Chapter 4

Rumors

*Daisuke*

I have to consciously loosen my grip on the haft of my spear. It's just nerves, I tell myself. After all, this isn't even really going to be a fight. We're just helping to test a couple Bronze-ranks.

The rumors about these two Bronzes, however, have been the talk of the guild ever since the call for exam volunteers went out. I only received a missive from the guild requesting I come in a week ago, and even I've heard them.

Tales of just two Bronze adventurers clearing an entire overloaded dungeon on their own. Rescuing Lord Ettia's niece and nephew. Defeating a Level 30 Abomination. One of them hadn't even been an adventurer for more than a week before that last one.

Obviously, all of these rumors were questionable at best, but that last one was definitely false. Maybe they'd only been Bronze for a week, but no Bronze would team up with even another Bronze if they were that green. And anyone that was powerful enough to jump straight to Bronze without having been an adventurer prior had to be ex-military or some high noble's brat.

But the rumors said nothing of the sort. No, they said that the two rookies were a powerful foreigner with yellow hair and a blue-haired elfin archer. The talk filled my mind with images of a hulking, sword-wielding brute with rippling muscles, clad in only a loincloth and chest harness, and of an elegant, curvaceous woman with sea blue hair and a bow that could pierce a man's heart from across a battlefield.

I still my own heart with a reminder that the guild has nearly perfect intel on their capabilities. How they fight, what weapons they favor, their spells and skills, it's all documented, just like it is for everyone else.

Ostensibly, the idea is to best evaluate our limits so we don't get in over our heads, but nobody forgets that the guild is basically an imperial agency. Effectively, the throne has records on every adventurer in the empire and exact details on how they've cultivated themselves, should that for some reason ever become necessary to know.

But I look around the room at the other people in here with me. Guildmaster Kobi is here, of course, but he won't be participating. He's only here to officiate and judge the Bronzes' performance. No, the actual activity of the test will fall to us some-dozen Silvers.

... For two Bronzes.

If the guild really knows so much about what to expect from these two, why so many of us? And we're not even the main part of the exam. We're challenges as they attempt to make it through one of the most grueling obstacle courses I've ever seen.

How powerful are these two if a dozen Silvers are just supposed to be a glorified distraction? Can this even be called an exam at this point?

I'm forcing myself to relax my grip again when the doors to the office portion of the guild open.

"We're here!" The voice is that of Dina, a receptionist and fellow Silver. Whatever dark thoughts the rest of us are having, she seems immune to them as she energetically leads three young women into the training area.

Long, yellow hair immediately catches my attention, followed shortly by the recognition of sky blue locks. Wait, did that mean these are the Bronze-rank adventurers we're supposed to be testing?! They're just kids! My eyes go over them again in detail as if they are second-guessing such an absurd conclusion, but no matter how hard I look, the impression doesn't change.

Both of them are very lightly armored, nearly to the point of functionally none at all. They have leather chest protectors, but not a kind that would be good against anything more than wild animals. In fact, I'm pretty sure the elf's is more for protection from her own bow string than from any sort of attacks. There are some bracers and light pauldrons I can see, but, again, nothing that's going to stop a real attack from a Silver-level threat.

... Hold on, are they both ranged?! Just like the rumors, the elf has a finely-carved bow, as one would expect of elfin craftsmanship, but it takes a moment longer to identify what the foreigner is using. There's an odd tool on her hip that I've never seen before, but she turns slightly while talking to the elf, and I spot a strange-looking crossbow on her back.

... How in the eleven hells did two ranged specialists achieve those kinds of accomplishments? How weren't they just overrun and torn limb from limb?

And, again, they're so young. Exceptional Bronzes, I could believe, but already testing for Silver? How could they possibly have grown so fast? The foreigner could have been a noble's kid from the look of her, but she doesn't dress like it. Elf ages are always harder to guess, but they take on behaviors as they age that this one still doesn't possess. No, even as an elf, I'd place money the two are basically the same age.

