I knew that I was still on the ground floor because since I entered the guild house, I didn’t take any stairs that led up. Strangely, we walked through a passage, then took a turn that led to stairs that headed down. I was quite surprised that the building had an underground floor which made me wonder what it was used for.

Mr. Kai led me to an unusually large room. A kind of large that would have made me doubt it was part of the building. The curiosity about what the underground floor was used for, disappeared as we entered the room. It served as a space where they conducted their tests. At one end of the room, I could see some pieces of equipment that looked very unfamiliar to me. I didn’t know their names or functions but considering they were in that room, my guess was that they were used to conduct the tests.

On my right was a long balcony, stretching the entire length of the room, dividing it into two floors. People were standing on the balcony. They seemed to be interested in the duel between Mr. Kai and I, patiently waiting for it to begin.

“There are quite a few more people here than usual. I wonder why,” Mr. Kai said.

It was the first time I heard him speak since we left his office. While we walked to the test room, he stole a few glances at me. Though I noticed whenever he did, I pretended not to. My expression remained unchanged, and I followed him, walking in firm steps. I was certain he was surprised I chose the option of dueling with him, and he stole those glances at me to check if there was any uncertainty in my facial expression. I was tempted to say something to Mr. Kai in response but I kept my mouth shut because I didn't want to give him any impressions.

He walked to the wall on his right and pressed a button on it. I heard a loud humming noise which gave me goosebumps, almost ruining my perfect composure. I turned around to check which direction the noise came from and suddenly, a bluish radiance shimmered, erupting from the ground at the edges of the room. It felt as though we were inside a cuboidal enclosure, only that this one was transparent.

“It's a shield, just a precautionary measure,” Mr. Kai said to me.

I simply nodded, before he asked,

“Ready?”

“Yes,” I replied, finally saying something.

“No lethal strikes, protect yourself at all costs,” he added.

“How do we tell who wins or loses?” I asked him.

“Anyone who yields loses.”

I watched him as he assumed a fighting stance, probably waiting for me to make the first move. But I stood, looking unconcerned.

I knew that my behavior was gradually changing since I met Darya. Normally, I would have preferred to maintain a polite impression regardless of the situation. Maybe it was because I always felt inferior given that I was a Choryth with no abilities. At the moment, the situation was different. I felt strong, and that feeling grew even stronger, following my feat against the demons I fought in Landchet. With that kind of mindset, it was normal for the polite impression I’d always given off to gradually disappear. Yet, I strongly believed that the behavioral change was Darya’s doing and that she was influencing how I acted.

I triggered the grey domain, switching my perception into it as the world around me dulled, creating silhouettes, a reminder of what was. The duel began as I saw spikes flying in my direction and would have sworn they were ice. I didn't want to use realm slip or femryn’s jolt because I didn't want questions raised. Armed just with my sword and the grey domain, I was still confident I would win. That was the kind of confidence obtained from killing a demon.

The dense feel of the atmosphere in the grey domain was becoming less restricting. I could still feel the viscous atmosphere, but it felt as though its impeding effect on my movement was gradually waning.

“Don't you think you are getting ahead of yourself?” Darya asked.

“Didn't know you still talked,” I joked.

I found myself smiling. Weirdly enough, I was happy to hear her voice in my head. I unsheathed my sword that was strapped to my back and in a sweeping movement, I slashed wide in the direction of the spikes, aiming to shatter all of them in one strike. I was a bit surprised when they didn't break into pieces as I had expected them to. Rather, I deflected them away from the direction they were shot at before they fell to the ground.

“When did ice become this strong,” I wondered.

I didn't give it much thought as I charged at Mr. Kai. Though I wasn't using realm slip, I knew I closed the distance between us in an instant, judging by his silhouette as there were no visible signs of flames condensing on any part of his body. I slashed at him half-heartedly, just enough to ensure that it wasn't lethal. He reacted just in time as he shot himself backward. I didn't want to give him any opportunity to conjure any attack spells because I couldn't afford spells hitting me since I decided not to use femryn’s jolt or realm slip.

I charged at him again, slashing in his direction. This time, he wasn't taken by surprise anymore as his silhouette raised its right hand to block my sword. I wasn't bothered about cutting his arm off, he had to have some trick up his sleeve. As expected, my sword came in contact with something solid. Mr. Kai followed up instantly, parrying my sword as I lost a bit of balance. I could see his left hand approach me with a frightening aura, it approached my face to be precise.

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“Hey, I went easy on you, what’s with this murderous intent?” I protested inwardly.

His arm approached so forcefully that I could sense the vibrations it produced in the grey domain, and I was sure that it was clad in whatever he used to stop my sword. I arched my body backward, just in time to avoid his arm as I watched it glide slowly across my face. In the same motion, I flipped backward. Mr. Kai seized that tiny opportunity to press. I lifted my face only to see a spear-like silhouette approach me. I smirked, as a crazy idea popped into my head. It was no doubt, Darya’s.

