Salicia edged out of the room slowly, leaving the two men together. Sensing that this was a test, Sam met the man’s eyes unflinchingly.

“I was forged in the fire of the razing of my planet. I struggled to the top, eventually becoming the strongest man on the planet. I assure you, I am the furthest thing from pampered.”

“Ah ha! Compelling words, but do you have the mettle to prove them?” Garn slammed his aura down on Sam as he said these words, causing him to gasp in surprise. Surprise because rather than the insurmountable weight that he had been expecting, it was more like a heavy burden. He stood tall under the man’s aura, eventually sending his own out in a burst of power. It was unable to reach more than a few inches from his skin, but he felt the pressure dissipate marginally. Garn’s eyes widened, and he ceased using his aura.

“A Fragment? How? Such a strong one at that too…” The man sank into thought for a moment and then looked back at Sam. “Well, I would say that you have most definitely passed that test. However, there are more to come. That was the test to allow you to take the other tests. The next ones will not be so easy. I will be testing each of your main attributes, which means your physical ones, seeing as you seem to be a melee fighter.” Sam was actually skewed towards his mental stats because of his class, but saying so would raise suspicion as to how a mere G Rank, even a peak one, could be so strong.

He nodded once, and Garn snapped his fingers. A series of large weights dropped down from the ceiling and landed on the floor. Each was unmarked, but the one at the end was easily three times larger than the first, which was already quite large. Sam could instantly see what the purpose of this was, and he made his way to the first weight, gripping it by the two handles that jutted out from both sides. He lifted it with ease, and then set it down with a thud.

Moving onto the next one, he lifted that quite easily as well, but it was noticeably harder. Sam made his way down the row of weights, starting to have some serious difficulty at the halfway mark. He started to use Fiery Justice, and he was able to lift the next three weights with the help of the skill. He could actually feel the pain from it, which raised the question of whether his body in real life was being damaged. Eventually the skill ran out, and he almost collapsed. He had reached his limit. The weights vanished, and Garn nodded approvingly.

“Good. That was quite a show, seeing as you are only a G Ranker. Better than some F Rankers that I have seen, in fact. However, if you have prioritized Strength over all else, then you will not have a balanced build.” A track formed on the ground, and the arena elongated outwards until it was about a mile long. Sam made his way to the start line, and waited until Garn nodded. He started running, the false wind blowing his hair back. His Dexterity and Strength were actually quite close to each other, so he put up an impressive show. It took him less than a quarter of a minute to run the entire distance, which meant that he was over ten times faster than even the fastest of normal humans.

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Sam wheeled around at the end and ran back, showcasing his prodigious stamina. Garn raised his eyebrow at that, but did not comment. Next were the two stats that Sam knew would be the most painful. First up was Constitution. Garn summoned a strange contraption filled with a colorless liquid, and invited Sam to step inside. It looked extremely ominous, but he did it anyway. As he stopped into it, his health started to drop, but there was no pain or any sort of damage. He was just losing his health points. As he started to bottom out, the machine flashed red, and Garn banished it.

“Just what are you made of? Just those three stats combined are more than enough to make you equal to a newly ascended F Rank.”

Sam shrugged and waited for the final test. Garn stepped forwards and cracked his knuckles. Sam’s heart fell. The man was the final test. Sam stood still, and Garn slammed his fist into his chest. This time no damage was dealt, but the pain was very real. His bones cracked under the blow, and he stumbled backwards. Garn did not relent, beating Sam into a pulp. Eventually he stopped and healed Sam with a snap of his fingers.

“You must be some prodigy of the highest order. No person of your rank that I have ever tested has been as powerful as you. Your universe must have gone through something special for you initialization.”

“Well, we’re still going through it actually. It's only been about a month,” Sam answered. Garn frowned.

“If you value your freedom, never say that to anyone you do not trust. If anyone finds out your potential, they will stop at nothing to poach you for their faction.” Sam nodded and waited for Garn’s verdict. “In any case, you passed, with flying colors too. I would put you at about a Copper Rank Adventurer from that, although you are probably a little bit stronger than that.” Garn opened his palm, revealing a small copper badge that he handed to Sam. Sam put it on, and felt a shiver of electricity run through him.

You have joined the Adventurers’ Guild. As a Copper Rank Adventurer, you are entitled to free lodging at any guild outpost in real space, priority for mission choice over those of a lower rank, and any other general entitlements due to you as a ranked member of the guild.

Garn smiled as he saw Sam read the notice. He had high hopes for the boy. As his proctor, Garn would reap some of the rewards from Sam’s meteoric rise. At least, he assumed that Sam would have one. Sam was teleported out of the room and back in front of Salicia’s desk. Upon seeing his badge, the woman smiled and wrote something down on her piece of parchment.

“You’re all registered now. Congratulations on passing your test.” Sam nodded and smiled at the woman before disconnecting from the Interweb.