Gosh, this MC is dumb as a boot. Why didn't he immediately assume he's going to kill you, if you fail? I mean, he did say you need to beat the 3 people who come to test you in order to be recognized - so what do you expect would happen, if you happen to lose? Even a dumb idiot should conclude that failure means death. After all, pretty much the whole world is based on "if you can't handle it, you die".