Evil Avalon - Volume 2 - Chapter 10

Chapter 10: The Rank-Up Exam - Part 1

“Only adventurers with an adventurer class of 7 or above can view that document,” said the librarian.

I didn’t think that would matter, I thought.

At the moment, I was in the library’s reference room on the eighteenth floor of the Adventurers’ Guild.

It wasn’t much of a reference room since it had no books or bookcases, though. Only cubicles with computers were present, separated by dividers like in an internet café. I could access the Adventurers’ Guild database on the computers, but I’d need to log in with my terminal.

I was trying to discover what the Adventurers’ Guild had logged about clans, particularly the Colors subsidiary known as the Golden Orchid Clan and its subsidiaries. While I knew Golden Orchid backed Soleil, I didn’t know how many members and other subsidiaries it had. I had hoped the database would help me, even if I couldn’t access the information. According to the librarian that worked in the reference room, my adventurer class wasn’t high enough. I couldn’t even get their clan name to come up on-screen.

The Adventurers’ Guild assigned risk and criticality scores to documents and restricted viewing privileges based on adventurer class. My adventurer class was 9, the starting point for all Adventurers’ High students. I hadn’t signed up for rank-up exams since I had registered as an adventurer because I felt there would be no benefits. This opportunity would be best for me to raise my class, allowing me to gather information from the guild and help with future quests. I’d aim for a class of 7 because, from what the computer told me, that would grant me access to most of the information I wanted.

Then, I looked up the dates of the rank-up exams and found that class 8 rank-up exams took place at 9 a.m. and 3 p.m. every Wednesday. It was currently 8 a.m on a Wednesday. I ran to the reception desk and spoke to the receptionist, who told me I was on time to take the 9 a.m. exam. So I paid the nine-thousand-eight-hundred-yen fee and went to the exam location.

***

None of these are the sort of people I’d like to invite over for dinner, I mused after seeing the other adventurers who’d come to take the exam.

About a hundred young, muscular adventurers with bad attitudes and fierce glares proceeded. Some had shaped their hair into long, sharp spikes. Others resembled third-rate villains from old turn-of-the-century manga series. Everyone here looked awful.

Guys, there’s no need to go so crazy with your hairstyles.

For a second, I wondered if I’d wandered into a cosplay convention by mistake and checked the sign by the entrance. It definitely read “Class 8 Rank-Up Exam,” so I was at the right place.

Was it just a coincidence that the examinees looked like this? Would I have found the same scene if I’d come for the afternoon exam instead? I remembered that thugs often picked on Akagi in the game, though these adventurers were rougher than I would’ve thought. Maybe it was fashionable to dress so threateningly? A few of the examinees looked normal, but they hid on the edges of the group and tried to stay out of sight.

I stopped marveling at the adventurers and headed to an empty seat, but one of them chuckled and tried to trip me. Another lifted his expensive weapon to show off how strong he was. Others boasted about how high their level was or how deep they’d raided, and a person stared at me because they wanted to start a fight.

Sadly, I couldn’t sense that anyone had cast Basic Appraisal on me. Although I had shed some weight and was now just a plump boy rather than obese, I probably still looked like nothing to them. Even so, I doubted the sanity of any adventurer who picked fights with someone just because they looked weak.

Appearances weren’t a reliable indicator of strength for adventurers, and I wasn’t sure if this area was within a magic field. My sister looked like a little girl but could easily juggle hundreds of kilograms with her enormous strength, and the rugged students at my school weren’t always muscular like Kariya. For instance, a delicate girl led one of the strongest factions. Judging strength by appearances was a good way to get yourself killed.

It wasn’t my problem if any of these adventurers got themselves killed, so I didn’t correct their misunderstanding. I ignored the tough guys’ glares and waited about ten minutes for the proctor. He arrived dressed in a smart suit and seemed more sensible than the examinees.

“The exam will start shortly,” he said, checking his watch. “So I’ll brief you all on the exam.”

