"Huh?"
Damn, I'm so cocky... It's not like I can lift this sword that easily, and it's not like I'm a professional at sword arts.
But if I compare my current condition to yesterday, this one felt really awesome.
It's like I'm continuously in my prime or something. I feel unstoppable.
On the other hand, the other guy just had his ass completely trashed by Jrake. He knows that he isn't good, and now he is being taunted by me, another tester that Jrake suddenly asked to replace.
He isn't quite happy.
"Begin!"
Jrake shouted from the bench, marking that the test had begun.
The guy started moving immediately, and he rushed forward towards me with the intent to cut me. His move was fast, and he was definitely going for the kill as he rushed.
He moved his sword to do a swing from the right, and with enough strength, he swung forward to slice me.
As he moved his blade and sliced the air to my body, it felt to me like time has slowed down, leaving the world black and white. The only thing that is moving is my eyes, and the unbearably slow movement coming from the blade that is moving towards me.
During all this action that is happening, my mind is moving at incredible speed, realizing a certain event that is happening inside of me.
So this is…
Evolution.
Without realizing, I grinned madly.
And… I let go of my sword.
As he swung his sword, I moved my left hand and grabbed his wrist, stopping his sword from moving. Then I moved very quickly to the right and used my left leg to kick his right leg.
After being kicked, the guy fell forward with his face first. His face landed on the dirt ground, and he immediately tried to get back up. But as soon as his hands pushed the ground, I used my right hand to slam him on the back, to keep him from going back up.
He is at a deadlock. His right hand is no longer holding a sword and being held by my left hand, his face is on the floor, and his back is being pushed down by my leg.
He can no longer move.
Every single thing that happened just now was in slow motion. I was able to see things clearly, and my thoughts worked just as fast. I didn't even realize what was going on until he was already locked down on the ground, writhing as he declared forfeit.
Ah… oops. I was pushing down his chest, that must've felt suffocating.
I lifted my body away from him and turned my gaze at Jrake and Klane. And I found them… pretty shocked.
Did I... go overboard?
In the end, the guy didn't get passed. He was too terrible with swords to begin with, and sending him on missions will only get him killed. Both Klane and Jrake agreed that the guy will not be passed, and I supported their decision. I still feel bad for bullying him, though…
Sorry pal... you were just too weak…
After accepting the fact that he failed, the poor guy left with a pained smile after apologizing to Jrake and Klane. And after the guy had left the back arena, Jrake looked at me coldly.
"Why did you drop your sword?"
He asked that seriously, expecting I wouldn't answer him half-heartedly. Of course, I have no intention of answering random gibberish to him, since he is my teacher to begin with.
This question… is definitely a test from him.
"At the moment, I only know how to fight hand to hand. I have no clue how to use swords yet."
"Huh…?"
Of course, that wasn't an answer that he was expecting.
"If I used my sword instead of my hands, I might have just sliced him by accident… Don't forget, neither he nor I was any good with swords. Who knows what will happen if the two of us go crazy with the sword.
I mean… worst case scenario, the two of us might get stabbed to death."
I explained to him my thought process when I dropped my sword, and even though it was a valid decision, it was not the right one.
I know this, and Jrake knows that I know. But the situation does say it was necessary for me to take that action, to avoid the worst scenario.
"Hah… You can at least be careful with the sword as you swing them…"
Jrake said while rubbing the back of his head, but I chuckled.
"Come on, now. That wouldn't be fun."
He chuckled as well, and we both turned to Klane who was finishing her notes.
Now that the test is done, we can go back to our normal lives. But, it's not the time for training just yet.
Jrake said to get some rest and we will start training after the second bell, which I expect is at 12 pm. He said he will train me seriously from now on, so I should expect harsh training from him.
Klane also said she wants to check my points again. So before I went to my bedroom, I went to the office's receptionist room with Klane to have my magic points checked, even though we just checked this morning.
There I met with Klane's friend, Miss Keila, who was writing her papers when we entered. She looks much younger than Klane, and seemed to be around one or two years older than me. But I don't know for sure, since a girl's appearance can be misleading. Her hair is blonde, which is a fairly normal color compared to the dark blue test taker from earlier.
After noticing me going inside, she glanced at me and waved her hand ('Helloo!'), so I waved back. She is quite cute, but maybe she only acts like that because I'm a girl as well.
I looked around the room upon entering. The inside of the office's receptionist room is just full of mostly papers.
Most likely the data for adventurers and their missions. Don't they have an inventory for these types of things?
I asked Klane about that, and she began explaining to me.
"Well, for the important ones, we have an inventory room on the second floor. The ones you see here are just for the ongoing ones. Missions, adventurers, reports... anything recent, basically."
Hmm... Looks like they have all these sorted out already. I won't have to help them out with secretary stuff, after all.
Klane took out the magic crystal again and held it on the holder. I put my hands on the crystal like before, and the crystal glows much brighter than before.
Words came out at the bottom. I can read it now.
"Magic Points, 67?"
"W-What??"
The short solo practice in the morning, watching other people spar, and a simple act of wrestling a newbie with a sword. Just all of that, and my points were able to rise by 11.
I guess reaching 130 points is really just another number, huh?
Meanwhile, Klane looked very freaked out. I can see the shades underneath her eyes when she ponders about something in her mind.
As soon as she decided what to do, she immediately grabbed my hand and pulled me away, far from where her friend could hear.
"Rize. Come here."
She pulled to the back, and I followed her into this dark room full of papers and a single table. It seems like the manager's room or something, because the single table looks pretty messy with ongoing paperwork.
"Rize."
