Survive in the parallel world, please!-Chapter 100

If audio player doesn't work, press Reset or reload the page.

Chapter 100: Donโ€™t fool around at the adventurerโ€™s guild, please! part

โ€œThe nameโ€™s 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. ๐’‡๐‘Ÿe๐™š๐‘ค๐™š๐›๐—ป๐จฮฝ๐šŽ๐˜ญ.c๐จm

โ€œDonโ€™t mind miss Risa, Iโ€™ll be in charge of todayโ€™s testโ€

Lorenzo said nonchalantly.

โ€œUh? 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.

โ€œWho are you calling an old man, weโ€™re on the clock here so you should act professionalโ€

.....

โ€œIโ€™m being professional here, I need to properly asses the new adventurers in case I find someone delicious, errr I mean, someone strongโ€

โ€œFine, you can look, but please donโ€™t intervene until its over or Iโ€™ll tell boss youโ€™re obstructing my workโ€

The sole mention of the adventurerโ€™s 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.

โ€œEveryone pick a weapon of your choice and hit the mannequin however you like, without activating any skill. In case youโ€™re wondering, these are low level weapons with the sole purpose of testing your fighting prowess, so donโ€™t even try to steal itโ€

โ€œWhy would someone even try to steal crap like thatโ€

Luke sneered, earning him a lustful gaze from Risa.

โ€œAs you said, they may be crap, but itโ€™s 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 wasnโ€™t enough most of them are kids. I donโ€™t really care if they steal this weapons, but itโ€™s 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 Risaโ€™s eyes became sharp.

Since Sera didnโ€™t 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.

Iโ€™m 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 itโ€™s the weapon Iโ€™m most familiar with and I walk forward, take a low stance and stab the mannequin from bellow.

Both instructors let out a disappointed sigh.

โ€œFrom what Iโ€™ve seen, you all took this test seriously and that makes me happy. You, the big one, you really got some strenght donโ€™t you?โ€

Lorenzo said speaking to Bob, but before he could reply Risa walked towards Luke.

โ€œHey blondie, why did you pick the sword if youโ€™re not familiar with it?โ€

โ€œWhat do you mean?โ€

โ€œI 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 canโ€™t properly wield itโ€

Lukeโ€™s face became red as a tomato.

โ€œStop saying nonsense, I can properly use a swordโ€

โ€œYouโ€™re strong, but if youโ€™re so stubborn I wouldnโ€™t want you on my team. Thieves shouldnโ€™t wield swords, next time pick a knife instead and youโ€™ll see the differenceโ€

โ€œHey Risa! What did I say about not interfering? Next time Iโ€™ll go straight to bossโ€

โ€œJust what youโ€™d 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.

โ€œNow 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.

โ€œAn average performance, I canโ€™t 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.

โ€œThatโ€™s unexpectedly goodโ€

The female instructor smiled. Lorenzo clicked his tongue at his nosy coworker.

โ€œDonโ€™t you have anything else to do? why are you bothering me at this hour?โ€

โ€œDo you really want me to say it in front of the new recruits. In that case Iโ€™ll...โ€

โ€œNo, thatโ€™s ok. Just keep quietโ€

Sera missed the three targets, but she was really close to hitting them.

โ€œNot bad missโ€

Lorenzo praised her.

It was finally my turn and I was eager to show my impresive marskmanship with my aim skill, they didnโ€™t say I couldnโ€™t use it after all. Itโ€™s not like I can turn it off, itโ€™s not a special ability like Lukeโ€™s 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 didnโ€™t stick on any. My strength was nothing compared to Bobโ€™s or Lukeโ€™s after all.

โ€œwow, that was bad. Like, really bad. Iโ€™ve 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.

โ€œDonโ€™t get discouraged boy, thereโ€™s still a chance for you to prove your worth.โ€

Lorenzo tried to lift up my mood, but itโ€™s not like I was discouraged, im outraged!

โ€œI donโ€™t understand, what did I do wrong? I hit all the targetsโ€

โ€œWhile itโ€™s true that you did as you were asked, and didnโ€™t fail to hit the targets. The tasks donโ€™t matter at all, what matters the most is our own appreciation of your skills and how you put them to useโ€

โ€œItโ€™s my appreciation, youโ€™re 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 wonโ€™t 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 itโ€™s 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.

โ€œNow youโ€™re supposed to use your skills however you see fit on this bear, donโ€™t worry about harming it because youโ€™re most likely too weak to do any damage without weaponsโ€ ๐‘“๐š›๐šŽโ„ฏ๐˜ธ๐™š๐˜ฃ๐š—๐˜ฐฮฝeฦ–.c๐’๐ฆ

Luke, who was frustrated to no end by Risaโ€™s 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 didnโ€™t have a bladed weapon with him he wasnโ€™t able to. Instead of giving up, he got close range and performed an excelent hand chop to the bearโ€™s neck. It writhed in pain, but was unscathed.

โ€œWow! that was actually pretty good mister Luke!โ€

Lorenzo said after checking again his notepad with the adventurer candidates names.

โ€œYeah, blondie got some balls, to face a bear close range with such confidence. Maybe heโ€™s not a lost case after all. If he put a bit more strenght to it, maybe the bear wouldโ€™ve 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 Seraโ€™s turn she was trembling and didnโ€™t want to get close to the bear. She looked at me, I think sheโ€™s 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.

โ€œDonโ€™t push yourself miss Sera, you already passed and if you forfeit this quest youโ€™ll simply join as an F rankโ€

Lorenzo placed a hand on her shoulder, but she quickly reacted and pushed it aside.

โ€œIf thatโ€™s ok with mister Ryu...โ€

โ€œOf course Sera, thereโ€™s no need to go that far. Can I skip this task too?โ€

โ€œIโ€™m sorry boy, but you canโ€™t 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 Iโ€™m sure you can do it. If youโ€™re too scared maybe youโ€™re just not cut to be an adventurerโ€

โ€œUhm... I donโ€™t doubt I can do it, it just feels bad to hit a defenseless creature for no reasonโ€

Lorenzo and Risa were left speechless.