The first person who caught his eye was a beautiful woman. She seemed to be about the same height as him and had long black hair.
When she realized he was looking at her, she looked in his direction and gave a small smile, which took him by surprise and made him quickly look away.
The second person who caught his eye was a man taller than him. He had short hair, and the clothes he was wearing couldn't hide his incredible physique.
The man also realized that Rohan was looking at him, so he looked in his direction and, like the beautiful woman, smiled.
The following person he looked at was a woman wearing glasses a little shorter than the other. She had blonde hair and looked tired.
He couldn't tell if she realized he was looking in her direction because she didn't express any reaction apart from yawning.
The last person in the group was a man with short brown hair who appeared to be about Rohan's height. He had his arms crossed and seemed a little impatient.
Seeing Rohan staring at him, he said, "How long do you intend to watch us?! Get to your position so the test can begin!"
Rohan was shocked to hear this, but before he could reply, the tall man said, "Hey, you don't have to be rude to him. It's not his fault he's late. The guards said they forgot to tell him. Besides, he was the last to arrive in town."
The black-haired woman then said, "That's right. There's no point in shouting at him."
The brown-haired man then fell silent and turned towards the guards to wait for the test to begin.
Rohan wanted to thank them both for defending him, but before he could, they turned towards the guards to wait for the test to begin.
He then positioned himself next to them and turned to the guards.
Seeing this, Hes said, "Well, now that all the participants from the first wave are here, let's start the test. First of all, I should explain the situation you're in at the moment. After all, you must be confused to have appeared in the middle of a strange place out of nowhere."
Rohan and the tall man nodded in agreement.
Hes then said, "Well, first of all, there's no need to worry. You can return to your world. Just complete a few missions given to you within the city, and you'll be sent back home in the end. That said, let's finish this test as soon as possible so I can take you to your first mission."
Hes and Uson then took some metal spheres from their pockets and handed one to each of them.
Rohan began to look at the sphere in his hand, but before he could ask what to do with it, Uson said, "Please clasp the spheres in your hands."
Everyone then clasped their hands around the sphere, and after a while, they all felt a slight sting in the palm of their hands, which made them open them.
Rohan was about to complain when suddenly the black-haired woman said, "What just happened?! Why did I feel a sting in my hand?!"
Everyone looked at the guards, and then Hes said, "Don't worry, Mai. The spheres only took a small sample of blood."
"I'd better not get any marks on my hand from that!"
"That won't happen. The needle used to draw the blood is tiny. You weren't even supposed to feel pain when it pierced you. The only reason this happens is so that your body knows it's been punctured, thus speeding up the regeneration process."
Mai then looked at the palm of her hand, and when she saw that nothing looked different, she said, "There doesn't seem to be any mark left. Okay, you can continue with the test."
Hes said, "There's nothing more to do. That was the test. Now, we just have to wait for the result. It won't take long."
Rohan then said, "Is that all the test is? Why couldn't you have done it yesterday?"
Uson said, "It couldn't take the test because you got tired walking in the forest yesterday, and you needed to be in perfect condition before taking the blood."
"I see, but I wouldn't say I'm in perfect condition after just one night's sleep."
All the other test participants seemed to agree with what Rohan said and then looked in Uson's direction.
He said, "Don't worry, you're in top condition. The food you ate yesterday had a special substance in it. It helps to regenerate your body. What's more, it causes you to feel exhausted. This, in turn, prevents you from waking up before you are in perfect condition. That's why we didn't wake Rohan and made you wait."
The brown-haired man then said, "Are you crazy?! Are you saying you drugged us?!"
"Well, you could say that, but it was for your good. If you hadn't ingested the substance, it would have taken weeks for your bodies to be in perfect condition."
"Even so! That doesn't make what you did right!"
Hes then said, "Don't worry, even though we did it, it was for your good, and I can guarantee that all the people you'll meet while doing the missions are here to help you. So even if something like this happens again, you can be sure that, in the vast majority of cases, it will be for your good."
Rohan frowned and said, "What do you mean in the vast majority of cases?!"
"Hahaha, don't worry about it! It looks like the test results are ready."
Everyone then looked in the direction of the spheres in their hands and noticed that they were losing their metallic color and becoming transparent. Shortly after this, something that looked like a line of blood appeared inside the sphere and then began to move to the point where it formed the letter 'S'.
Seeing this, everyone was confused until Uson said, "Hahaha, looks like the first batch is excellent."
Hes said, "Yes. It's been a while since I've seen so many 'S's at the same time."
Mai then said, "What are you talking about? Is there something special about this letter?"
"I'll explain it to you. The test was designed to evaluate your body, and the possible grades are 'S', 'A', 'B', 'C', 'D', 'E' and 'F', with 'S' being the highest and 'F' the lowest. In this case, since you all got an 'S' in the test, you can say that you passed with the highest possible grade."
"I see, but how does that help us?"
"You'll understand how important this grade is when you start your first mission."
"Okay."
"Does anyone have any more questions? If not, I'll take you on your first mission."
Rohan then said, "I-I have a question."
Everyone then turned to him, and Hes said, "Go ahead. What's your question?"
"You said that the 'S' grade would help us on our first mission, but what about the 'F' grade? Could it hinder us?"
"The 'F' grade? Why are you worrying about that?"
Rohan stretched out the hand that was holding the metal sphere, which made everyone look in its direction and see a giant 'F' inside the ball.
Seeing this, the two guards were silent for a few moments, after which Hes said, "Give us a moment," and then pulled Uson away with him.
When Rohan saw this, he tensed up and looked in the direction of the other participants.
Mai and the tall man looked in his direction, gave a pitying smile, and then turned away.
The man with short hair and the woman with glasses didn't even look in his direction and just waited for the guards to return.
After a while, the two guards returned, and then Hes said, "Well ... there's no point in trying to mask the truth. After all, when you go on your first mission, you'll inevitably find out. Your 'F' grade will really hinder you."
Rohan said, "How much would that be?"
"To the point that you'll probably spend months before you get past the first mission."
"Months?! Are you serious?!"
"Unfortunately, yes."
"... Got it."
"If you want, you can stay here for a while to get your thoughts in order. I'll take the others on their first mission in the meantime."
"Well, I'd like to, but there's no point in doing that. If it's going to take me months, I'd better start this mission as soon as possible."
"Hm, that's a good thought. Keep at it even if things get difficult for you. Anyway, follow me. It's time for you to start your first mission."
The two guards then left the room, and all the participants followed.