The sky was overcast, and raindrops the size of beans fell from the low-hanging black clouds to the ground, filling every corner of the world with icy moisture. Pen & Fun & Pavilion www.biquge.info

Even the most time-conscious businessmen had to stop for the time being and find a dry and warm place to shelter from the rain in the face of such a heavy cold rain. Unfortunately, however, there are still some people who have to endure the heavy rain and walk through the mountains with few roads.

The people who walked through the mountains were all dressed in long black trench coats and carrying a brown waterproof backpack behind them. And most importantly, on their left chest was a metal plaque in the shape of an unfolded scroll, a symbol of their status as scribes.

This mountainous area in the northern part of the empire is not named on the map, but it has earned the popular name "Isawad Mountain Training Ground" because the Imperial scribes have been training here for many years, such as cross-country and field trips.

Today is the day of the annual examination of the scribes, who pass the examination not only to be qualified to carry arms, but also to occupy more important positions in the library, from investigators directly under the royal scrivener corps to armed scribes in the major libraries.

The scribes who were eager to take the armed qualifications in order to get promoted were so enthusiastic that every year a large number of scribes who were confident in their own strength came to the mountain training ground in Essaward - and of course, a significant proportion of them came and went.

However, the sky was not beautiful, and it rained heavily not long before the assessment began, and the scribes who completed the assessment in the mountains were all doused as "water men" without exception, and the short-term assessment tasks that were originally scheduled to be completed within six hours suddenly turned into a miserable long-distance march.

Although the season has entered winter and the first snow has not yet fallen in the mountains where the training ground is located, the pouring rain can still make people feel chilly to the bone. Most of the scribes who participated in this assessment were also confident in their physical strength, but they also showed fatigue in the face of such a tragic situation.

"When the hell is it going to rain!"

A man who was almost drenched smashed his fist on the dead wood next to him and shouted: "Speaking of which, why do you still need to test your mountain cross-country ability in the armed qualification assessment? If you want to test your combat ability, you just need to find a suitable venue to fight with monsters and the like!"

However, his angry actions only made him more embarrassed, and when he smashed it into the dead wood, the rotten wooden parts of the trunk all cracked, and in an instant a liquid mixed with rotten matter and dirt splattered out of it, making the black trench coat already stained with mud dirty.

In an instant, his whole body froze as if he had been under the curse of petrification, and even the full fire that had almost exploded with anger a second ago was extinguished in the jet of the mixture. But on the other hand, if anyone could still be angry in the face of such an encounter, his nerves would be too strong.

Seeing his tragic situation, the companions who followed behind had no choice but to smile bitterly: "I asked the armed scribe seniors who had participated in the assessment before, and this assessment is not only related to the armed qualifications, but also seems to have the qualifications of the field work branches such as the expedition team and the investigation team. ”

In fact, he is in a terrible state now, covered in mud and blades of grass. As he spoke, he had wrung his garment several times, and each time the moisture would form several trickles from the thick fabric—but it would soon become wet and cold again in the rain.

He also obviously knew that his efforts were in vain, and now he had no shelter from the rain, and now he could be mercilessly soaked with clothes just a few steps. But in order to complete this assessment, he can only choose to walk towards the destination while doing meaningless repeated labor.

In fact, as he said, although the job of a scrivener is mainly to maintain the day-to-day operations of the large libraries in the regions, it is also necessary to manage the content related to records. Ordinary scribes usually serve in the Great Library, and some of them become part of the defenders.

However, the duties of a scrivener who have obtained an armed qualification are not limited to protecting the library or the collection of books, so they need more than just combat skills. Collecting plant samples, climbing mountain trails to survey the terrain, and even avoiding the eyes and ears of monsters and documenting the ecology all require the ability to do so.

Many people may have overlooked this fact, but institutions such as the Cartography Office and the Monster Observatory are also part of the Scrivener system. In addition, there are many armed scribes who belong to the royal scrivener corps, and they are carrying out secret expeditions that are difficult for ordinary people to reach.

Of course, it is not easy to become a part of the elite of these scribes, and it is said that the results achieved in the armed qualification examination are also a considerable part of the relevant assessment.

