In the main hall, the rumbling on the other side of the building was hardly subtle, stirring laughs from some adventurers lounging around.
"Ahh…that doesn't sound good, does it?" Otto said, watching the chandelier above sway.
Astrid quietly held her worry, though it was hard to miss as she twiddled her thumbs with hopeful impatience.
At a table beside them, a lone adventurer with a cup of mead called out, "You're friends with the newcomers who just went into the Trial Hall, yeah?"
"We are," Otto answered, folding his arms over his chest. "Why?"
The stranger wore an all-white, leather uniform with a ranger hat and a black scarf, resting his smooth chin on his arm, "Well, the testers today are a couple of troublesome ones–Ajax and Freja."
"Wait, Ajax and Freja–?" Otto repeated.
"I've heard of those two, I think, only in rumors in some cities, though…" Astrid recalled.
"Hah, I bet. Wherever they go, trouble follows," the nameless adventurer laughed. "As the legends go…"
["Ajax, the Laughing Dwarf…Of dwarf and giant blood, his veins run hot like the center of a volcano. It's said when he was just a toddler, already the size of a grown man, his small village was raided by some real nasty ogres. The boy found a wooden mallet, and well, left a field of monster corpses–each with their brains painting the grass."]
["Freja, the One-Eyed Crusher…Raised in a town of humans, she was teased a lot for her single eye. When she outgrew the boys around her, that certainly stopped, though. Rumor is when she finds somebody worthy of being her partner, she challenges them to an arm wrestling match. If they win, they become her lover–well, that has yet to happen."]
"...And that's what I've heard about those two," the stranger remarked, sipping from his cup of mead.
Once again, the entire building rumbled with the boisterous laughter of a destructive dwarf echoing from the other side.
The twins were only left in silence, looking towards the dreadful hall with only pity for their companions now left.
"What the hell is the Tiras Guild thinking letting those two be testers, then?" Otto questioned.
"Word around is they challenged the previous testers to a fight to run the trials," the stranger recalled. "They won handily, and have been handing out nothing but Wolf ranks since. Rough, isn't it?"
"But why?" Astrid asked in disbelief.
"I think really…" The hat-wearing adventurer rubbed his chin. "They're just bored."
–
"C'mon, lad! Keep it up!" The half-giant dwarf roared with delight, leaping across the chamber.
Noah rolled forward just as the barbaric warrior's boot slammed behind him, crushing the ground mercilessly. Rising to his feet, he immediately found himself making no progress in stepping forward, feeling quite weightless, in fact–
A glance behind found the half-giant's sausage fingers gripping the back of his shirt as though he were a stray kitten, hoisting him up effortlessly.
"Let's make this fun now!" Ajax roared with laughter, flicking his wrist up.
With his entire balance thrown for a loop, he blinked, watching the ceiling come closer and closer. It was a difficult adjustment to make in one moment, turning himself around as he found the battle-loving dwarf cocking one hammer back as if getting ready to set a homerun record.
'Seriously–?' Noah watched as he quickly descended towards that deathly, flat bat.
There were only seconds before an inevitable meeting with that laughing dwarf's weapon, and moments until he would be mush on the wall, he estimated. He tempered his focus, holding his hand in the tester's direction with one, clear intent–
'Burn,' the concentration flourished.
Bringing forth that burning desire, the mana in his body manifested his will through an ember, quickly growing into a blazing ball of fire.
"Oh?--" Ajax watched, looking up at the bright, orange flare.
As the heat grew to its utmost intensity, he took inspiration from the dwarf's antics, doing his best impression of a major league pitcher as he let the fireball sail downward.
The joyful warrior responded in kind, swinging his hammer right for the incoming ball of volatile heat–and it exploded, in all its fiery glory.
"Woah–!"
Noah shielded himself as the force of his own making rebounded his momentum, letting him land on his feet.
[EXP: +50] [1,700/20,000]
["Mage" Proficiency Up +5] [36/999]
The cloud of smoke and embers briefly brought pause to the cyclops' torment of the orc as they both looked on.
Freja laughed, "Hah! The rookie totally toasted your ass, didn't he, Ajax?!"
The confidence Noah felt was dismissed as casually as the smoke as guttural laughter was returned from within the remnants of fire.
With a swing of his hammer, the billowing smog was dismissed, unveiling a joyful dwarf that only had some light burns on his armor to make note of, "This lad's trying to earn his rank, alright! What about the orc fellow?!"
Across the torn-up battle room, the cyclop's foot was on the helpless orc's chest, keeping him pinned down as a gleeful expression was twisted on Freja's lips.
"This one? Wolf, for sure," she answered, pressing down harder.
"Gurk…!" The orc spat out in pain.
Noah shouted, leaning towards intercepting the sadistic scene, "Redrum!--"
Just as he took a single step, every hair on his body stood as he spun to the left.
[The Snake's Eye]
By pure reflex, the mystical perception awakened in his iris, showing him his fate if he reacted just a moment slower: a flat, blood-stained slab of steel, inches from turning his skull into flour.
In that special moment that drifted between milliseconds, he watched the hammer grow closer, smelling the unappetizing stench of copper that came off it.
Multiple options were considered:
A barrier? By his estimation, his nose would still be smashed; a no-go.
Dodging? Too late; at best, even a graze is going to concuss him into next weekend.
Take it head-on? The idea almost made him laugh; even if enhancement could strengthen his skull, he imagined the outcome wouldn't change.
[Enhance] [Strengthen] [Mega Chop]
CLANG.
–The reinforced axe intercepted the closening hammer, sending sparks in each direction as both weapons rejected one another. Briefly, the air whistled from the unnatural chop, even causing the broad dwarf-giant to stumble back.
"Oh?!" Ajax let out in surprise.
At the same time, a second wind was felt through the orc, who grabbed the cyclops woman's ankle, tossing her off of him. There was a shocked gasp followed by a genuine laugh from the one-eyed tester as she caught herself, sliding several meters back.
Redrum kicked himself onto his feet in a smooth motion, clenching his fists with a careful exhale.
"Got some fight in ya, big guy?" Freja smirked, flipping her club in her hand.
"If I must defend myself, then I will," Redrum responded, holding his fists high and ready.