A radiant – almost blinding smile spread across Felicia’s face. She barely even knew Verity, but seeing a familiar face in a world that was so foreign to her almost made it feel as though she’d reunited with a long lost friend.

“You’re alive!!!” She yelled as she ensnared him in a crushing embrace.

Verity grunted as he struggled between embarrassment because of the hug and suffocation because of her strength. “Y-Yeah… I’m also glad to see you doing so well…”

He tried to tap out, but she made it so she couldn’t move his arms. ‘That strength is no joke…!’

He groaned. “Y-you think you could let me go…?” He managed to ask painstakingly.

Felicia’s eyes widened, and at last, she let Verity go. “Sorry!!” She exclaimed as she brushed her raven-black hair aside.

Verity let out a dry laugh. “It’s okay...”

Some part – a large part of Verity hadn’t found the hug unpleasant.

Even after the last three months, Felicia was still as striking as the day he’d met her at the bank. Perhaps even more so now that she was wearing fantasy-like armor and carrying a longsword at her side.

‘She definitely would have made it big as a cosplayer…’ Verity thought.

Not wanting to seem like a pervert, he tried to not stare at her too long. “Anyways…How have you been?” He asked, feeling that was the most appropriate thing to say at the moment.

As a shut-in who immersed himself in fictional stories, Verity always felt awkward around women his age when it came to casual talk. He wasn’t so unfit as to stumble upon his own words or make a fool of himself, but he definitely wasn’t a Casanova either.

Evangelina was a woman, and an incredibly beautiful one as well, but Verity viewed her more as a grandmother than anything else.

Something about the way she spoke and acted.

Still, he could hold a conversation with Felicia, no matter if just her smile made it difficult to look at her.

But Felicia ignored him, her eyes narrowing.

Suddenly, her hands gripped his arms, and he flinched. She immediately began feeling his upper body. From his arms, to his chest, even to his back after circling around.

She muttered to herself, and Verity froze in place, his face reddening. This had now gone beyond what he could handle.

He could no longer speak.

After a minute or so, she stopped, and took a step back, stroking her chin pensively. “You’ve been training?” She asked.

Verity took a deep breath, calming himself down. “...Yes?”

Felicia looked him up and down. “Your teacher must have been exceptional. I’m no spearman myself… but your muscles appear to be in perfect harmony to wield a spear.” She continued, almost as if in a trance. “The way you carry yourself has also changed… incredible.”

She looked up at him, her eyes glinting with anticipation. “Should we spar? I haven’t faced someone decent in three weeks.”

A long sigh drifted from the other side of the front desk. “Get a room. You’re holding up the line.” The pink-haired clerk spat. “Seriously…”

At those words, Felicia seemed to snap out of her trance and she snapped to attention. “Right! I almost forgot!” She looked directly into the clerk’s eyes and held a quest notice before her. “Register him for this quest! He’s the last member needed!”

The clerk rolled her eyes. “Your buddy’s copper rank. The quest requirement is bronze-rank at minimum.” She said, clearly annoyed by Felicia’s over-energetic attitude.

‘Hmm’

To Verity, back at the bank, and even during the first trial, she had seemed much more calm and composed. But now? She was brimming with energy. Then again, in the first scenario she had been doing her job, and in the second, her life had been in danger, so who was to say that this was not her real personality?

Still, he thought of the change he had experienced in his own personality after all that had happened with the system and wondered if Felicia was undergoing something similar.

Felicia’s face dropped. “Seriously…?”

“Seriously.” The clerk replied, finality in her voice.

Then, the employee who’d greeted Verity at the gate suddenly appeared beside them, a smile on her face. “Of course, sir, if you wish to go up the ranks quickly, there is a solution.” She said, looking straight at Verity.

The pink-haired clerk frowned. “Kara, are you not on greeting duty today?”

Kara’s smile did not fade, but her eye seemed to twitch. “...Perhaps if you were better at front-desk duty, I wouldn’t have to step in, Lorna.”

A bolt of electricity seemed to course between the two, but it was promptly interrupted by Felicia. “Ah, that’s right, isn’t it? Like the one I took three weeks ago?”