"Bear with me a little longer...... Our group's mission is basically complete, and we can leave this place as soon as we reach the meeting point. A scribe who came up the trail from behind gasped and said, "If you can endure it, all the hard work will be rewarded." ”

There were not only a few scribes on the nearby mountain road, but behind them were a dozen or so equally embarrassed colleagues, insisting on walking upwards along the mountain path that was almost flooded with weeds. These people have only one goal, and that is the final meeting point at the end of the mountain road.

The area of the Issavold Mountain Training Ground includes the adjacent mountains and some of the underground ruins that have been developed, and beyond that there are extensive forest areas. Because it was specially renovated to train field research skills, the open area basically remained in its original appearance.

I don't know when the regulations started, but the meeting point for each training camp will be selected shortly before the start of training, and of course, there are no exceptions to this assessment. Originally, when they heard that it was only a campsite located in the middle of the mountain road, everyone felt that this assessment was a little light...... However, this feeling quickly faded.

"Calm down, didn't you say it before, the degree of completion of the task is not based on how much time it takes, but on how well the list is completed. ”

Spit out the air in his chest, as if the scribe who led the team of these people finally spoke: "And don't care too much about those rumors about the investigation team, this assessment is mainly focused on the armament qualifications, and other than that, the results may only be used as a reference condition in the selection process." ”

Hindered by bad weather, their group took longer than originally planned and did not achieve the results planned. Looking at the colleagues who were also embarrassed but still rushed along the mountain road to the meeting point, they really didn't have much confidence in their results.

In any case, without confidence, they at least completed the task as specified on the list, albeit only to the extent that it was barely completed. When the assessment results are published, the final evaluation may be reduced due to insufficient completion, but it is much better than failing the task.

Seeing that the team members were somewhat energetic, the team leader pointed to the direction surrounded by trees above and said, "Now you can see the stone wall and flags near the assembly point, in order to ensure the content of the assessment in a while, let's confirm the list of tasks here - first of all, the collection." ”

Although his uniform was already soaked in the rainstorm, he still seemed much more energetic than his other embarrassed companions. Under his command, the surrounding scribes, who had been exhausted by the torrential rain and the long journey, could barely cheer up a little.

The group was assigned three tasks: collecting goldenrod and drawing a bestiary, exploring ruins to find the correct rock carvings, and observing the hunting of crystalline lizards.

Goldenrod is a plant near a cliff that looks like a very large yellow flower with the magic of rejuvenating fatigue. Originally, this was supposed to be the easiest task to complete, but in order to advance through the rainstorm, they were only able to use a portion of the herbs they had gathered.

The reason for the excessive physical exertion was to explore the ruins, and the materials they prepared before taking the test ignored the impact of the heavy rain on the ruins, so they suffered a lot. Especially those traps hidden in the fog and rain, more than once let the careless fall into the pit.

"In the previous temporary replenishment, the goldenrod had been saved as much as possible, but considering the amount of residue and our poor preparation, the final evaluation should have dropped a lot. One of the scribes opened the note and said, "As for the crystalline lizard, we recorded almost the entire predation process, but I don't know what to say about the fact that we were found on the way out and almost became prey when we left......

This is also the reason for the large consumption of yellow flowers, being chased by monsters in the woods in the rainstorm, if it is not for the consumption of yellow flowers to replenish physical strength, I am afraid they will have to say goodbye to this assessment in advance. Fortunately, they used the terrain to shake off the crystalline lizard, so that no one was in danger.

However, it is the biggest mistake to be discovered or even attacked by the other party when observing monsters, and if this assessment is held by the monster observation center, they will be immediately disqualified without exception. However, even if it is only an assessment of armed qualifications, this kind of thing can foresee the result of a lower evaluation.

Hearing the report of the team member in charge of the record, the team leader could only smile bitterly: "Until now, you can't pray to anyone that other teams have suffered a worse situation, and the result is lower than ours." Maybe there will be other assessments in the future, so let's keep our spirits up and move forward. ”

He knew this very well - no matter how good or bad the results were now, he would never be able to move forward without looking ahead. If the examiner in charge of the assessment knew that they were withdrawn because of their poor grades, I am afraid that the "timidity" alone would be enough to make their evaluation drop significantly.

Gritting his teeth, he shouted to his companions to continue walking towards the assembly point above.