4 The Gun and The Sword

"Welcome to the testing area. Please deposit your items in this basket and please follow me."

A stern-looking receptionist greeted me. So, this is the testing area. Like the outside of the building, it looks very sleek. There are a couple dozen or so monitors showing what seems to be trainees getting tested.

I scanned my identification card and entrusted my bag to the receptionist.

"Your identity has been confirmed. Welcome to 'The Establishment' Lady Alagarassi Luna y Salvador."

The receptionist gave a deep bow which surprised the people around us.

"Seriously? That's a real big shot ain't she?"

"She's from THAT Salvador Family? Wait that family only has one daughter..?"

"Eek! Shh, she's THAT person." The woman speaking lowered her voice, "she's 'The Villainess' – she's quite dangerous."

I guess I'm famous no matter where I go. Shaking my head, I faced the receptionist. "Can we go now?"

"Eh? Yes, of course. Please follow me." The receptionist led me through a room.

Woosh.

It seems the doors in this facility are automated. I wonder how they work? Old Order Earth used to have these motion sensors installed in the middle of the door frame but there's no such thing here.

Realizing that the automatic doors piqued my interest, the receptionist adjusted her glasses. "These doors detect prana and intention."

She slowed her pace as she gestured towards a door where another receptionist and trainee duo entered. "As you can see, if individuals with prana walk at a certain pace, the doors will automatically open and close accordingly."

Interesting. So, these machines can even measure intent? I think it's a bit simpler than that though. I'm relatively certain that it simply detects prana and the doors simply open when the source gets close enough to the doors.

Seemingly misunderstanding my silence for confusion, the receptionist cleared her throat. "Anyway, we've reached our destination."

She gestured towards the large doors in front of us. I could hear sounds of battle coming from the other end and the amount of prana seeping from the room is nothing to laugh about.

"As you know, prana is the life force which enriches the body." The receptionist raised her index finger and a small light appeared. "Prana is the nourishment which allows us, humans of the New Order, to be stronger, faster, and better than our ancestors."

The receptionist raised her other index finger and started passing the ball of light around. It seems she is quite skilled in terms of prana manipulation.

"Prana is also the source of all of our abilities and there is no exception." She solemnly retracted her hands and scanned her ID near the door's panel. "Which is why we test new trainees to see what kind of training would be most beneficial for them"

The doors opened and the feeling of prana from earlier washed over my body like a tidal wave.

It was suffocating but exciting at the same time. I can't wait.

We walked a little further in and the Testing Area wasn't really an area. It was the size of a football stadium!

"You must be surprised, my lady." The receptionist smiled at me gently, "we had several Knight-Commander rated Magicians cast dimensional magic inside of this room."

She pointed towards the numerous pillars surrounding the Testing Area. "In actuality, we are no longer in South Korea. This is the Roman Coliseum which we've retrofitted to serve as the Testing Area for all of the Velvet Rooms in the world."

Wait. That doesn't make any sense. How could I feel the prana coming from behind the doors? How could I hear sounds of combat if this place was on the other side of the world?

I tilt my head in confusion, "Can you actually splice together two different points as long as you have enough prana?"

She beamed at my answer and clapped her hands together. "Yes! Recent studies have shown that Prana is able to help humans work around the laws of physics."

The receptionist swallowed and lowered her voice, "Should the application be precise enough and a decent conduit is formed so that a constant stream of prana is ensured, then even splicing together two locations is as easy as pie."

Huh. That's interesting. Does that mean I can eventually get over the weakness of my short-range prana pistol simply by splicing together two points together? This needs more research.

"Okay, I understand. You have proven yourself useful." I glanced at her nametag and gave her a gentle smile. "Let's get down to business, Mary. Come test me."

"T-thank you for your praise, my lady!" She bowed her head once more. "Please follow me."

We walked towards the receiving area and there were a hundred different weapons mounted on the wall.

The middle of the table where another receptionist was standing by had something similar to a hand scanner and there was a screen set-up right beside it.

Mary greeted the other receptionist and gestured towards me, "My lady please place your hand on this device and send some of your prana through it."

Interesting. So, this is how they determined affinity.

The other receptionist greeted me with a slight bow. "The Guild measures abilities and this device assign an appropriate rating to your affinity with your abilities."

The screen lit up and a graph appeared. It was pretty detailed. To summarize what it said, abilities are rated like so:

Guild Rating: People (or skills) are typically rated on their approximate level by the following rankings:

I. Junior Rated

1. Archetype – A rating given to the most typical level of ability possible. Synonymous with "normal"; For lack of a better term, "weak" – most humans are a part of this.

2. Entered Apprentice or simply Prentice – A cut above the archetypal superhuman – classified as something that can influence a small-scale conflict or skirmish.

3. Squire – Classified as something that can influence multiple small-scale conflicts. A squire is usually mentored by a Knight.

4. Knight – Classified as something that can influence multiple city-wide conflicts. Each Knight is attached to a Knight-Commander.

II. Senior Rated

1. Knight-Commander – A superb Knight-level skill or individual and can influence multiple Knight-level individuals. Individuals rated as Knight-Commanders typically serve as Squad OICs.

