The Third Realm (Ten Realms, #3)

by Michael Chatfield

He looked like a simple man: strong, with strong features and blue eyes. He looked relaxed and at ease, but this only made Domonos feel uneasy as he sensed that Erik was truly relaxed. Not because his guard was down, but because he knew he could kill everything that was a threat to him in the nearby area without a worry.

“What were his scores on the first trial?” the first moderator who had been there from the beginning asked. Another pulled up a scroll and opened it. “H-he got a total of ninety-three percent correct.” The moderator had a look of shock on their face as she looked at her fellows. “The first trial is meant to not only test one’s ability to study and retain knowledge, it is meant to make them stumble to show that their knowledge might be false. It is why there are ingredients with multiple effects listed. Through this, one will need to pick out what is right and what is wrong with only the knowledge of the books. One needs to get a forty percent on the test in order to pass it.” One of the moderators said what they were all thinking. “Just what kind of monster is he?” the second moderator called out.

If you want to come to the Fourth Realm, the battlefield realm, you will not be fighters or warriors: you will be soldiers. “Soldiers have a greater strength than any fighter or warrior. They do not care for things like a fair fight; they do not care about going up against a stronger opponent. They work together as one machine, one whole to complete their objective and push forward.

Yui frowned and then smiled, going back to eating his breakfast. “I heard that you’re running a spear training camp, is that right?” “Well, I’m one of the assistants. Tully and Storbon will be teaching,” Domonos said, casually talking about a course that was made for the express purpose of making it easier for them to kill other human beings.