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Every year, an examination was held in each of the listed cities, accepting applicants over fifteen years old. Upon passing the exam, they could immediately start their apprenticeship with certified professionals looking to recruit them.
Due to the exam’s sheer difficulty—which included both theoretical and practical tests—only a few people passed each year, per city.
The listed cities were often the busier locations, with various businesses and travelers passing through, attracting the largest number of applicants. The exam would determine placement in one of the three guardian factions, depending on where the city was situated.
Nelma, a city on a floating island, held an exam for skyrangers.
Inside a general shop in Nelma, a skyranger was bargaining with the shopkeeper over the price of monster parts.
“Come on, old man, surely you can go a bit higher,” he urged, offering a smile. His blond hair swayed lightly as he leaned closer to the counter, his stout form looming over the shopkeeper.
“And I’ve been telling you, this is the standard price for these parts,” the shopkeeper replied, glancing at the items on the desk. “They’re only useful for brewing potions, not much else.”
“Oh, really?” The skyranger opened his sky-blue eyes and raised an eyebrow. He pointed toward the shop’s entrance. “The owner of another place is willing to buy them for higher, though. I’m just checking prices from other shops.”
He swiped all the parts into his cloth bag, swung it over his shoulder, and turned to leave. “Guess I’ll go sell them there instead.”
His armor rustled against his leather outfit as he took steady steps toward the door. But then the shopkeeper called out, “W-wait! Fine, I’ll give you 10 rudies more for each part.“
The skyranger’s smirk crept onto his face as quickly as it vanished when he turned around, now wearing a friendly, seemingly innocent smile. “Thank you!”
Exiting the building with the payment in hand, he met another skyranger—a red-haired woman in a black leather jacket and tight pants, with a beauty mark under her left eye.
Seeing him practically skipping with a wide smile toward her, she placed a hand on her hip. “You look happy for someone who just robbed a poor old man.”
“It’s called bargaining, Jesska.” The blond skyranger extended his arm with a shrug, the bag of coins still in his hand. “Doesn’t matter if you lie or not.”
Jesska shook her head slightly. “Whatever you say.” She turned toward a big building in the background, the clouds drifting by closer due to the island’s high altitude. “Should we go then? The exam is starting.”
The man’s shoulders slumped. “Do we really have to? There are probably other rangers there already, and there’s barely anything happening during the exam anyway.”
“Ronnie, you know it’s in our contract.” Jesska shot him a glare, her light blue eyes narrowing. “‘Protecting the skyranger exam is to be taken as top priority,’ remember?”
Ronnie sighed, dragging out his tone. “Finee. Let’s go.”
Together, they made their way to Nelma’s exam dome. Around the island, many airships had docked, while a few still flew by slowly, their humming adding a sense of anticipation.
Reaching the building, they immediately noticed the applicants lining up in the front—some younger, while others looked to be in their early or even late twenties.
Jesska went her separate way to find something to drink inside. Ronnie, with his adventurous spirit high, decided to wander to the back, where no one usually went due to the main event taking place inside.
However, his upbeat energy was quickly replaced by curiosity as he overheard a faint conversation coming from one of the alleyways between the nearby houses.
His movements became more cautious as he leaned against the wall next to him, trying to hide his presence while peeking out to see two people talking.
One was a shorter, chubby man with glasses, while the other was taller, black-haired, and dressed in neat white clothes with minimalistic red patterns—an attire exclusive to the skyranger exam judges.
“…It’s going to be harder this time, Mavin,” the judge said, shaking his head and holding his temples. “The kid already did well last year. They’ll find out.”
“I know, I know. But I can’t let him leave for apprenticeship,” Mavin whispered, glancing around nervously. “He’s too valuable.”
The judge frowned. “How valuable can a boy be for you to resort to bribery, twice?”
Mavin fell silent, looking down as he clenched his fists so hard they visibly trembled. After a brief moment, he looked up. “He… has a magic that benefits me very much. That’s all I can tell you.”
Tilting his head, the judge crossed his arms. “Well, even if I wanted to help you, simply giving him one point short won’t be enough.”
Mavin groaned, contemplating his options. Then, an idea struck him. “Wait… Don’t you guys use an actual monster in the practical test as well?”
“That we do,” the judge replied, now placing one hand on his hip. “But they’re well-trained monsters, raised in controlled environments—”
“Wh-what if!” Mavin interrupted, his eyes sparkling. “You make the monsters target him specifically? That way, he’ll have a harder time completing the test, right?”
