CHAPTER 19

CHAPTER 19

The Battle Arena area of the Adventurers' Guild was enveloped in a suspended silence, broken only by the labored breathing of the few spectators present at the door of the testing hall.

Their gazes were fixed on the incredible spectacle unfolding before them.

The boy who had recently stepped onto the arena moved with a feline grace, his movements agile and swift like the wind. Every strike he delivered was precise, targeted, and lethal.

Before, when they had seen him go into battle, they didn't expect much, given his somewhat slender build and his appearance, although slightly above average, still modest due to his clothing.

They thought he was just another cocky young lad, thinking he could easily pass the test.

But now they realized how much they had underestimated him.

Gerome, who continued to repel Reily's attacks, couldn't help but marvel at the young adventurer's performance.

Reily's strikes were not only precise and deadly, but they carried a force that was rarely seen in an unawakened person.

Every swing of his wooden dagger was loaded with power, a manifestation of his incredible physical strength.

While maintaining his calm and concentration, Gerome found himself forced to defend with all his might.

Every one of Reily's attacks tested his defensive abilities, forcing him to display all his skill and experience.

He decided to switch to the offensive.

He hadn't taken a weapon, so he used his body to fight.

Reily, who had been the aggressor up to that moment, had to quickly change strategy and switch to defense.

Despite his good defense stats, he didn't underestimate the opponent in front of him, a peak F-Rank adventurer .

Although Gerome's speed wasn't bad, it was still bearable for Reily, but the same couldn't be said for his strength.

Gerome, who had forgotten about the test, went full force towards Reily.

For most of the time, Reily avoided his attacks, and when he could, he countered them.

"Come on, you can't keep avoiding forever,"

Gerome said as he missed another strike at Reily, who moved from one side of the arena to the other, trying to always keep a certain distance from him, and attacking whenever he could.

Thus, the battle continued with both of them alternating between defense and attack.

Despite his good stats, Reily did not have endless stamina, so he sought a way to end the encounter quickly.

As soon as Gerome finished his attack and moved away, Reily took advantage of the moment to throw his dagger at him.

The dagger flew quickly towards Gerome's face, who, seeing it coming, said with a smile,

"Do you think I'll be hit by such a simple attack?"

With that, he grabbed the dagger in mid-air and threw it out of the arena.

But just as he did so, Reily closed in on him and tried to strike a powerful blow to his jaw from below.

However, Gerome, momentarily caught off guard, didn't lose his calm, and managed to avoid it with a swift and precise movement.

He then grabbed the arm with which Reily had attacked him and pushed him to the ground, completely immobilizing him.

And so the battle ended.

The few spectators, who were still amazed by the boy's performance, snapped out of their daze and applauded.

Gerome released his grip on Reily and helped him up.

"Well done, lad. Although your moves lacked technique, they were still good," he said, taking a form and signing it before passing it to Reily.

"Congratulations, you are now a F-Rank adventurer," he said as he handed Reily the form.

Reily, who had just gotten up, took the form. Although he didn't expect to win, he still hoped to be able to hold out a little longer.

'The disparity between an awakened and a non-awakened can be felt. But that's okay,' he thought, adjusting his mood.

Gerome, who was impressed by the boy's skills, thought for a moment and then said,

"For your age, you're quite capable, but there's a limit to what you can do without an awakened mana core." He then took a token and handed it to Reily.

"I think it's time for you to awaken your mana core. Take this, it will give you a discount on the fee to awaken your mana core."

Reily took the token and looked at it. The token was in silver, with the guild emblem engraved on it.

Reily wasn't one to refuse free gifts, so he quickly thanked the examiner before he changed his mind. He then quickly pocketed the token.

"Thank you, sir."

Gerome, seeing the boy's swift movements as he made the token disappear, chuckled and then said,

"When you go to submit the form to the reception, give them this token, and they will take you to the device room. I wish you luck in awakening it on your first try."

And so, after bidding farewell, Reily stepped down from the small combat platform and hurried to the reception.

He already had in mind to awaken his mana core, as he had already earned more than enough money to do so.

He arrived at the guild hall and headed towards the reception, which had no queue at the moment.

The brunette receptionist was still at the balcony, and seeing the boy she had met earlier arrive, she wondered if he had passed the test.

She knew Gerome, and she knew he was quite strict with the candidates, so she didn't have high hopes for the boy to pass the test.

Reily arrived at the balcony and greeted the receptionist.

"Hello, here's my form," he said, passing the form over the balcony. The brunette receptionist, who expected to see a "failed," took the form and looked at it.

To her great surprise, the form had an "approved" on ita. Just as she was coming out of her surprise, she received another bombshell.

Reily passed the silver token over the balcony and said, "I would like to awaken my mana core."

The brunette girl looked at the token in amazement.

It was one thing for the boy to convince Gerome to let him pass, and another thing entirely to also receive his token.

This token was only given to certain examinees, more precisely, to those whom the examiner considered promising.

She looked at Reily and couldn't help but reassess her initial impression of him.

Since she started working at the guild, this was the second time she had met someone who managed to gain Gerome's approval.

The first person was a mage girl who, last year, during the test, managed to give a good performance with her weak abilities.

She knew that before she arrived here, there had been others who had managed to receive the token from Gerome, but they were very few, especially when considering the number approved by the other examiners.

So she couldn't help but be curious about the boy's future results.