Trials (4/5)

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Jak took a deep breath before giving Flora a small yet confident smile, crimson hues filled with anticipation.

"No worries," Jak said as he brushed the receptionists hand off the top of his head. He didn't really like it when people he didn't know patted him or even stroked his hair, it making him feel young and inferior, though he didn't bother telling it to Flora as he slipped past her. "If it's just dodging then I should be fine. Thanks for the concern though."

"The time will start the moment you get into the set area," Akino said as Jak walked by. Her dark green eyes watched him closely as he neared the area where the goblins were roaming. "The Goblin Guards will attack and keep attacking until it is determined that you are no longer able to continue, until you give up, or until the time reaches a certain point. Don't let your guard down as they possess enough strength to seriously injure or fatally wound you with a casual swing of their club.*

Jak responded by giving the elven woman a small wave, his eyes fixated on the location before him, specifically on the 5, tall, ugly behemoths lumbering through the area whilst bellowing every so often, spit flying from their mouths. It was the first time the youth had ever truly seen a dungeon monster, having only previously been taught about their existence through pictures and the mouths of others and the boy couldn't take his eyes off of them. Up until that point, Jak had only been able to dream about seeing one, about fighting it in order to test his own mettle and use it to further his own strength and experience. Now that he had had his very first monster encounter, that dream was now a reality. He wasn't frightened in the slightest, but rather pumped with adrenaline and looking forward to an up close encounter.

While most other newbies would be worried or afraid, Jak wanted nothing more then to begin the test and get a taste of what it truly meant to be an adventurer, to fight like his life depended on it.

(("Here and now, I'll show everyone the extent of my blood, sweat, and tears.")) Jak declared internally as he walked into the transparent barrier and into the sight of the other goblins. (("Lets begin the battle."))

At the same time Jak stepped into the ring, a large timer appeared high above the 70m by 70m invisible box that contained the goblins, a five minute countdown that instantly began to tick away. Following that, a loud horn sounded near the shoulder of the small redhead, startling him while at the same time alerting the goblins to the youths presence.

One by one, the Goblin Guards turned towards the youth, drool escaping from their mouths, dripping down their gaping lower jaws. They didn't react at first, just staring at the approaching youth with their beady black eyes, slowly turning their bodies around to face the boy. Then, without warning, one of the goblins let out a high pitched bellow, causing a chain reaction as the rest of goblins followed suit, screaming at the top of their lungs as they surged forward. Their bloodlust was almost tangible as they locked their gazes on the adolescent, raising their clubs above their heads in preparation to strike once they got within range.

(("Hmm, so the main task here is to just avoid getting hit?")) Jak pondered as he began a light jog towards from the monsters, avoiding the occasional smash from the Goblin Guards enormous clubs. (("Itd be easy to avoid whatever they throw at me. Let's try something else."))

Jak had never been one to simply dodge, preferring instead to blaze through with strength and speed, creating an opening with sheer force rather then sitting around and waiting for it. The young redhead often allowed himself to recieve an oncoming hit in exchange for a counterattack, returning whatever damage was given to him and then multiplying it by attacking with his full strength.

This time was no different.

As the goblins approached, Jak dug the tips of his toes into the earth, kneeling down into a jumping position as he placed the tips of his fingers onto the ground. His crimson eyes watched as the green monsters came closer and closer, clubs raised over their heads as they prepped themselves for an attack.

(("What is he doing?")) Flora muttered internally as she watched from the sidelines, Akino close to her side. (("He's not planning to take them head on is he? Even with that monstrous talent, he can't possibly win against that many G-rank monsters. The hell is he planning?!"))

Dungeon monsters. Similar to adventurers, they were ranked from H to S, with H being the weakest monsters like the ever so abundant goblins and kobolds, and S being the rarer species that even gave lower ranked Rift Hunters trouble such as Cannadry's or Hydra's. It didn't matter the rank though as all monsters from within the dungeons were considered dangerous and even the weakest could prove detrimental when the number of said monsters exceeded a certain amount. Goblin Guards were a perfect example of this, as while they usually traversed the innards of most dungeons by themselves, dealing with more then one of them head on was quite a hassle for the common adventurer.

