Philip the examiner in front of her didn’t seem to care about the commentary. He simply shifted his weight, his wooden weapon resting effortlessly on his shoulder. He looked at Maddy’s slight frame, his eyes devoid of any warmth.

"Well? Are you going to stand there and wait for my disapproval or are you going to continue this trial by combat?"

Maddy remained still for a moment, her gaze fixed on the floor. In the silence of her mind, she was frantically communicating with the voice only she could hear.

"Lucy, unequip everything."

Maddy commanded mentally.

"Every combat trait, every passive buff, every hidden strength. I want my stats to look as natural and plain as possible."

[Response: As you command, commencing full unequip of combat oriented traits...]

Initializing...

Poof!

[Unequip complete! Your physical output has been lowered to the baseline of your current form’s (Demigod Princess) age and build. Any further suppression would cause physical instability and structural deformation.]

"Perfect."

Maddy whispered. She took a step forward, her movements looking slightly awkward and unpracticed. The crowd groaned at her slow pace.

"Is she serious?" a man shouted from the sidelines. "Hey, kid! Just walk away! That examiner just beat a B Rank in a heartbeat! You’ll be done in a single second!"

"Go home before you get a concussion!" another woman yelled.

The gray haired examiner—Philip did not flinch at the shouting. He did not care what rank was in front of him. Whether it was a King or a beggar, the circle was the only thing that mattered. He saw Maddy step into the center and raised his wooden weapon to his eye level.

"The world is loud but the blade is silent. Forget them. If you cannot focus on the man trying to hit you, you have already lost."

Maddy raised her greatsword and hold the round shield to her left hand It felt heavy now, her muscles no longer supported by the trait’s power she usually possessed. She felt remarkably just the princess.

"I’m ready," she said softly.

Philip lowered his wooden weapon slightly. He was not looking at her face, but at her gear.

"Worn brown leathers... a plain hooded cloak. That sword... too broad. Too heavy. Forged from raw iron without refinement and that shield... battered, but dependable. It has seen use. More than most."

He finally lowered his wooden weapon a fraction, his expression unchanged.

"Your equipment is nothing special. This is the kit of a traveler—not a warrior. But gear does not make the adventurer."

He raised the wooden weapon again, pointing it toward her with quiet authority.

"Whenever you are ready, F Rank... show me if you can even lift that iron."

Maddy simply exhaled, a long, slow breath that seemed to quiet the entire room. Suddenly, Maddy shifted. She dropped her center of gravity, her feet sliding into a position that defied standard Guild training.

Her shield wasn’t held high in a defensive box; it was angled low, tucked near her hip, while her greatsword was brought forward in a relaxed, swaying motion. It was a stance of perfect, terrifying efficiency—a form that suggested she wasn’t just preparing to block, but to flow through the attack like water.

Philip’s eyes widened, and he froze. He had fought thousands of men, from drunken brawlers to high ranking adventurers, but he had never seen a posture like this. It was completely alien to the combat manuals of the Kingdom.

"What... what is that? I-I have never seen a stance like that."

Maddy shifted her weight as she thought.

"I need to ensure I pass this trial... even without my traits, this body belongs to a demigod princess. She was a warrior long before she was used by those damned demonic ogres!"

She had used this form to slaughter monsters and to spar with her own powerful children in the cave. She had never used it "just as it was"—raw, physical, and stripped of supernatural buffs. She was curious to see if the technique alone was enough.

In a flash, she moved.

To Maddy’s own surprise, her body felt as light as a feather. She was swift as a flash of light, her feet barely touching the floor. This was the pure muscle memory of a royal warrior. Even without the combat traits, her bones and tendons knew exactly how to pivot and strike with lethal precision.

From Philip’s point of view, the sight was unreal. Usually, he was the one who dictated the pace. But as Maddy blurred toward him, Philip felt a cold spike of adrenaline. For the first time in his career as an examiner, his instincts screamed at him to defend first.

He didn’t have time to dodge or counter. He snapped his wooden weapon up into a desperate parry, his heart hammering against his ribs.

The "village girl" wasn’t attacking like a human. She was flowing around his guard, her greatsword humming through the air. The sound of wood hitting iron echoed through the room, and Philip felt the vibration rattle all the way up to his shoulder.

"She’s... she’s forcing me back!"

Philip realized, his feet sliding an inch across the stone as he struggled to keep his balance.

"Argh... what is this? Why is she—my strategy has always been the same: let the applicant move, dodge their clumsy strike, and end the fight in a single second!"

But as he stared at Maddy, his confidence wavered. There was no opening. Every time he thought he saw a gap in her guard, a subtle shift in her weight closed it before he could even twitch.

"But what is going on with this girl? Is she really an F-Rank? Or could she be... one of those rare bloodline... Prometheans?"

The first strike was so loud and sharp that every other sound in the room died instantly. Applicants stopped their sparring, and even the other seasoned examiners lowered their weapons to watch.

Philip was pushed back another inch. He was using both hands now, his muscles bulging as he tried to hold Maddy’s strike. He looked at her with a new, fierce intensity.

"Do not think this is a simple stick, girl! This wood was not carved from common timber. It was forged from the same sacred wood that our God, the primordial Prometheus, used to snatch the fire from the other primordials! It carries a weight you cannot imagine!"