Stone Rank

"The beast tamer is back." said one adventurer.

"Hey, that wolf is silver. Did the gray one die?"

"Judging from the bloodstains on him, it might be true. Poor guy."

Me, Hyoran, and Gris wait at the stadium until the cloaked men begin announcing the promotion exam. They now summoned H ranked monsters such as Cave Spiders, Earth Slimes, Bluetails, and Sporelings. 20 in all.

"The promotion exam shall now begin!"

I shake my arms and wind swirled around my hands into mini cyclones. I'm a person who'll finish it quickly. As I prepare my Tier III Wind Spell: Cyclone, I said these two words.

"Sonic...!" I said, but as I was about to throw my arms forward, Hyoran kicked me in the shin.

"Bwoob!?" I yelled in a weird manner, not only I fell forward to the ground, I fired my Cyclone awkwardly. The cyclone is now veering to the left, missing the enemies completely.

"Hahaha! This wolf missy tripped the greenhorn!" one of the spectators laughed loudly. Some others laughed as well.

"Why'd you do that?" I said, looking back while I was on the ground, covered in dust.

"No reason." Hyoran said, turning her head away with her arms crossed, pouting. I knew right away that I messed up.

"Oh, right." I got up quickly since I briefly forgot the promise that Hyoran gets to fight the monsters. "They're all yours."

"Really? Are you sure?" Hyoran said, still pouting. I looked to see the enemies are getting closer.

"Yeah. Go get them." I said with a hint of urgency. Hyoran smiled and rushed down to the enemies. Hyoran unsheathed her shortsword and cut down a Bluetail that is closest to us.

[H rank target slain. 200 EP acquired.]

Hyoran continued her assault to kill more enemies, another Bluetail was slain, a Shroomling cut in half, an Earth Slime frozen solid, and Cave Spiders were squashed.

[10 H rank targets slain. 2000 EP acquired.]

One Bluetail swooped in to strike Hyoran's head with its beak, but Hyoran dodges. However, that Bluetail came at me instead. Hyoran gasped and worried about me since I left everything to her, but her carelessness got the better of her.

I pulled out my dagger and cut the Bluetail in half in one quick strike like a silvery blur. Bits of blood splattered on my face and shirt.

[H rank target slain. 200 EP acquired.]

Hyoran was relieved and quickly continued her assault on the enemies until every enemy is no more. What Gris did was to lay there and would kill them if he wanted or until I ordered him.

[8 H rank targets slain. 1600 EP acquired.]

"End of exam! You are now officially a Stone Rank adventurer." said the white cloaked man.

We were given a Stone Rank Plate as it will allow us to take on harder quests and earn more money. Also, I can find more monsters as I will be getting more freedom. My next target will be an avian type of monster. An owl! Or a crow. Why not both?

But Owls and Crows oil and water. There's gotta be some kind of realism, ignoring the fact there's goblins, slimes, man-eating shrooms and whatnot.

Once we wrapped the plates around our necks, Hyoran hugged me tightly after.

"Happy?" I said.

"Very." She replied. I internally sigh that her emotions are quick to fly about. But she's a kid. It's understandable.

"I dunno why she took all of them herself. That boy and his wolf could fare well against them." one male adult adventurer said.

"That cute little Beastkin is unhappy that she didn't even have fun when she was a Wood rank." one woman said in a witch like outfit.

"Still, that black-haired kid falling over is kinda funny." said another man, chuckling.

We went upstairs to look outside of the guild and the sky had turned dark. It's time to call it a day and rest. But there's one more thing I have to do. Have Paura go out hunting. Also, I have to evolve him again to ensure his safety. F rank is WAY better than J by leagues, but if a higher rank appears and wants to put him in a body bag, he better run.

We reached into the tavern to book a room for 4 because me, Hyoran, Ezo, and Gris. Hyoran dived on the bed.