Avoiding them was easy as they were slow and uncoordinated whilst also lacking basic intelligence. Dodging them was used as a test due to this low movement and attack speed and it was universally accepted that if one couldn't even dodge a Goblin Guard barrage then their was no future for them as an adventurer. Of course, that was only for dodging.

Attacking them was a completely different task.

For starters, Goblin Guards were classed as Tank types, meaning that they could absorb damage like a sponge without so much as flinching. Even stratching them was a challenge due to their unusually tough skin, their skin was even used as clothes by others due to their resistance to elemental magic. They had monstrous stamina and could even regenerate to some extent making the monster a nightmare to bring down in a fight of attrition. All that paired with their high strength stat made them almost impossible for young adventurers to beat in a one on one matchup, and Jak was up against five of them.

Even if the child had prodigal talent that could outshine the others, no one newbie could possibly stand up to a full powered hit from a Goblin Guard and emerge unscathed. She refused to believe that the small youth had such physical capabilities. Flora had no idea what the young redhead was up to, but she was all set to stop the fight should the need arise, her finger hovering over the button that would send a severe electric shock through the goblins, stopping their movements.

Still though, even when the first Goblin Guard swung his club, swiping it the moment he was in range, she didnt press the button as she watched the attack land clean on Jaks side. Despite her being a good distance away, the blonde receptionist could still feel the breeze brought upon by the Goblin Guards swing as the club was stopped.

"Yeesh, you guys sure do pack a punch," Jak said aloud, with enough volume for everyone to hear. "However, your hits lack the power that Hadok puts in. Too bad I cant hit that hard. Of course, I can sure as hell try."

Flora watched as Jak, without missing a beat, channeled magic into his legs and leapt 3m into the air, all the way to the head of the same Goblin who had swung at him. All the magic that had been transmitted to his legs immediately went running back, shooting upwards towards the youths right arm as he prepped to swing.

"TAKE A NAP!!" Flora heard Jak yell as the youth slammed his magically strengthened fist into the side of the Goblins head.

As if the goblin had been struck by an enormous blow, the Goblin Guard was sent staggering backwards, tumbling into the other enormous monsters and causing them to topple down as well. It was unclear how much damage Jak had managed to inflict with his attack, but Flora was already aware it was much more then any of the newbies could hope to achieve. Not only had the child tanked a full power blow from a Goblin Guard, but he had also managed to return the favor moments after. When it came to the physical assessment, Flora doubted that any of the newbies would ever be able to touch him.

Following that, Jak went on to tank three more attacks and complete a total of ten knockdowns within the timeframe that was left, lasting for a total of five minutes and earning a perfect score of 300. Though the youth came out looking the worse for wear with torn up black shorts and bruises covering his left half, the redhead looked quite happy as he strolled back towards the group. Behind him, one could see a squad of angry goblins surrounding the area from where Jak had disappeared, screeching and howling at their lost prey.

"Jak Yanda lasted 5 minutes and will receive a score of 300," Akino announced, reading the score that appeared at the top of his head. Unlike Flora who was basically speechless, the Elven woman seemed to have been able to gather herself much quicker. "Will the next person please step forward.

"Actually, I was wondering if I can just take the last test." Jak said as he walked past Akino. "I'd rather finish up while I'm still fired up and raring to go."

Akino pushed her glasses up on her nose, her dark green eyes shifting over to look at Jak. "I'm afraid not."

Jak rubbed the back of his head as he walked back toward the crowd of newbies, the next examinee walking past him. "I figured as much."

Allow me to clarify," Akino said, raising her voice slightly for everyone to hear as she flipped through the clipboard. Once she had found the page she was looking for, she immediately began to explain what she meant . "Due to examinee Jak Yanda showing unnatural physical strength and speed in both physical tests, he will be given a perfect score of 1,000. In order to minimize the damage to WGC property, he will not be allowed to complete the third test and will immediately be sent to the final trial. All of this falls in line with the agreement signed by the examinee prior to the trials."