ยฉNovel Buddy
Survive in the parallel world, please!-Chapter 100
Chapter 100: Donโt fool around at the adventurerโs guild, please! part
โThe nameโs Risa, but you can call me whenever you wantโ
A devilish smile appeared on her face, her fangs seem prominent but besides that she looks just like a regular human. A very naked human. ๐๐e๐๐ค๐๐๐ป๐จฮฝ๐๐ญ.c๐จm
โDonโt mind miss Risa, Iโll be in charge of todayโs testโ
Lorenzo said nonchalantly.
โUh? you want to fight old man?โ
She got close to Lorenzo and looked up to him, he was only a bit taller than her though.
โWho are you calling an old man, weโre on the clock here so you should act professionalโ
.....
โIโm being professional here, I need to properly asses the new adventurers in case I find someone delicious, errr I mean, someone strongโ
โFine, you can look, but please donโt intervene until its over or Iโll tell boss youโre obstructing my workโ
The sole mention of the adventurerโs guild boss was enough to calm her down. Her expression stiffened and her right eye twitched for a few seconds.
Lorenzo guided us towards a straw mannequin, there was a table with a sword, a knife, a spear and a bow.
โEveryone pick a weapon of your choice and hit the mannequin however you like, without activating any skill. In case youโre wondering, these are low level weapons with the sole purpose of testing your fighting prowess, so donโt even try to steal itโ
โWhy would someone even try to steal crap like thatโ
Luke sneered, earning him a lustful gaze from Risa.
โAs you said, they may be crap, but itโs a lot more than the usual starter weapons of adventurers. Most rookies come here with just a stick on her waist, others with stones, as if that wasnโt enough most of them are kids. I donโt really care if they steal this weapons, but itโs bothersome to go to the storage to grab sparesโ
The first one to hit the mannequin was Luke, he grabbed the sword and hit the mannequin from above wielding the short sword with both hands. It looked somewhat comical since he was all serious and even took a fighting stance with what can only be described as a toy sword.
Both Lorenzo an Risa reacted with a crooked smile as if they had expected it from the begining.
The next one was Bob. He grabbed the sword too but used it with one hand. He walked slowly towards the mannequin and hit it in the side causing the wooden pole where the mannequin was hung to break.
Both instructors seemed to be really surprised at his strength and Risaโs eyes became sharp.
Since Sera didnโt have any experience with any sort of weapon and the only thing she was familiar with was the knife she grabbed it. She used to help in the kitchen peeling vegetables while chatting with her sister, but she never even tried to stab something in her life.
She grabbed it with her right hand and put her index finger on top of it as if she was about to chop some carrots and walked forward.
Risa let out a snicker as she saw the weird grip Sera had on the knife and no one was surprised when she barely even damaged her mannequin.
Iโm the last one and judging by their reactions so far ti seems this test is comprised of three parts. First they see what kind of weapon they choose, second, they pay close attentions to the way they face the mannequin and last, they watch the damage output.
I grab the spear since itโs the weapon Iโm most familiar with and I walk forward, take a low stance and stab the mannequin from bellow.
Both instructors let out a disappointed sigh.
โFrom what Iโve seen, you all took this test seriously and that makes me happy. You, the big one, you really got some strenght donโt you?โ
Lorenzo said speaking to Bob, but before he could reply Risa walked towards Luke.
โHey blondie, why did you pick the sword if youโre not familiar with it?โ
โWhat do you mean?โ
โI could tell from the start that none of you have any fighting experience, but at least they chose a weapon they were comfortable with. You, instead, picked a sword even though you canโt properly wield itโ
Lukeโs face became red as a tomato.
โStop saying nonsense, I can properly use a swordโ
โYouโre strong, but if youโre so stubborn I wouldnโt want you on my team. Thieves shouldnโt wield swords, next time pick a knife instead and youโll see the differenceโ
โHey Risa! What did I say about not interfering? Next time Iโll go straight to bossโ
โJust what youโd expect from the favouriteโ
She sneered at Lorenzo, this time he did look uncomfortable when hearing he was the favourite.
For the next test we were supposed to throw something at different targets. There was a stone, a knife and a bow with arrows.
โNow please, throw a knife to each target, try to hit the the red spot at the middleโ
This time Luke hit the first target very close to the middle, he hit the second target almost on the outer rim and he miss the last target completely.
