Hope and Midgard looked at each other without saying a word. The young lady, whose face had become severe, carefully observed the slightest reaction from her interlocutor, like a snake after having bitten its prey, but this time the venom did not spread as expected.

"System? What do you mean? What system?

She looked at him, her irises narrowing so much that they were becoming less and less visible.

"You don't know what the system is? Are you playing dumb? What are you trying to pull?

"Um... What do you mean seriously? What is a system?

"... Hm, I see, with your past, I expected you to be the one… Unless you are trying to trick me, little toy."

"Look, I have no idea what you're saying, can we move on? I cannot wait anymore!

"Go ahead, play your children's game."

Hope, as if freed from his chains, rushed towards the end of the tunnel. Midgard crossed her arms and sighed.

"This game of cat and mouse has been going on too long… You know you're stuck, why do you keep hiding from me?"

Hope came to the end of the tunnel and when he finally got out, he stopped, speechless and paralyzed. The battlefield was a large open space, with a surface similar to that of a small football field covered in fine grass.

But the most breathtaking thing was the stands all around, every seat was occupied by a student or teacher, and as soon as Hope appeared the audience exploded.

"Ah ah…"

Hope felt his legs giving way; for several hours, he had been on cloud nine. Emissaries regularly participate in tournaments or exhibition matches, it has become the most popular sport in the world, and a way for Emissaries to make themselves known.

Hope had become very passionate about this world through his sister's exhibition matches, and had always wanted to experience it himself.

At that moment, it was just a glimpse of what a real domestic fighting arena was like, but at that moment, Hope reached a level of pleasure that was previously unknown to him.

"First candidate, name, class, and rank!"

An elegant man with long black hair and an outfit resembling a red judge's robe stood in the middle of the arena.

"H-Hope Balder! E-Rank Hero!"

Murmurs arose in the audience.

"Balder? Like Elizabeth Balder?

"So, it's really her brother, incredible!"

"And he's also a hero..."

The examiner in the center wrote something down in his notebook before approaching Hope with a crystal ball.

"Very well, you must have been informed of the nature of the test, Place your hand on this magical device, it will assess your level and summon a golem of your minimum level. Don't increase your energy."

"I won't, sir!"

Hope stepped forward and placed his hands on the crystal ball, it lit up and released several waves of energy that ran through the arena. Soon it turned white and an orb of light emerged from it.

"This is your minimum, your level without any boost. From this analysis I can see that you are E-rank, now What kind of E-rank are you? It's time to prove yourself."

The orb moved closer to the ground and as it descended, the ground fragmented and the pieces stuck to the orb, in a swirl of rock.

Hope grabbed his wooden sword and began to release his energy, in front of him, the mass of rock ceased its metamorphosis when it reached an imposing form, enormous arms, a misshapen bust, and a head shaped like a soldier's helmet, the golem had just been born.

"Candidate Hope, prepare yourself… Fight!"

Hope released all his energy, his entire body covered in white aura, and threw himself at the golem.

"Take this!"

He slashed violently at the creature's shoulder, attempting to cut it in two. The sword quickly passed through the golem before stopping abruptly.

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"Huh?!"

Despite the force of his blow, the golem's high defense had stopped his attack. A powerful backhand threw the young man into the air before he crashed painfully.

"Ouch… What… What was that?"

He got up with difficulty before noticing the commotion in the audience.

(Oh no, I can't show them a bad spectacle!)

He got up and turned around, just to find himself facing the golem's fist which sent him flying to the outskirts of the field, to the great astonishment of the audience.

"Hey? What is this? This monster is E-rank, right? Why can't he defeat it?"

"Isn't he like an Avatar? Maybe his rank is E but his power is lower?"

In the locker room, we were also watching the scene, Thomas and Barron were perplexed.

"All this big mouth for this? I regret wasting my time with him!"

"Wouldn't happen if you could always shut up."

"What was that?!"

Barron turned towards me but Thomas moved to be between us.

"What did we say about not acting stupid in front of an elder? This is the chance for you to learn what's awaiting you, so don't miss a second of this fight! You will learn a lot with this boy."

Another praise for Hope, one that he couldn't hear sadly. In the arena, Hope got up and dodged the golem's attacks. His sword remained stuck in the monster's shoulder and it was now impossible for him to fight according to his codes.

"If only… If only I could just jump over his back…"

The golem rushed at him again, but the young man jumped back.

"He's slow… Wait, maybe I can use that!... *Acceleration*"

Boosted by his new ability, Hope rushed at the golem and managed to get behind him to the cheers of the audience.