The judge stared back in disbelief, his jaw dropping at the proposal. “Are you crazy?! He could get hurt! And the one who will be in trouble is me, not you!”
“Shhh! Keep your voice down!” Mavin hissed, glancing around nervously before returning his gaze to the judge.
Ronnie, noticing the sudden change in their tone, quickly pulled himself behind the corner just in time.
“You want more rudies, right? I’ll give you one thousand—no, two thousand! Just make sure he doesn’t pass. You can’t back down now, not when you already did it once!” Despite lowering his voice, Mavin’s desperate tone made the request more urgent.
After staring back at him for a few more seconds, the judge sighed. “Fine, I’ll do it. But this will be the last time, you got that?”
Mavin’s face lit up, but before he could reply, the judge noticed a shadow peeking out from the corner behind him.
“Hey! Who’s there?!” he called out suddenly, startling Mavin. But no one answered—not even a footstep could be heard.
Mavin shifted his gaze between the judge and the corner. “Wh-what is it?”
Ignoring him, the judge approached the corner slowly, trying to catch any sound of movement. Soon, he reached the cold stone wall of a house before abruptly shoving his head out to check the other side.
No one was there—just an empty alleyway leading to the exam dome. The judge scanned the area once more but found nothing.
‘Was it just my imagination?’ he thought. He lingered for a moment before going back to Mavin to finish the conversation.
Meanwhile, Ronnie hadn’t gone far. He had barely managed to move to the opposite side of the building, one corner away from his previous spot.
His heart pounded in his chest, a constant reminder of how close he had come to being found. Not willing to push his luck any further, he slipped away toward the exam dome, where he reunited with Jesska just inside one of the entrances.
Seeing him out of breath, Jesska tilted her head, sipping from her glass through a straw. “You alright?”
“Yep. I’m good,” Ronnie replied between pants as he straightened himself. “I think I found something interesting.”
“Oh?” She raised an eyebrow. “And what’s that?”
He smiled. Although he didn’t know exactly what kind of magic this mysterious boy had, the fact that someone was willing to pay that much money to keep him around must mean he was worth even more. “I may have found our moneymaker.”
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Jesska blinked, slightly taken aback. “Moneymaker? Who could that be?”
Ronnie kept his smile for a moment before rubbing his thin facial hair, his eyes narrowing. “Hmm. Good question.”
A knowing chuckle escaped her lips as she took another sip, already used to his shenanigans.
After a few moments of contemplation, Ronnie looked up at her. “Say, where are those two anyway?“
She turned to the various rooms inside the facility. “Probably in the room already, for the theoretical test.“
“Good.“ Ronnie took a few steps into the building, his smile returning. “We’ll need to plan out our next operation with them afterward.“
He turned over his shoulder with a smirk. “I call it: Operation Rescue Moneymaker.“
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At the main entrance of the exam dome, Aelio was waiting in line to register his name, with Mael standing beside him.
“Lots of people.” Mael looked back to see many other applicants. “Didn’t think there would be this many from other races.”
Among those with similar appearances to them, there were some who resembled upright animals, standing and chatting animatedly among others. The scene was a blend of many different races gathering together with one shared goal: to pass the skyranger exam.
“Half of them won’t make it to the practical test anyway,” Aelio remarked coldly. His eyes were fixed on his hands as he adjusted a bracelet-like gadget on his left wrist. “You know how many people passed the exam last year in Nelma? Twelve.”
Mael turned back to him, his eyes widening. “That’s even less than the number of airships docking here!”
Eventually, they reached the registration counter just outside the open doors leading inside. A furry staff member, with cat-like features and a cap on his head, sat lazily behind the desk, his tail flicking.
“Hm? Ah, it’s you,” the staff muttered, gazing up at Aelio as he began writing his name, clearly recognizing his face. “You’re persistent for a Normkin.”
Aelio chuckled as he finished the registration. “You won’t be seeing me again next year, ’cause I’m passing the exam today.”
The staff smirked, his tail flicking sharply. “And confident, too. Good luck...” He looked down at the paper before returning his gaze to Aelio. “Aelio Godfoot.”
“Thanks, sir.” Aelio smiled, turning to give Mael a nod before they both made their way inside the building.