2. Master – An honorary rating given to the most outstanding individuals or abilities that can influence an entire nation. A good example of this would be an Atomic Bomb from the Old Order.

3. Grandmaster – A mythical ranking given to Godlike abilities or individuals and are known to be able to influence the entire world. A Grandmaster Swordsman would be able to theoretically wipe out a modern army on their own.

The receptionist tapped the screen a few times and it showed a picture of a handsome black-haired man.

"Arthur Almasy is also the only known Grandmaster-rated guild member in the world effectively making him the.."

"Strongest man in the world. Yes, I know." I nodded in agreement.

I made note of Arthur's face, "but what determines your guild rank? Is it your highest-rated skill?"

The receptionist and Mary nodded together. "That is correct. Even if your other abilities are at the lowest level, you will still be rated according to your highest-rated ability."

That seems like a fair assessment. Talents are different and while some aren't entirely unique, the simpler talents might prove to be useful too depending on their application.

"Ok, I understand. I just need to touch the display like so, yes?"

I activated my prana and the hand scanner started emitting a light that surrounded my hand.

I could feel a prying gaze entering my body but I knew it was just the system analyzing my skills.

A few moments after that, the scan ended.

Mary fiddled with the on-screen display and finally, my results were displayed.

"As expected of my lady!" Mary immediately printed out the results and filed them away somewhere.

I looked at the screen and I shook my head in exasperation.

I whispered to myself, "As expected of you, Alagarassi."

[Name: Alagarassi Luna y Salvador]

[Age: 22]

[Abilities:]

[Gunslinger – Knight Rated]

[Swordmaster – Knight Rated]

[Prodigy – Knight Rated]

I chuckled in amusement, "I understand Gunslinger and Swordmaster but what does prodigy mean?"

Mary looked at me like I was an idiot. Eh? Did I say anything weird?

She cleared her throat, "Uhm. My lady, Swordmaster isn't what you think it is." She pointed towards a display screen showing a man who was clashing with another person. "That man is a Knight-Rated swordsman. He is the sword instructor for those who possess melee abilities."

She then looked at me and smiled wryly, "Swordmaster is the peak of swordsmen. The current Sword Saint who is actually a Master-rated Swordsman is aiming to break through to reach the level of Prentice-rated Swordmaster."

She chuckled nervously, "simply put, Swordsmen and Swordmasters are on a whole different level."

What the fuck kind of cheat is this Alagarassi? How the fuck do you have that uselessly overpowered potential?!

I shook my head in exasperation, "Moving on then, what is that prodigy skill then?"

Mary smiled at me and continued with her explanation, "Prodigy is simply the ability to absorb knowledge instead of simply learning it. In short, anything you hear or see even once is something you will be able to instinctively learn on a much deeper level."

The receptionist pulled out a picture of a slender old man and nodded nervously at me. "This man is Leonardo Da Vinci from the Old Order." She cleared her throat, "and he was supposedly an Archetype-rated prodigy – along with all of the other so-called geniuses from the Old Order"

Eh? So that means I'm a genius three levels ahead of the smartest men and women who broke through the dark ages and started the renaissance?

Dumbfounded, I simply nodded. "Well, we now know my affinity so what comes next?"

Mary smiled at me and she gestured towards the weapons on the wall. "It is now time for a practical exam. Please choose a sword and a pistol and we will meet an instructor for our final assessment."

I shrugged and picked up a random pistol and a random sword from the wall. I've had fencing lessons and shooting lessons and I've kept up my training since then. I'm somewhat confident in my skills so this should be easy.

Unbeknownst to me, however, life would never be that simple for The Villainess.

I only found out about this after the fact but apparently as I was doing my assessment, the file that contained my results that Mary filed earlier made its way to a very troublesome individual.

If I had known back then what kind of troubles it would bring me in the future, I would have kept a low profile and go through training as a well-meaning, quiet young trooper.

Back to the present, I showed Mary the weapons I picked.

Mary was taken by surprise. "Eh? Are you sure you're going to be using an epee and a single-action army?"

"Is there a problem?"

Mary hurriedly shook her head, "not at all, it's just those weapons are somewhat difficult to use, aren't they?"

"It doesn't have anything to do with you though?" I smirked at her. It's just a trial, after all, there's no need to be all gung-ho about it.

She hurriedly apologized, "Ah please forgive me I wasn't trying to imply anything." Sighing in resignation, she regained her composure.

"My lady, please follow me. Your opponent has been chosen and your test will be held at Stage F, it's near the middle of the Testing Area."

Heh. I can finally let loose in this high-spec body. Should I pull a little prank on the instructor? Ara, this is going to be fun.

Mary gestured for me to follow her and after walking for some time, we reached Stage F. It was a bigger stage than I thought and it was made out of sturdy-looking concrete.

This should be coated in some form of strengthening to be able to handle prana-enhanced combatants.

"My lady, your opponent has arrived." I followed Mary's gaze and at the end of it was my opponent. He was a bit dumb-looking, truth be told.

The man guffawed, "It seems we have quite the temptress taking our test today, eh Mary?"

The Gun and The Sword - End