(I can feel it, I can feel their encouragement... I'm really sorry, golem, sorry sis, sorry idiot Barron, and sorry too, Dora, this is my moment.)

He jumped onto the golem's shoulder and grabbed his sword.

"*Hero time!*"

A bright explosion occurred on the back of the golem, the audience jubilant at the spectacle and when the cloud of dust dispersed, Hope stood in the middle of the debris, his sword raised in the air.

"Victory!"

Several applause rang out in the arena, and shouts of encouragement and congratulations rained down from certain parts of the arena.

In the locker room, we looked at this conclusion with slight doubt.

"Isn't that a high-level skill? How was it called..."

"Hero time."

"Ah! Yeah, that... Then why didn't he use it earlier?"

"My comrade's ways are inscrutable, I guess?"

"I kinda told you that the results wouldn't matter, what matters is how you defeat it... He could have one shoot it but he let it give him a fight, I mean this is an E-rank golem!"

"I especially wonder why he wanted to use his sword so much."

"Your friend is an idiot, I'm next! If that's the challenge, then you guys are truly the hype champions."

Barron entered the tunnel, as he walked, he came across Midgard who was returning, looking bored and murmuring.

"Failure, what a waste of beautiful words... Now I'm set on... Hm~?"

"You again? I won't listen to your system's bullshit from the other day, move away." He asked softly.

"I don't choose fake toys twice, so ignore me."

She continued towards the locker room, Barron made a sound with his mouth and headed towards the battlefield.

There, he discovered Hope taking a victory lap for the audience.

"Is this idiot really living in his own world?

He walked straight towards the examiner who looked at Hope in disbelief.

"Oi, let's get started already."

"Hm? Ah! Student Cid Barron. I've heard a few words from the dean so let's get started... Please lower your level, you know why I'm asking."

"You're wasting my time."

Barron placed a hand on the crystal ball which lit up, but unlike Hope, it sparkled blindingly, attracting the audience's attention.

"There it is."

Everyone shivered in front of Barron's energy waves, The waves crossed the stadium and the field became too bright to see the fantastic scene that was happening: the formation of a new golem, but unlike the previous one, this golem took on an angelic build.

A radiant silhouette, divine in appearance, the golem looked more like a statue of God than a monster.

"Now this is really interesting, good job Cid."

No one could notice in this scenery the girl with blue hair wearing the student council outfit on a seat accompanied by a young girl with long, pink hair and elegantly coiffed, wearing the same outfit.

"Isn't it a little too strong, Iris? This golem is at least D-rank!"

"No, that's what makes it better, this is his lowest."

On the field, Hope, slightly annoyed at having lost the public's attention, returned to the locker room grumbling.

"So what? Mine was bigger and stronger, This guy only shows off because it's beautiful... really hate hi-"

A loud explosion cut his thoughts short. He turned around, paralyzed, and opened his eyes wide at this scene.

A gigantic crater had formed where the golem had risen.

The audience was speechless, in disbelief at this scene. Barron had destroyed what was surely the most powerful golem summoned by an E-rank in one hit.

After the shock, euphoria took hold of the assembly.

"Wonderful! You're a champion!"

"What a mighty blow!"

"Is this guy really an E-rank?"

No one stayed silent, everyone was praising this miracle, Iris with a large smile shook her neighbor's shoulders.

"See? I told you! He's amazing!"

"... Is this... Is he really E-rank?"

In the locker room, Thomas sighed.

"If only he wasn't such a trouble... It's your turn now."

"Alright, alright, I'm going."

"... By the way, Don't put too much pressure on yourself, it's not because he did so great that you have to do better, just remember that you're already enlisted."

"Oh don't worry, I'm not worried, I'm even grateful."

I, in turn, went into the tunnel. As I moved forward, I came across Midgar who was observing Hope further away, I wondered what was going on between them.

She noticed me and showed a mocking smile.

"Going already? Don't you want to wait until their excitement subsides? Maybe take your time to comfort your friend?"

"Hm... Nah, I'm good, he will be too."

"Ah, what a shame, a low blow for friendship."

"I'm not anyone's guardian, He-will-be-fine."

I walked past her and closed my eyes for a moment.

"By the way, it's not forbidden to warm up before the test, right?"

"... Hm? Why don't you ask the vice council president?"

"Because he's the vice council president."

Even though my eyes were closed, I clearly felt a change in her face, in the form of a widening terrifying smile.

"It's forbidden, of course, but since he doesn't pose that much of a threat, you might be far enough away to pull something... But what do you have in mind? Could this be..."

"Thank you."

A green glow shone in my eyes and soon a yellow aura emanated from my body.

"*Synergy: Delta-Beta*"