"I am Balor, a S ranked hunter of the ministry. I will be overseeing today's exam.
A giantic man with a bald head said loudly while smiling. His head was so clear and sparkling without a single string of hair. He seems like a 2 meters tall middle-aged man but his face seems rough and wrinkles can be seen when he smiles. But his plain face does not also have any facial hairs. His physical appearance resembles that of a monk warrior. He was in a dark grey fit T shirt and a dark blue pant made of elastic fabric. With the brown leather boots which reached until the bottom of the knees, it was obvious that he was not in his battle dress.
"First of all, we will measure the soul energy for each one"
Behind him lied an enormous blue crystal.
"Place your hand on here like this and it will automitically measure the soul energy possessed by you" he said as he placed his hand on the crystal as an example.
"It will change the color according to the amount of soul energy you possess" he continued.
The crystal turned into dark red.
"Wow"
"Dark red"
"As expected from a S ranked hunter"
Mumurs were appearing from here and there.
"Please start with plate number 1"
A skinny guy went forward nervously.
"Place your hand on the crystal"
The crystal turned into dark blue.
"Dark blue huh"
Balor scratched something on the paper he was holding in the hand.
The No.1 guy came back to the line disppointedly and sighed.
Someone beside him was comforting him.
There are seven color stages of the crystal. Clear blue which is the first stage where no soul energy has been poured. Then it changes into dark blue, green, purple, red, dark red and black according to the amount of soul energy you possessed.
Then the examinees went one after another to get the measurment.
"Plate number 15"
A thin guy wearing a red shirt came out while pushing the people heside him. He tied half of his crimson red hairs up and there were some bangs hanging on the forehead. His face is also as thin as the body and the cheek bones are sticking out a little. The eyes are filled with arrogance and confidence and his behavior shows that he is convinced that he is better than anyone in the world.
"Step aside, you trashes"
He placed his hand on the crystal as he insulted the people around him.
"Wow, purple"
"It's his first evaluation right? And he is purple"
The crowd was surprised by that.
"Tsk, fuck"
He said just loud enough for the crowd to hear with a grimaced face and came back.
"What is his problem?" a guy standing on the left side of Noah said.
He has a large build with both fat and muscles. The short hairs on the head were curly and seemed like they were tying each other. His eyebrows are thick and there is a thin but visible mustache and a strand or two hairs on the chin. The round-shaped face seems a little swallow which shows that he enjoys beer and alcohol. His skin is a little browner compared to other hunters and the fat belly which shakes like a ballon when moving was the part which stands out the most.
"Who knows" Noah replied.
"I am Malik Thant, a tanker"
"Noah"
"What is your hunt..."
"Fighter"
Noah answered sortly and quickly.
"I heard there will be a team battle in the last phase"
So you are going around and making friend with others to gain the advantage for that.
"....."
"Plate number 29"
Lucy went forward.
"Wow, it is her turn"
"Yostar family"
Murmurs in the crowd.
"What is it about her?" Noah asked to Malik.
"She is from Yostar family"
"Yostar family?"
"Yes, a noble family which is famous for their fighters. It is rumoured to be the biggest noble family in Brklin"
Lucy placed her hand on the crystal without taking an eye off it. She seemed nervous contrary to her cheerful personality.
The crystal turned into red.
Only then she could sigh.
"Wow"
"As expected from a Yoster family member"
"She might get A rank on her first evaluation"
In most cases, the hunters have to take several hunter exams to get to high rank. Most of the first test takers are below B rank but they get stronger as they hunt and get promoted to high ranks through revaluations.
"Plater number 31"
"Oh, it's my turn" Malik said.
Purple.
"I was hoping to get red. haha"
He laughed sourly.
"Plate number 36"
That was a girl who was wearing a round and big glasses. The enormous glasses are covering most of her face and the dark eyes seems a lot bigger because of the reflection of the glasses. On the cheeks, comedonal acnes are sprouting. She was wearing a purple robe and an enormous witch hat which was obviously bigger than her head size. Her behaviour seems hesistant and slow because of her extraordinary nervousness and indecisiveness.
"I-it is me" she said nervously and went out of the crowd.