With a soft impact on the bed, she happily kicked around while she wags her tail, delighted that not only she battled, she fought in the promotion exam. She then sighed of relief after a long day since she did all that stuff including walking around.

"Come on, Hyoran. Be sure to bathe first." Ezo said, patting Hyoran's back. Ezo placed a night gown in front of her which is a single solid white gown.

"Okay..." Hyoran replied reluctantly as she was briefly denied sleep. She got up, took the crown and walked in the bathroom.

I gestured Ezo to come close so I could whisper to him. He came to me and lent me his wolf ear. I was a little worried if Hyoran could hear since obviously Beastkins have better hearing.

"I have to go out so I could check on Paura." I whispered to him.

"I know Noltia is peaceful and barely have crime, but it is dangerous to go out alone at night regardless." Ezo said.

"I know, but I'll be back before Hyoran realizes. Besides, I have Gris. Also Camouflage and Concealment" I said, reassuring him.

"IF you were to encounter danger in any way, run immediately." Ezo warned. I may be stronger than most kids, but I'm not stupid enough to not heed his warning.

"I will. Come on Gris, we're going on a night walk." I said, whispering still. Gris's ears reacted to my voice and followed me. I opened the door and let Gris out first and me last. I closed the door behind me softly.

We reached in the hallway where multiple people walk downstairs and upstairs to either eat since this Tavern have a restaurant inside and a bar nearby. Since Paura is outside the kingdom, it's kinda of a long walk.

"System, can I apply Conceal and Camouflage on Gris?"

[It is possible. As long as you avoid any sudden impacts and refraining from attacking others.]

Upon that answer, I shall assume that bumping into someone counts as a sudden impact. I activated Concealment and Camouflage on myself and Gris and began walking.

As soon we approach to a woman who is in a white and brown walking casually to her room, we walk by her and Gris's tail brushes her leg which alerted her.

"Did something brush me?" she said, looking around. I flinched thinking my skills failed so quickly. But when I looked, she walked away.

"Must be my skirt. I'm overly skittish." she said, dismissing the issue and walking away. I sighed and looked at Gris who crouched down apologetically.

"I'm not mad, Gris. Just be more careful." I said, petting him. We walked downstairs of the Tavern and reached the front door, but we did not open it since people will see that door opened by itself.

A door opened up and we immediately slipped past them without touching anyone, taking us outside smoothly.

With this, we can go fast since Gris has the skill called Air Walk. But the problem is that he is smaller than me. But I'll ask regardless.

"Can I ride Gris as a mount?"

[Not yet possible. His Air Walk ability only carry beings smaller than him. Paura fits that requirement.]

Slightly disappointed that it can go too smoothly, we decided to run. As fast as we could to reach Paura. Our speed is enough to bring wind which made them notice, but could only think it's the wind.

To be honest, it's faster than horseback carriage when there's people. It also helps that there are less people around which I can worry less about.

We ran past the guards in the same speed and despite being stronger than normal even without my Appraisal, they also knew it was the wind. With that, we exited the kingdom without a fuss.

We reached to the beginning of the forest so that nobody can eavesdrop us out in the open. I cancelled the two skills and I called out to Paura.

"Paura, where are you? Come on out." I said.

"Kiii!" Paura screeched out to me and appeared from the bushes, carrying a half eaten Sporefly.

"What are the results his hunting?"

[Calculating...complete.]

[30 J rank. 3000 EP]

[22 I rank. 3300 EP]

[19 H rank. 3800 EP]

[11 G rank. 5500 EP]

[6 F rank. 6000 EP]

[2 E rank. 4000 EP]

[Subtotal: 25,600 EP]

[Adding subtotal to host...complete.]

[You have 488,600 EP.]

I'm inching closer to half mil. Paura can fight at and above his weight too. However, I saw one of his legs was missing and suffered claw wounds. Although, his Thorn Body hurt them too. I healed him and my healing magic regrew his torn leg back to where it was. The claw marks on him healed to where it didn't even exist anymore and the thorns grew back to normal as well.

