4 Chapter 4

"Split up by your groups," the demi-human said as the ten of us, now all split into five groups of two, walked back to his side.

The dwarf, named Grimnar, and I paired up and moved to the left of him as he sized up the group combinations, "Very good. Is there anything anyone wants to say before we begin?" he asked.

To my surprise, someone from the group to my right stepped forward and pointed to one of the level 1s, a shorter girl with twin daggers, "We call dibs on fighting her."

The woman who had stepped up was a dark elf with a spear, while her partner was a human who had two curved swords strapped to his sides. They were clearly trying to exploit their longer reach over the short woman, which would only be magnified by their longer weapons. I wanted to groan as I was disappointed that I hadn't thought of doing something similar and requested who to fight against. A different group stepped forward after that, but the rabbit man sliced his hand through the air and spoke.

"If you are requesting an opponent, I am sorry to say, first come first serve. This group will battle Natalia," he said, gesturing to the woman with knives, "I will assign the rest of you myself."

Grimnar and I ended up pitted against a younger man with a shield and a spear, definitely not ideal. We briefly discussed strategy against all ten armored figures, but since there were ten possibilities and we would only be facing one, it was hard to properly strategize since we had no idea who we would face. The man before us was one that neither of us had wanted to face, but things don't always go your way. The three of us moved to a separate part of the training area then the other groups, with another one of the figures coming with us to spectate. I suddenly realized that there were never ten opponents, but five of them were there as ploys for us to consider having to face in battle while they were really observers.

I had no more time to think about the workings of the test as the observer walked between us and our opponent, "The test will last five minutes. Try your best."

With that, it began. Grimnar let out a bellow as he rushed forward, gunning for our opponent's left side where he held the shield. I followed closely behind, using my partner's bulk as cover as we had agreed upon earlier. Grimnar swung hard with his ax, aiming low to try and cause the man to stumble to give me an opportunity to flank and strike from behind. However, with an almost lazy movement, the shield blocked the blow and didn't budge an inch. I took the opportunity to strike high at his head, but I had to abandon my attack as he swung his spear up to block my attack.

I was forced to contort my body and retreat as he thrust three times in quick succession at me. Grimnar swung up to disrupt the thrusts and tried to smash the shaft of the spear with a strong blow, but the man pulled the weapon back. I rushed forward and blocked a wing that would have smashed my dwarf companion across the face and tried to move in close to our opponent. I wanted to deny him the range that he needed to fight due to the length of his spear. However, that was until I was smashed in the chest by the shield and swept off my feet with a quick swing from the back of the spear. 

Grimnar tried to exploit the opening and circle around for a massive swing of the ax to the man's spine, but he ended up with a boot to his face as the man bent double and sent a nasty kick backward. I spun on the ground and slashed at his one foot on the ground, but he simply hopped slightly and landed on the blade of my sword, pinning it. Then, he brought the point of his spear to my throat before spinning around and doing the same to Grimnar. I almost took the time to sigh in defeat, but I realized that neither the man nor the observer was calling the match, so I quickly got up and sprung back into the fight.

I was sweating and panting heavily by the end of the five minutes, but we had been unable to put a scratch on our opponent. Eventually, the rabbit man called an end to the test and he called all of us to gather back. Once we were all back as a group, some my fellow competitors wore wide smiles and looked confident while others looked dejected and neverous. Grimnar and I wore neutral expressions as we lined up with the others. Then, we listened as the last few instructions were given. 

"Alright, those who stated that they had anything extra, like skills, items, or traits that would be useful to the familia, come with me. The rest of you make your way back to the gate to retrieve your items and wait for the results for around an hour. If you didn't notice it before, there is a table set up with refreshments for you." He said, watching as about two-thirds of our group, including me, headed off back toward the gate. 

Before I left, Grimnar turned to me and extended a hand, "You fought well back there. It was unfortunate that we were pitted against that man, but you gave it your all."

I gripped the dwarf's powerful hand and gave a nod, "Likewise. I was pleased to have fought alongside you."

He nodded and turned back to follow the man inside the manor to continue his tests. I followed the rest of the group along the opposite side of the manor after receiving my sword. I wasn't feeling too confident as we neared the gates, and I approached the refreshment table to grab some water. I waited just outside the manor until the final group went to take their test and returned. Then, a different demi-human came out and stood atop a wooden box, a list held in his hands. The crowd went silent as he cleared his throat to speak.

"Thank you all for coming here to try and join the Loki familia. All of you performed well. However, the Loki Familia only takes the best of the best, and it is a fact of life that you don't always succeed. The following candidates can follow me into the manor and discuss the details of joining the familia. Candidates number 406, 423, 455, 471, and 480 may follow me. To the rest of you, I wish you good luck and that you'll find the right familia for you as soon as possible." With that, he got down off the box and confirmed the numbers of the people who followed him inside.

I stood there in silence for a moment alongside the rest of the crowd who hadn't made it. Then I let out a sigh and turned to make my way back toward Babel. I heard a few curses tossed toward the Loki familia, but I didn't feel too bad about my rejection. I know what powers are in store for me as soon as I get a falna, but it didn't feel great to get rejected. However, I still had the Hepeastus familia to try out for, and I felt a bit better about this one. I have some basic forging skills due to being obsessed with blacksmiths in my old life. I constantly watched forging shows, and I was always woodworking and trying to build this thing or that.

I was definitely nowhere near skilled compared to people who had trained in smithing or crafting, but I knew the basics and could craft a simple sword or knife if need be. It wouldn't be pretty, but it would be functional. That gave me a bit more confidence as I approached the Hephaestus familia recruiting location. It was nowhere near as grandiose as the Loki familia's spot, but it was still large. It seemed to be some sort of warehouse. I approached the back of the line and received similar treatments as last time. A dwarf with a clipboard approached and asked me roughly the same questions, except for the addition of one more important question.

"Do you consider yourself primarily a crafter or a fighter?" he asked, prompting me to think for a moment.

"I would say that I am a fighter, but I know the basics of, and enjoy, forging and crafting," I said, prompting the dwarf to give me a dubious look. 

"A lot of people say that, lad. Then they aren't able to tell a hammer apart from an anvil." he said.

"Well, it seems that I am not a lot of people then," I said with a smile, causing the dwarf to laugh.

"We'll seen then." the dwarft replied, patting me on the back with a large hand.