As the spear approached, I side-stepped, moving away from its trajectory. And just as it was about to glide past me, I grabbed it. My arm jerked, but it was still intact. In the same motion which I had set myself in, I turned and flung it toward Mr. Kai. As the silhouette of the spear flew, I followed up like I was chasing after it. Mr. Kai reacted well, as he knocked the spear off before it could hit him. I was more surprised at my precision. I had never trained with a spear before, let alone learned how to throw one, but I just did, like I had been throwing spears my whole life.

Just as he recovered from the spear I threw at him, I appeared in front of him at a startling speed, slashing my sword upward. I knew I was going easy on him, the speed which I applied to land my strikes wasn't the best I could come up with. I was doing just enough to avoid landing any fatal strikes.

I saw him bring his hand downward to meet my sword but the strike never came or rather came faintly. I let go of my sword as I slid beneath him. Recovering almost instantly, I turned and landed a front kick aimed at his torso. He tilted his torso in the direction of the kick. Even though I couldn't see his facial expression, I could tell that he winced in pain. I bought myself enough time to pick up my sword.

Mr. Kai wasn't done yet. I felt vibrations beneath me. I couldn't tell what he was planning on doing, so I quickly changed my position. Just as I did, silhouettes of rocks erupted from the ground where I previously stood which merely missed me.

“Oh, he’s an earth caster,” I remarked.

I didn't want to give him the luxury to recover as I attacked again. I saw a silhouette of a slab being erected just in front of him. He was taking defensive precautions. He anticipated an attack but couldn't tell in which form it would come, so he decided to erect a barrier just as he saw me approach him.

The slab wall he erected was something that would have been conjured instantly If someone else watched him do it. But to me, it unfolded slowly. I reached just in time, placing my feet on top of the slab which was already halfway erected, letting it propel me upwards. I followed up, somersaulting and landing beside him.

Something felt off. I could feel faint vibrations on the ground. It wasn't like the one I’d felt earlier which shot out rocks, this one was rather gentle. Without hesitating, I dashed forward, changing my position, and before he could react I pointed my sword inches away from his neck.

I won. Though he didn't activate his Feel realm and I didn't get to see much of his abilities, the duel was over. I switched out of the grey domain as I saw him holding a black rod made of metal. I didn't even know when he conjured the rod but it didn't matter anyway.

Mr. Kai was a metal deviant. It was no wonder the spikes he conjured didn't shatter on impact with my sword, how he was able to block my sword with his arms, and how he was able to conjure those spear-like-looking silhouettes. I lowered my sword before putting it back in its sheath.

I could hear a round of applause from the balcony, the people watching were seemingly impressed by my performance.

“I underestimated your speed,” Mr. Kai said to me.

“I didn't think I was going too fast,” I replied.

I knew I was wearing a calm expression on the outside, but inwards, I was elated. I told him the truth, I was going easy on him. Some words Darya had once said to me, rang in my head,

“You must know, you are a lot stronger than you think.”

Those words were beginning to make sense to me. If I could describe my abilities in one word, broken was the best word I would use. I effortlessly beat a deviant using only the grey domain, and I killed two demons by myself not long ago. I was shying away from admitting that I had gotten really strong, not wanting to admit it because it felt unreal, but that was the reality.

“Can I have my badge now?” I asked Mr. Kai

He didn't look bitter like someone who just lost a duel, he wore a rather calm expression.

“Of course, follow me,” he replied.

He switched off the shield he’d put up before the duel started. The shield didn't even do any work, but as he said, putting it up was a precautionary measure. Mr. Kai and I walked out of the testing ground and went back to his office. He handed me a piece of paper and a badge with the Stormcrow insignia carved in it. The badge was a circular golden piece, just a little over two inches in diameter. I saw a few other badges lying on the table. Besides the material the badges were made of, they were exactly like mine.

“Are all badges like this?” I asked him, trying to find out why other badges were different.

“No. The badge varies, depending on the rank of the adventurer. Golden badges are given to S-class and above, silver badges to the A-class, bronze badges to the B-class, metal badges to the C-class and badges made of wood are given to D-class. This is a standard recognized by the association of guilds across Stavren, and the southern republic as a whole.”

I nodded as I read the content of the paper he gave to me. It was nothing out of the ordinary, just a welcome letter to the Stormcrow guild.

“So in a nutshell, irrespective of the guild, I am recognized as an S-class adventurer, right?” I asked.

“Yes,” he replied firmly.

“Is there another thing required from me?”

“No, you can leave if you want to, or you could go to the reception office and check for available missions.”

“Alright,” I said as I stood, slightly bowing before I left the room.

I decided to have a look around the guild house before I went back home. Though it was just my first day, everything around Stormcrow seemed normal and I didn't come across any activity that aroused suspicion.

My stomach rumbled. Hunger just announced its presence.

“Alright, it's time to head back home.”