โAn average performance, I canโt say I expeced anything else from blondieโ
Risa mocked Luke who seemed to be stressing up quickly.
Bob hit the middle target and the farthest one, but he missed the nearest target by a huge margin.
โThatโs unexpectedly goodโ
The female instructor smiled. Lorenzo clicked his tongue at his nosy coworker.
โDonโt you have anything else to do? why are you bothering me at this hour?โ
โDo you really want me to say it in front of the new recruits. In that case Iโll...โ
โNo, thatโs ok. Just keep quietโ
Sera missed the three targets, but she was really close to hitting them.
โNot bad missโ
Lorenzo praised her.
It was finally my turn and I was eager to show my impresive marskmanship with my aim skill, they didnโt say I couldnโt use it after all. Itโs not like I can turn it off, itโs not a special ability like Lukeโs single strike. It just activates whenever someone takes aim at something.
I threw the knives at the respective targets and hit bullseye on every one of them, but the knives didnโt stick on any. My strength was nothing compared to Bobโs or Lukeโs after all.
โwow, that was bad. Like, really bad. Iโve never seen even a child failing this test, but this might be the first time everโ
Risa said, I thought she was mocking me and turned to face her but she looked honestly surprised.
โDonโt get discouraged boy, thereโs still a chance for you to prove your worth.โ
Lorenzo tried to lift up my mood, but itโs not like I was discouraged, im outraged!
โI donโt understand, what did I do wrong? I hit all the targetsโ
โWhile itโs true that you did as you were asked, and didnโt fail to hit the targets. The tasks donโt matter at all, what matters the most is our own appreciation of your skills and how you put them to useโ
โItโs my appreciation, youโre just a bystander Risa. But, yes, what she says its true. You may think the most important thing is to accomplish the task provided, that would be true if this was a quest since it wonโt matter how do you do it, as long as you finish the objective you would get a passing grade. But this is a test, and this tasks are just a means to an end, you could say itโs for teaching purposes. Most adventurers learn the most valuable lessons not in the first day of work, but on the testโ
After that he took us to a a corner of the courtyard. There was a bowl of water and a bear tied to a post.
โNow youโre supposed to use your skills however you see fit on this bear, donโt worry about harming it because youโre most likely too weak to do any damage without weaponsโ ๐๐๐โฏ๐ธ๐๐ฃ๐๐ฐฮฝeฦ.c๐๐ฆ
Luke, who was frustrated to no end by Risaโs constant mockery took a step forward and rolled up his sleeves. He lowered his center of gravity and faced the bear upfront.
He used consider, stealth and tried to activate backstab but since he didnโt have a bladed weapon with him he wasnโt able to. Instead of giving up, he got close range and performed an excelent hand chop to the bearโs neck. It writhed in pain, but was unscathed.
โWow! that was actually pretty good mister Luke!โ
Lorenzo said after checking again his notepad with the adventurer candidates names.
โYeah, blondie got some balls, to face a bear close range with such confidence. Maybe heโs not a lost case after all. If he put a bit more strenght to it, maybe the bear wouldโve been knocked outโ
Luke smirked at Risa feeling proud of himself and surely thinking it was to be expected from a hero like him.
Bob simply boosted his strength and hit the bear on the snout. It was a powerstrike and the bear yelped and wiggled from side to side almost falling to the ground, but managed to hold his ground.
When it was Seraโs turn she was trembling and didnโt want to get close to the bear. She looked at me, I think sheโs asking for permission to use magic instead of skills but I shake my head. We decided to keep anything related to magic hidden until we see someone outside our party casting magic.
โDonโt push yourself miss Sera, you already passed and if you forfeit this quest youโll simply join as an F rankโ
Lorenzo placed a hand on her shoulder, but she quickly reacted and pushed it aside.
โIf thatโs ok with mister Ryu...โ
โOf course Sera, thereโs no need to go that far. Can I skip this task too?โ
โIโm sorry boy, but you canโt forfeit... If you do, I would have to fail you. This would be the first time for me failing a healthy young man, even kids pass this test so Iโm sure you can do it. If youโre too scared maybe youโre just not cut to be an adventurerโ
โUhm... I donโt doubt I can do it, it just feels bad to hit a defenseless creature for no reasonโ
Lorenzo and Risa were left speechless.