Drake ran toward the adventurers guild as fast as he could and was relieved to see no one else had arrived yet. He entered through a side entrance into the guild and went to the reception room, where he noticed a familiar face. Sarah, who worked at the front desk at the guild, stood up and waved. Drake waved back.
"Hey, Drake, are you ready for an exam?"
Drake nodded excitedly. "Yeah!"
Sarah laughed. "Follow me!" She led him down another hallway and through a door that said: 'Employees Only.' Inside was a large and empty arena. "The others will show up soon!" she announced excitedly.
"What kind of a test will we have?" Drake asked curiously.
"You'll find out soon enough," she answered.
Just then, they heard the sound of multiple feet running across the floor. The group entered the room in a stampede. They were talking loudly about everything and nothing all at once. Some seemed to have been studying from notebooks for the exam ahead. A few of the students stopped speaking to look at Drake and Sarah.
Soon, another person lazily walked in, dressed in plate armour and with a sword strapped behind his hip. The newcomer looked around until he spotted Drake and Sarah. His eyes narrowed slightly, but he didn't say anything.
Sarah introduced the man as an instructor, who would be leading them through today's exam. "This is Gradgir!" she waved her hand at the plate-wearing person. "He is a B-ranked adventurer!"
Gradgir thanked Sarah for the introduction but continued to glare at Drake.
Drake, who noticed the glare thought to himself, "Does he have a problem with me?" Was Gradgir jealous because Drake talked to Sarah? "Ah, whatever."
Gradgir turned away from Drake and began to explain the exam. "Today, we were supposed to go to the forest and fight some monsters, but I decided to have a mock battle instead." He smirked. "But I'm sure you guys won't mind, right?"
Drake chuckled at how obvious that guy was. "I see how it is!" he thought.
Gradgir glanced over at Sarah, who, without suspecting anything, shrugged. "You're an examiner, not me."
"Well then... If you guys can take my blows without passing out for a minute, you pass!" Gradgir smirked as his gaze constantly shifted between Sarah and Drake. "Who's first?!"
Everyone in the room raised their hands. Gradgir's smirk grew even wider. "Alright, let's get started!" he pointed his finger at Drake, "Come!"
Drake walked up to the arena and took a fighting stance. Gradgir smiled and readied his sword for an attack. But before he started, he said. "Pull out your weapon. For the next minute, you will fight for your life!"
Drake shrugged and showed his fist, "This will be my weapon."
Gradgir's eyes widened. "WHAT?!" he exclaimed angrily, "Take this seriously!"
"Start!" Drake yelled.
As Gradgir swung at Drake, Drake blocked the blow with his forearm. "So slow," Drake muttered after realising that his reflexes were enhanced to the extremes.
When Gradgir tried again, Drake countered by throwing his fist directly toward Gradgir's face. Gradgir flinched and backed up.
Gradgir's eyes filled with anger. He swung his sword forward again. However, he started to feel hot. "Huh?" he exclaimed, but soon started to yell and take off his plate armour. "Asshole!" He yelled after noticing that Drake used magic to heat the inside of his armour.
Everyone gasped at creativity. Meanwhile, Drake and Sarah started to laugh mischievously. Gradgir's flushed face showed his embarrassment and rage. "You..." He picked up the sword and rushed at Drake, swinging the sword wildly.
However, Drake ducked under the strike. Gradgir kept swinging his sword until suddenly, he was knocked by Drake's palm backwards. "Ugh!" Gradgir grunted as the blade slipped from his fingers. "Shit! Shit! Shit!"
"Oh, wow," Drake breathed out, "The minute has passed," he asked, looking at Sarah.
"Uh..."
"That wasn't a question! It was an observation," Drake replied.
She nodded excitedly and congratulated Drake, "Yes, congratulations!"
Gradgir glared daggers at Drake, which made Drake laugh harder. After he turned his back and gazed at Sara. Gradgir pulled out a long dagger and lunged toward Drake, stabbing Drake's side.
Everyone present was speechless at what they saw. Participants left the arena because they feared dealing with a crazy examiner.
"What?" Drake suddenly felt something warm flowing from his belly. When he looked down, he realized what happened and got dizzy.
"Huh?" Sarah's eyes suddenly widened as Drake fell to his knees, gasping painfully.
After a moment, Gradgir got up from the ground and walked over to Drake.
"What the hell is wrong with you?!" Sarah started punching Gradgir with no effect.
Slowly, Drake removed the weapon from his belly and looked at Gradgir. When Drake saw Gradgir's smirk, he gritted his teeth in rage.
"Come on, minute was not over yet! I am sure of it!" Gradgir laughed at Sarah who was shouting hystericaly at this point.
Suddenly, Gradgir and Sarah noticed that the room's temperature had increased eerily. Gradgir was now sweating profusely.
"What's going on?" Startled Sarah looked around and saw a frightening sight. Drake was covered in flames, and his skin was turning bright red. "Drake?"
"What the fuck?!" Gradgir shouted. Gradgir pulled out his sword. But before he could use it, Drake vanished from sight and appeared beside him, striking him in the gut. Gradgir collapsed to the ground groaning in pain. When he managed to catch a breath, he looked at the wound, realising that the clothes melted with his skin. He could only watch in horror as his skin burned as if flames were still consuming it.
Gradgir slowly climbed onto his feet. His vision became blurry from pain and exhaustion; he tried escaping. However, Drake appeared and blocked his path.
"P-please!" Gradgir stuttered. "Let me go!" Gradgir was starting to cry. "Please!"
Drake raised his palm at the examiner, created a fireball and with a smirk, said
"Oh yeah? These are your final...." But before Drake could finish his sentence, Sarah appeared and pushed him away, burning the skin of her palms and fingers.
"Auch!" she yelled with tears in her eyes. But still stood firmly between Drake and Gradgir. "S-stop! You won! Please!"