Kara turned to Felicia with a smile. “That’s exactly right!” She exclaimed before turning to Verity. “From Copper to Silver ranks, adventurers can climb solely through their strength!”

‘I wonder where I place…’ Verity told himself.

Felicia thought back to the day of her test. “Right… I think it was to last ten minutes against a Gold-rank…. Though mine couldn’t endure thirty seconds against me.”

This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it

Lorna clicked her tongue, reminiscing about that day as well. “Yes. He still hasn’t fully recovered from the shock.”

The examiner had been Lorna’s lover.

Felicia shrugged. “Strange. I went easy on him though?”

Lorna frowned, but ultimately did not reply.

Felicia knew how aggravating her words were. After all, understanding how the mind of others functioned was her forte.

Still, as childish as it was, Lorna had been getting on her nerves ever since she’d entered the guild. This was a form of revenge.

The silence between them was almost suffocating.

Verity looked away, unable to bear the tension. ‘Ugh… scary.’

Felicia turned to Kara, a smile curling at her lips. “So, this test, when can he take it?”

Lorna beamed. “Right now! Follow after me!”

Felicia followed after her with a swift step. Verity, who hadn’t even been allowed to slip a word in ever since Felicia had appeared, also trailed behind the two.

Lorna, for her part, clicked her tongue once more and turned away. “Next.” She said.

—

Kara brought the two of them to a grand training hall in one of the Guild’s underground chambers. It seemed rather luxurious for a Guild in such a small town, but perhaps this was a testament to the Guild’s power.

“Your test will happen here!” Lorna exclaimed as she opened her arms.

She pointed to an adventurer who was leaning against the wall on the other side of the room. He had a decently muscular build and dirty blonde hair that was neatly cut to resemble a mullet. His head lowered, and his eyes obscured by a hunter’s hat, an air of mystery swirled around him.

“That is examiner Davion.” Lorna explained. “He’s a Gold-ranked adventurer who’s been with us for fifteen years.”

Verity looked around the room as Lorna continued her explanation. “As you heard earlier, all you need to do is last ten minutes against him in direct combat, and you pass!”

Davion raised his head slowly, and his eyes widened when he noticed Sylvia. “No!” He shouted. “Why is she here!? Hasn’t she had enough??”

Felicia smiled awkwardly. “Oh, come on. It wasn’t that terrible, was it? Wasn’t my advice helpful..?”

Davion ignored her, his attention fixed on Kara. “I’m not testing her again!! I don’t care if it’s for the Gold-rank qualification exam!! Just give it to her if the practical is all she’s missing!”

Kara raised her hand, trying to calm Davion down. “N-No, relax. It’s for this gentleman to my right.” She said as she pointed to him. “Silver-ranked adventurer Felicia is simply here to observe.”

Davion’s fiery gaze fell on Verity. “You her friend?” He asked.

Verity wasn’t sure how to answer that. In some way, he felt that he was, but he also knew that they had known each other for two days – in theory. Three months had elapsed, but they’d interacted for two days at most.

He glanced at Felicia, but she did not seem to understand the meaning of his glance, her gaze fixed forward.

Verity shrugged. “Yeah, sure.”

Davion narrowed his eyes. “You as strong as this little monster over there?”

That, he could answer easily. It was much fainter, but Felicia exuded the similar air of ‘impossibility’ that his master did. It was something he had come to understand only recently, after finally grasping what it was that the Foolishness stat did, or at least a part of it.

Following in the steps of his class, the stat’s purpose was to keep him alive. As Verity understood it, it allowed him to see how ‘foolish’ it would be to engage in certain challenges. The higher the stat’s value was, the clearer he could see, or at least that’s what he believed.

In some sense, it was akin to a ‘danger sense’.

Verity answered Davion without skipping a beat. “No, not even close.” He said confidently.

Felicia frowned as she looked at Verity intently. She, as a sword genius, had better insight than most, and it did not appear that way to her.

