to my left, who seemed to enjoy explaining things, muttered the answer to himself:

"Weapon attack power gets subtracted from the score. That guy probably thought using a weapon would get him a high score, but using an unfamiliar weapon actually puts you at a disadvantage. What’s being measured is not the final attack power, but the person’s inherent talent. If you have Swordsmanship skill, you should show it off during the skill measurement instead of here."

I see.

This guy who loves explaining things is actually really convenient. He’s bald too. I’ll call you Raiden. Keep feeding me info.

"Next!"

The blue-robed man in charge of proceedings raised his voice dramatically, as if trying to draw the audience’s attention.

The spectators fell silent for a moment.

"Jarda, the Twin Blade User of the South! Step forward!"

*Whispers*

The venue stirred. Not just the audience, but the examinees too.

Examinees from the back of the line pushed forward to get a look at Jarda.

I swapped positions with Iferasky and hugged his waist from behind. I didn’t want us to get separated, and I definitely didn’t want some stranger touching my ass, so I used my body as a shield.

By the way, why is the next examinee being called by a title in an official test? The first guy was also introduced as a blacksmith.

"The status exam also serves as entertainment for the city’s citizens. Jarda is famous in our circles, but the average person watching from the wall might not know him. They announce the next examinee this way to let the citizens know a strong contender is up. Though in this case, it wasn’t necessary. Seems the citizens already know Jarda’s name."

Makes sense. This commentary-style muttering is seriously helpful.

"There’s a well-built man wearing a white stoat mantle up on the wall, right?"

I don’t know what a stoat is, so I have no idea who you’re talking about...

"The guy having wine poured for him by his attendant woman."

Ah, that guy.

This guy really reads my mind. Super helpful.

"He’s the head of the Textile Guild and a member of the Ryute Church’s council. Basically, one of the rulers of this city. Because people like him sponsor the test and provide prize money, the examiners have to make things easy for the audience to understand. For us it’s a serious test that decides our future, but for the spectators, it’s just entertainment."

I see. So there’s prize money.

How much in yen?

"If you take overall 1st place, you get 5 million yen. 1st place in each individual category gets 1 million yen."

How much is a yen worth here?

"Prices have fluctuated recently, but one potato is about 60 yen, bread ranges from 100 to 300 yen. A glass of wine is 100 to 500 yen depending on quality. So it’s an incredible amount of money."

Raiden, you keep giving me exactly the information I want. Can you actually read my mind?

Hearing that yen has roughly the same value as Japanese yen is great news.

That means a kemololi pussy for 1000 yen is insanely cheap.

I’m definitely buying one.

There are about 200 examinees. Even 100th place might get me around 10,000 yen?

"However, only 1st place gets prize money. 2nd place and below get nothing. It’s a harsh rule. You’ve got no choice but to go all out."

I see... so 2nd place gets nothing...

"Jarda, Twin Blade User of the South! 82.9 points!"

While I was listening to Raiden, Jarda’s result came out.

When the blue-robed man announced it, applause erupted from the wall. The examinees from the wasteland let out groans of amazement.

*Whispers. Murmurs.*

The atmosphere felt a bit strange. Why is everyone so stirred up?

Mr. Commentary Raiden, I’m counting on you.

"82 points... Status normally increases by 1 per year of age. Talented people who train hard can raise it by nearly 3. But everyone ages. The human body peaks around 35, so the practical limit for normal people is considered 100... Jarda is still in his twenties. 82 points is an astonishing number..."

I see. So normal people have a 100-point ceiling. But the numbers feel small, so the impact is weak.

"It’s said that if your Physical Attack Power doubles, final damage becomes four times. If it triples, damage becomes nine times."

Ah, so it’s a multiplier system.

"That’s why even a 1-point difference in Physical Attack Power creates a much bigger gap than the number suggests. Jarda’s score is four times the average of 20, so his final damage output is equivalent to 16 times. And since he probably has combat skills, his actual fighting strength is even higher..."

I see. So he can one-punch monsters that would normally take a regular person 16 hits to defeat. Yeah, that’s actually insane.

The test continued after that.

21.2

30.1

19.8

25.6

As expected, it seemed to rise by roughly 1 per year of age. Young men kept producing scores close to their age.

...Oh.

While I was watching absentmindedly, someone impressive appeared.

That’s at least 90...

It was a young woman. She wore a skirt on the bottom, but only had cloth wrapped around her chest on top. She was introduced as Jessica, the female owner of the butcher shop. The voluptuous woman was holding a huge meat cleaver that she probably used for business. It was quite revealing, but maybe not by this country’s standards—there were no catcalls from the men. She swung the giant cleaver at the target, deliberately showing off her untrimmed armpit hair. Amazing. They bounced wildly. No doubt about it, those are at least 90...

"Butcher shop owner Jessica! Score is 32.4 points!"

Because the first female examinee scored a solid 32 points that didn’t lose to the tough guys, loud applause and cheers came mainly from the female spectators. Physical Attack Power 32.4? What? My eyes clearly saw 90...

The next examinee was also a woman. Alice, the signboard girl of the flower shop. I’d say around 78?

Alice wore flashy European-style ethnic clothing. Her long sleeves hid her armpits, and her long skirt covered her legs down to the ankles.

She gently tapped the target with a wooden stick she had brought with her. It made a cute *pon* sound.

"Flower shop signboard girl Alice! 8.9 points!"

It was a low number, but the male spectators cheered loudly. Some young men leaned so far over the wall they nearly fell off. 8.9 points? I thought it was around 78 though...

The next woman also recorded something completely different from what my eyes measured. At some point, I had stopped caring about Physical Attack Power and was only looking at breast size.

After that, several tough-looking mercenary-type men went up, so I got a bit bored and looked away.

Iferasky seemed bored too, so we moved from the front row all the way to the back. While I was squishing Iferasky’s cheeks and playing with him, there was a loud *BOOM* and the ground shook slightly.

What happened?

The crowd blocked my view, so I climbed onto Iferasky’s shoulders.

On top of the castle wall, the blue-robed man was talking with an examiner below.

Then the blue-robed man gave a big nod and announced the score in the loudest voice he had used all day:

"Gatekeeper Aea of the Red Iron Corps, B-rank 38th... Score is... 101.2 points!"

Whoa. She broke past the human limit.

A huge wave of applause erupted from the castle wall. Some people were waving both arms above their heads and shouting.

Even the mercenary-type examinees couldn’t help but applaud in admiration.

Breaking 100 points was apparently worthy of that kind of reaction.

Amazing. As expected of the 50th strongest knight in the country. Aea was bowing her head toward Captain Ana on the wall. Even Ana, who had been watching the tests with a bored expression, was now smiling faintly and clapping.

Several more people took the test after that. Most scored between 10 and 30 points.

"Next! The Prince of Ouma Kingdom and direct disciple of the Silver Flash Princess! The genius swordsman who annihilated a horde of 100 orcs with a single sword sweep! O-Ouma Sahar!"

The entire venue erupted in excitement. Was this the biggest reaction of the day?

Damn, there’s a celebrity contender.

I’ll take a look at what kind of face he has.