Mael’s gaze lingered on the feline staff for a moment before returning to the path ahead of them. “What a nice Beastkin. He seems like a chill guy.”
“Uh-huh,” Aelio muttered, keeping his eyes on the crowded hallway. Unlike outside, people kept their voices down in the hallway so as not to disturb the applicants.
Seeing Aelio’s smile already fading, Mael could feel the tension rising in him. As they reached the room, he patted Aelio’s shoulder lightly. “I’ll wait outside. Do your best.”
Without saying anything more, Aelio entered the room. Mael caught a glimpse of other people already seated quietly inside. With nothing else to do, he went to find a seat nearby.
The Skyranger exam’s theoretical test took ninety minutes. The rooms that filled up first started early, and by the time the other rooms were full, the first room would already be available again, maintaining a steady flow to handle the sheer number of applicants.
Even with this method, the process still took hours for all applicants to complete their tests and was usually wrapped up by lunchtime.
After lunch, the applicants could check the notice board for their names, which listed those who had passed and could move on to the practical test. The passing score was set at 90% or higher.
Murmurs and gasps filled the hallway as people gathered around the notice board, one after another leaving with their heads hung low in disappointment.
Aelio sighed in relief after finally spotting his name, though it was quite low on the list. “Nice, I did it.”
“Just barely,” Mael added from behind. “92% isn’t very reassuring for someone who trained hard, don’t you think?”
“Well, yeah. I trained, not studied,” Aelio shrugged. “Besides, I already passed it once before, so I know I can do it again.”
“Right.” Mael gave him a stare, then turned back to the board. “There are more than twenty people passing here. I guess we have more smart ones this year, huh?”
Suddenly, a high-pitched voice echoed from nearby, catching everyone’s attention. “Oooh! Look, Melfie, you got a hundred!”
Turning toward the voice, Aelio saw an upbeat girl dressed in a casual outfit with a short skirt, bouncing on her feet. Her medium-long lime-green hair bobbed up and down along with her clothes as she moved, with long, blue fin-like ears peeking out of her sidelocks.
“That’s amazing!” she exclaimed, her aqua-blue eyes glued to another petite girl standing next to her.
The petite girl, Melfie, wore a simple shirt and shorts that accentuated her thighs. An indigo capelet hung over her shoulder, paired with a matching beret atop her medium dusty-blue hair. Her purple eyes looked disinterested as she glanced back at the upbeat girl.
“Great job attracting attention to us, Nino,” Melfie grumbled, her pointy ears twitched softly beneath her hair.
“Ehehe, sorry~” Nino knocked on her own head with a wink. “But look, I passed too! Yay!”
Melfie simply sighed. “Yeah, yeah, good job. Let’s just get back to Jesska. These people are giving me the creeps.” Her half-closed eyes scanned the crowd with a hint of disgust.
“Okay, let’s go! Excuse me~” Nino quickly bounced away, making a path through the crowd for Melfie to leave comfortably.
After they left, murmurs began to fill the hallway once again. Some whispered about Melfie’s attitude, while others commented on their striking appearances.
“Whoa, a perfect score?” Mael muttered quietly, double-checking the name list. “She’s the only one on the list, too.”
Aelio’s gaze lingered in the direction they had gone. He didn’t remember anyone performing especially well last year, but this year could be different. Judging from her appearance alone, she didn’t seem older than him.
Nevertheless, it was time to prepare for the practical test of the skyranger exam.
The exam dome was originally built as an arena but had since been renovated to hold exams for skyrangers instead.
The initial structure was well-suited for the practical portion of the exam, which involved placing the applicants in the arena to evaluate their performance when facing actual monsters.
The test’s objective was to obtain trophies placed around the arena ground, each well-guarded by various kinds of monsters. Once an applicant successfully claimed a trophy, they could leave the arena through a nearby door, and a new trophy would be placed.
Since the test was seen as entertainment by many, townsfolk also came to watch it, alongside the skyrangers who attended due to contractual obligations or to scout for talented apprentices to join their crews.
In fact, the test had garnered so much attention that the staff began adapting the role of an actual arena announcer.
“Ladies and gentlemen! Welcome to this year’s practical test of Nelma’s skyranger exam!” the announcer greeted, loud and clear through the microphone. His energetic voice filled the dome, followed by cheers erupting from the bleachers.
Ronnie and Jesska, sitting together amidst the crowd, remained composed, with Jesska sipping her drink and Ronnie munching on snacks.
