The Tests

The man walked towards one of the training grounds, smiling. He was wearing a casual black hoodie and tracksuit. "This is where we test your familiar, Aaron Stone's, strength." The man explained, a smile on his face. Aaron tapped his right skeletal hand on the handle of Tsuyukagiri, holding onto the sheath with his left. "We test his close-ranged abilities, along with his long-ranged ones. We test physical attacks, along with magical ones. This is just so we can get an accurate representation of how strong your familiar is in every regard!" The man continued before extending his hand towards the first test. There were three training dummies, each made out of thin metal. Each of them was built like training dummies you'd see swordsmen practice on.

"The first test involves destroying these three training dummies. Are you ready?" The man asked Coranth, who looked at Aaron. Aaron just nodded, walking forward. "Destroy them using your sword. Don't do anything over the top, though." Coranth told Aaron, confusing the man. "Are you sure you don't want him to do his best? I'm sure that you're aware that this will lead to a lower ranking than you'd normally get." The man asked Coranth, taking a quick glimpse at Aaron. "Yes, I'm sure. He'll do just fine without going all-out, I'm sure." Coranth replied, causing Aaron to chuckle to himself in his own head. The sound of Tsuyukagiri being unsheathed alerted the tester of how sharp the blade was. Aaron stood still, sword in his right hand, wondering when to attack. Coranth realised this and pointed at the training dummies. "Attack!" He commanded, allowing Aaron to attack the humanoid metal targets. Aaron rushed forward, making sure he moved at a speed at which they'd be able to see him. He jumped into the air, flipping over one of the dummies. This allowed him to land in the centre of the dummies' formation.

Aaron swung his sword at the dummies with an imaginary smile. Doing this, he decapitated two of the humanoid metal targets with a quick slice. Their metal heads clanked against the ground, impressing the tester. However, the third dummy wasn't crafted of thin metal but a much denser metal. It was made of Damascus, the metal used to create most swords. Aaron thrust Tsuyukagiri at the dummy, piercing it straight through the chest. Aaron then flicked his wrist upwards, the blade pushing up through the Damascus. This left a vertical slash in the metal. The look on the examiner's face was priceless. "...Damascus. That hasn't been cut in years." The tester said under his breath, causing Coranth to look at him in confusion. His expression corrected itself quickly as he looked at Coranth with a smile on his face. "Well done, Coranth! Your familiar has done something unprecedented. He gets an S in the close-ranged physical test!" The man exclaimed, clapping his hands. Aaron sheathed his sword, his face not moving. He could speak, but that would certainly be strange.

"Now, using these same dummies, we can test the close-ranged magical capabilities. However, I don't think that Aaron Stone will be much proficient with magic, considering his overwhelming physical capability." The man informed Coranth, causing Aaron to click his bony fingers, a small black ball appearing above his right index finger. "Oh? I've never seen such an attack before. Coranth, would you mind getting your familiar to use the attack?" The man asked Coranth, Aaron moving of his own accord. Aaron pointed at the dummies, the black ball quickly firing towards them. Nothing happened for a second, but the moment the sphere of darkness touched the humanoid metal targets, a large black sphere was created, destroying everything inside it. It was a destructive ball of energy formed by Ultimate Destruction. Aaron used as little energy as he could, and all three dummies were consumed in the attack.

"What kind of familiar is this? That was definitely an attack that can be used at long range, right?!" The man yelled in surprise, grabbing Coranth by the shoulders and shaking him backwards and forwards. "You need to talk to the Boss. This is, quite literally, the strongest familiar that I have ever had the privilege to test. I know for a fact that I'll be seeing you soon. However, this is a matter of utmost importance." The man told Coranth, looking over at the destruction that Aaron caused. The Damascus dummy was nowhere to be seen, and a section of the ground had been destroyed. The black void had only erased the things that it had touched. This meant that this guy was an absolutely destructive all-rounder. "Come on. There's no need for the other tests." The man pressured Coranth as Aaron followed along behind them. "The boss has been waiting for a familiar this powerful for a long time, and this is finally the day where he can achieve his goals." The man further explained, walking them back to the lobby of the building. "Once this is done, we can further spread our influence as a building. After all, I'm pretty sure you're aware of the fact that us ritual summoners aren't the only group of practitioners in the world, right?"

"Wait, we aren't?!" Coranth responded, shocked. "Oh, heavens no. There are a few different groups of people. One example would be the practitioners of training, who find monsters in the wild and teach them how to fight alongside humans. Another one would be the practitioners of fusion, who fuse random monsters to create battle-ready soldiers for their countless inner wars." The man informed Coranth as they walked, reaching an elevator. "I didn't know about any of this," Coranth responded, trying to process this information. "You know how almost everyone who registers as a practitioner of rituals goes to war every few decades? Yeah, those are who we fight against." The man finished, pressing the button that went to the highest floor. A robot voice then said something over the speakers built into the elevator.

"...The Boss is accepting visitors. The Boss will see you now."