He handed out sheets of paper with the information and instructions for the exam from a large envelope.

“The instructions are simple, as you can see,” explained the proctor. “Each of you will go to your assigned spot in the dungeon and bring back what they put there.”

The exam instructions were as follows:

The assigned spot is somewhere on the third floor.

The time limit is twelve hours from when you enter the dungeon.

You do not need to defeat any monsters. But you will likely experience fights against them based on the location.

You can work together with an unlimited number of fellow candidates. As each candidate is assigned a unique location, candidates in teams will need to collect each candidate’s item.

You must hand in your item to the quest officer at the Adventurers’ Guild along with your exam slip.

The structure of the exam was nothing unusual. Many quests required gathering specified items or loot from designated locations. I’d need to monitor how much of my twelve hours remained; traveling to and from the third floor would take a lot of time.

A glance at my fellow candidates showed that most had come alone or in small parties of two or three. Few had come in larger groups, which was reasonable because retrieving every party member’s item would take too long. None of this mattered since I’d set out to take the exam alone.

“You will see a timer activate on your terminal once you enter the dungeon,” added the proctor. “So you may begin as soon as you’re ready.”

I opened the accepted quest menu on my terminal, noticing that my assigned location was pretty far within the third floor, and I’d need to find a particular document.

Hence, I gathered my things and left just as somebody called out to me.

“Hey you! How about you carry our bags for us?”

“Not so fast!”

I quickly left them behind and dashed toward the dungeon entrance, as I had already spotted that a few candidates were planning to pick a fight with me. Thus, I didn’t stick around because they wouldn’t attack me in front of the portal where plenty of onlookers might wander.

It annoyed me that I had to line up at the portal like everyone else since I could usually breeze through the gate in the school’s basement. I wanted to make good time, but the main streets were as busy as ever, and it took me two hours to reach the third floor.

After I left the third-floor rest area, I veered off the main street and ran toward my destination. At level 19, I could hit a pace of nineteen kilometers an hour without breaking a sweat. But I slowed my pace whenever I entered smaller areas or ones with poorer visibility to avoid colliding with the few parties hunting monsters I had encountered.

“I’ve run into quite a few monsters so far,” I remarked.

While I ran past the monsters without slaying them, adventurers of the right level for the third floor wouldn’t have that option. They could not keep running away from monsters and had to kill them, which ate away at their time. A few of the candidates would probably breach the time limit and have to figure out which of the many winding, branching paths to follow. Perhaps the exam was actually harder than I’d given it credit for.

I kept running for another ten minutes, periodically checking my location on my terminal until I reached my destination. When I got there, I anticipated a fight because it was a monster room with several stationary monsters, similar to the slime room or orc room. However, all I could see was a bespectacled man of medium height and build wearing a uniform with the guild emblem on its breast. Was he a proctor?

Before, I assumed the purpose of the exam was to deal with a group of monsters in my assigned location in order to retrieve the item. Did something go wrong?

“Oh, you’re here already,” said the man. “I’ve been waiting for you, Souta Narumi of Adventurers’ High School’s first-year Class E.”

Did I know him? I rummaged through Piggy’s memories, and nothing turned up. My mother worked at the guild, so maybe he knew me through her, or knew who I was because he was a proctor for the exam.

“Hi,” I greeted back. “Have we met?”

“No, we haven’t. It’s a pleasure to meet you.”

From the look in his eyes, it didn’t seem like much of a pleasure. He stared at me like he held a grudge against me and wanted to take action.

I don’t like this one bit. “So, I just need to take that document there, right?” I asked as my instincts told me to get far away.

“There’s been a change to the exam.” He picked up the document I was supposed to retrieve from the center of the room and tore it into tiny pieces. “We’ll fight each other, and I will allow you to pass if you can defeat me.”