“You all know the drill! Thirty minutes of a free-for-all stage against our monsters. You can curl up in the corner all you want, but don’t expect to gain any points from our judges!”
The crowd’s attention briefly shifted to the judges seated in the front row, papers spread across their table.
Jesska leaned forward slightly, her gaze shifting between the judges. “It’s one of them?”
“Yep,” Ronnie replied, popping another piece of his snack into his mouth. “The black-haired guy on the left.”
Locking onto the judge, Jesska narrowed her eyes. “Wonder how he will do it, influencing the monsters’ behavior to target someone in particular.”
“Now then!” The announcer resumed. “Without further ado, let’s bring our applicants into the arena!”
One by one, the young applicants stepped into the open ground, their ears filled with cheers erupting from all directions. Each of them held a weapon in hand—except Melfie.
Although the monsters they faced were well-trained and harmless, applicants were provided with a collection of basic weapons to choose from.
Aelio tightened his grip on the steel sword he had picked, reminding himself of all the training he had undergone with Elric—all the hardships—for this very moment.
Glancing up at the bleachers, he quickly spotted Mael waving at him with an encouraging smile, to which he responded with a nod and a smile of his own.
Returning his attention to the arena, he noticed the golden trophies scattered around, as well as the small-sized monsters pouring in through various doors on the arena’s sides.
Four-legged monsters guarded the ground level, while aerial monsters hovered above, watching over the trophies on the higher wooden structures.
A few applicants who had never seen the test before gasped in terror, while the rest prepared themselves mentally for the final thirty minutes of the exam.
Melfie seemed indifferent to the scene ahead despite being the only unarmed person, while Nino continued to bounce up and down happily, a hammer in hand.
From the bleachers, Ronnie stared at the duo with wide eyes, his jaw dropping. “Why the hell did she not bring anything with her?!”
“It’s fine,” Jesska smiled. “She knows what she’s doing.”
“But wait!” The announcer’s voice cut through the cheering, quickly dragging everyone’s attention back to him. “There’s still one more surprise! Mind your heads!”
As he finished, the familiar humming sounds grew louder and louder. The crowd started to look up at the sky—the only roofless part of the exam dome, directly above the arena floor—to see an airship flying overhead, blocking out the sunlight.
But there was something else beneath it, blending in with the airship’s shadow.
When the rope detached, a huge figure plummeted downward, landing on the arena floor with a massive crash as the airship departed the dome. Sand flew up from the impact, creating a smoky haze that obscured the figure. The wind exploded outward, hitting the applicants so hard that some stumbled and fell to their feet.
As the gasps faded and the dust settled, the figure became visible to the public: a massive monster with smooth teal skin and brown spots all over its body. Its hands and feet were enormous, with the hands even bigger than its head. Its overall shape resembled a triangle, with its blunt end forming its head.
“As some of you may have already noticed, we have a special trophy today, perched at the very top of the wooden tower!”
Listening to the announcement, Aelio’s eyes shifted to the towering structure behind the monster. There, he saw it—a trophy, bigger and more intricately designed than the rest, sitting at the very top.
“This trophy will not be placed back again after being claimed and is worth three times the points of the normal trophies! Which means…” The announcer smirked. “Whoever gets it will, without a doubt, pass the skyranger exam!”
His words hit Aelio like a heavy punch in the face. ‘Without a doubt…’ he repeated in his head, his eyes fixed on the magnificent trophy.
“But if you want to claim the guaranteed ticket to success, you’ll have to get past our big boy, Golon, first!”
The crowd erupted into cheers, louder than ever. Even Jesska had to plug her fingers into her ears to muffle the noise.
“No way…” one of the applicants murmured, taking a step back.
“I-I’m good with just a regular trophy. Thanks,” another muttered with a shaky voice.
Nino’s face lit up at the sight of Golon, her eyes sparkling as she squealed in delight. “He’s so cuteee! Look at his face, the round eyes! I wanna cuddle him~”
Crossing her arms, Melfie raised her eyebrows, yet there was no fear in her expression. “Interesting.”
Meanwhile, Aelio froze on the spot, his heart pounding in his chest. The difficulty was obvious—he knew that. But he couldn’t afford to fail another year. He needed answers to his past, to find out if any of his relatives were still alive out there somewhere.
In that moment, his mind was already set.
‘That trophy’s mine.’
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