Ranking Test: Part 1

"You don't have to tell me if you want to keep it a secret. " James said to break the awkward silence caused by his sudden question. It's normal for High Humans to hide their abilities from people for various reasons.

"N-no, that's not it. " Adam replied in a nervous tone, "it's just that, I don't know what my ability is myself. " He continued.

Adam did not want James to feel like he didn't trust him, but he didn't want to tell anyone about the system, either. Despite not possessing any abilities before, the young man knew that the system was an anomaly because he never heard of such an ability before.

"I understand. " James said while slightly nodding his head. 'He must have his reasons for keeping it to himself. I won't ask any further questions. ' James is a hot-headed man, but he is no idiot. He understood Adam's intentions and dropped the matter.

"What business does Darius have, by the way? He's taken too long. " Adam said to change the subject of the conversation while sighing internally.

"I don't know. He does it all the time, probably at some important meetings or something. He is the heir to a conglomerate, after all. "James casually replied before taking a sip from his tea. He was quite used to Darius disappearing now and then.

"Is that so? " Adam said as he slurped his smoothie, while a smirk surfaced on his face as he stared at James.

"What? Is there something on my face? " James noticed Adam's weird look and started wiping his face with a napkin.

"Nope, nothing. Just didn't take you for a tea guy, thought you would order a Gatorade instead. " Adam said as he leaned back in his chair.

"Stereotyping is bad, you know? I may look like a jock, but I'm very sophisticated. I even went to England twice and made myself a girlfriend! " James said in a slightly annoyed tone.

"Lies! You? The same snot-nosed brat who used to follow me around to play basketball? A girlfriend?! " Adam said as he leaned forward, his face colored in shock.

"I'm not the same! I changed a lot since that time. " James said while slamming his fist on the table repeatedly, "Besides, she's not just any girl, she is an S-rank High Human and a guild leader~. " He continued with a proud smirk.

"Don't let him fool you, Adam. It's a one-sided feeling. " Darius exposed James as he casually grabbed a chair while smiling at him.

"Heh~, what does that mean, James? " Adam asked without missing a beat with a devious smile.

"Ahem. W-well, it's not official, yet... " James said while looking around and sweating bullets.

"Haha, must have missed the part where you actually tell her about the relationship. " Darius said in a sarcastic tone, obviously trying to get on James's nerves.

"I'm going to get there! I just need some time... " James, however, seemed embarrassed as he mumbled the last words of his sentence.

"He's always been terrible with women. " Adam said as he looked at James and smiled. He could remember more about James and their friendship with time. "Remember Alicia from sixth grade? "

"Come on, man! " James complained. "You pick now to remember my embarrassing past?! "

"I'm liking this, but we actually need to move now. " Darius said before standing up, "Adam needs to go through the ranking test. "

"Took them long enough. " James also stood up.

"Apparently, many people awakened to abilities the past few months. " Darius replied before turning to Adam, "are you ready? "

"A little nervous, but I'm going to be fine after a quick visit to the bathroom. " Adam said as he stood up and put his hand on his stomach, a sick look plastered on his face.

"We don't have time for that. James, drag him. " Darius's expression turned serious before turning around and walking.

"Wait! James, no! " Adam pleaded as James dragged him by the collar and entered the elevator, along with Darius.

_____________

After a quick elevator lift and another round of dragging, the trio finally arrived at the floor that had the test hall.

A huge metal door at the end of a hallway filled with people standing in line while waiting for their turns, but of course, they did not stand in line and followed Darius straight towards the door.

"Hey! Why do these kids get to go in before us?! "

"Yeah! We came first! "

"Isn't that Darius Morris? "

Multiple people complained, but to no avail. The administrators overseeing the line did not move a muscle and ignored them while making way for the trio.

'This feels kind of wrong... ' Adam thought as he noticed the angry stares pointed at him, but followed Darius into the hall, anyway.

*BEEP! *

The giant metal gate slowly parted, revealing the test hall

'Woah! ' Adam could only exclaim in astonishment at the sight of the hall's interior. Various machinery and expensive-looking magic stones scattered across the state-of-the-art space, while multiple men and women dressed in black suits stood near the walls.

