As Kael waited for the young girl to come back, he started to think about how to hide his ability. As a kid that grew up with adventurers, he knew how to fight a little. His uncles even often teased him, saying that he should be at the D rank level.
The guild ranks their adventurers from E to S rank, lowest to highest. There are rumors that there exists a special rank, but no one has seen them yet. Even A-rank adventurers are rare. In this town, the highest rank is B rank. His father and uncles are all C ranks.
He did not know what kind of tests he would take. However, if his uncles teased him for being at D rank, entering at least E rank should have no problems. From what he heard, E-rank jobs are usually harmless. They run errands, find lost pets, gather herbs, and such. Still, they require basic fighting skills.
After a while, the young girl came back.
"Mister Kael, this way please."
The young girl, whose name he still did not know, led the way. They went through the door that the young girl just came from. There was another vast hallway inside. There are only a few people here, and most of them look sharp and experienced.
"This is where B-ranked and up adventurers get their quests and jobs. Only they are allowed in this hall."
As they walked, some of the adventurers sized him up, but most of them just ignored him. Rookies usually take their evaluation at the space next to this hall.
They walked across the room and arrived at another big door. They then went inside, and there, Kael saw a wide open space, with stair-like chairs on the sides.
"This is where we held our events. Tournaments, matches between adventurers, and such."
There is no one around here, except for a serious-looking middle-aged man in the center. He exudes a sharp aura, inflicting fear on anyone that looks at him. Wearing his glasses and neat hair combed to the side, he looked smart, contradicting his predatory aura.
The young girl pointed to the man.
"He is Mister Hurd, the one who managed the branch here in Hestrea. He is very strong, said to be on the level of A-ranked adventurers. He will be the one to evaluate you."
Kael looked at the man, his face serious. He never would have thought that the strongest person here would be the one to evaluate him. He couldn't help but feel nervous.
In this small village, the guild was basically the one enforcing the rules. There's no obvious leader, nor a mayor. But because of the rules and quests of the guild, the town did not turn into a lawless area. However, the strong still sits at the top. It was not an exaggeration to say that Mister Hurd is basically the strongest person in the whole village and thus the one with the most power.
Although he wiped out all the beasts in that dungeon before, he was not in the right mind back then. He could only think of one thing at that time, and that is to kill. He fought without style. And he didn't want to use his ability now.
He bowed slightly to the young girl and walked towards the man in the center. As he neared, the man turned to look at him, adjusting his glasses. Looking very refined, with a brown suit that fits nicely on his body and a black tie, one would think he was a scholar and not a fighter. However, the air around him says otherwise.
"Hello, Mister Hurd."
Mister Hurd just nodded slightly at his greeting, leaving him nervous.
"Uhh… what should I do? "
Kael awkwardly asked.
"Survive for a full minute against me."
Mister Hurd's voice was devoid of any emotion, causing him to flinchslightly. He was about to ask something, but Mister Hurd suddenly dashed towards him, cutting him off. He then threw a punch straight to Kael's face.
Not expecting it, Kael hastily stepped sideways, his eyes wide with shock.
"Wait!"
Kael's yell fell on deaf ears.
Face still emotionless, Mister Hurd threw another punch. Kael was able to block it in time by crossing his arms. However, the force made him jump backwards, his arms numb.
Mister Hurd did not immediately follow up and just looked at Kael.
Kael breathed heavily and frowned. He did not expect that Mister Hurd would immediately attack after saying those words. However, he then realized that the evaluation must have started.
He exhaled a deep breath and unsheathed his sword. He then readied himself for the next barrage of attacks.
Mister Hurd, as if sensing that Kael was finally ready, took a step forward. The next second, however, he was already beside Kael, throwing out a punch.
Kael did not even have the chance to turn his head and just saw a shadow in his peripheral view. He managed to barely block the attack with the side of his sword.
He then jumped sideways to gain space and turned to look at Mr. Hurd. However, another fist came straight at his face, prompting him to take another jump sideways.
Just like this, Kael could only jump and barely dodge Mr. Hurd's attacks. Without realizing it, he was pushed back to the wall.
Just as he was about to jump to dodge another punch from Mr. Hurd. However, his foot couldn't move an inch because of the wall. Realizing this, he panicked. Luckily, he moved his head out of the way just in time. However, seeing Mister Hurd's other hand curl into a fist, he quickly racked his brain for a way out.
However, he could not think of anything. Mister Hurd's fist came straight to his face, his eyes slowly widening. However, his blue eyes suddenly glowed slightly. The way he viewed the world instantly changed.
The world was now much sharper to him. He could see every detail of what's in front of him. Much more importantly, the face that was very fast before is now moving at a speed that is considerably slower, giving him even time to think about what to do. He subconsciously activated his ability.
He calmly ducked to dodge and took steps sideways to free himself. He then gripped his sword tightly and raised it, his hands giving out a faint white smoke.
"Stop."
Just as he was about to attack, Mister Hurd's voice echoed in his calm world. As if doused with cold water, the glow in his eyes quickly went out along with the smoke in his hands, as if it was never there.
"You passed."
Without realizing it, a minute had already gone by. He stood still for a second and then broke out into a happy smile.
"I passed? Yes! "
He never expected that passing the evaluation could give him this much happiness. It even made him forget about the death of his father, the flaw of his ability, and his own problems. He looked at Mister Hurd's face for a while and then bowed deeply. However, he saw a flicker of emotion going through Mister Hurd's eyes at that moment but guessed that he must have seen it wrongly.
"Yes, you passed. Welcome, rank B adventurer, Kael."
"Yes! A rank B adventurer, thank you! "
Kael yelled. However, as if realizing something, his happy face turned into a shock.
"Wait, what?! "