Balor observed her with a glance and said
"Place your hand on the crystal"
"Y-yes"
She answered with a shaking voice.
She was unnecessarily nervous for some reason.
"Hurry up, we have to finish phase 2 today"
Balor rushed her.
"Ye-yes"
She hesitantly place the hand on the crystal. She closed her eyes forcibly and murmured something repeatedly.
"At least green please, at least green please, ..."
The smoke like things in the crystal circled around like a typoon and the crystal changed the color.
Purple.
"Okay, purple"
Balor said it out loud.
She opened her eyes after hearing what Balor said.
"Huhh...."
She sighed because of the relief and became a lot less nervous than before. However, she did not seem like she was really happy with the result too.
"Okay, next one. Plate number 37"
It is Noah's turn.
"Finally" Lucy let out her voice.
"Go" Malik pushed Noah gently forward.
"Place your hand on the crystal"
"You would mostly likely be S rank with your current strength. So it is better to hide your strength on the first exam and get promoted to the higher ranks later on. It will attract less attention since it is the common way for most high rankers".
Damini instructed Noah.
I will go with green. That is pretty average for an ordinary hunter.
The crystal does not measure the soul energy which is poured into it. It actually detects the soul energy which was accumulating in the body and the heart which is the core of the soul energy in living things. So it is difficult to lie unless you know how to control all the soul energy in the body.
Noah took a deep breath and placed his hand on the crystal calmly.
He had to struggle to conceal the soul energy in the heart.
The smoke in the crystal gathered around and changed the crystal color into red. But the color was still unstable.
Fuck. Did i fail?
The color then changed into purple. Then it settled down.
Fuck.Fuck.Fuck.Fuck.
Noah was swearing in his mind.
"Wow, purple"
"There are four purple today"
"!!!?" the most surprised one was Lucy.
"I thought he was strong but to think he would be strong enough to manage to hide his soul energy from the crystal" she thought.
"Wow. Not bad"
Malik said with an impressed face.
"You are purple too"
"Haha"
"Let's get along together since we are both purple"
"....."
After Noah, there were a few others left to measure their soul energy.
"Okay, let get proceed the phase 2 of hunter exam. Follow me"
Balor led all the examinees to the arena which lied at the back of the ministry building. It was an enormous arena about 10 meter redius with the magic circles drawn on it. There were 6 lines of seats surrounding it.
Someone was waiting for Noah and the others at the arena.
"Hey" he greeted Balor.
"Yo, you are helping me out?"
"Yes"
"Okay. Everyone"
Balor said in a loud voice and clapped his hands to attract the attention.
"This is Joe Windy. An A ranked hunter. He is going to help me out as an assistant for phase 2"
"Nice to meet you" he said with a smile.
Joe is a tall guy was about 24 years old. The brozne colored curly hairs on the head were cut short and the sides upon the ear areas were shaved cleanly. The bronze color of the hair goes really well with his dark skin. His eyes are very small and narrow that they look like they are closing even with his normal expression. He was wearing a white shirt under a green robe which only covered his chest area. He was always wearing a smile on his handsome face. But sometimes, that smile could be seen as something terrifying or irritating.
"Okay go sit down on the seats until I calle your plate number"
Noah sat down on the last line of seat which was the highest and farest from the arena.
"Oh, you are sitting there"
Malik who was planning to sit at the third line sat down beside Noah.
"Wow, this is kinda far but we can see the whole arena from high. Good choice"
Lucy also sat down beside Noah.
Why are you guys here? And I am in the middle?
"My friend, you are acquaintance with her?"
Malik asked with a surprised face.
I am not your friend.
"Not really"
"W-what! Come on, we know each other" Lucy complained with a teasing voice.
"...."
"Okay, everyone listen" Balor shouted while standing on the arena.
"Phase 2 will be an individual battle where you will fight against me. Then I will judge your rank based on your skills"
"What if you lose?" the plate number 15 guy asked while folding his hands and placing his legs on the seat in front of him.
"Hahaha, don't worry I won't lose. And Joe is here for just in case something like that happens"
"Humph"
"Okay, now we will start the phase 2 of hunter exam. Plate number 1 come down to the arena"
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