The dwarf was fascinated by Kite's declaration. Usually, people who'll take the test will be super nervous or excited. But Kite was oozing with determination. As if he'll literally die if he didn't pass the test.
If Kite could hear her thoughts, then he will nod heavily.
'Sister, you're right! My life is on the line here!'
"My name is Aidila, come with me to the testing area." Aidila happily replied.
Kite was surprised. This dwarf was quite cheerful.
In his mind, dwarves were grumpy creatures. Unlike what Kite thought, this girl has a sunny personality.
However, what he didn't know was that this 'dwarf' was another subspecies of dwarves. Aidila was a Charou Dwarven, famed for being carefree and jolly.
They then walked towards the testing area. It was a large dome and a small entrance was in front of them. The dome was like a war fortress, it was grey in color and had this strange aura of intense lust for battle.
What surprised Kite was that there was 16 person waiting for them.
He asked the dwarf, "Who are they, Aidila?"
Aidila giggled before she replied, "Do you think that you're the only one taking the test."
Kite had an embarrassed look. But Aidila continued.
"We will only begin the test if 10 participants are confirmed. There are sixteen people there, half are the test takers while the other half is the one that guided them here like me. You have to complete 2 tests and finish one last quest to be an official swordsman. Moreover, you have to pay one silver!" She slowly explained.
Kite nodded. He looked at the eight testers Aidila pointed and observe them more carefully. Seven of them were males while the last one was a strange-looking female. All of them are humans. All races can of course have a Swordsman class but the test here is more suitable for humans. Even if the kingdom houses many different kinds of races, its core was still humanity nonetheless.
They waited for a while more before another man walked towards them. Now they had a complete set of ten testers.
The door of the dome magically open by itself and the ten entered. Nessa didn't enter with Kite since the test will be held there.
•••
Kite look at his surroundings. It was all dark except for a shining floating tablet. It was silver in color and look pretty old. Nessa explained her experience in her Priest Class test and know what to do here.
He went to the floating tablet and so are the other participants. He used inspect and found out its information.
Moon Slash Tablet (Rare)
Level: 1-10
Description: Limited to Swordsman and Assassins trainee.
Condition: Must be supplied by mana for every session of learning the skill |
When he was near he touched the scripture and a message screen appeared in his eyes.
Skill Tablet detected!
Learn skill?
Yes or No |
Skill tablets are different from skill books. They are both the combination of skill books in libraries and drops. Normally skill books that are dropped by monsters were only used one time and the effects were instantaneous. While the skill books in the library need time and talent to learn, in short, it was manually learned. Skill tablets were the same. They were dropped by high-ranked monsters and can be used for an infinite amount of time but it needs to follow the conditions needed to activate the tablet. However, you need to learn them manually like books in libraries.
Unlike normal skills that you activate using the system, the tablet is different. It's like a sort of technique you can use in your own different styles and form of choosing. You can use it either by itself or by combining it with skills. That's why they are rarer compared to normal skill books.
However only people that are level 1 to 10 can learn from this tablet. That's why the tablet is shown in the public. It's to attract swordsmen trainees to take the swordsman class.
Kite clicked yes and a whole new message screen containing the procedures of the skill showed in front of him. There was also a short video projection on the screen. Kite read all the instructions and watch the video.
The video showed a man.
It was a well-chiseled man holding a long sword. He flickered and run a short distance and then slashed his sword horizontally. The sword emits a silver light when the swordsman was still running. And when he slashed his sword a silver crescent moon was released from the sword. After that, the video dimmed for a second before it replayed the scenes again.
Kite was flabbergasted. This was absolutely incredible. It was his first seeing a technique that released a crescent moon after slashing a sword out.
He took out his sword from its sheath and begun to mimic the swordsman's action from the video.
He tried for ten times then a hundred until he was exhausted. He still couldn't make his sword emit a silver glow like the swordsman from the video earlier. He sat down and took deep breaths when he suddenly heard a manly voice speaking.
"You bunch only have one hour left before the test is over"
Kite almost puked blood. Only an hour passed but now this man said only an hour is remaining. Does that mean only two hours were given to them?
He looked around and checked the other testers' progress. He was a little relieved when he saw not one of them can make their sword glow at least. He didn't stand up immediately but instead, he sat down. He thought a lot more carefully about the skill. He watched the video and read the instructions again and again. He did this for half an hour until he suddenly smiled. He didn't realize it earlier because of his excitement but finally, he saw right through it.
Kite now knew what to do. He stood up and mimics the swordsman's action. But this time a strange aura surrounds him. He flickered for a short distance. His sword released a dimmed glow of silver but it was still noticeable. He slashed out horizontally and a dim image of a crescent moon was released.
32% Completion Rate |
Congratulations Moon Slash Technique was learned |
100 experience points are gained |
The other participants look at Kite and all cast him a jealous look. Someone already knows how to cast the technique but none of them has completed it yet.
