Reinhard followed the one-legged man through a door at the back of the guild hall. They stepped out into a large, open space with high stone walls and a floor of stones. It was a training area. A few other adventurers were scattered around, practicing their swings or talking in small groups.
As soon as he and the examiner entered, however, heads started to turn. A few of the adventurers who had been in the lobby began to wander out into the area, finding places along the walls to lean and watch. A quiet buzz of conversation started up.
'Are they here to watch the exam?' Reinhard thought, feeling a dozen pairs of eyes on him.
The one-legged man turned around, his expression grim. "You ready?" he asked, then jerked his head toward the growing crowd. "Don't worry about them. They're just here to see you get your ass kicked. It's a kind of show for them, watching someone fail."
"So they're here to see me fail?" Reinhard asked, his voice perfectly calm.
"Not just you," the man replied with a cynical grunt. "They're here to see the noble kid, trying to be an adventurer, get his ass kicked. It gives them something to talk about over dinner. So yeah, they come to watch the show."
"Noble?" Reinhard repeated, genuinely puzzled for a moment.
The man let out a short, harsh laugh. "I don't know if you're trying to hide it, but if you are, you're doing a terrible job. With those shiny, clean clothes and a sword that looks like it cost more than this building, no one is going to miss what you are."
Reinhard looked down at his pristine white uniform, then at the elegant sword at his hip. It suddenly clicked into place.
The way the receptionist had looked at him, the way these adventurers were staring.
They all saw the same thing: a spoiled rich kid, playing at being a hero out of boredom. Now that he thought about it… haha yes, he looked exactly that spoiled rich part.
"It seems I did give that kind of impression," Reinhard said with a small smile. "I suppose that's my fault. I will probably get some less noticeable clothes later on."
"Still want to do the exam?" the man challenged, his eyes narrowed. "Or are you scared now that there's a crowd?"
"No, I want to do it," Reinhard said simply. "I was just surprised that so many people would come to watch."
"Hmph. Well, at least you don't back down," the man muttered. "Okay. Get inside the circle. We'll start the exam right now."
Reinhard nodded and walked to the center of the area, stepping inside a large circle drawn on the ground.
The lines were carved into the stone and filled with something that made them glow with a faint, blue light as he entered inside it. "A magic circle," he observed.
"Exactly," the man said. "This formation will keep anyone OUTSIDE from getting hurt. But if you take even a single step outside this circle from now on, you will be marked as failed. Now, the exam begins. Show me that you can face off against a monster."
The man stared at him, then tapped the ground with his cane three times. A smaller magic circle flared to life on the ground inside the larger one. "Come, Hound Dog!" he commanded.
A creature made of shadow and rage burst from the light. It was a large, dog-like monster with shaggy black fur and glowing red eyes. With a guttural snarl, it lunged straight at Reinhard.
It was fast, faster than any normal animal. But for Reinhard, time seemed to slow down. He took one small, easy step to the side.
The Hound Dog shot past him, its claws tearing through the air where he had just been.
As it went by, Reinhard's hand moved in a blur, too quick to follow. He brought the edge of his hand down on the monster's neck in a simple, clean chop.
There was no sound of impact, no wet crunch. The monster's head just… came off. It separated from the body so cleanly that not a single drop of blood sprayed onto his hand or his white uniform.
The two pieces of the monster tumbled through the air and hit the glowing barrier of the circle, where they stopped thump on it and then later dissolved into black dust.
The area was completely silent. The spectators, who had leaned forward in anticipation, now stood frozen.
The man just stared, his mouth hanging slightly open. 'What the hell did he do? I didn't even see him draw his sword! What the hell was that?!'
"Is that all?" Reinhard asked. He was genuinely asking if the test was over, but to the examiner, it sounded like he was mocking him.
The man's eyes twitched. A grim smile spread across his face. "Very well," he said through gritted teeth. "Next!" He tapped his cane again. The summoning magic flared brighter this time.
Instead of a dog, a short, muscular creature with dark green skin and wicked-looking eyes appeared. It held a rough, heavy club. "This is your next opponent. A Dark Goblin."
The goblin saw Reinhard, and its face split into a cruel grin, like it was about to crush a weak little bug. It let out a war cry and charged.
The goblin was fast and strong, a real threat to a new adventurer. But as it reached Reinhard, its world simply ended.
One moment, it was charging forward with its club raised.
The next, it was a green smear plastered against the far side of the magic barrier, hit with a force so sudden and so total that it was wiped out in an instant.
Again, the crowd was stunned into silence before breaking into a wave of whispers.
"Hey, what the hell just happened?!"
"I didn't even see him move!"
"How did he do that? He still hasn't drawn his sword!"
The examiner stood with his mouth wide open, looking from the smear on the barrier to the perfectly calm boy in the circle.
"Skip ranks?" he finally managed to say.
….
A/N: Hmmm… tomorrow is the mass release day. I will do mass release of 5 chapter tomorrow. For those who dont know this man it is the one who took rimuru practical exam in manga and LN.