Also, I came here to evolve Paura for assurance and get a new companion to protect Paura.

"I wish to evolve Paura."

[Calculating evolution paths...completed.]

<Sickle Spider>

<Ember Spider>

<Snow Spider>

<Shade Spider>

<Spark Spider>

<Toxic Spider>

"Sickle Spider."

[Sickle Spider selected. 10,000 EP required.]

"Do it."

[Acknowledged. Now evolving Paura.]

"Kiiii!"

Paura let out a triumphant cry and wisps of wind swirled around him more rapidly than before. It began to rustle the vegetation around, disturbed by Paura's evolution.

As the wind faded along with the wisps, Paura emerged even bigger, bigger than my head. Its legs are longer, body bigger, the gray on Paura is darker and the spikes are thicker than the Knife Spider. Also, it's knife-like appendages are now sickle or scythe-like. His eyes are now redder than before.

[Evolution complete. Paura has evolved to Sickle Spider.]

[Due to Evolution, Paura's rank has risen to Rank D.]

[New skills acquired for Paura. Perception, Thick Skin, Regeneration.]

[Skill, Web has now evolved to Hard Web.]

[Skill, Thorn Body has evolved to a Unique Skill. Spiked Body.]

Damn! That's plenty of skills Paura got from his evolution! He'll be more of a menace especially with Hard Web, Thick Skin, AND Regeneration! I remember getting him that and effectively made him a tanky spider which was a nuisance to Wood to Iron ranked adventurers.

"Now that you're stronger than ever, you can hunt bigger prey." I said. "Just like those guys over there."

The figures emerged from the bushes and is wearing leather armor on them, their weapons are slightly worn, but still deadly nonetheless. The first bandit has a longsword stained in blood. The sword also have some scratches and slight rust.

The second has a one handed axe.

The third has a spear.

The fourth has a sword and wooden shield. That wooden shield is reinforced by steel, but it got hit by 4 arrows and showed splintering.

Lastly, a staff with a yellow crystal. This must be a mage who uses Lightning magic.

Those guys are chuckling with malicious intent. Intent to hurt everyone for their selfish desires. Be it bullies, bandits, or nobles, it's all the same. They'll take and take until there's nothing left. The reasons victims couldn't fight back because they're too scared, thinking it'll get worse. When a weaker one fight back the stronger, they get beaten down.

When the bullies are beaten, they'll won't accept it until the fact is beaten into their skulls.

Pretty cliche for stories in China, South Korea, and Japan, right? But it's true because I seen it on videos. I have been bullied before, but I'm not one to take this lying down. I also didn't use my connections to fix my problems. When I was 6, some fat kid named, Leroy smashed my sand castle in school. So I beat his ass with my plastic shovel. He never messed with me again.

When I was in middle school, William stole my cookie and poured chocolate milk on my head, staining my favorite Evolutionism t-shirt. He laughed, expecting I'd cry from humiliation. Nope, I chuckled too. Because, this bitch wanna catch this smoke.

I smacked him in the head with a plastic tray and began beating him with it until it snapped. He was crying and screaming, but I ain't hearing none of it. When I came to, he was in a fetal position, shaking, bleeding, covered in bruises, and also peed his pants. I got suspended, but he never returned as he transferred out of fear.

In high school, Kevin, who is a football jock, knocked my books down when I was in a bad mood and told me to "Get some friends, loser." I ran towards Kevin and gave him the Tiger Knee to the face and gave him the smoke and told him "This 'loser' just kicked your ass." He never messed with me nor his other jocks.

"Hey, kid. Why don't you give your dog to us and we'll let you go." one of the bandits said.

"Gris is a wolf." I corrected them.

"Aww, he named the mutt." the axe wielding bandit said sarcastically. "Listen, kid. Listen to your elders, kid before you get me angry." he said, threatening me. Although it didn't work, I can't help but sigh.

"I ain't got time for this shit." I said.