Before I could protest, he cast Basic Appraisal on me. With my Fake skill, I showed up as a level 5 Newbie with one skill. I would’ve liked to cast Basic Appraisal on him too, but doing so at this point would arouse suspicion.

“You were level 5 when you signed up for the exam,” he said.

The proctor inspected me from head to toe. Unfortunately for him, I only had a tracksuit and a baseball hat. Nothing would give away my true strength.

“And yet, you made it here in record time,” he continued. “They train you well at Adventurers’ High, don’t they?”

From the sounds of things, he’d bought my fake stats. What was he after, though? I took a good look at him.

I could tell that he’d chosen good equipment. He wore light mithril-alloy armor with what looked like felbull leather boots and gloves. His weapon was a mithril-alloy rapier that seemingly had no enchantments. The man’s appearance suggested that his level was between 10 and 15.

Hang on, and he still wants to fight me after seeing I’m level 5? “Who gave you the right to change the exam out of the blue?” I asked.

“The right?” he repeated. “I couldn’t care less about rights. All this is happening because you’re an Adventurers’ High student.”

What did that mean? Did students from Adventurers’ High get separate exams?

“What do you mean?” I asked.

“Let me explain all the wrongs you’ll answer for,” he spat, then rattled off a long list with a look of disdain. “First, your school doesn’t know talent when they see it! Second, they failed to recognize my obvious superiority and rejected me at my entrance exam! Third, I hate how everyone in the adventuring world fawns over your students when you aren’t even that strong! Fourth, you all look down on ordinary adventurers! Fifth, you...” His speech carried on. When he finished, he stretched out his arms and smiled. “And that’s why I’ve decided to crush your evil eggs before they hatch.”

To summarize his long-winded ramblings, he was furious about flunking the Adventurers’ High entrance exam. As a result, he used his position as proctor for rank-up exams to ambush any students from the school taking their exams.

“I’m not exactly prepared for the occasion,” I protested. “Look at me. I only have a baseball bat as a weapon, and I’m in a tracksuit.”

“A full suit of armor wouldn’t make a difference,” he sneered.

The rental weapons and demon wolf leather armor I’d been using hadn’t survived the fight against Volgemurt, so I was back to the starting equipment, tracksuit, and metal bat I had on my first dungeon raids. At level 19, the third floor wouldn’t present a problem for me with this equipment.

This proctor appeared to enjoy himself as he had a large sadistic smile. I knew the entrance exam was difficult, and fewer than one percent of applicants passed. Still, I never would’ve thought flunking the exam could warp someone’s personality this much. I supposed that applicants tended to be proud, and adventuring appealed to certain people’s superiority complexes.

“And now,” the proctor said, “I get to savor taking my time tormenting you.”

He stepped toward me and unleashed the full strength of his Aura, confirming my suspicion that he was between levels 10 and 15. I was at a higher level, so I could probably outrun him. But I had a stressful morning and wanted to vent, and I checked nobody else was around.

All good, no witnesses, I thought. He’s gonna get it!

“What’s the matter, boy?” scorned the proctor, hatred twisting his visage. “Has my powerful Aura frightened you so much you can’t move? You can try to run if you want. You won’t get anywhere, though. And nobody’s coming to save you.”

He had become warped beyond the point of no return.

My opponent was a level 15, meaning he’d probably already mastered all the basic jobs. Additionally, my baseball bat likely wouldn’t inflict as much damage as I wanted, making me consider using my bare fists to fight him. Then, I could drag him to the guild to answer for his actions. Maybe they’d let me pass the exam if I did that.

I twisted my neck and cracked my knuckles, deciding how to punish the corrupt proctor. Just then, I sensed someone approaching us at incredible speed. They were even faster than me, which meant they had to be level 20 or higher! The individual arrived on the scene before I could hide or run.

“Now, now. You’ve gotta play nice!” announced the newcomer.

Upon turning around, I noticed a seductive female ninja displaying a dynamite physique while crossing her arms.