The Guild's Test

“I think it was this way…” I muttered to myself. I was never very good with directions.

At Liz’s request, I headed to the Adventurer’s Guild early in the morning to register so I could work as one in the towns we would visit.

I had some trouble figuring out the route, but I managed after a while.

Something I noticed was that the market stalls and shops were only just being set up. I guess I really did come early.

When I entered the guild, I was once again greeted with some stares, but there were fewer people than before, most likely because of the hour.

“Welcome, sir, how can I help you?” the receptionist greeted me, just as polite as the other day.

“I came to register as an adventurer,” I replied.

“Very well. To begin the registration process, you must first pay a fee of 10 silver coins.”

Following her instructions, I took out the exact amount and placed it on the desk. I had it ready thanks to Liz, who knew the fee beforehand—though it would have been troublesome if the price had gone up.

The girl quickly counted the money and smiled.

“All complete! Please, follow me,” she said, stepping out from her counter and guiding me toward the back of the guild.

Beyond the desk where we had sold the materials and the pendant yesterday, there was another door. It was a double door, larger than the others in the building.

Once inside, a wide and spacious arena spread out before me. In size, it was similar to a basketball court, but the floor was entirely dirt. Around the walls were a few benches and even some wooden weapons.

“Please wait here until the instructor arrives,” the receptionist requested. I accepted and went to sit on one of the benches while she left.

I wonder what the instructor will be like.

Truthfully, I was pretty nervous. It had been days since I last faced a person instead of a monster, and I knew nothing about my opponent.

Thanks to fighting monsters, I hadn’t gone rusty, but I was still uneasy.

Not long after, the doors I had entered through opened again, and a huge man stepped into the arena.

He was very tall—if I was 1.85 meters, then he easily neared 2 meters. His skin was slightly tanned; his body was broad and muscular; he had a somewhat long beard; red hair cropped short; and he wore a green short-sleeved shirt that clung to his build, dark trousers, and brown boots.

“A pleasure!” the instructor shouted upon seeing me. “So you’re the new one!”

“Yes! My name is Naoya Fujimoto!” I replied, quickly standing.

At my introduction, the instructor simply clapped me hard on the back.

“No need to be nervous, boy!” he said with a huge grin. “My name’s Draum, I’m an A-rank adventurer, and I’ll be your instructor today!”

He sure likes raising his voice… Wait, what!? A-rank!?

According to what Liz told me before coming here, there are six adventurer ranks: S, A, B, C, D, and E, from highest to lowest. Are you telling me I’ll have to face an adventurer of the second-highest rank!?

“Hey, are you alright? You look a bit pale,” the instructor asked with concern.

“N-no, it’s nothing…” I answered unconvincingly. “So, what do I have to do?” I asked with a flicker of hope.

“We fight, of course!” he exclaimed with a booming voice. “Grab one of the weapons on the wall and get ready to battle!”

And that hope died right there…

Following his orders, I went over to the weapon racks for a closer look. There were long and short swords, spears, shields, bows, and more—all crafted solely for training.

There was a wide variety, but I had already made my choice. I returned to the instructor, who had selected a large training axe.

“Where’s your weapon?” he asked, puzzled.

“I won’t be taking one,” I replied. “I prefer to fight with my own hands.”

It wasn’t just that I wasn’t used to handling weapons—it was simply that I felt much more comfortable fighting barehanded. If there were ever a weapon that suited my style, I’d surely take it, but until then, I’d fight unarmed.

At my reply, the instructor’s expression twisted into a threatening grin.

“Oh? So you’re looking down on me?” he asked.

He got it all wrong!

“N-no! That’s not what I meant—!”

“Good! In that case, I’ll answer your challenge!” he shouted, tossing his axe aside. “I’ll face you with my fists as well!”

How did it come to this!?

Even so, maybe this isn’t such a bad setup for me.

Two challengers fighting without weapons in an arena, one-on-one. Yes, I was already familiar with this.

I had never faced someone who surpassed me in size this much, but I’d have to get used to it. This world wouldn’t show me any mercy.

We both took our positions in the arena.

Then the instructor pulled out a coin.

“When this coin falls, the test begins,” he said as he flipped it into the air.

The coin soared high, but I never took my eyes off him.

It was only a few seconds, but they felt eternal as the coin descended. The closer it was to the ground, the slower it seemed to fall.

And finally—

Ting

The fight had officially begun!

I rushed at my opponent with my guard up, aiming a punch at his face, but he moved quickly and dodged.

In that instant, the instructor tried to take advantage of the opening to strike from below, but I reacted fast, retreating backward to put distance between us.

Now it was his turn.

He charged at me, aiming a punch at my stomach, but I blocked it with both arms. Even so, the blow was so strong that it forced me back.

“What’s wrong!? Didn’t you say you preferred fighting this way!?” the instructor shouted as he closed in again.

He tried to hit me straight in the face, but I deflected his punch with my left arm and, taking the opening, landed a heavy blow to his head, disorienting him and forcing him back again.

But I wasn’t about to waste that chance!

I rushed at him again and drove my fist into his stomach with even greater force, knocking the wind out of him. Then I grabbed his head and slammed it against my knee.

At that point, I chose to step back, not wanting to get carried away.

The instructor recovered seconds later, cracking his neck as if nothing had happened.

“Well… you don’t fight half bad, kid,” he said, praising me. Yet I was worried.

Despite the number of clean hits I had landed, he didn’t look particularly hurt or even tired.

So this is an A-rank adventurer… He was a real beast.

The instructor tried to rush me again, this time intending to use both hands against me. I managed to catch them, but the situation wasn’t in my favor—it had become a contest of strength.

We gripped each other’s hands, pushing to gain the advantage. Sometimes it felt like I might overpower him, but then he’d put forth even more strength and push me back.

“Come on! Is this all you’ve got!?” he demanded. “If you don’t stop holding back, you won’t survive out there!”

He was right.

Because I was fighting a person, I had been unconsciously restraining myself.

Since arriving in this world, my strength had grown immensely—the undead in the ruins and the Stalkey had proven that—and I hadn’t wanted to unleash that on a person.

But not anymore.

If the instructor was strong enough to overpower me… then surely he could withstand my blows!

Resolved, I headbutted the instructor in the face, breaking free of his grip. He staggered back from the force, blood trickling from his nose, but I gave him no time to recover.

Moments later, I closed in on him and prepared my strike. I put everything I had into the punch and landed it squarely on his jaw.

That was, so far, my strongest attack.

At my punch, my opponent began to topple backward. Maybe it was the adrenaline, but everything seemed to move in slow motion.

I had won.

Or at least, that’s what I thought.

The instructor recovered quickly from the hit, managing to stay on his feet by stepping back to keep his balance. Then, I saw his fist glow, and in the next moment, all I could feel was a crushing blow to my stomach.

Cough

Cough

The strike was so strong it knocked the air out of me and left me in immense pain. All I could do was collapse to my knees, struggling to breathe.

“The test is over,” the instructor declared as he looked at me. It seemed I wasn’t the only one holding back.

Even though I must have looked pitiful on the ground, the instructor broke into a wide grin.

“You’ve passed the test!” he exclaimed enthusiastically. “Welcome to the Adventurer’s Guild!”