Chapter 27

[Third Third PoV]

Futarou crossed his arms into an X, "I decline, sorry."

"What? Why? With your skills and my teachings, you could become one of the world's greatest healers," Tsunade exclaimed passionately, trying to persuade him.

"And I don't doubt that, but if you do become my 'master', healing and punching will be all you could teach me, which in itself isn't bad, but that would mean I would have to neglect my other sets of skills you won't be able to help me with… Although if you're still up to it, I don't mind taking your teachings if you're offering, but I can't become your disciple."

"You want to take all the benefits but none of the responsibility?" Tsunade scoffed.

Futarou shrugged his shoulders, "I mean, if you were to need help with something when the time comes, I'll be more than glad to help."

Tsunade didn't say anything and put a hand on her chin for a second before letting out a sigh and shrugging her shoulders. "It's better than nothing. Anyways, follow me; there are still other tests you need to complete."

Tsunade started walking back the way she came from, with Futarou and the others following close behind.

They reappeared in the room of the ability testing before going to the door with a blue arrow sign pointing up with smaller arrows around it.

It was the same, a long corridor with a door at the end with the same symbol as from the door they entered.

"Next, we will be testing your support. During this test, you will only be able to support. There will be an F-rank staff member inside a battle simulation room. The room will create an illusion of fighting monsters inside the dungeon. You are only allowed to support. If by any chance you attack a monster yourself, the test would be over, and you would have failed.

The F-rank staff member already has an average of how many monsters he is able to kill; you will be scored by how many more times you are able to increase that average."

"Will the room be able to tell when I cast a debuff on the monster as well, or am I only supposed to buff up the hunter?" Futarou asked in confusion. After all, it was his first time dealing with such a level of technology.

After the apocalypse and humans started rebuilding society, technology prospered due to items and mana stone monsters dropped. The mana stone became a type of clean renewable energy that wasn't harmful to the land and slowly became the primary energy source.

There have of course been humans who gained abilities relating to research and science, like his own ability, which helped fasten the process and create a whole new magical branch of technology.

One of said results was the battle simulation room, which was built with the power to create illusions to help with training. Although it will only help develop your skills slightly, after all there is only so much Illusions can do compared to reality. 

Tsunade nodded at Futarou's question. "Yes, the BSR (Battle Simulation Room) is able to identify the intentions of your spells and adjust the illusion accordingly. After all, it was made to be the ultimate training facility."

Futarou nodded as they entered a plain white room with a skinny man in leather armor and two daggers at his side.

[Kaito Izuto]

[Rank F]

[Ability: Knife proficiency]

[Description: A staff member of the T.A.H.A, used as a test subject for support examinees and students during exams and classes.]

"Futarou Uesugi," Futarou introduced himself, extending his hand to greet him. The F-ranker was taken by surprise before smiling, shaking his hand, and introducing himself.

Tsunade, standing to the side, also smiled. After all, not many may know this, but F-rank hunters are treated as the bottom of the barrel, lower than dirt, and sometimes not even human by other hunters—more like disposables.

So seeing Futarou greet Kaito and treat him like a normal human being was a testament to his character, which Tsunade appreciated.

Tsunade turned towards Tohru, Puck, and Orion before looking at Futarou. "Your summons are allowed to help since they are a part of your ability, but they aren't allowed to kill the illusions, as previously stated."

Futarou shook his head. "There's no need. I'm ready when you are," he said to Kaito, who nodded and pulled out his long daggers.

Tsunade went towards the back to observe, while Tohru and the others followed her. "So what's his average?" Puck asked curiously.

"25 before he starts to get tired," Tsunade answered.

Their surroundings then started to shift; it was as if they were suddenly transported inside a cave dungeon.

In front of Kaito and Futarou, goblins started to manifest, each wielding different weapons, and a health bar with 100/100 appeared on top of Kaito's head.

Futarou's grimoire started to float by his side as he immediately started to buff Kaito. As previously stated, Futarou's intelligence stats correlate with the power of his magic. During his training, when his stats reached 300+, he noticed how his spells, which would normally give him a ×2 boost, then gave him a ×3 boost instead. And now, thanks to his Dragon Tamer title, his intelligence stats reached 400+, giving him a ×4 boost.

So as he casted:

[Buff/Blessing: Greater boost]

[Buff/Blessing: Haste]

[Buff/Blessing: Fortification]

[Buff/Blessing: UP Stamina]

Kaito gained a golden aura, increasing his powers fourfold. "Woah," he muttered, "I feel incredible."

He immediately started running at a speed he didn't think imaginable to him. When he arrived at the hordes of monsters, he started swinging his daggers with proficiency, running them across the illusions' necks, causing blood to splash out before the goblins disappeared.

Due to his speed, he was able to dodge most of the goblins. One or two managed to hit him, reducing his HP bar, before Futarou used [Buff/Blessing: Speeding recovery].

After a couple of minutes, Kaito started slowing down and getting hit more, so Futarou started cursing the illusions.

[Debuff/Curse: Shackled]

Seeing their movements slow, Kaito continued destroying all the illusions until they all managed to disappear. He was breathing heavily with his hands on his knees and sweat dripping over his face.

Above Kaito, the number 214 appeared, which greatly surprised him.

"756%," Tsunade said, to which Futarou nodded. Meanwhile, Kaito and everyone else in the room looked confused.

"That's how much my support helped your average, by 756%... it could be better," Futarou said with a sigh, causing the others to look at him in surprise.

"You're disappointed with that?"

"Why am I not surprised?" Puck said, shaking his head.

Tsunade looked at Puck in confusion, causing him to reiterate, "Every time he would train, he doesn't really look at the results he achieved; he looks at things he could have done better and improved on them. Honestly, it's an annoying trait of his… but it's one I came to admire."

Tsunade nodded in understanding. 'Is that how he grows in strength?' she thought before shaking her head and focusing on the important matter.

"Well, I don't have to say it since it's obvious, but you passed, kid. Congrats. And Kaito, you're dismissed. Thanks for your help." 

Kaito bowed his head. "Yes, Headmistress," and as he was leaving, he saw Futarou smiling with his hand slightly raised, causing him to smile as well. They both high-fived as Kaito left the room.

Tsunade turned towards Futarou. "Since we're already here, we might as well start your warrior examination. I can already guess how it's going to go, but it still needs to be done."

Futarou raised his hand. "Question, how am I actually being graded?"

"Ah, well, every student is recorded and monitored as soon as the test begins. After the day is over, the staff and I would watch over the recordings to determine the rankings of the students and who gets accepted and who doesn't."

Futarou nodded in understanding. "So what am I going to do in this test?"

"You will start fighting monsters starting from F, while slowly going up the rankings until you can't anymore. Although this thing stops at the S rank.

Be warned, although these are going to be illusions, the higher the rankings go, the more realistic the illusions will become, to the point where you wouldn't even be able to differentiate illusions from reality, and will cause some real pain and damage," Tsunade explained.

Futarou reached over towards the spear on his back, but Tsunade stopped him. "Stop, you will be given a sword to use. We want to see your skills, not how powerful your weapons are."

Tsunade went towards the wall of the room, which by now was back to being plain white, and tapped it a few times. Like a door, the wall parted open, revealing iron weapons of all shapes and sizes.

"So what weapon are you going to use?" Tsunade asked.

"Spear," Futarou answered without hesitation, grabbing a long spear before twirling and stabbing the air with it for a few seconds before nodding his head.

And with that, his third test soon began.