The strange woman earlier put her eyes on Kite and stop what she was doing. She went towards Kite and suddenly asked, "Can you execute the technique earlier one more time."
The others cast her a strange look when they realize why she asked Kite. Observing from a video projection and in real-time is altogether different. They can distinguish the difference between what they were doing and what Kite does more vividly. They may also see what Kite's secret was to activate the Skill Tablet.
Kite also understands why she requested him to execute the technique again. He didn't find anything weird from it. He prepared to activate it once again. All the testers stop what they are doing and surround Kite to watch him.
The young boy released a strange aura like earlier. He flickered and slashed out his sword. The same glow and the same crescent moon image appeared.
The eyes of the strange girl then suddenly flickered. She noticed the change in Kite's breathing when the strange aura appeared. She was now sure that breathing was connected to how to execute the technique. She also thought about this before but didn't delve out more further. After all, girls were inherently more observant than boys.
She thanked Kite and practiced the technique once, twice, and then after a few practice she succeeded. The same glow and image appeared but Kite's were brighter. She smiled and also receive the message Kite got.
After another half an hour, the surroundings become brighter. The same voice rang out again once more.
"The test has concluded. All of those who completed the test remain, the others scram now"
Kite and the strange girl look at each other and smiled. They were the only ones that succeeded. The remaining eight look gloomier and unwillingly left the area. The gate opened and all of them that failed left. When the gate close again the surroundings got dark like before.
A middle-aged man walks out of nowhere and stood before the shining tablet. Behind him was a big violet broad sword and its hilt was shaped like a snake. He exudes a majestic and scary aura at the same time. His eyes were brown in color but he has an elliptical pupil. He took a glance at the remaining participants and nodded.
"Congratulations on passing the first test! Now I will explain what the next test will be." His voice was the same as the voice earlier, deep and masculine.
'This guy... He's dangerous.' Kite put his guard up out of reflex. He was now more nervous about the next test. If the first test was this hard then what about the next one?
"The next test is pretty simple. You'll only need to beat three common monsters. The first one will be at the same level as you. The next will be one level higher. And the last is two levels higher. Pretty simple, right? Now walked towards this platform and you'll reach a battle stage. Just come up and the test will automatically begin. Don't worry there is ten battle stage here so the both of you can take the exam at the same time." He lazily explained what the two of them will do.
They nodded and walked towards the platform that suddenly appeared out of nowhere. But Kite used inspect before he left the area. The middle-aged man's status was completely mysterious.
Name: ?
Level: ?
Class: Swordsman |
Why is his sword's hilt shaped like a snake? His pupils were also elliptical like that of the snake. What was the connection?
When they vanished from the middle-aged man sight he suddenly spoke in a low voice
"That boy only took one and a half hours to complete the test, interesting. But not as good as me when I took the test back then."
He laughed haughtily and his image suddenly dissipated slowly until all of his body disappeared.
The two kids reach the end of the platform and saw the ten battle stage. All of them were the same in size and structure. They were the size of a basketball field and were pretty large for a battle stage. The two pick the nearest stage and step on it. Suddenly a wolf appeared in front of Kite.
The wolf size was like a typical wolf on Earth. Except it was red in color and its eyes were pitch black. Its fangs were one foot long and look very sharp. Kite used inspect on it.
[ Dark Fanged Wolf ](Common, Wolf)
Level 3
HP:140
It suddenly dashed in Kite's direction. It was even faster than the boar he used to face in the forest. If it was before he'll probably dodge and hit the enemy when it attacked. But today he dashed forward bravely. He was now more confident than before because he learned a new skill.
He dashed ahead and flickered. His sword released a silver glow and then he brandished his sword.
Moon Slash Completion Rate: 40 % |
The wolf upon impact was hit in the head. Suddenly the wolf screamed. It was completely cut into two and a moon image flew out of its body. The moon image also contains attack properties. The skill was described as a long-range attack. But he uses it in point-blank range resulting in two damages. One on impact and two when the moon image was released.
Critical Hit!
-86 HP |
Critical Hit!
-80 |
"Wow, the damage of the moon image is almost the same as my ordinary attack. My damage is now doubled. But strangely my head feels a little dizzy" He realized this point.
'Maybe executing technique learned from Skill Tablet takes a toll in the mind when used in combat?' Kite removed these thoughts and focused on the enemy in front
After that, a new wolf appeared. This time it was one level higher. Kite executed the same tactics and managed to kill the wolf in one hit.
The third wolf's fate was the same. It was killed in one strike. The wolves always attack up in front of him, so he always aims in the head and manages to deal a critical blow. Add his Moon Slash that always dealt critical damage.
After executing three moon slashes in succession he felt his mind breaking. The toll he paid for activating it was intense. He still needed to practice more to get used to it.
He left the battle stage and went to another one. He wanted to see how the strange girl was faring.