She said with a serious face, so I can tell that this must be serious business.
"You must not tell anyone about this."
"H-Huh? About what?"
"About the fact that you could grow so many of your points in just a few hours. This is really dangerous, Rize. Many people would chase after you."
Ahh, so that's what it's about…
I guess being too overly talented is also wrong. It's annoying me a little at how I suddenly have something good, and that I couldn't just show it off with everybody because it was wrong.
I don't know, it's just pissing me off.
But in the end, I nodded and smiled.
"Okay… I'll keep a low profile. For your sake."
I had to add that, because it was something that she told me to do. Hearing this, she smiled as well.
"Thanks... It's just that, there is another person with this huge growth rate."
"And that is?"
"The King of Dragons."
Eh?
I mean, sure... In a world of magic and knights, why wouldn't there be a monster like a dragon?
My question is, there is a thing called the king of dragons?
C-Can I be the king of something as well??
"Ah, I... see."
She held my hand with both her hands.
"Promise me you wouldn't let anyone know. This could endanger you, and probably everyone else who is close to you!"
Hearing this, I recalled some things from my world. I have seen many sad movies where a single problem came to the main character, and everyone around him dies thanks to it. I really hate those kinds of movies, because after so much hard work and effort that they put up, the main character ended up being alone.
I don't want to become like that. I'll do what she says, so that I won't be alone in the end. I'll hide my points and try to show as little talent as I can.
Besides, I wouldn't want to have such fame just yet.
After that, we left the manager's room and I went back to my bedroom. Klane said I could borrow her story books from inside the inventory room we were just at, so I picked some that intrigues me.
First book, the legend of Mazino. It tells how the Mazino kingdom was made, basically its history. It also told the story about the government.
Currently, the king is called Bestall Mazino. And he had only one daughter, who was somehow cursed... And then his wife who is the true bloodline of the kingdom... Who is somehow sick from an incurable disease...
Sounds more like a pain story for the king...
Next book!
Second book, dic..tio..nary???
There is no title, but inside it's actually a dictionary.
This is perfect. I can study more grammatical stuff from this book. I learned how to read from Klane's book for children, which was for… children. This book will introduce me to a more advanced knowledge that I will need.
But, I'll read it later.
Next!
Third book, monsters. Every single kind of monster of this world is reported in this book. From their names, their danger rank, even the details like strengths and weaknesses were given perfectly. The same can't be said for the high ranking monsters, because not even high ranking adventurers know much about them.
Perfect book to pass the time.
There are four types of dragons that are known by the people.
A wyvern, basically a flying lizard. It's not exactly a dragon, but the people here classified it as a dragon. It can't shoot flame, but it has legs big enough to slam your entire body down into juice. Blue ranked.
A lesser dragon. Basically a variety of dragon that is so much smaller in size, but it is still a dragon. It can shoot flames, and it can also shriek really loudly. Rank, Yellow.
The regular dragon. A normal dragon, as tall as a three story building, with wings longer than four carriages. Rank, White.
Finally, the most dangerous category of all monsters is… the elder dragon. The size is as huge as the Mazino middle castle, where the king and queen live. Rank, Black.
Black? There is a rank like Black?
The rankings that the kingdom uses are based on colors. They use the rank system to rank adventurers and monsters, but they don't work the same way as one another.
The bottom rank is Black, which is the rank for unranked adventurers who have yet to take the test. Above that is the rank Red, which is the rank that adventurers reach after they have passed the test.
Unlike adventurers ranking, there are no monsters at the Black and Red ranking. This is because monsters are ranked based on their 'Danger' level, while adventurers are ranked by their skills.
Above the rank Red is the Gray rank. This is the rank that blue haired guy gets after passing the test with flying colors. It's also the rank where adventurers start to receive a more dangerous mission, like facing wild animals that have a small chance of killing you. As for the monsters, the danger level is still at the very bottom, so things like wild animals or low level goblins are placed in this category.
Above the Gray rank is the Purple rank. Adventurers get more skilled at this level, while the monsters get more dangerous. The same goes for the level above that, which is Green rank. And the rank above that, the Blue rank. And the rank… above that. The Yellow rank.
At the very top is the White rank, that is the highest rank that an adventurer can achieve. Adventurers at this rank are considered a hero by the entire kingdom, and have a level of fame that reaches the other kingdoms.
Which… confuses me as to why there's a Black ranked dragon here.
Isn't Black where the rank of the bottom? Why is it Black? Does that mean the elder dragon is so weak even a non adventurer can defeat? No, that can't be right.
At the beginning of the book, it was mentioned that the ranks of the monsters are mostly unrelated to the ranks of an adventurer. They just somehow use the same ranking system.
It could be said that a Green ranked monster sometimes requires a Green ranked adventurer to take them down. But, that was only for certain adventurers who had the skill to do it.
And when the monsters flocked together, their danger level could rise by one. For example, if there are 10 Purple ranked monsters fighting a single adventurer, their rank could rise into the Green rank all together.
A flock, or a pack, will be ranked differently based on their amount.
I kept on reading the book, and I was so immersed by the amount of information that it has on monsters. I was memorizing them, even.
It was just so fun to read that I didn't realize the second bell rang.
As soon as I heard the loud bell ringing, I jumped out from the bed and left the books there. I did a little stretch after standing up to unstiffen my muscles a little bit.
But of course, the real warming up starts at the back arena… with Jrake!
"Time to train!!"
I announced loudly, and I left the room in a rush.
First and foremost, I didn't realize my muscles are still too stiff.
Second, I was dizzy due to the long amount of time I spent reading.
And as a result…
I fell down the stairs.