‘What the hell is he talking about…’

Hearing that, Davion sighed in relief, and he spun his spear. “Great! Then get in here and let’s fight it out!”

Kara clapped her hands and stepped back, indicating Felicia to do the same. “Then, when I give the signal, you can let loose!”

She enjoyed watching duels, especially if it got her out of greeting duty, hence her excitement.

“THREE!” She began.

Verity stared into Davion’s eyes. “Ten minutes, right?” He asked.

Davion smirked. “If you can last that long, yeah.”

“TWO!”

“Can I go all out? Any rules?”

Davion scoffed. “We’re adventurers, brat. We’re supposed to use anything and everything to win.” He lowered his stance. “Come at me with all you got.”

“ONE!”

Verity planned to do just that.

He didn’t get any alarming feeling from Davion, but his Foolishness stat was low, so it was still unreliable. He hadn’t felt anything against Vindiel and Melinda either, and they had almost killed him.

“GO!”

In a blur, Davion lunged forward.

Verity responded immediately. ‘Nine Hell Spearmanship First stance - Limbo’

Their spears clashed. Once, twice, thrice, the clash of metal against metal resonated in the training hall.

Verity studied Davion as he deflected his blows.

His style was an oppressive one, meant to overwhelm his opponents. The attacks weren’t meant to kill, but each of them were aimed toward areas that were difficult to defend such as the shoulders, the ankles, and the wrists..

Verity could sense it, Davion was feeling him out, looking for an opening.

“What’s wrong, brat!? Is that all you got!!?? Haha!!” Davion exclaimed as his strikes came like a storm.

Verity did not answer, calmly deflecting each and every single one of his blows. He remained on the defensive, performing not even a single counter attack. They circled around the training room, their clash echoing against its walls.

Relentless even after five minutes, Davion’s lips parted. “Let’s up the heat!!” He exclaimed. “[Spear Body Enhancement]!”

Heat radiated from his skin, his muscles swelled, and his physical attributes skyrocketed. He rushed Verity with nearly double the speed and power.

‘Hmm.’

Yet, Verity simply endured it all without so much as a retort. Davion’s stats were higher, that was undeniable, but Verity took it all, every crushing strike, every blinding thrust, every rapid assault.

Eventually, after another minute, Davion leapt back, his breath ragged and his movements sluggish.

The heat around him dimmed as he tried to catch his breath. “You know, you didn’t have to take it literally when I said you had to last ten minutes.” He spoke in between breaths. “You can try something…huff huff…. I might still pass you if I feel like it.”

Verity hadn’t even broken a sweat.

Compared to what he’d been through, and when considering his crazy stamina, this barely served as a warmup. He rolled his shoulders. “Sure.”

He’d gathered what he needed to know.

Before he could act, Davion lunged at him with an overhead strike. “As if I’d give you time to prepare!” He shouted with a grin.

His spear fell down where Verity was, or rather where he had been. Not even Verity’s shadow remained when Davion’s spear hit the ground.

‘Nine Hells Spearman ship Eighth stance – Fraud.’

A footwork stance, and the third stance he'd learned - Fraud.

Davion’s spear struck only air, and Verity reappeared behind him, his spear raised high.

‘Nine Hells Spearman ship Seventh stance – Violence: Annihilation.’

Davion turned around, cold sweat rolling down his temple as Verity loomed over him. His instincts, sharpened from more than a decade of adventuring screamed at him.

‘Sh*t…’ He thought.

In the next moment, tens, hundreds, perhaps thousands of blows fell on him. Every single one of them carried the same amount of explosive power, a true feat of Aura circulation, and something Verity had shed blood sweat and tears to perfect.

Davion tried his best, he really did, but he quickly fell to his knees. In no more than a minute of this assault, Davion's body failed him and Verity’s spear stopped an inch from his throat.

Davion struggled to breathe as hundreds of deliberately shallow wounds dripped with blood.

Verity looked toward Kara.

“That concludes the duel!!” She announced. “Congratulations on your promotion, Silver-ranked adventurer Verity!”

Felicia watched, her hands, no– her entire body trembling.

‘...I want to fight him!!’ She thought.