Back to the dealership.
"Was it difficult to treat him?" Gabriel asked, but he was still alone in the room full of cars.
Silence followed for a moment until a voice neither male nor female answered behind him.
"Very..." Magikeen was the one talking.
"Was he badly hurt?" Gabriel asked again. He even rubbed his temples a little as he spoke.
"Very…" She replied indifferently again.
"He's a guy with secrets... well, better leave it alone. It's all sorted out for now. If it happens another time, I won't get involved anymore!" Gabriel spoke as he started walking further into the dealership.
Magikeen stood where she was and just stared at the empty spot where the GT500 Arthur had just bought was. A smile formed under her mask, and she started to walk out of the dealership as well.
***
As the dealership was far from the city, the roads at dawn were with very few cars and trucks. And, of course, this was the perfect time for Arthur to test out his new machine.
A black shadow was moving at high speed on the paved road, deftly swerving and overtaking oncoming trucks and cars.
When the road became vacant, the shadow moved at a much higher speed, breaking any speed limit law.
When he finally got closer to town, it was time to really test the car.
Turning quickly around corners, the sounds of tires making their mark on the road sounded in the city streets. Red lights meant nothing less than air to Arthur.
By incredible luck, he was not detected by any police car, so he didn't stop until he reached the city hall.
"HOW... FUCKING... COOL!!!!" His heart pounding, Arthur stared at the steering wheel and the interior of the car with bright eyes. The adrenaline he was feeling now was completely different from when he was fighting.
One was the adrenaline used to survive, but here was for real living.
As soon as he got out of the car, Arthur's pupils were quite dilated as he stared at it. Still how it was, it looked like a beast ready to strike again.
After spending more time admiring his car, Arthur started walking towards the usual alley. Even so, every now and then, he turned his face to admire the car.
As soon as he spoke to the regular guard, he descended the stairs to the Underworld.
Once he got there, he noticed it was half empty, and a few fights in the ring. He ignored all this and went straight to the Guild.
When he arrived in front of the receptionist, he said:
"I would like to take a mercenary test!" Arthur spoke in an indifferent voice.
The receptionist looked at Arthur a little longer before nodding her head and asking for his papers.
After a few moments, she said:
"As you would like to take another test, you don't have to go through the same situation as before. And there's no one now either, so you can go straight into the room!" The receptionist said with a beautiful smile as she handed a file to Arthur.
Arthur nodded and walked into the room.
Once there, the same guy from before was still typing on the computer. It even looked like Arthur had gone back to the first time he was here.
'Is this guy still here? Doesn't he have a day off? If you think about it, wasn't that receptionist here last time too?' Arthur was somewhat impressed by the professionalism. But he shook his head to stop thinking about it and forged ahead.
"Hello!" The man rose from his chair and held out his hand to Arthur, asking for the file.
After handing them over, the man went back to the computer for a moment. As soon as he finished typing, a door started to open in that blank room. Through the door, Arthur saw that there was another blank room.
"Please follow me!" The man spoke politely but coldly. He moved on without Arthur.
"Aren't we going to take the test here?" Arthur asked as he followed.
"Here in this room the basic and general tests are performed, which will only tell your mercenary level. When you pass and choose your Class, the next tests will be according to it."
"I understood!"
Once in the room, Arthur looked around, only to see a few machines and something resembling a ring. There was also an ringside weapons rack.
"As you are Fighter Class, your test will be conducted accordingly. There are no limits to your mercenary Level increase, however. You can even get to Level A with this test." The man spoke as he reached a machine and stopped in front of it.
The machine was actually a punching bag, quite robust, and it had some sort of counter above it.
"The first two tests will be the same as before. You can start. You have a total of 10 hits. Give the best you have." The man spoke and was a little farther away this time.
Arthur nodded and walked over to the machine. After preparing for a few seconds, he punched everything he had. Unlike before, his position was correct and experienced, causing incredible strength to come with his fist.
BANG!
As soon as Arthur punched, a dark green light lit up on what appeared to be the counter. It soon faded.
BANG! BANG! BANG!
Blow after blow, the green light grew brighter and the bag more battered. After giving the 10 hits, the green light was as bright as the sun.
"Next!" The man shouted at Arthur from far away. Where he was, on the ground, a small X was marked.
According to the man's words, the first two tests would be the same as before. So, logically, now would be the agility test.
Arthur also stopped on top of the X and waited. Soon, many sounds of muffled gunfire sounded and many balls came towards Arthur at high speed.
He started to grab the balls and drop them before catching others. His movements were quick and steady, with his speed always coming and going at full speed.
A few minutes later, it was getting harder to get to catch the balls, but it was still manageable.
10 minutes later, Arthur was focused on capturing the most obvious and dodging the impossible. Since his perception was slowed by concentration, he didn't realize that what he was doing was surprising. The balls reached almost the speed of a shot from lesser quality weapons.
20 minutes later, his body was starting to sweat, and his concentration was totally focused on dodging. He also instinctively used this opportunity to train in the Celestial Flow Technique. His movements could change from static to super fast in an instant.
Another 10 minutes later, the balls suddenly stopped, none having hit Arthur. On the other hand, his body was drenched in sweat, his clothes sticking to his body.
"You passed! Next!" The man spoke again, but now he was on top of the ring.
Arthur took a few seconds to get some rest. His muscles were slightly sore from using the technique, as all of the inertia load and application of force was supported by himself, because he needed to keep all that force in his body to be able to move again. He also used a lot of the Force inside him, so it was easier to take.
He soon jumped into the ring.
"Will I fight you?" Arthur asked with a smile on his face.
"Yes!" The man nodded and walked over to the weapons rack, pulling out a thin sword. It looked very similar to the rapier. He stood on guard and ready to fight.
"Okay... Come on!" Arthur got serious and his fists clenched with some popping noises.
'If he knows how strong I am from testing, and he's still here confident, then he must also be as strong as me!' That was Arthur's thought, and why he got serious.
Woosh!
Arthur advanced!
***
At the mansion far from town, Magikeen again made her way to her bedroom through the window. Just as she was about to undress to rest, a noise came from outside the room.
Her attention was fully captured and she drew out two knives. There were two beautiful knives, one completely black, giving off a deadly air, while the other was white, giving off a sharp, piercing air.
A formless energy also began to flow around her.
After opening the door without making a sound, she walked down the stairs towards the sound. As soon as she entered the living room, a glow came out of nowhere and came towards her head. She also threw the black knife in the direction of where the glow came.
Puck! Puck!
Magikeen dodged the sharp glare, causing him to head straight for the switch. When the lights came on, she saw the entire room.
In an armchair, there was a slightly old man, dressed as a butler. His expression was cold, but there was a hint of mockery in his eyes as he glared at Magikeen.
And the main point was that there was a black knife a few millimeters from his throat, stucked in the armchair.
This butler pulled the knife from the chair and smoothed it a little.
"Looks like you got good…" The butler turned his gaze to Magikeen, but his next words caused her to shiver a little and anger to rise in her heart.
"... Since you ran away from home!"