Neoh who had been waiting for the entry exam was completely bored out of his mind, it's been an hour since Ria had left the guild on the orders of the guild master Alton.
Although neoh was obviously a very patient person he was thinking of giving up and trying again tomorrow.
It was at this moment that the ground under his feet started shaking, it wasn't an earthquake and Neoh could tell that immediately, he stretched his senses and came across a giant man accompanying Ria, the man was stomping the ground as he was walking towards the guild, he was at least two meters tall and his shoulders were as broad as back of a horse, his muscles were bulging out and his skin looked like it didn't have more room for them to grow, he carried a giant mace on his back and he had long black hair which seemed like it was not combed forever.
This must be the guy Ria was sent to bring here, Neoh thought, better get ready then.
As soon as the giant man entered the building he shouted: "Where is that walking corpse? I need to talk to him"
Alton who was upstairs in his office heard him from downstairs but he didn't react and just waited.
Ria mumbled with a shaking voice: if you are talking about the guild master he is upstairs.
Ivor didn't wait for her sentence to end and started stomping his way towards the staircase.
BAM! BAM! BAM!
The wooden stairs under his feet cracked and the whole staircase seemed as if it was gonna give out at any minute, it was a miracle that Ivor somehow got to the top of the stairs without breaking it when he got in front of the old man's office he kicked the door and the door shattered into pieces.
"You fucking corpse Did you finally get dementia? Are you dying from old age? didn't I tell you to don't ever call for me ever again ?" He was shouting on top of his longs and his thick voice resembled a lion's roar
Alton didn't answer and took out a pouch from under his desk and put it in front of Ivor
"I don't want your money I just don't want to do this job anymore, now that you called me here I'm gonna break your neck"
'Will you at least hear my offer ?'
"Tell me, every man is allowed their last words"
'In that pouch, there are 100 gold coins, and all I want from you is to beat the boy downstairs '
Silence filled the room but after a while, Ivor looked at the money on the desk and locked his lips.
"Are you serious?, if you are mocking me I'll make sure to break your neck this time"
'I'm dead serious '
"Who is that boy that you are willing to spend this much money for me to rough him up?"
'That's none of your business, now if you are done wasting my time get to the arena and I will bring the boy with me '
"Alright I'll wait for you there "
Then he took the pouch and walked out slowly without making much noise it was kinda amazing how he could change his walking stance from a dinosaur walking in the forest to a master assassin.
Alton stood up and followed him downstairs, then he went to Neoh and told him to follow.
Neoh knew something was up with the test but he couldn't care less, from his perspective Alton had just made the situation more interesting, as if all of this was just a game to Neoh.
When they finally arrived at their destination Neoh was told to choose a weapon of his liking so he walked up to the weapon rack and took out a simple and plain long sword.
The arena itself was not too big, it was the backyard of the guild filled with sand, it was mainly used to test the new adventurers, although these days not many people wanted to be an adventurer due to high risk and low reward and of course the ongoing war.
Simply joining the army was the better choice, they received wages from the government, and a place to sleep, it had other benefits too like pensions, which made it a better job in every aspect compared to being an adventurer.
As an adventurer a person basically lives off of the rewards he earns by killing monsters, there are no wages or pensions or any kind of assistance from the empire, the only upside was that you could in theory kill a dungeon boss or find an artifact and get an astronomical amount of money for it but that was a big gamble many did not dare to make.
Ivor kept his eyes on the man entering the arena, he was a handsome boy looking to be in his early 20s, he didn't have any scars on his face or hands which made Ivor think that he wasn't a seasoned warrior, but he wasn't about to drop his guard, whoever this boy was, Alton had called for an S-rank adventurer like himself to beat him up, so he must have some tricks up his sleeves. Ivor was the first one to make a move he lifted his giant mace and declared his name "My name is Ivor the bone eater, and today I'm here to test you"
What a stupid name Neoh thought only the weaklings give themselves such edgy nicknames.