"You must be the new High Human that Mr. Darius recommended! " An old man wearing glasses and a lab coat greeted Adam with a smile, "I'm professor Newman and I will conduct your test today. " He continued before explaining the purpose of the equipment in the hall.

They made special machinery, able to withstand and test the High Human's physical capabilities, while the magic stones were used to absorb their magical power and measure it on advanced devices. Everything inside the room cost no less than 100 thousand dollars, which only increased Adam's nervousness.

'W-what if I break something?! ' Adam thought as he eyed the equipment with a nervous expression.

"I wouldn't worry about breaking anything. " Darius whispered to Adam as he noticed the nervous look on his face. 'He should act more like the handsome guy he is.... ' He felt bad for the good looks wasted on such a wimpy personality.

"But what if I do? " Adam asked back.

"That would make you an S rank High Human, Adam. " James was the one who answered Adam's question, "in that case, you wouldn't need to worry about money. "

"Let's start, shall we? " Professor Newman said before offering Adam a sword, "I heard you are a sword-user High Human and prepared this sword for your examination. "

"Thank you. " Adam said as he accepted the sword.

"No problem, right this way. " The professor said before walking past the various machines, towards a dome in the middle of the giant hall.

"This is a 3-dimensional simulation dome capable of producing lifelike holograms. They may be holograms, but they can hurt you, so please be careful. You may enter to start. " The professor concluded his explanation before walking inside a nearby monitoring room.

"Good luck, Adam. " Darius said before following professor Newman.

James glanced at Adam before silently following Darius.

__________

As soon as Adam entered the dome, he could no longer see what was happening on the outside. Although it looked transparent from the outside, that was not the case on the inside.

'Everything is white... ' Adam thought as he looked at the surrounding white walls and floor. 'I need to stay alert. I can't afford to get a low ranking here... ' An icy glint flashed in his eyes as he scrutinized his surroundings.

*Vroom*

"Gyaaa! " Suddenly, a voice that Adam was quite used to came from behind him.

'This is going to be easy.... ' Adam thought as he spun around and dashed towards the source of the voice. It was a goblin holding a wooden club.

*Slash! *

"Gyaack. "

The fight didn't last over 20 seconds before Adam arrived in front of the goblin, swiftly slashing its neck. The goblin vanished the same way it appeared.

*Vroom*

*Vroom*

*Vroom*

"Gyaaa! "

"Gyaaa! "

"Awoo! "

'It's two goblins and a wolf this time... ' Adam analyzed the situation accurately, before jumping towards the wolf.

_____________

In the monitoring room,

"He's excellent, Mr. Darius. " Professor Newman praised Adam while watching him kill the three monsters.

"He could fight me on equal terms when I'm not using Lightning God, after all. " James said while crossing his arms, "getting rid of some goblins should be normal. "

"Yeah. " Darius said as he watched Adam dispose of the next batch of monsters, "let's increase the difficulty. "

"Mr. Darius, but we need to follow protocol. " Professor Newman said as he looked at Darius with a shocked expression.

"It's going to be fine. " James interjected.

"Let's do it, professor, I'll handle the consequences. " Darius spoke with a calm expression.

"W-what level should I increase it to? " The professor asked nervously.

"Level 10. " Darius answered as a small smile appeared on his face.

"Darius! Level 10 is a twin-headed Orc! Isn't that too much? " James asked in a worried tone.

"I want to check if he's good enough for the task force. " Darius spoke, with his eyes glued to Adam fighting on the screen.

"The task force?! Are you thinking about recruiting Adam? " James asked with a smile.

"Yeah, he's going to be a great addition to the team. " Darius answered before turning to the professor and nodding his head.

The professor reluctantly obeyed Darius' orders and changed the difficulty level. A giant Orc holding two huge wooden clubs appeared on the screen while roaring.

"I will excuse myself for a minute. I need to report this to my superiors. " The professor immediately left the room after making the changes while sweating profusely.

But James and Darius paid him no mind, as they both wanted to see how Adam will deal with a threat of this level.

'Show me what you're capable of... ' Darius thought while watching Adam with a big smile.