Chapter 73: Time to Get Tested!

Stomping up to the desk very aggressively, Saiba is releasing an intense atmosphere. He grabs the attention of the [Adventurers] as his overwhelmingly negative pressure can be easily felt.

Arriving, he has a complete reverse in his attitude as he politely asks,

"Hello, my name is Saiba Okumura and I was wondering if I could get both ranked and classed..."

He holds his hands together as if he was begging. A little frightened at first but quickly calming down, a female attendant replies,

"Certainly! Saiba Okumura, was it? Is this your first time?"

Saiba nods back. She writes something down on a slip of paper and adds,

"Your name will be called when it is your turn."

Saiba walks away as Lazaro does the same. He waits for a while hearing multiple other names, but not his. He hears a name that catches his attention. An attendant shouts,

"Alberoth! Lazaro Alberoth!"

Saiba looks over as he sees Lazaro walking up to a doorway. Very annoyed, Saiba thinks,

"What!? He got called before me!? He went after me though!? What kind of place is this!? They're biased against me just 'cause I'm not from here!"

He waits a little longer, until his name is finally called. The same female attendant from the desk shouts,

"Okumura! Saiba Okumura!"

Excitedly, he jogs over, cutting through the crowd. He arrives as the female attendant leads him through a set of wooden doors and into an unlit hallway.

They march through as, one by one, torches light up with flames when they approach.

They pass by a pair, an [Adventurer] and an attendant, similar to them. Saiba glances over and sees that the [Adventurer] looks a little disheartened. He thinks,

"I wonder what happened with them.."

They stop at an even larger set of iron doors as the female attendant instructs,

"Please wait here for a moment. You may head inside once the doors open."

The attendant walks to a hallway left of Saiba as she fades into the darkness.

After a little bit, the hinges on the doors start to vibrate and creak. Sounds of gears turning and steam escaping start to appear from either side.

The doors start to move, opening inward as they drag against the stone floor. They fully open and end with a loud clang, revealing the room on the other side.

Slowly and carefully, Saiba steps inside. The room is quite large. Larger than the average house, but smaller than the 'Haven'.

The interior is made with a stark white material. It looks very futuristic, contrasting the medieval theme of the Kingdom.

Saiba examines the room, noticing steel pipes lining the ceiling. He thinks,

"This looks like something from a sci-fi film... Is this the King's doing too?"

Across from him, a window takes a spot within the white walls. Behind, the female assistant is holding some sort of form along with a quill. She announces,

"Adventurer ID: 318 096 816, Saiba Okumura. Taking Ranking and Classing Test. Before we begin, you get to choose where you would like to take the test."

Saiba thinks,

"Where..? I thought I was taking it here..."

The attendant snaps her fingers as the backdrop changes into a thick forest.

Saiba frantically looks all around in awe. He tiptoes over to a tree. Reaching out, he touches it as he can feel the roughness of the bark rub against his palm.

The attendant snaps once again as it now becomes an arid desert. Saiba squats down, cupping his hands together. He picks up a handful of sand as the grains trickle through the spaces between his fingers.

Again, the attendant snaps as the room now changes into a plain field. The grass flutters as a gust of wind blows, flowing through Saiba's dark hair.

The attendant gets her hand ready to snap as Saiba interrupts her, holding his hands out and shouting,

"Wait a second! This one is good!"

He thinks,

"How are they doing this? It must be some kind of [Skill], right? Maybe one that changes the landscape? I already know that [Plant Magic] exists because of that girl... But growing all that, this fast!? And she's doing it all with just a snap!? Seems unlikely..."

The attendant announces,

"The test will be starting now! I will end the test when I don't think you can last any longer."

This time, she claps as a horde of ten [Night Wolves] appear in front of Saiba. Instinctively, he gets into a battle-ready pose. He mumbles,

"[Night Wolves]? Did she do this too? Is this what the test is? Just defeating monsters? Well, they shouldn't be a problem anyway... I've already fought these guys before!"

He leaps out to the middle of the group. He thinks,

"These guys like to bite and slash, so just watch out for their pointy things!"

Quickly glancing side-to-side, he delivers two slashes, cutting into two [Night Wolves]. The wolves howl in pain but quickly regain composure.

Surprised, Saiba leaps back to regroup. He thinks,

"Are these guys stronger than the ones we fought back in the forest? Those couldn't take a single one of my attacks and I'm even a way higher level now... Alright, I guess I'll have to try a bit harder!"

He opens his SI and goes to the [Feature] menu. Wasting no time, he activates [Blood-Soaked] as he gets the usual pop-up.

Now looking back at his enemies, he holds his sword horizontally and swings sideways while shouting,

"Crimson Strike!"

A jagged wave of crimson comes flying out, cutting cleanly through the pack of [Night Wolves]. He gets a pop-up that reads,

[Level +3. ATK +3. DEF +3. SPD +3. Item Get: Wolf Skin (x11), Wolf Fang (x6)]

Right as they fade to dust, the attendant claps once more as a new group of monsters appear. This time, it's a group of four [Skeletons] wearing gladiator-esque armor. Saiba thinks,

"I wanna say they're just [Skeletons], but based on the [Night Wolves] from before, these guys are probably stronger. Plus, they have armor now... They kinda look like mini-versions of Razier's [Skeleton Generals]! My [Blood-Soaked] probably won't work on them either, so I guess we're doing the old way!"

Bending his knees and taking a deep breath, he calls out,

"Bring it on!"