'My name is Neoh, I accept your challenge '
He talked and moved like a true noble, with elegant movements, he held his sword in front of him with one hand and the other hand he kept behind his back.
Alton who was watching this, couldn't make sense of the situation the appearance of Ivor should've terrified the boy but it had no effect, the boy looked like he wasn't scared at all, in fact, Neoh looked eager.
This naive village boy, he doesn't know who he is facing Alton thought.
Then Alton raised his hand and declared: This is a friendly testing match between instructor Ivor and Neoh, combatants should not hurt each other permanently, that's the only rule,as soon as my right hand moves you can start the match so be ready.
As soon Alton signaled the start of the match with putting his right hand down, Ivor kicked the ground and ran towards Neoh like a bull, he raised his giant mace and jumped in the air, and then he came down like a meteor targeting neoh from above.
Alton who was genuinely scared for the boy considered using a shield spell and saving his life, I told that fucking brute to not use any moves that damages the opponent seriously what the fuck is he doing Alton mumbled.
But Ivor didn't slow down, he had predicted that the boy would try to dodge his mace so he was ready to follow his first attack with another one if needed.
But then it happened, the boy who hadn't moved a finger all this time, raised his sword well above his head and blocked the incoming attack head-on.
BAAaaaMMMMM!
Dust had filled the air where seconds ago two warriors clashed, the impact letting out a deafening sound.
When the dust was settled Alton could see the figure of the warriors exchanging blows and it seemed like Ivor was getting overwhelmed, the boy was just too fast and his technique was flawless like a master swordsman, the crazier thing was that he had the power to block the attacks from the giant fighting him.
Alton who couldn't believe his eyes slapped himself a couple of times to check out if he was dreaming, but it was real, the village boy with the amazing magic core was fighting an S-rank adventurer on equal terms.
If somebody told him this story before, he would cut their tongue for spreading nonsense but it was happening in front of his eyes.
It had been years since I had fought like a human, it's fun to sometimes bring myself to the level of a human so I can enjoy this kind of battle, although he had still super strength and speed he was trying his best not to send the big guy flying into the stratosphere.
This guy is an instructor so he must be a mid-level adventurer, now that I have an understanding of their power scale I can adjust my power to be just a little bit stronger than this guy, this way I can also avoid raising too much suspicion, or so he thought.
Ivor was mad, very mad, in fact, it was the first time he was this mad in his whole life, his every swing met an equal response in the same trajectory, it was as if he was hitting a wall made out of some unbreakable and unknown substance, and it made him feel inferior, all of his life he had relied on his strength to push him through hurdles but it felt like all of that strength amounted to nothing when facing this boy, the blows that had managed to crush a minotaur in one swing were now getting blocked with ease, and it was getting worse, the boy was stepping towards him slowly while he was giving ground, His giant arms started to feel heavy he couldn't keep up the same pace forever he felt like he had to do something.
Strength amplifier X5 he shouted, this was a scroll he had saved for situations tlike this, the day he had took this scroll off of the corpse of a bandit he knew one day this would come in handy, with newfound hope he raised his mace one more time and jumped towards the boy, his plan was to swing as hard as he can and hope for the best, but as soon as his feet left the floor he felt a sensation in his chest, he looked down and saw the boy's fist pressing against his chest and then the world went dark.
Alton who saw the boy punch a literal giant several meters into the air had his jaw glued into the ground, he was looking at neoh in disbelief, no words had the power to describe the the situation he was in, and soon a feeling of realization washed over him, that boy is powerful.
It was a simple conclusion, one that anyone could come up with witnessing the battle, but for Alton, it meant something else, he wanted to avoid any altercation with Neoh forever, he didn't want any part of it.
Oops, Did I punch him a little too hard? , Neoh wondered, eh it shouldn't matter a lot, he was a weakling anyway they wouldn't mind me giving him a beating, then he walked out of the arena and towards where Alton was standing, he let out a smile and asked: Did I pass?