My eyes go back and forth between them as I try to figure out which of these two kids, each young enough to be my daughter, was the one to defeat Kaido in a flash. Assuming the rumors are really to be believed, of course. The monk is entirely too enamored with himself, but that doesn't make him a slouch.

When I finally turn my attention to the third young woman, I immediately scold myself for not doing so sooner. It's a Sacred Priestess! What is she doing here? I'd think that maybe she was brought in for wounds, but Sacred-level priests didn't do such base work, did they? Besides, we already have three healers present from the guild.

And what I said about elves definitely applies to this one. She doesn't look more than a couple years older than the other two girls, but her expressions and the way she carries herself ... They're nowhere near her age. In fact, she acts old enough that my mind insists she's too old for how she looks, even for an elf.

Something is terribly wrong here. These kids don't remotely look like the deadly duo of the rumors. Their gear is all wrong and there's no squad balance. And they're traveling with a Sacred Priestess like it's perfectly normal.

If you come across this story on Amazon, it's taken without permission from the author. Report it.

I'm getting that feeling in my gut. I had it just before a wyvern attacked us in that mountain pass. Even when I was an iron, I had it before the goblin raid that left me with a clipped ear. It's the feeling that we're not getting all of the information, that something essential is missing, that it's all about to blow up in our faces.

But, like always, events proceed regardless. Dina leads the lot of them to the guildmaster to announce them formally, then wheels back to them like a showman.

"Well, go on, you two! All of these people are here to help test you today! Introduce yourselves!"

The yellow-haired girl is the first to do so. The greeting is as foreign as she is. No bow, just a wave from an arm held at a right angle. It's accompanied by a bright, friendly smile. "Hi, everyone! I'm Remmi, it's nice to meet you all!"

Yeah, if she's not a noble, then she's absolutely a rich merchant's kid. No lack of confidence, either. In fact, she's acting like this is nothing but a social gathering. There's no combat tension to her form at all. I could see her giving the same greeting from behind the counter at a store, acting as if every stranger to come through the door is an old friend she's happy to see again.

Maybe that's the trick. It makes sense that a merchant's kid would be taught to greet people that way. Tension is bad for business. Making the customer feel at home is essential. In that case, she covers whatever she's actually feeling frighteningly well.

Before I can start worrying about that, the elf takes a turn, following the foreigner's lead. She actually does bow, very formally, hands clasped together, and oh boy, there's a lot of tension there. She looks like she's carrying enough for the both of them. "I'm Ayre. Please take good care of us."

I want to do exactly that. Seeing all of that nervousness, I want to tell her that she's going to be okay. I want to protect her like the kid that she is, or at least reassure her that it's only a test and she's in no danger.

Gone is the mental image of a confident, dominant woman ready to kill a man at any distance, by glance or quiver. In its place is the reality of a teenager that looks from the big city, fashionable but utterly out of her element. A lot of that is probably nerves. She's already a Bronze, so I know she's more competent than her worry is making her appear.

My own nerves had driven me to expect overwhelming, legendary-looking figures. The truth of a merchant's daughter and a nervous elf has me stunned.

Now, the priestess steps forward, approaching the towering, gray bear of a man that is Guildmaster Kobi. "Forgive my intrusion, Guildmaster," she greeted him with a dip of her head. "I do not mean to be any trouble, I had hoped to spectate their exam."

I'm certain I'm not the only one of us wondering why a Sacred Priestess is so interested in watching a Silver-rank exam, even one as odd as this one.

"Sacred Yorin," Kobi growls. He sounds irritated, but it's an open secret that he's not nearly as gruff as he appears. Just don't say it in front of him. "Normally, I'd have no objection to a single spectator, especially not of your station, but this is already a very crowded event and a lot will be happening."

"I understand, Guildmaster," she agrees amicably with a dip of her head. "Would it be more acceptable if I lent my services to the test? I am certain that I remember procedure well enough to mesh with your healers."

The man that stands head, shoulders and a good portion of torso above her growls in consideration of the request. Then, as if he'd exhausted all of his words on his initial refusal, the guildmaster simply steps back and to the side without saying a thing.

The Sacred Priestess gives him a smile in thanks and steps past him to where the three guild healers have already separated themselves from the fighters. As she begins introducing herself to them, Kobi steps back to his previous position, like a massive door shutting them away from us again.

Still without another word, he reaches out and slaps Dina on the shoulder. She staggers forward under the blow, but otherwise takes the clear indication of delegation in stride. It's obvious she's already been briefed for it, and in all likelihood, the guildmaster never intended to explain the exam, himself.

"Alright, you two, the concept's simple," she opens, addressing the two Bronze-ranks, "but that doesn't mean it's going to be easy!" She points to the start ramp of the obstacle course and traces its spiral pattern around and across the training field. "All you have to do is get from the beginning of this course to the end!"

I watch the foreigner trace the thing for a moment, but she's grinning. "You guys have been watching us."

... Did that mean they'd been running courses like this for training? Was that how they got around not having a defender in their group, high mobility? That was dangerous. What if they got pinned down, or had to fight in too small a space? Though there are sections like that in the obstacle course, so maybe that's something we're specifically going to be testing them for.

Dina puts her hands on her hips and puffs out her chest. "We pride ourselves on making the best decisions for our adventurers! Besides, you were the one that asked for Guild advice on building your little tree house. You should have expected at least this much!"

She motions to all of us gathered and clearly girded for battle. "Now, you've got to go through the entire course, no skipping segments, but it's not just the obstacles that are going to be in your way! Us Silvers will be trying to stop you the entire time!"

The elf looks us all over, shaken by our numbers. "... All of you? How is that fair?"

I've been wondering the same thing, of course, but Dina is unflappable. "You're not fighting all of us, Blue! You don't have to beat us, you just have to get past us!"

Definitely high-mobility in focus, then, if that's the plan. That would make our numbers there to keep the pressure on, and our rank to make sure none of us happen to die accidentally from the bouts of combat.

The foreigner reassures her partner with some quiet words and Dina continues a little more with the explanation, laying out some more particular details. Finally, it's time for the guildmaster to start the exam.

The old bear lets out a bellow, and the girls take off. By the Essence, they really are fast!

... But we don't have to obey the no-skipping rule.

Dina throws her arm forward like she's unleashing hounds. "Get 'em, boys!"

And we charge like dogs loosed from our chains.

I'm one of several that dash ahead of the girls on the obstacle course. Some keep going, having to scrabble up the scaffolding, but I have a special jump as a spear wielder. The boosted leap sends me a story into the air and clear over the edge of the obstacle course.

I time it perfectly, grinning as I come up right in front of the foreigner. Like an idiot, she draws the crossbow. Firing something like that into melee? What is she thinking?! Even if it landed, she'd have to drop me in one hit, and then there's still no way she's reloading it before she gets caught again.

Not that she's going to hit me with it. Knowing they focused on ranged attacks, I was already ready for it, and I knock the bolt away with a swipe of my spear.

My eyes go wide as two more embed themselves in my chest. Right through my armor. How?! She never reloaded! Oh shit, I can feel it even as I'm falling backwards again, my body weight pulling me back over the ledge. One of them must have struck my heart.

I'm dying. I don't even register as my entire world shakes from hitting the ground. All I can think of is the same question over and over. How did it happen so quickly?!

A warm light envelops me as I'm about to lose consciousness, and the bolts' piercing pain evaporates from my body. Fresh strength surges through my limbs as I all but spring back to my feet. My hand immediately goes over my chest. Not just the wounds, but the bolts, themselves, are gone.

I grab my spear from the ground and grin. Let's try that again.